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When
you think of a small tropical island in the middle of the pacific,
you think of vacation, sun tans and relaxation. That is a complete
reciprocal of where I found myself when I started my first week as
a teacher in Yap. Repeating the verse I have grown to love Philippians
4:13, “I can do all things through Christ that strengthens me,”
I found myself doing something with completely no idea of what I was
supposed to do. I was to teach high school English and PE. I heard
it best described as being thrown in water not knowing how to swim. |
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The first week
was the hardest. I figured the first day I would just hand out the
syllabus and go over about three to four general rules I had for the
classroom, tell a couple of corny jokes, maybe throw in a few riddles,
and then dismiss the class. That’s easy enough...for the first
day. The second day I actually had to teach. That first week I felt
so overwhelmed. We had prayer meeting on Wednesday and had teacher
dedications. At that moment I realized I wasn’t going to have
to do it by myself, but that the Lord was going to be by my side.
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Yap is different than all the other states in the Federated States
of Micronesia. It’s very traditional both in attire and in culture.
The elders are doing their best to protect their culture but the western
world is sneaking in with each succeeding generation. |
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church and school are closely intertwined. The teachers divided into
groups and each week one teacher would pick a student in his or her
class and the rest of the group would visit that student and their
family. We had a chance to meet the students’ families, sing
a few songs, talk and get to know them. We’d always close with
a word of prayer. Because we were “outsiders” and because
we all lived up at the school, it was good to let the families know
us on a personal level. |
| One
experience sticks out in my mind. After a PTA meeting, a mother and
child who lived in a nearby village were still at the school close
to 9 pm. She was going to call a taxi when we offered to take her
home. A fellow Missionary and I hopped in the school van and took
them to their village. It had just rained so the roads were muddy.
After dropping them off, I got stuck trying to back up. I closed my
eyes and said a quick prayer. Within minutes five big islanders came
by and asked me if it would be okay if they lifted the van and set
it back on the road. And that’s exactly what they did. Once again
God answered one of my many prayers. |
| The
experience I had in Yap was like no other. Once I set foot off of
the airplane everybody on the whole island knew that I was a Seventh-day
Adventist teacher. To take a year off to work for the Lord is something
everybody should do. It takes a lot of humility and patience. We were
on the front lines and that is the greatest honor for me.
By: Andre
Chavez
Recently returned Volunteer to Yap
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