Island Time

The Braid Game

2018-04-05T19:05:00.004-07:00

With a mere 30 seconds remaining on the clock, and a 3 point lead, the game appeared to be a done deal. My girls had dug themselves a deep hole early in the game but refused to give up without a fight. Multiple players rose to the occasion when we needed them most. As we pushed and clawed our way back onto the court, they never faltered. With each tick of the clock, the physicality of the game increased, yet the referees remained silent. A missed shot by my team resulted in a pile of frantic girls wrestling on the floor. The madness continued until the shriek of a whistle ended the chaos, and a jump ball was called. The possession arrow pointed in our favor. Mindszenty was forced to use their final time out and I smiled to myself. I had the perfect play to put the game out of reach.

We were seconds away from securing the victory. As my girls positioned themselves for the inbound play that I had just drawn up, the ref blew his whistle, and yelled, "red ball". To make things worse, he advanced the ball to half court and set the ball in play before we could run back to play defense. The result of this hysteria was Mindszenty's best player getting fouled on a three point attempt. I was irate. My heart pounded and it felt as if the vein in my forehead would burst. For the first time all year my temper bested me, and I exploded. In a gust of fury I made my way to half court, yelling at the ref the entire way, and demanding an explanation. Topps, the referee, turned to me, and boomed even louder, "red ball". In a mixture a anger and confusion I prepared to give him a piece of my mind. In just as dramatic a fashion, Topps wound up to give me a technical....

An instant before the words flew from my mouth, my attention was drawn away from Topps to Ally. She was running straight at me, yanking on her own braid and telling me to sit down. All I could do was smile and walk away.

As a teacher you are not allowed/not supposed to have favorites, but no matter what, some students seem to carve out a special place in your heart. One of those students was Ally Tadao. All year long she had been kind, full of energy and impossible not to love. She was the Sophomore Class President and I was one of the class sponsors. She took two classes from me everyday and was one of the leaders on the girls basketball team. Because of all these commonalities we had many opportunities to spend time together and develop a relationship. Some of my favorite memories of Ally were being with her and the other class officers late into the night working on the valegram fundraiser, teasing her about tall dark and handsome, and swimming at the bridge. But nothing would ever top the braid game.

Our friendship had grown exponentially since girls basketball season started. Ally was selected to be a team captain and was an essential part of our team, but like everyone, she had lots of growing to do if our team was going to succeed and if she was going to be the best player she could be. Our first game of the season went exactly as we hoped. The game plan was sound, the girls energy and effort was off the charts and as a result we ran the other team out of the gym. That however was not the case two days later as we faced off against the island powerhouse, Palau High School. When we got physical, they pushed back.. harder. If we made a run, they would match it with their own. Whatever we attempted, they adjusted and beat us at our own game. PHS was running circles around us and frustration mounted on the PMA side of the court and sideline. Eventually the tension reached such a level that I removed Ally from the game in an attempt to calm her. I pulled her to the side but in her state of frustration she exploded,

“Coach what is going on? Why are we panicking? Why are we playing like this?".

Her passion and competitiveness spilled out as she fought back tears. This moment turned out to be a pivotal point for Ally as a leader.

We ended up losing the game by a large margin. The next day Ally and I sat down and talked about what happened, what we could do differently as a team and how she could improve as a leader. Ally and I came to the conclusion that we were both very competitive people and when we are in the game, caught up in the moment, it can be hard to listen to someone tell you to settle down. To solve this issue we came up with a signal. Before every game all the girls get matching braids. Our signal was, if I pretend to pull my braid or if she is near by and I pull on her braid she knows what to do. It means, settle down, you are doing great, I love you, I am proud of you, you got this, go do what the team needs you to do. This signal worked great. Whenever things got a little heated, or Ally started to put her head down, it was a simple reminder that helped her regain her composure and focus. When we made this deal I never would have imagined she would be tugging her own braid and telling me to sit down.

In that moment it was almost magical. That simple tug of her hair signaled volumes. It was, “Coach, calm down, I got this, we got this, let us go finish what we started.” That was exactly what she did. The team went out and took care of business. Even though Mindszenty tied the game with 5 seconds to go, Ally remained calm and her teammates followed her lead. Rhacelyn quietly collected the ball, stepped out of bounds and threw the inbounds pass up the sideline. Ally snagged the pass and her eyes instantly found the rim. All it took was two dribbles up the sideline to blow past the last defender, before she whipped the ball to a wide open, Omi, who calmly sank the game winner as time expired.

I have never been so happy and so proud before in my life. For as long as I live, I will remember the braid game, and all the girls who made it happen.

Coach

2017-11-20T19:09:00.001-08:00

The past few weeks have been very strange. Life here has become very routine and dangerously boring. I find myself with endless amounts of time on my hands and nothing to do. The students are tied up with evening study hall, then dorm worship and curfew is immediately after. Most the other SM’s are tired, grumpy, triggered or I just don’t want to hang out with them so there are not many options. I do not mean to sound too negative, I am enjoying my experience here but there are struggles. Luckily basketball season just started so I have a new way to spend my time. Practice began two weeks ago and it has been an adventure.

The season started off with record setting interest. Twenty-four boys signed up to try out for the team! That is almost half the boys at school. Unfortunately, grades came one week later and 8 names were eliminated just like that. A few other boys pulled out at the last second for various reasons so the 13 remaining names made the team. We have had a brutal few weeks of practice. The boys are dying because it seems like we do nothing but run. I am dying because we can’t figure out how to pass, talk, or dribble so we just run. At the end of the day I am learning tons and tons about coaching, while I think the guys are learning at least a little about basketball.

Through all the early suspensions, grade issues, and other struggles there are still high hopes for this year’s team. We are short, young, inexperienced, and even timid at times. But there is so much potential. In the athletic director’s meeting I attended the other day, a representative from a rival school told me that he could split his guys into three teams and they could all beat us. I just smiled but left the room very motivated.

Historically PMA has been bad at sports. I have even heard our own fans say, “you ready to lose again today,” or “why do we even come, we know how this will turn out.” There have been a few years in which we have competed at a high level and even taken home the championship once, but currently we are viewed as a joke, an easy win, or even just practice. Our goal for the season is to change that reputation and the process is underway.

Games started earlier this week and we are off to an excellent start.

The boys are 2-0 after beating two of the top three teams from last season. The first game was ugly, we made tons of mistakes, it was scrappy and filled with fouls, the reffing was biased to the point that the game was even dangerous at times. But through it all we pulled out a win. It was amazing. I have won a lot of games in my life but this was different. Coaching, and seeing the excitement and pride the boys showed was beyond words. The second game was even better. We were playing our Catholic rival school that had done all the trash talking earlier. It rained all day and was very windy. Almost all the gyms on the island are open-air gyms, which means they are not closed completely so the water gets onto the court. Due to the weather condition the game was moved to the national gym. After our first win of the season there has been a bit of a buzz around the school, which resulted in a ton of fans showing up. The boys were way better than in the first game and we got up by as much as 25. While there is still so much we need to fix and improve, it felt like the team finally realized that they could do it, that they are good enough. The team is on a roll, having fun, and turning some heads. We play again today and I can’t wait. Coaching is teaching me so much about basketball, leadership, and responsibly. I never realized how exhausting coaching is!

The Ngatpang Curse

2017-10-30T02:21:00.001-07:00

Another week, another cross country meet and another crazy day for me. Today was the BIIAA Cross Country Championship. My team was resting in 3rd place, just a few points behind Palau High School and within range of the leaders, Medzinty. The course was the same as our previous race, the location of the Malcolm incident (previous post “Overheated”). I now believe this particular route is cursed because our woes continued.

The first hiccup in our day occurred before classes even ended. Many runners had forgotten that the race was scheduled for today so they did not have their running gear on hand. We scrambled and were able to provide for almost all the runners. Sadly Maricar was unable to make the adjustments needed and didn't run.

The next unexpected event came along as the team loaded the bus after school. Mr. Reggie, the bus driver called me to the front of the bus and told me that we were going to have to go the long way to the race. Someone had neglected to fuel the bus over the weekend and we didn't have enough fuel to make it to the designated course. Since there are not to many gas stations on the island, we had to detour back toward Koror, then head for the race. Luckily the cross country meets run on island time. We were late arriving but another team missing as well and the police escort had not yet arrived.

Within 20 minutes of reaching our destination the competition was under way. We began the race with high hopes. PMA's trio of victors from the earlier races were all on hand and accompanied by the most complete team showing yet. All we needed to do was have everyone run their average times and we would secure second place. If we had a good day we may have even caused a massive upset. This was not what fate had in mind.

As a team we were looking great... for around the first 30 seconds of the race. At this point we already had a runner doubled over in pain from cramps. She would not be able to finish the race. I joined the principal in his car and we made our way through the racers toward the finish line so we could witness the results. As we passed the runners our team was looking good.

Once again we found Malcom at the front of the pack with about 100 yards to go. This time he had a very small lead that he could not maintain. Two Medzinty runners overtook him in the home stretch and he came in third. It was a disappointing finish for him, but a success for the team. Sadly, this race would hold a few more surprises for us.

Time continued to roll past and we were stilling missing runners. A few PMA runners streamed by but the first shocker was Laden. Throughout the entire year he had been a top ten finisher. Today 40 boys has finished and he was nowhere in sight. He finally came into view and claimed 45th place. This was a huge letdown for him.

Even more baffling was the ladies side of the race. Anaya, Medzinty's top runner took home first place and my runner, Himari, took home second but Kukumai was missing. One, two, ten, fifteen other girls ran by and my number one overall runner was still missing. Word came from other runners that she was down the hill in the bushes and she needed help. All I could think was, "Oh no, not again," as I jumped in a car and headed her way. When we found he she was sitting on the steps of our bus, which just happened to be passing by and saw her. She was sick to her stomach, vomiting, frustrated beyond words for letting her team down and on the verge of tears. Unfortunately she could not even finish the race.

I helped Kukumai to the waiting car and we drove to the finish line in silence. After we arrived I got her water, but she just sat there in pain and anger. Luckily Edely, the principal’s wife was there to take care of her so I stepped away to finish up my timing, and paperwork duties at the race. To my great surprise, as I walked to the officials table I saw the PMA bus drive around the corner and disappear. They had left me. My backpack, my computer, my lesson plans, everything was on the bus and it was gone. To make things worse, the team was supposed to stay for photos and the championship awards ceremony. Only Kukumai, Abner, Edely and I remained. We accepted the trophy and a few individual medals then headed home.

PMA ended up taking home third place overall, missing out on second by just a few points. The margin was so small that anyone of the struggling runners could have made up the difference. This was a disappointing finish for all the racers and a tough way to end the season. The Ngatpang course got the best of us again.

Another One Bites the Dust

2017-10-30T02:21:00.000-07:00

10/12/17

For the second time in as many weeks I had a student collapse while under my supervision. Today it was Omi. What began as a routine Thursday, rapidly turned into an absolute fiasco.

Over the quarter I have spent the weeks covering a multitude of different sports and fitness elements. A very basic summary of first quarter, sophomore PE, looks like this:

Week 1	Aug. 21-25	Fitness/Mile
Week 2	Aug. 28- Sept. 1	Volleyball
Week 3	Sept. 4- 9	Volleyball
Week 4	Sept. 11-15	Dodgeball
Week 5	Sept. 18-22	Maxball
Week 6	Sept 25-29	Hockey
Week 7	Oct. 2-6	Hockey
Week 8	Oct. 9-13	Fitness
Week 9	Oct. 16-20	Fitness/Games

As you can see we started the year off right with fitness week. This was to see where each student was individually in regard to strength and conditioning. I recorded everything we did that week so that we could compare the results to those recorded in the fitness week at the end of the quarter. This makes it easy for the students to track their progress and see areas of strength and weakness. Once fitness week ended, the class transitioned into playing sports. Each sport lasts for two weeks. The first week is used for skill development and the second week is for games. Each Friday we do fitness. This was working excellently.

Back to Omi. We had made it with two weeks left in the first quarter and all the students were showing amazing progress. It was fitness week once again and my students were preparing for their final the following week. We ran a mile on Monday, did interval running on Tuesday, an intense upper body workout on Wednesday, and Thursday was another practice mile. All the students were turning in amazing times that were smashing their old records. I was loving it. The only issue was my best female runner had not returned yet. I was confused but thought nothing of it. She finally came into sight, sprinted around the corner and down the sidewalk to the gym. When she arrived all she said was, "Omi can't breathe," and point at the parking lot 100 yards away. I sprinted there and found Omi doubled over and wheezing. I immediately recognized that she was having an asthma attack. I rushed another one of my students off to the office to get the principal. I moved Omi into the shade and tried to calm her down. But her condition was getting worse by the second. By the time Mr. Sanchez arrived with Chaplain Corey, Omi was in a terrible state. Her breathing was extremely labored, she was panicking, and there was no inhaler on campus. We loaded her into the school van and took off. Throughout the duration of the ride I stabilized Omi's head, told her to relax, and tried to get her to keep her eyes open. She drifted in and out of consciousness as we bounced down the rough road toward CB Camp (The US Navy Civil Action Team's camp). When we arrived we lucked out because the clinic was closed but the doctor was present.

Unfortunately things did not get better. The "doctor" or whatever he was got right to work and gave her a steroid shot. Unfortunately he messed up and had to do it again. Next the men tried to sit her up on the stretcher but it wouldn't move. They jerked and pulled, trying to get the hinges to release, but nothing would budge. All the while Omi was tossed about due to their rough actions. Finally one of the men realized that she was on the stretcher backwards and it was the other end that tilted up. They scooped her up roughly and spun her around the opposite direction. The small clinic did not have an inhaler on hand either so they made a make shift one using an oxygen tank, with a diffuser and some liquid drugs. It was not the most effective method but it seemed to help a little. Omi continued to slip off into a peaceful state of nothingness, then jolt back awake and fight everything that was going on. It got so bad that we had to strap her to the stretcher. This went on for almost 15 minutes.

Finally and ambulance arrived to transport the poor girl to the hospital. In Palau ambulances are simply a mode of transportation, they do not administer any care during the drive. So for the remaining 15-20 minutes of driving, Omi laid there, strapped down and struggling to breathe. At last she arrived at the hospital and was treated properly. There was no long-term damage or anything to worry about. It was just a massive scare for me. Omi returned to school later in the day and I was able to talk to her. She told me that the last thing she remembered was me moving her into the shade in the parking lot! Miraculously she had no idea how traumatic her afternoon had really been. Omi now owns an inhaler and the school has one on hand for future incidents.

Just like that, another average school day quickly became an unforgettable memory to add to my rapidly expanding collection here in Palau.

Week of Prayer

2017-10-14T20:39:00.001-07:00

10/13/17

This past week was Week of Prayer here at Palau Mission Academy. It was a truly incredible experience. For me the journey began about three weeks ago when Chaplain Corey asked me to speak. My immediate response was no. I hate being up front, I don't like sharing personal stuff, and I do not like talking. There was no logical reason to say yes. In addition, there were plenty of other teachers who he could ask instead. My response was an easy and confident no. I looked back to Corey and blurted out, "sure". Unfortunately I could not go back on my word. I was speaking. The next few weeks passed by quickly and I neglected spending anytime preparing. I finally sat down on a Friday evening and jotted down what I thought I would share. When the work was concluded I was feeling pretty good about it.

Monday rolled around again and Chaplain Corey orchestrated another quick meeting with us about the upcoming Week of Prayer. He gave us the theme for the week, Revelation 12:11. The main idea was overcoming sin by the blood of the lamb and through personal testimony. My talk went out the window; scrapped, try again, no can do, off topic babble. I was back to square one. In this meeting we also decided who would speak on each day. I was given Monday! Now I had no idea what I was going to talk about, and I was to go first.

I scrambled for a few days trying to come up with a new idea but I got nowhere. Nothing I thought of matched the theme or seemed like it was worth sharing. Eventually a memory was triggered that fit perfectly and it was also a good topic to start the week off with. Monday morning came much sooner than I would have liked, and I found myself standing in front of the school, sharing a small piece of my life story. I will not go into extreme detail about my testimony because that is not the memory that will stick with me. I simply shared a little bit about my family, where I come from, and the moment in my life when I realized that I needed to find God for myself and develop a personal relationship with Him. The next morning Miss Natalia got up and shared her story of tragedy and healing. Wednesday was Mr. Laughlin and his experiences with God's love. Miss Rogers blessed the students on Thursday with her message about how God mends our broken lives and makes us more valuable, just as a potter recreates a shattered piece using gold to fill the cracks. Mr. Ramirez was the grand finale on Friday, and it was a day to remember. After he shared his story, he asked anyone who was interested in getting to know God more, studying the Bible, or considering being baptized to stay behind for a special prayer. Many of the kids just hustled off to class and thought nothing of it, but 9 students stayed behind.

We had a brief conversation with the kids that stayed behind and it was monumental for me. Many of them shared how they had been thinking about this decision for a long time and that something this week had finalized it in their hearts. One girl cried because she was scared of what her parents would do, but she was positive she wanted to be baptized. Each and every one of them had some worry or doubt about their decisions, but they were also sure that they wanted to know more about God and create a more personal relationship with Him. I couldn't help but smile as I walked out of the chapel that day.

Nine students committing their lives to Christ at an Adventist school may not seem like a huge deal to a lot of people reading this. Here in Palau it is. The kids that attend PMA come from all sorts of backgrounds, family situations, and religious upbringings. Only a very small portion of our students are Adventist. Many come to the school because it offers a better education than any other school on the island and they can afford it. In addition, the younger generation in Palau shows very little interest in church or faith of any kind. Taking these variables into account makes nine kids pursuing Christ something to be celebrated. The final thing that made this day extra special for us as teachers is the fact that this was the first major event in which we felt we had made a difference. Our stories and testimonies throughout the week had helped these kids take their first step toward Christ. We came to Palau to teach, gain experience, enjoy the island life, but most of to all, to share the love of Jesus. In that moment after chapel on Friday, with those students gathered in a tight circle, we had succeeded. That is a feeling I will never forget!

Overheated

2017-10-14T19:27:00.001-07:00

The day began in a very ordinary fashion. My eyelids refused to open, and when they finally did my phone read 7:03.... 7:03! Staff meeting starts at 7:15 each morning, and being late is a cardinal sin here at PMA. I flew out of bed, jumped in the shower, grabbed whatever food I could find and ran out the door. I arrived at the faculty lounge with two minutes to spare. It was locked and no one was around.

The school day on this particular morning was very average. Classes were a blur and nothing too exciting happened. After school there was a cross country meet, so I boarded the bus with my team and we headed out. On the bus I took roll, handed race numbers to the team, inked their arms, and we talked about our match up for the day. We arrived on time to the site where the race was supposed to start, but for the second time of the day, there was no one else around. Mr. Reggie and I decided to just keep driving and see what we found. We carried on for 20 more minutes (which is a really long way in Palau) and finally found the other racers. The course had been changed at the last minute and they forgot to tell us. We made it, got checked in, and my team got ready to run.

The team was in high spirits on this afternoon. Though it was our bye week, we had worked our way into a playoff position and had a chance to finish in second place. To add to this excitement, our top two female runners took first and third in the last race and our top male runner had just returned from an off island swimming competition and would be competing today. The race started so I hopped in a random car and headed for the finish line to record my runner’s times. The race was going even better than expected. Malcolm had established a massive lead early on and was maintaining a record setting pace. Not far behind him Kukumai and Himari were dominating the female competitors.

I arrived at the finish line, grabbed my clipboard and waited. Within a few minutes the first racer appeared around the bend and made his was to the home stretch. I glanced at my watch and it read 17:03. The fasted time posted this season so far was 18:56, Malcolm was 300 yards away from destroying this mark and solidifying our position in the rankings. 200 yards from the finish line. It was over. There was no way anyone was going to catch him. I just stood there and smiled. Malcolm glanced over his left shoulder then turned back and focused on the finish line. It was at this moment that I knew something was wrong. At first it was just a small stumble, but his forward momentum was so great that he could not recover. I watched as his hands and knees collide with the ground. Malcolm quickly bounced back up but was clearly dazed. 150 yards to go. He fought hard to continue his forward progress but his body would not allow it. Right there on the side of the road, mid stride, Malcolm passed out cold. I dashed from my spot at the finish line to see what was the matter. By the time I arrived, the police escort had already pulled over and were assessing the situation. Malcolm was still unconscious and to my surprise, when I knelt down beside him the police got up and left. I propped Malcolm up and told him to open his eyes. Within 30 seconds he was semi alert and aware of what was going on. I told him to slow down, calm his breathing, take deep breaths, and keep his eyes open. All he managed to say was, "I had him coach. I have to finish". Someone brought him some water, which I had him sip. Within a minute he threw it all up and passed back out. The other racers continued to stream past and finish the race. Other PMA runners had finished and run back to see what was going on. Finally after almost 20 minutes an ambulance arrived.

I was the only Palau Mission Academy staff member present at this particular meet so I had to accompany the ambulance. I quickly arranged for the bus driver, Mr. Reggie, to gather up all the other athletes and take them back to campus. I also had one of the students call the school and inform them of what had happened. Then I climbed in the back of the emergency vehicle and we were off. The course we were running was a solid 45 minutes from the hospital in Koror. The ambulance driver did not agree. He flipped on the sirens, straddled the center-line, and never went less than 60 mph. The road was extraordinarily curvy, and each turn sent me sliding across the small bench seat in the back of the ambulance. Malcolm's head thrashed from sided to side as he drifted in and out of consciousness. I tried to stabilize his head but I was flying around just as much as he was, so it was a futile effort. I looked to the front of the vehicle and saw that the driver was on his phone, talking into the ambulance's built in radio and searching for something on the floor at his feet. To add to the mess, we entered a construction zone. I figured this would slow our progress but I was mistaken. The drive calmly laid on the horn and continued to speed up the center of the road. Throughout this entire fiasco Malcolm remained unconscious. Occasionally he would jerk awake and say "Sorry coach I will get him next time" or "Coach I have to finish,” then his eyes would roll back in his head and he would slide back into oblivion. We somehow made it to the hospital alive and without harming anyone else in under 20 minutes. Malcolm was rushed in and examined. The doctor concluded it was severe dehydration, and heat exhaustion, but he also ordered some extra tests be done on Malcolm's heart. I stayed in the hospital for about an hour with Malcolm, and his dad. The principal and his wife arrived and were filled in on the situation. Malcolm was going to spend the night on an IV and continue to be monitored. I was finally headed home, but my night was far from over.

Abner, Edely and I left the hospital and were headed back out of Koror toward home. It was after 7pm by now, so the traffic had died down and the construction zone was closed for the night. There were not many cars around, but when we arrived at the bridge there was a car stopped right in the middle of the roadway. As we drove up and pulled over to see what was wrong, we saw a young Filipino man scurrying around trying to solve the problem with no success. The principal and I got out and we soon saw that the car had over heated and needed water to cool down. The bad news was we were on the down hillside of the bridge and the water source was on the other side. A few cars passed by but no one else stopped to offer assistance. The car refused to kick into gear so there was no other option, the owner hopped in, and we pushed. The progress was brutally slow and we fought against the gradual slope. Our calves burned more and more with each step but we slowly gained some momentum. If the bridge had been any steeper or longer I do not think we would have been able to get the car over. We finally pushed it over the crest and breathed easier as it coasted down the other side. Fifteen minutes later and almost 20 gallons of water later the car fired up and we all headed home.

What is Island Time?

2017-10-10T04:49:00.002-07:00

Island Time: a time zone where time is irrelevant. Nothing starts on time, plans are useless, something always goes wrong, but that is expected and everything works out......eventually. Welcome to the life of a Student Missionary in Palau.

I have decided to start a blog to keep track of my adventures in Palau. My goal is jot down the best, worst, and craziest days I experience during my stay here. The blog is named "Island Time" for a couple reasons. First off, Palau runs on island time. My blog will also function in this manner. It will not be updated daily, weekly or monthly. I have no idea when I will post so be patient and just enjoy the experience. That is the only way to survive Island Time.