Onto the Water: Mission: Rota 2008

Our very first time leaving the island of Guam was for a higher purpose than pure leisure. We were on a mission--really! As brief as it was, this was our first mission trip as a family. Although it seems ironic that we would be leaving an area that much of the world already sees as a mission field, there are hundreds of tinier islands here in the Marianas that have yet to hear the Good News of Jesus Christ. Guam's closest neighboring island of Rota is just 47 miles (20 minutes by plane) away and is an island where there is a great work to be done.

In mid-February, medical providers from the SDA Clinic started flying out to the island of Rota every weekend to give a series of lectures about healthy living. Health screenings for blood pressure, weight, and blood sugar were also performed at each meeting and tracked on a progress report for each individual who attended. This allowed people the opportunity to see how those health indicators changed over time as they put the health principles they learned (such as diet, exercise, temperance, etc.) into practice. Throughout the month of March, these health lectures were then supplemented by teachings of Biblical truths via Pastor Tony Moore's series on the travels of the apostle Paul.

I learned that Rota means "peace" in the Chamorro language, and peaceful it was. As soon as we stepped outside the airport, you couldn't help but breathe in a sense of calm and serenity. And the visual beauty that surrounded us during those 3 days paralleled the spiritual experience we partook of that weekend.

We took so many pictures, you'll have to click on the picture below to see them all.