A Bible Devotional from Grant

Dear Friends, Family, and Readers:

I was going to write a hotel review blog post, but sadly that will have to wait until next time.  After reading the devotional booklet our church, Saipan Community Church, gives away free, I began to write a sports related devotional.  I have already copyrighted one devotional book I wrote titled Biblical Lessons from Hunting & Fishing. I have been in the process for a while now of writing sports devotionals for an as of yet untitled devotional book.  This devotion I am pasting into this blog will be copyrighted, but you can use with permission.  Today's Daily Bread devotional December 27, 2011 mentioned verses from 2nd Corinthians Chapter 4. I was also encouraged to post this devotional due to being at Gold's Gym and watching a debate between sports analysts about players kneeling to pray after touch downs. Here is my devotional essay that sprung from The Daily Bread.  I apologize in advance for having no pictures with this blog entry, pictures are always fun.

Determination & Setting Goals

Hard work, determination, and setting goals can help athletes achieve

success in their endeavors, but sometimes success is achieved by

viewing the world differently than the athlete next to you.

            Athletes are often encouraged by coaches and trainers to set goals for themselves.  These goals are important because they allow us to see, even feel the progress we have made. We can set goals that are easily reached and that we can touch by focusing on things of the world like scholarships, trophies, medals, etc. The most important goals, however, are the ones that cannot be seen or felt.  These goals are such that they turn our achievements into legend.  In 2^nd Corinthians 4:18, Paul talks briefly of this saying, “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal” (New International Version).  If we fix our eyes on the things that are seen or felt, like the proverbial carrot on a string in front of a donkey, we lose sight of what will last for the ages.  In many cases, trophies and medals are awarded every year and each year someone new receives the award.  Records, however, sometimes last decades, sometimes they become eternal.  In Christ, our obligation is to bring God’s program or will to earth in a way that changes the lives of those around us resulting in eternal change. 

            The hardest thing about bringing the kingdom down to earth is that it requires the transformation of our minds.  We know that transformation is required from Romans 12:2, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will” (NIV).  This transformation of our mind is that we align ourselves with the will of God.  The will of God is that we help others achieve the eternal through acceptance of Christ’s word. In other words, it requires us to be set apart, selfless servants.  The athletic world around us tells us to be competitive, achieve glory by hard work and determination, and let nothing stop you in your routine.  Overcoming this battle is one of the sole (soul) issues we as Christians face on a daily basis.

            Routine can be dangerous for anyone. Like the donkey chasing after the carrot we can lose sight of the fact that we are chasing after something that is unachievable or at the very least unrealistic.  We are so driven to get the carrot in front of us that we forget about one another and how to help those around us in their hurt.  I really enjoyed it when Pastor Abe of Saipan Community Church shared the statement, “If you can’t change the situation, let the situation change you.”  His sentiment is exactly what helps us break with the routine of this world and converge on the world of the spiritual in Christ Jesus.  My prayer for all athletes in the world is that we would no longer strive for individual goals, but goals that are aligned with God’s purpose. That purpose being one another. 

 Questions for Discussion

1. What do you get from these verses?  What are your goals currently?  How are people around you hurting?  Have you bothered to ask them?

2. We cannot always change our situation, but we can let the situation change us.  Is it possible that we try to ascend to God’s position of authority when we are led astray by our own goals?  Read Philippians 3:21 for perspective on God’s power to transform and bring things “under control”. 

3. For perspective on what our goals should be read: 2^nd Corinthians 5:9, Philippians 3:12, and Colossians 2:2.   Do you find it odd that in 2^nd Corinthians 5:9 Paul tells us what our goal is as Christians?  How does this change your perspective on goal setting?

Saipan Time (Also Guam TIME):

Sleepover at the Stable

My piggies on stage.

Students on Stage.

Me with my piggy ears on.

The Stage.

My kids performing!

On December 13th our elementary school put on their annual Christmas Program. This years' title was Sleepover at the Stable. It was about the night Jesus was born and what the animals thoughts were during that time. Each class was designated an animal to dress up as. My class was designated to be the pigs, so Grant helped me make the foam ears to glue to the headbands. The girls dressed in pink shirts and the boys dressed in brown shirts. I took so many pictures from the Program because my students were so cute!

My student Judy who is is moving to Korea in December.

Waiting in Line.

Waiting in Line.

One little piggy.

Looking Cute!

Getting Ready before the production.

One little piggy.

My class sang three songs in the program. Bethlehem Lullaby (with the whole elementary) Glory Be to God on High(with the 5th graders) and Wake Up (with the whole elemenatry). This program is the biggest event of the year and it was stressful teaching the kids the songs, making up the actions, and having them go to practice. It felt like a relief to have it all over with. The message of Christmas came across very well and the students even sang the song Wake Up one more time on their own (that was my favorite part of the program). The song Wake Up is about being ready for Christ to come to Earth! The students did very well and they really put their whole heart into it. I loved watching them sing, they really had a lot of fun up there. So all in all it was a great production and the message of Christ was presented!

The girl piggies!

World War II Relic Hunting Update

Dear Friends, Family, & Readers:

As many of you know, I enjoy hunting for WWII relics and I thought I would share some of my pictures from various adventures.  The photos for this particular blog entry are from various locations around Saipan.  The bottle was found in the jungle near Obyan Beach.  The fragment of a Japanese grenade and the fuse cap were found in the jungle off the road that leads to Naftan Point.  There are plenty more of these where this came from.  Last, but not least, the picture of a pile of ordinance that I stacked up for a photo was taken at the old munitions dump (a.k.a. FEBC radio towers cliff line in Marpi)  Even though it has been swept by professionals hired by the government there is still a lot of munitions lying around, which can be very dangerous.  I hope you enjoy the pictures and their explanations.  Remember to click on the pictures to view them in enlarged fashion.

Sincerely,

Grant

One of the things that has come in very handy in my collecting of relics is Muriatic Acid.  This liquid is highly poisonous and the fumes are easily enough to make you light headed.  You know the bottle is dangerous when it has a skull and crossbones on the outside and each time you take off the cap vapor comes out.  This liquid is often used for cleaning swimming pools and easily eats away at most metals.  If a grenade or piece of metal is too rusted, this liquid will eat away at the rust and grime.  When the relic has spent enough time in the liquid, I bathe it in WD-40 to protect it from further corrosion.  Always put this acidic liquid in a plastic container with water i.e. a Maxwell House coffee container.

These are some strange pilings I found embedded into the earth at Obyan beach shoreline between Obyan and Naftan.  I'm not sure what they were used for or what may have existed at this point.  I have yet to extend the trail I've been cutting further down the beach.

This is a WWII sanitation bottle used for hygiene. I found the bottle in the jungle off of Obyan Beach.  It could have also been an old 40's motor oil bottle.  Either way I found the patent for the bottle on Google patents at: 

http://www.google.com/patents?id=QFNpAAAAEBAJ&pg=PA1&dq=Des+94231&hl=en&ei=Fa_RTtjYIYmRiAKYv9WdBg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CDIQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=Des%2094231&f=false

The bottle was patented by Glenn A. Mengle of Brockway, PA on Jan. 1, 1935.

This is what I believe to be the base of a Japanese hand grenade from WWII.  Japanese grenades were rather large and had a lot of steel on the outer shell.  Unfortunately they were not made as well as American grenades and you rarely find the outer shell in tact due to corrosion.  So, if you think this grenade doesn't look like a grenade that is because the rest of it has rusted away or been blown off.

This is the other view of the grenade.  The reason I wanted to show this view of it is as a warning to fellow seekers. I've been told that the circular ridge you see as a barrier between the center circle and the outer hexagonal shell is actually old T.N.T. The inner circle is a stick of dynamite that either didn't light or has been exposed after countless amounts of corrosion.  I've been told that this T.N.T. is still viable.  The government needs to clean this stuff up because a person with the knowledge to do so could carefully drill a hole into the stick of dynamite and insert a fuse.  I found this fragment of a grenade on the road leading to Naftan Point in the jungle. They were scattered all throughout the jungle.

These are my trail markers if you ever see an orange trail marker with a black cross you can say that Grant Fifield has been there on Saipan, MP.

This is a pile of ordnance that I collected one day while exploring the cliff line at the FEBC radio tower facility that is soon to be closed down. In the front of the pile are many pieces of American grenades and to the left large shell casings that had exploded along the cliff line as American forces pushed toward their goal of Suicide Cliff in Marpi.

Saipan Time is also Guam time:

Patriot's Pen Essay Contest

Dear Friends, Family, and Readers,

            On Thursday 12/8 one of my eighth grade students was awarded a certificate and cash prize of $100 for her efforts in an essay contest.  The essay contest was sponsored by the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post on Beach Road in Saipan, MP.  The middle school students on island wrote for the Patriot’s Pen Essay Contest and the high school entries had to submit voice recorded speeches.  The essay contest almost didn’t happen at our school because last year I made classes aware of it, but no one submitted.  This year I felt as though I needed to honor veterans since my birthday is on Veteran’s Day.  Feeling convicted I made my classes write essays based on the contest rules, but told them they did not have to enter the final copy if they felt strongly against it.  The prompt students were required to write on was “Are you proud of your country?”  My student beat 40 other students in her attempt to win.  While winning first place on the island for the regional competition her essay was then sent off to be judged for the state competition, which consisted of 7 regions.  Out of those 7 regions she placed 4^th.  I have a strong feeling that if she does this contest next year at the high school level she will do very well.  Had she won the state competition she would have gone on to the national competition.  If she won at nationals she would have received a $10,000 cash prize.  At the high school level this prize is $30,000!  Needless to say, I was very proud of her and glad that she was willing to try something new.

A link to the online newspaper article concerning the contest and my student’s achievement can be found on the Saipan Tribune’s website at:

http://www.saipantribune.com/newsstory.aspx?cat=1&newsID=114871

I hope that you enjoy the pictures of the awards ceremony, however, informal they may have been that night!

I believe this is Mariano Fajardo (mentioned in the above hyperlinked article) while he read the winners of the high school competition.

Mary Grace receiving her certificate from VFW Post 3457 of Saipan, MP

The whole group of winners, middle school through high school 1-3rd places.  The man in the back row on the far right is teacher Paul Murphy who received the Citizenship Teacher Award.  There were only two essays entered and he was the fortunate winner.  To receive the teacher award students had to write an essay for a teacher they would like to nominate.

Mary Grace and I  just before our dinner arrived and we talked about what she would like to do in life. She said that she would like to become a doctor someday.  As to what doctor she would like to become, she is not sure.  What I do know is that she is well on her way to achieving her dreams.

 Saipan Time is also Guam Time:

Junior High Man'amko Ukulele Concert

Dear Friends, Family, & Readers:

            On December 1^st, the ukulele students from the junior high side of our school performed a short Christmas concert at the Man’amko Center (also called the aging center).  Man’amko is a Chamorro word that means elderly and the prefix “Man” simply makes it plural.  I went to t his performance last year and it was as heartwarming now as it was then.  It is wonderful to see Saipan Community School students respecting their elders and providing some entertainment. There really are not too many places to show off their talent on the island when it comes to performances.  Ukulele performances will be taking place at Joeten Shopping Center (by select students), the Saipan Community Chapel, and the Saipan Multipurpose Center throughout the year.  After students performed at Man’amko (which is located next to Gold’s Gym & Sugar King Park, off of middle road), they went to McDonald’s and performed outside.  Unfortunately students had lost all concentration because of the anticipation of eating at the Golden Arches.  The blazing sun did not help the students concentrate, and I can’t blame them because it was hard to see Mrs. Winkfield in the bright light (many students did not have sun glasses or hats).  Mrs. Winkfield had wanted to perform for McDonald’s because we go their every year after playing at Man’amko and wanted to share the joy of playing the ukulele as a sign of our thankfulness.  Perhaps there is some other to show our thankfulness….  I was surprised when the McDonalds manager came and gave the supervising teachers lemonade/strawberry ice drinks. Needless to say we accepted the gesture of appreciation. I hope you enjoy the pictures below (Note: If you click on the picture it will enlarge the photo).

Two 8th grade Korean students having a good time.

My 6th graders showing their excitement.

Two 6th grade hams (one bearing a strange resemblance to Johnny Cash)

The whole group performing in panoramic.

Six of 8th grade students marching while playing a piece from The Nutcracker known as March of the Nutcracker Soldiers.

An 8th grade student playing the Christmas Song otherwise known as Chestnuts Roasting Over an Open Fire.

Mrs. Winkfield: Bible Teacher, Art, and Ukulele teacher of Saipan Community School handing out bells to the audience to keep time with the students playing their last number.

This is one of my favorite parts to the Man'amko concert.  Near the end of the performance, volunteers are asked to come up an play the Ukulele with the band.  The students simply do the fingerings for the volunteers while standing behind them.

A 6th grade boy receives a quiet praise of thankfulness from an audience member.  After the concert, students were given candy canes to distribute to those who had taken the time to listen.

An 8th grade girl receives a hug & a blessing form a woman  in the audience.

Unruly students playing in the scorching heat outside of McDonalds before running inside to get in line.

If you are interested in learning more about events that go on at Man'amko, you can always visit the center directly as they do not have a website as of yet that I know of.  Perhaps that is something a person gifted in computers could do as a service project for those at the center.  

Since my father is in Rotary, I thought I would share this article from the Saipan Tribune of the Rotary Club making Thanksgiving dinner for the residents.  You can read this article at:

http://www.saipantribune.com/newsstory.aspx?cat=1&newsID=114438

Sincerely Yours,

Grant

Saipan Time Standard Chamorro Time (also Guam Time):