Outdoor school has been a Saipan SDA School tradition for seven years now. We take the entire school out to Managaha, starting with grades 7-9 on Thursday evening to set up camp in advance of the main group. Then on Friday, everyone from Pre-School on up comes out to join the older kids for a day of learning and fun in the sun. In the afternoon everyone in second grade and younger goes home sunburned and happy, while for the rest of the school the weekend continues. Grades 3/4 thrill to their first overnight stay at Managaha (they will stay one night and go home Sabbath afternoon) and grades 5/6 proudly stay with the "big kids" two whole nights until the campout ends on Sunday morning.
Now the truth is, historically, I have hated the Managaha weekend. I don't know why. I like camping. Managaha is beautiful. The kids are great. And yet, for years by Friday evening my mood is sinking like the setting sun, and by Saturday it's totally black. For whatever reason, I find myself cranky, irritable, stressed, angry throughout the weekend. But this year was different. This year for the first time, I actually stayed "up" through the entire weekend. Without a doubt, this was the best Managaha campout ever. I was at peace, affable, patient, even energetic. What made the difference? I don't really know. . .but I'm grateful. I feel like I may have finaly turned a corner on Managaha.
And what was the best part of the best Managaha campout ever you ask?
Why the people, of course!
The kids were wonderful. They maintained a great attitude all weekend long, helped out whenever they needed to, and eagerly embraced each planned activity. I really love these guys and it was a pleasure to spend the weekend.
It was nice to have our church out there with us as well. Most of the members came out Sabbath morning to worship with us and they planned a lot of the Sabbath activities. It was so nice to have their support. Our pastor, Eliki Ravia, came out with us for the entire four days and I really appreciated his presence, leadership, and involvement. The pastor is blessed with a natural charisma and all he has to do is be around, and the kids just respond to him.
The teachers of course were rock stars as always. I shouldn't have been surprised that they planned some of the coolest outdoor school lessons ever, most fun teambuilding activities, and most powerful, energetic worships. Grant was in his element and ran tight, entertaining, and challenging worships anchored by a message by Pastor. The theme was "Power" and we sang songs like "More Love, More Power" and "The Power of Your Love" to remind us of God's awesome power in our lives.
The cooking crew was great to work with, but I'll have a seperate blog on that topic!
And of course it was great to have good friends to share the weekend with us: A highlight of the weekend was easy chats on the beach, at the picnic table during mealtime, or by the bonfire with Carol Paez, Ken& Crystal Pierson, Bev, John Moreno, Derek & Myla, and our old friends the Ricardo and Gina Rankin, and their kids who flew up from Rota just to spend the weekend with us at Managaha like they used to when they lived on Saipan.
Friday night worship and Friday night bonfire
Sabbath morning worship
Our school board chairman and his daughter sing and play a duet of "Give Them All To Jesus" during the Sabbath morning church service, a song they've been singing together since she was in kindergarten.
One of the things I love about our school is how the little kids and the older ones mingle together so well. It always warms my heart to see one of the teens holding a third grader in their lap, a kindergartner clinging to a fifth grader. In this picture are 7th, 3rd, 9th, and 2nd graders.
Two students pose with their sand castle made during a Sabbath afternoon activity
Babs and I after a Thursday night team building activity in which our team had to try to drop chocolate pudding into our mouths. As you can see my team was a bit more gifted than Babs'.
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