Flame Trees of Saipan

Each May the flametrees of Saipan begin to bloom. I would have to say that these are the most colorful and beautiful trees I have ever seen. They are a bright orange color and they fill up the entire tree. Beach Road and other main thoroughfares are lined with flametrees. They even have a Flametree Festival each March to celebrate the blooming of the trees. Notice the little restaurant in the 2nd picture down. That is Truongs, a Vietnamese place and one of our favorite places to eat. Also notice the kingfisher bird in the flame tree at the bottom. We hear the shriek of the kingfisher all over the island.

Mt Tapochou

Mt. Tapochou is the highest point in Saipan. It has a marvelous view of the entire island and the vistas of the Ocean all around. It was a strategic point in the war as the Japanese made it a fortress because these vistas provided views of any military movements in the sea and at the airport below. Emperor Hirohito of Japan declared that Saipan must not fall or Japan would be invaded by the Americans. After ten days of ferocious fighting Mt. Tapochou was taken by the Americans and the Japanese were driven to the north and the Battle of Saipan was over. Over 5,000 Americans lost their lives. One P Day we visited Mt. Tapochou with the Sisters Tuileto'a and Pakula and we met a busload of Japanese tourists who gave us little doll momentos which said Peace, Love and Brotherhood. Amazing what 60 years will do.

Sunset View Apartment

On May 21, 2012 we moved from Finisisu Terrace apartments to Sunset View Apartments.

Finisisu was a unique experience for us as we began our mission in Saipan. The high density housing contained mainly Filipino families and we were quickly immersed in the Filipino culture. We met many wonderful people who treated us with the greatest respect and almost reverence. We were invited to many family events and were often asked to give the prayers for their festivities. But it was noisy and congested. When the decision was made to renovate the neighboring building the noise was really too much to handle. One day we ran across Sunset View Apartments and we never looked back. It is in a great location, is very quiet and has a view to die for as you can see by the pictures taken from our balcony overlooking the vast Pacific Ocean to the west. Enjoy the view from our balcony.

Seminary Students vs the Missionaries

The missionaries were invited to an early morning Old Testament Scripture Mastery challenge with the Seminary students.  The Seminary students won.