Here is a short little clip of our Sunday morning here in Okinawa! We were suffereing from some bad jet lag and were up at 3 in the morning so we are only running on 5 hours of sleep today, so that is why I look so sleepy!! Sam took this video of me with his spiffy new I-phone 5 which has been awesome so far and has a great camera on it! He isn't very good with his action skills though, because he told me it wasn't on when it really was, which is why I say hello twice. So, please do not mind that and I am sorry for the two hellos right in a row, lol!! It is hard to believe it, but this beach is actually called trash beach. There were quite a few pieces of washed up trash so I'm sure that is why it is called that and they probably don't take care of it the best, but it is still absolutely beautiful! I hope you all enjoy this little sneak peak of what the beaches look like and can bask in God's glory along with us!! Happy Sunday everyone!!
Sunday, February 24, 2013
Friday, February 22, 2013
We made it!!!!
We finally made it to Okinawa, but it certainly did take a while! Before our flight took off, we got to spend a great day in Seattle with the Eekhoffs which was really nice and helped take our minds off of the long flight we were about to take. After a great day with them, we had the pleasure of spending the night in the airport :) It was absolutely miserable!!! There is no possible way to get comfy on those chairs, and we couldn't check in yet so we were stuck on the tile floor rather than having carpet by all of the gates. We eventually made it through with little sleep and then had to wait in a very long line to get our baggage checked. Once we got that all done, we had to wait another 2 1/2 hours before our plane started to board. It didn't really surprise us that we had all of that waiting because that's basically what the marine corps life is about!!! Hurry up and wait!! Once we got onto the plane we instantly took sleeping pills so we could sleep most of the 10 1/ 2 flight we were about to take. They had movies and tv shows playing throughout the flight which was very nice, but half way through our flight, one of the fuses went out and we couldn't hear the movie anymore. We were able to sleep for a lot of the ride which was very nice, but it didn't help the time go by any faster. We were served two meals, one for breakfast, and then another for dinner. I missed the breakfast one because I was sleeping, but Sam got pancakes and sausage which he said weren't the best. We both got a beef and mashed potatoes meal for dinner which was actually pretty good. From then on it was just snacks and drinks!
Our first flight landed in Yokota, Japan. We had to stop there to drop some people off and fill the plane with more gas. We all had to get off and get back on which took way too much time, and added another 2 hours to our arrival time. We then took another small flight to Iwakuni, which is on the south side of Japan. That is where the USMC base is on mainland so we had to drop some more people off there and pick some more up as well. We had to get off the plane again for this one and that added another two hours to our arrival time once again. After we all got boarded we were finally on our way to Okinawa!! Unfortuantely, it was raining once we arrived, but we got bused from the plane to baggage claim so we didn't have to walk in the rain. We breezed through customs and were able to get out luggage quite quickly. We then we greeted by a man with a microphone, and a bunch of people waiting. The man said our name out loud, and our sponsor stepped out and led us to where we needed to go! From there, our sponsors took us to our hotel!
It is hard to believe that we are here already, and it honestly has not qute sunk in yet. It is now morning here and it looks like it is going to be a gorgeous day. It is only 9 o'clock and it is already 59 degrees!!! I know everyone at home in the midwest will be jealous of that as you guys were dumped with a bunch of snow recently!!! haha!
We will be receiving a tour of the island today from our sponsors and we will hopefully be purchasing our phones!!! It will be a while yet before we can get a car since it is the weekend here. So, hopefully on Tuesday we will be able to take a test to get our license and then get a car!!!
It is a beautifully area from what we can tell, and we hadsome beautiful sights from the plane. We were able to see Mt. Fuji from the plane which was pretty cool and many other mountains as well as lots of ocean. We are eager to see what this next week has to offer!!!
Proverbs 3:5-6 will lead us through this week, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight."
Our first flight landed in Yokota, Japan. We had to stop there to drop some people off and fill the plane with more gas. We all had to get off and get back on which took way too much time, and added another 2 hours to our arrival time. We then took another small flight to Iwakuni, which is on the south side of Japan. That is where the USMC base is on mainland so we had to drop some more people off there and pick some more up as well. We had to get off the plane again for this one and that added another two hours to our arrival time once again. After we all got boarded we were finally on our way to Okinawa!! Unfortuantely, it was raining once we arrived, but we got bused from the plane to baggage claim so we didn't have to walk in the rain. We breezed through customs and were able to get out luggage quite quickly. We then we greeted by a man with a microphone, and a bunch of people waiting. The man said our name out loud, and our sponsor stepped out and led us to where we needed to go! From there, our sponsors took us to our hotel!
It is hard to believe that we are here already, and it honestly has not qute sunk in yet. It is now morning here and it looks like it is going to be a gorgeous day. It is only 9 o'clock and it is already 59 degrees!!! I know everyone at home in the midwest will be jealous of that as you guys were dumped with a bunch of snow recently!!! haha!
We will be receiving a tour of the island today from our sponsors and we will hopefully be purchasing our phones!!! It will be a while yet before we can get a car since it is the weekend here. So, hopefully on Tuesday we will be able to take a test to get our license and then get a car!!!
It is a beautifully area from what we can tell, and we hadsome beautiful sights from the plane. We were able to see Mt. Fuji from the plane which was pretty cool and many other mountains as well as lots of ocean. We are eager to see what this next week has to offer!!!
Proverbs 3:5-6 will lead us through this week, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight."
Saturday, February 16, 2013
Location
This is a very rough map of Okinawa, but for some reason google maps doesn't show all of the military camps and most of it is in Japanese so I am using this map to give you an idea of where we will be! A lot of this is unknown to us right now, b/c we do not have a permanent home over there yet so most of this is speculation. We do know that Sam will be working in Camp Schwab which is titled B on this map. This will only be where he will be working, however, because the camp does not having housing units. We will most likely be living in Camp Courtney which is titled as E. Okinawa is set up to have strictly working camps and housing camps which is why Sam is working on one and we would have to live on a different one. Not the most ideal, but that's just how it is. We will find out more when we get to the island if we will be livig on Camp Courtney or need to find a place off of the base!!
Friday, February 15, 2013
Preparation and Anticipation!!
Hello everyone!!
This is my attempt to keep everyone in the loop and stay in touch with all our loved ones while we are away on the other side of the world! I am new to this blogging thing so please do not be too tough on me for my writing skills as well as typos. I will also do my best to include pictures, keep updates on what Sam and I are doing, as well as other random things that are going on.
So, here is what is going on now. We are spending our last little bit of time here in the USA in DeMotte, Indiana because we are going to be flying out of Chicago on Wednesday to head to Seattle. This is a good chance for us to spend time with friends and family. Unfortunately we are not able to make it to the Sioux Center area again before we leave, but I am very happy that my parents will be able to come here this weekend and see us off.
As I mentioned earlier, we will be flying out of Chicago on Wednesday and heading to Seattle where we will be able to meet up with some college friends in the Washington area. On Thursday, we will need to be at the airport very early. Check in time is from 1:30 to 4:30 in the morning, but I think they make it that early so that those few people that are always late are actually there on time b/c our flight doesn't actually leave until 7 or 8. We will then have a very long flight of about 14 hours that will be non stop to Okinawa. We will be flying into the Kadena air station where we will be met by our Okinawan sponsor who we have been in contact with and has been very helpful. He is also a marine officer, and he will show us around the island and help us get aquainted with most things. From that point on, everything will be new and we will have to get a lot of things done such as finding a house, buying a car(s), getting a phone plan, etc., etc.
Just a reminder for everyone that we will not have our cell phones. Once we get onto the plane in Seattle, we will not be able to use our phones anymore, so we will only be able to communicate through email, facebook, letters, and all that good stuff from next Thursday and on.
There are so many emotions going on for me and Sam right now, most of which are feelings of excitement. We have a lot of hard goodbyes to say still and it will be rough, but we know that God has an amazing plan for us over in Okinawa and we cannot wait to find out what that plan is!! God has been so good to us, and we are looking forward to being in once place for a while seeing as this will be our 5th home in a little over 1 1/2 years. We ask for prayers as we have so many new things coming our way. We ask for patience, trust, safety while traveling, and just the strength to make it through everything that we are about to go through. We will dearly miss all of our friends and family, but before we know it, we will be back in the states again!!
As we go into this journey we are about to partake in, we hold the words from Jeremiah 29:11 close to our hearts: "For I know the planes I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope."
This is my attempt to keep everyone in the loop and stay in touch with all our loved ones while we are away on the other side of the world! I am new to this blogging thing so please do not be too tough on me for my writing skills as well as typos. I will also do my best to include pictures, keep updates on what Sam and I are doing, as well as other random things that are going on.
So, here is what is going on now. We are spending our last little bit of time here in the USA in DeMotte, Indiana because we are going to be flying out of Chicago on Wednesday to head to Seattle. This is a good chance for us to spend time with friends and family. Unfortunately we are not able to make it to the Sioux Center area again before we leave, but I am very happy that my parents will be able to come here this weekend and see us off.
As I mentioned earlier, we will be flying out of Chicago on Wednesday and heading to Seattle where we will be able to meet up with some college friends in the Washington area. On Thursday, we will need to be at the airport very early. Check in time is from 1:30 to 4:30 in the morning, but I think they make it that early so that those few people that are always late are actually there on time b/c our flight doesn't actually leave until 7 or 8. We will then have a very long flight of about 14 hours that will be non stop to Okinawa. We will be flying into the Kadena air station where we will be met by our Okinawan sponsor who we have been in contact with and has been very helpful. He is also a marine officer, and he will show us around the island and help us get aquainted with most things. From that point on, everything will be new and we will have to get a lot of things done such as finding a house, buying a car(s), getting a phone plan, etc., etc.
Just a reminder for everyone that we will not have our cell phones. Once we get onto the plane in Seattle, we will not be able to use our phones anymore, so we will only be able to communicate through email, facebook, letters, and all that good stuff from next Thursday and on.
There are so many emotions going on for me and Sam right now, most of which are feelings of excitement. We have a lot of hard goodbyes to say still and it will be rough, but we know that God has an amazing plan for us over in Okinawa and we cannot wait to find out what that plan is!! God has been so good to us, and we are looking forward to being in once place for a while seeing as this will be our 5th home in a little over 1 1/2 years. We ask for prayers as we have so many new things coming our way. We ask for patience, trust, safety while traveling, and just the strength to make it through everything that we are about to go through. We will dearly miss all of our friends and family, but before we know it, we will be back in the states again!!
As we go into this journey we are about to partake in, we hold the words from Jeremiah 29:11 close to our hearts: "For I know the planes I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope."
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