MICRONESIA 2014 - Kultivate Kolonia

Kolonia, Pohnpei

Saturday, January 11, 2014

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Kultivate Kolonia

Earlier last year I was praying to the LORD as to what my role was as a missionary here in Pohnpei. In a vision two words appeared: Kultivate (I know that it is correctly spelled with a "C") and Kolonia. I felt in my spirit that my focus was to be here in Kolonia town and would have to do with both worship and youth ministry. The way in which this vision is coming to pass is completely different than what I had originally thought. I was thinking that it would have to do with the House of Prayer and a future youth center in Kolonia. Now I see that God is using our interaction at Paradise Radio 89.5 as a fulfillment of this vision.

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Last night my dad and I were able to go on air and literally sing over Pohnpei. We did a live worship set singing in both English and Pohnpeian and after receiving words of knowledge about our listening audience we prayed for them and for Pohnpei. Paradise Radio is not a Christian radio station, and before the New Year played all secular music. This past week I put together a playlist of all modern and relevant Christian music in genres such as Christian rock, Christian reggae, Christian rap, Christian hip-hop and worship music. We had had originally thought that the Christian music would be played on Paradise Radio for only one day a week, as Saturday evenings has been when we have been on air. Yet Ryan has introduced the Christian music into the rotation of what is played on air every day. Now when we we listen in to 89.5, every other song glorifies God. Even our original worship that my dad and I have written and recorded is being aired every day.

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God has given us a much broader audience than I could ever have imagined here in Pohnpei. And I am so glad to be a part of cultivating a harvest of souls here in Kolonia.

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Jonas Young

MICRONESIA 2014 - Laid en Epiep

Kolonia, Pohnpei

Thursday, January 9, 2014

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Laid en Epiep

Our Pohnpeian family ran out of store bought meat the other day and didn't have the budget to but more chicken, so David, Jonas, Edward and I decided to "laid en epiep" or go line fishing at night from Misko Beach and caught over twenty fish which fed our family for another couple of days. As missionaries in Micronesia, we live off both the land and sea. We are working on a vegetable farming project here in Komwonlaid as well. We will put up a blog post on it very soon.

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Christian Young

MICRONESIA 2014 - Paradise Radio 89.5

Kolonia, Pohnpei

Saturday, January 4, 2014

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Paradise Radio 89.5

The amount of doors that Papa God is opening for us here in the Federated States of Micronesia this New Year are mind-blowing! Last night my Micronesian brother-in-laws; Ryan, David, Tommy, along with my son and I embarked on a new adventure in the world of radio DJ. Ryan, originally from an outer island of Yap helped to spearhead Paradise Radio in Pohnpei many year ago. Paradise Radio is NOT a Christian radio station, but plays a mix of mostly reggae, hip-hop and rap from artists in the Pacific islands and from around the world and is one of the most popular radio stations in Pohnpei. Yet Jesus has been doing amazing things in Ryan's life lately, and now we have all partnered together to introduce relevant Christian music and talk shows on Paradise Radio.

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Last night we imported modern Christian rap, reggae, rock and worship music into the radio DJ computer program and aired these songs for many hours. Ryan started out by introducing us on air using our studio names. We had so much fun clowning around in between sets of songs. One time David put on a Puerto Rican accent and I did a British accent, while we all exchanged in friendly banter with one another. Other times, Ryan and I hosted a time of prayer for the lost, broken, sick and hurting people of Pohnpei and shared stories of redemption through Jesus Christ in relevant ways. We were all in tears at times as we poured our hearts out about our own lives and how the love of God through Jesus is changing us all as we follow him. We will be weekly hosting programs like this on Paradise Radio and are so excited to see Jesus change the lives of our listeners as many Micronesians listen in to Paradise Radio 89.5.

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Christian Young

MICRONESIA 2014 - New Year, New Chapter, New Season

Kolonia, Pohnpei

Wednesday, January 1, 2014

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New Year, New Chapter, New Season

This New Year has marked a new chapter and new season in our lives. There is a saying that my Messianic Jewish friend uses often, "Happenstance is not a kosher word." It wasn't by happenstance that on January 1st of this new year, my Pohnpeian promise brother, David Epina arrived in Pohnpei after being away from his home island for thirteen years. I have been communicating with David through Skype this past year and we have been dreaming about him coming back from the U.S. to live in Pohnpei so that we can together carry the love and the glory of God here in Pohnpei and to the ends of the earth. Those dreams accelerated into our current living reality. David was able to spend seven days with my parents in the San Francisco Bay Area during Christmas, which was another unexpected blessing. Soon David's wife and child will also move here to Pohnpei.

David arriving at Pohnpei State Airport

David and I reunited in Pohnpei

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I had the privilege of leading David to Christ back in 1999 when I was a pastor with The Salvation Army. Ever since then, we have not only been close friends, but promise brothers. It is his mother and siblings that we currently live with in Komwonlaid. My family and I left Pohnpei in late 2000 and came back in summer of 2012, while David left Pohnpei in summer of 2000 and has now returned in early 2014. Altogether, David has been away from Pohnpei for longer than I have, yet our reunion together here on this beautiful island that we call home and where we first met has been a wonderful one. The dreams, visions and plans that Papa God has given us together for this island and beyond are already coming to pass.

Mikvah at Lidakika Beach

Mikvah at Lidakika Beach

Mikvah at Lidakika Beach

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After David arrived at the airport, we all headed to Lidakika Beach where my son, David, Nionoh Dio, our Messianic Jewish friends and I all performed "mikvah," which is what Jews do every Shabbat to symbolize the washing away of the filth picked up from living in this sinful world of the past, and having a fresh start. As our first act of the New Year and David's arrival in Pohnpei, we all experienced "mikvah" together, as we are leaving the past behind us and pressing on to what Yeshua has for us in this new season, new chapter, New Year.

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Christian Young

David and I in Pohnpei - late 1999

 Me, my son and David in Pohnpei - early 2014

MICRONESIA 2013 - Visit to the Island of Dahu Rei Rei

Madolenihmw, Pohnpei

Saturday, December 28, 2013

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Visit to the Island of Dahu Rei Rei

As my son has a two week break from school for the holidays, I had suggested to our Pohnpeian family that we have some fun and go visit one of the lagoon islands for a weekend. I had suggested Nahlap and Black Corral Islands, but NohNoh Dio suggested we go to the island called Dahu Rei Rei in Madolenihmw, as her relatives own it. I was excited to visit yet another new island. For only $3 each per night and $10 for gas, my son and I were able to enjoy an amazing weekend on the beautiful lagoon island called Dahu Rei Rei, which literally means, "Long Island."

Dahu Rei Rei ZOOMED OUT

Dahu Rei Rei ZOOMED IN

Dahu Mwotomwot

Dahu Rei Rei

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We all packed the cars up on Friday morning with food, fishing gear and people and drove to Ohwa Marine Park, where we unloaded everything and then parked our cars at NohNoh Dio's relative's house. It took two trips to get all of our immediate and extended Pohnpeian family members to Dahu Rei Rei. As we fought the trade winds and the choppiness of the lagoon waters, we made our way to the small island. On the way there I spotted another small island that I had thought was our destination. Come to find out, that island is called, "Dahu Mwotomwet," or "Short Island." There weren't any local houses or signs of civilization on that island, though. A little while later I spotted what would be our final destination, Dahu Rei Rei; a beautiful island paradise located between main land Pohnpei and the barrier reef. This beautiful island has a few local houses built on it and is surrounded by crystal clear waters with hues of dark blue, aquamarine, green, orange and yellow as the various corral formations are reflected by the light of the sun from underneath the surface of the Pacific Ocean.

Panoramic from Dahu Rei Rei 

Boat trip to Dahu Rei Rei......................................Traditional nahs where we stayed 

Traditional "war" or hand dug canoe on Dahu Rei Rei.............Tommy jumping from the rope swing 

Traditional house on Dahu Rei Rei.............Picture mainland Pohnpei from Dahu Rei Rei in the evening

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We all stayed in a large "nahs" or traditional feast house made of local mangrove wood and thatched roof. Soon after arrival, we jumped into the waters and went spearfishing using my long, local-style Pohnpeian spear that I had to do an overhaul on before the trip. The current was so strong and the fish were fairly small where the waters were more calm on the west side of the island. After spearing only one small fish while fighting the current, we decided to go net fishing on the east side of the island, facing the barrier reef. As NohNoh Dio and Tommy spread the long net over the reef in waste deep waters, Ryan, Startel, Ivan and I splashed the waters violently, chasing the fish into the net. We caught some small fish along with a huge fish with scary teeth that I needed to spear in the head, killing it and enabling us to safely remove it from the net. As the sun went down, my son and I geared up to go night spear fishing using our Hawaiian sling spears and underwater flashlights. Once again, the current was very strong, making it a lot of work to spear fish. This time we caught many fish as we searched the branch corral for parrot fish and other reef fish that were hiding. My hands still sting from reaching into the branch corral to pull out the fish that I speared. My son and I had a blast spear fishing on Friday night. We used some of the smaller fish that we caught the next morning as bait to go "epiep" or line fishing. I put a whole reef fish onto my hook and cast my hand line into the deeper waters. using a chunk of corral as a sinker. Within moments I hooked into a large "menger" or grouper that had taken the bait and swam into the rocks. After waiting for a while, I finally landed the nice sized fish.

Brianne having fun line fishing

Spreading the net on the corral reef.............Splashing the water in order to scare the fish into the net 

Spearing the large fish that got caught in the net...................The large reef fish the we caught in the net 

Reef fish that we caught net fishing and spear fishing during the day

The grouper that I caught hand line fishing on our second day at Dahu Rei Rei

Ingrid and her friend, Steven barbecued chicken and hotdogs for all of us. We all slept on the floor of the "nahs." We also got to eat "mworopw" or Polynesian chestnuts that were boiled and strong smelling. Apparently, they aren't only strong smelling while being cooked. Our Pohnpeian family and friends explained to us that if you eat a lot of them, you will have a lot of bad smelling gas the next day. We all laughed for hours together as we envisioned our car ride home together and a potential new way of fishing by farting underwater after eating "mworopw" and killing all of the fish. After lots of laughs together, we headed back home in shifts. Once we got home, we all reminisced about how much fun we all had together on our visit to the island of Dahu Rei Rei.

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Christian Young

Steven and Ingrid barbecuing....................................Underwater picture of Ingrid at Dahu Rei Rei

NohNoh Dio and NohNoh Glo at Dahu Rei Rei

MICRONESIA 2013 - Christmas in Pohnpei

Kolonia, Pohnpei

Wednesday, December 25, 2013

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Christmas in Pohnpei

Sitting here in the Pacific islands with 85 degree weather and 90 percent humidity on the day that much of the world celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ is pretty trippy. All around Kolonia town buildings are strewn with Christmas lights and filled with Christmas music. The town seems to have tripled in population as school is out and many from the other municipalities have traveled in to celebrate with family and take part in things like the "madness sale," Pohnpei's version of "Black Friday." Church bells rang last night and this morning and as in American culture, people flocked to church services or mass, perhaps the only time during the year that some of them do so. Yet underneath the veneer of this celebration (that only began after 300 AD with Constantine when the Roman Catholic Church deemed that winter solstice was the day to observe the birth of Christ) there seems to be an unusual mix of the materialism that Western society has brought to this island as families go into debt in order to give extravagant gifts to one another and the underlying spiritism that is rooted deep within the Pohnpeian culture. Maybe I am being too bleak, but I am trying to paint an honest picture. As 97 percent of Pohnpeians claim to be Christian, it is truly difficult to see authentic Holy Spirit transformation in the Pohnpeian culture on any kind of large scale. Religion, when it is not pure and undefiled but is covered with man's fingerprints has become yet another tool in the hand of the enemy to keep people in bondage. Yet even in this reality, we believe there to be hope...

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A revival is looming on the horizon here in Pohnpei and in the Pacific islands. Many have felt it. Some are experiencing it. Others have outright prophesied it. My hope is that while people gather together in families and in churches this Christmas season here in Pohnpei, the Holy Spirit is brooding over the face of the deep and stirring a holy discontentment with the mediocrity that has become a reality. I believe that there is a shift about to take place on this island. I could feel the shift starting to happen this afternoon as my son and I gathered together with our Pohnpeian family to share the story of Yeshua Hamashiach from Isaiah 9:6 and Isaiah 53:3-6 and then described His birth as the direct fulfillment of prophecy. I felt as though the truth of the weightiness of YHWH's love for us poured from my heart as I spoke of Yeshua's birth, life, death, resurrection and second return. We all sat in silence for a while as the challenge came to invite the Prince of Peace to lead us in every way and to surrender ourselves to Him utterly and completely as the New Year approaches. I was in tears as I began to recollect the events of this past year and how patient and loving Papa God has been with me. I know that in some small way, myself, my son and our Pohnpeian family have a part to play in the coming revival in Micronesia. It was a beautiful moment together, even though we sat on the the floor of our living room rather in the large halls of a church building. We then enjoyed a meal together of barbecued chicken, hotdogs, rice, panset and potato salad.

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Other family members came over and we finished the day going to their home and dedicated their taxi business and taxi car to Yeshua (after one of my Pohnpeian sisters saw an evil spirit in the back of their taxi over a week ago). As my son has had the past week of school off, it has been fun for him and I to spend our time together as well. We are truly blessed beyond measure. May the Prince of Peace, Yeshua Hamashiach lead and guide each of us as we surrender ourselves to Him this season.

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Christian Young

Drinking cappuccinos at Arnold's restaurant

Spreading gravel on our driveway

Spreading gravel on our driveway

Dedicating a taxi business to Jesus

MICRONESIA 2013 - Pohnpeian Funeral

Nett, Pohnpei

Friday, December 20, 2013

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Pohnpeian Funeral

This [past] weekend I was privileged to take part in a Pohnpeian funeral, which is a very important aspect of the culture here. Saturday was the first day of the [three day] funeral which started at the airport as [our Pohnpeian] family went to greet the [other] arriving family members and see [that] the body arrived safely. [One of our extended Pohnpeian family members had a child while living in the U.S. that died before reaching one month of age.] Even though most Pohnpeians would consider themselves to be Christians, much of their original funeral customs still exist today. Funerals typically last three [to four] days on Pohnpei, as they believe that the spirit of the deceased wanders around [for] several days before leaving the earth.

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So my dad and I drove from the airport to the land in Nett where the body would be buried. At first we sat through a service where the Catholic priest baptized the body of the [less than] one month old boy in hopes that [it] would somehow help [him] to get into heaven. After the Catholic service was over, food was served and it was also time for people to view the body in the open casket.

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Later in the evening [many of our Pohnpeian family members gathered around the body of M.J. Hairens, the baby bot that had passed away]. My dad played some songs talking about heaven and how when we get there, there is no longer suffering or pain. At this time, my dad also had the opportunity to share a clear gospel message [with] them, as life is uncertain and [the most important thing is that we all need to be] born again in order to be saved. In short, this funeral was not only a cultural experience, but also a great chance to comfort [our Pohnpeian] family and share God's love with them.

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Jonas Young

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[In Pohnpei, the first day of the funeral is called, "Rahn en Melah" or "Funeral Day" (literally "day of death"). The second day is called, "Rahn en Serdi" when they actually bury the body. The third day is called, "Rahn en Laid" or "Day of Fishing" where fish is caught and given away to those attending the funeral (this used to be a practice only when fisherman died, but now is practiced at all funerals). The fourth day is called, "Rahn en Kamwekel" or "Day of Cleaning." Please see below a short video clip of the second and third day of the funeral that we took part in.]