Greetings!
Time is quickly coming the an end here on the island. It is less than 8 weeks before I am on my way back to Georgia. That means there is less than 7 weeks left of school. Wow! Time is flying for sure!
Still working on packing and shipping things. 
ALL PARENTS, GRANDPARENTS, TEACHERS, ANYONE AROUND STUDENTS:
Here is a new teen "challenge" going on here...which they have gotten from the internet. So, I'm sure it is going on the in the states as well. It is called the salt and ice challenge and beware. Apparently, students~usually teenagers, but could be younger if they are watching older siblings, friends, relatives do this and want to be like them~put salt on their arms...or skin to be technical...then they place an ice cube on the salt. Salt lowers the temperature of the ice, making it colder. So, doing this on the skin can result in 1st, 2nd, AND 3rd degree burns, which if not treated carefully can lead to infection...like gangrene, and can cause death. The salt and ice when placed together on your skin can lead to something like frostbite. Another consequence of the challenge will be scars where ever they have tried this. This is a very serious game...and at face value, if you aren't familiar with how salt can affect the temperature of ice, then you might not have thought how severe the consequences could be for this game. There are tell tale signs...just look at their arms, hands, etc (skin) and you will see what appears to be burn marks in the shapes of ice cubes. Share with them the possible outcomes of playing this "game". It's been said it is to show who has a higher pain tolerance, by who can hold the ice on there the longest. Please share this information with anyone that has children, grandchildren, relatives, friends, neighbors, teachers...anyone, even your enemies... that deals with children to be on the lookout for this new activity. I guess it's all over YouTube by teens that want to put these videos on there. However, they only show the milder cases, so kids don't really see the harm in it. There are cases of kids that are in ICU with 3rd degree burns, which are not shown on YouTube. Please be conscientious of this new thing going on with young people. We have been alerted of some students here at the school participating in this...2 that I know of from 6th grade alone. I had a girl faint in class this week, and from what I understand it was because of her doing this. Salt will also dry out your skin. So, maybe it caused her to become dehydrated? Any guesses on how it caused her to faint? So, I wanted to get the word out to those that may deal with kids of all ages. And to let parents know how dangerous the consequences can be for anyone participating. 

Okay, now on to something else. After church last night, the pastor's son, Jonathan, was playing down by the office last night. There were 2 baby kittens that he found. He found them in a trash can. We think they were placed there for safe keeping...they obviously could not get in them themselves. So, I held one that was the calmer of the two for a bit. She was so little and cute. I kept thinking, maybe I should keep it. The other one was way to hyper...wanting to keep moving. I mean, it would definitely help with the mouse problem in the apartment. Yet, I had to think about house training it. And if I did keep it, it would be used to people. Then what would I do with it when I left. You think people are cruel to animals in the states...people here torment and hurt cats and dogs and do not even think twice about it. So, if I took care of the cat and allowed it to be used to people, I could in fact be leading it to a certain death after I leave and have to let it go. So, in the end, I think it is best for the cat for me not to take it in...though it was really cute. I was able to hear the kitten crying this morning outside of my window. But when I went down, there was only one kitten, not two. Plus, over by the office door was the back leg, yes a severed leg, of what was left of either a mom or dad cat. So, I'm guessing the parent came back to find them and was faced with danger...and possibly saved one of the babies. Marshallese people do not see cats and dogs as pets as we do. There are a good bit of stray cats and dogs. The cats usually stay away from people. People, in general, do not like cats and dogs. A lot of my students say they have cats and dogs for pets. But they are not treated the same way Americans treat pets. For the most part, people are ok with puppies/kittens. It's when they get bigger and grow up, people stop caring for them, or torment them. Well, I will just have to wait for Miss Kitty and Maxine. Oh, the Taiwanese people have actually put an ad out in the newspaper...they will pay $8 per cat...wonder what they do the ones people sell to them. And some people here raise dogs to eat. If you think about it, God did create animals for meat...and dogs are animals. Not saying I plan on doing that, but who are we to judge what kind of meat they eat? 

Well, I will just leave it at that. We have Ladies' Bible Study tonight, so I guess I will start getting ready for that. 
Blessings. 
Sarah