my garden on Rota 3

Still rainy season in the Mariana Islands - love the brief but big downpours almost every other day. Of lately, whenever it starts coming down real hard, always think about the water spinach in the front garden, which thrive on water. Never have to worry about overwatering kangkong (aka, water spinach, water cress, swamp spinach). Only in its 6th week, made the first harvest the other day, "Yum,  fresh kong xin tsai in my instant noodles!" For sure, no pesticides in those veggies.

 

The lemon basil plants have all fully matured and are pretty much on auto pilot. Whenever a bud starts sprouting, on any of the 7 or 8 plants, is a signal to cut off the leaves just below the bud (otherwise, the plant will flower, produce seeds, and the leaves will not taste as good). Eventually, one of the lemon basil plants will be allowed to flower. In the mean time - collecting leaves and drying them (already harvested quite a bunch of leaves).

The overall health of the front garden is quite good - Tokyo green onions get harvested next week, cayenne peppers still need a few more weeks, the kangkong is mature and being harvested, and the lemon basil - you already know.

Really pleased with the progress on the calamansi tree (an eastern hemisphere species of lemon tree) and the tangerine tree in the front garden. When there's time, the calamansi tree will get aome creative pruning, so it'll look better in its small planter.

 

In the previous posting of, "my gardens on Rota," promised to show you the back garden. So, here goes -

The back garden was pretty rocky. Had to process the soil, which takes a lot of work to get topsoil, which is what garden vegetables need the most (unless you're doing hydroponics). Here's the tools I find most useful for vegetable garden preparation in the back garden - pickaxe, small shovel, and a DIY dirt sifter (made from a discarded termite infested window frame and wire mesh, larger than your ordinary window screen).

Perhaps the most useful of all is an old discarded clothes dryer - that's where all the good soil is stored, mixed with all the organic garbage from the kitchen (compost bin). Use the small shovel to mix up the organic garbage with the dirt, from time to time.

The only things in the back garden now are Tokyo green onions, cayenne peppers, 3 or 4 calamanai trees, and one kaffir lime tree.

You might be wondering, "Hey, what happened to all the papaya trees?" Finally realized, thanks to some friends, the jungle variety of papaya trees on this island are not sweet - major bubble burst. Not giving up on papaya - just need to order some good seeds, if they're not too expensive. Do wild papaya trees still have some use? Indeed they do - they look beautiful and provide some shade.

That's it for now. Laters. 🙂

tiny sparrow

This morning did some routine catching up on the front and back gardens - taking pictures, documenting growth times, watering, trimming, pulling up unplanted vegetation in grow areas. In between the gardening tasks, was also watching Star Wars and finishing up a late breakfast, when it  started to rain - came down heavy. Always like to go out to the front garden and watch the rainwater gurgle out of a spout into the water spinach canals.

Watching the rainwater innundate the kangkong (its what we call water spinach, on Rota), I noticed a very small sparrow clinging to the wire mesh fence I set up around the base of a papaya tree next to the  garden. It's no big deal to see a sparrow - there's always dozens twittering around at any time during the day. It became aparent the sparrow was having some kind of problem on the fence. After a closer look - the sparrow stuck its head into a place on the fence where two ends of the wire mesh were tied togther with string.

There's no way the bird could get its head out - the sparrow was really distressed. So, gently pulling back the two ends of the fence, was able to get the sparrow's head free from the spikey edges of the wire mesh. Wasn't sure if it was going to live or not. Might have been loads of damage to the sparrow's neck - a tuft of feathers was left stuck in the fence after the bird was freed. Didin't notice any blood.

It would have been so cool if the sparrow would have just ruffled its wings and flew off (that's what I was hoping, anyway). But, the sparrow seemed traumatized, just clinging to the fence with its tina claws, not moving, not making a sound.

Completely ignorant of proper bird care, really didn't know what to do. Couldn't stop thinking of that Bible verse, "His eye is on the sparrow...so He also cares for me." Kept getting this idea to go touch the sparrow and pray for it. Went over and put my fingers on its head and asked the Lord for healing - "All those who believe in Jesus Christ, shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover." Returned to the porch and kept watching the bird just clinging there, continuing to pray for it and believe God's word about healing.

Was very glad to see the bird drop off the fence and perch in the grass nearby. Have to admit, was having my doubts, but God's word is true no matter what. The bird kept perching there in the grass, unmoving, silent. Watched for a short while, then started to get another thought, "Take some water (for the garden), and pour some on the bird. At first I ignored the thought,  but it kept coming back to me, "Water the bird." So, I grabbed a small tin can, always used for watering plants individually, and poceeded to pour water on the sparrow. It got irritated, fluffed up its wings, slowly moved to another spot in the grass, and continued to perch.

Went back into the apartment to finish the Star Wars movie. Much later, decided to check on the bird, hoping it would be gone - nope, still there, unmoving. Started thinking that by tomorrow, it'll probably be dead. Then, got that same idea again, "Pour some more water on it."

This time, made sure the can was full all the way to the top. went to the bird, stood over it, and started pouring water on it. As the bird moved from the water splashing on it, I followed it, and kept pouring the water in a steady stream. Just as I ran out of water, the tiny sparrow stood up on its feet, spread both its wings, and bolted up into the sky, flying at least 30 yards, way to the other side of the apartment building. it flew very strong and very fast - Wow Lord, that was pretty cool. The same power that raised Christ from the dead, restores and heals the damaged and injured. That sparrow is singing God's praises.

None of that made sense to me - completely insane. Thing is, God really does care about us and all living things, even the most insignificant.

Tore down that wire mesh fence right away.

without the bike

Been enjoying walking around the Village (what people call Songsong Village on Rota) without the bike. The back derailer broke - was riding through some heavy vegetation, and a vine took out a key part. Time to slow down and take things one step at a time. Thought about a trip to Sinapalu in a week  (9 miles from where I live), ordered the part, hoping I wouldn't have to walk there.

Don't usually pray this way, but it was like, "Lord, if the part doesn't arrive in time, please give me a ride, or rides, to Sinapalu and back, in Jesus name, amen, and thanks in advance." Felt like it was the early 1970's when we used to hitchhike 20 miles to go to Jesus rallies in downtown Kansas City - God always answered our prayers and whoever picked us up,  always got to hear about Jesus. My dad put a stop to the hitchhiking, and that's how my mom came to Jesus - she had to drive us to the Jesus rallies, got bored waiting outside in the car, went in, and ended up giving her life to Jesus.

So, the bicycle part didn't arrive in time. Got up at 4:00 am, walked out the door at 5, and headed for Sinapalu. When the tropical sun gets up in the sky, it can get really hot. Got to Teteto Beach in two hours, which by bike only takes 30 minutes. Decided not to stick out my thumb walking along the west coast of the island - love to watch the waves hitting the reef, and listen to the different birds making their noises. Saw two big fruit bats before sunrise. Enjoy all the smells and sounds that come from the dense jungle along the road.

After the rest break at Teteto Beach, started thinking of the very steep road ahead, which snakes it's way up to the highest elevations on the island. Always glad to get plenty of exercise, prepared my mind for the climb up the mountain, with many rest breaks at every shady spot along the road. Just as the road turned away from the beaches, heading up the mountain, an old car pulled up - inside was an elderly couple (must have been at least 70). The driver said something like, "Want a ride? Get in." Couldn't stop saying thanks. The driver said something to me, "You know how it is, when you get old, you just don't have as much strength as you used to, and can't do as much as before." Asked him if he was from Rota. "Born and lived here all my life." Just had to say, 'You must have seen a lot of changes." He said something like, "Changes, yes, but always very slow, never fast. And people are still friendly and help their neighbors." Think he said other things, but it wasn't the words they gave me - getting out of their old car, a tremendous peace (hard to describe) filled  my mind and my whole body. Wow, I was in Sinapalu in a matter of minutes, not hours, didn't feel tired, hot, or even sweaty.

Had business to take care of in Sinapalu. As I walked up to the place, many people waiting outside said hello. Had to go in first, sign in, and then wait. Loads of people waiting outside right at 9:00 am when things get started. There's always a certain comradery among all of us waiting for the same thing - plenty of small talk. There's always a comment about whose at the top of the list this month, which generates lots of smiles. But this time, to follow the Chamarro custom, my name is called first (because I was the oldest person there that day). Business finished and back on the road, walking back to the Village, but with thumb sticking out. In just a few minutes, a young couple pulled up in a big new American pickup truck, asked, "Where you going?" I said, "The Village."  Then, "Where in the Village?" I said, "Anywhere is OK." The reply, "Get in."

Ridden in the back of many trucks while doing construction work in Florida, but never ever like people do here on Rota. Every day, any time of the day have seen people riding in the back of a pickup truck, sitting on a big board across the bed and up against the cab. That way you ride high in the truck and can see everything, even more than the driver. Always wanted to do that but never had the opportunity. The ride back to the Village, in the back of that massive new pickup truck, the jungle, the beaches, the waves, the reef, all the birds and the palm trees - best ride I've ever had (right up there with a good motorcycle ride).

They let me off at one of my favorite grocery stores and wouldn't accept any money for gas. This sounds really corney, for sure, but they actually seemed happy to give me a ride, which like the"peace" riding with the elderly couple, has gotten into my mind.

Walked into the store, and there's a man amko (senior citizen) friend looking at his cellphone. Leaving the store, had learned a new vocabulary word, and the answer for all the anemic plants in my garden - a serious concern these past two weeks. Stopped by the post office on the way back to the apartment - the bicycle part had arrived.

So glad the bike broke down. Just love the way God does stuff.

my garden on Rota 2

Hello again. Hope you enjoyed the last post. With this post, would like to show you, mostly, all the trees - one tangerine, quite a few lemon, one kaffir lime, and loads of papaya (my fav).

To get a better perspective, here's  the big picture of the front garden - one long cement planter (calling it the "front main planter"), and two smaller cement planters for trees.

As you can see in the picture, the main planter is right above the title and date of the photo. The smaller two planters are on the far left, and a single papaya tree is on the far right.

Seriously ravaged by caterpillars, the lemon tree in this front garden had already been pronounced dead.  I mean, it was practically only dead branches, with a few leaves here and there. No wonder there are so many beautiful butterflies flittering around. So, what the heck, prune, prune, prune, cut, cut, cut. Besides, the lemon tree branches are so cool. They are like nature's barbed wire. Used all the branches as part of a fence on the main planter, to keep the dogs out. The crown of thorns Jesus wore, must have been lemon tree branches.

Concerned that I had cut back too much. Actually, a day or two after taking this photo, that one tall green branch got cut off as well. Used an old hacksaw blade to cut, and later discovered the cuts should have been made at a 45 degree angle, and bees wax should have been applied to prevent intrusion of mold or plant diseases. One more important thing - lemon trees should only be pruned at certain times of the year. Hey, this is my garden, we only have two seasons here - rainy and not so rainy. The temperature is the same every day, 365 days a year, at about 82 degrees F, with only a variation of 2 or 3 degrees at any time during the year.

Was a little worried the cutting was taken too far. But, it totally bounced back to life with all kinds of new and healthy growth. Learned some important lessons with this tree as related to all the citrus trees in the garden - cut off any diseased leaves and branches any time. Also, relocate all caterpillars hanging out on the citrus trees to other locations in the jungle. One last thing - cut off all leaves, at their base, that have been 25-75% eaten. Ideally, when I go to check their leaves for caterpillars, I should only see whole green leaves.

The next tree in the front garden is the tangerine tree, in the planter next to the lemon tree you just read about. When it came under my care, although it was quite healthy, it had grown into a wierd looking gangly plant with green leaves. Sorry, didn't take a picture when it was in it's wierdness. Same worries as the prunning of the lemon tree - whatever, cut, cut, cut,  prune, prune, prune. Look closely at the photo and you can see the stumps of the very large branches that all got wacked off.

Again, like the lemon tree, the results turned out quite beautiful. Now both the tangerine tree and the lemon tree in the front garden are back in the game. No more large lines of ants marching up and down their long dead branches - new growth, new leaves, so pleasing to look at.

To some, the papaya trees are even more interesting. They are everywhere on this lovely tropical island. They grow incredibly fast, almost anywhere. Started loving papaya a long time ago, as a missionary in Taiwan. When I couldn't get a freshly made mango smoothie, I'd order a papaya lemon smoothy. Always did the trick on a really hot day. Now, as a senior citizen (on Rota, we are called man amko), not only does papaya taste yummy, it does wonders for the old digestive system. Here's the papaya tree that gave the inspiration to start getting serious about cultivating my own. It was growing in a cement crack right next to my back door. Transplanted it to a place near the front main planter where it could get full sunlight and plenty of rain. Also put a small wire fence around it, to insure it's survival from the bush cutters.

A dog or dogs took two big dumps near the tree. Quite grateful for the stinky suggestions, I put them both at the base of the tree, at different times, and covered them with dirt to keep the flies away. Unreal - Papaya tree # 1 has been growing like gangbusters.

Living and learning - papaya tree # 1 is growing super fast, but it's not a sure thing any fruit will come of it. Learned that there are always 3 kinds of papayas - female, male, and hermaphrodite. Papaya farmers in Hawaii always plant 3 papaya seeds together, which means they will have a 97% chance of getting fruit. Obviously, the female papaya will only bear fruit if pollinated, while the hermaphrodite papaya is self-pollinating. Albeit, under certain circumstances, a hermaphrodite papaya tree has been known to morph into a female or male tree. For this reason, in my front and back gardens, papaya tree # 1 is the only one solitude, by itself - all the others are in groups of three or more. Very soon, we should be able to know if papaya tree # 1 is male, female, or hermaphrodite. If it's not posted in the near future, please ask me, and I'll tell you.

master of orchestration

God is the master of orchestration as we know full well when we consider the lives of Joseph, Esther, Moses, Daniel, and really, every person in the Bible.

If our Abba Father has chosen us to be joint heirs with Jesus Christ, it's just logical that He is actively orchestrating our lives, even now. We can be sure His elaborate advanced planning and detailed execution of every act in this ongoing play, of which we all have our parts, is for His ultimate purpose and glory, not ours.

Our natural tendency is to do everything our way, then we pray and hope for God's validation. As we skew off from God's narrow path, we quickly become blind from our intense subjectivity. As time progresses and our hearts harden, devoid of His sweet presence, we recreate God into our own image - redefining Him in our own terms  - God becomes one of our many idols.

God goes to great lengths to keep His side of the covenant we made with Him when we recognized Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. Quite shamefully, I admit there were many times I turned my back on God and even tried to run from Him. Other times, like a dumb lost sheep, only following the meal in front of my nose, completely oblivious to where the rest of the flock had been led. And yet, the Lord always came after me, and got me back on the path. He will never let me back out of this relationship of 49 years, as of 2019.

Through a number of situations, God took me to Henan, China, a "nowhere" city in the poorest and most populated place in China. Originally headed for Alaska, He brought me to the Marianas Islands, the poorest of all territories belonging to the USA. It's not "where we are", but, "who we are walking with."

Like a small little boy, who so idolizes his dad's every word, every action, every look, with one small hand held by God's, it's much easier to go or do anything He wants. To walk with God, hand in hand, is the pure grace and mercy of the Lord. Enoch was 65 years old before he started walking with God. At the age of 350, the Bible says, "Enoch was not." Didn't Adam walk with the Lord in the cool of the morning? Can't help but ask the questions - "Was that a daily thing, month after month, or did he just walk with the Lord a few times before falling from grace?"

Point being, God is and continues to orchestrate everything just to get us to gladly and eagerly walk with Him hand in hand.

my garden on Rota 1

It all started with a WW2 rusted pickaxe head hanging on the back wall of this apartment on the edge of the jungle - the only tool really needed for jungle gardenining on a tropical island such as Rota.

 

Often thought how cool it would be to start a garden - no place to plant anything at the apartment. Never thought much of the three cement planters in the front - full of ugly unkemp white flowers, and two half-dead citrus trees. Then one day a kind neighbor said something like, "Hey Jerry, you can get rid of those flowers if you like. That lemon tree's dead, and there might be some hope for the tangerine tree."

Two and a half months later - what's this, a garden in the front, and a garden in the back? The main idea of these gardens is to spend no money, buy nothing from the store, except for seeds, and use anything and everything around the house or from the nearby adjacent jungle (without stealing, of course).  In the Mariana Islands, especially on this island, Rota, a person must always have permission.

After many failed attempts to germinate outdated seeds, which were purchased at an outragious discount at the local hardware store, one small lemon basil seedling popped through the surface of the soil at a place it wasn't even planted (the lemon basil seeds cost 10 cents, and were terribly outdated). That single lemon basil plant has become the point of the spear, so to speak, of all the plants in both gardens. Harvested once already, with two more weeks before reaching full maturity, it's become a true beauty.

 

So, the front main cement planter was the first to get the working end of the WW2 rusted pickaxe. Only certain things grow well on tropical islands. For that reason the first grow consists of cayenne pepper plants, Tokyo bunching green onions, and lemon basil. All of these can be grown year round. Had to get the seeds through Walmart, over the internet. The seeds themselves were not expensive, but to get them here to Rota is double the cost.

Here's the front main planter. Everything is about half way along, except that one lemon basil plant that will be fully mature in two weeks.

 

Right below the main planter, discovered a rainwater run-off spout. What tropical plant needs loads of water and is super easy to grow? You guessed it, water spinach, aka kong xin tsai. That and eggplant have to be the most yummy veggies on God's good earth.

Finally got the water spinach seeds (also very cheap). The very day of their arrival, seeds were planted for germination. Out of the 7 or 8 planted for germination, only three popped out of the soil.These water spinach seeds are something out of Jack and the Beanstalk. Their rate of growth is totally mind boggling - truly a robust and prolific species of vegetable.

There's much more, like the citrus trees, the papya trees, the back garden, as well as soil preparation, and the composting bin. Eggplant seeds will be ordered next week. 

Please feel free to post comments or ask questions. Thanks for visiting.

cut it off

Love to watch science fiction movies or TV programs like Star Wars or Star Trek – anything about space travel seems to always catch my interest. This one movie, Gravity, had a scene in it where George Clooney, an experienced NASA astronaut, made a very difficult decision – disconnect the tether that kept he and Sandra Bullock, a research scientist sent to repair the Hubble, connected. Floating in space, entangled in prematurely deployed parachute line, Sandra Bullock’s life was saved as a result of George Clooney’s course of action. Disconnecting the tether meant he would drift out into space, run out of oxygen, and die.

Jesus Christ posed this same kind of decision to his disciples when he told them, “If your eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out, and if your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off. It’s better to enter heaven without an eye or a hand than to find yourself in hell.”

Could be wrong, but I don’t really think Jesus was using some scare tactic to get his disciples to live a holy life for God. It’s more like He was telling them what can really happen to a person who believes in God but neglects to make right an area of compromise in their life – almost like giving his friends a heads-up  about how things will really turn out (no sugar coating for sure).

Someone made a comment, “You’re trying to brainwash people into believing God.” Have been thinking about that, “Yes indeed, if you want to use those words." The word of God washes away all the dust and dirt (in a metaphorical sense) we Christians pick up in our day to day lives. We eagerly read the Bible, knowing the Holy Spirit takes those words to not only clean us, but to feed our hungry hearts. We don’t just live on food, we live on every word that comes from God – of course the Bible is the best place to find them.

Love to go to church and hear people preach out of the Bible or fellowship with other Christians who actually live their lives based on their understanding of God’s words – even the more difficult principles.

Perhaps the hardest thing for any of us is to not compromise our values, especially in this day and age. Reading the Old Testament, it’s sad to learn  how God’s chosen people, Israel, veered so far off course from the Lord’s purpose, resulting in catastrophic consequences in the land of milk and honey. It’s not like they weren’t forewarned what might happen if they ignored God and went their own way. Perhaps most of the children of Israel didn’t even have a clue who God is, much less what He desires for His people. Pre Jesus Christ, Israel ended up more estranged from God than all their neighbors, who never even had an interest in this Jewish monotheistic deity. It wasn't just a religious thing, either. Right before Israel was dissolved as a nation, as it was in King David and King Solomon's time, sacrificing your kids by burning them in a fire, was quite common place.

Sorting through all the historical stuff, prophesies, geneologies, inspiring stories, etc. in the Old Testament, reading between the lines, you can see it’s all very much like our present day Christian church, or even our very own walk with the Lord.

For a person who wants to follow Jesus wholeheartedly, like my Mom was,  the only alternative to compromise is understanding the word of God (the Holy Spirit, as well as other brothers and sisters in the Lord, can also graciously help us in this area), and taking the appropriate course of action, with God’s wisdom, of course. Getting God’s wisdom is pretty straight forward – we just ask him for it, and He gives it to us liberally. The hardest part is in the “doing” of God’s word. But, even with that, the Lord is right there to encourage and help us to do the right thing. How easy can it be to hack off your own arm or gouge out one of your eyeballs?

Cutting off a relationship, or deciding to stop hanging out with certain people, or determining to not do certain things anymore, can be extremely painful and difficult to accomplish. We can’t forget that all things are possible with God, and He provides all our needs according to His riches in glory through Christ our Lord – even when we desperately need His help to carry out difficult decisions.

We can do it – get rid of the high places, the idols, the compromising relationships, and desist from knowingly going into places and things we know in our heart of hearts are uncool with our loving Aba Father. It's not that we should be afraid of anyone, be afraid to go anywhere, or be afraid to do anything - what I thought were all "churchy does and don'ts," in retrospect, were warnings of rabbit holes up ahead (really getting tired of falling down so many rabbit holes, over and over again, some of which wasted years of my time, and all of which would make Alice's look like a PG version).

What can happen when we follow Jesus with all we’ve got and all we are? Hope you want to find out – I sure do.