Riddle Missions

This morning (Sunday) I woke up to a call from the school principal. Trying my best to sound like I had been awake for a while, I asked what was up. He informed me that the school had been broken into over the weekend and I needed to be at the school as soon as possible. When I arrived I got to see what the criminal did. Apparently he kicked in the door to the main office and took some cash. He left all the computers, papers, etc. It's almost as if he knew where to look. He also kicked in the door to the principal's office and stole his ukulele again leaving computers, iPad, and the tools I had left in there. Thankfully we had video footage of the whole thing. The guy didn't notice until a few minutes in where he pulled the camera off the wall and turned it away from is criminal activity. But not before he gave us a creepy picture of him and a decent video. [caption id="attachment_732" align="alignright" width="416"] Creepy criminal dude[/capt...

Thanks everyone who responded to me with a question for my blog. I hope you all enjoy this second edition of Q&A. The first few questions come from Trudy Brajnikoff , 1. What do you need? Well I need prayer support most of all but in second place... Fritos... Maybe socks. 2. What food do you miss most? I'm guessing you all think I will say Taco Bell, but right now I really want my moms mashed potatoes and fri-chick, peas, and gravy for the potatoes. But it changes everyday. 3. Are there tools are you need that are hard to find there? I need to find a "texture gun" should have ordered it last week, too late by this point. Most tools I brought with me, I have a bigger selection than most of the stores here have. But there are a few things I can't find. 4. What things are hard to get but could easily be shipped at a fraction of the cost of purchasing there? Tools for sure, One drill cost enough for a whole top of the line Milwaukee Fuel drill set with extra batteries...

This week has been a very trying week for me. In a previous post I talked about how, 'if it could go wrong it did,' even now the internet is now working so I am typing this on Notepad. Yes Notepad. Not Microsoft Word. I relied so much on the internet back home I used Google Docs for everything and never saw a need for anything else. Anyway This was a rough week remodeling this place. I screwed up so many time y'all better start calling me Tim the Toolman Taylor. This week I learned alot about trust, and I want to tell you a bit about it. I have a very hard time trusting people mostly because of somethings that happened to me a few years ago. Sometimes this distrust can even creep over into my relationship with God. This story is about how I learned I can trust God no matter what is happening. This week in addition to hanging more sheet rock I was also learning to tile the shower room. Before I could seal off the final wall and start laying tile I had to run the waterlines f...

Today was just about the worst day I have had so far on the island. The project is coming to a slow down. Everything that could go wrong did. Well not everything. The house is still standing. Anyway, bad day lots of mistakes but nothing Taco Bell couldn't fix. I mean technically I have to fix it. But Taco Bell puts me in the right mindset to do so. I wanted to talk about Taco Bell for a minute. At first i wasn't too happy with it. everything tasted different. And prices were to higher (I will get to that in a minute) They never seem to have Mt Dew. But what I have realized is what they lack in being like the California Taco Bells, the make up for in NOT being like California Taco Bells. For starters the Saipan Taco Bell on its slowest day is faster than Windsor on its fastest day. I went in this evening less than 2 minutes. I know I haven't been here long enough to see what they are like long term. But in my defense I have already visited more than most people would in 3 mo...

Those of you who have been reading my blog know that I have been remodeling an apartment owned by the school here, adding a downstairs shower and a 4th bedroom for when the student missionaries arrive.  For those of you who haven't been reading my blog, start, its very interesting. Over the past few, days... weeks... months... wait how long have I been here? I have been taring into walls to repair waterline leaks and replace sheet rock among other things. Those of you familiar with construction know that there are specific guidelines and rules to follow when building something. Things like, studs go 16" apart, or there is a certain type a sheet rock you use in bathrooms because of excess moisture. When you deviate from these guidelines while you may not be affected, the next person to work on that place will be. In Saipan I am getting the feeling that the mentality is "whatever works." Which may work for a short time, but when the next person comes in to repair or u...

Today I received a letter letter (yes the paper kind, what year is this 1994) from my sister, Ashley Alipoon (almost wrote Riddle, Sorry Dom) anyway in this letter she said that she had 1000 questions for me that she wanted me to post on my blog, well I counted and it was much closer to 11. But nonetheless I thought it sounded like a fun idea, so here we go... 1. What do you need the most? I need prayer the most. I can get most of the things I need here on the island, except Fritos. I miss Fritos. 2. What is the island like? Well there is water everywhere. It's very hot and humid, My clothes are soaked in sweat in the first 45 minutes of work. Other than that very pretty, and very friendly. Probably more friendly than Texas. 3. What are you most excited about experiencing? Scuba diving is something that sounds fun to me. 4. What are the people like? Very friendly, and helpful. Every hardware store I go to, the employees try to help load up your car. 5. What was your Taco Bell Expe...

It has been a pretty rough week for me here on Saipan. I'm starting to really miss home. My friends, family, my Windsor Taco Bell. (Never after 8 pm though) Amazon Prime 2 Day Shipping. I miss my fast internet connection. It been a rough past few days. I appreciate any all prayers and support. I start most days at 7 am by heading to the school to take care of whatever needs done. It's different every day. I take an hour lunch then its back to work, until 4 when I head back to the compound. Lately after work I have been sneaking in a little extra work in the evenings. Looks like the Riddle in me is sticking to me even on the carefree islands. As I have written before the place I am staying now needs some work. The sheet rock on half of the house was falling apart. Water was getting in from somewhere so n the evening I have been removing the sheet rock looking for the leak. I was able to find it this afternoon and repair it. On Sunday I was taken on a short tour of the island. He...

As I sat at my desk in my room enjoying the air conditioner and all around comfort, I thought to myself, "You know what I really need? I need some hot humid, muggy, sticky weather." So I grabbed my camera, checked to make sure it survived the flight, (it did) and headed down stairs to the front door. As I opened the door and stepped outside I instantly thought, " What was I thinking"   (Pictures of Apartment Below) I walked around the compound a little bit, and then headed out the gate and down the road. Being new to the area I didn't want to go far especially in the heat and without a water bottle.  Quick side note, in Saipan you have to take water with you literally everywhere. All water on the island for drinking needs to be bottled. There are no water fountains in any of the stores or shops on the island. That is going to be a big adjustment. I've forgotten on just about every day so far and I have to go to the gas station and get a new one. Back to the...

I am very tired but its to early to go to bed so I though I would update everyone on my day. I just finished my first day in Saipan. For those who read yesterday you know the Airline lost one of my bags. Thank the Good Lord it came in today and I was able to pick it up. So glad i got all my stuff especially my camera equipment. I should be getting some pictures up in the next few days. In order to get my work status completed I had to get a health certificate, They took an x-ray of my lungs and asked me many times if I smoked even though the x-ray was fine which I though was weird. I also had to get a police clearance, lucky for me they did not uncover my criminal past. I still have not gotten my license. The DMV here seemed to think that Liberation Day (what they call the 4th)   is a two day Holiday extending into the 5th. I think the best part of my day was signing up for cell phone service. The deals here are great! Much better prices than the good old USA. I even get unlimited call...

After 26 hours of traveling I am finally in Saipan. The first leg of the flight from San Francisco was 14 hours, It was cramped but the in-flight media so it sorta made up for it. The whole way we were chasing the sun so it threw me off having 21 hours of daylight. During that flight we flew over, Alaska and Russia. [caption id="attachment_244" align="alignnone" width="452"] View over Alaska[/caption]   [caption id="attachment_243" align="alignnone" width="452"] View over Russia[/caption] [caption id="attachment_245" align="alignright" width="298"] View of Hong Kong[/caption] Once in the Hong Kong Airport I wondered around for a few hours waiting for United to update my e-ticket with the correct gate. I finally asked someone and they had the updated gate number for me so I made it. The second leg of the flight from Hong Kong to Guam and it left nearly an hour late. We did arrive late in Guam bu...

Today started out fairly well despite a few hiccups. Almost destroyed my laptop, lucky I got to it before it overheated to far.  Then once at the airport I dropped a large amount of money out of my pocket, somehow. Anyway, I did get through security very quickly so I had plenty of time to look for food. I ate and now I'm waiting at my gate for my flight.  Here is a short video from the airport. Sorry for the poor quality, I had to make do with my cell phone. You may need to turn the volume up to hear. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVW42Fkd-Mw

I'm coming in on the last two days on the mainland, and I'm starting to get pretty excited. Everything is packed, (I hope) and I'm looking through my last bit of stuff to see if I need to ship anything by mail to avoid the 200 dollar minimum weight overage charge for luggage sent on the plane. Yes 200 dollars. Not something I want to deal with. Stupid airline... As I leave I think I think about all the good times I have had working and living at Rio over the last 26 years. Thank-you to everyone who has helped me, supported me, taught me, and befriended me. You all have helped me become the person I am. Living in a place like Rio I have realized that the people who live here are not just co-workers, neighbors, and friends you all are like family. I will miss you all and I will miss working for/ with you, but am excited for my next adventure. Take care, stay in contact, and until next time Have a Happy Sabbath.