After a long bout with writer's block, we are back at the typewriter with news.

MARCH 10-11: GUAM CONVENTION ARRIVALS AND TOURS

Here on Guam and Saipan - and I imagine some other kind of out-of-the-way places - convention is more than just the days of convention. The gatherings are small and often folks travel some distance to get here, so group activities during the days leading up to convention are varied.

On Tuesday, March 10, Debbie and I arrived in Guam from Saipan at about 4P. Marilyn and Sara were there, of course, but so were several of our Guam friends - there to greet us and the many friends and workers who would be arriving in the next couple hours.

Visiting friends included: Ron and Pat Rudolph from San Diego; Dean and Marion Stickland from Olympia; Peter and Marissa Brown from the island of Kwajalein; Micahel ? from the island of Pohnpei. We all stayed in hotels.

Visiting workers were: Cheri Fisk (UT); Tracy Staples (Manitoba); Barb Hofer (MT); Connie Surratt (SC); Brian Frandsen (HI); Larry Taylor (HI); Dale Wipf (Saskatchewan); Dan Farris (NC); Kent Williston (British Columbia); Jim Holt (OK). Workers all stayed in the homes of the Guam friends.

Peter, Marissa and Michael Workers and Guam friends meet Dale Wipf and Sara Dan Farris Marilyn, Marion, Dean, Sara Stickland Tracy Staples, Sara, Cheri Fisk Three Larrys

First thing Wednesday, we all (21 of us) headed up to Two Lovers' Point, where the legend say that

	The Legend of Puntan Dos Amantes (Two Lovers Point) Once long ago, in the time when Spain ruled Guam, there was a proud family living in Hagatna, the capital city.  The father was a wealthy Spanish aristocrat and the mother was the daughter of a great Chamorro chief.   The family owned land and were highly esteemed by all, Chamorro and Spanish alike. Their daughter was a beautiful girl, admired by all for her honesty, modesty, and perfectly natural charm.  Her beauty bestowed the greatest pride and dignity unto her family.
One day, the girl's father arranged for her to take a powerful Spanish captain as her husband.  When the girl discovered this, she was so distraught that she ran from Hagatna all the way to the north of Guam until she found a secluded and peaceful shore.There, on the moonlit shore, she met and fell in love with a young warrior from a very modest Chamorro family.  He was gentle, with a strong build, and had eyes that search for meaning in the stars.  When the girl's father learned of the two lovers, he grew angry and demanded that she marry the Spanish captain at once.  That day at sundown, she stole away to the same high point along the shore, and once again met her Chamorro lover. Her father, the captain, and all the Spanish soldiers pursued the lovers up to the high cliff above Tumon Bay.  The lovers found themselves trapped between the edge of the cliff and the approaching soldiers.  All the young warrior could do was warn them to stay back, and the father ordered the soldiers to halt.
The lovers tied their long black hair into a single knot.  And acting as if they were entirely alone, they looked deeply into each other's eyes and kissed for the final time.  Then they leaped over the long, deep cliff into the roaring waters below.Her father and all who remained rushed to the edge to stare in great anguish. Since that day, Chamorros have looked to the jutting peak above Tumon Bay with reverence.  The two lovers remain a symbol of true love--a love in which two souls are entwined forever in life and in death.  Forever after, the high point on the cliff was known as Two Lovers Point. Love locks Wall of love locks  Next stop was the War of the Pacific Museum. Like the Battle of Saipan, there was a Marine invasion of a Japanese-held island and many, many casualties, including Chamorro natives, before the US secured the island. 2-man Japanese sub - about 40 feet long Japanese machine gun Lunch followed at Asan Beach Watching the parasailing Tracy Staples contemplates Dan Farris, Larry Taylor, Pat Rudolph Dale Wipf after a sand crab  After lunch, some of us continued around the island - a 3-hour trip. One of our stops was the bay where Magellan first landed in 1521. The remainder of the trip was filled with beautiful vistas.  A special stop was made at the University of Guam to see "The Gospel Tree". Thirty years ago, Leo Stanclif and Larry Taylor set up a sign for Bible studies under this tree and spoke for three hours twice a week to any who would care to sit and listen. Larry-Michael-Connie-Kent-Brian-Larry Gospel tree(s) NEXT INSTALLMENT: CONVENTION WORKDAY