That Old Black Magic (an update)

Police discloses name of black magic woman
Police yesterday disclosed the identity of the woman who performed black magic on the seat of a Superior Court judge. Department of Public Safety spokesman Eric David said that Anna Joseph Paul, a Pohnpeian, would be charged with conspiracy along with her alleged cohort, David Yanneris. Yanneris, another Pohnpeian facing five traffic charges before Lizama's courtroom, allegedly ordered Paul to put the judge under a spell so that the magistrate would be lenient with him. David said Yanneris would be charged with criminal mischief. Citing an investigation report, David said Paul smeared soil substance on the judge's chair, microphone and desk area last Monday. Crime scene probers went to the courthouse Monday to take photographs of the microphone, seat cushion, and desk calendar that were stained with a dark substance. "The substance was made to make the judge feel sorry for the defendant [Yanneris]," the DPS spokesman said. "Mr. Yanneris had used the substance numerous times and it had worked." After the court's Marshal officers turned over Paul to police Monday, lawmen released her from custody because she was the only one attending to her kids, the spokesman said. Jess Santos, the chief of the court's Marshal Service, spotted the woman and Yanneris through the courthouse's security cameras and video monitor. Yanneris stayed at the public entrance of Lizama's courtroom, as Paul performed her black magic on the judge's seat while the courtroom was empty. The incident happened before noontime last Monday on the day Yanneris was scheduled to attend an afternoon hearing on five traffic charges, including driving under the influence of alcohol and reckless driving. Santos accosted the woman at the courthouse's lobby and asked her about the incident, before turning her over to police.
Story by Contributing author

That Old Black Magic!

Here is an example taken from an article in yesterday's Saipan Tribune of beliefs that are still prevalent in the cultures of the western Pacific Islands:

Black magic woman caught

Police is investigating a woman who allegedly performed black magic on a Superior Court judge's seat while the courtroom was empty. Unknown to the woman, the Marshal's office was monitoring her activities through security cameras. Police reportedly arrested the woman shortly, but it did not disclose the person's identity nor that of the judge as of press time.

The woman allegedly poured a black substance on a judge's seat, desk, and microphone. The Marshal's office later took custody of the judge's seat cushion, desk calendar and microphone, which showed dark stains. Superstitious practices that persist in the Northern Marianas believe that a type of black magic may inflict pain on the person who gets in contact with the substance. It is also believed to put the person under a magic spell, controlling his decisions.

As of press time, the police did not specify the charges that could be brought against the woman. The Department of Public Safety's crime scene investigators responded to the courthouse yesterday to probe the case. Crime scene investigator Joey M. Benavente went to the Marshal's office, where he took photographs of the stained microphone, desk calendar and seat cushion. Marshal officers said that their chief, Jess Santos, spotted the woman on the video monitor, while she was allegedly doing her incantations. Santos, however, could not be interviewed yesterday, as he attended a jury selection process in the afternoon in connection with a criminal trial.

Story by John Ravelo

Saipan Photos

Del Benson - Saipan

If you're interested, click on the link above for some beautiful photographs of the island of Saipan. This is the website of our branch president and good friend Del Benson.
If you look closely at the picture of Justin in the elephant ears (blown up for the occasion!), you'll see Alexa peeking out from behind a "tree". And in the photo taken at Talafofo Falls, Mal is crouching right in the middle of the picture. Oh--and if you think you see Del wink at you--you did! Take a look around the rest of the site; you may find another Conner here and there...Enjoy!

I thought you might like to see this picture of Mal's Japanese class. . . she's in the middle. . . . (click for a larger pic.)

Miscellaneous

I taught the kids to play "Mille-Bornes" Friday, so the three youngest ones have been at Casey and me to play this weekend. Ezra is all excited right now because he just won a hand. He tells me that he had a "Puncture Proof" safety card in his hand and so proceeded to plead with Eden to give him a "popped tire." As he says, he "koo-foorayed her."
Yesterday afternoon we all went to the Flametree Arts Festival at American Memorial Park. It's always fun to be there with the island music and dancers and the smoky barbecues wafting their delicious smells throughout. It's colorful and crowded and usually very muggy, but yesterday it was just beautiful with a pleasant off-shore breeze. The kids got their annual allotment of cotton candy, and we all had sticks of barbecued chicken and pork for supper. Mallory and Kaitlyn walked around with some of Mal's friends and bought a couple of shell necklaces and had their picture taken.
Alexa called the other day to tell me that she got a supervisor job for the summer with the Acadia Corporation in Bar Harbor (actually, I think the place she'll be working is in Salisbury Cove). Mallory had an interview that night with the same company, and we think she'll probably be hired as well.
I am concerned about Alexa driving cross-country this summer by herself, especially because she's been having some back trouble. It sounds like she has a pinched nerve--maybe sciatica. I'm hoping that Levi can fly out to Texas and drive with her.

Volcano!

Early Wednesday morning, around 3:30 a.m., the volcano on Anatahan erupted with an ash plume that went 50,000 feet high! We're about 75 miles south of there, and it took a bit for us to figure out what was going on. As the sun came up, I could see light all around the horizon, but overhead it was very dark--it looked so strange! All I could think of was a lid coming down on a pot. Later, when I went out to go downtown, my windshield looked as if someone had put a handful of mud on it and it had all slid down and accumulated on my windshield wiper. Here is a picture from today's Saipan Tribune.

7 a.m. to 12 p.m. Wednesday, April 6, 2005

The "Eddie-Factor"

Sunday morning in Church we were getting ready to sing the Sacrament hymn ("I Stand All Amazed"), and I played the introduction and Taylor Smith (the chorister), began the song and man! I didn't know what the problem was, but Taylor and I were half way through the first line while the congregation was still singing the first word! They were really dragging. Taylor had to actually hesitate to wait for them to catch up to her and I had to drop a few notes to adjust, and they did finally pick it up a little bit.
Later on, I asked Casey what he thought might have happened that everything got soooo off--it was as if the congregation didn't even know we were there. He said, "Two words: the Eddie-Factor." Oh well, I can't fault somebody because they love to sing... Casey's usually singing just as loudly and can balance him out, but this time he was adminstering at the Sacrament table. Well, if Brother E. can lead an entire congregation over a piano and a chorister, he'll be a shoo-in for Branch President someday!

"Whatsoever Things Are True..."

I am at a loss to understand "authorities" (not General Authorities), who publish paper after paper, book after book on their "research" as to where the Book of Mormon supposedly takes place and who the descendents of the Book of Mormon people are.

First of all, we are told in the Book of Mormon that the whole face of the land was changed by the destructive events that are recorded in 3rd Nephi. How can researchers, at least LDS researchers who believe the record to be a true account (and hey, maybe I'm the one making assumptions), assume that landmarks referred to in the Book of Mormon prior to those events are even in existence today? Why are they looking for rivers and other physical features that may have been gone a very long time ago? Even without the natural disasters recorded in the book, the lay of the land changes over a long period of time. In a place we used to live in Maine, there was a tarn at the base of a small mountain that we passed daily. In the seven years that we lived there, the tarn went from being a pretty little pond to almost being able to mow it! Granted, it's a miniscule example, but I could hardly give a personal attestation to the effects of thousands of years. It makes my point--physical things change! (Had a look in the mirror lately?)

Also, it seems to me that the words spoken by the Lord and his prophets concerning these things are largely ignored in favor of the discoveries of men. Joseph Smith, Jr., who even the most diehard history "expert" would have to agree was the foremost authority on the Book of Mormon, seemed to have somewhat general ideas on where the Book of Mormon peoples were. Yet, once a person is dead, meanings of words and writings can be manipulated to support almost any theory. We do it to the Founders on a regular basis ("...the Founding Fathers did not intend..."or "...the Founding Fathers fully expected..."), and to the Bible as a matter of course.

All truth is important, but is it all equally important? And is it equally important at the same time and in the same situation? The Book of Mormon tells us that by the power of the Holy Ghost, we may know the truth of all things. I don't believe any of the researchers and authors will be able to "prove" their theories or fully substantiate their research until the purpose of the book is fulfilled--to testify to all the nations of the earth that Jesus is the Christ and through faith on his name we can be saved.

Dance Class

Mallory is teaching Jacob to dance. Why? Because our teenagers have been invited to a birthday party for Taylor Smith this Friday which includes a dance...and Jacob wants to dance. Why? Because Jacob is interested in girls and dancing and the Fifties...its a Fifties Dance. We bought the movie, Bye, Bye Birdie and he has been sold on the decade ever since. Jake still keeps in touch with a girl he met in Maine last summer and likes to talk with his friends about girls in the branch. The reason I am so intrigued by this is that of the 5 kids who have entered into their teenage years so far in our home, this is the first one that has openly shared many of their ponderings on boy-girl relations. I thought for a while that the other kids didn't have any--just sweet and innocent--I was dumb. Jacob wants to know if he's good-looking, if any girl has shown an interest in him to any of his friends, if he is creating any buzz. He and his friends talk about which girls are nice, cute, etc. I was interested tonight to hear him talking with Mallory about which girl in the branch he and/or his friends think is the cutest and I asked what about this particular girl. He said that although she was really pretty, she watches a lot of R-rated movies and does things that he didn't think were very good. As Mallory put it, "Pretty, but not attractive." Sounds discriminating--a good thing that I hope will continue. For now, I just enjoy watching them dance.

Easter

As Easter arrives again, I am impressed once more by the sacredness I feel around this holiday. Here is a quote from the April 2005 New Era by President Boyd K. Packer:
"The Lord provides ways to pay our debts to Him. In one sense we ourselves may participate in an atonement. When we are willing to restore to others that which we have not taken, or heal wounds that we did not inflict, or pay a debt that we did not incur, we are emulating His part in the Atonement."
Returning good for evil--a simple concept, yet so difficult in practice. It's no wonder that sins and mistakes and errors were a foregone conclusion. A savior needed to rescue us from... ourselves.

An Ezra-ism

An excerpt from a letter Casey sent to Levi and Alexa:

We were at the dinner table tonight and the conversation turned to some comments on your Great-Great-Grandfather Higgins (your Great-Grammy Boone's father). Your mother was telling the family how his wife had died in childbirth and he had gone on to raise 9 kids on his own. Kaitlyn asked how he could raise a baby if there was no mother to feed it; Ezra asked about how babies eat. "I've never seen a baby eat. How do they eat Mom?" Mallory answered that the mother feeds them with her milk. He looked confused and then Mom said that the mother holds the baby like this (as she cradled her arms across herself). Ezra said "So how does the baby eat?" Mom said, "From the mother's breast." Ezra stopped for a moment and then sat upright and looked across the table at Mallory while placing his hands on his chest and with raised eyebrows says "These?" "Yeah" I said. "Look Ez, after a woman has a baby, her breast makes milk that comes out of her nipples and the baby drinks it." Then Ezra turned and looked straight at mom's chest for a few moments with a slightly surprised look on his face. It was so funny we couldn't help but laugh, which rarely bothers Ezra. He is a funny little guy.

All The Things I Never Thought of before, I Learned in Saipan

• Green coconuts are better than brown coconuts.
• Not all halls have walls.
• A banana is the berry of an herb.
• Just about anything can be pickled.
• All Americans are wealthy and have it easy.
• Lips can be used as pointers.
• There are Filipenos, Filipenas, and Filipenonas.
• A beautiful face can be ruined by a smile.
• A baby's sex can be decided after birth.
• People who speak other languages don't understand their own countrymen's accented English any better than I do.
• You don't have to know someone--at all--to marry them.
• A sniff is as good as a kiss.
• Many young Japanese have orange hair.
• There are male cows.
• Dogs can tell if you've ever eaten one.
• Cattle rustling is alive and well.
• In the Atlantic-a hurricane; in the Pacific-a typhoon; in the Indian-a cyclone.
• Typhoons come from the east, tsunamis from the west.
• Some places only have two seasons: hotter and cooler.

A Very Special Visit

Last night we had a very special evening here in our little Saipan Branch of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We were visited by President Boyd K. Packer, the acting president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and Elder David A. Bednar, also of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.
President Packer and Elder Bednar were on Saipan for a re-fueling stop on their way back from meeting with government officials in the tsunami-ravaged areas of Indonesia. They were scheduled to be on island for only 45 minutes, but they wanted to make the 15 minute trip to the chapel to meet with us and we were thrilled!
There were about 150-200 in the chapel for the 6 P.M. meeting, but we soon found out that their arrival had been delayed until 6:30. When they finally arrived at 6:45, we were all seated as we had been instructed and rose as they took the stand. We had been told no greetings, no handshaking, no photos, no questions because of no time...that was okay with us, we were happy just to have this opportunity.

After the opening hymn and prayer, Elder Bednar spoke. It was wonderful. He talked mainly to the young people and encouraged them to exercise their faith and not be afraid in this day of disasters and upheaval. He said that when he was young, the U.S. went through the Cuban Missile Crisis and he used to wonder if the world would end before he'd have a chance to meet the girl of his dreams or see what his children would look like. Then he instructed us to listen carefully while he read Helaman 5:12. That's such a powerful scripture...I don't know how the rest of the world gets by without the Book of Mormon. Anyway, he also made a point of speaking about agency and read Moses 7: 32-33. He reminded us that agency wasn't a free-for-all of doing whatever, wherever, whenever. We were given our agency in order to choose to follow God. He also talked to the young men about preparing now to be missionaries. He emphasized that he was not just talking about going on a mission--getting a mission call, wearing a white shirt and name tag--but being missionaries.
After the meeting, both Jacob and Mallory confided to us that they had often worried about the same things that Elder Bednar had talked about and his words were a great strength and comfort to them. I had no idea that they worried about those things and it has made me wonder how many other youth have those same concerns.

Next, President Packer spoke. He pointed out to us that it was a very unusual event to have two apostles at a meeting like this because their assignments just never allow them to do that. He told about a time a little more than 60 years ago when he landed on the island of Tinian during WWII. (Tinian is only about 3 miles from Saipan and we can see it easily from here--in fact, many people who live on Tinian take the ferry to their jobs on Saipan.) It was quite a dramatic story in which their navigator lost their way, they had to drop below the clouds to get their bearings and realized that they had flown into a typhoon, and they did a "square search" (a method of flying in a tightly controlled grid pattern) to try to find an island on which to land. When they did finally land, as they went down the runway there on Tinian, each of their engines cut out one by one as they ran out of fuel! The amazing thing about the story was that President Packer wasn't afraid during that flight because he had sung in his mind the words of a favorite hymn and that had strengthened him and helped him to stay calm. For those of us who are older, we know that this is a favorite counsel from President Packer, but since last night Kaitlyn, Sam, and Jacob have all picked out hymns to help them keep control of their thoughts.
Both of the Apostles said that the destruction in Banda Aceh is indescribable. President Packer said that he and Elder Bednar had decided that they wouldn't even try to describe it to the brethren because it was impossible. He said that the only other time in his life he had seen anything like it was in bombed-out Tokyo during the war. Elder Bednar said that the pictures in the papers and on t.v. don't even come close to portraying the reality.
Both of the Apostles also left Apostolic blessings on us. It's hard for me to remember all of the things they said, but the one thing that stood out most in my mind was that we were blessed with understanding. That is so important, especially here. Understanding the scriptures, the gospel principles, how to use them and integrate them into our lives. Understanding each others' cultures, speech, relationships--I was so struck when they said that! With understanding comes tolerance and brotherhood--it's so important. They also blessed us that we would not fear, but would be strong in the gospel.
We were so happy--and although they had already flown all that way, only had 45 minutes on the ground, and were due to speak at BYU Hawaii in just a few hours (that's still another 8-10 hours of flying ahead for them), these wonderful men had graciously stayed with us for 40 minutes! At the end of President Packer's talk, he looked back at Elder Bednar and said, "I would think that we would have the authority to stay a little longer!" I know that Sister Benson had encouraged her Institute class to pray that they would be able to stay longer than the 20-30 minutes that we expected and of course the Spirit was very strong as those prayers were answered, but there was more to come! After we had sung the closing hymn--"God Be with You till We Meet Again"--and many of us were a little teary-eyed, President Packer stood up again and with great emotion told us that he guessed they did have the authority and that they felt they wanted to shake hands with everyone there because of the great love they felt for us. Then, my friend Ann Cabael, gave the most beautiful and heartfelt closing prayer--I was overwhelmed; the simple, honest spirit of that prayer moved me very much. Everyone in the room got to shake hands with President Packer and Elder Bednar before they left and last of all they stopped at the piano on their way out and shook hands with me. In all, the Apostles had sacrificed an hour of their time for us.

Today, our CES supervisor and Area Authority Seventy, Elder Pita F. Hopoate, spoke to the Early Morning Seminary class. He reminded us of the feelings the Nephites had when it was time for the Lord to leave them, and that, as Christ's representatives, the blessings the Apostles gave us, including staying to shake our hands, were directed by the Lord. He said that he felt having two Apostles here was a direct fulfillment of the promises the Lord makes in 2 Nephi 29: 7 and 2 Nephi 10: 20-21 concerning the isles of the sea. He also pointed out that because everyone attending had been so obedient to the instructions we had been given, i.e., arrive and be seated ahead of time, no photos, etc., that we had been blessed to have the Apostles stay longer than their schedule allowed: Faith + Obedience = Miracles. I'm thankful that I was a witness to all of that equation last night.

Coming to Saipan

I was recently asked to write down what brought us to Saipan, so I thought I would post it here.

What brought us to Saipan? God brought us here.
My husband came out from his personal prayers one day and said that he felt that it was time for him to start looking for a new job. He was the head of facilities and engineering at Mount Desert Island Hospital in Bar Harbor, Maine. We loved it there--it's beautiful and it was only a two-hour drive from our families. Since he had often expressed the idea that Mount Desert would be our permanent home, I thought something must be wrong at work. When I asked him, however, he said that everything was fine and he was as surprised about the inspiration he was receiving in his prayers as I was.
We started looking in newspapers, trade journals, and the internet. After about a month of searching, we found a position on one internet site that said something along the lines of "work on a beautiful tropical island". Right. It had been posted 4 months before, and I told Casey that I thought that it was a "phantom job"--the type of thing you see on the internet that nobody actually gets. He wanted to apply anyway, so he did.
That all happened at the end of January 2000. In April of that year, Casey got a call one night from a lady at the Commonwealth Health Center on the island of Saipan in the Commonwealth of The Northern Mariana Islands. They had quite a lengthy conversation and she started talking to him about coming out for a site visit within a month, but which actually took place at the end of August. As that summer dragged on without hearing from anyone at the Health Center, we began to think that this was a lost cause and we should turn our effort in some other direction. Yet, whenever Casey prayed about it, he felt that he should just be patient and hang in there with Saipan.
One day I related to him a strange experience I had had the week before. I had been wondering about what it would be like to live on a tropical island, and suddenly I experienced a--sensation? I'm not sure what to call it, but I knew what it was to live on Saipan...not the laying-on-a-white-sandy-beach kind of living, but the day-to-day living...almost as if I were remembering instead wondering about it! It was very different than just thinking about something--I don't ever recall having an experience like it before or since. The thing that really amazed me, was that Casey related an almost identical experience he had had about a week before mine. When I told a friend about the incidents, she looked at me and simply stated, "You're leaving." This was in July and we hadn't heard from the Health Center since May.
There were many other things that happened--prayers answered, obstacles removed--that brought us eventually to Saipan. We arrived here in January of 2001; a year after we first saw the "phantom job" on the internet. Sometimes I still wonder why the Lord brought us here, but I never wonder if He did--because I know He did.

Quote and Re-quote

I found this on our niece's blog. The following is a brief excerpt from the biography entitled, Fire in the Bones: William Tyndale--Martyr, Father of the English Bible , by S. Michael Wilcox. My own feelings on the depth of expression found in the KJV of the Bible were so completely contained in Wilcox's words that I wanted to include it. She relates that 90% of Tyndale's translation was used in the KJV. She also includes an illustrative sample from the book. Thanks to you Lindsay.

"If the medium does not match the holiness of the message, the sacred truth is compromised. Beauty of expression helps us live a holier life, instilling faith and courage much like music."

--S. Michael Wilcox

Wilcox includes a comparison between two versions of Matthew 14:28-33, Tyndale's version vs. The Phillips Modern English version. The difference is striking. Here is a brief sample:

"Phillips Modern: "But when he saw the fury of the wind he panicked and began to sink, calling out, 'Lord save me!' At once Jesus reached out his hand and caught him, saying, 'You little-faith! What made you lose your nerve like that?"

"Tyndale: "But when he saw a mightily wind, he was afraid. And as he began to sink, he cried saying: Master save me. And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said to him: O thou of little faith: wherefore didst thou doubt?"

Is the KJV harder for us to understand than more modern versions? Probably, but maybe by having to work harder we will gain more. My experience is that the scriptures are multi-layered in their meaning and with lesser language I wonder if we only scratch the surface--if that. As a society that has belief in the power of the written word, we must realize the importance of choosing the right words. And if we have learned nothing else of language in the past 10 years, we have learned that great variance in meaning can be attached to even the smallest of words!

Callings and Blessings

I was sustained by the membership of our local branch of the Church today to be the branch pianist. After all of the meetings, I asked the branch president and his counselor if I could be set-apart and be given a blessing before I had to go in to choir rehearsal. I knew that they had a lot to do and there had been a lot of changes in the branch organization that day, but I felt like I really wanted that blessing. We went into the branch president's office and Brother Lonsdale, the counselor, set me apart (for the calling). The first part of the blessing was for the ability to play the music and that the family would behave while I was at the piano. Then, unexpectedly, the blessing turned to the importance of maintaining a relationship and contact with my extended family. I've thought about it all afternoon. On Friday, in Seminary, we started this year's Book of Mormon Project, so I've been praying about to whom I should give my copy. I had thought about writing a very personal testimony in it and sending it to my father, and now since that blessing, I feel like that is what I should do. I don't know that it will make him jump into taking the discussions from the missionaries and get baptized, but it is a good thing, and I need to be doing all the good things I can.

Saipan Movie Premier!

Friday night we went to the Saipan premiere of "Baptists at Our Barbecue". It was so much fun, because a friend of ours, Matt Smith, was co-producer and co-screenplay writer for the movie. It's based on a book by the same name written by his brother. We really enjoyed the book and had so much fun going to the movie! Matt and his family arrived at the show in a white stretch limo. As a congratulations gift we gave him a 5 pound Hershey's bar that we found at a local store; Del Benson, another friend and a photographer, took our picture with Matt and the candy bar in the lobby in front of one of the movie's posters. When Matt walked into the actual theater it was packed and everybody cheered and clapped, which they did again when his name appeared in the credits and when we saw his son as an extra on the screen. It was just so much fun--it wasn't the best movie I've ever seen at the theater, but it's definitely the most fun I've ever had at the theater! I wonder if this is how they feel in Hollywood!

Receiving Revelation

In our Sunday School class today we talked about what it feels like to receive communication/revelation from the Holy Ghost. I thought about the times I have been sitting in church listening to a speaker, or even when just having a conversation with someone, and I suddenly become very focused. It's not quite the same feeling of having my attention riveted when discussing some interesting subject; the only way I can explain it is to say that my senses are heightened. When this happens, I feel very intensely that whatever the speaker just said was true (or not true), and that the Holy Ghost "has born witness to my soul" of it.
I've been thinking a lot about this phenomenon. I know that God is a God of truth--that His perceptions are pure and accurate and not distorted or misconceived in any way. The scriptures say that all things are constantly before Him--things as they were, are, and will be. I also know that God wants us to learn truth and to make right choices, but although truth is eternal, right choices often depend on the situation. I believe that as we receive communication from the Holy Ghost, our perception of any given situation becomes clear and accurate--after all, this is communication with God--and as that happens we come to understand truths and know the right choices to make.

Earthquake!

We just had an earthquake here! I was at Price Costco; the kids and Casey were all at home. I had stopped a minute to look at my list and as I leaned on my cart, I felt a vibration. It occurred to me that it could be an earthquake, but it wasn't much and since I was near the shipping door, I figured that it was probably a forklift or something outside. As I started to push my cart again the tremor really came on and the whole building started to rock! People were rushing toward the front--I mean in these warehouse merchants you could have a television fall on your head if you're not careful! I stayed near the shipping door--I thought that was probably safer than going by all the shelves toward the front. It stopped in a few seconds, but it was a while before I could get a phone call out to see if everyone at home was okay. On the way home, I still needed one more thing, but the grocery store was closing so they could clean up the jars, bottles, and boxes that were broken in the aisles. Everyone at home was alright. There have been several earthquakes in the area lately--there was one south of here that measured 6.2 on Thursday (I didn't feel that one.) Of course, people here are concerned about the possibility of a tsunami, but it would have to be quite an earthquake to send a wave that could get through the Marianas Trench!