Greetings from Saipan :)

Well, it's been quite a while since I've written, and my excuse is
that quite a bit has been happening over the last 3 months.
The first thing i want to announce is that on December 21, I asked
Jessica Hahn to marry me. She said yes, and we have decided on a June
26 wedding date. You can check out my pictures page for a few pics of
the two of us together.
Now, I'll go back to the last time I wrote, which was the beginning of
October. I really started getting into my Air Force application.
This included a trip to Andersen Air Force Base on Guam. Here I
underwent a Class I Aviation Physical Exam and took the Air Force
Officer Qualification Test (AFOQT). I got my scores back a few weeks
later, and I was quite happy with them.
The next markable event was my dad coming out for a visit. He had a
few frequent flyer miles collecting dust and used them for a trip to
Asia. He arrived the Sunday before Thanksgiving and left the
following Sunday. We had a great time snorkeling and enjoying the
island. It was nice to be able to show him what the island was like,
where I lived and also to introduce my friends. Also, he brought my
viola out, which gives me the chance to play every once in a while.
The Sunday after Thanksgiving he preached at Saipan Community Church.
That afternoon I brought him to the airport where he continued his
trip, heading to Korea to give some lectures at a University.
Before I knew it, December was upon me me. On the 15th I left work an
hour early and headed for the Airport, I was on my way to Hickam Air
Force Base. I flew through Tokyo and arrived in Honolulu that same
day, Tuesday, to start the same day over again, this time on the other
side of the international date line. My recruiter, Tech Sergeant
Morgan met me at the airport and brought me to my barracks on the
base. Over the next two days I finished up my application process
with an interview and the BAT(Basic Aptitude Test). After finishing
up a security clearance questionnaire, I was on my way back to Saipan.
This time I flew through Guam, arriving in Saipan on Friday night.
Only 2 days later, on Sunday afternoon, Jessica arrived from Iowa.
She was able to stay for almost 3 weeks. We had a wonderful time
together, and as I mentioned at the beginning of this letter we became
engaged :). It was great to be able to see and be with each other,
and to talk as long as we wanted, without having to pay 25 cents per
minute! It was hard to say goodbye, but also encouraging that our
time apart is now more than half way completed and we have our
marriage to look forward too.
I've been back at work now for 3 weeks. Grades just went out for the
2nd quarter last week, and my next project is the Science Fair, coming
up on March 10. I have continued to lead the singing at church every
other week, and I've been able to teach the congregation some songs
from my time at Dordt. I really enjoy teaching the songs that I
enjoyed so much in college.
I am looking forward to February for several reasons. The Air Force
will inform me of their final decision on my pilot application. I
will also be planning a spring break trip, hopefully to Thailand,
Malaysia and Singapore. I hope to use my frequent flyer miles, and
then have 10 days of low budget traveling though Southern Thailand,
starting in Bangkok, heading down the Malaysian peninsula and ending
up in Singapore to catch a flight back home. I've also been asked by
some friends to go to Palau over the presidents day weekend. I'll let
you all know how all those things end up.
One last note for this letter, my roommate Jeff and I had our premiere
performance on Saipan last night. Sunset Bar & Grill is a nice little
place on the beach we visit every few weeks and we have gotten to know
the band that plays there. So, last night we asked if we could
perform a couple of numbers, they let us and Jeff played his guitar, I
played my harmonica, and we both sang. I thought we were well
recepted, and it was just a lot of fun.
So, that does it for now, I'll try to write again towards the end of
February to let you know how things turn out. Thanks for the emails
and cards/letters, I'd love to hear from you!

-André