Super Typhoon Sinlaku
By Ron Monesmith
After retiring from my job in 2024 as a Project Manager for an engineering/construction company that specializes in supporting Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) construction projects, my former boss visited me at my home on New Year’s Day 2026. He asked if I would be willing to return to the company for a project in Saipan. The job would require that I be onsite for 6 weeks then return home. After some R&R at home, I would return to complete the job. After discussing this opportunity with my wife, we decided this was an important job that I should accept. In February 2026 I headed to Saipan.
Saipan is the largest island (five and a half miles wide and 12 miles from north to south) and the capital of the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI). These islands, located in the western Pacific Ocean are unincorporated U.S. territories. (Japan is located to the north, Philippines to the west and Australia to the south.) Because of its status as a territory, Saipan functions under American jurisdiction. People born here are U.S. citizens, the currency is the U.S. Dollar and it is under U.S. federal oversight.
When my six weeks onsite were up, I was supposed to return home. The man who was to replace me was delayed by two weeks due to a family medical emergency. Once he arrived on the island, I stayed long enough to conduct a customary one-week handoff bringing him up-to-speed on the project.
It was then time to find a flight home. Since the island is small, there are few airlines that fly there. United Airlines is the only U.S. carrier, along with Korean and Philippine carriers. As the super typhoon was now forecast to come through the chain of islands, it became a challenge to find a flight out. I was able to make multiple reservations, even up to the day before landfall, but all of them were cancelled due to the imminent arrival of Super Typhoon Sinlaku.
After all my failed attempts to leave the island, I called my wife and said to her, “I think God wants me here.” I now understand that He did want me there and it was to teach me a lesson in love.