I am always happy to help the local sisters here when they need help. They often need help. I think about if our roles were reversed. If I were born here or on Chuuke. I would be so grateful if the military women were willing to help me.
I'm realizing more and more that I need them as much as they might need me. Its hard to explain my heart. Or I guess maybe you have to experience it here or meet them. I try ever so hard to get the thoughts of my heart in my personal journal. My words don't seem to do my experience justice. But these women and their friendships are truly changing me.
I wanted to spend some time with them (not driving them here or there) but being with them as friends. I consider them my friends. I was also curious to see what they do all day. Is that silly of me?
Guess what I found out. They pretty much do what my sisters and I do when we stay home. They chat, they make food, they watch their children play and chat some more.
One difference is they do this on the floor. At least this was the case in Sharon's home. After an hour or so I needed to stand up and move around, my back had had it.
The other difference is they do this all the time. They take turns at each other homes. But this is what they do day after day. My sisters and I would go to the splash pad, to the pool, to Cherry Hill, Bear Lake, shopping, to musicals, camping, to movies, go to lunch.....all things that require money and cars.
On another day I drove two sisters to the doctors. I didn't know them very well at all. The missionaries gave them my phone number and I was glad to help. After the appointment on the other side of the island the one older sister invited me in for some lunch.
She was so thrilled to have me in her home and to feed me. She even called her husband to tell him that a white woman was at their house. He came home from work to see for himself. Ha ha. They took pictures of me too. So funny.
Her name was Syntha and her Sister is Cindy. Syntha has a daughter the same age as Lydia. She was at school so I didn't meet her that day. But I later met her at Stake Conference.
Their home was TINY it had an itty bitty kitchen, a bedroom that the three of them shared and a small bathroom. She had a sewing machine in the entry way on little table. I told her I liked to sew as well. It was fully furnished and had pictures galore. More than I have ever seen in anyone's home as of yet.
She fed me chicken, rice and some broth. (They LOVE rice here. They eat it all day for every meals in some families.) It was only 10:30 a.m. and I wasn't very hungry but I ate it. In Chuuk where these ladies are from they don't use utensils. She did have 1 plastic fork and offered it to me. Tyson was disappointed and told me I should have just used my fingers. Ha ha.
Oh and while we were eating and visiting the topic of our ages came up, they wanted to know how old I was. Cindy, the pregnant Sister (standing up) started to smile and just then realized that it was her birthday. I couldn't believe that someone wouldn't know it was their birthday. I laughed and then I had to tell her all about my sister Heather. If you know Heather you know she loves birthdays. They wanted to see pictures of my entire family after that.
I bought Cindy and her son some lunch on the way home because in my culture that's what my sisters do on our birthdays. ;) We do lunch. I learned so much more about her. She has 5 more sons and she's about her have her 7th baby and she's younger than I am. She left them on Chuuk with her parents when she moved here to Guam. She misses them a lot.
These people have such stories. I love to hear them and I always go home with so much love and respect for them and gratitude for what I have been given in my life. But on these two particular days I think we all realized we are more similar than different.
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