Update on Marino Sammy - back to Micronesia

So Sammy has come and gone. Thank goodness he made it back in the coffee shop before heading home to his island of Udot! I apologized to him if I caused him any worry about his people. Who was I to raise doubt in his mind about his people with very little information about the reality of gangs from his island?

Sammy was in the United States for approximately three weeks. He visited his son, and watched his son marry a woman, also from the state of Chuuk. (She too is "Chuukese".) There is a church in Aurora, Oregon where ministers preach the Protestant religion in Chuukese. The Chuukese people are also trying to raise funds so someday they can build a church of their own. (I have attached a link to this heading that takes you to a site which gives information on the Micronesian population in this area.)

Many members of the bride and groom's family came to town for the wedding - most of them were here in America for the first time. Unfortunately, the family had limited luxuries while here and their time in America was spent walking to and from the stores located along 182nd Ave. I had hoped to find a way to get the group to the Columbia River Gorge, or to our very cold beaches, or up to Mt. Hood, but I couldn't get it arranged.

Sammy came in yesterday to say goodbye, and to remind me to write. So Sammy and I have exchanged addresses and I hope someday to visit his island. Even if I cannot, we promise to write. Maybe someday we'll have more posts about Sammy and new information from Chuuk - once I come up with a few thousand dollars so I can visit. Or maybe after I visit, I'll just stay. Then we can forget the posts, cuz I won't have internet anymore, just sunshine, relaxation, and a nice little garden.