The Test

I woke up with an upset stomach. I got the runs from eating too much Samoan food. Our medical trainer told us it would happen to all of us, and I guess I was one of the first. I felt like crud and my host mom wanted me to give her a kiss. That was the last thing I wanted to do! I went to training and told one of my trainers, Faleseu, that I felt like I got sick from the food. He drove me home for lunch and spoke in Samoan to them and told them that I did not want to eat, so don’t make me eat. He also told them to feed me lots of fruits and vegetables. He left and I went to take a nap. My mother told me that she missed me very much while I was at school (for 4 hours) and then made me give her another kiss before I went to take my nap. When I woke up to go back to school, she made me kiss her again. I got very upset and started missing my mom, knowing that she would keep her distance and take care of me in the way that I was comfortable with. I went back to the training center and broke down crying. I wanted to hop on the plane and come back to the States. I was SO homesick. I was comforted by Faleseu and Leata. Faleseu immediately went to my host home and talked to my host mom about how all the kissing was making me uncomfortable and that in the American culture we need to get to know people better before we get that “lovey”.

Later that afternoon, Faleseu told me what happened in the conversation with my host mom and I thanked him. He started sharing that this period of my life is a challenge and that it could be a test from God to see if I will run to Him. It was really wonderful to have a deep spiritual conversation with him. We talked a lot about our similar passion for Christ and talked about starting a Bible study. Faleseu is going to be part of my Missional Community here in Samoa.