All the bumper stickers advertize "
Guam, USA".
Indeed the wide, wide streets, the B-52's and F22-Raptors in the air, and the $10 meals reminded us that yes, in fact, this island is part of the United States. But when we finally laid our hands on a map and located the little speck in the middle of the Pacific, we saw that Guam's closest neighbors are Japan and Philippines. That would explain why all our fellow-tourists were unmistakably Japanese, and the staff in the stores mostly Philippino.
So, would the true "Guamanians" please stand up? "Not possible," we were told by Eric & Karyn Sorenson, Covenant project missionaries serving at the Pacific Islands University (and Seminary). The Chamorros, original inhabitants of Guam, have so inter-married and enculturated that it is virtually impossible to tell who a Chamorran is. All the more reason, they said, for the fierce pride of ethnic identity they are struggling to preserve.
Then there are the Yap-ese, Chuk-ese, and Palauans from the nearby Federated Micronesian States--all of them mixed together with a few "haoulies" (whities) and Philippinos in the Sorenson's little island school--the only private, accredited institution of higher learning on Guam.
Okay, so we're beginning to get the picture: this place only
looks like the USA--it's actually a complicated, ethnically diverse mix of Pacific, Asian, and American culture. Of course, you could say the same about L.A., but put this mixture on a beautiful, tropical island teetering on the rim of the Marianas Trench, and you have a unique ministry setting with challenges all its own.
Those challenges and the rewards of ministry--at times tragic and ironic--were the topics of our conversations with Eric & Karyn over a period of three days. A recent trip to Yap Island--a place where, according to some estimates, up to 70% of pre-teenage girls are subjected to some kind of sexual abuse--was weighing heavily on Karyn's heart. As a credentialed counselor specializing in post-trauma counseling, Karyn feels she is just getting to the point, after 4 years, where she is beginning to understand the culture and dynamics of the young people with whom she and Eric are working. Ideas and plans and passion have been converging in her heart: maybe it's time. Maybe God can use her to make a difference in this tragic situation.
We watched as Eric taught his class on Revelaton. I thought, "I don't think this guy has taken very many classes on cross-cultural communication. But he has learned to communicate cross-culturally!" Yes, he was speaking in English. But as he put words out there we watched him carefully guage the reaction of his students. When blank stares came back, he stepped back 5 and went to a pass instead (by the way--that's an analogy from American football--and NOT the kind of communication that works well cross-culturally). He rephrased, used alternative words, and waited for feedback.
Pray for these servants! Passionate and talented. Perhaps a little too busy. But they've hit their stride and are praying about future directions. One Philippino waiter told me he was born and raised in Guam and was "dying to get off this stinkin' island". That was definitely NOT the sense we got from Eric & Karyn. They want to be used wherever God calls them and places them.
