Deck the Hulls! Christmas in Guam

...A look back at the family times together before all the quarantine and isolation (you know, when we chose all that together time?)...

It is Christmas number eight since moving aboard way back in 2011, and we find ourselves enjoying a bit more of an American holiday than in years past.  After realizing we’d need to come all the way to Guam from Phuket, Thailand for our Volvo engine replacement (it had to be done in a US territory to qualify for the manufacturer’s recall), it was so good to finally arrive.  We traveled over 4,000 miles through 6 countries/territories, one tropical storm, pirate-infested seas, and some of the bumpiest waters we've ever encountered.  It’s time to celebrate.

None of the ornaments or decorations could be put up until our passages were over.  Who wants to clean up a toppled Christmas tree while seasick??  Not me!  So in the first few days we arrive, decking the ‘hulls’ is at the top of our crew duties list.  Mattresses are lifted in order to ransack bilges to find the ‘Christmas box’, and the tree is unbagged and assembled.  Each of us decorate ourselves in the goofy accessories we’ve acquired along the way, and Christmas carols blare on the speakers as we share memories of the ornaments we’re hanging on the tree.  Isn’t pulling out those treasured ornaments one of the most wonderful moments of the holidays?  Christmas has officially come aboard Field Trip.

What would it mean this year to be in an American territory during the holidays?

It means Martinelli’s cider to toast in the New Year.  It means being able to buy cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie filling at the local supermarket!  It means shopping for gifts in familiar stores:  Kmart, Ross, and even Macy’s!  It means candy canes - haven’t seen those in years.  

But all of that is just the cosmetic, consumerist fluff of the holidays.  What we actually found in Guam meant so much more than that.  Friendship.  Fellowship.  Family.  

Friendship

Way back when Guam was plopped into our sailing plan, I sought out any and all information I could gather about it.  On one sailing families Facebook page, kids4sail, I happened to notice a family posting from Guam!  Instantly, I sent a message asking way too many questions, and Chuck was more than happy to answer each and every one.  That exchange started an online correspondence between our families that would prove priceless.  His children were only a step up in age from ours, a girl and boy, and they lived on a boat!  When Mark mentioned he needed to replace some solar panels, Chuck actually needed some, too, so they were able to order together and save on shipping costs.   

That first day we stepped foot on Guam, Chuck was there to welcome us and get us acquainted with the island.  Our families got together and spent a few happy hours in the cockpit getting to know each other.  Ivy, Chuck’s wife, invited the kids to tag along to Boy Scout meetings, dance recitals, and simply included them in their everyday life.  Chuck, a captain in the Naval Reserve, let the kids participate in packing boxes for the annual Operation Christmas Drop.  

Carla (and Chuck in the background) at her Christmas dance recital

Family

Ivy and Chuck would introduce us to other American military families based on Guam who would end up sharing their Christmas with us.  Suddenly, we found our social calendars filled up with holiday cocktail parties, pool dates, and potlucks!  After sailing from one remote spot to another, we relished the sudden social life that we happened into.  The ladies I met became fast friends - texting during the day and helping me know where to buy the things we needed.  These military mommas knew what it was like to move from place to place, to be the new one on the block, to figure out the ins and outs of a new location, and to raise kids in different countries.  We shared many of the same challenges and could relate to each other on many different levels.

Christmas dinner with our adoptive military families

At the yacht club, we also found kindred spirits.  Admittedly, there weren’t many cruisers passing through Guam.  Mostly, we met folks who’d sailed there and then never left or those who’d bought boats there with dreams of setting off one day.  At a wine tasting one night, we met a kind Kiwi couple who had lived in Guam for over twenty years.  If you haven’t had to pleasure of hanging out with anyone from New Zealand, you’re missing out.  We have never met a Kiwi we didn’t like, and we’ve also never met a Kiwi who didn’t instantly make us feel like part of their family.  The same was true of Sarah and Ross.  

After sharing tales of our lovely time in New Zealand, we somehow got on the topic of our engine replacement.  The minute they realized we’d have a crane removing and replacing our engines just days before Christmas, they decided that we’d need to stay in their house.  They’d be gone for a family trip and the house would be free for us if we’d simply keep the plants watered!  What??  I could barely contain my excitement.  A full kitchen to cook Christmas dinner in?  A full-sized washer and dryer?  Even a trampoline and pool for the kids to enjoy?  We were beyond humbled by their hospitality.  They even gave us the keys to their car.  Really.  We should all be more like Kiwis.    

Nana came to stay aboard with us for Christmas and traveled with us all the way to the Philippines!

Fellowship

Since we were in an English-speaking country and would be here a while, I was anxious to find a local church to attend.  Driving around in our rental car one afternoon, we found a Christian radio station that advertised a Festival of Lights that Friday night (read about what Michael did at the festival here).  I jotted down the name of the church, looked it up on googlemaps, and we made plans to check it out.  Harvest Baptish Church quickly became our Guam church.  

The first Sunday we attended, a man spoke about the trip he’d recently taken to Ulithi Atoll to help build a church.  Ulithi Atoll?  That’s the last stop we made before sailing to Guam!  Tears sprung to my eyes as I felt that we were exactly where we were meant to be.  After the service, we made a beeline to him and asked him all about his trip.  We shared stories of our time in Ulithi and let him know that we planned to stop there again on our way back.  Could we bring anything to the people there on his behalf?  By the final Sunday of our stay, he had stuffed two school backpacks full of goodies for us to bring to the missionary family in Ulithi.   It felt good to be serving in fellowship with other believers again.

Christmas concert at Harvest Baptist Church in Guam

Another night, the local college students presented a musical drama, telling the Christmas story from the perspectives of Mary, the shepherds, the wisemen, and Joseph.  It was a moving performance that recalibrated my heart to the real reason for the season.

Often, when we attend a church, even if it is in a language I don’t understand, I can’t help but weep.  I’m not sure exactly why.  I just get overwhelmed by the beauty of worshipping with fellow believers.  The timeless hymns of my childhood that my mom used to practice every Saturday night in our living room to prepare for playing the piano in Sunday’s service fill the foreign space I currently find myself in.  Those same melodies and harmonies that I have hummed, sitting alone at the helm under a blanket of stars, suddenly surround me in a chorus of voices.  There’s something about the collective worship that causes a catch in my throat.  I can’t even sing along.  Tears stream down my face and I realize how I have longed for this fellowship.  To be part of the collective.  I take a deep breath and again rest in knowing that we are right where we are meant to be.  

I begin recounting the thousands of miles we’ve traveled, and I can see God’s timing and provision throughout each step.  The experiences we’ve had and the people He’s placed in our path now seem woven together in a perfect tapestry of His providence.  He always prepares a way for us and orchestrates all that we cannot control.  As I sit there in that sanctuary, crying like a fool, God reminds me that He is with us.  Immanuel, God with us, no matter where we celebrate Christmas...

Ringing in the New Year with Nana and Martinelli's Cider!