This afternoon Larin and I coached three girls preparing for a speech contest tomorrow. Yuki gave a Helen Keller speech where she talked about destroying dolls and living in a dark, small world. Akane spoke about her father dying last year and how she lives with three generations in her house. Rumi talked about living in America when she was young and how she doesn’t feel she fits in anywhere. I guess the language barrier keeps us from knowing the intimate details of their lives, but jeez, I see these girls everyday and have seen no signs of any depression or sadness of any kind. My Dad was diagnosed with a benign, easily treatable lump in his thyroid a few weeks ago and even though he’s fine now I still think about it and write about it and stew, wondering if I could be next. Maybe if Dad died, Mom moved to Spain to live on a farm with grandma, Jared learned Spanish and English and felt displaced and saddened by a parents’ death, then he’d be able to offer some words of wisdom to these girls. Here’s the advice I gave all afternoon: when you say ‘gruesome, sad death’ try to not make it sound so…you know…depressing.
I extremely enjoyed reading your blogs, Kendra! It’s so good to know that you and Jonathan are having an experience of a lifetime over there. We are praying for you and miss you both. You are both a blessing to us and to the people you are in relationship with over there! Keep up the great work! ~Love, Matt and Stephanie Robertson