Chaplain Spouses of Okinawa

There are MANY responsibilities/events/opportunities that come with being a military spouse on Okinawa. They are all good, but some I enjoy more than others. My favorite has to be our Chaplains' Spouses Group. We have a regular meeting once a month, that is part business/part social. In addition to that, we also get together to provide dinner for the families at the "Stork's Nest" once a month (families who are here from elsewhere in the Pacific to use the Naval hospital's neonatal services for high-risk pregnancies), we put in hours sorting donated clothing and household items to benefit "Operation Goodwill" (these items are taken by Marines for distribution when they deploy around the Pacific on humanitarian assignments), we volunteer hours at the Navy gift shop to benefit American and Okinawan charities, and we get together for cultural experiences on occasion.

What makes this group of ladies so special is our diverse faith groups and backgrounds. We are all different...some of our beliefs differ drastically...but we come together to celebrate what we have in common...loving to serve God, specifically through serving military families. I can truly say that I love each of these women and I'm humbled to be part of such an assembly.

Our meeting this month was just a couple of nights ago, and in honor of our Rabbi's wife (who we were saying farewell to {boohoo!}) we dispensed with the business and just got together to eat yummy Chinese food at Peter's Place...which came along with a demonstration on preparing Chinese tea by Peter's wife, Mary.


Yummy food!
(fried rice, sweet and sour pork, chicken with a dry curry, sweet and sour shrimp and egg rolls)



Mary imparting her tea wisdom unto all of us.

(Trivia: I don't actually drink coffee or "real" tea {for religious reasons}...so in my pantry, I have several unopened boxes of herbal tea. When I'm invited to a "coffee" I bring the hostess some of my favorite herbal tea. If she tries to send it back with me when I leave, I ask her to keep it for next time {meaning..."Please invite me again!"}.)

I had a feeling that wouldn't quite work in this venue...so the ladies next to me were very nice to just take mine for me.



I can't believe I didn't get a pic of Melanie (the Rabbi's wife) by herself...but that's her on the far right with the white hat band around the black hat. She's such a doll. We are a sadder group without her...but Lemoore is TOTALLY lucking out!



The other side of my table. I couldn't get us all in one shot.

I can't wait until next month...except that it's another farewell. I don't know if I can handle two in a row! Last year I think we only lost two total...and we've gained at least a dozen...but this "PCS* season" is going to be a rough one.


*PCS=Permanent Change of Station...in civilian speak: Moving! The vast majority of PCS moves occur between May and August (for obvious reasons...school). The second most common time is over Christmas break...when we typically move.