SISTERHOOD

REMEDIOS YOUTH RETREAT - JULY 22 - 26

This week we have been at camp with the Remedios church. Camp here in Cuba is not much different from camp in the US, as far as giggling girls, competitive games, and daily adventures go. A small example of this can be seen in an old staple among girls at camp, whether it be in the US or Cuba: fixing up one another’s hair. On Thursday, trying to tame my hair in this humidity, I coaxed it into a side French braid, beginning by the right ear. The girls really liked this new twist on an old favorite. Throughout the morning, several of them asked me to teach them. Of course! That afternoon, during our free time, I was reading and trying to cool off by a breezy open door, when Gladis Maria softly came up to me and asked me to do her hair. “Like you had it this morning,” she asked. It was good practice for me too! When I was half way through her head of long black hair, another girl spied us and asked if I would do hers too. Certainly. Pretty soon a crowd had gathered, until they began telling girls “Emily’s hands were getting tired!” I was giving lessons in the little Spanish I know: “Empieza aqui” (Begin here) I would say, indicating behind the ear. All the while we were chattering and laughing, some trying their hand at the new style. It reminded me so much of camp in the US, and I felt right at home.

~ Emily