Saipan will always be my home sweet home — the beautiful, tropical island where I was born and raised. For now, I will continue to educate my whole mind, body & soul in Hawaii. I know God has called me to Hawaii to prepare me; for there will be a time He has planned and purposed for me to return back to Saipan to lead a revival/crusade and make a difference in educating our youth and those in my generation. Divine appointments I await to lead me to emerging leaders who’ll join me in this vision.
In the meantime, I’m learning and allowing the Holy Spirit to reveal what is hidden, clean my heart, and guide me. I’ve learned perseverance and humility here. Hawaii has truly humbled me to a certain degree. Not quite nor near to perfection but Jesus is definitely working in me and through me. I took for granted what Saipan had given me. I’ve learned to appreciate growing up with everything desirable in Saipan — a God-fearing home, successful parents with a striving business, excellent Christ-centered education at Grace Christian Academy, a wealth of material possessions and galore (cook, driver, maid/housekeeper, nanny for my baby, etc.), lots of optimistic friends and family, in addition to the freedom and many rights that come from being a U.S. territory.
Hawaii is definitely paradise. I’ve been blessed with luxuries but it comes with a hefty price. I can’t recall how many times I’ve just wanted to run away from Hawaii and go back to my mortgage-free 4,000 sq. ft. As Terlaje home in Saipan versus my cute 750 sq. ft. $1,500 a month Makiki cottage.
This meager amount I could use to keep the money in our island and help in some way to feed Saipan’s people, contribute to our economy and local businesses, expand technology to our island’s preschoolers, buy books to get kids reading young and younger, send students to college, and spread God’s Word into more homes. The amount may not be much monthly but it’s definitely better than nothing.
I and many of my friends have left Saipan to educate ourselves in foreign or U.S. mainland colleges or advance our careers to seek our fortune and destiny. Some of us discover the reason why we were born and some of us are still searching. Some have returned back home to do noble things, some have left the island and never want to return, then there are some who can make a difference back home but want to leave or aren’t doing anything. Wherever we all are right now, we can make a difference! We are history makers and world shakers. Each is his own individual but each body counts towards the bigger picture.
Let’s do at least 1 thing to make Saipan the island where we want to go home to, raise our family, educate our kids, advance our careers, and be placed in national headlines for amazing and historical contributions…not for its sweatshops, corrupt leaders, power outages, labor and immigration issues and U.S. baby making schemes just to name a few.
JEANIFFER H. CUBANGBANG
Honolulu, Hawaii
