My 5 year old Arch-Nemesis!

                 Doesn't she just look precious?! Well, that was my first thought too! BUT. You see when we arrived in Cebu, where we would work and call home for 3wks, teen boys came to help with our luggage and teen girls came to show us where we'd be staying.  "What's your name? How old are you? Are you married?  Why not?" And on and on and on! Lots and lots of attention to say the least, but I noticed some smaller kiddos, around 4 or 5 years old that didn't even seem to notice our presence just a few yards away.  So, I slipped out of the crowd and attempted to join them.  I was met with about the same warmth and enthusiasm as if I'd tried to join a group of high schoolers at the cool table in the school cafeteria today! There were even a few rolled eyes!

 I was intrigued and would not be so easily discouraged. The smallest of the group was the obvious boss,  the ruler of this roost.  She constantly cut her eyes at me with sassy, somewhat agitated looks, and then would chat to her little posse in Cebuano.  I attempted to eat dinner with her each evening, but she would promptly sigh irritatedly and pick up her tray and move to another table.  It was rejection at its finest.  She quickly accepted my other team mates, but she made her feelings towards me known.  I would not be swayed. She was just too cute!

 Then it happened, one night she rounded the dinner table with a big smile, she had a ball of rice in her chubby little hand and was saying, Ate Mary Beth, Ate Mary Beth. She handed it to me and said, "Eat! Eat!" I said, "Thank you!" and like a good missionary, I took a real bite! She immediately put her hand on her belly and let out a hearty laugh pointing at me, saying, "Ha! Ha! Ha! It's dirty! Dirty! I dropped it on the floor!" Then she scooted off still laughing. Ahhh... this was a game changer in deed! So I met her at her level, I sang Maria loves Kuya Corey and Kuya Adam.. sitting in a tree (she took an extra strong liking to my male team members!) With hands on her hips she declared, "Nooo! It's just a crush!"


I chased her a lot, but she always ran so I thought, I'll play hard to get, I ignored her for a whole day, never looking her direction at any meal or any activity and the next day at lunch it happened, she approached me and raised her chubby lil arms up to me for a hug, I leaned into her and she pinched my cheeks as hard as she could and ran off! (Game on little girl! Game on!)


By the end of our time I did get her to tell me on video that she loved me so much, but it was only because I had stolen her shoes and told her this was how to get them back! As soon as she had them back she said, "No love for you!" Yep! I'm in love! I wonder if can adopt her?