Micronesia bakery, Sweet Stuff PDX, in Portland OR makes specialty cakes for any occassion, most recently for the official opening of the FSM Consulate. FSM President Panuelo said he could not cut the cake without ruining it. The cake showcased the unity, uniqueness and beauty of the Federated States of Micronesia: a half coconut/copra tops the cake – for the importance of the coconut tree in our culture; a Micronesian ginger lei – a significant intimate gesture of welcome, love, congratulations and farewell; the FSM flag – the vast ocean that connects us all and 4 stars for the 4 states; hibiscus for Yap, plumeria for Chuuk, birds of paradise for Pohnpei, and ferns for Kosrae; and one canoe combining the flags of all four island states. In a Facebook post, Sweet Stuff PDX says “Let the world know, we are resilient navigators. Literally and figuratively.”

Lahaina Phillip wrote this for our Wulio ‘m Deo column:

My family is from the islands of Weno and Uman in Chuuk, and the Sóór clan. We migrated to Oregon in 2007 and have been calling Portland home since then. We are a very close-knit family – the kind that get into each other’s business a little bit too much. My siblings and I grew up in Chuuk. Prior to Oregon, we’ve never lived anywhere else. We’re something I like to call Chuuk products – we’re fortunate to be those island kids that get to have both experience living back in the islands and in the diaspora. I think our drive to do the things we do now in our current lives has a lot to do with our up-bringing. We were brought up by good parents, who made sure to we stay goal-oriented while also remain rooted in who we are and where we come from.

Outside of my cake life (@sweetstuffpdx), I am also aspiring world traveller (slightly slowed down due to COVID19), I’ve visited about 20 countries so far. I tell stories about my travels on Instagram (@chuukesegoddess) and on my blog: travelingskato.com. This may not be as cool as the traveling bit, but I am also an avid reader, I try to read about 50-75 books a year, when I’m really focused and I have really good books, I can read up to 6 books in a month. My favorite book genre is mysteries and historical fictions, however, these past couple of years I’ve been getting into more self-help and business books. And I am also liking those now.

I don’t have the credentials to say I am a public role per say, but I am an “influencer” and I do reach a lot of our Micronesian youths, especially the ones in the diaspora. Through my socials, I promote our cultures, and teach our young Micronesians to embrace their identity, their histories, and their cultures. My hope for myself, my family, and my community is pretty simple. I hope we all find happiness in this life, we get busy living life that sometimes we forget to simply just live. The fulfillment when you finally reach that stage of happiness in the ultimate form of peace.

A Chuukese proverb: “angang chok aramas” – the translation is work = people and people = work. But we don’t take it for its literal word for word meaning. Instead it’s an idiom for hospitality. This phrase encourages us to be kind to one another in our daily life. It also enforces us to realize that however much energy or output we give out, the universe will return it tenfolds, whether is positive or negative. So no matter what, be a good human being.