Military Spouse Spotlight: Faith

How Sweet It Is: Creating a Tres Leches Business

Faith is originally from Arkansas and met her husband in 2016 when she was 18 and he was 19. They “got together pretty fast,” and Faith was introduced to his sisters after just two weeks. Because her husband was from Mexico and because Faith had an interest in and love for Hispanic culture, she was eager to learn how to make her husband’s favorite dishes.

His sisters gladly taught her how to cook Mexican staples authentically, beginning with corn tortillas. Faith picked up on it quickly, and she proudly remembered how surprised people were to learn that she had been the one to make tamales for a party; they had assumed his sisters had made them. 

Her husband joined the Air Force in 2019, and they were married shortly before he moved to his first duty station at Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota. Faith began to flourish there as she dove deeper into her cooking and baking journey; she especially found a predilection for tres leches cakes.

Because her husband doesn’t like classic American cakes and she doesn’t like buttercream, she found herself making tres leches cakes for birthdays, and people encouraged her to sell them. Faith was hesitant to market and sell her creations because she isn’t Hispanic, so she just continued to share them at special events with friends and family.

Faith changed her mind and took a courageous step forward after moving to Guam. Now, finding her family even further from authentic Hispanic food, she relied on her own skills and recipes to bring her husband and daughter a comforting, reliable taste of home. When her daughter turned four, she baked tres leches cakes for 35 people, and she was once again urged to sell them. This time, however, something shifted in Faith; there really was a significant gap in the market, people were eager to order, and she was feeling ready to share beyond her own inner circle. 

Finding Healing Through Baking

Shifting from baking for her family to baking for total strangers came with a certain amount of pressure and a great deal of experimentation and practice. “I’m a perfectionist when it comes to my baked goods,” Faith said. “It has to look good for it to taste good as well.” Guam’s high humidity is a challenge for all bakers, and Faith had to spend time tweaking her recipes to find the perfect milk amounts and ratios. She also learned through trial and error and customer feedback what flavors deserved a home on her menu. She started selling individual pans and quickly saw that the classic flavors didn’t sell; instead, customers gravitated towards unique combinations like strawberry crunch and Oreo. 

While Faith loves sharing her baking, her business has also played an important role in her postpartum healing journey. Faith had two incredibly difficult pregnancies filled with sickness and complications, and she was diagnosed with postpartum depression and anxiety. Luckily, her provider was able to connect her with a virtual therapist whom she sees every two weeks, but her baking is a more frequent way to manage her symptoms. She explained, “I learned if I keep myself busy, I don’t dwell…like I normally would.” Baking has been a lifesaver for her because “it always clears my mind.” 

That is not to say that this rewarding and fulfilling business is not without its challenges. Because Faith exclusively breastfeeds her newborn daughter, she spends much of her day babywearing and has to take breaks to feed and hold her younger daughter. Her older daughter wants to help, but because she’s only four, she can’t be hands-on in the kitchen to help with customers’ orders.

Faith admitted that her business comes with a lot of late nights and that she often stays up until 1 AM to bake, only to start her day at 5 AM with their newborn. However, she is lucky that her “husband has been super supportive of this journey,” and he takes an active role in helping with their daughters in the evenings. It certainly doesn’t hurt that there’s always his favorite dessert in the house, too. 

A Difficult Journey to Motherhood

Initially, Faith and her husband planned to have only one child, but they changed their minds after their older daughter was born. They began trying for a second child immediately after moving to Guam, and, much like their first pregnancy, it took months before they conceived. Faith shared the fear and trauma that came with her second pregnancy; she almost died twice, and she almost lost her daughter when she was 16 weeks pregnant.

She lost over forty pounds because she had hyperemesis gravidarum (HG) and was so sick that she couldn’t leave her bed. She spent her days hovering over a trash can while her older daughter watched TV nearby. She couldn’t even look at or smell food and gagged whenever she tried to make her daughter’s meals.

She was constantly at the hospital for fluids and appointments, and her daughter now worries that she’s going to be admitted whenever Faith goes to the hospital for an appointment. Because her husband is an instructor and has 19-20 hour-long workdays during Flag Week, he couldn’t be there to help as much as he wanted to.

As she was nearing the end of her pregnancy, Faith faced yet another worrying obstacle: she was in labor for three weeks with contractions coming every two minutes. She was finally induced at 39 weeks after trying to do everything to fully throw herself into labor. “I love babies and love giving birth but don’t mix well with pregnancy,” she said, and while she is still recovering from her traumatic pregnancy, she and her husband would love to have more children.

They plan to adopt in the future once their biological children are older, but they know this decision comes with a great deal of planning and luck. Because her husband plans to serve a full 20-year military career, they will find themselves frequently moving, so finding the right time to adopt will be challenging. Faith has also not closed the door on having another biological child, but she wants to wait a few years to fully recover first. 

Forming Friendships and Finding Her Village

When Faith first moved to South Dakota, she was newly married and far from home. She worked full-time at Walmart, and because her friends didn’t know and understand the military lifestyle, she felt lonely in her new home. It took her a year to become friends with one of her husband’s coworkers’ wives, but that friendship was deeply fulfilling. Ally became her oldest daughter’s godmother, and they have been able to bond over their debilitating HG pregnancies. Sadly, Ally moved right before she had her baby. 

Faith also became friends with her neighbor, Moriah, while they were in South Dakota, and they bonded as their husbands were deployed to the Middle East in 2023. They became like sisters and were each other’s village. Faith still talks with Ally and Moriah every day, but the time difference between Guam and the continental US can make conversations a little more challenging. 

Faith was initially nervous and resistant to making friends in Guam, though. Because she was in constant contact with her friends and family in the States, she didn’t feel like she was lacking in connection. However, her husband was worried she would be depressed and hate Guam if she didn’t put herself out there, so he encouraged her to socialize.

Faith is happy to admit that he was right, and her life is so much richer for being part of her community. She ran a monthly book club called “That’s What She Read” and joined the Guam Littles Playgroup. These groups helped her to find the community and village she so desperately needed but didn’t think she wanted. From offers to clean her house to a meal train, “they really stepped up and were villagers when I needed it.” 

Faith believes that it’s important to find friends who are comfortable with who they are. Because you “can’t talk to children about pregnancy and marriage, it’s so nice to find other adults are like you,” she said. When you find someone you can have authentic and engaging conversations with, “you build each other up,” and that support is invaluable in challenging seasons of life. Because Faith and her husband love Guam so much, they are hoping to extend their time on the island by another year. She’s currently excited for her older daughter to attend preschool with two of the friends she’s made through the Guam Littles Playgroup and to have some one-on-one time with her newborn. 

Katie McDonald is a Navy wife, and she and her husband are currently stationed in Guam. After 5 years as an English teacher, Katie is currently working as a freelance writer and enjoys writing about books and travel. https://www.katiereads.com/