July 24, 2011

I've had a request to show the photo I took by the sea that is under the heading of the blog ...

I was just waiting to use the computer, sitting in the living room listening to some Samoan Saints singing in the chapel just outside our compound.  They were singing "I Believe in Christ" in their own language and I was feeling very privileged to be hearing it and I checked my ipod for email.  A letter from Nancy Bullock in Malawa stated how she felt listening to her Saints singing "I Believe in Christ" in church and how she felt that no matter where we are in the church, however humble the circumstances, we are all the same, etc.  What a wonderful moment for me to read her words while I was experiencing the exact same thing!

Sundays are a special day - no matter where you live.  Here the air is very smoky as their umus (outdoor ovens) are cooking their Sunday food and people all over the island, of many religions, are walking down the roads to church.  I was reading in the Liahona today about the woman at the well and how she had to make a real effort to get her water.  We just turn on the tap and voila! - it is there.  Some people think religion should be the same - just turn a tap, but really, we need to walk a distance and do a little work to get the benefits of the gospel.

I really wonder if flowers and a tablecloth in RS are an important part of learning because even in a small chapel at the back of the island they have them!  The chapels here always have beautiful arrangements of local greenery and flowers.  Singing is a real treat as most of the people don't read music - they just have a wonderful sense of harmony.  When I try to sing the alto, I am often swept along with their harmony that is nice, but not what I am used to.  The classrooms at the chapels have louvered windows that are open to the outside and the sound of the children singing in primary is such a soul soothing experience.  The men here often wear an iefaitaga - a dressy lava lava made from suit material and has pockets.  Roy looks very dashing and comfy in his! (maybe I can sneak a photo sometime!)  We hope to be able to attend our assigned ward next week - we have been visiting/teaching computers for the past 4 weeks in other wards. At least wherever we go, we can partake of the sacrament and I get a lot of scripture reading done!

Amuia Nonu is our 80 year old friend, dating back to Roy's original mission.  We attended his birthday party a couple of weeks ago and I snapped a really nice shot of him that we had made into a photograph.  We purchased a frame for it and took it out to him yesterday.  Well, the tears just flowed down his cheeks.  He is such a humble man and all our family who has visited here are still special in his heart.  He shows us so much love  - and that is the most important thing we can share with these lovely people.

Lawn mowing is a big venture around here.  They have weed eaters and a few mowers and they love the noise of the machines.  They will walk from one work area to another with the weed eater still going and revving it as they walk.  To keep the sun off, they are quite creative in what they wear - I would suffocate having a t-shirt wrapped around my head or the overalls they sometimes wear.  I am just glad I don't have to cut the lawn in such hot weather. Here is one of the gardeners with a rake.

Dogs - they must be the national animal of Samoa.  They are a little healthier (on the whole) than other times we have been here but their habits don't change.  They sleep all day and laze around the edges of the roads.  We have decided they sleep all day because they are up all night running in packs and creating a tremendous noise!  Don't the locals have trouble sleeping through the noise????  I am grateful for ear plugs!

The AhMu Academy has hired a new principal who will begin at the first of August.  I will continue to spend some time reading and singing with the lower levels and see if he wants any particular direction taken.

We took a drive up on the hillside last night and saw this tattoo studio - hmmmm, quaint, yes?

The clerk training continues and there are always times when Roy goes over the island and the clerk doesn't show up - but most times they do and he is feeling some success there.  The Bishops in those areas are so nice and it is nice to get to know them.  We are also getting to know the couples here a little more and have spent some social time (out to dinner and having some over here for dinner) which helps with some of the lonely hours.

 Tomorrow we are going to Savaii for two days to check out some membership records - our first trip over there this time.   We love Savaii.  We should have some different tales to tell next blog.

July 17, 2011

Roy's a good man - set up this blog with the background photo I took two weeks ago down by the sea where we turn to go up to the Faleaseela Branch - my oasis.  It would be nice to live by the sea but we live inland by a sea of human goodness at the church compound! 

Roy has been busy teaching the clerks and feels he is making some progress.  He mentioned that sometimes he will use a very appropriate word to get across a point (in Samoan) and later he can't remember the word.  We know he is being guided in what he says and it is one of the tender mercies of being a missionary.   Everyone loves him and respects him.  We were asked to say a few words in the Fusi branch today - three weeks in a row we have been invited and once we were the main speakers.  The Fusi branch meets in an open fale within sight of the ocean (about 85 people) and they disperse to different fales for primary, youth, RS, etc.  The Aaronic Priesthood met under a breadfruit tree!  A beautiful breeze kept us comfortable until Roy had to go into the tiny room where the computer is kept.  I attended SS and RS while he was busy and tried out my limited Samoan and there is always someone who will translate and come to my rescue.  This photo is taken from the fale we had RS in and shows the main one, our car, in the background are the priesthood boys under the tree, a horse that snorted through the meeting and on the left, a termite riddled post in the RS fale.

One day this week I went with Roy and my last letter was written while waiting for him.  After I finished the letter, I went out to sit in the "cultural hall' fale and there were 5 sisters sitting in there and I asked to join them.  Their meeting has concluded and I sat with them for about an hour and we had some good chats.  I even read them "The Hungry Caterpillar" that I had with me (and some other books from AHMu) and they loved it.  If I could have that happen, I would love it but most of the time it is just him and some clerks at the church.

We had dinner Fri night at Seafood Gourmet with our neighbors the Webers and the Krogh's who are living in Savaii.  It was pleasant to get to know some new people.  We met the Gouldings yesterday at a Senior's outing and they live at Viola in Savaii and are also delightful. 

This outing was very interesting.  Brett McDonald who is the church "historian" and I don't know what else gave a history of the Fagalii Cemetery to all of the senior missionaries.  We enjoyed hearing of the sacrifices made by some of the early missionaries when they buried wives and children here in Samoa.  Most of the stories are of palagi (white people) because the Samoans don't usually keep written  track of things like that.  We continued our journey up to Sauniatu (which mean Prepare to go Forth) and heard the history of this oasis in the mountains for those who had been kicked out of their villages when they joined the church in the early 1900's.  We heard of illness that took many lives and of the little boy who survived and nursed others back to health.  Carl Fonoimoana's (he is serving in the temple presidency) grandfather lived in Sauniatu and was on top of the original church building when there was a terrible fire and rebuked the fire from taking the church down.  The Samoan people really do have a lot of faith.

President and Sister Leota were with the Senior's during this outing and are so lovely.  They are very humble people and I really appreciate knowing them.  They come from Sydney Australia and were in attendance at Croyle and Rita Innis's funerals (my aunt & uncle) as he was their Stake President. 

A few of the positives of this week - I went with Sister Currie to be her driver and bring in some sick elders from the back of the island, we have new screens on the windows, we have a stalk of bananas hanging out our back door that one of Roy's old mission companions gave him (now a bishop in the area he is working in), we had yummy cinnamon buns on Fri. thanks to Sister Currie inviting me to join her to have a bit of fun in the kitchen,  and we have wireless internet.  Below is the photo of the little friends I made a couple of weeks ago at Faleaseela.

We love hearing from you - keep the emails coming!  We love you, we love the Lord and we love the opportunity to serve Him.