No more sleeps!  We leave today for New Zealand to meet John & Mereda for a week as they are finished their mission also. 

After dinner at Aggie Grey's

Our Tofas have been said to many people and it is very hard, knowing we may never see these dear people again.  I really believe we will come back some time – even for a visit – but that is because we have said goodbye before and have always returned.

For Roy, as a 19 year old receiving a call to Samoa (he thought it was somewhere in Africa!) the experience of being here forever changed his life.  Returning with me for a 2 year teaching assignment made His mission Our mission.  A dream come true was to return to the dedication of the temple in 2005 (the rebuilt temple after the fire – not the initial temple).  The opportunity to return – again – in 2007 to supervising the building of AhMu Academy was an extension of our Samoan training!  To receive a call for a Senior Mission was thrilling, surprising and not surprising at the same time.  We didn’t ask to come – but the Lord knew he had trained Roy up for this time.  The assignment he fulfilled is soooooo necessary and we pray they will call someone to continue the work.

It was a teary day for me leaving Uafato and any of you who really know me, know I don’t cry easily.  Talai and I have become like sisters and it was so touching to feel of their love and our love for them.  I will truly miss my Tuesdays in Uafato.  As we began this last stake, I was apprehensive and just wished it would hurry up and finish, but as the time progressed I just felt such a privilege to become part of that place.  I am so glad the road is horrible because it keeps tourists away from spoiling it.   Someone asked  me if they could take their car down and I was so thrilled to say NO WAY.  This place is really the most remote part of Samoa.  Elama is a carver and made Roy a beautiful to’oto’o staff .  Talai hand wove 12 small placemats for me that I will treasure forever.  Our last day together,  we spent the time with the keyboard learning some primary songs that she will teach the children.  Her English is great and she sounds so sweet singing those songs. 

It was also a sad time to leave our temple Thursday pm shift.  What a sweet group of ladies.  They had a bag with some traditional gifts (placemats, jewelry box with a couple of necklaces, lavalavas, etc.)  One dear sister gave me a comb for my hair with Talofa Samoa on it.  We sure enjoy the peace of the temple and the opportunity to serve them.

Friday was the Sauniatu Culture Day.  It began with a church service in the am with lots of singing and talking, followed by a cultural dance show put on by the youth and children.  Of course, there was a lot of food and we are always treated with such respect.  The heavens opened and did it rain!  We were under tents, thank goodness and enjoyed the show with no discomfort.  At the end of the day as we were leaving to take the branch president of Falefa home, we were told about a little 6 year old boy who had drowned on Wednesday.  The family, last name of Brown, had just received their papers to go to New Zealand to live and were getting things settled.  The little fellow was down with some other children and tried to cross the river and fell in.  By the time the adults got there, he had already died. 

We have reconnected a bit with one of the AP’s who left the mission about a year ago.  Solo Fa’auliuli is the head waiter at the Tamarind Restaurant at Aggie Greys and we have been to dinner there twice.  It is a lovely place, not too expensive but fine dining.  Solo would love to go to school (and his English is great) but his father relies on him for income and he is a very respectful young man.  His father is not LDS and his mother has passed away quite a few years ago.  We certainly know a few choice young ladies we would like to hook him up with!

Roth, Gertsch and Harker at Aggie Grey's

The enjoyment of forging friendships with some of the senior missionaries has been wonderful and know we will continue relationships after we are all finished.  This country is so blessed to have so much strength, giving freely of their time and love in serving this land of Samoa. 

Some people in our ward were aware of when we were leaving but it felt awkward to go up to the Bishop and tell him, as we knew they would want to throw a party and we don’t want them to go to the expense of things like that.  We spoke to Bishop Moreli on the way into sacrament meeting and guess what?  As he was making the announcements, he told people we are leaving on Wednesday and will have a farewell party for us on Tuesday.  Ahh, he didn’t run that one past us as we were totally booked up until then and we had our farewell dinner with Pres. & Sister Leota scheduled.   During RS the president (in Samoan and Donna translated for me) told them we weren’t coming but if people had small gifts, they were to bring them and the bishop would gather everything and bring it to us.  Ahhhh, they are so kind but I think the bishop was hurt that they couldn’t do a party.  We have been booked up solid for the past 2 weeks with work and dinner appointments so it couldn’t have happened anyway.  I gathered all the sisters for a photo session after and then passed out some laminated bookmarks with a picture of us, a scripture and our contact information.  We then went to Naomi’s to take some special paper and a Christmas tree I had made for them.  It was such a thrill to see the books up on the bookshelf and Helaman climbed up on the chest by it and was reading.  I will truly miss Evelina Fuiava and her family – Naomi and Tuna, Max & Maylynn, Donna & Arthur, Deluvina & Wayne.  They have made the Vaitoloa 1^st ward experience for us.  Well, last night, the bishop came over about 9:00 and brought a load of gifts!  It was such a nice thing for people to do but we will have to ship quite a few boxes to be able to take everything.

Helaman with their share of the books up on the shelf

Sunday we were invited to Lance’s home for dinner and it was so delightful.  Lance had made a really nice card and had made me a “Super Teacher” certificate (I had made him a graduation certificate).  They also gave us a carved plate that Elama had made for them.  It is just beautiful.  We were wondering what to do with some of our games we couldn’t take home and their family will have hours of fun, I am sure.

Part of the Lolo family

We stopped by to see Edith Tausoga  Faaola (sp?) and Noataga was there (her mother).  We were in the ward in the 70’s and her deceased husband was the bishop. What a joy to reconnect with them.  Edith was our neighbor in the teacher’s village in 2007.

We had our final hugs with Amuia & family.  I wore the puletasi they had made for me (it fit after a major alteration) but Roy’s shirt was just too small.  As we left, it was sobering to wave goodbye and know it would be a long time, if ever, that we saw them again.  Thanks goodness for skype as we can call to their cell phone and keep in touch.  They were so quiet as we left and just stood, waving and Ulanita had her face buried in her shirt, wiping the tears.  Heaven will be so wonderful when we can see all our dear friends from all over the world – just imagine!

Nanase, Amuia and Sooga in the back

Some of the family

FHE on Monday was such a tender time.  They treated us like we were royalty, or as if it was our funeral!  The food was wonderful and they had us sit at a "head table" alone.  Sister Mariner's sister's granddaughter performed some dancing for us and it was so nice.  Her mother presented us with a wooden tray!  Well, there were tributes by Roths, Gertsch, Hanson, music by Spencer &Mariner,  dancing by Sister Pauga :)!  We will see most of the people again at mission reunions but Pres. & Sister Leota will be returning to Australia so reunions won't be happening in Utah.

The MSR group at the Service Center took us to lunch yesterday, Elder & Sister Fife took us to lunch on Monday, the Gertschs are having us for breakfast today, the Roths have been by our side with help continually and we certainly feel loved.  Eseta and Mareta Craig came by last night with some gifts and some hugs.  I really am touched that people have been so kind to us.

This is my final posting of this blog.  My time here has reminded me of a handcart trek.  There is a lot of excitement, a lot of frustration, a lot of bonding with others going through the same trip, a lot of roses to smell along the way and a lot of prayer to help through those river crossings and sore feet of a mission.  There is prayer of thanksgiving as well for the successful moments and the tender mercies of the Lord that helped us through.  The scriptures have been my constant companion as well as a dear husband who has softened many of the difficult times.  As on a real trek we must sometimes discard weight as the pulling gets tough. I have come to realize some of the extras that I don’t need and that were slowing me down.  When we finally reach the “valley” and look back at the miles across the “plains” of the mission, we remember the music that has buoyed up the spirit, the new friendships that have been formed, the smells and sounds that will forever trigger pleasant memories and the fading of the moments you wish to forget.

 TOFA SOIFUA!

I will probably only blog one more time after this one as we have
                                          25 SLEEPS UNTIL WE LEAVE SAMOA!

Today's posting is going to include some graphic shots of some of the things we have seen and also some graphic feelings!  Well, there really isn't that much but this has been an interesting couple of weeks.

the back of one of the many buses - these old buses will not be replaced when they give out - new ones are coming even now

-->

I feel like I have been to heaven and back – seriously, when we go to Uafato.  The drive is so rough that it makes it heaven at the other end – meaning there aren’t many visitors so they remain unspoiled and lovely.

Talai, the branch president’s wife is just a sweetheart.  She speaks English so we get along famously.  When she hears of a food I like, she gets the idea to make it for us.  One week she did fish, fried chicken, faalifu fae and talo and she sends us home with niu, esi, tipolo, etc.  Last week we had the piano out and were practicing songs from the primary book so she could learn them.  This week I took my card making supplies to have a session with Talai.  There was a little fellow named Smith who was there (her neighbor) and he was playing along the piano with me (last week).  He is 7 years old and although the notes were incorrect, as I played a certain timing and rhythm, he would do the upper keys in the same pattern.  What a sweetheart.  I just love going to Uafato.  We have brought Pres. Elama out from Apia with us 3 times now and his laugh is so delightful.  He speaks no English but I understand enough to know what they are talking about.  The cost of going there and back is out of sight - $300 tala round trip to Apia for a truck.  If there is only one person, they pay that amount or divide it amongst all the passengers. If they walk out (1 hour) to Lona, it is only $150 round trip.  When we take Pres Elama out with us because he has gone into Apia to take the tithing, it is a real blessing for him.  This past weekend was the broadcast of conference and it took 3 pickups @ $300 per truck to take all the members to Fusi for the viewing of General Conference – and that was  multiplied by two days!  Their budget pays for it as the members could not possibly afford it. The last time we went out we had passengers and loads of food (they had been given it at a funeral) in the back of the pickup.  We had passengers each way.

a view of the sea as we come back from Uafato, before actually coming back into Fagaloa Bay

It was Thanksgiving weekend at home a couple of weeks ago and I am so thankful for my blessings.  Family, testimony, health, beauty of nature, etc.  are my thoughts these days.

I missed a Kodak moment 2 Sundays ago.  When we were at Sauniatu, the car battery drained as the lights didn’t go off because I was in the car and didn’t lock it.  Roy has it on automatic and they stay on all the time except when the car is off and locked.  Well, I was down by the grass going to the waterfall and sat there in the breeze.  When the sun shifted and I was in the sun, I tried to start the car and oops!  Not happening!  One of the bishopric members is the automotive teacher at Pesega and he came with 3 others to boost it.  They did not have jumper cables and if I hadn’t seen it I wouldn’t have believed it.  They took a battery (and I don’t know if it was out of their car or an extra one) and put it up beside our car’s battery.  They then took two of those cross wrenches that you use to tighten lug nuts on wheels and put one end on their battery post and the other on our battery post.  Two different people did one each so they wouldn’t be connected, the turned the ignition on and it started!  Amazing. 

this is the view out the window from our dining room - nice eh?

Last week on the  Monday of White Sunday, what a treat it was to listen to the ward across the street have a family activity.  The music was lively and fun, there were games and food and it was so nice to see them enjoying themselves together.  I really miss having ward activities as ours doesn’t let us know if and when they have them. White Sunday is a day the children all wear white and are given special treatment.

We have only 1 month left.  I hope it goes quickly as it seems to be just dragging.  I am already making lists of who gets what and trying to figure out what to leave behind.  We aren’t sure on the baggage situation yet so we don’t know how much room we should take up.  It would be nice to have just our big suitcases with our smaller ones inside but we may end up being given some things so we will not know until it is time to go.

this is the view up the side of the Lona chapel, looking inland

Conference was wonderful as usual.  We watched 3 of the sessions live on the computer and then watched the final two (well, the priesthood session was one of them and Roy went to the stake enter to watch it) at the stake center last Sunday.  It was fun to hear of Elder Packer's experience here in Samoa and Roy was a missionary here at the time.  No, he wasn't the Elder who didn't turn the light on!

I am having a really hard time deciding to blog anymore as I really don’t have much to say.  I feel I don’t have missionary experiences to talk about and that is what people want to hear.  I just go along for the ride and entertain myself as best I can.  I do meet with a few sisters in some of the places but I am a novelty and I think they think I need to be entertained.  I do enjoy doing the indexing and accomplish that  each day.  I set a goal of 15, 000 names and I achieved that this past week.  I have gone on to the intermediate level and it is a bit slower but is interesting.

  

Today I want to write about the churches here in Samoa.  I am so tired of using filthy dirty washrooms and trying to find a clean spot to put my computer to work.  I finally resorted to bringing a pretty purple flat sheet that is folded up and I can spread it out over any table and have a clean work space.  In the bishop’s offices where I sometimes sit, I put it over their piles of paper,etc. and have a designated work area for myself.  In many of these offices, there is a Xerox copy of a picture of a man in a suit with a zipper where his mouth is – teaching the bishops about privacy.

this is the picture

The washrooms in the churches are generally disgusting.  When they have paper towels, the people use them and leave them wadded in the sink and the water runs over and sometimes even runs out onto the floor.  If there is soap, I will wad up all the paper, put it in the trash and then wash my hands and dry them.  If there is no soap, I don’t usually do this as I would be filthy myself.  There is always paper on the floor and again, if there is soap and towels, I will often pick up, scrape up, wipe up the bits and pieces on the floor before washing my hands.  However, I am getting weary of this and look forward to clean churches when we get home.  I have cleaned enough church bathrooms to know that after you use water, etc. you wipe down the counter before trashing your paper towel.  I do this at the temple all the time here and sure wish the people here would learn. Whenever I am in a washroom with kids, I always pick up pieces, etc. hoping that they will see the example and learn a bit.

This is the damage some pigs did to the Uafato lino floor of the open church fale

I have blogged before about finding one of the churches where the bishop had moved his family into it and had been living there for about a year.  I believe they have since moved out.

Well, this week  Roy and I walked into a church to have a session and there was terrible smell.  I used the washroom (yes it was dirty) but that wasn’t where the smell was coming from.  As we walked past the kitchen, the door was open and there was a brown puddle coming out from under the fridge.  Roy went in and the fridge was turned on but the doors weren’t shut.  Inside the freezer part and dripping down through the empty fridge was a leg of cow!  It wasn’t in a bag or anything – just propped up in the fridge and a piece of meat on the bottom of the freezer.  We shut the doors and then when a sister came a few minutes later, we showed it to her (we see her every week and she didn’t act surprised).  The session was cancelled due to people not showing up and I was glad to not have to smell that smell.  As we left, there was a fellow who came and the two of them were in the kitchen.  In that village, I don’t imagine many of them have electricity so they don’t realize the doors have to be shut for it to keep anything cold.  What a mess.  Also, they don’t have refrigerators of their own so I am sure the church fridge is used for a lot of things.

THE fridge - it doesn't look as bad here and of course, you can't smell it!

The classrooms are also filthy, usually.  The tables and chairs have ground in dirt and mold, as well as dead insects, gecko droppings and sometimes piles of termite dust.  I could clean each and every church we go to and I would be tired and filthy and you still wouldn’t even notice what I had done.  This purple cloth I bring is my sanity, that is for sure.  I have come across maybe 4 really clean churches (out of dozens of churches we have visited) and have really complimented the bishops.  Am I frustrated?  Yes!!!

There is no way possible to teach all the people how to clean and what to expect.  They just don’t live that way in their homes as cleaning usually means shaking out the mats and whisking the dirt out.  Washing is done by hand in the river or in buckets or taps and then spread out on the ground on lava rock areas to dry. Bushes are sometimes used as clothes drying racks.  Occasionally someone will have a clothes line and what a treat that is.

the grass is so spongy in some places

There is a group of ladies in some of these villages who are the Matai’s wives and they come around each month to check your homes to see if you are keeping things clean, weeded and tidy.  They will fine you money if they find you are slacking.   You see the villages in the areas away from Apia and they generally don’t have piles of leaves or weeds growing etc. and this is one of the reasons.  In the capital area, they generally don’t have Matai’s governing things and that is why there is much more trash, etc.

Afalua, the mission cook, was telling me about her husband’s village.  There is no LDS church there and there are only Catholic and LMS churches. She said that in church, (it was the LMS church she was mentioning), they will fine you $5 if your baby cries or makes noise, or if you drop your hymnal or scriptures they will fine you as well.  They have the rule that only one person in the family is allowed to stay home to cook the food, unless they happen to be ill or really old.  This could be good in our churches too – too many people place importance on the Sunday meal rather than on the Sunday Service!  They certainly are ruled by the heavy hand in that village.

I do notice that generally you don’t hear children making noise in church.  As soon as anything happens someone will whisk that child outside and hush them.  That person usually ends up staying out of the meeting for a long time as well, and that isn’t good.

Yes, I have ranted a bit today but I also have a strong love for these people.  As I contemplate leaving behind the friends I have made on our temple shift, it is sad.  Most of them I won't have the opportunity to see again and email?  Well some have a distant relative that can take a message but direct contact will be hard.

night shot of the temple

Anyway, we plug away at the work and see little bits of improvement.  The best thing is getting to know these really wonderful people and feel of their genuine love and lack of social prestige, if you know what I mean. 

Thanks for reading the blog. I have taken excepts from my journal to make up the blog entry and sometimes I get things like the tense mixed up or whatever as I adapt it to today's writing.  Please excuse any of these errors.

-->

One of my favorite trees on the way to Malaela

Roy is 100% better for anyone who doesn’t know.  We feel blessed to have all the help we have had. 

I have quite a few just random shots I am including in this post today.

Faleola and her mother Vaiola - bishop's wife at Vavau

A door in the middle of nowhere, into a plantation

Roy enjoying some lobster

 

a poinsettia bush at the Pesega campus

This is our last week in the Malaela Stake and we will miss the beautiful drive and the beautiful people we have come to know.  They have treated us so well and Roy has felt some progress in a couple of the units.  One is not going well as the bishop is the only one attending the sessions and as Roy puts it – he isn’t the brightest penny in the pot.  Oh well, we just try and hope the spirit of the mission will rub off on him.

The next, and last, area will be the North Stake, including Sauniatu and Uafato.  We will be checking out a pickup truck to be able to go to Uafato as the road is not doable with our Tuscon.  We went there with Ian and Sharleen in 2007 and that is the only time we have been there.  It is very calm and beautiful out there – not a lot of traffic and it is quiet.

Last week was phone bill time and it wasn’t quite as long as some other months but there were still a lot of errant calls.  I watch for any phone (of the junior missionaries) that complies with the rules we have set up and there wasn’t one that was within the limits.  A few are just barely over the time but it is sad.  This appears to be just a barometer of their spiritual lives.  We have a wonderful mission president who is completely dedicated to helping his missionaries achieve their best.  Sister Leota is great too – she can tell the missionary straight what they need to improve on and they still love her.

What a joy it is in the morning on Saturdays to drive up to the church and see the kids waiting for reading time.  We have about 15 who come regularly and 3-4 of us who do the reading.  We have a few children from the other ward that meets in our building who come also.

Sanonu (sitting) Ulanita and the twins, Johnson & Felicity gathering books to take home

Sanonu and Ulanita making cookies

A week ago Friday we had Ulanita and some of her family come over for supper and an evening of cookie baking and visiting.  She brought her son Lennie (RM from Colorado), his girlfriend Pa'i, Johnson and Filicity and Sanonu, her sister.  This was such a treat to have them here.  Sanonu is a grandmother herself (but her grandbaby died only a few months old) and goes to a different church.  She married a wannabe minister in another church and has been involved there for her adult life.  As we were singing around the piano and talking, she had tears in her eyes and said she remembers from her growing up years the songs and the spirit she felt.  I have spoken with her a few times in the past couple of weeks and she really wants to come back to the church.  Her family has also had some good talks with her about the church. Her father had been in the hospital (kidney stones) and she came back from her village to help and stay with him.  We will leave her with a primary songbook and some other materials we gather (triple combination, etc.) when we leave. I just wish she lived closer (she is on the way to the airport and we travel the opposite direction each day).  Miracles do happen in Samoa and this would be one we pray for.  It is so fun to have them come and see their joy in using an electric mixer to make cookies.  They have no ovens or means of cooking like this and they LOVE coming.  Can you imagine being 40 ish and never having the opportunity to make cookies?

It was the Teuila Festival last week and town was abuzz with tourists.  We attended the Sunday evening Church Choir Program at the EFKS building.  I love the choirs and actually videoed a couple, including our LDS choir.  We rushed back from Lotofaga and were just a tad late but we were still seated up in the front area.  They always treat the missionaries well and include us with the dignitaries.

not my idea of functional hands

The Thursday before the festival, we attended the Garden Party at the Robert Louis Stevenson Museum, an annual dinner and general meeting where they present awards, etc.  We officiated the early session at the temple, were excused and were late for the speeches but in time for dinner.  I had made a puletasi and wore that.  It was fun to meet with so many people, other than the missionaries.  Mr. Tiatia, the principal of AhMu Academy was at our table and we visited and also drove him home after.  There was a really interesting lady sitting at our table and I was almost embarrassed as she was hooting and calling while the Miss Samoa Contestants were speaking.  We found out later that she was on the founding committee of it and works with them still.  I was fascinated by her hands and she willing allowed me to photograph them.  The long thumb nail was something she decided to grow at the turn of the century, while visiting Falealupo – the last place the sun used to set before we jumped the dateline.  Well, they were to have a 10 year reunion and her nail was long and it broke in Oct. of 2009.  She has been growing it since.  One lady at the table was quite a card and said to her “it is obvious you don’t do any work, with a nail like that!”  Anyway, it was a very interesting evening and I was glad to be seated with people other than senior missionaries.  We need to be visible with others, not congregating together.

FHE to learn weaving - Tasi is our neighbour boy

Saturday we had an outing for the seniors to go to the Fagalii cemetery and Sauniatu with Brett MacDonald as our guide.  The weather was great, the info was great and we all enjoyed ourselves.  Brett had arranged for us to stop at a Samoan family’s home to see how they were growing their gardens amongst the rocks and how they lived very humbly.  President Hamula had visited there also and had authorized the church to build them a bigger fale, that is in progress.  As part of our activities this time, the church workers at the farm at Sauniatu prepared an umu, with us assisting in grating the coconut, making the palusami, scraping the taro, etc.  We had purchased a pig for them to roast as well and it was a delightful, informative time.  We finished off with some going swimming in the pool under the big waterfall and it was a perfect way to end a hot day.

Elder Mariner explaining about the to'oto'o (staff) and fue

watching the pig being prepared for the umu

Roy husking a coconut

I am just finished reading all of the Psalms in the Old Testament.  I plan to finish the whole old testament as well as the New Testament before we come home and we will finish our current Book of Mormon reading two days before we leave.  

We look forward to the reopening of the temple next Tuesday as it was closed for it's 2 week cleaning - sure miss it.   I have made some nice friendships through temple service.

Well, another episode is closed and I will get some pictures posted.  

We had grandbaby #12 last week.  Chelsea and Daniel had Taylor Mae Bateman – 8lb 9oz and 21 inches long On August 6, 2012

What a beautiful baby Taylor is – and how grateful I am for skype!

She was 24 hours old in this pictures

We have had a very slow, down, and then intense week.  Roy began to ache last Saturday and Sunday evening he started with a fever, chills, cough, etc.  Well, this has progressed through the week and he finally went to see the nurse on Tuesday. She thought she could hear a bit of crackling in the right lung and wanted us to go to see a Dr. We saw Dr. Puni, he could hear nothing and had us buy some cold tablets from him.  Well, slight improvement, but then he started coughing up junk, still had the temp and head ache, etc.  I called the Magrath Clinic and spoke to Dr. Dahl and we put him on an antibiotic and hoped things would  improve.  He had a blessing on Monday night and wonder how bad he would have been if he hadn’t had the blessing.    Thus, we haven’t been out to any of his units this week and have just laid low here at the house. Wouldn’t you know it – the TV was down too and we had no channels.  We have read our scriptures, watched movies, played games and slept. 

One night he was delirius (probably from a sleeping pill he took)  and his head started to hurt more and more.  We called home again yesterday am and Dr. Tollestrup gave a rx for some meds and the terrific headache has been attributed to viral encephalitis, probably.  (We are lucky to be able to go to the pharmacy with a request for prescription drugs and they will give it to us).  The nurse came again and said she could still hear crackling down in the right lobe.  We feel the tender mercies of the Lord in the fact that we were able to get strong meds from Magrath Dr.s , and when we went to the hospital yesterday, we happened to get there in time for the beginning shift of an Australia Dr. who concurred with the Dr. from Magrath and augmented the meds.  It was so nice to talk to someone who understood and didn’t just brush us off.  From my past experiences with the Dr. here in Samoa, I was just a little nervous and leery of going but we have been helped tremendously.  There were two doctors on and we (without asking) were put in the cue for the palagi Dr.  If he didn’t improve, we were going to have to take him somewhere else (no, not Pago Pago) – further, but we hopefully aren’t facing that anymore. If we had gone earlier in the day, we wouldn’t have had the help of this particular Dr.  So, with a diagnosis of pneumonia as well, he is being treated strongly and he is responding.  Thanks to those who helped with prayers and temple roll, and sorry to those who are finding out through this blog.  We had our kids informed but just haven’t done much past that. Roy was feeling so poorly yesterday, he was wondering if Amuia would let us plant him in the front yard of his home!

just a photo of one of the graves in front of a home (on the left with the yellow fence)

a fale that the junior missionaries live in - typical of most of the missionaries' homes

Pese Brown - 71 years old and one of the members Roy works with

The Vili Taliga tree - gorgeous

boganvillea is gorgeous this time of year

For Monday’s FHE, our group was in charge and we asked President Leota to speak to us for a few moments, followed by a testimony meeting.  We as senior missionaries seldom hear his counsel and going to Samoan wards, we feel testimonies by the spirit only and don’t understand many of the words so it was a treat to hear the strength of others.   We prepared a quartet and sang “We’ll Bring The World His Truth”.  Pres. Leota spoke about helping new converts to attain the most they can by going to the temple to do baptisms, etc.  Baptisms isn’t the goal – being truly converted should be the goal. 

View of the outside of the temple, back.

We have had some changes in Samoa that will interest those who have been here before.  At the beginning of July, the food market and bus transfer in the heart of downtown Apia (across from Farmer Joe’s) was closed and has been taken down.  There is a project underway to build a better, two story market.  The unfortunate thing is that no provision was made for the vendors and where could they set up?  The new market up at Vaitele is beautiful and nice, but a long way from anything and unless you have your own vehicle, it is difficult to get to.  Thus, markets have sprung up all over town – behind the Nia Mall, in the empty lot next to Frankie’s that is next to Farmer Joe’s, a few stalls in the parking lot at the back of Farmer Joe’s, and a bigger one is set up in the lot next to the Coin Save which is directly beside Big Bear.  There are many more road-side stands too.  Saturday, the one next to Big Bear was UNBELIEVABLE – people had spread out their goods all in the ditches and any available space along the road leading down to the craft market.  I had forgotten my camera but the traffic was horrid.  The main market there by Big Bear is so tiny and cramped that it is hard to even walk down the aisles.  The buses are now using the parking lot behind the craft market right by the sea – a lot more organized that it used to be now that this is the main bus terminal.

Across from Farmer Joe's where the market and bus area was

Farmer Joe’s hosts quite a crowd outside along the wall by the car parking area.  With visiting space at a premium since the market closed down, people congregate out there and you have quite a time walking from the car to the store front.  There are often policemen stationed right there, down by the street corner, keeping traffic flowing and pedestrians in line.  The female that isn’t quite all there is stationed in this area, smoking and talking to herself.  She used to be in front and would sometimes be sleeping on the steps but she is always around the side now.

The Molesi store down on Beach Road has been torn down and a new structure is going up.  For those who lived here in 2007 – it is quite a colossal structure.  There is a Frankie Molesi store opened up in the structure that has it’s opening onto the street that the theatre is on.  For those who have left during our time here as missionaries, the store is wonderful – clean and with wide aisles, etc.  Some of you may have shopped there before you left, but I am not sure. 

As you turn left at the first light coming to Apia from Pesega, towards Farmer Joe’s, on the right was a water filled ditch along the right side of the road – often filled with trash, etc.  There is  major construction going on where they are lining up, in the ditch that has been dug out, concrete blocks that must be about 4’x4’, with a hollow core down the center.  The water can continue to run and the top is a sidewalk for pedestrians.  I hope they do this all over town to save the trash from accumulating and hopefully, the smell won’t be as bad.  The same thing is being done in another part of downtown – can’t remember exactly where.

the "new" market area - taken from the window as I drove past

Anyway, it is a nice Sabbath day and I am at the office doing this blog so I can get it sent out today. Have a great Sabbath, all of you and thank you for your prayers and love.

This is the scene we see most nights coming back from the Malaela area