Chocolate Chips and the temple

We have attending the temple in Samoa.  The first week we went to the temple we went with our Samoan Ward and used head phones for the temple session.  This past week we were asked to help with sealings.  The Samoan Temple is built with extra large seats in the session rooms to accomodate the larger Samoans.  I was worried when we went last week because a heavier lady sat by me, but since the chairs are roomier I hardly even knew that she was sitting next to me.  I was the last person to go through the veil because I was sitting in the very back and needed to have English.  The Samoan people are wonderful.  The ladies will come up to the sisters and kiss her on the cheek as a greeting.  It has taken me awhile to get used to this new custom.  After doing sealings last Thursday, the sealer told us that he wanted to shake all of hands before we left.  The sisters in the session kissed each other's cheeks.  Even the altar in the Samoan Temple is built larger with more leg room to kneel and extra padding. 

Mega Church

In Samoa the people are very religious and there are mega churches all over the place.  they pay up to 60% of their salaries to build these churches all over the island. 

We have enjoyed taking drives to the ocean on our weekend.  This week some Elders and Sisters came to the temple.  The missionaries aren't allowed to go to the temple unless they are coming with a new convert to do baptisms for the dead.  They are allowed to stay overnight at the mission home and then need to get immediately to their areas after the session is over.  This week the assistants and President Leota were in American Samoa, so we were asked to drive the sisters to the wharf so that they could go to Savaii another island in Samoa.  It was a pleasure to drive them there and we had beautiful scenery along the way. 

Some of the simple pleasures we enjoy are chocolate chip cookies.  Our daughter, Heather, sent us some chocolate chips which aren't available here.  We have really enjoyed being able to bake some cookies.  We are able to get some American food at some of the markets, but the chocolate chips that they sell here are very small.  So every weekend I bake some cookies to last for the week.

We are going to go out to dinner tonight with another couple in our mission at Cocobananas.  We are excited to get to know some of the other couples that are serving here.