Giving Thanks

I was thinking about our blessings today as we attended church in a building that didn’t have air-conditioning.  How many times have I complained because I was too cold in our nice air- conditioned building in the states.  As I think about our lovely home in Mesa Arizona and then drive by the Fale’s that the people live in here with no air conditioning, I again contemplate why I am not more grateful.  Then as we drive in our nice air-conditioned car, I see people walking in flip flops wherever they go and riding in crowded buses with no air conditioning and see their happy spirits.  I wonder what is it that make these people so happy.  Even though they have humble circumstances, most all of them will greet you with a smile and be more than happy to be acknowledged by us as missionaries.  They faithfully attend their churches on Sunday closing up the shops for most of the day.  They love the Lord and are a kind and gentle people. It is a wonderful opportunity to be able to rub shoulders with the people in Samoa.

High Priority

We have had a good week in the Samoa Apia Mission.  We have been very busy this week creating missionary files, arranging travel and shipping boxes for the missionaries.  My husband had so many boxes in front of his desk to mail that I had to take a picture.  We are starting to get Christmas packages in for the missionaries.  My husband went to the airport several time to pick up the packages and they weren’t there even though the couple serving in Pago said that the packages were sent.  We finally figured out that it was because so many people were traveling to Pago because of graduation from High School.  They weigh all the people first, then luggage, freight is sent last.  Many Samoan’s are very heavy so this accounts for the wait.

We worked in the temple on Tuesday night and we had a  large group of members come from Pago.  A couple received their endowments and were later sealed to their little family.  I went in the area where the children were waiting and had a very enjoyable time talking with the children.  The older two children were nine and ten.  The girl who was nine said, "Your eyes must be really fun to color, my Dad has light brown eyes and my mother has dark brown eyes."  This made me smile.  I talked with them about writing down what it was like being in the temple and told them about my baptism and that I had to be baptized twice because my toe stuck up.  The little girl asked what a toe was.  They were so cute.  Finally the little boy asked me how old I was.  When I told him, he said "You aren't THAT old!"  It was  pretty funny.  I then got to help them go to the seaing room where they met up with their parents and all the ward members.  I told them to look at the pictures of Jesus.  It was a very special evening.

Elder Fitisemanu, Elder Kokkola, Elder Vaeagi, Elder Ieremia, Elder
Leamanaia, Elder Kinnison, Elder Mackey, Elder Too-
faalogo, Elder Ormsby, Front: Elder Tafitit, Sister Losi, Sister Tapusoa, Elder Solo

We went to a zone meeting in the Apia Zone this week.  This is a large zone with 13 missionaries.  We always have an enjoyable time seeing the missionaries.  Elder Ormsby and Elder Tafiti are the zone leaders and are doing an excellent job serving the missionaries in their zone.  Afterwards they had song practice.  We are going to be having Christmas Zone Meetings in December so the missionaries are practicing songs and skits for that.  We will have the opportunity of participating in the Savaii Zone Meeting as well as Upolu. 

We don’t celebrate Thanksgiving in Samoa, but the senior couples are going to have a dinner on Monday.  We look forward to a nice evening with them. We went over to the Hanson’s home for birthday cake last night.  There were several couples that came and we had a nice visit.