September 3, 2012

Wow it is already September.  We have been in Samoa for over a month.  Sometimes it seems like longer and sometimes you wonder where the time has gone.

This past week was a busy one for us.  We started teaching the 312 Pedagogy class on Wednesday.  Not very many showed up.  We went around and talked to all those who had signed up on Thursday and they said "Oh did class start last night?"  It is the end of the 2nd semester and school will be out for the next two weeks, yes I said two week break at the end of the semester, and they were all looking forward to that I guess.  Hopefully when school starts back up they will attend.

We went to a YSA Fireside on Wednesday the 29th.  We have a young woman in our class, Sister Kolopa Aiono, who is leaving on a mission next week and they have a going away fireside for them.  They sing, play games, tell riddles, quote scriptures and say some nice things about the person leaving.  They did a lot of it in English so we could understand.  Theat was great and when they did talk in Samoan, O.J. one of the young men in our class and returned missionary, translated for us.  We were very glad to be there.  We feel like the YSA's are accepting us and including us.  When we see them on the street or at the Insitute they make a point of waving or talking to us.  We hope we can be of good service to them.  They served some yummy refreshments.  There were two sweet rolls with sweetened coconut milk with them called Panipopo, some cookies, egg salad sandwich and Cocoa Samoa.  Sometimes the Cocoa Samoa is way two strong.  It tastes to us what burnt coffee smells like.  They roast the cocoa beans and put very little sugar in with it and it is black.  I could barely even take a taste.  This time at the church, it was very light almost like it had milk in it and very mild and a little sweeter and tasted a lot like our hot chocolate.  This Cocoa Samoa was much better than the last time someone served it to us.  It is a very popular drink here in Samoa.

             This is Nada standing in front of the Robert Lewis Stevenson Museum which is the house where he lived when he lived in Samoa.   He called this place Villa Vailima.

This is the front of the Robert Louis Stevenson home now a Museum.

 

 This is Reed standing in front of the statue of the King of Samoa with his son.  This is on the patio where the program and dinner were held.  The King's name is Malietoa Uilamatutu and he was a cannibal.  He required two victims a day.  Yuck!!!  The son offered himself up as one of his victims and the King had to decide either to eat his son or end cannabalism.  He stopped the practice.

Below is a picture of the back of the house and patio where the program and meal took place.

 They gave us leis as we came in.  Reed and I waiting for the program to start.  They served us drinks and appetizers.  The appetizers were raw tuna over cabbage and some rice balls with some kind of raw fish on top.  Reed ate them and said they were good.  Nada did not try them.  That is way too fishy for me!!!!

Below is a picture of the reigning Miss Somoa and the contestants for 2012-2013 Miss Samoa.  They asked them to anwer this question. "Why should you be the next Miss Soman?"  They answered both in English and Samoan.  They were very cute and did a great job.  There are six contestants.  We thought our granddaughters would think this was fun to include. All of them had different flowers and arrangements in their hair.  They were very interesting.

 The girl in the blue gown with the crown is the reigning Miss Samoa.

This is Bill Winegar.  He is the President of the foundation.  He was very friendly and talked to everyone.  He conducted the meeting.   Rex Maughan is on his left and the speaker in the picture below.  He is the Chairman of the foundation and the money behind it all. He now lives in Scottsdale Arizona.  He was very friendly and talked about his mission here in 1957 for 21/2 years and his love for the country and the people.  It was interesting.  

 

 On Thursday night, August 30th, all the Senior Missionaries were invited to attend the annual Memorial Garden Party at the Robert Louis Stevenson Museum.  Wow is it beautiful up there.  This is where Robert Louis Stevenson lived and is buried.  There are two men, Jim Winegar, the president and Rex Maughan the chairman of the foundation and they come every year and do a party.  It is to promote interest and money.  They were both missionaries and companions here in Samoa starting in 1957.  They love the country and people so much and have done so much to help them.  Rex Maughan is the money and Jim Winegar is the promoter.  They invite the Missionary Couples and the Mission President and his family every year.  They had a great program and music and food.  It was a very nice evening. Below is a picture of the plate of food Reed got.  The stuff in the little glass dish is octopus.  The green stuff is taro leaves with coconut milk that was actually quite tasty.  There is chicken, turkey, roast, taro, salmon and pumpkin (squash).  It was very good food.  Reed said the octopus wasn't real good but the sauce was tasty.

To Sua Trenches on the Southeast side of the Island.   It costs 15 Tala each but it was worth it. They are really trying hard to keep this area clean and beautiful.  The grounds were planted and mantained very well.  The water is chrystal clear and it just has a great feeling and beauty there. 

On Saturday September 1st we drove over to the other side of the island to go swimming at the  To Sua Trenches.  The top picture is as you are walking from the parking area to the ocean. We never did see the blow hole. Maybe it only happens at high tide. On the left Reed and I are holding a leaf of the Ta'amu plant to show how big they are. It has a root that the people eat that is like taro only bigger. The ocean is below us.  On the right Reed is standing in front of a grave.  They have graves just wherever and they are quite the monument to the people buried there.  What a beautiful resting place for this woman.  Below is a picture of a fale (house).  This was a really nice little one that people can use when they come to the Trenches for picnics or to just lay in and rest. 

 We drove Elder and Sister Gertsch and Elder and Sister Osborne there.  Elder and Sister Harker and Brother and Sister Roth came together and we met there.  We had a fun little picnic overlooking the ocean before we climbed down to swim in the trench.  It took us a little over an hour to get there.  It is right by Vavau Beach which we love but we will definitely be back here.  We didn't have time to go play in the ocean which we want to do next time.

 Below is a picture from inside the trench.  Reed is taking the pictures that is why he isn't in very many of them.  You can see that we had to climb down a ways to get to the water.  You can stand up in part of it and not in other parts.  The water is quite cool and as the tide comes in and out it pushes you back and forth inside the hole.  Reed swam through an opening about 12 feet that took him out to the ocean.  He said it was a little tight and hard.  Brother Roth went and ended up surfacing too soon and got cuts all over his head from the corral.  That is one of the reasons we didn't go and play in the ocean.  We thought we better get him back.

 You had to walk down some steep stairs to get to this ladder in order to climb down into the water.  It was a little scarey because they get slippery when they are wet.  You can see how many steps on the ladder there are.  Then there is a little platform you can either sit on or jump off into the water.  Under the platform there are a few more stairs that you take to get into the water.  Reed jumped, Nada climbed into the water.

 The water was so clear and refreshing.  The couple on the platform were some kids from New Zealand, not part of our group.  You can see how beautiful the coast line and ocean are from the picture below.  It was a great day. 

As we were leaving the To Sua Trenches area we looked over and this man was taking a rest laying in this fale.  You see them doing this all the time.  Fa'a Samoa!  There is usually a nice breeze under there so it is quite a bit cooler than just even laying under a tree.  Well that does it for this week.  We had a lot of fun things going on.  We love you and wish the Lord's Blessings on you all.  Love Elder and Sister Spencer.