Mapusaga Stake Center Dedication

Ocean View at the beginning of the evening

Same view after the dedication

The Mausaga Stake dedicated their new stake center. Friday was the fiafia - celebration. Each ward did a musical presentation. Most of the wards did dancing but some of them did singing. I'll try to post some videos of the dances.

The singing here is absolutely amazing. One of the wards in this stake has produced a CD. 

We were invited to sit at the head table. They are so kind to us and always treat us with the greatest respect. 

The Samoans really know how to party. We always come away with so much food we can't eat it all.

Part of the crowd attending the dedication

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More of the crowd

One of the dances, this part of the dance featured the men

Another ward

This ward did mostly singing

Another ward featured the men

By the Seas, By the Beautiful Sea

I thought I'd share some pictures of our lovely island just so you can get an idea of what we see everyday.

My favorite sights are of the ocean. It is so beautiful. Every time we go to Pago Pago we are mesmerized by the waves. They are always different. Sometimes they are tumultuous & sometimes they're quite calm. In many places the waves crash into each other as they come from different directions. If I had time I could sit and watch them for hours. There's not a lot of beach & the beaches that we have are quite rocky instead of sandy. In the Pago Pago harbor where the waves are most fascinating, there is no beach at all. The waves break fifty to a hundred yards out & then there is a "lake" between there & land. Often we see people playing in the water. If the tide is out, we will see men fishing. in that "lake". Can't believe that I only have videos of the waves by Pago Pago.

I hope this plays. These are the waves by Pago Pago Harbor.

This is at Turtle & Sharks. The waves come in so hard that when they hit the rocks, the water sprays into the air.

This is also Turtles & Sharks. Legend has it that this is the only place in the world where turtles & sharks swim together. 

This is the sight of our Ward Party. One of the few sandy beaches. This is owned by our bishop's in-laws.

This is down by the airport.

Also by the airport. Notice the two bridges that have formed on each side.

A large cargo ship heading into Pago Pago Harbor

Elder Anthon enjoying the ocean. This is the east end of the island.

Motu o Fiafiaga

Motu o Fiafiaga is the logo on the American Samoa license plates. It means island pleasant. I thought I'd share some photos of this beautiful island. For the most part we really enjoy being here. I do have a few anxious moments when we find a cockroach the size of 2 quarters laying side by side or a gecko that likes to run around the house. I could really do without the creepy crawlies.




First you need to understand that there is only one main highway that runs the length of the island on the south side. Off of this highway there are numerous side roads. Each side road runs through a village (think town or area). Some of the side roads are paved & quite nice. Others are just dirt roads with lots of ruts & holes to maneuver. We live in the village of Leone. It is located on the west end of American Samoa. It takes us about 30-40 minutes to drive to Pago Pago, the capital of American Samoa.

While Elder & Sister Jordan were still here they took us to see where some Elders lived. We had no idea where we were going but we were enjoying the ride & the view. We eventually made it to the villages of Masausi & Sa'ilele on the north side of the island. You can see the village sign in the top picture. The second picture is where the road comes to an end. The last picture is the view of the ocean that the villages enjoy every day. Isn't that beautiful?




This is what I call Picture Perfect!!! It's probably on a post card somewhere. If it's not, it should be.

There are many different churches on the island. The buildings are very, very large. Next to the church is another large building where the pastor lives.  Every weekend the parking lots of these churches are overflowing. Saturday night the adults are there to play bingo. We understand that that is the way most of the churches raise money to support the church. And Sunday those same members with their children are at church services. Religion is very important to the people of Samoa. These are pictures of a Catholic church that we visited. The middle picture is of a fale. There is a Nativity scene inside.
















Every 1st & 3rd Friday an open air market is held in Pago Pago. They also have free entertainment. This is a Catholic Sunday School performing. They say free but really they expected donations. Another way that churches raise funds. But aren't the children beautiful?



The Miracle of the Sand

There is an island about 1.5 miles off the southeast corner of Tutuila - the largest island in the American Samoa chain of islands. This island is call Aunu'u. When the church wanted to build a chapel on Aunu'u, the village chief refused to let them. So the members fasted. He finally relented but told them that they couldn't use any of the sand on the beach for the building of the church. So the members fasted again that a miracle would happen. The building supplies all arrived. But there was no sand with which to make the mortar. The morning that construction was to start, all the members went to the beach for the dedication of the site & there they found a pile of sand on the property. Every day the workers would use the sand & the next morning the sand would be replenished. When the chapel was completed, the sand no longer appeared. This event has become known as the Miracle of the Sand.

The Miracle of the Sand Chapel

The beach by the chapel

Someone finding clams

We visited Aunu'u recently with the missionaries. President Hannemann had reassigned all the missionaries to other areas & we needed to transport all of the supplies from the missionaries' homes back to the mission home. This is no small matter because everything has to be moved on boats.

Supplies waiting to be loaded
onto the boat.

We did enjoyed seeing the chapel that was built from the Miracle of the Sand.

Putting supplies on the boat

I'd really like to know if anyone is actually reading this blog. Please leave a note if you are.

Talofa from Samoa! Hope you enjoy our adventures. We'd love it if you'd share your thoughts with us. Our days are filled with a variety of missionary activities. Right now we are focused on three things - the Summer Reading Program, Missionary Support, & the Pathway Program.

Summer Reading Program - Technically speaking this should be called a Winter Reading Program because we are enjoying wintertime in Samoa. But the calendar says it is summer so we'll go with that. The reading program has been spearheaded by Louisa Kuaea. She & her husband lead the BYU Alumni Chapter here on the island. They have joined with the local library & community college to have this program for the children of Samoa. She is doing a wonderful job & we are fortunate to be able to work with her. 

Our leader, Louisa (standing) The girl on the
left is Shadie Bigelow - leader of the Explorers.
Sisters Hodges & Morrissette on the right.

When we started we hoped we could reach 100 children. The first week we had 130 & now we are up to 200. The purpose is to get the children to read & to improve their English. Most everyone speaks English but they aren't all that proficient at it. We meet every Tuesday & Thursday from 9:30 to 11:30. But generally speaking the parents start showing up at 8:30. That's partly because most of them ride the bus & one never knows how long that will take. The bus schedule is less than regular to say the least. After a gathering of all the children we divide into 2 groups - Explorers (5-8 yrs old) & Adventurers (9-13 yrs old). 

Elder Anthon & I help with the Explorers. After the gathering we divide our children into the 4 age groups & then they rotate to 4 different learning stations. We do the communicating lesson. So we do a lot of listening skills & speaking skills activities. 

At the end of the Program we are hoping to give a book to each child to have as their own. A big Shout Out goes to Davis 2nd Ward for collecting & sending books to help make this possible. Thank you so much.

Meeting the children the first day - Elder Anthon at the right

Here are the Explorers on the first day.

One sweet memory from the first day involves a little girl. She was so very timid & overwhelmed that the only thing she would do was cling to he dad & cry. No amount of coxing could get her to join the group. I tried the high five & fist bump, but she didn't want anything to do with me. Finally, I told the Dad to move his chair up to the group so she could listen to the story being read. Gradually she started to participate. Tears changed to smiles. Smiles lead to giggles. And by the end of the day she was sitting next to me as we read a book together. The next week it was just all smiles. Tender mercy from the Lord.

Elders Mounga & Coggins checking on supplies for the week.
They are the West Zone Leaders.

Pathway - We're hoping that this reading program will inspire God's children who are much older than these children to enroll in Pathway Worldwide. This program is a blessing from God. It allows members all over the world to get an education right where they live at a very affordable price. Pathway is being brought to Samoa for the very first time & we are fortunate to be a part of it. The local leaders were hoping to get just 10 people to sign up - this is the minimum number to have a Pathway group. Well, we already have 20 registered. We are feeling pretty good about that. In a couple of weeks there is a Devotional aimed at getting more interested. We are especially anxious for the young single adults to participate. We have attended a couple of ward council meetings to explain the program. The bishops have seen what a blessing it can be for their ward members. As a result we have been asked to hold a fireside for one of the wards. As word gets out, more are enrolling.

Missionary Support - This really isn't our assignment but the couple that had been doing it went home & the couple coming to replace them won't be here until Aug 1. We are just filling in until they get here. Then we will turn our attention to other educational programs that require our attention - self reliance, moms' preschools, etc.

But until then we love doing missionary support. It has given us a chance to associate with the young missionaries. And what a great group of missionaries. They are anxiously engaged in their work. We have attended at least one baptism every week since arriving. We have become quite close with the zone leaders. They are mastering the skills of future church leadership.

Ward Fun Day - Less you think that all we do is missionary work, here are some pictures of the Mesepa International Ward (MIW) at their ward Fun Day. We'd call it the ward party. In many ways it was the same as any ward party but as you see in the pictures it wasn't anything like a ward party in Vernal.

We had baptisms to attend so we went to the party in our missionary attire. When we arrived someone quickly got us a chair. I asked if this is what you do for the old people. He said no, "This is for the missionaries." They treat us so well here. Enjoy the view that we enjoyed.

This is what we sat & looked at while we were at the Fun Day. Beautiful, isn't it!

This little guy is going spear fishing with his dad. He had to protect the spear from other curious little boys.

No paper plate arrow pointing the way for Samoans

Bishop Goodwin helps Arnie carry bananas in from the car. We have a couple of banana trees in our yard so we brought some to share with ward members.

Kids playing at the boat ramp. This bay is on private property.

Playing King of the Mountain - Samoa style

Brother Meretuku - 2nd counselor in the bishopric - sharpens a machete to  cut the coconuts in front.

This young man graduated
 from high school this day.
In the background you can see Aunuu

We traveled from the main island of American Samoa to the small island of Aunuu. It is part of the American Samoan island chain. To get there we went on a small boat. Our friends, Elder & Sister Jordan, told us that they have seen dolphins alongside the boat at times. We didn't get to see them this trip but maybe on our next trip.

Arnie enjoying the boat ride.

We went to see a family that the Jordans wanted to tell good bye before leaving to return home. (The Jordans went home yesterday.) There are a lot of poor people in American Samoa & this family is one of them. Such humble circumstances that it brought tears to my eyes. Even though they little they treated us like royalty. So kind & welcoming. They insisted that we stay for lunch. We ate before the family. It was hard to eat first when they have so little. But it would have been an insult to refuse. Before we left they sang a song that brought tears to everyone. It was a very touching day.

Arrival at the island

The boat we rode on

Clay - the captain of the boat.
He is a member of the church.

The view as we return to the main

island of Tutui

I apologize for taking so long to post. I tried to post on my iPad but couldn't figure out how to do it. Downloading them onto my laptop solved the problem. Also, we have to use the internet at the Tutuila Mission Home because we haven't gotten the internet connected in our home as yet. So the posting may be coming a little at a time until that happens.

Before to write a comment when you read each post. You like to hear from us but we really like to hear from you.

Training at the MTC & Church Office Building

Pointing to our Mission at the World Map

We had a wonderful experience at the MTC. The week was spent learning from the Preach My Gospel book. We ran into a couple of high school friends - one of mine and one of Arnie's. We also made some wonderful new friends from many parts of the country. Our teachers were all young (at least young to us - still in college) returned missionaries. They were excellent. 

Our MTC District was made up of Elder & Sister Hill from St. George - going to Nauvoo, Elder & Sister Schultz from Las Vegas - going to Slovakia, & Elder & Sister Harrison from Denver - going to Germany to do Family Research & Extraction. We had a great time with them in district meetings/training - sharing lots of experiences, laughing at the funny things that happen at the MTC, confiding our concerns about our different assignments, etc. They are amazing people.

After the MTC we went to SLC for training at the church office building. This training was more focused on our particular assignment - self reliance, Pathway, & PEF (Perpetual Education Fund). This was another wonderful experience.

Our MTC District

Carla Cleavinger's sister was in
the training in SLC

Elder Sitati - General Authority Seventy
spent some time teaching us.