A Shift Into High Gear

Talofa Family and Friends,
     Our life shifted into high gear this week with the beginning of Institute and preparing to teach four mornings a week.  It was a slow start with only a few students registered the first day, but each day there were a few more.  We were told that this next week there will be more students.  The thing is, no matter how many students show up, preparation time is the same for one as it is for 30.  I'm teaching Foundations of the Restoration and The Book of Mormon.  I have loved studying and reading the materials to prepare for these classes, and the classes all went very well with a lot of participation from the students who were there.  Some of them are return missionaries and all of them are well versed in the scriptures.  I think I'm really going to enjoy teaching these classes.

Elders Williams and Ili

     A good part of our Monday afternoon was spent at the hospital with Elders Williams and Ili.  Elder Ili has been suffering with a fungal infection for two weeks and could barely walk.  He'd already seen the nurse and gone through the treatment she'd prescribed with no improvement.  While we were waiting in the emergency room - that's where you have to go - Brent talked to the man sitting next to him and picked up a referral for the Elders.  They have an appointment to see him this week.
     While we were waiting I was showing them pictures off of my phone.  One of the pictures was taken in our family room.  Elder Williams exclaimed, "Cool - you have a putting green in your house!" He had never seen green carpet before.

Community College

     I am always amazed at the men who work for hours every week cutting huge lawns with weed cutters, and then raking and disposing of the cuttings. One morning while I was walking at the college I stopped to read a sign I had previously walked by.  It was describing how grass helps slow the water in heavy downpours, helps to filter our pollutants and keeps the soil from washing away.  People on the islands are encouraged to plant lawns.

Dad with the Grand kids - 2007 

     I also started to notice while walking that many of the trees have signs next to them identifying what they are.  I have memorized all of the ones I have seen thus far, and am wishing that all the plants were labeled.

     I was blessed with a father who not only loved kids but also the creations of the earth.  One of his favorite stories was about the Lupine, a plant in the pea family that contains nitrogen-fixing bacteria that is good for the soil. He would always tell us to be like the Lupine, to leave what ever place we were better than we found it.  I credit my dad for my love of nature and my extreme distress when I see people litter or pollute the world.  When we arrived here there were packs of bottled water stacked in the kitchen. The missionaries would help themselves to a plastic water bottle, drink it and put it in the trash.  That came to a quick end when I informed them there would be no more water bottles, but they were welcome to get a glass out of the cupboard and fill it with filtered water at the sink.  I also encouraged them to think about where all the trash goes when we live on a small island.  I was glad to see last week that Western Samoa had gotten rid of plastic grocery bags.  I understand that the government here is working on banning all Styrofoam which would be a huge adjustment as Samoans love to take home food in Styrofoam containers from every social gathering.

Junk Corner of our property

      Every week a huge pile of garbage collects on the corner of our property.  Apparently it is the neighborhood drop off for large items like broken appliances, old tires, car parts, roofing material....  This week there is a single water ski in the pile.  No one water skis around here!  Luckily there is a large truck that picks it up weekly, but within hours a new pile is formed.
     I talked to my friend Marleen this week in New York.  She said I needed to let people know that we were safe.  I guess my first blog gave the impression that living here was dangerous.  Today is our 2 month mark - and I can say that life in American Samoa is very safe.

White Collared Kingfisher in our backyard

     Going along with my rant on pollution  Moroni 8:31 comes to mind: 

Yea, it shall come in a day when there shall be great ^apollutions upon the face of the earth; there shall be ^bmurders, and robbing, and lying, and deceivings, and whoredoms, and all manner of abominations; when there shall be many who will say, Do this, or do that, and it ^cmattereth not, for the Lord will ^duphold such at the last day. But wo unto such, for they are in the ^egall of bitterness and in the ^fbonds of iniquity.

One of the great blessings of the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ is we have a living prophet to follow who helps give direction through these difficult times.  We are counseled that God wants us to be joyful, to love our families and serve others.  Let's all take the lesson from the Lupine and leave wherever we are a little better because we were there.  Have a great week!

Alofa atu - Patty (aka Nana, Grams)

A Taste of Heaven

Tofa!  We're off to Apia

Dear Family and Friends,
We have had an amazing couple of days this week and a little taste of heaven.  With Institute classes starting tomorrow we decided to take advantage of our last few free days and fly to Apia, Western Samoa.  Getting there and back is quite an adventure on a small prop plane.  It is an act of faith for me to travel on this plane - even though the flight is only about 35 minutes.  When you check in you are weighed and assigned your seat so the plane will be balanced.  You have to duck down to get in through the door, and there is no place inside you can stand up.  We were packed in like sardines in a can both ways.  A little glitch I was not aware of is that if the plane is full of passengers they do not send your luggage with you.  They send the luggage when they have room!  Thus, we have been home for two days and our luggage is still not here.  I'm pretty distressed as I don't have any make-up, a comb or brush, and there were damp clothes in our bag.  Hoping it is not moldy by the time it arrives.

Apia Samoa Temple - (Internet photo)

      We were having so much fun we kept forgetting to
take pictures so excuse the internet photos this week.  The main reason we went over was to attend the temple.  We were able to do 2 sessions.  Both times we went we ran into old friends and even made some new ones.  The Swangers, the Senior Zone Leaders in Apia now, were in the Friday evening session so we went to dinner with them after the session.  Since they have been teaching Institute they had some helpful info for us.  We also enjoyed seeing the Sprouses, Fifes and Sister Bennett.  We love this temple and it felt like we had come home.

Our Dear Friend Afulua (FB PHOTO)

 When we first got to Apia we rented a car and went to the Mission Home.  We were anxious to see our dear friend, Afulua.  I promised her when we left last time that I would wear a flower every day to remember her and I have pretty much kept that promise.  She has worked in the mission home for the past several mission presidents, and I'm pretty sure they couldn't run the place without her.  We asked her if she could arrange to have Friday off so we could go to the beach.  We picked her up Friday morning and drove to the Paradise Lost Resort on the SW side of the island.  For 30 Tala/person you have access to the beach with chairs, changing room, showers, bathroom and 30 Tala worth of food and drink.  Now that's a pretty good deal considering 30 Tala is about $12.00.  Again we were so busy talking and laughing that we forgot to take pictures!  Brent and I were excited to swim in the ocean again.  I think when God made the earth he said, "I love Samoa - I think I will make the beaches and water just perfect for the people!"  We did snorkel and we did see some fish - but it wasn't the best spot we've been in.  Still, it was heavenly to be back in the water. 

      Definitely the best part of the trip was reconnecting with old friends - people we love and miss.  While we were in Apia we taught Primary.  Late Saturday morning we took Owen and Charlotte, a couple of our kids who were available, to OO La La for ice cream. These kids stole our hearts and it was wonderful to see them again.  It was nice that they were excited to see us also.  As a bonus, Lani Smolik, Owen's mom, joined us. Everywhere we went we bumped into old friends and young people who were serving missions while we were there.  I think that's what heaven must be like - seeing and reconnecting with people who we love and have missed.

Miriama, Brent and Patty

     Thursday, after we left the mission home we drove around the west half of the island.  All of the villages still are decorated from the Pacific Games that were a few weeks ago.  The Samoan people gave a royal welcome to all of the other Pacific countries that came to participate, with flags, banners, and trees wrapped in different colors.  The villages are beautiful anyways, but this time they really out did themselves! I tried to upload a video but darn -it's a no go.
      After Ice Cream we met Miriama at the mission home and took her to lunch.  She is the young woman Brent baptized when we were here.  She has since married a very nice return missionary in the temple and is doing great.  She was a golden contact and is still strong in the church despite opposition from some of her family members.  Again, it was so wonderful to see her and find her doing so well.
        Before closing I have to mention our first

One of our cute missionaries - Sister Sauni

experience renting an Airbnb.  I found this one for $29/night in Mo'ootua which I thought sounded pretty dang reasonable since it included air conditioning and breakfast.  It was run by a young hippie couple from Australia.  They lived on the lower floor and the upper, street level floor had 5 rooms that they rented with a large common area in the middle.  It was clean, the bed was comfortable, the air worked really good so I guess we shouldn't complain that there was no shower head, just a pipe that shot out really cold water and the toilet always ran.  I think we might stay there again.                                                                                                                         

Sardines in a can - Samoa Airways

                   
 Miriama and her husband dropped us off at the airport at 2:30 pm for our 3:15 flight back to AS.  Because of thunderstorms they were way behind schedule.  This airport has no air conditioning and only wooden benches with no backs to sit on (if you're lucky enough to get a seat). Three and a half hours later we finally boarded our plane.  I was more than ready to go home when they finally called us to board.  Now if we can just get our luggage!

        I'm using a quote off of Pres. Fife's blog this week:

A grateful heart is a beginning of greatness. It is an expression of humility. It is a foundation for the development of such virtues as prayer, faith, courage, contentment, happiness, love, and well-being.

-James E. Faust

        Several times this week I'v thought of all of my blessings.  My wonderful family and friends, the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ, my health....the usual things one thinks of.  However, I've also thought how thankful I am for good journalists who take great risks to report stories that need to be told, the many public servants who serve with integrity (Yes, I believe there are still some around), the scientists and engineers who work hard to help make the world healthier and safer, the wealthy people who give liberally of their money to help those less fortunate, the families of our servicemen and women, who sacrifice at home so their family member can protect us.  Yes, there are many, many things to be grateful for.  This week I am especially grateful for the little taste of heaven we had visiting Samoa.

Tyler and Cecile's Big Day

Cecile Green and Tyler Ellsworth - Aug 10, 2019

Talofa Family and Friends,
The events of this week were trumped by the marriage of our grandson, Tyler to his beautiful bride, Cecily.  They were married in Lehi, Utah and will be living in McMinnville, Oregon, where they both will be attending school.  Knowing that almost our entire family was at the wedding was hard, but we appreciated the stream of photos and video that was sent to us throughout the day.  It is hard to be away from our family, especially on big days like weddings and baptisms.  There are still a few things we will miss before we return home.

Our Forever Family (Missing Jason, Laura, Elise & Luke)

I think we pretty much have our Monday routine 

Our Tutuila Family

down.  I take outgoing mail and packages to the front desk, and pick up mail in the PO Box.  Brent takes the car around to the back and loads incoming packages.  However, looking at the number of packages that need to be mailed tomorrow I think our great system might need to be tweaked a little.

Wednesday is a work in progress.  It is the young missionaries Prep-day when they can e-mail home.  Because we only have two computers they tend to congregate at our house for long periods of time.  Last Wednesday there was a action filled game of UNO while the boys waited their turn.  I usually put out sandwiches and fruit so they can eat lunch, and I have been making cookies every week for them.  However, they seem to have bottomless stomachs and my food budget can only stretch so far.  Food here is much more expensive than in the states as almost everything has to be shipped in.

We were so excited to learn about a new fresh fish market that just opened in Pago Pago on Friday mornings.  You would think living on an island it would be easy to find fresh fish at a reasonable price, but when we ask people where they get their fish they either tell us they have an uncle or friend that fishes, they buy frozen fish at the store or that they don't like fish!  Not much help for us as we are fresh out of fishing uncles.  We scored with a beautiful piece of fresh tuna that will last us for several meals.  Brent made his favorite Samoan dish - Fai'ai (SP?)  It is fresh tuna baked in coconut milk with onion.  Served with rice it is delicious!

This Saturday we attended three different baptismal services.  I was so glad that we drove over the mountain to Vatia to Roseanna's baptism as we were about the only people there.  Most people on that side of the island and from her village do not have cars and were not able to get to the church, which was quite a distance away.   Roseanna is a beautiful young mother with two small children.  She was married Wednesday and got baptized Saturday.  She was not able to get married previously because her legal records were lost.  Her husband is already a member, and she has been attending church for years, but because she was not legally married she was not able to be baptized.  She is excited about going to the temple as soon as she can.  We also attended a baptism of a mother and daughter in Nu'uuli.  The mother had read the Book of Mormon in two weeks and was making sacrifices to join the church.  The third was an older man from Malaeimi.  Every time I witness a baptism I think of one more person gathered to Israel.

Roseanna's Baptism with Elders Bailey and Smith

Just like the kids at home, the kids here are getting ready to go back to school this week.  I'll miss the kids who come to pick lemons in our yard.  From talking to parents the elementary public schools here do not have the resources for a good education - even basics like paper and pencils.  Poor education is one of the main things that keeps the people here from getting good jobs.

The Church has a great program called Pathways that is available around the globe for adults who want to earn a college degree.  The classes we will be teaching at the Institute are part of this program.  The academic classes are online, and after completing the first year students can take online courses through BYU Idaho and earn degrees in several different disciplines at a much reduced price.  When they graduate they will have a degree from BYU Idaho.  It is a great blessing for people who want to further their education but can't afford to attend a public or private school.

I love that the Church recognizes the importance of education and learning.  In Doctrine and Covenants 130:18-19 it states: 18 Whatever principle of ^aintelligence we attain unto in this life, it will rise with us in the ^bresurrection.

19 And if a person gains more ^aknowledge and intelligence in this life through his ^bdiligence and obedience than another, he will have so much the ^cadvantage in the world to come.

We are commanded to seek knowledge out of the best books and by study and and by faith.  So, to my grand kids who are at the beginning of a new school year, I hope that you will take your school work seriously, and work hard to learn the things that will benefit you and enable you to help others, not only in this world but in the life to come.  I love and miss you all.  Have a great week. :) 

Alofa atu, Patty (aka Nana, Grams)

 t

It's Batty Around Here!

Talofa Family and Friends,
Looking at our August calendar we see several family members and friends who are celebrating birthdays.  So along with this blog we are sending love and Happy Birthday wishes to all the August birthdays.

This mission is much different than our first mission, but we are starting to love the work as we now have some idea of what we are supposed to be doing.  Being the first of the month Brent requests a check from the service center to pay the missionaries. He takes the check to the bank and cashes it.  (Going to the bank always involves an extended wait time.)   Each missionary receives $100/month for food, bus passes and personal expenses.  That means he brought home $2900 in twenty dollar bills.  We separated them into envelopes, labeled them and helped the Zone Leaders deliver  them to the missionaries around the island.  We were not able to contact the elders who are serving on the far east side of the island so I just prayed somehow we would be able to find them.  It was a tender mercy that I spotted the first two teaching a lesson on a porch a bit off the road and the last two finally responded to our text and we were able to meet them at their home.  Since it's an hours drive on a very curvy, dark road we were relieved we were able to complete all our deliveries.

Driving over to the east end in the early evening

Flying Fox (Internet Image)

I spotted several Flying Foxes.  They are one of several different bats that live on the island.  According to the internet, they have a wing span of 1.5 meters.   At dusk they do look  creepy.  I tried to get a picture of one but they move fast and so I had to settle for an image from the internet.  Brent was driving so he missed most of them.  He kept telling me, when he would get a glimpse, that they were birds.  He finally relinquished when he saw one, and agreed that they were the flying foxes.                                                                         

Community College Campus

                                                                           This week I finally decided I had to start my
early morning walks again.  I have been hesitant to go out because of the dogs.  After a rat encounter at the track by the police station,  I decided to try the Community College campus near to our home.  Because of other early morning commitments I only made it 3/5 days last week but it felt so good to walk again.  My dear friends Heather and Wendy were sorely missed as  walking companions, but I still enjoyed being out in the early morning, just before the sun rises.  It's a great time to ponder about things I've read or lessons I'm preparing. Best of all there were no dogs.

Seal of Samoa - Governor's Office

We also made a trip to the government building this week
to hopefully clear up the problem we encountered at the
Las Vegas airport on our way here.  Hawaiian Airlines was not going to let us board unless we had a letter from the Attorney General of American Samoa, or a return ticket to the states.  A quick call to Emergency Missionary Travel, who purchased us return tickets for August 16, 2019, and we were on our way.  How-ever, since we are not going to use the tickets, we were concerned about getting this important letter from the Attorney General - so important that the first few people we talked to at the AG's office didn't have any idea what we were talking about. The third person we talked to, the one over travel, finally told us not to worry about it - she wasn't even sure what to tell us about what future missionaries should do to avoid the same problem.  That's what I call a bureaucracy!

We also took the opportunity to listen to the two democratic presidential debates.  Brent and I both liked the Congress woman from Hawaii but we know very little about her and she probably doesn't have a chance.  There were also some CRAZY candidates. We are both glad to be shielded from most of the fray but will try to stay informed.

Some of the YW with some of their decorations

Friday night our Ward had an overnight camp-out at Maloata on the far side of the island.   We had no camping gear so only went for Friday afternoon and evening.  The YW did a great job on the decorations and the Elder's Quorum provided a yummy burrito dinner.  Brent got his first dip in the ocean, but because of the heavy rains last week the water was still pretty murky and he lost one of his water shoes in the mud.  He said the water still felt great.  We wanted to leave before it was too dark, as the road was really bad, so we missed the movie "Coco" and the presentation on Family History.  However, we did see several Flying Foxes and were finally able to see the stars!

Bishop Goodwin - air born

The first week we were here we had stopped in at Blue Sky Communications to get help with our cell phones.  The young man that helped us told he was interested in the church.  We took his name and gave it to the Elders and promised him we would be at his baptism.  This morning at church we were so excited to see Manny with the Elders.  He's set a baptismal date for August 24th.  We will be there!

My purpose as a missionary is to invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored gospel through faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end.   Even though we are not out actively proselyting, there are opportunities to share the gospel every day.  I try every week to share a little of what I know to be true in this blog.  I hope my own kids are sharing this blog with my grand kids so they will be reminded that I believe in Jesus Christ and His Restored Gospel. Events of this week make plain again that there is no peace on earth, the only peace that can be found is inner peace that comes with a knowledge that Christ can heal any wound or sorrow, carry us through our darkest hours and promise eternal life through obedience to laws and ordinances of His Restored Gospel.  Please open your doors and hearts to the missionaries - they have an amazing message for you and your family.  Have a great week!  Remember - there are still many good and beautiful things in the world!  Alofa Lava, Patty