God Be With You "Til We Meet Again

Ready to Travel

Talofa Family and Friends,

    Happy Easter!  This will be my last blog from the beautiful island of Tutuila.  Wednesday we got a call from Homeland Security wanting to know how many missionaries would be traveling on the Delta Charter leaving Pago Monday the 13th.  Over the last few days it has been confirmed that this time it is for real - we are going home!

     Leaving friends and the mission we have loved here is bittersweet, as we look forward to seeing family and friends at home.  The last couple of days, everytime I go somewhere or do something, the thought sinks in that it is probably the last time I will ever do this.  Yesterday was the last time I will go on my early morning walk at the Community College Campus.  It was dark when I arrived, but slowly the colors of the sunrise, muted pinks and greys, appeared in the East.  With the mists on the mountains, the cool air, the familiar sounds of birds, crickets, roosters and dogs, the bats going home from a night of hunting, all of this has been wrapped up in a single memory that hopefully can be pulled out again and again to enjoy. 

Brent's Favorite Tree 

     Friday Brent and I drove out to the far east side of the island and over one of the cross island roads to the village of "Aoa", trying to soak in as much memory as would fit in our old heads.  If we lived here a hundred years we would never tire of watching the waves in the ocean.  No matter if the water is calm - the brightest aqua you can imagine, or slate grey, with angry waves crashing on the rocks and curling on themselves, it is memorizing.   The mountains, shooting straight up, carpeted with an unlimited variety of green - ferns, flowering shrubs, trees and palms, leaving no room for an  additional root to take hold.  An occasional outcrop of blackest volcanic rock, serving as a reminder of how this all began.  The white terns, always as a pair or trio, dancing in perfect synchronization, dipping, diving and soaring against the mountains. The villages, perfectly manicured, dot the coastline, sprinkled with storm-damaged houses from somewhere in the past that don't have any right to still be standing.  The flowers everywhere, each seemingly trying to outdo each other with their brilliance and variety.  This truly looks like paradise!
     

The last couple of days have also been spent saying good-bye to friends.  Yesterday we had lunch with Ropeti Lesa, a friend we served with during our first mission and the head of  the PBO here in American Samoa.  We left with his promise they would visit us in Las Vegas.  Tonight we had a lovely dinner, sitting next to Pago Bay at Sadie's - Great Friends - Great Food!  Brent finally got his steak he's been longing for.  Calls to Institute friends more often than not ended in tears.  Junior and Mata are coming over today  for a bit - and then that will be it.  All of these final good-byes to people who have inspired us and befriended us - we are leaving a huge piece of our hearts here.
     Today, Easter Sunday, will be different than any other Easter I remember.  Our Easter service will consist of Brent and I reading scriptures, praying and listening to music.  The rain is pouring like it can only do in the tropics - it's like the sky is crying also.  This morning we need to start collecting luggage from missionary apartments before the missionaries leave their apartments for one last day.  We have to be at the airport early tomorrow, so there will not be time to do it then.  We will finish putting the last few things in our suitcases and have them ready to go.  This evening we will share one last meal with the TSS (Tutuila Super Seniors) being hosted again by the Edwards.  Boy! We are really going to miss these people!  We pray for their safety

as they continue their work here at the hospital. 
     We are not sure what to expect when we return home.  Our kids have already informed us we will NOT be leaving the house.  The news we see is so surreal - mass graves, empty streets and businesses, buildings being converted to hospitals, medical personnel working to exhaustion, unemployment skyrocketing... It is hard to wrap my head around it all!  Here in American Samoa we have been living in a bubble with no virus.  It's  scary to be stepping into this strange, new world.  Since we are flying home by way of Tahiti (to pick up additional missionaries) and Hawaii (to drop some off), I don't think we'll be home until Wednesday.  At no point along the way will we be allowed to get off the plane, so I have a feeling I won't be too anxious to get on another plane for a while.
     In Samoa, when someone leaves the island, they are often sent off with the song "Tofa Mai Feleni", or Farewell My Friend.  It seems a fitting close for this last blog.
   

Tofa mai feleni, o le a 'ou te a ae,

Fo lau i le vasa, le ui e pule i mele

Ke nei gale mai Samoa, sio ta eleele ae

 Manafua mai pea, le au pasese.

Oh I never will forget you,

Samoa e nei galo atu

Oh I never will forget you,

Samoa e nei galo atu.

(“Tofa mai Feleni” by Faatui Fuimaono)

God be with each of you and your families.  Let all of us rejoice in the promise of Easter!

Alofa atu,

Patty (Nana)