The DVD

We have been working on a DVD to show at a ward fireside at Pesega Lua.  It has been such a treat for me to listen to these kids share their testimonies. 

  Here are a couple of them, to give you an idea of the sweet spirits they have. I am struggling a little with the software program, but, with a lot of help from Elder Smithing and Mike, it is slowly coming together.  Can't wait to get it finished!

Robert Lewis Stevenson Garden Party and Excursion

Attending the Robert Louis Stevenson Garden Party was something that we have looked forward to, for a whole year. We just missed being able to go last year, and the Kellys had encouraged us to be sure and attend this year. (by the way, we marked our one year anniversary of arriving in Samoa this week...!)
 

Robert Louis Stevenson lived in Samoa many years.  He loved the island and had a huge mansion built where he and his family lived.  The climate offered welcome relief for his unhealthy lungs and the views from his home were spectacular.  He died and was buried here.  Several generous businessmen (mostly American, I believe) have made it a part of their life work, to restore the mansion.  It has become one of Samoa's most popular tourist attractions.

This is the drive onto the estate...so peaceful, serene and beautiful.

And this is the mansion.  It is unlike any other home on the island.  Definitely palongi.

As we arrived, we were each given a colorful ulu to wear. (I think that is what they are called...it's a lei)

 

The tables were elegant and look at the  pillars.  They are decorated with fresh
coconut leaves that are braided around each pole.

Here is President and Sister Leota, getting their picture taken with Miss Samoa.  You can bet that the Assistants were jealous. 

 

But, obediently, they kept their distance and chose to content themselves with their lobster dinner, instead.  Way to go, Elder Faauliuli and Elder Smithing!

Two days later, the senior missionaries were treated to a private tour of the mansion.  This is the front room.  The Merrells would call it the home teachers' room.  The walls are covered in tapa cloth and decorated with pictures of the Stevenson family.  It is the only home in Samoa with two chimneys...that have never been used.

This is the library, and the room where he dictated his books. 

It was my favorite room.  Among the many wonderful treasures, there is a framed picture of a deck of cards called Authors.  It had 13 sets of cards containing the name of an famous author and some of the books he/she had written. It brought back so many memories of playing that card game with my family as a young girl. That's how I learned the names and works of many great authors.  I have looked through the years for a similar deck of cards and have not been able to find one. 

This is the view from the second floor.

This is the front of the house.

And this...  well the story behind this piece of artwork is very interesting.  It seems that anciently, the chief over all the island would have a yearly celebration and one of the finest young men would be the guest on honor...so to speak.  He was the main course. (yes, as in entre')  Well, one year, the son of the chief happened to be there when the unlucky young man was chosen.  He told them to take him instead and he was carefully wrapped in large leaves and presented before the chief.  When they unwrapped him, the chief was astonished.  The son (who fortunately had not been taken to the umu yet) was ordered released and this tradition ended.  Interesting.

Bucket List...Teuila Festival and Marching band

A couple of months ago, Mike and I created a "bucket list" of things we wanted to do while on our mission.  This week we made great progress on our list.  The next couple of posts will be devoted to some of the fun things we have done this week.

We wanted to watch the long paddle boats on the ocean.  (I know that is not what they are called, but I can't remember their real name.)  They were practicing for the races across the harbor.  Listen carefully and you can hear the drum beats to encourage and help them row together as a team.

We wanted to get a picture of one of the beautiful rainbows we have seen here on the island.  This is one of the only full rainbows I have ever seen.  It was breathtaking.  

We were downtown because it was the Teuila festival, which is the national flower for Samoa.  As part of the festivities, we got to watch these woodcarvers as they produced beautiful wood pieces.

This young man is hand carving a kava bowl.  For months, I have believed that it was done by machine because the carvings were so exact.  What a surprise to be able to watch this art form in process.

During the festival, they sit on the ground, sometimes on top of a woven mat, and work.  We were able to see plates and bowls in various stages of production.   What talented people! 

We have long wanted to watch the marching police band that performs everyday.  We were lucky and ended up standing in the perfect place for pictures.

It was really a thrill to finally see this band in action!

There was also fire dancing. After we got home, Mike told me that they were knives, not just batons.  I am glad I did not know this while we were there. I would have been very anxious. 

I was continually amazed at the singing and dancing.  For Samoans, this is a way of life for them.  Singing, dancing and bright, beautiful costumes.  (More to come)

In the middle of the evening, it started to pour and we suddenly had a tent full of wet spectators who had scrambled up from their spots on the grass.

Ten minutes later, the show went on...It was a wonderful week.

Just about my favorite part of the day...

This is one of the highlights of my day.

They come running when they see me at the door.  They cheep outside the door if I don't come soon enough.  They come up the steps and cheep louder if I am really slow.   

My favorites are the baby chicks.  When they are little, the others let the babies have first pick of anything I toss out.  It's so much fun to watch them!  What a great place to live!

Anniversary Trip 2011

We recently celebrated our 33rd wedding anniversary.

It fell on a Monday, so we celebrated the weekend before.  We were able to combine mission business with a  wonderful side trip which found us at this beautiful resort. 

This is the front entrance.

 

This is a view of the beach fale we stayed at.  Ours was the one on the right.

Here is a front view of it. 

A closer view of  the hand-carved poles

I'm not sure what this is that Mike has uploaded.  When I clicked on it, it acted like it might delete, so I'm not going to try anymore.  I do remember taking a picture of a crawling crab right outside the fale door.  Maybe that is what it is. 

 

The "business" that we had to conduct was to drive a van to the other side of the island and drop it off to some missionaries.  So, I drove (!!!***!!!) our car and Mike drove the van.  When we left, it was pouring down rain, but it stopped before we got out of town and I then spent the next 10 minutes and pretty mucy the entire windshield wiper fluid trying to figure out how to turn off the wipers.  But I did it!

Even though we did not get to travel together, we both enjoyed wonderful views along the way.

This is the chapel that is just now being rebuilt after the Sept 2009 tsunami.  The work is coming along great!

Had you seen the before and after pictures, you would be amazed.

This is a view outside our fale.  It was so peaceful and gorgeous.

And, we enjoyed our outdoor dinner one evening, with this as our view. 

We've celebrated 33 anniversaries in wonderful ways and all sorts of places.  This was probably my favorite. 

I feel so blessed to know that we will be celebrating throughout the eternities.

Another Mickal...

This is Siva and David with their son, Fernandez, who has recently had his first name changed to Mickal. 

That pretty much says it all, doesn't it?!

David and Siva have raised him since he was a newborn.  They are working on getting him legally adopted so they can have him sealed to them.  Our goal is to have that happen before we leave.

It's safe to say Elder and Sister Merrell have a soft spot in their hearts for this little guy.

Old-Timers

DISCLAIMER:  We started this post several weeks ago and have had an awful time getting the video to load at the bottom of the post.  Since it was the best part of the whole post, we didn't want to give up putting it on the post.  Well, that does not seem to be happening, so we want to send you to our facebook pictures instead. 

A couple of weeks ago (when I started this blog), it occured to me that Mike and I were no long the "new kids on the block". 

Almost overnight, we had graduated to "old-timer" status.

It began when we said good-bye to these wonderful friends...

 

And to these...

 

Although we had  known each other for less than ten months, it was long enough to establish eternal bonds.  We just LOVE these guys! 

Elder Eves with his hat and Sister Eves with her smile!  Their transportation and housing responsibilities took them all over the islands.  Sometimes I envied them their opportunities to be out among the missionaries and the Samoan people.  They sensed this, I am sure, and invited us along for the ride on many occasions.  After several hours on the road, we always gained a new appreciation for what they did day after day after day.  And we never envied their bicycle repair shop!

The Eves taught us a lot about being instruments in Heavenly Father's hands.  Each day, they would pray for missionary experiences. I am quite certain that they prayed themselves into many places where they were needed.

  Note to the Eves.  We visited Benjamin yesterday and he looks great!  You would be thrilled to see the progress he is making.

President (now Elder Haleck of the Second Quorum of the Seventies) and Sister Haleck.  Some of the finest people in the universe.  Due to the nature of our calls, we didn't get to hear a lot of over-the-pulpit-talks from either one of them.  But, oh!  The lessons they taught by their actions!  And I particularly enjoyed the private, one-on-one visits I had with Sister Haleck.  She is just such a good person!

I love this picture.  I wish I could explain how I felt as I carefully cropped out everyone but Sister Eves and Sister Haleck before I snapped the shot.

They truly are "sisters".

When we had the last seniors' Family Home Evening for the Eves and the Kellys, it was very nice...

But it was nothing compared to the going-away festivities for the Halecks!

Sister Sua had a hard time during the first song

These two just had a great time!

And last, the best of all, they say...  (Friend us on facebook if this didn't load) 

Samoan Funeral

Mike and I marked off another first on our list today.  We were invited to attend a traditional Samoan funeral...or at least part of one.  The auntie of some ward members had passed away.  Traditional funerals last for several days, with events taking place each day.  We attended the last day, when the service for the community was conducted, as well as the burial. As with each of the preceeding days, food was an important part and we were given two large containers of food when we arrived at 7:30 in the morning.  They contained chicken, sausage, fish, potatoes and bananas.  We put them in our car for later.

Around 9, we gathered in an open area where the women's organization (comprised of women from  the village as well as family members) began a processional to the main fale where the casket was sitting.  They are holding yards and yards of fabric which they carried up the stairs and placed around the casket area.  The first fabric was white, which you can see in the video below.

After the fabric was distributed, more gifts were given.  You can see a fine mat that has been unfolded and shown off, then refolded and given to the family.  This was done in an exchange between the village leaders of the sister who had passed away and the village leaders of her husband.  Mats are an important part of the Samoan culture.  The one shown here would take several ladies several months to make. 

This man was kind of like a master of ceremony.  He had a booming voice and we were sure he had much power and authority.  At times he had everybody laughing.

The men without shirts are village leaders.  They call them matai (not positive on the spelling)  Most of them have tatoos on their bodies.  Traditions (which the LDS church members are gradually breaking with) are for the youth to receive large tatoos when they reach adulthood. 

These are some of the cases of tuna, corned beef and frozen fish and chicken that were brought, to be given to the family.

Did we tell you that Samoans bury their dead in their front yards?  I told Mike that it looks like this dog must miss whoever it is that is burried here!

This is a family member, at the casket of the deceased.  They have put the casket on a mattress, so that people can sit or kneel by it.

For all of the three days of ceremony, these sweet ladies would often sit in the fale and sing songs.  All from memory, with no accompianment and in perfect harmony with one another.  They would sing off and on through out the day and every minute during the night.

This is another view of the fale which held the casket.  I guess you would compare this to a viewing.  Everybody takes off their footware, mostly flip flops out of respect.

This is the choir singing a hymn during the LDS part of the service.   The stake president invited Mike and I to come inside the fale and sit with the choir during the service. I have to admit that I gained a whole new respect for those that can sit cross-legged.  I also have to tell a story on myself, which will  give you a little insight into some of our continuing struggles with the language.  They do have long prayers here, but the one the stake president gave was truly the longest I had ever heard.  After we got home, I commented to Mike that I was pretty sure that he had  included the Plan of Salvation, the Creation, the Restoration and at least four or five General Conference talks in that closing prayer. Mike said, "The stake president didn't give the closing prayer, he gave a talk!"  (He had been worried that I was sick since I had kept my head bowed during the whole talk!)  Seriously, I thought he was praying!  I'm really amazed that I didn't open my eyes and peek, especially since the young man sitting next to me kept pushing up against my legs during the prayer. Instead of being overly friendly, he was probably just checking to see if I was still alive!) 

  Here they are preparing the burial spot.  It is only 10 feet from the main fale (home).  This man is standing in the grave and they are tiling the sides.  They have measured and cut out a piece of foam that she will be laid on.  That intricate design was done first and now they are tiling the sides and preparing the top, which will have a large cement slab placed on it.

This plexiglass covering went on top, after the body was placed inside.  (They took her out of the rented casket and had her wrapped in a cloth)

Sister Toala on the left and Sister Etuele in between us.  It was their brother's wife who passed away. 

When we arrived home, we thought we should take a picture to show you all the food they sent home for us.  Eight individual containers and two platters full!  We were able to share with the guards, the temple presidency, a random taxi driver, the Assistants to the President and still have left-overs.