Serving with a SMILE

Our missionaries have been very busy the last few months with several service projects. They are trying to be more Christlike by giving of their time and energy. The church has made wheelchairs available through the humanitian services for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. During the months of February and March they got measurments and submitted the requests for the wheelchairs. When the container of wheelchairs came then the real work began.

The container of wheelchairs was unloaded by these good-looking elders.
Back row: Elders Atoa, Liston, Rogers, Palmer, Huber Front row: Elder Moala and Elder Ufagalilio (yes, I am finally starting to remember names!)

The unloading process went quickly for the elders. Thanks for the help from a fork-lift.



















Over in Savaii, many of the intended recipients did not have a way to get to the designated wheel chair drop-off point, so the missionaries went to their homes. Along with the wheelchair, they also presented a Book of Mormon and an invitation to learn more about the church!












This sweet lady was so grateful. After going for a ride in her new wheelchair, she tearfully confessed that it was the first time she had been in the back part of the house for over five years!





This picture shows how desperately the wheelchairs are needed over here.



These wheelchairs were distributed in Savaii.
Elder Wells, Elder Saena and Elder Blazer with happy smiles all around.































In January and February, the service project also involved unloading a large container of desks.























Some of the desks were donated to a school in Savaii. President Haleck worked for months, getting the arrangements made for these much needed school desks.
















There were three sizes. I believe this one was a medium sized desk.














After unloading the desks from the container, they were put in three large trucks and ferried over to Savaii.







All of these desks were then unloaded and assembled in the school house. It took several hours to put them together.

Again, we made the local television and newspapers.

January and February the school painting service project. Most of the schools are in need of many repairs and much needed maintenance.

The class rooms were made bare and the work was beginning...

Paint brushes and rollers distributed...

The missionaries donned white pants protectors...

and two elementary schools were painted!

That's Elder Wells, Liebreigts, Barnes, Tuala and either Saena or Asaasa
(I don't know all of their names yet, especially those that have been in Savaii where I don't see them as often.)

The outside of the school looked wonderful.

A BIG part of the Samoan culture is ceremony and respect. They appreciate people helping them, expecially their children. They give thankyou speaches and prayers of thanks and appreciation.

A must-have part of nearly every meeting in Samoa...food! Shown here eating on the traditional mats. The tighter the weave, the more important the guest. Then more thank you speaches.

And some good news.
The missionaries are welcome in one more village in Samoa! (The first referral came in before the end of the month!)