English day at the middle school and a visit up the hill….

One of our opportunities here in Samoa is teaching the Young Single Adults in the Motootua Ward. They are a good group, many of which are returned missionaries, and our goal is to help them during this time in their life when they are making so many important decisions. Here are a few pictures of our class members. 

Walking to school we pass several trees that are within 100 feet of each other. These trees produce food that would keep you alive forever, but it might get a little boring. The pictures are of the coconut tree, the mango, banana, and the bread fruit tree. 

Here’s a good picture of Gramma working at her desk, we spend a lot of time in the office. 

We were asked this week to be judges for the numerous activities for the middle school at Pesega,s English day. It took 51/2 hours without a break to complete the judging. Here’s the view from the judges table and the school is divided into four groups called “houses”.  

We judged the cheers lead by a student cheerleader. 

There are always little children wandering around Samoa, especially in church, but they are cute. 

This was the grammar competition; we didn’t even know all the answers to the questions.

They took a little dance break and Gramma joined in. Then there was the drama competition. 

Then there was the drama competition.

Then the poster contest. 

They even had some live entertainment. 

We went home and ate at 1:30 and then back to the office to meet with Sister Amani to scan and send her families passports to BYUH. She has won a scholarship to BYUH and it pays for her family (up to four) to stay in Hawaii for a year to finish her Bachelor’s degree in education. Many of her credits have been earned taking ITEP classes. She has been in our last class and will be taking the one we start this week. She deserves this blessing; she has worked so hard and had such faith that the Lord would provide this opportunity. Saturday we went “up the hill”, with several other senior couples to the residence of the New Zealand’s High Commissioner to Samoa. It is the equivalent of a ambassador. It was an informal “tea” and a fund raiser for the Rotary Club. Here we are with the Jackson's and the other couples. 

It was a beautiful place and it had a small band playing 50s and 60s songs. I knew all the words to the songs. 

You could buy a Samoan sausage smothered in onions, it smelled so much like the fair I had to try it.

They had art and crafts for sale, Gramma bought a few things. They looked good and were a little expensive, but if she wants it she gets it, especially if there are memories attached to them. Some of the art was terrible, one of the artists his stuff was so bad, any one of my grand kids could have done better. Some of it was okay.  

That was the week. We start our new class on Special Education this week at Sauniatu and Pesega. I expect about 30 students and we only have 8 books. We will make it work. We finally have so speak at the high school English day on Friday. The topic “why it is important to learn English” and we have to be one of the judges on their activities. We will give a report next week. We have a party for our mission presidents family for family home evening tomorrow, the couples are going to sing a special Samoan goodbye song and the hymn God be with You Till We meet Again. They will be here three more weeks, then the new mission president, President Tolman, will get here with his wife. We are still so busy and time is going very fast. We do think of all of you every day, love your emails and pictures, and miss you. May God bless you and want you to know we are on the Lords errand. The Gospel is true! Tofa Soifua, Grampa and Gramma Hammond.