Rainbows, resorts, and reigning Miss Samoa……

This has been a busy interesting week. The first picture is of Gramma in one of her Samoan dresses she wore to church. She was accompanying a small young women’s group singing in church. 

On our Monday deliveries we said goodbye to some of them, of all the 28 Elders and Sisters we deliver to, this next week all but 9 of them have either been transferred to a new area or went home. In one of the areas they are rebuilding a school that was damaged. It is being built by a Chinese construction company and it workers have planted a garden out in the work area. We are fascinated by it. It is one of the best garden’s on the island.   

Since school was on break we visited a couple of resorts on our Monday journey that have been rebuilt since the 2009 tsunami and are just getting going again.

We taught half day classes on Tuesday in Pesega and Wednesday in Sauniatu, and on or drive up the mountain we saw the most beautiful rainbow. 

Did you notice the potholes in the road and that is the smoothest part of the road. The class mostly consisted of presentations from the teachers on various disabilities. 

On Wednesday night was the big celebration of the 20^th anniversary of the Foundations rebuilding and running the Robert Louis Stevenson museum. It was a big deal with members of parliament, diplomats from China, New Zealand, Australia, and others. All the senior missionary couples were invited to attend also. It was beautiful, and we got there a little early to get a good seat. 

All the contestants for Miss Samoa were there. The introduced themselves and sang as a group for the crowd. 

We all know how Gramma loves pageants; she was trying to pick who might be the winner.

The best thing about the night was there was not a choir practice. There was one (choir) last night in the open fale at Pesega. I missed part of it because I had to go get my suit out of what they call the “bat cave”. They put Elders suits there when they come here so they don’t get moldy. The Church expects missionaries to wear suits while traveling to and from their missionary assignment. I got mine out because we are to wear a dark suit coat at our choir performance on Saturday, but there was no pants just the coat. It could not be found, so I will have to get one (suit) online or somewhere else when I come home. Only in Samoa, I hope some Samoan missionary with the same sized waist as me has got a lot of use out of them. Gramma told you about my eye floater problem. Well, this is where I went to get it checked. If you think the outside is scary you should see the inside. I took the picture on Saturday when no one was there, usually there are people in a line and sleeping on the benches.

Here are a couple of pictures of the big cruise ship they brought in for a hotel during the SIDS conference this coming week. 

The next pictures is of the end of the 8:00 in the morning practice Saturday with the stake choir. The TV people are picking up their stuff after recording the 1 ½ hour meeting with 2 speakers and 3 musical numbers. Gramma and I just thought it was a practice to record a CD, but it turned out to be more, a devotional to be broadcast of TV3 some time in the future.

But this was big day. That afternoon we to another 4:00 practice that started at 5:15 and then we were sent off to the performance loaded in cars and the back of trucks. This first not so good picture looks at the stand where dignitaries and others watch the performances; on the right is where the stage is. 

All the performers sit behind the stage and wait for their turn.   

Here is Gramma with a couple of young ladies from our Sunday school class. Then part of our stake choir waiting. 

Here is President Joseph and part of his family, he was the soloist on one of the songs. 

This group next to us are prisoners that got to perform after we did. We were reassured that they were all in jail for non-violent crimes,   

Here we are still waiting (we were 9^th out of 14 performances). Do you notice the suit coat and pants don’t exactly match? 

I had to add this last fuzzy picture. Gramma asked where I had parked, and I told her “under the big W”, get it, the big W, in the movie Mad Mad…. World! They girl next to me said that Samoans don’t park under palm trees because sometimes they come back and a coconut has broken their windshield. That’s good to know.   

Well this week we really do hope to slow down for a few days, after our Monday route there is a few days without school or choir. We love you all and hope you can share some of what we do through our pictures, blog, and emails. Do what is right and know we think of you always. Tofa Soifua, Grampa and Gramma Hammond.