Sunrise and other sights…….

Each morning as Gramma goes to teach piano lessons and I head out to teach my early morning Educational Assessment class we see some beautiful sunrises. I had the camera with me the other morning and thought I had a pretty good picture, but as I posted it I could see it was a little blurred. My photography skills are in capable of capturing the beauty of a Samoa sunrise (and their sunsets).

We finally got a chance to take Daisy and Nozzie and their husbands out to dinner at Scalinies, one of your favorite restaurants. The waiter took a picture and it was terrible, luckily I took one before he took the camera.

Nozzies husband had an interesting meal. I prefer my fish without head and tail when served.

There was Rugby tournament all day Friday and Saturday. It made traffic on campus congested and there was a lot of noise with two games at the same time going on most of the time.

Besides people, Gramma also wants me to post more pictures of buildings. So the first pictures are of the new hospital that the Chinese just built for Samoa. The third picture is the emergency room. It is not open all night, but if you a bleeding they will try to find someone to help you. It is a beautiful building, but medical care here is not the best. It is the only hospital in the country except for a small one in Savaii. The last picture is of the old hospital that it replaced.

Across the street is the Ministry of Health building. It is almost as big as and fancier than the hospital. They don’t want the bureaucrats to feel left out.

The next building is one of the last colonial buildings and they are trying to raise money to restore it. It is currently being used to house the police band and the Dog Control department of the police force.

The next picture is the government building. You can see its profile from almost anywhere in Apia.

One of the best and most well-known buildings in Apia is the “old Abby Greys hotel”. Many service men stayed there during World War II. Sheraton has bought it and there is big remodel and addition going on right now.

Next is the national police station and national fire department. The national police station isn’t any bigger than the Bingham County Sheriff’s office. 

There is a big sports complex used for Rugby and track. It is being remodeled for the big All Blacks-Samoa Rugby game in July (the first time the All Blacks from New Zealand have come to Samoa, it is a big deal). The guard wouldn't let me in to take pictures. The third picture is of the gym that is part of it, the gym was damaged in the last cyclone and hasn't been completely repaired.

That’s it for this week. We were too busy to take many pictures. It was great to Skype the Despain’s and see Cooper open his call. He will be a great missionary and his mission president will be glad to have a young man like him. We still have a couple of months before we come home so all of you that are saying to yourself, “we will just wait to tell them when they get home”, send some emails and pictures we enjoy them very much. They help us remember how much we love and miss you. God bless all of you and do the things you know you should be doing. Our prayers are with you, Grampa and Gramma Hammond.

Service to others…….

Not many pictures this week. After you have been in on this beautiful island for a while you come to under appreciate its beauty and don’t take as many pictures as you probably should.  A few weeks ago Gramma suggested in our couple leadership planning meeting, that we do a service project and show our appreciation for all the people that help us as senior couples. Maintenance, the motor pool, technology, and others in the Church Service Center all do a lot of work. It was decided to put together large plates of cookies for the different departments. All the sisters made cookies and we met and put together the plates.

Gramma was selected to do all the cards because of her beautiful penmanship. 

Here was the finished product. 

One of the interesting things about the Church schools here in Samoa is the interest in parent teacher conferences. These parents hope their students are doing well in school because they know that education provides the best future. The parking lot is full; they have a hymn, an opening prayer, and the instructions from the principal.

The parents wait for the conference to begin both inside and out of the building.

And with that the conference begins and they wait in line for their chance to talk to their student’s teacher.

On Friday night the Assistance to the President stopped by to give us a package of music that Gramma had me order from Amazon. They mentioned that they had been in Savaii all week and was unable to make dinner appointments in their assigned ward. The Samoan ward members in the missionaries’ assigned ward provide the evening meal for the Elders and Sisters every day but Monday. Gramma Hammond (thinking of someone is hopefully feeding her grandson Jonah), invited them (there were 4 of them) to dinner the next day and prepared a great meal that they enjoyed. I warned her that feeding missionaries is like feeding stray cats, they will show up again. She responded that was fine. It is neat to have them in our humble little apartment and get to know them better and hear of their experience as missionaries.

Well, we are off to our Ward now, we have Elders there, but we don’t get to invite them to dinner because they are not to leave their area. Gramma has though, taken meals to them at their apartment before. We continue to teach our classes. We have built some good relationships and are starting to feel closer to the teachers and staff than any time during our mission. Just as you start getting comfortable the time comes to return home. We will forever be impacted by the experiences and the people we have met here. We love our mission; we love you, and pray each day for the Lord to bless. Tofa Soifua, Grampa and Gramma Hammond

A night in the trees……..

Ever since she first saw it and went on a guided tour, Gramma has wanted to spend a night at the Tree House Resort up on the top of the mountains in a rain-forest. After 15 months we finally made it this week. It was very interesting. The tree house was on Thursday, but on Monday the Stonehocker’s were here and they wanted to go out to dinner. They don’t get as many opportunities to eat out in Savaii as there is here, so we went with them and the Layne’s. The place they had reservations was not serving dinner that night there had been some kind of mistake (welcome to Samoa). So we went over to the Apia Harbor and ate there. They served some interesting food, but it was good.

This house is on the way to Daisy’s and we pass it every time we take things to the Elders that live in their apartment next to her house.

Well the big day arrived. Out of the car, by the patio, up the stairs, catch your breath and look at the neighbors, and in the door.  

This place has about as much room as a camper, but Gramma loved it. I was not as enthused.

 Here is the kitchen area, the bathroom, and the bedroom. That net over the bed is not for looks. It is to keep the mosquito's and other bugs from eating you while you sleep. This is in a cleared area of a rain-forest. You also have insect repellent rings lighted and burning (smoldering) all the time.

All this can’t dampen Gramma’s enthusiasm; it is a nice place to read, the view is great, and it is very quiet. 

Dinner at the lodge was good. Probably one of the best meals we have had in Samoa. The view from the lodge to our “tree” was pretty too.

Gramma thought she was really funny taking this picture of me in bed. So I got one of her reading. I really didn't sleep that well, I would roll over and get caught in the net.

From the porch there is a beautiful view, but I had to go to the edge to get a good picture of it. 

Gramma wasn't sure if I was taking good enough pictures so she took this group. They look just exactly the same to me. 

We had breakfast out on the observation platform. Breakfast was eggs, toast, papaya, and bananas. I took another picture of our neighbors, what interesting trees. There was also a pretty view of the lodge from where we ate.

Before we headed home we put on our swim suits, and then headed off to Gramma’s favorite beach to find sand dollars. Notice the white legs? That is why I had to wear my sun glasses. 

 Then it was going back home to do laundry and get ready for the coming week. This is the last school break until we head home so we tried to make the most of it. The missionary route on Monday and teaching a class in Sauniatu on Wednesday made it a short week, but it did provide some recovery time. We hope all is going well with all of you. We think of you often, pray for you daily, and miss seeing you. Do what is right and may God bless you all. Tofa Soifua, Gramma and Grampa Hammond.