Monday, October 19, 2015
When we arrived at the Samoan
airport there was a group of men serenading the passengers as they looked for
their luggage. When we had breakfast at
our hotel a man was playing his guitar and singing those pretty Polynesian
songs. It always makes one feel so
welcome, like getting a hug.
At breakfast, listening
to Samoan songs.
Monday morning at 9 AM Elder Lata
picked us up and took us to their offices, which are located next to the temple
and the Stake building. If we have time we
might try to go to the temple one afternoon or evening. This is the temple that some people burned
down and so it has been rebuilt. Elder
Lata has been purchasing water tanks for the water catchment systems from one
supplier. He gets a good deal from him,
asking for a discount. Well, as we drove
by today Sister Lata said that someone had burned his place down too. Someone doesn’t like us very much…or maybe it
was a competitor, but it seems to be the same M.O. as they say in detective
shows—sad, isn’t it?
After visiting a bit
we decided where we would be going for the day.
We checked out a couple of roof rain catchment projects, one just
completed and another almost done. We
were surprised that the first areas looked rather well-off. That is why the Lata’s have these groups
donate the materials and labor for the bases that the tanks sit on, and the
roof gutters and such. The church only
donates the tanks. They are whitish in
color and have heat resistant materials to make them longer lasting in the heat
and sun. One of the bases was good and
the other could have used more cement, but at least had rebar in it.
Elder Lata, while
checking out one of the rain catchment bases.
We drove a while up the hill and
through the jungle-like terrain on a lava rock road, sometimes covered over
with grasses. The van lurched along on
the rough road—I always wonder if we’ll get a flat because lava is so sharp. After driving awhile we ended up towards the
top of the hills and there we saw a not-so-prosperous family. The base for their tank was rock solid. Not only that, they fed us this amazing
amount of food—so much so that no one could even begin to finish it all. They gave us real cocoa made from their
home-grown variety that was quite large (pod on the tree) in comparison to what
we saw in Africa. They boil it; it has a
strong chocolate flavor almost like a mocha or coffee bean flavor, probably
because it is made from homegrown beans.
It was really good. They served
us fresh papaya and coconut that they had grown—delicious. On one plate (each!) they had three very
large pastries, so big that I could only eat one, barely. Also, I could not even begin to eat all the
papaya or coconut given to us. The
thought occurred to me that this was the poorest family we had seen and yet the
most generous—makes you kind of think…
We wondered why they had two
tanks at this poor home, one on the good slab and the other on a wood pallet
that was cracking with the weight. It
was because it used to be at a neighbor’s house that blew down in the
wind. They temporarily put it there till
they could rebuild the home. These
‘homes’ can only be described by sending pictures. Anyway, this family with the blown over home
joined the church after the kindnesses shown to them by this project. These people are truly poor up on this hill.
Each of us was to eat
all pastries (3 each) and two large slabs of papaya and some coconut and hot
chocolate! None of us managed it!
Right: He fanned the
whole time we were eating to keep away the bugs. He was the poorest but had the best base for
his tank. Sister Lata said he was so
pleased that I noticed because I made sure he knew how good it was. Most speak some English, but mostly Lata’s
speak to the people in their Samoan language and often with each other.
We soon stopped for lunch, not
long after the previous offering—Jim and I were so stuffed that we barely ate
anything at the Chinese-type Restaurant.
What little we ate was really good.
Elder Fata drove and was with us
all day and so we got to know him a little bit.
He is the Area Seventy here. He
and his wife were both converts; he was a CES instructor, served as a Bishop,
was a Mission President, and now a 70 on this assignment. He will be released in a few years. They have 3 boys and 3 girls and some
grandchildren. We love hanging out with
these good people.
We visited with a group of men at
the edge of the beach, listening to their proposal; they also wanted rain
catchment tanks but looked to live in one of the nicer areas. Besides what is required as far as materials
and labor for the bases and gutters, we also ask for 10% before the job begins
so that they will have money saved for future repairs and eventually be able to
afford their own tanks—all but the poorest here can afford to do this. They get city water, which gets contaminated
when it rains, then run out when it is not contaminated during the dry season—a
catch 22.
Elder Lata requires the people to
build their base before they get a
tank to make sure it is well-done. While
visiting one area we noted that one base had no rock in it so Elder Lata told
them that if they didn’t make it right he’d remove their tank. This is not an empty threat but a promise as
he has done this before. What had
happened is that the neighbor, a relative, had two tanks and decided to share,
which was nice. The problem is that the
second base was not approved. When Elder
Lata saw the base, knowing it would not last, he told them what was going to
happen. We love this couple! Elder Lata also bartered with the tank
supplier so as to get a discount for the church.
We saw more projects, went back
to the office, visited there and then drove back to the hotel. This time they had Jim drive the van back to
the hotel, following Elder Lata so we wouldn’t get lost. They wanted us to be able to get back and
forth between the office and the hotel.
We had a nice and pleasant and relatively easy day compared to what we
normally have to endure. It was hot and
humid, but also cloudy, breezy and sprinkled at times so as to cool us off
occasionally.
Another day, another dollar…
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