Explanation of Pictures

I am getting better at this whole blog thing but it is a bit of a challenge.  Here is the breakdown of the pictures.

• The first picture in the last post is Turtle and Shark Beach. It is on the south side of the island, facing New Zealand.
  
• The next picture is my team at Turtle and Shark Beach with the poster behind us.
  
• The little island is called flowerpot island because it looks like a flower pot. The beach, with all the volcanic rock (black) is called Turtle and Shark Beach. 
  
• The picture with the channel in the middle is just a cove on the island that is extremely beautiful. 
  

Today we visited with some of the church members and had lunch with the leadership of the church, Lynn and Tia (Elders), Jerry, and our missionary "dad", David (davida in Samoan). We spent time driving around the island and learning some Samoan terms such as fale (house), lavalava (sarong), aiga (pronounced i'inga--Family), Tafuna and Illilli (our village), tama (taMA is father, TAma is boy) and some more that we are working on. We learned our first phrase, which I cannot spell, but it meant "I love Dad". 

The most interesting thing that I have learned so far is about the Samoan sense of family. Everyone has family here, whether biological or not. There are no homeless people on the island because everyone has someone who considers them family and takes care of them day in and day out for the rest of their lives once they become a part of the family. I think that this is an incredible example of how important community is to the human race. It has always been like that in Samoa. Even the vagrants and people who would be homeless, have people who shelter and feed them at night. 

When we went to the Nu'uuli Church of Christ to meet Lu'ao, the preacher there, he was very hospitable, as Samoans are known to be. He offered us CocoSamoa which is like coffee but made with cooked Samoan coco beans. It was very interesting and bitter. I know that my Aunt Deatra would have LOVED it. I thought about her with every sip. We spoke about a couple of interesting legends that Marci and Melinda recorded on their blog. (marciandmelinda.blogspot.com) You should check that out or I may eventually just steal the stories from them all together. 

After lunch, we went to see one of the families who's children may be in our class. In this house, a couple lives with their daughter and three grandchildren. Julius and Fiona (the older couple) were both just baptized last week in their swimming pool. The children were swimming when we got there. The children were so shy and beautiful, and the people have all been so sweet and receiving of us. I have never been in a place where I looked so different that I was stared at, but the stares that we have gotten so far have been friendly and kind. I am approximately 200% lighter skinned than any Samoan I have met. I may have felt out of place, but I can see that the people have such kind hearts; they don't care how white I am.

Thanks for the continued support and my knowledge of the islands, people, culture, and language will continue to grow everyday, so stay tuned!!!

Love from Samoa,

Kate