BEDBUGS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Talofa lava! 

 Elder Godderidge has had an interesttng week!   A few highlights; He unclogged several sink and shower drains!  Gross!  He hung a lot of curtains!  He bought a rat trap to catch the rat that chewed up one of the MQ drains, He installed a new sink faucet, and tightened several loose sink faucets. He got ink from his pen all over his white shirt so I had him take it off while I tried to rinse it out in the sink and the sister missionaries came home while he was shirtless so we had to tell them not to come in their MQ until he got his shirt back on, haha! He worked on organizing a storage room full of missionary teaching materials that had been in total disarray (it's almost done now!) He purchased over $1000.00 worth of mosquito repellent with his own credit card because when he got to the checkout counter, his mission credit card was denied (maxed out for the month) and we needed the repellent to pass out to the missionaries because there is a Dengue fever breakout in Samoa right now (Sure hope he can get reimbursed!) But the most disgusting clean-up project was the bed bug infestation in one of the sister missionary's MQ's!  He had to take all of the mattresses outside and spray them with bed bug spray, vacumn out the MQ and the mattresses to get rid of all the bugs and their eggs, and then go back and put all the mattresses back in the MQ after they sat out in the sun all day to hopefuly kill the bugs. Never a dull moment in the life of the Samoa mission housing coordinator!

We had a new Senior couple arrive this last week--The Blankenships.  We have 3 more couples coming in May and June.  That's lots of new couples to train!  I feel sorry for the mission leaders, AP's, and office Elders.  They're going to be taking over the office responsibilities so I don't think the young missionary office  Elders who are here right now are too excited to train them and take their office jobs away!

We took an afternoon this week to deliver housing supplies and a few medicines to sick Elders in the Southeast zone and drove by some pretty coastal areas. There was a cool resort we stopped to check out and took some pictures.  We're going to have to try to take a day or two off and go stay there one of these days! 

Some interesting things to know about Samoa--Many of the homes have burial sites in their front yards with tombstones or vaults where they lay their ancestors to rest.  There's no laws restricting where you can bury a body here I guess. When someone dies, the funeral gathering is usually at the home of the deceased and people come to visit for a couple of days while the body stays there at the home. They serve food and it's kind of like a big reunion. I think the whole village comes out to pay their respects and mourn with the family.  Also, on Saturdays, most of the stores and shops close at noon.  So after 12:00 on Saturday, The only thing open after that are convenience stores and a few of the grocery stores.  Even a lot of the restaurants close early on Saturday.  So we can't really go out to dinner on Saturday night like we used to do.  

Elder Natress of the General Seventy was here for a few days. He has been visiting  the South Pacific and speaking with government leaders about family history and the Church's Family Search website.  That is his assignment now, Family History.  He did a devotional for the missionaries on Saturday afternoon. He challenged all of the missionaries to get familiar with and know how to use the "ordiinance ready"

 tool  and to use Family Search to teach investigators about eternal families and temple work. I know that could be a powerful teaching tool for the missionaries here in Samoa because family is very important here. We've only been to the Temple once since getting here.  It's been hard to find a good time to go. And you have to schedule an appointment a week in advance if you want to go because they fill up.  They don't have sessions on Saturdays after 10:00 AM.  The temple closes at noon on Saturday too!   We're going to try to go more often because we know it's important and we miss it!   We miss all of you too!

 Alofa atu! (Love you)

Sister Godderidge

Bedbug video, Pictures of Southeast coast, Aga resort, ONLY  fireplace in Samoa

(never been used),portrait of Robert Louis Stevenson,Shanty home in the hills above town, Home with family cemetery in front yard

One month down!

Pictures: our first drenching morning walk, flower hedge near our apartment, little boys carrying their harvested coconuts home, how Samoans use their old tires (these are EVERYWHERE), a sampling of the typical colorful homes (they like bright happy colors here!), President and assistants at the temple site in Savaii, and a bunch of pictures of Sauniatu.

 We hit our one-month mark last week. It seems like we are finally getting into a pretty good routine and figuring out what we're doing.  Still, every day is different. I can tell that we'll never really be on a schedule.  There are just too many unexpected interruptions and things that come up which cause a change of plans.  But we're getting more familiar with the island and the areas so we can at least plan our trips to accomplish more than one task each time we venture out.   I've got my traveling medical supply bag pretty well stocked now and we end up making quite a few house calls because most of the missionaries don't have vehicles and they're not supposed to leave their assigned area boundaries unless their zone leader drives them. There's usually something Elder G. needs to fix in the same area I need to go to, so it's working out that we can go together most of the time.  Last week I did have to drive one of the Senior sisters to the Doctor's office one morning so I borrowed the mission secretary's car for that trip.  Last week was also the first trip to the hospital with a missionary.  It was just for a minor emergency--he broke a Q-tip off inside his ear and it was stuck so far in there that I couldn't get it out so we had to go to the ENT dept. at the hospital to get it removed.  DON'T stick Q-tips in your ears! I've had a few issues with Senior couples this week. They're harder and more complex issues than the young missionaries, so I'm not really enjoying that because I don't have a lot of knowledge about what's here on the island as far as specialists and technology to treat these complex health issues.  

The 3 Sisters that were victims of  the home invasion and assault last week have been staying here at the mission home since it happened. The police were able to arrest the perpetrator on Thursday.  He had stolen the car that he left at the scene from a nightclub that night and someone had a picture of him. So thankfully, he's off the street and can't victimize anyone else.  I arranged for the Sisters to meet with our Area Mental Health Advisor, and The Area General Authority over the Pacific Area, Elder Jaggi flew to Samoa on Friday just to meet with the Sisters and give each of them a blessing!  He told them that their names were on the prayer roll of the General Authorities weekly meeting and they were prayed for at that meeting last week.  They all seem to be coping quite well and should be getting reassigned this week. On Friday we took a little detour on our way to some Mission Quarters and drove up to a place called Sauniatu.  It is an 800 acre property that was purchased by the Church in the early 1800's.  It's high up in the mountains in a beautiful spot!  There is a school there as well as an activity area where they do youth camps and things.  There is a monument that tells the story of President David O' Mckay visiting the site on horseback in 1921 and leaving an apostolic blessing on the people and the land of Sauniatu.  There was a cool waterfall and swimming hole there too!

Saturday  afternoon we went to a baptism and they asked Elder G. to be the witness right before she got baptized and then the sisters asked me to sing with them for the little program after the baptism.  HaHa, nothing like "winging it"!  Saturday nightwe went to a chinese restaurant with some of the senior missionary couples.  It was pretty good food!  Better than Panda Express, I thought. Yesterday, Sunday, after church we got to meet the new Mission President and his family who will be starting their service here in July.  They were in Upolo for a youth temple trip with their stake from American Samoa.  So they came to the mission home for desserts and to visit and tour the mission home and campus.  They seem like wonderful people!  It will be a breath of fresh air having a younger couple and their four children living here!  I'm guessing they will bring a lot of energy to the mission!

At church yesterday, a sister shared a poem in her talk that I really liked.

Apparently it's a classic poem entitled "The Bridge Builder".  I looked it up when I got home so I could share it with you.

The Bridge Builder

An old man, going a lone highway,

Came at evening, cold and gray,

To a chasm, vast and deep and wide,

Through which was flowing a sullen tide.

The old man crossed in the twilight dim;

The sullen stream had no fears for him;

But he turned when safe on the other side

And built a bridge to span the tide.

"Old man," said a fellow pilgrim near,

"You are wasting strength with building here;

Your journey will end with the ending day;

You never again must pass this way;

You have crossed the chasm, deep and wide--

Why build you the bridge at eventide?"

The builder lifted his old gray head:

"Good friend, in the path I have come," he said,

"There followeth after me today

A youth whose feet must pass this way.

This chasm that has been naught to me

To that fair-haired youth may a pitfall be. 

He, too, must cross in the twilight dim;

Good friend, I am building the bridge for him."

                               -Will Allen Dramgoole

I had a couple of thoughts when I heard, and then reread the poem.

First, as we serve others, we are building bridges for them.  Right now, we're trying to do our part to build some bridges in Samoa.    

My second thought, (paraphrasing President Monson) Jesus Christ was the master bridge builder.  He spanned the vast chasm we call death. He did for us what we could not do for ourselves. Because of him, all mankind can cross the bridge he built, if we so choose, into eternal life.

" For as in Adam, all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive."  1 Corinthians 15:22

High’s and Low’s

 This last week has been a bit of a roller coaster ride! Lots of ups and downs. Life does that at times to all of us. We started out the week on a high note after listening to the Saturday general conference sessions on our Sunday. Then Monday we were able to watch some of the Sunday session early in the morning and listen to President Nelson's closing address while we were at the office working. Today we had time to listen to some of what we missed last Monday over the church website while all of Samoa was watching and listening to conference in Samoan.They broadcast it here one week after the actual conference. So yesterday we didn't have church meetings here in Samoa. On Monday afternoon, all the mission leaders gathered at the mission home for MLC (Mission Leadership Council) which I'm told is held monthly.  We attended that along with all the other office Missionaries, Zone Leaders, STL's, AP's, and of course, the Mission Leaders(President and his wife).  We had training by President Purcell during the afternoon and then we all went down to a park by the ocean and went for a walk and ate pizza for dinner. During the meeting on Monday, President Purcell informed us that 2 Zone leaders wouldn't be there because one of them, Elder Masoe, had just learned that his mother passed away while she was on the ferry that goes to the Island of Savaiii, so 

Elder Masoe and his companion had gone to be with his family for a little while. On Tuesday morning we had another training meeting and during the meeting 

Elder Masoe and his companion walked in. Everyone stood up when he walked in and many missionaries hugged him and offered their condolences.  It was very emotional and I couldn't keep back the tears even though I don't even know this Elder. I felt so sad for him.  But I could also feel so much love for him in tha room. He and his companion attended the rest of the training and carried on with their Zone leader responsibilities  just as his mother would have wanted him to.  At the Tuesday training, two of the Senior couples  and two of the STL companionships took part in the training.  I'm afraid we're going to have to have a turn with that at some point. Not looking forward to that.

We took a couple more afternoons last week going to zones and putting up whiteboards.  We went to the last zone on Thursday and we were 2 whiteboards short, so we'll have to go back sometime this week to finish.  I had lots of Nurse calls 

so I stayed pretty busy all week and Elder Godderidge is always working on fixing something!

On Friday morning, we returned home from our walk to a call from Sister Purcell about a terrible incident that happened in the middle of the night.  Three of the Sisters who were in one of the MQ's sleeping had an intruder who broke in and did some really awful things to them. At some point, they got away from him and were able to barricade themselves in their bedroom and call for help, but it took the police quite awhile to get there and when they did, the guy ran off and they didn't catch him!

Needless to say, the Sisters are pretty shook up.  They've been staying here at the mission home since it happened. They all want to stay and complete their missions, but they're afraid right now about going to another MQ( (they won't go back to that one, they already moved Elders into it), so it's taking some time to sort things out and I'm trying to get some counseling set up for them.  I never thought this would be something I'd have to deal with. The sisters are getting a lot of support and there's a lot of effort going into helping them through it , so I hope they'll be able to move on. AND I hope something like this doesn't happen again. It's been kinda rough.

We spent most of the weekend close to the mission home so we could help out as needed.  But on Saturday we did take time to go on the hiking trail we found last  week again.  We heard of a few more places we need to check ut, so hopefully we can do that.  We've been here for a month now, 11 more to go! We're learning new things everyday, and the Lord is helping us all along the way! WE love and miss you all! We love getting pictures and chats to keep us in the loop at home.  Thanks for all you are doing to help us at home so that we can serve this mission!

Pictures of MLC  group at the park, sunset, STL's and Sister Purcell, Pres. dancing,Elder G.with his drill putting up curtains, AP’s on our walk

April Showers

 This week has been the wettest one since we arrived in Samoa.  We had a big storm on Wednesday that lasted for most of the afternoon and some other big ones during the night a few more times. It really pours down here and if you get caught out in it you're drenched in a matter of seconds. I'm pretty sure there's no such thing as outdoor sprinkling systems here.  Nature just takes care of that and keeps water tanks filled and plants green.  It's amazing that there's not more flooding. But the ground seems to absorb it quite well.  We 've been able to drive to some more of the other areas on the island this week.  We went to one zone on Tuesday and hit all of the MQ's (missionary quarters)  putting up whiteboards and doing small repairs, and Thursday we did some more.  I've been taking my black medical bag along on these trips because if we run into the missionaries they often have a medical issue that they want something for, like headache, diarrhea, bug bites or rashes, stuff like that.  We've discovered that P-day, which is Wednesday, is the busiest day for us because all of the missionaries come into the office from their various zones to get their money and go to the stores to buy supplies and of course get together for games and fun.  While they're at the office, they come in with all their ailments and want medicine or advice on minor medical issues, and they go to Elder Godderidge for cleaning supplies and things.  So we don't really get a P-day like the rest of the mission.  But we can take time off at other times of the week to have a little break.  This week we went to the Robert Louis Stevenson Museum early Saturday morning and found our first hiking trail!  We hiked up the trail to his grave site. It's the first time I've really tried hiking since my foot surgery and it was kinda hard.  My foot doesn't cooperate on the rocks and uneven terrain. That's a bummer.  When we got to the top, there was a group of kids that were there playing their music and dancing and they performed for us!  They're not at all shy here. Robert Louis Stevenson is a famous author from Scotland that traveled to the south seas and never went back home.  He had Tuberculosis and the weather here suited him better so he stayed in Samoa and built a big home and died at age 44 from the TB.  He wanted to be buried on top of the mountain.  We didn't go into the museum because it wasn't open yet so we'll have to save that for another day. So my assignment for the older grandkids is to find a book by Robert Louis Stevenson to read this week. You can google his most popular books.  I read "Treasure Island" when I was young I think. Saturday afternoon we attended a baptism--two young girls were baptized at the one we went to.  There were 33 baptisms in the mission this week.  Most of them are on Saturday so we just pick one to go to.  It's a good way to meet and mingle with the members.    

We got up at 4:30 this morning (Sunday here) to go and watch General Conference Saturday morning session at 5:00 AM!  I'm pretty sure you're all shocked that I got up that early, but I did.  We streamed it on a big TV in the mission office conference room.  After the session, we had a big breakfast with the President and his wife, the office secretary, Sister Schofield, and the office missionaries. Then after we got that cleaned up it was  9:00 AM and ready for the afternoon session so we watched that too. Here in Samoa, they will watch conference next weekend in Samoan, so all the wards just had regular meetings today.  I guess it takes time to get it translated into the language.  We had a little break before we went back for the evening session at 1:00 pm.  Tomorrow will be Monday, so I'm not sure how much of the Sunday sessions  we'll be able to watch live. What a blessing it is to hear from the apostles and general church leaders. There were many inspiring messages today.  Hope you're all having the opportunity to watch it there.  I really liked the talk by Elder Steven R. Bangerter. He said  that the most important work happening on the face of the earth today is the gathering of Israel.  He also talked about how we are all foreordained by God before this life to do things here on earth. I loved what he said his Father told him that he has always remembered: "Protect the private times of your life". He said to fill those times with wholesome activities and thoughts, to go to God in prayer in those private times and discover his plan for you.  I want to try to feel his guidance and direction better by using my private time to listen and learn from the spirit.     

I'm sending a picture of a funny text I got from one of the missionaries this morning for your entertainment, other pics of our hike, the museum, a sunset on the ocean last week, and  the baptism we attended.

HAPPY EASTER

 Talofa!  I hope you are all having great Easter Sunday today!  Our Easter Sunday was yesterday, but it's still Easter holiday today. In Samoa, they celebrate Easter from Friday thru Monday!  We discovered this fact a little too late and found ourselves low on fuel Friday with no way to fill our tank because all the fuel stations were closed.  It made for an interesting weekend.

Last week was another busy week for the mission.  

On Tuesday of last week, it was Intake day.  We had 12 new missionaries come in. We did our first intake training presentations for housing and mission health. I think we did ok. We had another OUT TAKE on Wednesday with 13 of our missionaries going home.  All of them were from one of the three islands of Samoa, so there were alot of families there to take them home. The evening before out take there is a big dinner for all the missionaries who are leaving and then they sing and entertain each other afterward.  President Purcell made us perform so the only thing I could think of was playing "I Am A Child of God" on the Ukulele and everyone sang along.  I'm going to have to practice a little and come up with a few more things that I can play I guess!  At the Wednesday meeting, all of the missionaries from Upolo attended as well as family members of the missionaries who were leaving.  Each of the 13 missionaries bore their testimonies and then they were all given a gift from the Mission leaders.  It's interesting that you can still feel the spirit when they are speaking in a language you don't understand. You could feel that their testimonies were from the heart and that they had loved their missions. On Wednesday night, we went to pick up a sister missionary who was flying  back here from a meeting with visa people in Fiji.  Her flight didn't come in until 1:10 AMso Dad volunteered to go and pick her up so the Mission President didn't have to. She is going to be serving in Las Vegas when her Visa comes, but starts her mission here until then.  We have a lot of "visa waiters" serving in our mission.  If they are from Samoa and get called to another country, they start their mission here until they get the visa papers to go to the place they were called to. So some of them might fly to the MTC, then return to Samoa when their MTC training is complete and then fly out again to their mission when they get their visa. It's crazy!

On Friday afternoon, Sister Prucell took us on a drive up over the mountain to the other side of the Island where we saw some more beautiful scenery and finally saw some sandy beaches! We stopped in one place and walked out on the beach for a minute, then ate lunch at a little outdoor beach cafe. On the way back, we stopped to see a waterfall.

Saturday we decided to drive back to the other side and hit some of the missionary's living quarters to deliver whiteboards and hang them up and replace some water filters that were not functioning. We also attended a baptism that was being held for three people.  It ended up being two meetings because one of the girls being baptized was also getting married! So they had the wedding first, then the baptism.  We are learning more about the customs as we attend these events.  You sit with the adult members and missionaries for refreshments and you can't just get up and leave whenever you want to.  That would be considered rude.  You wait until whoever wants to speak, speaks, and when they all finish, its OK to leave. Some of these speeches can be pretty long-winded and we don't understand a word they're saying!  

After we left the baptism, we drove to a couple more mission quarters behind churches and put up whiteboards, and replenished supplies.  We got lost once and so it took us longer than we expected.  By the time we were heading back over the mountain to home it was dark and we only had 1/8 tank of fuel in the Cruiser. We said a prayer before we left that we would make it back without running out of fuel. Thankfully, our prayers were answered and we made it! A tender mercy for sure!

Easter Sunday was a bit different than usual.  No big dinner or Easter Egg hunt with the family after Church. And we couldn't even go on a Sunday drive because the tank was empty! But it was good to spend more time reflecting on the Savior and his Atonement and the significance of that event.

This morning, Monday, we woke up to go on our morning walk and there was a big party going on at the pickle-ball courts!  Music, announcer, lots of people sitting around and lots of people playing pickleball.  I think it might have been a ward or stake event or something.These Samoans sure do know how to party! And I think the members really love playing pickleball! Julie

Mom really is a legend here they are already calling Ma Ma Godderidge. She taking care of the health better than I am taking care of their housing needs. We love the Samoan people.

Bruce