It was great to see pictures of all the Grandkid's (and Bayli's) cool Halloween costumes this week! Thanks for sharing. I hope it was a fun day. I didn't see anyone dressed up here in Samoa. I don't think Hallowen is celebrated here. Apparently the Pesega Lima English speaking ward had a trunk or treat, but that's about it. I'm missing the change of seasons. It would be nice to have a little more variety in the temperature here, it doesn't feel like Halloween. I'm pretty sure it's going to be really different for Christmas!
So this week, all of the mission vehicles that are driven by young missionaries were parked. Everyone had to walk. District meetings and English Connect classes were held on whatsApp video chat or Zoom.The missionaries had to figure out their transportation on their own for P-day. Turns out, they were pretty creative on p-day and they found ways to get where they wanted to be without too much trouble. They took city buses, taxis, and called Senior couples for rides. We had a few doctors appointments that we had to pick up Elders for, but nothing really too out of the ordinary for us. But I know some of the senior couples were shuttling missionaries all over this last week. Elder Godderidge was busy delivering needs to two of the zones, fixing things, cleaning out a storage room for Sister Reid, and driving me around to make deliveries. He also coached his U-15 girls basketball team in a championship game and they won! They were short two jerseys, so Whitli's Jazz jerseys came in handy! Thanks Whit!
I've been having to do lots of medical stuff with a couple of our Elders lately so I decided to share a little bit about them.
Elder Kol is 24 years old, and came here from Papua New Guinea. He served the first 16 months of his mission in PNG while waiting for his VISA papers to go through. So he didn't get to go to the Provo MTC for language training and he only went to the New Zealand MTC for two weeks prior to arriving here. He speaks some English, but doesn't know much Samoanl.. He always has a smile on his face and tries to communicate the best he can. When he was 5 years old, his foot was sliced open by his brother with a machete . He has a scar almost all the way around his foot and it's crooked because when they repaired the broken bones they didn't line them up properly. This causes him quite a bit of foot pain after long days of walking. So a little over two weeks ago he was bitten by a dog on his right leg just below the calf. It was a nasty bite and he went to the hospital and had it cleaned and dressed. They don't stitch up dog bites here because it's very likely they would get infected if they did. So it just has to heal very slowly and close up on its own, leaving a huge scar behind. Come to find out, Elder Kol never had any of his immunizations as a child or before he came on his mission. Somehow that fell through the cracks! So we had to take him to the hospital on a Saturday evening to get a tetanus shot before it would have been too late if tetanus was introduced into his body from the dog. Then the area medical doctor informed me that he also needed tetanus immunoglobulin since he has never been immunized and ihe had to get it within 21 days of the bite or it would be too late. There's none of that here in Samoa, so they arranged to have it flown from America to American Samoa and then to Apia. Last Thursday, I gave him the tetanus Immunoglobulin and took him to the immunization clinic to get his first round of "Catch-up vaccines". He got poked 6 times that day and just took it with a smile! It would have been easy to give up and go home. I remember when he arrived at the airport, he had one small carry-on size suitcase and a backpack compared to the 2 huge suitcases and carry-on's that the other missionaries had. Such a humble missionary from a very humble background, but so happy to be serving the Lord despite his challenges. I love Elder Kol!
Elder Katoa is also 24 years old. He is a tall, lanky Elder from Tonga. I've learned some things about his past from him. He was born in Tonga, moved to Tutuilla with his parents for 15 years, then moved back to Tonga to live with his best friend's family to go to high school. He started having health probems, lost all of the hair on his arms, legs, and eyebrows and was eventually diagnosed with Leprosy. He was treated for six months in Tonga in 2021-22. Of course none of this was documented on his health history and mission physical, haha! Anyway, now he has been having more health problems and has these dermal indurations (lumps under the skin) all over his body. Bloodwork revealed that his WBC count is very high and his RBC count is very low. After lots of questioning, he told us about the Leprosy treatment he'd had. So now we're trying to find out if it's come back or if he's having post-treatment reactions from the strong medications he received during the first round of treatment. Still waiting for results of the skin smear that he had done to determine active Leprosy. When we were taking him home from his last Dr. visit, I was chatting with him about what Tonga was like. During the conversation, I found out that his father passed away in Tutuilla a few years back at age 52, and Elder Katoa hadn't been able to be there to see him or talk to him before he passed. This was a difficult thing for him. Now he is feeling sick again, and worried that the Leprosy might be back or something else is seriously wrong with his health. He said " In Tonga, before my mission I would go to the temple in the mornings and pray that everything will work out. I loved going to the temple. I know if I keep praying now, everything will be alright." What faith! What courage! I pray that he will be able to be treated and healed once we figure out what's going on with his physical body. I love Elder Katoa!
"We are not alone in this life. While we must face challenges and trials, our Heavenly Father knows our capabilities and knows we can bear or overcome our difficulties. We must do our part and turn to Him in faith. His beloved Son, Jesus Christ, is our rescuer and will always be there." - Elder Juan Pablo Villar
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