A week of firsts

 

Talofa Lava,

Hope everyone at home has had a great week and is enjoying Memorial Day weekend!  We will miss visiting graves of loved ones and spending family time at the cabin. But time is moving along here so we'll probably be home before we know it!   

This last week has been a week of firsts.  There was a lot of the same as well, but we had some new challenges and new adventures.  One of the sister missionaries got really sick with a migraine headache,fevers, and said she'd had a sore throat for a month that wouldn't go away. We ended up going to get her and her companion late Monday night and brought them to our apartment so she could sleep with AC and be close by in case she got worse.  I had checked her throat earlier in the day and it looked like her tonsils were infected so I'd started her on an antibiotic but it made me wonder if maybe she had mono or somehing. They also stayed with us Tuesday night because she was only feeling a little bit better. I took her to the doctor's office to get her throat swabbed and the doctor said it looked like a strep infection to her.  By Wednesday, she started doing better so they went back to their own place Wednesday night.  So that was our first "overnight stay" experience!  Then on Thursday, a missionary cut his thumb open pretty bad on a glass window louvre and it was deep enough that it needed sutures.  So Elder G. and I turned our office into an "Instacare '' since there's no such thing as that in Samoa, and he stitched it up while I assisted. I had sutures on the bottom shelf of the mediicine closet that have probably been there for a while, but they worked!  Elder G. numbed his thumb with Lidocaine before he sewed him up, and told the Elder his "Rambo Dad" story about putting stitches in his own leg once, and showed him a picture of his smashed finger when he got it cut off in the trailer door, so then the Elder decided he could handle a few stitches in his thumb.  It was 5 stitches, actually. So, our first stitches!  Then on Saturday we went on our first swim in the ocean!  Yes, believe it! I actually got in the ocean and went swimming (well more like dog paddling, I don't swim), but I had to because I wasn't tall enough to touch the bottom.  We went to this giant clam sanctuary and we were supposed to go snorkeling but they ran out of snorkels before they got to us so we didn't get to snorkel.  We went with all of the Senior couples on a "Senior Missionary activity" and I don't think the Clam Sanctuary usually gets that many people needing to rent snorkeling gear! So we'll have to go back when Bayli and Ethan come and try again.  Also, next time we'll NOT going at high tide so we can use the snorkeling gear but walk further out so it's not so far to swim.  After the activity, we drove down to an area where we hadn;t been before and found a secluded beach that was called "Survivor resort".  The gate going down into it was locked, so we decided to just walk down the road to the beach and see what was there.  It turns out the place was closed for remodeling so that's why no one was there but a few construction workers.  We found out it was the location for a couple of "Survivor Samoa" TV shows at one time.  Now they're fixing it up to be a resort.  Hopefully they open up before we go home so we can check it out for a weekend getaway.  The beach was pretty nice compared to what we've seen so far.

The best part of the week was getting our first packages from home, first letter, and Dad got his first shipment of Diet Mountain Dew delivered this week!

I heard a good saying this week: "The SMALLEST ACT is better than the grandest intentions."  Sometimes we think about doing something grand for someone, but then talk ourselves out of it or never get around to doing anything. Getting into the habit of doing small spur of the moment things for others when you see a need is often appreciated just as much and we can actually find the time and energy to go through with those things.  A friendly hello, a listening ear, a hug, a take-out meal for someone. Elder Godderidge is really good at the small acts several times daily and always has been. It's a trait he's passed on to his children, so basically I'm preaching to the choir here, but it's a quote maybe you can use in a lesson or something, haha!

Love you all!  Lots of pictures this week!

 

Exhausting JOY!

 Talofa!

President Purcell has a saying that he tells the missionaries often when he meets with them.  It goes "Obedience in the morning, diligence in the afternoon,miracles in the evening, exhausting joy at night." I'm learning in my missionary service what it feels like to have "exhausting joy at night!"  The days start really early--usually out the door by 6:00-6;15 AM for our morning exercise, then by the time we get home there's already a few messages on WhatsApp from missionaries with medical and housing issues so we just start right in on figuring out how to take care of those needs.  Elder G. runs around all day taking care of housing problems and I go to the office to do charting, checking inventory of medicines and supplies in the clinic, seeing missionaries in person or answering calls and texts throughout the day.  Sometimes I go with Elder G. so he can drive me to the MQ of a sick missionary or to the pharmacy or grocery store, or to help fix things.  On Saturdays we try to make it to a baptism that's in an area where we are going to be working.. During the evenings we try to fit in laundry, housework, dinner, a temple session, feed office missionaries, study, catch up on paperwork, or mingle with missionaries.   It wears us out a little physically, but it's more mental/emotional exhaustion than physical.  It kind of feels like we have 200 of our own children to worry about and try to care for.  We love them and want to help them be comfortable and healthy while they are serving.  When they don't feel well, we try to come up with ways to make them feel better.  When we do make them feel better or fix their MQ problems, it makes us feel good--So that's what JOYFUL EXHAUSTION is, I guess!  

Last week was especially busy. We started out the week with MLC (Mission Leadership Council)meetings and activities on Monday and Tuesday..  Monday morning we all went on a hike in the pouring rain. Then we had a training meeting during the afternoon.  On Tuesday morning, we got up early and fixed breakfast for the whole MLC which they ate after attending a temple session.  We cooked bacon, eggs, and pancakes for around 45 Elders and Sisters. Then more meetings until around 1:00pm. We made plans to go to the far side of the island on Wednesday afternoon to deliver the monthly needs to the MQ's in that zone and stay over at the Aga Reef resort so we could drive back a different way on Thursday and deliver needs to another zone on our way home.  It took us longer to get there than we thought, so it was almost dark when we got there.  It was kinda windy and stormy so we just sat outside for a while and watched the storm on the ocean.  Then we ate dinner at the restaurant there. The room was nice and the air conditioning worked great so we slept really well!  Thursday morning we got up, went for a little run/walk and had breakfast omelettes before heading back.  Next time we do that, we're going to make sure we leave earlier in the day so we can get there to enjoy daylight at the beach and make it worth our money for the overnight stay!  Friday was a catchup day for me at the office and we took time to attend the temple Friday evening so that was nice.  Saturday was a crazy busy day!  Tons of missionaries were sick with stomach viruses and sore throats!  We were in the Landcruiser for most of the day checking on missionaries and delivering medicines and MQ monthly needs. We caught a baptism at 4:00, stopped at a few more mission quarters and then got home around 6:30 to take the Office Elders, AP's and STL's to dinner. They all decided they wanted to eat at the mission home so they could play UNO so we ordered take-out from a chinese restaurant and brought it back to the mission home to eat. We had some fun conversation at dinner. They all wanted to know about our home and family so we showed them pictures from our phones and found our house and property on google earth for them to see.  We discovered they've updated google earth pretty recently because you could see the pickleball court and they were impressed that we had one of those at our place!  We visited with Elder Chu Ling (one of the AP's) for quite awhile and he told us about how he made his decision to come on a mission when he was 24 years old.  He had been going down a very different path but he said that his parent's unconditional love and support during that time when he was making the wrong decisions and doing the wrong things is what made him wake up and realize he needed to change his direction in life if he wanted to be with his family forever. He said his girlfriend encouraged him to go on a mission too even though she was catholic.  She knew he needed to go and serve others instead of thinking only of himself. He's 26 years old now.  We have a few of those older missionaries in the mission.

Four more Senior Couples have arrived over the last 2 weeks.  The Strobel's from Idaho Falls, The Hainer's from Washington, the Bell's from California, and the Bott's from Ogden. At the English speaking Ward Sacrament meeting, the Missionary couples took up two whole rows!  And we were not even sitting by them. The Mission Leaders are struggling to find housing for all of them. There's been more Seniors come to the mission this month than young Elders and Sisters. HaHa! They are calling it the "Rasband effect". But we had already started our mission papers before we even heard him give that conference talk so we can't say that was what brought us on a mission.  We always knew we should serve a mission after retirement.  We are happy to be giving service to the Lord by serving his people and missionaries.  It's one way to show our gratitude for all we have been blessed with!  We miss you all alot!  

Pictures this week: hike with MLC group, Aga Reef room welcome (remind you of anything, Bayli?) morning walk scenery,

Missionaries on the move

 It was a busy week for the mission last week.  It started off on Monday morningwith transfers. There was a lot of movement throughout the mission with elders and sisters coming and going from all three of the Islands. Then on Moinday afternoon we had  9 new missionaries arriving from the Provo MTC so we spent a good portion of the afternoon at the airport.  We also got another new couple who arrived in the middle of the night Tuesday.  I'm glad we didn't have to go get them!

On Tuesday we were involved in the Intake training.  We have to give our presentations on housing and mission health and safety and we pass out water bottles with filters, sheets and pillows, and a packet with all sorts of things that the new missionaries will need to get started on their mission--kind of a "Welcome packet".

Tuesday evening we had an Out  take dinner for the missionaries who were going home on Wednesday.  There was one sister and 3 Elders leaving, and one Senior couple who has been serving in the Tutuilla hospital as humanitarian medical missionaries.They always serve a nice meal and the office missionaries all get to attend too.  

Wednesday morning they had the Out take meeting at the chapel across from the mission home. The missionaries getting released all bore their testimonies and the Mission President spoke, then they presented them with certificates and a small gift from the mission. Then of course everyone sang to them! It was a nice tribute to the missionaries to honor them for their service.  All three of the Elders getting released are from one of the Islands so their parents and families just come to the meeting and then take them home. The Sister was from Utah, so they took her to the airport later in the day to send her off. 

We did our usual nurse and housing stuff the rest of the week.  There was an MQ that had been getting remodeled that was ready to move missionaries back into, so we spent quite a bit of time getting it restocked, and ready to go.  Dad also took time to go get his hair cut. He can't remember the last time it was cut this short! He says

"he got his ears lowered".  I had never heard that saying before, haha.

On Saturday, we attended a baptism for a brother and sister. THe mission had 21 baptisms this week! On Sunday, we went to the English speaking ward for church and I got a Mothers' day treat, cake and ice cream! President Purcell hosted a Mother's Day dinner for all the Senior couples on Sunday afternoon, and we had a roasted pig along with some other meat entrees.  This was the first time I'd seen an actual whole roasted pig! I couldn't quite bring myself to eat it! But Dad did, and he even helped cut it up.

President Purcell said something this week to the new missionaries at their intake training that I've been thinking about a lot, so I thought I'd share it with you.

We all walked over to the temple grounds together and he talked to us near the front entrance. He said there are only two things from this life that we will continue to do in the next life, missionary work and temple work, so we better know how to do them before we leave this life!  We should try to get lots of practice doing those two things in this life so we'll know what we're doing in the next life!

ua matou lagona le ma'l aiga (We're a little homesick)

 Talofa!

It has been a rainey week here in Samoa this past week.  We got drenched 3 out of 6 days on our morning walks.  It actually feels kind of good because it cools you off a little bit.  Today, Sunday, it rained almost all day.  When we went out this afternoon to potluck dinner with the other Senior missionaries, there were lots more puddles and standing water in places where there usually isn't.

 

Last week was a little bit quieter than usual around the mission.  President and Sister Purcell were gone all week to Tahiti for a mission leader conference.  Elder Godderidge didn't have as many emergency housing issues and I did't have as many sick calls as I usually do. We fed the office missionaries on Monday night (I made Taco soup) and ate with them a couple of other nights since the Purcells were not there to feed them. On Tuesday evening, we were able to do a session at the temple. On Saturday night we bought pizza for AP's, STL's,  and office missionaries and had a birthday party for Sister Scofield, the mission Secretary.  She turned 65 so it was a milestone birthday for her!  We sang to her and played UNO after dinner.  We attended a baptism Saturday as well.  The baptism total for the week was 26.

 

I went shopping by myself for the first time here in Samoa.  I bought a Samoan print dress so now I'll fit in a little better when I wear it!  I dropped Elder G. off at a local gym so he could spin for an hour (on an old-fashioned spin bike, haha) and drove downtown to a store that I was told had cute Samoan print dresses. It was my first clothing purchase in 7 weeks!  That's probably a record for me!  I had to go shopping to see if it would help me get over my homesickness. 

 We've been a little more homesick this week because of the events that we've missed out on back home.  First, losing  Archie (one of our horses) was hard and made us sad.  Then we felt bad that we couldn't go to Bayli's graduation and award ceremonies.  We also miss watching ballgames and other events that our family members are involved in.  We realize that it's only a small sacrifice, but sometimes it still makes us a little sad.  It would be alot worse if we didn't have WhatsApp to keep us posted and send us videos and pictures!  We love to be able to chat with family members once or twice a week.  That will keep us going.  We know that the work we are doing here is really needed and that we are giving a little back to the Lord by the service we are rendering here. We know THIS IS THE LORD'S WORK!  It's worth it when we see how much we are appreciated by those missionaries who we serve.  They are always telling us "Thank-you", or "Love you Papa and Mams G".  We are so thankful for all that our children are sacrificing for us so that we can be on this mission.Their service is what makes our service possible. They take good care of each other, love and support each other, and that makes it easier for us to be away. We are here because we have testimonies that this is the Lord's work.  We know these missionaries have an important message to share and we want to help them share it!  Joseph Smith really did see God the Father and Jesus Christ in a vision and restored His church to the earth. This is the Church of Jesus Christ, where we can learn of God's  plan that provides a way for us to return to his presence and have the blessing of eternal life with him and our Eternal family!

I didn't take many pictures this week.  I'll try to do better next iweek.

Sister Scofield's party, the baptism we attended

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