This is Bishop and Sister Matagi. He is the Bishop in one of the two wards effected by the tsunami. They were both born and raised in Samoa, but left and moved to the states for thirty years to raise their family. After all of those years they have moved back onto his family land. We met several people like them who move back in their "later" years, leaving family and friends behind. The island just seems to call to them, I guess.
Bishop and Sister Matagi serve as the Savior would have them do. We watched as they tenderly reached out to those people in their ward who were so devastated by the disaster that claimed their homes and all their belongings. Bishop Matagi was the first Bishop we worked with. It was amazing to see him respectfully wait for Reed to explain our purpose and assignment, ask questions and give counsel. Then when Reed was finished he would fill in what was missing. (It was difficult at first with the language. Reed was using words he had never used and we had only been in the country for three days when we got this assignment.) At the end of the day, Reed said that it was the best language lesson of his life.
Sister Matagi has worked tirelessly with one of the sisters in the ward who lost her home, has four children and was just diagnosed with Stage IV breast cancer. It was touching to watch as she tenderly cared for someone who has no idea what she is facing in the future.
We attended church at their ward and then had dinner with them. They gave us a beautiful tofa (finely woven mat) as a thank you for all we had done. It was humbling to be thanked in the most respectful way known to the Samoans. We will greatly miss them.
This is Bishop Leiataua and his wife. He is the Bishop of the other ward effected by the tsunami. They too lived much of their lives in the states and have moved back to Samoa. Every week they deliver food that they have grown on their land to their ward members. That may not sound like a big deal but it takes more than an hour to drive from one end of their ward to the other. Their home was destroyed and yet they don't let that stop them from ministering to those who struggle. They do not know how they will rebuild their home and yet their faith never seems to waiver. Bishop Laiataua's father was the first stake president in American Samoa--back when cars were scarce and there was only one stake. He sounded like an incredible man; his son has certainly emulated his father's great service.
This is Wallace Bryce. He is the Church Facilities Manager for American Samoa. That means he handles the budget and all that goes with it, including directing disaster relief. I can't even begin to imagine what his life has been like the last nine weeks. In the midst of everything he does he was just called as the Bishop of his ward. The amazing thing about Wally is that he is ever happy. It would be so easy to get bogged down and discouraged with all that he has on his plate and that just never seems to happen. He was a wonderful guide when we struggled to know what to do, where to go and who to talk to. He became a very dear friend.
A funny story about Wally: We were talking about villages in American Samoa. A particular village was mentioned (I can't remember the name) and Reed said that he had spent time in that village as a young missionary. He went on to say."I don't remember much about it except there was a family with a bunch of beautiful girls that I had to stay away from." Wally started to laugh and said, "I married one of them." We had the opportunity to meet his wife, Iva; what a lovely person she is.
This is Vili, the Haleck's housekeeper; she is from Fiji. How we enjoyed getting to know her and hear her story. She is a single mom; her daughter is now in college. Vili left Fiji three years ago to come to Samoa to work so she could send her daughter to school. What a sacrifice she is making--it made our eighteen months seem like a blink. She will stay and work in Samoa for about two more years. She was converted and baptized two months after arriving in Samoa. She, like Wally, never seemed to be down or discouraged. We have missed our interaction with her since coming home--and no she did not clean up after us!
I am ever so grateful for the people that came across our path as we worked through a difficult assignment. They each lightened our burden in significant ways. There is something indescribable that connects us as God's children despite our human differences. Living and working in a place as unfamiliar as Samoa is has taught me that we all truly are His children.
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