Papa's First Offical Report

Our first month in Samoa has been what one might expect the first several weeks of a mission to be: challenging; frustrating; hard; bizarre; faith-promoting; amazing; and wonderful.

Challenging: It has been hard being away from the people and things we love. Thank goodness for Skype and the internet. We've been able to feel a lot less isolated because of modern communication. On my first mission here, there was nothing but letters that took 10-20 days to get and send. It has been challenging to be sent to American Samoa with a directive but no real guidance. We have felt like Nephi being sent back to get the plates. Nephi's words in 1 Ne. 3: 7 have come to our minds almost daily as we came to a place completely unfamiliar to us to work through all the challenges involved in helping people through the maze of FEMA and the administration of welfare help from the Church.

Frustrating: We have been asked to try to administer the Church's help through the proper priesthood lines of authority. It would be a lot easier for us to dig in and do things ourselves. We spend a lot of time suggesting ideas and hope that people follow through with things. We have gone to meetings where people just don't show up and others where people repeatedly ask the same questions they asked during the previous meeting. We have been frustrated by the inability of government to adjust quickly to needs and get help to the people who need it. The Samoans love to talk. Meetings can last forever while people are showing proper respect to those present and thanking people for their attendance while very little actually gets done to help people who are living in tents and using the jungle as a bathroom.

Hard: Everything in Samoa is harder. Every day we spend a lot of energy making phone calls, scheduling meetings, shopping, trying to fix computer problems, etc. Everything just takes longer and is a lot harder. We get spoiled in the US with phones, internet, deliveries, etc.; we snap our fingers and things happen. Life here is hard.

Bizarre: People who own 10 dogs; sharks on the sidewalks; geckos in the medicine cabinet; dog running across the road with a chicken in its mouth; forests of hair growing out of ears and noses; catching a wild boar by hand; whole pigs sold in the frozen food section; 10 inches of rain in one week; people whose homes have been destroyed welcoming us with a smile and apologizing for not offering us any food because they have none; an entire bus full (people on each other's laps) of saints, who have lost almost everything they have in a tsunami, arriving after an hour drive with smiling, clean and happy people getting off the bus to attend church.

Faith-promoting, amazing and wonderful: Interestingly, the challenging, frustrating, and bizarre things have also been what have made our first month wonderful. Challenging things make us grow, especially as we turn to the Lord for help. As hard as it is to be lonely, feel isolated, and miss family and friends, those things make us appreciate home and rely upon each other and the Lord. The bizarre and frustrating things make us search for understanding and teach us not to be judgmental. We have had to do things that seem impossible and found that with the Lord's help we can do very hard things. We have seen miracles occur as we have left the house in the morning not knowing where to go or what to do but accompanied by a prayer for guidance from the Lord. God loves these people, and it is a humbling privilege being an instrument in His hands to bring hope and relief to some very wonderful people.