I am falling in love with...SAMOA!

Talofa family and friends,

I have now been in Samoa for over a month and a half! I can hardly believe that it has already been that long! God is giving me His heart for this country and I am quickly falling in love with it, its culture, and its people. Things have been very busy in the last few weeks as the Discipleship Training School (DTS) that started last September graduated, the new DTS started, one of our own, Liaina, left the base after 6 years to head to the next place God has called him to, as well as starting up our mobile team, and so, so much more.

Mobile Team: 

We have just created a mobile team in the last 3 weeks, which I am a part of, which goes around to different churches, ceremonies, and prisons doing dramas, dances, and leading worship. Almost every night during the week, we have dance practice, and I am quickly trying to learn Samoan, Fijian, Cook Island, Tongan, and Hawaiian dancing. My thighs, calfs, and hips are sore, but I’m getting in really good shape.  
We have performed at three different churches, four ceremonies, and at a prison. I am improving each time. It is very fun to be involved in this because dancing is so much a part of the Samoan culture; they just come alive when they dance. The first church we performed in, I received a standing ovation when I did my 5 second solo section; apparently they were just blessed that I have even attempted to learn a piece of their culture, but also my movements are slightly different than theirs and they find that amusing. It is quite daunting at the same time because all of the islanders can dance and have been dancing since before they could walk. I am learning to let go of my pride and walk in humility big time.

Dancing for Liaina's Farewell party

One of the leaders on the base was one of the founders of Island Breeze, a YWAM dance troupe that travels the world doing Island dances. He has been giving me some private lessons and tips which has been SO helpful as many times the girls show me the actions but basic things like posture and hand and feet positions they forget to teach me since it is second nature for them.

Mobile Team Girls heading to Church

Learning Center News:

Things have not progressed much as far as the learning center goes. We cannot start until the construction workshop finishes because they are storing all of their building materials in the learning center and as they build, it is dangerous for kids and very noisy. They have had to put the library fale on hold while they have been feverishly trying to update and do construction on the fales for the DTS students. Although we were hoping to have the school start sometime in March, realistically it will not be until April. This is ok with me as it gives me more time to acclimate to the culture and to learn the language, although I am really missing having kids around and being in my niche. There is a small team from Canada in Samoa for a few weeks and one of them is a English as a Second Language Teacher/Instructor. We are hoping to get some time together next week or two so that I can pick his brain and get materials from him!

Construction Workshop Boys building the Library Fale

 My Role:

As the Learning Center isn’t yet functional, I have been doing the things that no one else has been able to do, time to do, or don’t have the skills to do. Mostly office work. I have become the “techy” on base-who would have thought?! It is by far not my favorite, but it is a need the base has and I am good at it. I have been typing up electronic copies of things that they only have hard copies of- Rewriting applications, syllabuses, and debrief curriculum. I have also been put in charge of international communications (which has been sorely lacking at the base)-emails, outreach teams that want to come, short term mission builders, etc. I have also become the official photographer on base as well as the one who updates the YWAM Samoa facebook page. (Find us YWAM Samoa). I would much rather be outside working with my hands and with people, but at least I am out of the sun and have a fan. I have still been working on the grounds weeding and hacking with machetes most mornings, and of course on the kitchen cooking and clean-up rota.

Kitchen Clean-up Crew

I have also been nominated official cake baker for special occasions-however, Samoans somehow make many things special occasions-I think they just are in love with my cakes-so I have been baking at least two or three times a week.  I feel like a true missionary woman now as Friday I baked a banana cake with bananas straight from the tree, made my own buttermilk as a substitute for sour cream with lemons from the tree. And for my coconut buttercream frosting, I used fresh coconut cream which I rung from the coconut meat with my bare hands. :)

Cake for Liana's Farewell Party

Base News:

Liaina just left the base for Brazil via Hawaii. Our March DTS just started two weeks ago with 13 students and 6 staff. Seven out of ten of the September DTS that we graduated last week have come back on staff as well as two other new staff members. So the base is hopping with people. The two DTS fales have been refurbished and enclosed. The roof is on the library fale-the only two story fale in all of Samoa! Our YWAM soccer team won their first elimination game in the tournament 3-0 and unfortunately lost in the second game 3-1 in a very hard-fought game in torrential rain.

DTS Graduation

Ava Ceremony

Me Personally:

I have been told that I have a black (African) heart, a Samoan soul, Latin hips, and white skin-a woman of the nations :).

Two weeks ago the honeymoon stage wore off/ I was exhausted and didn’t have my personal time with God, and therefore, it was a rough week. Amazingly, similar things were happening in the life of one of the staff named Ema. As we hid in my room to eat guacamole (which I made from the avocados on our tree) so that we didn’t have to share, God moved. We ended up spending more than two hours on our knees, sobbing, repenting, and crying out to God. It was such a sweet time. It was like a spiritual weight and darkness was lifted. I feel like Satan is really attacking me using the fear of man- caring more about other people’s thoughts and opinions of me than God’s- against me. This has been specifically prevalent in dancing (in the mobile team and also in worship). God has been speaking to me and asking me to be obedient, and I have been hesitant and resisting in some areas. I was sick for a few days with a sore, scratchy throat. I woke up that Friday morning feeling pretty miserable and bummed that I would not be able to sing during our base worship time, and God said, “It’s ok. You can dance instead.”, forcing me to step out in obedience. And His presence fell and many people were blessed by it.

Tiff and I relaxing at Coconut Resort the day Uncle John and Uncle Don took us snorkling. 

Tiff and I

Snorkling

I am still progressing with my language skills. I have been able to speak some sentences and have very, very basic conversations with people. I am pretty perceptive so I am able to discern what people are saying even if I don’t understand the words which helps. I am enjoying learning, and the Samoans are enjoying teaching me. Although I need to be careful who I ask as some of the boys think it is funny to teach me the wrong words now. Sunday I learned the alphabet and the words that correlate with each letter (like A apple but A ato). I feel very accomplished :).

I’m in a weird place where I am feeling accepted and a part but also very separate and alone all at the same time. Building relationship with the girls has still been difficult and sometimes seems like it is two steps forwards and one step back, but every time I feel discouraged, God rocks my world again with an amazing one-on-one time with one of the girls or one of them asks me to pray with them or confides in me. I have a room to myself currently which is nice for sleeping and having downtime, but is unhelpful for building relationships as at night time I can hear all the other girls giggling or talking together in their rooms. The language difference can also make things lonely as they don’t always think to include me or translate. The feelings of loneliness have been much better in the last week as they are seeing me as a permanent fixture and I have been stepping out more. God has been providing opportunities for fun and adventure and relationship. He is so good! Uncle John and Uncle Don took Tiffany and I snorkeling on the other side of the island; Saturday, Uncle Don, a few of the guys and I went hiking, jumping off waterfalls, and exploring caves across the island as well. Random dance parties are daily occurrences as we clean up the kitchen or cook.

Hiking and playing in the waterfall

The natives have gone wild while cooking Sunday lunch

Hiking to the Ma Tree

What God is Doing:

In the last week specifically, God has been expanding my heart for Samoa, giving me such a love for this culture and people, showing me the broken places that break His heart, and how He wants to heal and change it. It has been an incredible week! Such a week of surprises. Mei Shu (Taiwan), Auntie Vicki (New Zealand), and I had an incredible prayer and intercession time in the new fales-declaring it a place of God’s presence, safety, sisterhood, honesty, and so much more. We had a surprise visit from a couple from Washington State who not only mentored but also married my mentor and dear friend, Jessica, from YWAM Harpenden. In the short 48 hours they were here, they spoke into my life in such profound ways, confirmed the things that God was showing to me about Samoa and the base, and encouraged me personally and in the things that I feel God has asked me to step out in.

One of the things that God has heavily placed on my heart and on Tiffany and Ema’s hearts is to have a small group for the girls on base staff. I have noticed that there seems to be a lot of loneliness here as people have put up barricades around their hearts and placed a facade of strength and being “ok”  around themselves guarding very vulnerable and broken hearts. Many of the relationship are just surface level. The people are crying out for someone to see them but terrified of letting someone in as there have been so many hurts in the past; there is also a problem with gossip here in Samoa which makes people not want to share their hearts for fear everyone will know. I think this is why one of the strongholds/ prevalent problems in Samoa is in sexual sins like lust, sex outside of marriage, pornography especially in the youth. God wants to restore people’s identities, self-worth, and for the girls to know what it truly means to be a woman and walk in beauty. Most of them have been told their entire lives what to believe and think and who they are that their true God-given identities have been lost, crushed, or buried.

God has already begun this. The last three nights Tiffany, Ema, Uncle John and I have been up until between 1 and 3am praying over each other and seeing God breakthrough strongholds, lies, and fear bringing freedom and restoration. I am exhausted but so content and at peace. We really feel that this is just the beginning and God wants this to sweep over the base starting with us. We have been sensing that God wants to tear things down to the foundations with hurricane force and rebuild it from the base up-not patch jobs. I have started mentoring two younger girls and already God is working in that. We are going to start our girls’ group probably this week and just see what God does.

International Table-American Samoa, Taiwan, Solomon Islands, New Zealand, Fiji, USA, Samoa

Fun and Funny Firsts:

Mei Shu (Taiwan) loves to eat fresh wasp larvae-it is apparently a delicacy and full of protein. Of course, I tried it. Not a fan, although it is not terrible. I also spent one evening collecting snails by flashlight in order to make them for lunch a few days later. I had the privilege of helping Tiff de-slime them. Those were actually quite tasty since she is a fabulous cook. I also had a funny experience where a quite large centipede almost ran across my foot while I was going to the bathroom. I sat there with my legs and bare feet in the air until he crawled through a crack in the wall so I didn’t get bit. I also walked into the kitchen one day to the sight of two pig heads thawing on the counter next to the sink. As I was on for lunch prep that day I was a bit nervous as to what exactly it was we were having for dinner. It ended up being a special treat for the boys that they prepared themselves so I never had to cook it or eat it.

Prayer Requests:

1. Me
 a. Continued boldness and a willingness to be obedient in whatever the Lord asks of me. To keep
Him and His opinion of me first and foremost.
b. An unoffendable heart and love towards others. No judgment.

2. VISA- I will be applying for my 1 year VISA in the next week. Please pray that it is granted with no  problems or hassles and no extra fees.

3. Relationships with the other base staff, locals, and students that will be coming to the Learning       Center.  *Specifically relationships with the girls on base, and that those relationships would go deep and not just be surface level.

4. Mobile Team
a. That God would really use us mightily, that we would be led by the Spirit, and unity would  pervade our team.
b. We are believing God for a van to transport us to and from locations and for uniform poletasis (Samoan traditional dress).

5.  Girls Small Group- wisdom and discernment for how to run it and start it, but that also the girls    would be willing to be vulnerable and open. Bond of sisterhood.

6. Samoa (specifically the base)
a. That God would break the strongholds over Samoa- sexual perversions and lust, isolation and loneliness, gossip...and be replaced with unity, family, respect, and love

7. Health
a. Protection from sickness.
b. Mental and physical strength.
c. Denghi Fever is coming to Samoa. It has already affected Fiji. They have put out a national advisory. There is no immunization, but just be smart and take preventative measures like not leave standing water. I'm very peaceful about it and God is so much bigger, but I will always take the prayers.

First Weeks in Samoa

I made it to the very hot and humid island of Samoa. I have now been here for almost 2 weeks which seems crazy.  

Weather:

I have never been in heat like this before even in Africa.  The humidity is so high. I rarely sweat, but here it doesn’t matter. Everyone sweats. When the Samoans say that it is hot, you know it is hot; and they have been bemoaning the heat daily.  I think I have been in over a 100 degree heat differential since I left.  Sunday after church, my friend, Tiffany, and Kiwi (New Zealander) Don, and I decided to hike to the top of Mount Vaea on the island of Upolo to Robert Louis Stevenson’s grave.  I wasn’t sure I was going to make it for a while because the heat and humidity zapped away every bit of energy I had and breathing even became difficult. Thankfully when we reached the top, the clouds came and with it some much needed rain to rid us of the humidity. From then on I was fine and able to enjoy the rest of the hike around the mountain.  The best part was the waterfall and small pool at the bottom which I definitely jumped in to cool off. It has been quite dry for the rainy season. They all are telling me that I brought a reprieve in the rain. The last two days though have been quite wet. There are nice breaks between the deluges to get things done.  

Housing:

I live above the Learning Center in a small room with a Fijian girl named Leba.  She has very good English and is in charge of hospitality on the base so it works well.  The Learning Center itself is an open Fale with a few tables and benches in it as well as a chalk board and white board. Most of the Fales on the base have the open living area which can be closed off with tarps or woven palm leaves and then living quarters attached behind.  There are also a few buildings (where the boys live) that are made of shipping containers made into housing. They work well in this climate because they are cool, dry and won’t get blown over by cyclones.  We live in community and therefore share bathrooms which have cold running water for showers.  

                                          Typical Samoan Fale- Open in front as a living space and bedrooms in the back

 DTS girls live in this Fale

 The view of the base (or the left side of it) from the front entrance.  The Learning Center is the first Fale on the left.

 These are what the Male base staff live in. Converted shipping containers.

Daily Life:

Breakfast lasts from 7-8 which can be pankake (a fried dough ball), cocoa rice, fruit, or oatmeal.  From 8-9 we have either worship or intercession times. The rest of the day with the exception of an hour break for lunch is reserved for work duties.  This could be working in the piggery or fishery, construction, working the plantation, cooking, etc.  My jobs have consisted of going through and organizing all of the materials for the Learning Center.  Things have just been boxed up and placed willy-nilly depending on space.  Every time I thought I was finished I found more. I have also been helping with communication for other Palagis (or non-islanders) and writing grant proposals to redo our field. It is currently rocky and uneven. The volleyball court is even worse and semi-dangerous especially if barefoot (I always wear my shoes mom don’t worry ;) ).  We hope to have a space where the community and also the children from the Learning Center can come to engage in rugby, basketball, soccer, ping-pong, and volleyball. Ideally we would like to run sports camps and host tournaments.  I am also in the cooking rotation and have been weeding on the plantation.  After 6, is free time; most of the base staff play volleyball or soccer in the field.  Jam sessions happen quite frequently as Samoans are incredibly musical.  I have somehow gotten myself roped into being on one of the worship teams as well.  Dinner is between 7 and 8 and usually consists of some sort of chicken, fish, or pork with some sort of vegetable (carrots, cassava, Samoan spinach) and either taro or boiled green bananas.  

The base is currently running a construction workshop for the base staff.  The guys are building a new fale for a library and while waiting for the building permits, learning to build canoes. (This is in the Learning Center)

Learning Center:

As generally happens on the mission field, our plans are not always God’s plans and what we think might happen often doesn’t or happens differently.  The plan currently is to have the Learning Center up and running in MARCH! As in next month March! This is a little bit daunting honestly.  I thought I might have a little bit longer to prepare and learn the language, but I guess we will all learn as we go.  I am a bit terrified by the thought, and yet so excited as this is why I came here and what God has been preparing me for.  I am excited to start doing what I was called here for. I was a bit taken aback when I went to a church and was introduced by one of the staff as the new “principal of the Learning Center.”  There are two others, John and Leba, who really love kids and teaching who along with me will make up the core team. Several others on the base are wanting to help out as well in a smaller capacity.  School will run from 9-12:30 Monday-Friday.  We are hoping to break them up into smaller groups according to age and capability.  We have some supplies here. There is not tons in terms of curriculum, but enough to get started with. Towards the end of February we will go around looking for the children who are not in school and speak to their parents about enrolling them in the Learning Center. When it was running a year ago, they had approximately 50 children.    

The Learning Center- you can see my window on the 2nd floor.

Culture:

The Samoans are a wonderful people who are incredibly loyal, loving, and giving.  They are fiercely protective especially of the women and their families. Whenever they have guests the number one rule is to feed them. They don’t understand that I am not as big as most of them and therefore cannot eat as much.  Dinner time is always fun and interesting as it is first come first serve and food tends to jump from one plate to another as people become full and dump their leftovers on others’ plates. They love to sing and dance, and you can always find someone somewhere singing and dancing.  Most constantly have a smile on their face. Samoans love to laugh about anything and everything and teasing is constant. Now that I have been here a while, the teasing towards me has started which means I’m one of them.  They laugh at my attempts at learning the Samoan language as many words are so similar and I either can’t hear the difference, say the difference, or mix them up.  for example foot is va’i and water is vae.  I should be fine as long as I don’t have to say my foot is in the water.  I am learning quite quickly although not as fast as I would like, but the Samoans are quite impressed. One said that it took a palagi 3 months to learn to count and I mastered it in a little over a day. 

Me Personally:

I have been doing well.  God is so faithful and doesn’t give us anything that we can’t bear.  The hardest thing has been the heat as it wears me down. I have to be smart and restrain myself at times because I know that it is not good for my body-and hydrate! Being one of two palangi staff is challenging at times (especially since the other has been married to a Samoan for over 35 years). There is a language barrier and although the Samoans are doing pretty well including me, it can still be lonely as I miss out on many of the jokes, laughter, and just don’t know what is going on half the time.  Being alert and engaged all the time while trying to remember names and information about everyone and understanding broken English gets very exhausting after awhile.  Thankfully I have Tiffany here who understands and just lets me escape to her bedroom or take walks together without having to talk or think.  I have fallen asleep on her floor at least 2 or 3 times.  It has been so wonderful seeing her and getting to rekindle that relationship after 2 years! There has been a lot of laughter and stories.  

Tiffany and I hiking the mountain!

Prayer Requests:

1. Learning Center
1. Wisdom as to how to run it, what to teach, how to divide responsibilities, humility to learn from each other
2. Children to come to the Learning Center
2. Health

     a. Protection from sickness.

1. I had a funny allergy thing after our hike in which my eyes got incredibly itchy, goopy, and puffy.  Thank God for Benedryl. 
2. Mental and physical strength.
1. Relationships with the other base staff, locals, and students that will be coming to the Learning Center

     

Sunrise over the base

I’m sorry that this update was exceptionally long. As the first one since being here I thought I would fill you in.  I will try to make the next ones more concise.  Miss you all. Hugs and blessings! 

10 Days and Counting

Talofa Family and Friends,

Less than two weeks remain before I leave for Samoa.  I have a plane ticket which says that I will be traveling for nearly 40 hours! I think in the last few weeks I have hit every emotion possible from elation to trepidation, “I can’t wait!” to “What in tarnation am I doing?”, complete excitement to nervousness. There are many unknowns that make going a bit nerve-wracking. At the same time, I am very ready for this next adventure and to serve God and the Samoan people. This is what I was created for-to serve and love others and provide an education for children who don’t have access to one. 

Daily Life: A few weeks ago I spoke with my friend Tiffany who lives on the base in Samoa. She was able to give me a lot more information about the school and life itself in Samoa.  I am going to need to brush up on hand-washing clothes as there are definitely no washers and driers.  However, I am looking forward to the average year-round temperatures of 79°. I will be living in what they call a fale which are oblong buildings/huts with open sides. At night or during rain nets, tarps, or blinds are pulled down. It is quite primitive as the base is located in the center of the island in the hills. Internet costs around $6-8 American dollars an hour.  So I will do my best to keep you updated on my life.  

            

Fales:  My home for the next months

The School: Apparently, the school was opened about two years ago by a Samoan woman who directed and taught at the school. There were several other volunteers from the YWAM base who helped out which enabled them to split the students into three or four age groups.  After about a year, the director and her son felt that they were to move to Thailand. Around the time she left, the base was also restructuring the way it was run, and the school was put on hold while the entire base participated in a leadership seminar lasting three months. Now over a year later, the school has yet to be reopened as there is no one to run it or who feel capable of running it. The others who were helping have since been reallocated to other projects around the base or have moved on. 

Yesterday I stumbled across the blog of a teacher who had come to help build the Learning Center and train teachers in Samoa. She had incredible insights as to the education system there. 

1) Not only can many of them not afford an education, but many of them in more rural areas do not have proper birth certificates and therefore are not permitted in school. 

2) There is no formal curriculum in Samoa; however, there is a national test which all students must take in order to graduate-few pass it which means the majority drop out by grade 8

3) School is taught in English which is not their first language

In her blog she wrote, 

"The Learning Center Samoa is under construction. The YWAM base leaders believe that if they build the building the teachers will come. It’s goal, create curriculum in the Samoan language and teach every subject in Samoan, except English."

            

The Learning Center under construction 2 years ago

As you may have now guessed, most of the children do not speak English as they would have learned it in school. Since they haven’t been to school, they have had neither a way nor an incentive to learn it.  I am assuming that the older children might know some whereas the younger children would know little to none.  So clearly the first few months and weeks that I am there will most likely be spent 

learning Samoan. I currently know a grand total of three words. 

My future students-kids in the village who will be coming to school at the Learning Center

Future News: I will be coming home for a month in July to attend a dear friend's wedding, visit family, and get a bit of respite. At that time, I should know more about the needs and status of the school-- what supplies they need, curriculum, structure, etc.

Thank you for keeping me in your thoughts and prayers! God bless you all and see you in six months!

Prayer Points:

1) Full Financial Support

2) Others (specifically teachers) to come work at the school

3) Quick acquisition of the Samoan language

4) Easy transition into the Samoan culture, family, and lifestyle

5) Safe travels

6) Protection for my health

  

 Samoan students in the local school

The journey

So I know many of you have been wondering what is next for me. Well here is your update...

YWAM Samoa

This next step of my life has been the culmination of many years of preparation and a journey that God has brought me on resulting in such a peace, joy, and excitement about going and serving in Samoa. It started over two years ago when I met a girl named Tiffany at Youth With A Mission (YWAM) Harpenden and heard about the base in Samoa, and at that time, I had no plans to go except maybe someday to visit her. 

If you are wondering where Samoa is, it is in the middle of nowhere. Somewhere between Hawaii and New Zealand.

 So after this past Discipleship Training School (DTS) that I staffed, I decided it was time to leave YWAM Harpenden and staffing DTS and felt it was time to go back to teaching.  As I prayed about it, I realized that God was calling me back to teaching but not away from the mission field.  He continued to remind me of things such as my heart for teaching children without access to an education, of starting orphanages, helping communities thrive and become self-sustaining, of going into places others would not, and more. Through a series of events, I decided to go to Samoa and pray about my next step while visiting my friend, Tiffany. 

I looked on the website of the YWAM base where Tiffany lives and works to see if they had any needs posted and found out about the Learning Center and the need for teachers. Everything clicked into place.  Not only will I get to live in community with Tiffany, but I will have the opportunity to teach children who have no access to an education. It was God’s hand leading me in this direction the entire time.  Every piece of the puzzle fell into place and exactly correlates with the heart and vision that God has placed in me and what I feel He is calling me to do at this time.  He knows our hearts and desires and fulfills even the smallest details.

  

The Learning Center

A lady at my church, while praying with me, asked me what makes my heart rise up.  Immediately I remembered a time in Africa earlier this year when my mentor looked at me and said, “I have never seen you so alive and so fully you as here on the mission field with these kids.” And it is true.  Being in the center of God’s will and on the mission field surrounded by children is where I feel the most alive and fulfilled.

I am so excited to see what God has in store for me in the next few months and years.  I am still a bit unclear as to what it will look like when I arrive in Samoa. My role will be to develop a team with a heart and vision for the learning center, get the learning center back up and running, and then teach.  I also don’t know exactly how long I will be there; it could be anywhere from a year to five years. 

The view :)

If you want more details let me know and I can email you or we can get coffee.  Please be praying for me as I am preparing for this time of very big change.  


The Learning Center is a place for children ages 5-17  who have never had access to a formal education to come and learn fundamentals and receive an education. Currently there are 40 kids who are wanting to come.  There is a building in place, but no one to run it or teach.  If you want to see more about it, the website it http://ywamsamoa.org/?page_id=427.