Samoa

 What a GREAT week we had as we visited the first of  15 schools operated by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. This week we were in Samoa, a four hour flight from Auckland. We were picked up upon our arrival by Elder and Sister Spencer and Elder and Sister Osborne, ITEP couples working in the schools in Samoa. The airport is an hour drive along the coast to Apia where the LDS Church College of Pesega is located on property right next to the Samoan LDS Temple. We enjoyed a delicious dinner at the Spencer's home on the Temple grounds (the church has housing for teachers, Pacific Area office visitors, and missionaries. The next day started with a Monday morning devotional for the faculty at the college (what we call high school in the U.S.)  where Elder Jacobsen and I were introduced and had a few minutes to talk with the faculty. To start the meeting a hymn was sung and I was overwhelmed at the beauty of the voices of the faculty as they sang perfectly in four-part harmony with no accompaniment. The Samoan people love to sing and do so with skill and "gusto".The devotional was followed by some Cocoa Samoa, a yummy dark chocolate drink with rice in it, and then we were on the road for the hour drive to  visit Sauniatu Primary School.  It is a very beautiful location and is quite remote. Elder Spencer explained to us that in the 1800's the persecution of members of the church was very severe, so property was purchased farther away to provide a refuge for those early members. President David O. McKay visited Sauniatu in 1955 to dedicate the chapel for the school and commented it was the most beautiful place he had seen. I think he was right. There is a very special feel to Sauniatu and the children at the school are special, too.



Elder and Sister Spencer and Elder Jacobsen at the spot where in 1921 Elder David O. McKay blessed this ground and dedicated it to the people as a refuge. 





Elder and Sister Jacobsen



On the Sauniatu school grounds heading towards the main school building. You can see some goats in the field on the left behind the fence.



Elder Spencer with Principal Steve and Elder Jacobsen just after we arrived at the school. The Spencers spend one day a week at Sauniatu teaching Education courses from BYU Hawaii to the teachers. They also provide workshops and work closely with the principal to increase teacher effectiveness.



This is the David O. McKay fale (Samoan place for gathering together or used as a home) built to honor the man who dedicated this land.

The posts are decoratively carved with each pole representing a story.

Taking a tour of the classrooms. Sauniatu has around 120 students and there is one class at each grade level.




These students love to get their picture taken! We had just spent a few minutes before this picture was taken listening to them read to us. All classes are taught in English but many students come to the school in Year 1 (Kindergarten) with no English. So they are very proud to show off their English skills.

 


The first building at Sauniatu.




There was a picture like this everywhere I turned!




On school property there is also a farm operated as a teaching facility for the local population to teach them, among other things, more effective ways to grow crops and sanitize their water (see the bottles on the roof in the picture below where they are taught to put the water on the roof and it will
sterilize it in the hot sun).

This beautiful waterfall is right on school property. We did not take a swim although we were tempted. :)



See what I mean about a beautiful picture every time I turned around?

The ITEP Missionary Couples from Left to Right: Elder and Sister Osborne who are working on Career and Technical Education programs in all of the schools, Elder and Sister Spencer, who are working with Sauniatu School and the LDS Church College of Pesega. You know us, Elder and Sister Jacobsen, ITEP Coordinators working with all 15 schools and 10 ITEP couples. We are based in Auckland, New Zealand.

On the grounds of a Bahai'i temple in Apia. The Spencers took us to see the grounds which are beautifully maintained. There are only 7 Bahai'i temples in the world.

 



Queenah and Lei are the two counselors at the LDS Church College of Pesega. Comprehensive Counseling and Guidance was just implemented about three years ago in the church schools. I will have the fun of working with all 10 of the school counselors in the church schools throughout the Paciific. Queenah and Lei are doing a wonderful job.




The Samoan Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-Day Saints is located right next to the LDS Church College of Pesega. I took this picture while standing on the school grounds.



Elder and Sister Osborne in their office at Pesega. They will be in Samoa for three more months and then will head to Fiji to work on getting the TVET (Technical Vocational Education Training) programs up and running in the church school there. They have done amazing work in cleaning out old equipment and getting machines operational so students can have more options to pursue other pathways. They also have been establishing partnerships with the technical schools on the islands so more students can develop skills that will make them employable (17% of the population receives a paycheck) while they are still in high school.



The TVET classrooms are located in these buildings on Pesega's campus.



Thanks to Elder and Sister Spencer for taking us to see some of the sights around the island of Upolu, Samoa. The Spencers are working hard to train teachers and help students. They have great expertise in reading literacy and administration.


Love and Prayers to all!
 I have more to tell you about Samoa so look for more posts very soon. :)