Primary

   The children's organization in the LDS church is called Primary.  I've been a part of the Primary since we very first moved here in late 2007.  I worked in the nursery class (childrens 18 months to 3 years) for about 4 years, and in January 2012 I was called to be Primary President, meaning I was the person who supervised all classes and programs for children up to age 12. 

I served with two counselors and a secretary, which had a few iterations as people moved.  First it was me, Helen, Lana, and Lapu.  Then Lapu left and Chanel joined us.  When Helen left, Donna took her spot.  All of these women have taught me about service, patience, and diligence.

I loved working in the Primary.  It was very busy, and I had to learn a lot.  I depended on the Lord for guidance and courage, and His grace "saved" me many times.  Mostly I loved being with the children.  They are so eager, innocent, sweet, and loving.    Even when they're difficult, they are precious.

 It's remarkable to me that so many amazing adults are willing to offer their time, talents, and energy to provide a loving environment for these children to learn about our Savior.  Positive relationships with caring adults will help these children to feel their Savior's love for them.

And in turn they will share His love with others around them.

Last Sunday was my last day as Primary president.  A new president was called, and she will be wonderful!

Now I feel a little like a deflated balloon.  My expanded capacity is now empty and I'm drifting aimlessly through space.  But I should enjoy that feeling because I know it won't last long.

Even though I've been extremely busy and stressed out over this last year by teaching first grade full-time, taking Masters classes in the evenings, trying to be a good mommy for our family, and facing the many challenges of life on this island, the Lord has steered me through the rough waters and given me many opportunities to pause and regain the eternal perspective that He provides.

Time to Say...Tofa Soifua

So this is it folks.  If you really wanna visit us in American Samoa, you better come soon, 'cause the time has come for us to move on.  (I can't believe I'm writing this!)

We're moving to Utah in June.  Ephraim’s been pondering what to do for about a year now.  We finally have an answer that feels right.  He’s going back to school to be a Physicians Assistant.  He needs 3 prerequisite classes and experience hours before we apply.  In Utah we can stay with my mom and dad, and there are lots of opportunities.  We’ll apply for PA school next year, and then start in 2015 for two years.  The schools he's looking at are in the east.  After that we'll be able to go wherever there are openings.  So we won't be in Utah forever.  It’s just a pit stop.

Things have been tumbling into place, as we get more information.  The idea was planted around Christmas time by a PA friend of ours.  Since then it has simmered.  In February he interviewed for a Sea Grant job in Hawaii on the Big Island, but he was their #2 pick.  He had applied in other places for similar positions, but we really wanted to go to Hawaii.  It just didn't happen.  And now we're really okay with it because he’s always been interested in medicine, and he is very excited about this change.  

We thought that our new path would fall into our laps like it has in the past.  But this time, we've had to think out of the box a bit more, and do some searching.  But now that we're headed in this direction, we feel peace, joy, and courage.  "One step enough for me."

The kids are really excited to see snow, and we're really excited to be close to family.  This is an answer to many years of prayer, and we're praying that all will go well with our new plans.

We've had an amazing experience in American Samoa.  It will always be a big part of who we are.

Here's what we looked like when we came in 2007.

And what we look like nowadays in 2013.

Wet and Wild

We've been trying to go to the beach every Friday afternoon.  We mostly go to "the usual spot" at Fatumafuti.  It's always a good time.

 I think this is how I look often.  Amused, concerned, dazed.

 On Saturday we went to a friends party with this monster water slide!  It was awesome!  Add some bubbles and you get even more fun.  

 By the way it was a moustache party.  Luckily Ephraim hadn't shaved in a few days, so that was pretty easy for him.

April Happenings

In April we've just been enjoying daily life.

For Family Home Evening every Monday night we have an activity after a lesson.  The activities have been pretty physical:  pillow fights, pillow wrestling, try-to-push-your-opponent-off-the-rug, etc.  They're always a big hit.  This time we tried balance activities.  Like try-to-push-your-opponent-off-the-beam.  Ephraim always wins.  Even when we're all against him.  Weight matters, I guess.

The first weekend in April was General Conference. It's always a challenge for us to make all the sessions since they're at 5 am and 9 am at the church, and our kids don't do well sitting for 2 hours in the dark.  We all went Sat. at 9am (but I ended up leaving with the two little boys after 10 minutes.)  So, I went by myself at 5 am on Sunday.  It was so peaceful and enlightening. It was coincidentally the session where I saw "my friend" Sister Wixom speak. 

 (Then Ephraim took the two oldest to the 9 am session.  We'll catch up on the rest of the sessions later.)
 I got Linus up and noticed a bunch of new bug bites, and a boil.  Poor kid.

Random stuff:

Ella's wall decorated with projects and inspirational messages.  I love her eye for design.

And this funny little monkey is now 4 years old.

This is an unsettling sight.

We had some wind a flew the kite a few times.  Love Owen's face.

At school there was a swarm of bees on our playground.  That was educational.

And I had the kids make fairy tale costumes from scraps of fabric.  The costumes are pretty impressive considering they only used kid scissors, tape, and a stapler.

 :)

Moving on.

March

So it's not March anymore.  But here's what we were doing when it was March.  A month ago.

Just when I was wishing for some amazing inspiration, the Lord sent Sister Wixom the Primary General President to American Samoa.  I got to hear her speak and meet her afterwards.  She was so delightful, and I felt like my Father in Heaven was keenly aware of me and my wishes.

Over Spring Break we escaped to $2 Beach for a wonderful morning with the Scratch sisters, Corry's, and Nohira's.

  

I had to leave a little early to catch a plane to Apia for three days.

It was a quick but meaningful trip.  I got to stay with some wonderful people, go to the temple, and eat delicious food.  Thank you heaps to Kristin and the Berberts.  Then I got to have Sunday two times, since Samoa is a day ahead of us.  I really loved going to Pesega 5th ward.  I was surprised how many people I recognized and friends I had there.  It's like the Samoan version of MIW.  On my trip I felt peace, assurance, and confidence.  I felt like I could look back and recognize my personal growth and faith.  It gave me courage to move forward trusting in the Lord.

Easter was a week later.  We decorated eggs and did the hunt. 

 March was a good month.  A time of new beginnings and new hopes.

My Backyard

I haven't posted in awhile because life's been busy, and I've been following the adage, "If you don't have anything nice to say don't say anything at all."

But today I made an effort to find the nice things to say, and I took some photos of the beauty around me.

These are photos from around my garden.  These beautiful things just grow with no effort or thought on my part.  They exist with no thought on my part.  It's about time I gave these lovely things more thought.

Red ginger is called teuila.  I think that's a beautiful name.  I try to keep a bouquet of these in my house regularly.

The shadows made the leaves look like they had bubbles and bulges, but it's just light.

We actually have a lot more papaya trees than I knew about.  We'll have to be sure to harvest them before the bats do.

This massive leaf is about 4 feet long and 3 feet wide.  I'd never noticed the patterns of the veins.

A tropical conifer.

 This coconut tree is choked with vines.  It reminds me of the obesity problem on the island.  Those poor skeletons have to support so much extra weight.

 Narelle planted these a few years ago.  Wish she were here to see them!

 Isn't this one cute!?

This is white ginger.  Its smell is what made me want to live in this house.

One kind of Heliconia (Heliconia griggsiana)

Another kind of heliconia  (Heliconia psittacorum)

Looking toward our house from the bottom of the yard.

 TA-DA!

So this is our home.  It's what we know and we're used to.  It is very tricky living on a tropical island for a thousand reasons.  But at this point, if I moved back to "normal" life, I think I would feel more unfamiliar and uncomfortable than relieved.  And we might not have all these lovely blessings right in our backyard, so I have to be grateful and content.

P. S. You may notice the veiny lines spreading across this picture.  We believe it's mold growing in our camera.  there's no way to clean it off, but we're trying to dry out the camera (rice in socks, sit it in the warm oven, etc.)   Just another joy of living in the tropics!