Last Days In American Samoa

Since we've now been settled for a week, it's about time to recap a little bit.

In our last week in Samoa we stayed busy packing, sorting, and doing all the normal moving things.  We never felt stressed, flustered, or worried.  We felt really peaceful and excited about moving.  We spent a morning with our good friends the Porters.  Gregg Porter is a PA at LBJ Medical Center and was key in helping us make our decision.  Ephraim had been shadowing him frequently in the last few months.  Our kids get along great, and they have an awesome island-style water park in their front yard.

So on our last night in American Samoa we had a full house of friends coming by to pick up items they'd purchased from us.  It made for a pleasant night of interesting, wonderful people.  We went outside for glow sand and glow balloons.  The glow balloons made some cool pictures.

 Our last day in Samoa was June 19th.  We began the day with a full house and ended it with an empty house.  Everyone knows what immense, exhausting work it takes to get there.  Need I say more?

A bunch of people came to pick stuff up, and most of them left with much more than they expected.  The hero of the day was Ben Goodwin.  He's been our home teacher, Ephraim's surf buddy, the husband of my amazing friend and paddling coach Lana, the first counselor in our bishopric, and an all-around awesome Laie boy.  Ben came over around 11 to help us clean.  He and Ephraim started at the back end of the house and moved forward cleaning every inch along the way.  My job was to get all the stuff packed, given, or thrown away by the time they reached the front room.  When the house was empty, I thought Ben would call it good and go home, but he didn't.  He washed every louvre, swept, mopped, scrubbed, and then took out the trash.  It was funny because Ephraim took the boys to run some errands, and then I got a phone call from my professor in Hawaii on my 80's corded phone, so I couldn't leave my 3' radius.  So Ben totally finished cleaning the house by himself.  Heaven bless that man!

Our final meal was at KokoBean with the Porters.  It was great.  They'd made leis for us, some lei's were made from things in their yard.  We miss these guys.

Then it was off to the airport.  Thanks to the Pili's we had a vehicle to drive since our car was sold already.   Everytime we see a Yukon now we think of how kind Ali and Phil were to us, and we think of all their awesome Filipino family who drove us, and took care of the car.  Good thing the car was big because we had 7 check-ins and 7 carry-ons.

We tried to be as calm as possible at the airport.

Just kidding, it was all party.  This is just a small part of my American Samoan family:

I got a little teary when I saw the airplane come and realized that I'd seen so many airplanes like this come and go, and this one now was mine.

I almost stayed strong saying goodbye, but didn't quite make it without tears. I'm just so blessed to have known these great people, and I'm happy to know that I will be with my Samoan brothers and sisters again someday.

We literally skipped down the tarmac toward the plan and turned back to wave goodbye.  We saw our family waving and shouting farewells back at us.  When you board the plane it's like stepping onto Hawaiian ground, so it already felt different.  The last friend I saw was Mitzi Semo, one of my closest friends in Samoa (and queen of Hawaiian Air) who came on board for one last hug and smile.

And then we were off.  Thus ended the days of the Temple family in American Samoa.

Rest

I wrote this June 11.  It's a little outdated, but I wanted to include it in my life narrative.

For months, I would write in my journal things like:

“I have so many blessings.  But all I really want is a nap.”

“When we get to heaven is it just going to be more work?  Is this what I have to look forward to forever?”

I started studying passages of scripture that talk about the rest of the Lord, and entering into His rest.  I felt like the Lord recognizes that this life is difficult and requires a lot of hard work, and He offers the ultimate prize for the weary: REST.

Well now that school is over, I wake up when I want to, and every morning as my brain “puts on my life” again, I smile.  I don’t have anywhere to be.  I can spend all day in my house with my children.  I have housework to do (I am moving in a week, after all), but I don’t have to do anything for anyone else.

I have a lovely wooden plaque on my wall thanking me for my service to my school community, and now I can rest.  And it feels so good.

Last Days of School 2013 - Goodbye Ta'iala!

Everyone looks forward to the end of the school year, and this year was special for me for a few reasons.  

First, I had such a great year teaching first grade.  I learned so much, worked so hard, and had so much fun with my awesome little people.  

Second, my sisters were here for the last week of school, so I knew I'd have help maintaining home life while I worked on finishing up projects, testing, grades, etc.

Third, I knew that this would be my last year at the school.  This would mean the end of a special chapter of my life.  I've been with Ta'iala Academy since it was a spark of an idea in 2010.  I've worked and worked and worked for almost every aspect of its existence.  As with any project that takes life, I've seen successes and failures, and learned from the climb.  And now I'm moving on.  It hasn't quite hit me that this change is taking place.

I was so pleased with how our last few days with the school unfolded.  

Our last day of school, Wednesday, was our awards ceremony.  The weather that day was especially dark and stormy, with pouring rain and scary thunder and lightning.  A lot of people stayed home. (I would've done the same, but I sorta had to be there.)  We had to move everyone into my classroom instead of the fale because of the weather. 

Good thing Rachel and Marcie had helped me clean it the day before!  (Thank you sisters!)

The brave souls that came enjoyed a short but very sweet presentation of awards.

Everytime the thunder clapped the students got a little frightened.  I told them it was just the angels in heaven clapping for them, and then they were happy for the thunder.

Seven of my Eleven Cute Firsties with some of their awards

Owen with the Awesome Ms. Kristin

(The other day I held up one of Owen pictures and didn't know which way was up.  He said, "No Mama, it's portrait, not landscape."  Okay thank you 3 yr old.  And thank you Ms. Kristin!)

After this our car got stuck in the mud (how many times has that happened at Ta'iala?) and Mr. Isaia had to rescue us.  What a guy!

That evening some of the teachers came to my house to relax and play some games with my sisters.  It was so nice to not have to worry about getting ready for school the next day!

Thursday my sisters left after almost being swept out to sea.  And our car decided it needed a rest after getting stuck in the mud, so the alternator went out.  All's well because we sold it Saturday anyway.  Bye Kia Sedona! Thanks for 6 years of fun.

On Friday was 8th Grade Graduation.  There were five graduates (last year there was one).  Ephraim and I were invited to speak.  It was a real honor to address the families and students and remind us all of our great potential, if we're brave and move forward with faith.  The class sang a song and did a great job.  Aren't they good-looking?

Eighth grade rocking the stage

The next day we had a Farewell potluck at the school for us and Ms. Kristin.  It was so sweet of San and Tolo HoChing to organize the potluck.  They are such an awesome family!

We had a nice time with lots our friends.

They surprised us with a beautiful plaque of appreciation and matching "I Am Ta'iala" t-shirts for the whole family.

Then they let us say a few words, so we could express our gratitude and love.

I had a feeling this was coming, so I brought something to read so I wouldn't just cry the whole time.

It says:

I believe

that this Academy will 

be a refuge for our children,

an inspiration for them to excel 

and reach their greatest potential,

a partner with their parents to expand the classroom into their homes,

and the motivation to continue 

their education throughout their life,

all in a safe, healthy and fun environment.

May the teachers fortunate enough to 

be part of these young lives

guide and direct them in their learning venture, 

and be more concerned about "process" 

and less about "product".

May each child feel special, 

that he can express himself 

in a safe, non-competitive environment.

May all parents feel welcome, 

and that they are an integral part 

of their child's education, 

and appreciate their role as the 

primary and most important 

Teacher in their child's life.

-Karen HoChing, Founder of Ta‘iala Academy

I believed this could come true. And it is.  That's what's so neat about faith.

Kristin got her t-shirt as well, and addressed the group, expressing her love especially for her students and how once she met them she felt confident that everything would be fine.  (Photobomb by Hueina.)

Me and Kristin with the Amazing Mele who's also been there since Day 1

With San, who brings the Party

It was such a nice afternoon!  Teri lent us her truck car for a few days, so the kids were thrilled when they got to ride home in the back.

(For those looking closely, this is the road going up to Mapusagafou, and you can see where MacDow has already put gutters on both sides in preparation to pave the road... After three years of me driving this nightmare buss-up pock-mark riverbed everyday, they finally pave it the month I leave.  Go figure.)

I will always treasure this:

Hopefully this great cause will continue on for many years to come!

Ta'iala Academy

Snow in Samoa!

written by Ella, Isaac, and Owen

Have you ever seen SNOW in SAMOA??? Well WE did.  And we had a snowball fight with it! 

Isaac: We scraped off all of the ice in our freezer because we are moving, and we're going to sell the freezer.  We put the ice into a blue bucket and we took it outside.  We had to use gloves because the ice was really cold.  But the gloves didn't help.

Owen:  It was so cold that it felt hot. 

Ella:  We took the bucket outside and then we grabbed handfuls of it and threw them at each other.  Some of it was crumbly and some of it was chunky.  The rules were: no hitting in the face and no throwing hard chunks.  (Sometimes those rules were hard to follow.)

Mama didn't play because she didn't want to get wet.

Owen: Ella and Isaac threw a big chunk at me and it had pointy things on it, and they threw it at my back.  It was a little bit of fun and a little bit hurt.  This was my first snowball fight, and tomorrow I'm going to have my next snowball fight at grandma and grandpa's house.  We will use mittens.




 Isaac:  In this picture I'm throwing a snowball at Ella.

In this one I'm throwing a snowball at Mama.  It hit her in the leg.

Ella:  I was aiming a snowball at Isaac.  I think I missed.  Isaac almost never got wet.  I have to practice my aiming skills.  I think it was a good snowball fight anyway, except we needed more snow!

Owen:  Ella threw a big chunk of ice at me, and it hit my neck.  It hurt me.  And I threw a big chunk back at her.  And when we were done with the snowball fight then the snow all melted.

 

Ella: Linus had his own bucket of snow.  It was on our side (the girls' side), and he had a big spoon to bring ice from his bucket to our bucket.  So we always got more snow.  Isaac was jealous.

Isaac:  This is Linus putting snow into the girls bucket.  He drops it on the ground when he means to drop it in the bucket.

 It was a fun day!

Rachel and Marcie

My sisters Marcie and Rachel came for one last visit.  They were here for the last week of school, our garage sale, and our stake conference at church.  

It was a busy week, but we were able to sneak in some fun excursions.

 They both took turns coming to school with me.  Rachel came on a field trip on Friday to see some sights in town.  Marcie helped with final tests and the class party.

(Not pictured: Rachel.  But P.S. this was the coolest place!  A must-see in American Samoa - the National Park visitors center.  A "Please DO Touch" place - the kids loved it!)

 

 They also took on the task of getting stuff ready for the garage sale on Saturday.  I don’t know what I would’ve done without their help.

(I just thought this picture was funny.  Our cordless phone sold, so we've been using this old one as a backup.  It cracks me up every time I look at that 80's phone.)



On Sunday they got to hear the beautiful singing of Samoan hymns, see the various puletasi and ie faitaga styles, and experience the confusing mishmash of fa’aTutuila – the half Samoan, half English that people speak here.

 And we went on a Sunday drive to a part of the island I'd never seen before.

Things took an unfortunate turn near the end of their stay.  The weather was stormy, we got the car stuck in the mud, and they got drenched and muddy. 

Then I took Rachel to get a “trim”, but the lady set her back a decade in growth and style.  This was a before picture.  As you can see we were nervous from the start.  We shoulda' just run away.

 
Then we went to Sliding Rock their last day.  It was beautiful until a big “sneaker” wave washed Marcie onto some rocks, cutting her leg, drenching and killing her iPod touch and Rachel’s smartphone, and scaring the rest of us.  So we hobbled away from there quite shaken. 

 We found solace at Coconut Point. 

 Took some BYU promo shots.

That evening our car couldn’t take the excitement anymore and the alternator went out.  So I couldn’t even accompany them to the airport.

Despite these sad events, they said they had a good time.  We’re just grateful things weren’t worse.  And maybe we’ll even come to laugh about all of this in 40 years.

Aloha, ha, ha.