Settling in...

Malo (hello),

I am settling in well in Samoa and trying to learn and practice as many Samoan words as possible. The phrase I use the most is fa'afetai lava, which means thank you very much.

I have learned several interesting cultural tidbits this week. In Samoa, pastors are one of the most respected individuals. This means that others count it as a blessing to serve the pastors. They often have their food and drinks made and served to them, and their houses cleaned.
Samoans are very religious and every evening there is a time for family devotion. To make sure you are doing your devotions people in the villages even patrol the streets for that time to make sure no one is out. I have been praying that the Samoan people will know the grace and freedom of the Lord, and see past man's rules. Today I went to a church that has several services, including one in English. 19 people led worship at the same time, singing and playing insturments. In Samoa, you take off your shoes before entering someone's fale (house) so it didn't surprise me that many people worshipped barefoot.

A few days ago we went into "town" which is Apia, the capitol. I got to walk along the sea wall and enjoy the ocean. We went and ate an American lunch because if people go out to eat here they do not eat Samoan food.
I learned that it is rude to eat or drink while walking and when in town or on the bus, it is inappropriate to talk loudly. I was also a bit of a spectacle in town because it is small enough that most people are used to Emily, but not to me. Speaking of the bus, whether it comes (or not) depends on the current bus driver. We have been playing a guessing game as to when the bus might come, and then sometimes we go somewhere and then the bus doesn't come to take us back.

Yesterday we went to the river higher up the mountain that has huge "sliding rocks". We had fun jumping off and sliding down the rocks that are like small waterfalls or natural water slides.

I have been preparing my survey for my research this week and I am hoping look at a link between eye problems and cooking over the open fire and umu (with lava rocks). It is also interesting that the men here seem to do a lot of the cooking outdoors, not the women like in many other developing countries.

Things to pray for: that I get IRB approval for my research through my university in the next couple days and that my migraine gets better.

Pictures from Samoa and Fiji

I posted pictures! Check them out:
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.549199544326.2047578.177502257&l=660a34e470

Have Just Arrived in Samoa...

Malo (hello), today is my second day in Samoa! It is beautiful here, and the view is of the surrounding mountains and palm trees. So, some basic info about what it is like here:

-Where do I live? In a fale, which is has a big room on a platform that is open with no walls, but then has rooms and bathrooms attached to the back. Some fales do not have closed rooms attached. Emily and I share a room with a Fijian named Leba. We sleep in bunks under mosquito nets.
There are several fales on the base as well as some shipping containers that have doors and windows cut out.

-What have I eaten so far? For breakfast, a chocolate soupy mixture with rice and then dumplings. For lunch, noodles with egg and cassava or taro root (starchy root veggies). For dinner, noodles, cassava, taro, and laupele greens. And the others ate meat at dinner. I have also had starfruit and papaya, which grow on the base, along with coconuts, guava, bitter melon, cassava, taro, eggplant, pumpkin, sweet potato, bread fruit, pineapples, sasalapa fruit, cucumbers, and tomatoes among other things.

There is a little less than 30 people on this YWAM base, and most of us eat together and have worship and prayer together in a big fale. This morning we had worship, which was in Samoan and English, not only for my and my friend Emily's benefit but also for the Fijians and Tongans.
There was even a few songs in English. Worship includes dancing, clapping, and whooping. When they pray, they pray all at once out loud so the prayers just wash over you. It is beautiful.

Being with Emily is wonderful and she is doing really well, which is good to see with my own eyes :-). I am also preparing to start surveying people in the village for my research. The Samoans gave me a Samoan name (Emily's is Emele). Genevieve doesn't translate too well, so they chose Alofa, which means Love, my middle name.

Please pray that I regain all my energy without getting sick and get over jet lag. Also for my migraine because there is a lot of music and spontaneous singing that does not always agree with my head.

Fiji layover - Delayed Post

I had a lovely day in Fiji on my layover on the way to Samoa. I walked around the market, and a store owner invited me to his shop for a kava drinking ceremony which is a root that is ground and traditionally drunk in Fiji (it is also used in the US and as a natural treatment and known as kava kava). It involved clapping and chanting and drinking the kava out of coconut shells. Then I took a bus to the Wailoaloa beach. I hung out at the beach, had lunch and learned how to paddle board! Next step, learn how to surf. The people here in Fiji are very friendly and I'm glad I got to spend a day here! I am flying to Samoa this evening, and I will actually go back in time one day because Fiji and Samoa are on opposite sides of the international date line. It is Tuesday in Fiji but when I arrive in Samoa it will be Monday!

Getting ready to go...

I'm preparing to leave but I am sick :-( so I am mostly resting and doing research online. Please pray that it goes away quickly. I have been researching open fire cooking and the incidence of burns, especially in children. I will be looking at this when I am in Samoa. I will be working with the YWAM base as they are preparing to build biogas systems for poor families which will allow them to use waste as fuel, including for cooking. This will reduce the reliance on open fire cooking and the safety issues that are related to that, such as burns. If you want to know more about biogas you can check out some basics at http://www.hedon.info/cat14&deep=on. Please also pray that the Lord will provide rest of the funds soon, I leave on Sunday.

I am leaving 1 month early!

Long story short, because of some scheduling changes for my contacts in Samoa I am now leaving in 1 1/2 weeks and I just got my tickets last night. I would really appreciate your prayers as the Lord is showing me how to surrender every ounce of control to Him.

Please pray:
-That the Lord gives my husband Rodmy and me peace that surpasses all understanding. In being apart sooner than we thought, in coming up with the funds I need a month early, in trusting that everything will get done that needs to be done.
-I am also doing an independent study for my masters degree while I am there- please pray that my research proposal is approved by the Institutional Review Board in the next few days.
-For clear communication through cultural barriers. That things will happen in a relatively timely manner but that I will be patient and flexible.
-For the changes in what I am going to be doing while I am going to be there. I will be working with YWAM on their biogas project which helps poor families use waste to make fertilizer and fuel for electricity, cooking, etc. (Big benefits being improved quality of life and improved sanitation and health).
-For my health- that I will not have problems with asthma, migraines or back pain (or tropical illnesses!).
-That traveling will go quickly and safely. (Flying St. Louis to LA to Fiji to Samoa).

My trip will be May 22-June 25. I will update as much as I can while I am there. Thank you so much for your support.