Career Day

We had a great week compiling grades and getting a jump on the next classes.  Friday was Career Day and the theme was "Your Future Career is Created by What You do Today".  About ten presenters were invited to share their careers with the students.  The group rotations filled the morning.  Most of the ten presenters were former Vaiola College students who furthered their education and/or found a successful niche in the work force.  The students we asked really liked hearing the information and genuinely seemed excited for the future.  A few of the careers spotlighted were the Police, Banking, Nursing, Business, Trades, and Retail.

  

Below are a couple of videos showing students prior to the start of the assembly.   

They sing songs until leaders are ready to start the program. Usually the young men direct the music and somehow the youth know all the signals for clapping, rhythm, etc.

School Counselor welcomes guests & makes introductions

Below are pictures of some of the guest presenters:

Below is one of our Student Teachers

Saturday morning the church ladies celebrated 176 years of the Relief Society with an activity that included Zumba, volleyball, ping pong, and basketball.  After that we were served ice cream, hot dogs and sausages with bread, cake and brownies, and chip snacks...in that order. 

Ron and I were invited to give the talks in church today so that was a new experience.  Fortunately most of the congregation understands English.  It gave our interpreter a break!

A couple of the dorm girls came to our home for a short visit this Sunday afternoon and we shared cookies, always a good conversation help.  One of the girls is looking forward to a history field trip in Apia and the other one is taking biology, chemistry, and physics all this term!  One is from Samoa and the other is from Vanuatu.  Love these youth!

We have to include this short video clip showing this cute little one-legged bird that has been around campus since we've been here:

Happy March Birthdays to three of our grandchildren and a special brother!

End of ITEP Term

This week has been a routine kind of week.  We've been wrapping up ITEP classes which means we administered quizzes and finals and also shared brownies and popcorn.

Friday night was movie night with the dorm girls; we showed A Simple Wish.  It was a cute, funny movie about fairy godmothers.

We had dinner with Elder & Sister Deffense last night (Saturday) instead of Monday as they are ferrying over to Apia this week.  We served homemade soup and dinner rolls.  Simple....

Really not much to add to our blog this week---not even rain or a picture. 

We did sneak in a couple of pictures during the week from the birthday dinner on last week's blog post which you may or may not have seen.

Apia, Upolu Visit

After our week of classes, we ferried to Upolu on Friday and spent the weekend doing all the needed errands.  Friday worked out for meeting with Elder & Sister Little on TVET information.  Timing was perfect for joining the Senior Missionary dinner for March birthdays. 

Elder Little is a good sport.  Apparently he made this creation for someone else and it came back to him!

We met a brother on the ferry who was here with his son from South Jordan, Utah but originally from Savai'i.  His son served in this mission and returned to participate with one of his families going through the temple.  We ended up in the same temple session Saturday morning and then they attended church in the same ward that we attended.  It was a great connection because the nephew living in Savai'i recognized us on the ferry since we are helping him with his BYU-Hawaii application and he wanted us to meet his uncle from the U.S.   It is a small world and we discover this all the time in our conversations. 

Also at church today our Mission President had his sons and their families visiting.  It reminded us how much we miss our grandchildren. 

Since the large ferry has been getting serviced, we had to access the small ferry this trip.  Thankfully it was a fairly smooth sail. 

Apia Wharf

Savai'i in the distance.

Cars & Trucks on the ferry.

Picture of the ferry.

This weekend marks 11 months that we have been serving on our mission.  Time flies!

Pacific Church Schools Area Training

What an amazing two days of professional staff development trainings with our Area leaders from Auckland, New Zealand!  The leaders brought vigor, enthusiasm, expertise, and love.  They visited classrooms, conferred with key staff, and taught all of us how to enhance our teaching.

Topics of Area Instruction & Discussion:

B  Build English Fluency     by Michael Carthew, Director of Pacific Church Schools
E  Expect Subject Mastery  by Jonathan Warwick, Ed. Specialist for Pacific Schools
S  See the One                     by Elder & Sister Henshaw, Self-Reliant Missionaries
T  Teach for Deep Learning  by Elder & Sister Holbrook, ITEP Area Coordinators

It might be appropriate to mention how much staff are bonded to Brother Carthew and Brother Warwick since they have traveled this way  many times and closely work with Samoa church schools.  We had the opportunity to host dinner at the Savaiian Hotel and they had fun dressing in the lava lavas that we gave them.

Elder & Sister Holbrook, Sister Henshaw, Jonathan Warwick, Elder Henshaw, Michael Carthew.

Left: Ron, Karla, Sister & Elder Holbrook.  Right:  Michael Carthew, Sister & Elder Henshaw, Jonathan Warwick

Friday morning we witnessed such a beautiful sunrise.  You knew it was notable when others also mentioned it and had taken pictures.

As you know, we are education missionaries, not called to specifically proselyte like the young missionaries.  However, we were presented with an opportunity to "teach" over the weekend.  A young dorm girl invited us to visit her and her friend in Safotu since it was a dorm leave weekend (students didn't have school on Friday).  We invited Elder & Sister Deffense along for the hour drive.  What an amazing friendship these two girls share.  Our visit was a special time.

(Again, note this baptismal font is outdoors.  They aren't all outdoors)

Saphire from Vaiola College & her friend, Linda.

On our return trip we stopped at the Peapea Caves---a lava tube close to the edge of the ocean and under the road.  This was our third visit but we always enjoy the formations inside the cave and seeing the mud nests of the pea bird.  The bird is very small and makes an audible tick, ticking sound that we could hear in the dark.  The guide provides a "torch" [flashlight] as the volcanic surface is uneven. No pools in this cave.

Cave Entrance

We stopped at this church fale to eat our picnic lunch.  Perfect setting as it wasn't hot or windy.  As you can tell from the exposed shoreline, it was low tide.

Also, being a Saturday drive, we happened upon two sets of young missionary Elders and two individual Peace Corp volunteers with whom we've become acquainted.  It seems the Peace Corp volunteers and the missionaries all know each other.  We love these young adults who give two years of unselfish service. Peace Corps volunteers live with Samoan families and teach in the Samoan government schools.  Good thing we had brownies to share along the way!