Bob was recently in Samoa on assignment. He writes about some of his experiences there.
Samoa, at least when I was there, was no tropical paradise. In a week’s time the sun appeared only a total of 10 minutes. On the other hand, I now know what it is like to experience a monsoon.
I also learned there are no addresses in Samoa. When you are trying to find someone or somewhere, you try and get close, then ask someone. At least the taxis are inexpensive and usually quote a set fare when you tell them where you want to go, so they don’t take very roundabout routes. They also don’t drive very fast as there are unmarked, mountain sized speed bumps periodically interspersed on the roads.
I was in Samoa for a court trial. Things work a bit differently there. The plaintiff put on his evidence about 4 years ago. We put on ours last week. I asked our local counsel when we could expect a decision, he replied “Maybe never”.
Since I was there over a weekend, I did escape for a little R and R. I was able to attend a session at the Temple in Apia. It is a beautiful building.
And incredibly landscaped.
The session was in Samoan, but I was able to get a headset and hear it in English. It really was a wonderful experience. I also visited with the Temple President for half hour or so. He has an impressive family heritage—his great-grandfather translated the Bible into Samoan and his grandfather translated the Doctrine and Covenants and Pearl of Great Price. He related that some of his contemporaries in other churches asked him, since Samoa is pretty economically depressed, how the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints could afford such impressive buildings. He replied that it was because our Church has an unpaid ministry. I doubt they laughed at that reply. Below are some more photos of the Temple, but they don’t do it justice, given that I took them in the rain.
On Saturday one of our trial witnesses and I drove around the Island. While it was very hot and humid near the coast, in the mountains it was very different, both in vegetation and climate. It was less hot and humid (very relative terms) in the mountains. Most of the people who are better off live in the higher elevations because it is cooler. I also noticed the homes were larger and protected by walls, sometimes topped with barbed wire. Most of the farming seems to be in the higher elevations. The scenery is spectacular, with deep gorges, waterfalls and forests, sometimes forests of palm trees, which was a real change for me.
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| One of the mountain flowers |
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| View toward the ocean from one of the mountain roads |
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| The palm tree forests |
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| Waterfall and swimming hole on one of the Church's school properties |
We stopped off to see the Samoa estate of Robert Louis Stevenson. As you can see from the size of it, he didn’t go to Samoa to go completely native. He is buried atop one of the mountains adjoining his property. We hiked to the summit, not an easy task in the rain and mud, especially since it would have been “a bit of a puff” even in dry weather. There are two paths to the top, one much steeper than the other. Naturally we chose the steeper one and regretted it about half way up. Since we both have advanced university degrees, we took the easier path down.
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| Dr. John Millar in front of the Stevenson house |
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| About 1/3 of the way up the steep trail--no turning back now! |
On Sunday I found the English speaking ward and attended services there, the third Sunday in a row I attended fast and testimony meeting in a different country. Most of the members were Samoan, which surprised me, but most had been educated in the US and spent part of their careers there or in Australia or New Zealand, before returning. Samoans have a very strong sense of family and most of them felt a real desire to return and contribute to their families at home in Samoa. I also found virtually everyone in Samoa incredibly friendly and helpful.
This is a picture from the balcony of my hotel, Aggie Grey’s, an old and famous institution in Samoa. You’ll notice the sun appears to be shining. This was the only time I caught the sun. Probably a good thing, otherwise I would have returned red and burned, once again facing the inquiry, “Why didn’t you use the sun screen?” One morning I was watching a cruise ship docking, when I saw a squall line approaching. When it reached the ship, it virtually disappeared due to the intensity of the rain. Seconds later the wind hit, actually blowing palm branches across the street and into my hotel balcony doors.
All in all my experience in Samoa was a great one. I ate a lot of good meals, met a lot of really friendly people and once again was able to learn that people everywhere share a lot of common desires, food, shelter and a good family life. Samoa is also a very religious country. The local guide books caution modest dress and no swim suits in the commercial areas. Most Samoans are church goers and about one third of them are LDS. We did see a lot of LDS chapels on our trip around the Island. I’ll probably return to clean up some more business and am looking forward to it. When I return, however, I’ll leave my suits in New Zealand and take my lava lava instead.
