Pacific Adventures...... Happy Easter to everyone

This week-end has been confusing. New Zealand has changed to, or from, daylight saving time. Not only being a day ahead because we are the other side of the Date line but they also, it seems, put their clocks back in April. So on Friday night we were advised on TV that we should put our clocks back at 2 a.m., or had we heard wrong. As we were going to have to get up at 3-45 in the morning to go to a Conference broadcast from Salt Lake, and Samoa being five hours earlier than Utah. Normally we put our clocks forward not back in April. ‘Fall back, spring forward right’. We were confused; we didn’t want to be late for conference next morning and there was no-one to ask as everyone was already in bed, to be up for conference. We didn’t want to be late or too early. What to do? After some thought we realised that down here summer is just ending, although at 95degrees F or 34C one wouldn’t guess it. Also the fact that it gets light at about 6.30am and dark at about 7pm and has done so since we got here, didn’t help. So on Friday night we were in a quandary what time to set the alarm? It wasn’t until next morning that we found out that Samoa like Arizona and Saskatchewan does not have daylight saving time. We are happy to say we were not late for conference which we thoroughly enjoyed.
It seems a tradition has been built up over the years that all or most of the senior missionaries go out for breakfast between sessions. So at just after 7 am we all collected at ‘Aggie Grays’ the best hotel on the Island for a communal breakfast at 25 talla a head (about $20 a couple) and got back just in time for the next session. We looked out for David and Adrienne, our son and daughter, who were at the Conference in Salt Lake but amongst 27,000 heads we didn’t stand a chance. The total Conference, all two days, was amazing, topics to suit everyone and a spiritual feast to boot, so uplifting.
We are off to Savaii, the next and largest Island of the group, on Tuesday for two days, to visit with the missionaries. To teach and attend to any medical situations that may be apparent. We carry this enormous bag of equipment and supplies with us, just in case. All Hospitals over here are Dickensonian and we are reluctant to use them unless it is an emergency we cannot handle. Unless we need to x-ray or ultrasound.
We are sorry to say that the garden we lovingly planted two months ago is in tatters between the chickens and the stray cats and the lack of rain over the last two weeks, but never mind when we get back from Savaii we will start again and replant and find some sort of fencing to keep the critters away. The trouble is it has to look decorative as well??
We have had comments on the lack of missionary contacting experiences in the letters so should explain that this is definitely a service mission. The only time we have for proselyting is when we go shopping. We are kept quite busy seeing patients and writing up reports for Salt Lake This is definitely a 24/7 mission. Last night it was about 10 p.m. when we were called out, prior to that it was 3 a.m. So we are sorry we can’t share any investigator stories with you. We do have the opportunity to talk with doctors and dentists and pharmacists when we call on them. We do enjoy hearing stories from our senior missionary friends from around the world in Europe, Peru, Cyprus, Greece, Brazil and Milano Italy. Who are on proselyting missions or family history missions. Digitally recording genealogical information or teaching in Schools of Nursing.
Basically we are here to keep the missionaries healthy and well, so they can do their work. We are also doing humanitarian work building houses etc for those who lost theirs in the earthquake and tsunami. We had a big Ward beach party last Friday put on by the local village that we were building the fales for, as a thank you. Someone killed three mini pigs that roam the countryside/forest and chickens and tara and breadfruit from their plantations and Cocoa Samoa of course, you can’t have a party without Cocoa Samoa, as we said previously an acquired taste. We should also state that Patrick is now wearing Lava lavas in spite of the comments about sexy knees. It is much cooler and he only wears it after work but it is a beginning. On Sundays all the brethren even the 5 year olds, wear tailored Lava lavas, they look very smart and trim. We will try to send some photo’s of the Ward party but this computer has a mind of its own.
Well we hope you all had a Happy Easter and remembered the reason for the celebration. The atonement is for everyone who wishes to change their lifestyle and do some serious thinking about what we are doing with our lives and what we hope for in the future. For those who believe in a life after this one, this is essential. For those without a belief we say, think on and seriously study the topic, you may be pleasantly surprised. Where do we come from? Why are we here and what next? Is it the end? Or do we carry on to bigger and better things. Yes it is the multi-dollar question. But don’t dismiss it without serious thought, think on. Study it out in your mind and experiment with a prayer, you never know.
Best wishes to you all
(Pat an Barb) Elder and Sister Kelly