A Safe House in the Jungle

Because this post is about people who are in hiding, I'm not going to put the name of the organization or the names of anyone involved in it online, but their names will always be in my heart.

6/9/12

It’s hard to believe our second week in Samoa is almost over, but at the same time so much has happened to us.

The main thing this week has been running English workshops at the safe house. When Brett first asked us to do it I was terrified. We had no idea what to expect. So the first day we went with the goal of just getting to know the women and kids and trying to feel out the situation.

The safe house has no government funding at all. It runs entirely on donations and was started by one woman  as a humanitarian project. She used to be a police woman here and started the support group because of the need she saw.

The girls (and three boys) all live in one house, on one floor, and they have one shower for about 35 people. Some of the VERY young girls have babies to take care of or are pregnant. Everyone there has been rescued from sexually and physically abusive situations and are in hiding there while their abusers go through the court system.

As soon as we met the young women and kids I knew this wasn’t going to be as hard as I had thought. The people there were so full of love and excited we were there. We read to them and played jump rope, and then they all sang lots of songs for us. Hearing those kids sing gospel songs in that safe house was one of the most moving moments of my life. We left feeling excited to come back.

The next four days we taught lots of different English lessons and also played a lot of games. We had an Around the World day where we talked about words to say where we live and where we’d like to go. We taught lessons on talking about work and jobs, talking about family, asking for help and directions….and we played lots of games to go along with those. Every day I was surprised both by what the kids knew and by what they didn’t know. They couldn’t find their own country on the globe, but they knew every word of Amazing Grace and they knew how to take care of a baby on their own. They were so hungry for books and for pictures and for attention.

One day we were talking about action words, and I had put on the whiteboard something like

“I like to

                Swim

                Read

                Play”

And I asked the kids to come to the board and write other things they liked to do. They wrote things like “pray” and “learn the Bible.” It was obvious that God was the center of their lives.

So, we thought it would be okay if we taught them all to sing "I Am a Child of God" on the day we learned words about family. We were surprised to find out that 4 or 5 of the girls already knew the song in Samoan. (Brother Macdonald told us later that about one third of the kids there are members of the church). Everyone was excited to learn it in English. As we all sang it together, a couple more of the young woman (some of the girls who usually stayed upstairs taking care of their babies) began coming downstairs and singing with us because the song was familiar to them. That was one of my favorite moments with the kids.

Towards the end of the week I had the kids fill out “All About Me” sheets that had fill in the blank sentences with phrases we’d learned during the week like “My name is__” “I am from___” “I like to eat__” “I want to visit___” “I want to be a___.” I had them draw a picture of themselves at the top as a way to talk about words to body parts. Then I had them each come up and read their About Me sheet to the other kids. I listened to those girls say “I want to be a nurse,” “I want to be a teacher,” “I want to be a lawyer.” And I just hoped and hoped with all my heart that they could be someday. At least three of them said they wanted to be pastors. I’d listen to their sermons.

On our last lesson day, we made cookies with the kids in their tiny kitchen. Making chocolate chip cookies with kids who had never seen such a thing was an interesting experience. We gave them chocolate chips to try while the cookies were in the oven, and a lot of the kids just started licking them. They weren’t sure what to do.

On that last day we also gave the kids friendship bracelets we’d made them the night before. (Making that many bracelets took longer than anticipated – two and a half movies and one was Harry Potter.) I told the kids that Abbie and I would wear our friendship bracelets too and that we’d all be friends always no matter where we were. At first only a few of them understood, but as I put my wrist next to each of theirs to show our matching bracelets and said, “We’re friends,” their faces lit up. It was hard leaving them. As I was getting into the car, one of the girls ran out of the house with a rusty silver chain with nothing on it and handed it to me. I wanted to cry. These girls have almost nothing of their own, so for her to offer me something of hers meant so much. I’ve been wearing it ever since.

When we do small things with great love, those small things tend to have a ripple effect. One of the missionary couples just went home, and right before they left they donated all their extra food and lots of unopened shampoo and soap to the safe house because they had heard us talking about it. Brother Macdonald just got a big chunk of money from the church budget approved to build new showers and bathrooms there, as well as a greenhouse, reading area, and a craft room. We are so happy for our girls!

I know those kids are being watched over and that there is a plan for each of them.

Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound:

Week One in Samoa

5/31/12

I’m writing from our house in Apia, Upolu, Samoa on the Pesega campus. We’ve only been here for two days but so much has happened to us that even if we went home tomorrow I would feel like my life had changed forever.

The day we left home, Sunday, we went to church with our dad who was speaking in another ward. We changed in the bathroom at the church during the closing song so we could hurry to the airport. Everything was so chaotic and crazy. It was our first time flying without our parents, our first time going more than a few miles out of the country, and when we landed we were going to spend the night with strangers in a village. We had no idea what to expect and we were nervous when our dad left us in the airport – we were nervous about what to do when we got off the plane in Honolulu and had to switch airlines to get to Pago Pago. So we were waiting nervously at our gate, when our dad called us to tell us that on his way out of the airport he had run into the president of BYU Hawaii who was about to get on our plane with us. President Willwright found us and told us that he and his wife would wait for us when the plane landed and help us get to our next flight. It was a small thing but it helped me know that we were going to be taken care of during our whole trip. We were very much been watched over.

We flew from Honolulu to Pago Pago, American Samoa. It was late at night when we got there, but still extremely hot. We waited at customs for an hour When we finally got everything and walked outside, we saw hundreds of Samoans waiting for their families. Miki, one of our grandparents institute students, was holding a cardboard sign with our name on it and waiting for us with her family. Miki’s mom drove us to Miki’s grandmother’s house where we stayed. We drove slowly down dirt roads with lots of potholes and saw about fifty stray dogs in the road. We couldn’t really see what the island looked like because it was so late, so it was all really weird. Miki’s family had a small room all set up for us, and her grandma gave us our first lava lavas, or ie, and a lei to make our room smell good. The family gave us fruit and cookies and we sat at the table talking for a while. Miki’s mom can TALK.  She talked to us constantly the whole time we were there. But I’ve never met sweeter people.

Abbie in our room in Pago

In the morning the family made us a big breakfast of papaya, lime tea, bacon, cinnamon eggs, and grilled cheese sandwiches. Yeah. We met some of the relatives who came over for breakfast – extended families walk in and out of each other’s houses all the time here. Miki’s mom told us, “Our village is the neverending story of our family.” Miki took us on a walk so we could finally see where we were. On the way she pointed out all kinds of trees and flowers and it seemed like there was a legend for each one.

It was Memorial Day so we went with the family members to the family graves. Everyone here buries their family members in their front yards, and so every yard on the island was decorated with huge flowers and balloons. Miki’s family members were buried on her grandmother’s land. Her grandmother had 16 children and has lost two of them – one daughter drowned and one was shot on his mission to Peru. I wish I had taken pictures of their beautiful graves but it seemed too sacred to take pictures.

Miki and her mom drove us around the whole island. American Samoa is tiny – it doesn’t take long. It was so peaceful and we saw so many beautiful things. SO many churches. According to Miki’s mom, “There are no atheists on this rock.”

"The Flower Pot" - American Samoa

We got to go swimming at an amazing beach in Pago. I can’t even describe it. The water was so warm and clear it was unreal. We had the whole area to ourselves and Abbie and I floated in the waves for a while.

When we got back to the village we sat in the backyard and drank out of coconuts for the first time. Before going to bed, we watched Friends. Miki said she used to watch it all the time when she was little even though she couldn’t understand what they were saying.

In the morning, the family took us to McDonalds for breakfast on the way to the airport. McDonalds is one of the only restaurants on the island. We’d already had it for lunch the day before. They kept ordering for us and giving us a ridiculous amount of food.

At the airport, Sister Samana but it’s hard to put into words. She is the only one of 16 children to come back to American Samoa after college. I asked her what made her come back, and she told me that if you don’t understand where you come from you have nothing. She said, “In Samoa there are two people – the storyteller and the keeper. Later I realized that all the stories my mother had been telling me weren’t just stories. I was the keeper.” She told us that the 3 most important things in Samoan culture are love, honesty , and respect. We left feeling like part of the family. We wrote them a thank you card and gave them some necklaces, and I have never seen so much gratitude for such small gifts. It was hard leaving them after such a short time. At the airport, Sister Samana kept telling us to call her if we needed more money, or if we just didn’t like Upolu and wanted to come back.

Sister Samana, me, Grandma, Abbie, Miki

The plane from Pago to Apia was one of the best adventures of my life. It was a tiny plane with about 12 seats. Abbie and I sat right behind the pilot; we were inches away from him and could see the whole cockpit. Take off was so exciting. We were flying low enough that we could see the ocean waves and the shadows of the clouds on them. As we started to land we saw the island for the first time – a pile of trees in the middle of the sea.

“There is another world, but it is in this one.” – Yeats

When we walked out of the tiny airport, Brett Macdonald, missionaries Elder and Sister Erekson, and Sam Williams were there waiting for us with leis and woven fans. They were so welcoming and things immediately starting happening. Instead of going home to rest, we drove right into the city. I had imagined Apia to be more of a town than a city, but it was a bustling urban center. Especially this week. Because of the 50^th Independence Celebration, Samoans had come home from all over. We went to McDonalds – third time in 24 hours – and it was packed. We talked to Samoans from Australia who shared our table.

Driving on the left side of the road through Apia

After lunch we went straight to the sea wall to watch the Fautasi – long boat – race. A big crowd watched from all along the sea wall, and people held radios that broadcasted the race – an announcer  yelling very excitedly and quickly in Samoan. Each fautasi carries 40 rowers, a caller, and a drummer. It’s one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen. The Pesega (our school) boat came in third, which means they get to advance to the final race. The Pesega  band was also there playing on the steps to the sea wall. It was a great first thing to do here. 

After driving through the city traffic for a long time (I didn’t mind at all because I was so absorbed in watching the people, colorful buses, and taxis) we finally got to see our house. It’s so big! We have 4 bedrooms, and we even have a piano.

 That night we had dinner at the Macdonalds’. One of the best things about being here has been spending so much time with the Macdonalds’ kids – Josiah, Tasi, and Sadie. I love them so much. There is no little boy on earth cuter than Tasi, especially when he laughs, and there is no kid more polite and helpful than Josiah. Lauren and Josiah WILL wed, via arranged marriage.

6/3/12

The next morning, the Ereksons picked us up to go on a church history tour with Brett and Sam and his family who were visiting from the states – Pleasant Grove, actually. We started in Apia harbor, where Brett told us about a vision David O McKay had there. Then we started the drive to Sauniatu. On the way we stopped at the first beach we’d seen here – our side of the island is mostly rocks and cliffs. So we were lucky to find this perfectly beautiful stretch of sand.

We explored the graves of early LDS missionaries in Fagali'i. One of the women buried there was my age when she died and was already a wife and mother. Brett told us her baby was then raised by a Samoan woman.

Fagali'i cemetary

Sauniatu is like the Kirtland or Nauvoo of Samoa. Traditionally, each Samoan village has its own church at the center that holds the village together. So Mormon missionaries kind of messed things up. Many of the early Samoan saints were kicked out of their villages or made to feel like traitors. They moved further inland and into the mountains and formed Sauniatu.

A grave in Sauniatu

Samoan pioneer stories

Sauniatu is still a very Mormony village. The church-owned farms are located there. The farms are used to educate the people about a lot of cool stuff – how to grow gardens in a small space, sanitation projects, the importance of protecting the rainforest…all kinds of great experiments and projects are going on there. (Sidenote about protecting the rainforest – Samoa has lost half its rainforest in just the past 30-40 years. This has dramatically changed the weather on the island – it only rains about half as much as it did just a generation ago. So the church has joined the effort to protect the forests. Yay! )

demonstration farms

At Sauniatu, we had a really good Samoan meal cooked on an umu, or traditional outdoor oven. We tried taroh, rice noodles, lamb, and some other things I’m not sure what to call.

Then came my very favorite part ever. We got to go swimming in the most beautiful place I’ve ever seen. The waterfall at Sauniatu was tucked in the rainforest, with steep stairs going down to a swimming hole. The water was about 40 feet deep. We jumped in and floated on our backs looking up at the rainforest. We clung onto the rocks right under the waterfall, which was warm because the water is in the sun for so long before falling into the hole. I can’t explain how incredible it was to have that piece of paradise to ourselves.

On the drive back we got to hear a lot of Brett’s stories of all the amazing things he’s done. I asked lots and lots of questions. Knowing him has been such a blessing. He went to law school just so he could help undocumented children in Brazil go to school. He’s spent his whole life working in international development and education. He runs the farm at Sauniatu now, and is so involved with educational outreach and tons of other projects. We have learned so much from him.

That night we finally just went on a walk on our campus and sat at the beautiful temple. The fields on the Pesega campus are open to the public in the evenings, so there are always about 100 boys playing rugby here every night. One by one they always say hi to us when we walk by.

we can see the temple from our house

Friday the 1^st was officially Independence Day in Samoa. We got up at 4:30 to go to the parade with the Macdonalds. The boys were there on our porch all dressed up in their school uniforms. So cute. At 5 am the traffic heading into the city was already crazy. We ended up having to get out and walk quite a ways, which was okay because we got to see more of the city and Tasi held my hand and talked to me the whole way.

The sunrise over the harbor was spectacular.

180 schools and other groups were waiting to march in the parade past the prime minister and other dignitaries. They stood on the field for hours in the hot hot son while pastors and government officals gave long speeches. During that time about 30 kids fainted and had to be carried out on stretchers, including one student from Pesega. The head of state gave a talk about mercy and forgiveness – how Samoa could move on from its unjust colonial past by forgiving the countries that have wronged them. (It’s okay England, Germany, and New Zealand.) In the spirit of forgiveness he released 35 people from prison.

our Pesega students in the parade

Then the marching began. That also went on for hours. I don’t know how the kids did it.

We left the parade as soon as Tasi and Josiah had marched and walked down the sea wall with hundreds of other people. On the way back to the car we ate at this sort of famers’ market type situation in the grassy areas by the sea wall. Everyone was selling food and there were lots of little bands playing in the fales and talking about God.

After going home and taking naps, we all headed back into town again for late night dancing and fireworks. Hundreds of people were gathered in the center of town and it was decorated with lots of lights and flags. We watched dancers from New Zealand, Tonga, Tahiti, Hawaii, Fiji, and all the (inhabited) islands of Samoa. It was interesting to see how much diversity in culture there is among the islands. Samoan women dress and dance SO conservatively, especially compared to eastern islands, like Hawaii and Tahiti.

We ate snow cones and got new lava lavas! When Brett asked for snow cones in English, he got them for 3 tala each; when Josiah asked in Samoan he got his snow cone for 1 tala. So funny. We watched the fireworks over Apia harbor – they were so beautiful. All the kids sat on top of the cars and exclaimed excitedly.

We got back to our house at about midnight that night, at which time there was a beyond giant cockroach on our kitchen table. Abbie smashed it with a frying pan while I watched from the window outside. Since she killed it, I had to clean it up. I thought I was going to be okay until I saw the antennas. They were as big as the rest of the cockroach. I started gagging and could not stop. My eyes were watering. Abbie was like, “You are seriously going to vomit right now.” Yes. Yes I was.

Saturday was much more slow-paced. We slept in and then walked into town to the harbor just to make sure we could get there on our own. It was our first time going in to Apia by ourselves, so it was our first time dealing with all the boys there. Sister Erekson says that every guy here wants to marry a white Palagi girl so they can go to the states or NZ. So as we walked down the streets basically every guy near our age said things like, “Beautiful girls!” Hi ladies, where are you going?” “Hi! I love you!” We sat on the sea wall watching the Fautasi boats practice. One guy came up to us over and over and finally asked me for my number. When I said no, he said, “PLEASE. Just to be with you for one night! For one night stand!” Just what every girl wants to hear. I heard Mallory say “WOOF” in my mind.

That night we had more bugs in our house, we locked our house key in our bathroom, and our phone stopped working. That was a bad moment. One of the security guards woke us up at 6:30 to help us open our bathroom door. It all worked out.

On Sunday we went to church with the Mcdoanlds to the only English-speaking ward on the island. Most of the people there were from New Zealand, so they spoke so differently from us that I felt like I didn’t know how to speak English anymore. We had lunch at the Macdonalds with their family and a friend from the ward. The kids like to play the “guess what animal I’m thinking of” during dinner so it feels just like home. There was a fireside that night to celebrate the first stake created in Samoa 50 years ago. The first two talks were in Samoan, but then two members of the seventy spoke in English. Then we sang My Country Tis of Thee in Samoan and a boy told Abbie she had pretty eyes.

And that was our first magical week in Apia, Upolu, Samoa. I’ve always known that I didn’t want to live in Utah, or even in the states, for my whole life, but now it feels urgent. There is so much out there!