One More Week

One more week of teaching, then a few days of rest before we start our trip home. Our students don't want us to leave, and I we feel the same way.

This last weekend was very full and filling (=. We took part in traditional food preparation for a large Samoan feast and dance including the famous Fire Dance. It was great to get a chance to see the traditional side of the dying Samoan culture. Sunday we went to a village on the other side of the island for a family dinner and dancing, we were invited into the traditional dancing and were given beaded necklaces for dancing. It was amazing to be dancing in traditional Samoan fashion, eating, eating and eating, surrounded by multi colored huts filled with multiple related families. At least 20 people were living in the four colorful houses. Red, yellow, Blue, Green, the colors are so great here in Samoa.

Today at church I shared my testimony and talk for part of the sermon. God is so good, he gave us the words and ability to speak and the congregation seemed really blessed by everyone that shared.

Some things we have learned are that villages are mainly made up of family groups, some villages are made up of only one related family.

There is a death struggle between traditional Samoan culture and the ever growing Western mindset. The mentors of the island are fighting to find a healthy balance between the two but the old ways are dieing faster than they can be passed on. Mid week Samoa is very very Westernized, while the weekend is the remaining traditional Amerika Samoa. Its hard to be here in the middle of this loss and change.

Samoan Pastors make an average wage of a hundred thousand each year. The pastor is the highest paying job on the island, but many of these men still don't have a personal relationship with Christ.

All dogs on the island are part wild and usually infected. The locals warned us against being around them at night, because they travel in packs and have been known to be demon possessed at times.

I can weave a basket out of palm leaves!!! And peel green bananas with a stick!

Thank you for all the prayers so far.

Jesse

GO USA!!!

GO US!!!

While we are busy serving and realizing what God has for us here in Samoa we also having many fun stories that I will never forget; like our hikes, swimming, and drives around the island that.

One of the most recent fun experiences was getting to watch the latest U.S. World Cup match against Albania. Last night at 3 a.m. Samoan time my team leader Tyler and I woke up to watch the U.S. soccer team play for their chance to advance into the final 16 teams of the World Cup. Taking a flashlight to scare away the man-eating dogs we made our way to a small building built onto the traditional Fale' Samoa (an open hut like protection from the rain) here at the school. Tyler and I watched the U.S. beat Albania in the second minute of added stoppage time, creating a dramatic 1-0 game that kept us on the edge of the old van bench seat and leaning closer to the 12" TV for a better view. I will always remember this game and this world cup as the one I got to watch in Samoa, on a van seat, in a small shack, I would have it any other way. GO USA!!!

Seeing The "Real" Samoa, Christian?

We are now in our third week here in Samoa our team is beginning to understand the culture, as well as see deeper into the beliefs that the people hold to here. Statistics say that Samoa is 99% Christian and over 60% Westernized Christian. From what we are experiencing and seeing in the culture our team would guess that less than 30% of the people on this island have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ! I would say maybe even as low as 10%.

This last week our team shared several testimonies and songs at the closest Congregational Christian Church for a youth event. After our sharing the paster got up and said that he appreciated our talking about our relationships with Christ but wasn't sure how much the youth ranging from 10-20 really understood about what a personal relationship meant and were probably confused by the terms like; "saved", "changed life", "following Christ". He went on to say that the Congregational Church focused more on the community aspect of Christianity and not the personal relationship with Christ. Our team was in shock as the paster stood in front of us, in the place he called Gods house, on an island that calls themselves Christian. This is the state of Samoa! Our host and former paster Fa'atui said that he doesn't believe the current paster has a saving relationship with Christ. Most citizens believe they are saved, but very few actually are! Our team almost feels a sense of dispare at how deceived this island is!!! Satan holds this island in a fake religion!!!

We came on this trip not knowing how much we would be needed in a country with a 99% Christian statistic, but now we feel that we are so short on both time and ability to help this island sinking in self deception that is coming straight from the church.

Please Please pray for Samoa and the few "real" believers that are fighting for this island to wake up and come to a relationship with Christ.

In Him, in Samoa,

Jesse

Pictures

We Need Prayer.

It our second week of teaching and we are still alive, thanks for the prayers!!! Please continue to pray for us as we try to teach the kids what it means to have a relationship/friendship with Christ. The culture teaches that religion is important, but Christianity is very very weak here. Our goal is to teach the kids more than just stories. Every kid can recite the main bible stories, say the "God" answers and even memorize chapters of the bible, but hardly any of them can answer simple questions about forgiveness, sin, and a relationship with Christ. Our goal is to help break the cycle of religion and regurgitation that this culture teaches in most the churches. Pray for the parents also, that they would come to a real relationship with Christ, this culture needs Jesus even in its 99% Christian statistical standing.

Please pray for our team as well. This week a girl on our team lost her Grandma and decided to stay here in Samoa. Our team leader also lost his uncle. We need focus and strength here.

The bible lessons are going great! The people here are going to be really hard to leave, I miss them already thinking about it. Pray that our relationships and influence would be long lasting in peoples lives, and lead them closer to Christ.

In Him

Jesse

First week

We finished our first week of teaching! The week was a success but also had some large challenges.

We teach each day from 8:30-12:30 most of the time in the class room working with math and reading, the children also are learning the Samoan language. Then from 12:30-1:30 our team teaches bible lessons, sing songs, and play games with the kids. Our goal is to teach the kids more than just the staple answers that they learn in church and through the very Christian culture in Samoa, pray for us as we try to teach the reason why they do what they do and tell them about a relationship they think they already have.

I am also tutoring a guy from Fiji that works as a janitor at the school, he is our age and only reads at a 1st grade level... he has become a real good friend and a blessing to have around and helping our team.

We are starting to see many of the down sides and problems within the Samoan culture and the effect that the religion has had on the culture... so many people are out of control religious on Sundays but don't even know what it means to have a personal relationship with Christ. We have been praying hard about what it should look like for us to share about Christ with these kids and even the adults that we meet each day.

Some of the fun random things that we have gotten to do are;

Ridding the bus to and from the village, swimming almost everyday in the tropical weather. Yesterday we got to go take a tour around the island in the back of a pickup truck!!! So fun, we got rained on real hard but then dried by the time we got back to school, the weather changes so fast here! We got to see the side of the island that got hit real hard by the tsunami, there is still a lot of rebuilding going on, it was pretty sobering to see.

Its time for me to get some sleep before another day of teaching, please be praying for us as a team.

Goodnight from Fatu Ma Futi, Samoa

Jesse

Sunday

Its Sunday afternoon, in Samoan culture we are not allowed to do anything on Sundays except church, eat, sleep, or talk. Several members of our team are sleeping, a couple are talking, and a few of us are updating people back home from the little computer lab here at the school.

Church this morning was sticky hot but amazing. The sermon was in Samoan language as well as the singing. We sang at least ten songs throughout the service, Samoans can sing!!! Everyone wears white to church and all the ladies wear white hats, it kinda looks like the South.

We ate a giant lunch and were encouraged to go rest and take naps, I think I will do that now!

Everything starts tomorrow, its going to be crazy around here with all the kids and many hours of teaching, but our team can't wait. Hope all your church services were a blessing and that everyday ministry continues there.

In Him,

Jesse

We are still waiting for the summer school classes on the island to begin this Monday, but we are busy getting to know the island and make connections with local people.

Today we went into town and bought some lava lava's (Samoan skirts) to wear while we are hear. Then we helped move the school supplies from and upper room to the lower level classes, any amount of work in this humidity makes you sweat!!! We also filled four garbage cans with trash off the beach, this is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been but at the same time so dirty.

We are preparing many songs and skits for our classes and church visits, both are expected from visitors, Samoans love to sing and are amazing at it.

The island only has one main road going around it, there is no way to get lost, just take a bus and you will make it back at some point!

The couple that run the school are one of the most amazing example of visionaries for Christ I have ever seen, Fa'atui who is now 79 years old has envisioned this school for over 50 years, and finally started it in '92, he says he thinks God has at least 10 more years of work for him to do before he takes him home. Such an encouragement and challenge to see someone with this vision.

I will keep you updated as we start our teaching and continue working on the island.

Laters,

Jesse

We made it!!!

Talofa!

We made it safely to Amerika Samoa, God gave us a safe, smooth, and fun trip from CA. We are getting used to our surroundings as well as prepping for Monday when the summer school program here starts.

We are directly on the beach and have had a chance to swim a couple times already. The water is soo warm! The humidity is almost 90%, we are always pretty sticky and wet the all day!

The people here are so personal and very friendly. A smile and a wave will make anyone your friend. The culture is also very story oriented, someone will sit down and talk for a half hour giving you all the background details that no one in the U.S. would ever think of taking the time to share. Prayer is also much more story like than I have ever experienced.

We will be helping teach from 8:30 to 1:00 every day with an hour of our own bible program and games that we are preparing now! We also will be sharing in a local church each Friday and possibly Sundays. Pray for us as we try to prepare for the often unknown in this very different culture.

I am off to hit the water before dinner and more teaching prep... I'll update soon.

Jesse