Chapter 22 - RAIN

RAIN
When we first arrived here we experienced a little rain – almost every day, but even though it rained hard, it didn’t last long.  A couple of weeks ago we were in a meeting with President Leota and the zone leaders and President Leota reminded them that the rainy season was approaching and to be sure they had umbrellas so the work would not stop due to weather. 

 I remember thinking, “What is the big deal?  It rains hard, but it does not last.”  Two days later it started to rain, and it rained for 3 solid days without stopping.  In the middle of the night I woke up and thought a freight train was coming right through the house.  I looked outside, and to my surprise there was no wind!  It was just the noise of the rain on our metal roof.  The rain is warm – like a shower.

  One of the little boys in Mom’s Primary class said we wouldn’t like Samoa because it rains all the time.  But he was wrong - even with the rain we are LOVING it and feel so blessed to be here.  We are just going into the rainy season now - and even though it rains every day, we usually have some periods of sunshine mixed in.

  It is so funny, you can actually 'hear' the rain coming.  It can be blue sky and sunny and off in the distance you can hear the rain on the trees (the foliage is so dense) before you see the rain clouds.  It can change in a matter of seconds...  It is amazing to witness.      

Chapter 21 - Our Ward Choir Was on TV

This island has it’s own version of “Music and the Spoken Word.”  Every week a different ward prepares a program that includes musical numbers from their choir and an inspirational message from the bishop.  It is broadcast on the local religious TV station every Sunday night.  Our ward had their turn last week.  It was a great experience, despite the fact that they had to record in the Primary room and the "undersized" wall hung air conditioner was not working, and they couldn’t use the ceiling fans because when they brought in the raisers for the choir to stand on, the heads of those on the top row were above the fan blades.  It was a great experience despite the heat.  We were rehearsing while they were setting up the TV cameras, and just before they started to record I got sick and had to sit down.  Dennis said it was a conspiracy on my part – I was the one who likes to sing, and he was the one who was on TV doing the singing.  We hope to be able to get a copy of the recording.