Just noticed I didn't get this picture included in my last post!

  Rudolf Keil, an 80 year old man dropped into the clinic the other day to see if he could get some dental treatment.  He had broken a tooth that supported a partial denture.  We had an appointment that hadn't shown so we invited him in and after a little wizardry, he was fixed up.  Turns out he was one of the first Samoan missionaries to serve in Samoa.  He shared with me a couple of wonderful stories about his mission experiences.  It brought a lump to my throat and we were both misty eyed.  He called today and said he so much appreciated our time together and the clinic service that he was bringing us a cake and hoped to be able to find the perfect one.  The girls were giddy with excitement waiting for him to come.  I told him I didn't think I would ever forget him and he said "Nor I you."  He is a very respected and well known gentleman in Samoa.  He owns the FM radio station called Radio Polynesia which is heard all over the Islands.  He also owns the Apollo Theater which is the only movie theater in Samoa.

We did a little dental screening of the Pesega College

middle school.  I screened and Caroline did the oral hygiene instruction.  Dr. Spencer has been in Australia this week for continuing ed to keep his license current so we've been holding down the fort.

Tia and her friend who work at the housing motel where I stay invited me to a Fia Fia, a dinner show. It really was good.  The best I've seen.  Lot's of Samoan food.  The chicken and pig were good but I've found that I'm not a taro lover.

 Today is my birthday.  70 is a bummer.  But I'm still 69 in America.  Sister Spencer baked a cake and brought it to the office Thursday.  I did get a piece so I was happy.

 I thought it would be interesting to show what we do.  These are pictures of 16 year old girls with really bad teeth.  Pretty girls with horrible smiles.  We see 9 or 10 of these cases a week.  Lots of candy, starchy foods and soft drinks and very little brushing.  Its wonderful to fix them and see them smile and shed a tear or two to know it was even possible.  Many of them we can't save.  These two cases needed root canals so haven't finished them yet.  I hope I'm still here to get after pictures. 

 I went to the big Island of Savaii Friday.  A missionary van passed me by so I followed it thinking it might be Elder Smoot, Eric's bishop''s son and sure enough it was.  I saw his dad a week before I left.  Incidentally, elder Smoot's family live in Samoa years ago when his dad worked at the church college and coincidentally they lived in the same house as I did when I was here in 2015.

I went to church in Savaii this morning and the missionaries came in and sat beside me.  Elder Pu'efua who is nearest, is from Bountiful and played football for the Braves, for coach Wall.  The young man is named Duane and he was as happy as I was to know there are at least two of us on the islands.

The ladies of the protestant persuasion really dress up for church and everyone wears white.

I was kind of out in the middle of nowhere and guy held out his hand for a ride which is quite common here.  I stopped and he opened the door and motioned and two of his friends came out of the bush carrying machetes.  I wondered for two seconds if I had made a mistake but he said thank you for stopping so I thought it would be alright.

I'll close with some interesting pictures.

 Checkers and pool at the Marketplace in Savaii.  The men seem to have a lot of spare time.

A swimming pool in the ocean.  How cool is that?

A fisherman casting his net.

Caroline, one of our volunteer assistants who's sitting in the middle, has been working for us and then on Wednesdays has been volunteering at the hospital clinic in hopes of getting a job there.  She is a single mother and when she joined the church her family threw her out, which is so un-Samoan.  She currently lives with the bishop whose family helps take care of her little girl, Molly.  Well last Tuesday she got a call from the hospital asking her to come in and pick up her employment packet.  She was so excited she asked me to take her to the hospital to pick it up during our lunch break.  The other two girls, Fara and Estelle were excited for her and asked if they could come along.   I took them to McDonalds to celebrate.  They were like children with excitement.  When McDonald's came into view they said, "There it is." the way my own children used to.  It was a fun day! 

The couple missionaries planned a day at the beach on Saturday back to Virgin Beach where we went last week.  It was such a lousy day that only 5 of us went.  I've learned that the weather changes so often and it's so warm that a little rain shouldn't scare you away.  Well it was a lovely day on the other side of the Island.  Overcast occasionally, and a few raindrops now and again, but otherwise, gorgeous!

It's one of the prettiest places I've been.  I took some unusual pictures.  The cyclone that hit the Island a few years ago toppled a lot of trees, but many of them just sent down new roots and just kept growing as you will see.  Hope you enjoy.

 5 different varieties of star fish.  We put them in shallow water to take the picture then replaced them in the rocks in the ocean.

 The softest sand I have ever felt!

Things just grow here, blown over or not!

  

Dr. Spencer, who is Canadian, met a fellow Canadian who bought a defunct resort called Virgin Beach.  He intends to restore and revive it and make it into a four star resort if he can find the funding.  He invited Dr. Spencer and his friends to come and enjoy it anytime, so I went with him and a few missionaries last Saturday.  We met him there and he told us that the Survivor TV show was coming to film at his place in a few weeks.  He was so excited.  Most of what he has done so far is deconstruction so it is a secluded and beautiful place.

 A new palm tree just getting started from a coconut.