I took Dr. Larsen to Savaia to see the giant clams.  It's my most favorite place......so beautiful.  We actually found a giant clam shell washed up onto shore so we brought it home.  It's the contest winner.  We stopped by the fish market on the way back and bought some parrot fish.  We cooked them in coconut cream and ate them with chinese cabbage and $3.00 a can corn.  We stopped an took some photos along the way.

 

We saw some men in the village playing cricket.  One even looked about my age.

The New Zealand All Blacks are coming to Samoa to play Manu Samoa, the Samoan national team  It's a real big deal.  Banners are being put up and bunting, signs everywhere GO MANU, flags on car fenders.  Sort of reminds me of BYU vs Utah.

I've got a few minutes today after church and dinner to offer some more information.  We bought a red snapper from the fish market yesterday, had them fillet it for us, and cooked it today along with some mashed potatoes and a salad.  It was way good.  After we went shopping yesterday we headed out with the missionary couples to Matereva Beach to swim and snorkel.  Dr. Larsen had not snorkeled before and when we were thru he said he'd like to do that every week.  It was a gorgeous location and a nice group.

 Dr. Larsen cooking in our kitchen.

 The beach at Matereva

Our group at the beach.  l to r  Sister Farhner, a single sister called to serve a temple mission.  Sister Shaffermeyer from North Salt Lake.  Used to be the mayor there.  Brother and sister Gillette from Idaho.  Farmer from up around Gooding.  Called to serve as vocational counselor and instructor at the Church College.  Myself with hair sticking up.  Brother Shaffermeyer.  He and his wife are not long removed from serving a humanitarian mission in Jamaica.  Bother and sister Jacobs from Califonia.  They are Auditing missionaries and travel the mission helping the wards to keep track of everything.  They are the zone leaders and organized our trip.

 Our beach neighbors at their beach fale.

 Looking the other direction along the beach.  Looking west. 

Just try getting me to open my mouth.

Some more cool stuff.

Dr. Larsen and I hiked to the top of the mountain in Vailema where Robert Louis Stephenson is buried.  It was 2.8 kilometers but it seemed like 2.8 miles.  Imagine walking thru a rain forest where some of the ground, tree roots, and rocks have never been dry.  Our legs were a little rubbery when we finished but it was beautiful.  These pictures are kind of a walk thru the forest.

Remember the big guy.  I got my picture taken with him today.  I saw his family last week at the clinic but he couldn't come.  I was worried he may not fit in my chair.  His name is Edwin Mulitalo.  He was an offensive guard for the Baltimore Ravens and played for them when they won the Superbowl in 2000.  He's a great guy.  He's in the young men's presidency in our ward.

Our bishop, Bishop Pauga isn't much smaller.  He's a wonderful bishop.  Very impressive man.

I picked up our new dentist, Dr. Clyde Larsen, like walking in the temple from the airport yesterday with his daughter and sister-in-law and gave them the cook's tour of the island. We went to church this morning then after a nice father's day dinner we took an afternoon drive to Sauniatu.  When David O. Mckay gave this village an apostolic blessing he said in his prayer that this place was one of the first temples.  It feels like it.  The Larsen's compared it to walking thru Adam-ondi-Ahman

The fence posts even grow here.

This is a tree fern.  I took this one for Todd.

Me Dr. Larsen and Dr. Mangum

Church is out.  Never climbed a tree in a lava lava before.

 This is the rugby team from the church school in Savaii.  They were ranked number two.  Number one is the Church College.  They played the championship game yesterday and our boys from the Church College won.  They are both LDS schools so it was pretty neat.

The mission office gave me a missionary badge to wear at the clinic.  They thought it would be nice if the patients were able to see it and recognize the church sponsorship of the clinic.  Everyone has a hard time saying Orchard.  The only translation they can come up with is plantation.  So every once in a while the staff refers to me as Dr. Plantation.

  

Wednesday was transfer day at the mission office.  Sister Tolman, the mission president's wife, called me to see if I could come and give a few of the local missionaries a quick check.  They seem to be at greater risk for tooth decay and problems so the president keeps his eye on them and really stresses oral hygiene.  Getting a mission call is a real blessing to these young people.  They get their mouths into good shape and learn how to keep it that way.

 

Sister Tolman came to my house with the mission nurse to ask about a couple of missionaries from American Samoa. One was having wisdom tooth problems and one had broken a tooth. So they were flown over today and we worked them over.  American Samoa is across the international date line so it's yesterday there.  The mission office always has to keep in mind different P days and Sabbaths when working with the missionaries there.

Dr. Mangum and Carol are leaving to go back to Arizona on Monday.  They invited us all to lunch yesterday to a local Chinese restaurant.

Let me introduce you to our staff.  From left front.  Emmo is our receptionist in the afternoons.  She is a returned missionary, teaches early am seminary, volunteers at the self reliance center on campus teaching computer skills, goes to school in the evenings, and is young women's president in her ward.

Lemoe is part time receptionist and chairside assistant.  She comes from the far south side of the Island and takes the bus every day to get here.  Leslie is my chairside assistant in the afternoon.  She speaks little English so we communicate by pointing and grunting.  She's catching on quickly.  Beth Hunt is the morning receptionist.  She holds the place together.  She is married to a Samoan.  He is running for parliament and is one of the main tribal chiefs on the Island.  He played Rugby for the Church College of Hawaii when they won the National Championship 4 years in a row beating the likes of UCLA and Stanford.  Epi just started last week and this week Elder Lata called her to serve a mission in family history.  My morning assistant is Irish.  Jessie-Irish Kamaka Okalani Muta.  She is from Hawaii and recently graduated from college at Queens college in North Carolina.  She is staying with her Auntie and waiting for a mission call.  I just completed her missionary exam.  Her parents named her Irish because of her red hair.  I told her I thought it was because she was named O'Kalani.  The Mangums I will miss terribly.  They served a mission in Germany, spent a month doing dentistry in China, then here for two months.  

 

Thought our Izzy would get a kick out of this.  Later.

Duane

I went for a walk this evening after work.  It was such a pleasant evening and I thought might like to see some pictures of what the college campus looks like.  It has very nice buildings and housing nearby for the teachers and missionaries.  The playing fields are in constant use for soccer, rugby, tennis, basketball, netball and cricket.  These people are very athletic and competitive and are fun to watch.

This is the main playing field for competition

These are the homes where teachers and senior couples live

 

Notice the coach in his lava lava.  The kid in the foreground was playing soccer and was very agile despite his size.

These guys are practicing rugby, run in line and hit somebody.

This kid wanted money.  I said you'll shoot your eye out kid but he didn't understand

Since I reported last there has been two more earthquakes.  It seems to be the norm here because no one seems to get too upset.  Dr. Mangum and Carol are leaving the first of next week and He said today that he hopes he can get out of here before the big one hits.  I will miss them.  We've become good friends in the month that we have been together.  This Saturday Dr. Larsen will arrive to take his place and work in the clinic.  His daughter and sister-in-law are coming with him and will be staying in our home until they leave the following Tuesday.  I've offered to be their guide Saturday to visit some neat places and help them get adjusted.  I hope that two old duffers living together doesn't start any rumors.  It'll be like "old" missionary times.
     Today at church our sunday school teacher, Henry, taught a wonderful lesson.  He was in my dental chair this week for a checkup and he said, "you're the widower aren't you?"  He told me about his wife's death a couple of years ago and we talked about coping with the loss.  We were both teary eyed by the time he left.  He has a vegetable farm and supplies the senior missionaries with lettuce or as we refer to it "green gold".  He drops some by the clinic every week and we distribute it to the others.  He is supporting several missionaries financially and mentoring a few pre-missionaries helping them to get ready to go.  What a great guy.  I sneaked a picture of him during class.  Don't call the authorities Cidne.

  

This week this really big guy, I mean really big, came by the clinic to introduce a friend of his who is a dentist from California.  The Dr. was very impressed and is going to send some supplies to the clinic with another dentist friend of theirs from Canada.  I'll get a picture of the big guy next Sunday at church.  He met these two dental students his Rookie Year in the NFL.  He played for Baltimore and has a championship ring.  I forgot his name but he about crushed my hand when he shook it.

     As you travel thru the island there are stands everywhere from which people sell their produce.  I stopped at this one to buy a pineapple and papaya.  They sell taro, coconuts, niu, (which is young coconut sold for it's milk.  You cut the top off and stick a straw in and drink.), oranges, lemons, limes, flowers.  Some man the stand while others leave a basket for you to leave your money.

Do you think there is enough feed available for these cows?

This is a taro field.  Taro is found everywhere and is a staple of the Samoan diet.

Until next time.   Duane

After taking care of my motherly duties of cleaning, shopping, and laundry I took a little drive to the Island's east end.  Had lunch at a cafe on the beach then happened upon a couple of hitchhikers.  They were a young couple from Russia.  It was kind of fun having them along.  They asked about me and my reason for being here just as we were passing a Mormon Church. We talked a little about the church.  I told them that I had been to Moscow years ago with the Tabernacle Choir and we had a good discussion about that.  They wanted to good to a viewing point mentioned on the map of the Island and I told them to come along with me because I wanted to go there too.  When I let them off she asked if she could come by and see me at the clinic because she was a little concerned about a tooth.  I told her to come by and that the clinic was open to everyone so I may see her again.  Here are some photos of the East side of Upolu.

  Volleyball nets are everywhere

These three boys were just hanging out after school.  I stopped and talked to them and found that they attended the Church College at Pesega, about a 45 minute bus ride.  They are LDS, shook my hand and called me brother.  Really nice looking kids.