Ward Party - Cave pools

Ward Party at the Piula Cave Pools

Our ward had a swim party at the Piula Cave Pools.  The cave is located on the grounds of the Piula Theology School.   The village and school charge an entrance fee to the pool and close them at 4:00 pm to the public for the village to enjoy.

Piula Theology School overlooking cave pools and ocean.

You can play in the fresh water and swim back into the cave.  For those who are adventurous, you can dive down and swim into an inter-connecting pool.  

Exit pool connecting main cave pool. 

  The connecting pool on the other side of the main cave pool for those adventurous to swim under the rocks and come up on the other side.

Plenty of areas to relax and enjoy!

The grounds have some great areas to relax.

Beautiful scenery of ocean next to cave pools 

The cave pools are located right next to the ocean.  The Village has built a large deck for hanging out and some fale(s)  (small houses) for families to hang out.

Beautiful deck with umbrellas to enjoy the ocean scenery

We enjoyed hanging out on the deck and  enjoyed the water views.  It was fun to watch the crabs play on the rocks and the fish in the water under the deck.

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Beach Fale (small houses) to hang out in 

Garden toilet

This is our second encounter with a 'garden toilet', where you can relax in a garden environment while 'taking care of your business' .

Garden Toilet

Inside shot of the garden toilet 

Villa Vailima

Villa Vailima

The senior missionaries were invited to a private tour of Villa Vailima, home to Robert Louis Stevenson for the last eight years of his life. The home is located in the village of Vailima, just outside Apia. 

 

 Tusitala

The Samoans refer to Robert Louis Stevenson as  "Tusitala," or "Teller of Tales."  He was born in Scotland, but eventually moved to Samoa for health reasons.   He passed away suddenly at the age of 44,  and over the years his estate fell into disrepair.  

Restoration of Villa Vailima into a museum

James Winegar and Rex Maughan (founder of NuSkin ) served their missions in Samoa many years ago, and developed a love for the island and people.  They combined and collected resources to restore the Villa and open it as a museum.

Tour of Villa Vailima

Brother Winegar was visiting Samoa with his family and led the tour, sharing stories from the life and times of Robert Louis Stevenson.

The grounds are owned and maintained by the Samoan government and the museum is on a 20 year renewable lease from the government.  







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Samoa Independence Day

Samoa Independence Day and parade

June 2 marked the 61st anniversary of Samoa's Independence Day, celebrated with a parade down town  and entertainment for the dignitaries.  The Pesega School teachers all made matching shirts and tops to wear in the parade and on 'School Spirit Fridays'.  

We bought some beads from a local merchant to enhance our matching shirts.

Lava lavas are a much cooler option when marching in the hot sun. 

Henderson visit from New Zealand 

Elder and Sister Henderson, area coordinators for the church schools in the Pacific Area (Samoa, Tonga, Fiji, and Kirabati) visited from New Zealand.  They function similar to a school superintendent, and are from Cottonwood Heights, Utah.

Sauniatu Primary School Visit

We acted as chauffeurs for the Hendersons to visit the Church primary school in Sauniatu. It was a blast seeing the little elementary age kids in their classes, most of which had about 12 students.  

  

Above are 4th graders and to the right are the Kindergarten/1st grade age groups. Speaking English is a priority to help ready these children for further education. 

Two Angels looking over Sauniatu Cemetery 

While in Sauniatu we visited a grave site of a young girl, Wendy Nielson, who is buried there. These two graves were moved to Sauniatu when the temple was built.  Wendy was 18 months old when she died, and a relative of a friend we had while we served in the Seattle Temple.  She wanted us to look for Wendy's grave.  

Conferencing with the ITEP Missionaries (International Teacher Education Program)  

The Foleys  are from Vernal, Utah, and are helping with teacher education in Sauniatu.  

 The Rees, from Lewiston,Idaho, serve on the island of Savaii  
















The Starkes, from Portland Oregon, serve in Pesega School, and live next door.