Dad wanted us to all go to church, and we can schedule it in American Samoa, so we're going to church in the sticks. Almost at the end of the road.
Look at this gorgeous location - Click here for a 360 degree view of Tulao 1st Ward
So what extra things do we need to pack for this? To get away with a little as possible, here is what we pack:
Men: On Saturday, the men will buy an ie faitaga which Alan said he wanted to get anyway, and Dad could always use one. They are cheap, probably around $15-20 US.
For footwear, you can wear sneakers or rubber slippers.
Women:
I'm thinking that the easiest way to dress is to pack a slim skirt, and then just pair it with a tshirt and rubber slippers. Aunt Jeanette told me that they dress up with nylon hose, and high heels and fancy dresses in the city, but out in the country we can get away with a more casual look. Who wants to wipe off the makeup sliding down your face?
Church:
We will go to sacrament meeting, so we will be leaving the hotel at 6:45am in order to get there in time. Then we will enjoy the scenary on our nice long drive to the chapel. Church is from 8am to 9:15am, and is in Samoan, although sometimes they switch to English when they are quoting scripture.
Hymns:
The best thing about Samoan worship services is the singing. Mom always said, referring to long ago when Samoa was still a New Zealand colony and everyone went to church, that "the men's voices were so beautiful and the women's voices were so harsh and shrill." What do you think?
Download the Hymnal in the Samoan language:
Join in worship by downloading the hymnal in Samoan. You won't have any idea what you are singing about, but you can follow along as loudly as you want. As a bonus, the Samoan Hymnal is filled with translations of antiquated songs that have long been phased out of the English hymnals, but are still included in Samoan.
IOS:
Go to the app store and search for LDS Hymns Samoan. Download the app called Samoan Hymns by Jeff Mahe. The hymnal is called Vi'iga. There you will find LDS standards such as We Thank Thee O God for a Prophet, and Come, Come Ye Saints. You will also find hymns such as the Methodist song Hail to the Brightness of Zion's Glad Morning, and the Baptist Do Not Pass Me By.
Android:
The same app, Samoan Hymns by Jeff Mahe is available for download, but I have not been able to get it to work. Maybe you'll have better luck, although I think that our family is all iphone.