The day started with breakfast at the Hotel Millennia before heading off to church. This was the last hotel mom would be staying at because for her last night she would be staying at Paul and Viv's house (they were such good hosts we had to go back for one more night). The day was absolutely gorgeous with clear blue skies and water – but in the tropics, when there is a clear blue sky that usually means it's going to be a scorcher and that it was. The heat was just amazing today – it wasn't exactly stifling but it was just a whole bunch of heat. At some points during the church service, I looked out towards the street of the church and I could swear the sun was getting brighter as the heat increased…it was THAT kind of hot! After breakfast we headed to church for the morning service – it started at 9:30am because it was a combined service (meaning the Samoan and English congregations were there at the same time). This was the first time that I had arrived for a combined service before the actual service began (usually I come in later after the place has filled up a bit) and the place was a lot emptier then I expected, but as the worship time came to an end the place was packed out like it usually is. Pastor Samoa is in New Zealand preparing for the worship team to go over there and perform a series of concerts, so his wife Alesi conducted the service which obviously focused on the mom's in the congregation. The worship team performed 'Oh Happy Day' (as performed in the movie 'The Sister Act') and it was quite moving and fun and then of course the kids on the worship team got to say thanks to their moms.
So I'll take this time to say how great my mom has been to me throughout my entire life – even through all the hard times that I obviously put her through, she's always stood by me and believed in me. As I always say, all you need is one person to believe in you and you can accomplish anything. And since it's the time to share about the love our mom's shower on us during our lives I think I'll share one of the most important moments my mom ever gave to me. Obviously, joining the Peace Corps is a big deal but an even bigger part of joining the Peace Corps is getting your family to support your decision – especially when you're the only child. One of the first people that I told about my decision to join the Peace Corps was my mom and while at first she had a hard time understanding why I wanted to do it, once I told her and shared that it was a passion for me, she was fully supportive of me. Even when other people try to dissuade me from continuing on my task of joining the Peace Corps, my mom was right there by my side to back me up and giving me the support I needed to not only make the transition to a foreign culture but also stay here when there were times that I wanted to go home and enjoy all the comfort, family and friends that are there. So I've got a great mom who not only supported me in the beginning but supports me now by making the long journey over here to share the experience with me. Thanks mom!
After the church service, we had to'onai'i (brunch) at a restaurant called "Roko's" with Paul, Vivienne, Vivienne's mom (Jewell), Richie (Viv's brother), Tina (Richie's wife) and the kids (Jewell, Matilda, Grace and Jorim). It wasn't a traditional Samoan brunch like we had at pastor's last week but was a more fancy affair with steaks and lobsters. It was a great meal and we had a lot of good conversation about the journey we had over the previous week at the beach fales on Upolu and Savaii. One of the things that they kept asking was did we stop to see a lot of the sites on Savaii – a lot of which I didn't know about or didn't feel like paying for disappointment (ala the blowholes). But it definitely felt like a family affair which is a great feeling after mom has only been here 2 weeks – just goes to show how accepting the Samoan culture is and what great Samoan friends I have found in the Phillips family. Once we were successfully stuffed by the brunch we headed back to Paul and Viv's house for a bit of conversation and relaxation – we arrived just in time because the rain came a few minutes after our arrival back at the house and thankfully cooled the place down (after almost a week of hating the rain, it FINALLY comes in handy!). Mom sat outside and chatted with Viv and Viv's mom while I hung with the kids – so we were both in our natural element again!
Later on in the night we went to the movies to see "300" – such a great movie to see on a day about loving your mom! (j/k) Originally, we were scheduled to see Spiderman 3 today, but we saw it on Tuesday because we weren't sure the movies would be open on a Sunday holiday – so since they were we went to see the only other movie worth seeing at the theaters. I thought it was a good movie and it went by pretty quickly – I can definitely see why it did so well in the theaters back at home a while ago. It's in the same vain as 'Gladiator' but I don't think it was quite as powerful as that movie but it showed that something's do stand the test of time – freedom has never been free; it's always been bought by the blood of men and women willing to die to attain it. So I definitely liked it for that message alone.
So now we approach mom's second to last night in Samoa (her last night will be the night she flies out on) and I have to say it has been a great experience to have her here and understand all that I've been talking about for the past 18 months. Oh yeah, that reminds me – when I started this blog I always stated I wrote it as a letter or a conversation to my mom (which is why it's written in a more personal way then most other blogs) and while I have been talking to mom, sometimes I would refer to things I wrote in my blog and she would say 'Oh yeah you told me about that…oh wait, no I read that on your blog' so at least I know the blog is having it's desired affect – which should keep me writing for at least the next 7 months (no extension in my future folks!). See you tomorrow for the grand finale of 'The Mom Adventures'!
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