We Go To Manu'a

Recently we had the opportunity of traveling to the Manu’a Group of islands in American Samoa.  Our home is on the Island of Upolu, about 75 miles west of Tutuila, which is the main island of American Samoa.  Manu’a is another 75 miles east of Tutuila.

The Samoa Chain

Three small islands make up the Manu'a Group, all of which I visited and one of which I lived on as a missionary 53 years ago.

Manu’a is especially important to the Samoa chain of islands in several respects.  For many years the 9 populated islands of Samoa were ruled by the King of Manu’a. Some Samoan stories say the first people to settle Samoa came from a larger land mass to the east and arrived on the eastern most tip of the Island of Ta’u (pronounced tah-ooh).  Interestingly, while I was in Samoa a half century ago, a fisherman in his canoe from the Marquesas Islands who had lost his oar drifted more than 2,000 miles westward on the South Pacific currents and landed on Ta’u, right where Samoan legend say the first King of Manu’a lived.

Our purpose in going there was to see how our missionaries are doing there and what their living conditions are like.  We flew from Upolu to Tutuila, then caught the island hopper from Tutuila to Ta’u Island, the largest of the 3 islands of Manu’a.

A fun ride

The trusty co-pilot

Ta‘u is where Margaret Mead conducted her famous study in the 1920s, later published as Coming of Age in Samoa. (A lot of what she said about Samoan culture has been criticized and contradicted by subsequent research.  Personally, I found much of the book to be quite contrary to what I saw as a missionary. When I wrote my observations in a paper for an anthropology course at BYU, the professor scoffed at me and asked, “Who are you to question the distinguished Margaret Mead?”  I have been glad to see at least some scholars agree with me.)

We spent a week on the Manu’a group.  We found the elders and sisters there to be in good health and in good spirits.

Sisters in Zion

Elders in Zion

We got to proselyte a bit with the 3 sister missionaries who live in the village of Fitiuta on Ta’u Island. It was a delight to be with them.

It was a joy to be around them!

Missionaries doing what they have been called to do.

We also got to visit with the new LDS Branch President on the island and his family.  There is a sweet, strong spirit among the people there.  A week after we left Manu’a, a large family was baptized in the ocean there, strengthening the people and the work of the Lord in Samoa.

The Branch President and his wife at the far right.

Red skies at night on Ta'u

At the other end of the island of Ta’u is the village of Faleasao where two of our elders live.  We enjoyed walking around the village, having a little fun, and visiting the people and the school where our missionaries teach English and American football.

The Village of Faleasao is fortunate to have them.

From Faleasao we took a boat over to Ofu Island. We hope you can open this video:

Ready to board

"Are you sure about this?"

Alicia was a little nervous at first, but it turned out to be a nice relaxing 90-minute ride, with her taking pictures and my napping.

Zzzzzzzzzz.

The elders living there met us at the dock and treated us to a ride in their pickup. We insisted on riding in the back (sitting down in the bed, after this picture was taken).

Traveling in style

They are renting a nice small place that has air conditioning and an inside toilet.

Not a bad place

Back in the good old days of 1963, we lived in a Samoan fale where we had no electricity, no running water, and no inside toilets.

A real Samoan fale, like the one I lived in on Olosega

Actually, back then on Manu'a, we had no inside or outside toilets – we went down to the beach early each morning and late at night.  The tides rolling in and out twice a day functioned as plumbing.

Our "outhouse" 53 years ago

The elders there had not had haircuts in several months, so we were fortunate to have our very own hair stylist with us to help them shed some of their locks.

A professional at work!

We enjoyed having Sacrament Meeting on Ofu with our missionaries.  Soon, no doubt, they will find success in their labors.

"Where two or three are gathered in my name"

From Ofu we walked across a bridge constructed some years after I was there to the Island of Olosega.

Between Ofu Island and Olosega Island

But below the bridge was a sandy beach where Alicia and I wished each other a Happy Anniversary (April 3, 1970).

Happy Anniversary coming soon

It was on Olosega (pronounced oh-lo-senga) that I lived for 3 months. It was wonderful to be back.

Welcoming us to Olosega

We met some beautiful people on Olosega.  We were accepted everywhere we went.

Beautiful people all

We tried to hike up to the top of the island but found that the path is so overgrown that it was almost impossible to get through the undergrowth. Apparently the gardens there are no longer being used.

Exploring old trails

The trail narrowed

But fifty years ago we would make our way up to the top of the island to the taro gardens and coconut groves to bring down food to the village.

Me and my Manu'a friends (1963)

Me and my Manu'a friend (2016)

I took with me a few photographs and asked several people there if they knew anyone in the pictures.  I had kept the names written on the back of the pictures, and several people recognized the names.  But anyone I had known there was either dead or had moved to Hawaii or California or Utah.  I was pleased to learn that a granddaughter of the couple with whom we lived – who were not members of our faith – has since joined the Church, but she no longer lives on Olosega.

The trip over to Ofu and Olosega was relaxing; the six days spent there were uplifting.

The trip back was exciting as we were tossed about by the wind and waves. Maybe you can open this video:

Hanging on

Great waves

As nice as it was to get to see places I had been in more than 50 years ago, the best part of the trip was getting to see the growth of the Kingdom of God in this faraway place, to see people accepting the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ.

We Visit Sauniatu Village

We recently went with Mark and Gail Jorgensen, who are volunteer teachers at the National University of Samoa, to the village of Sauniatu. Mark is on sabbatical leave from Utah Valley University.

Alicia with Gale and Mark Jorgensen

Sauniatu is the LDS village on a mountain in the middle of the Island of Upolu. It was founded more than 100 years ago as a place of refuge for persons who were driven from their families and villages because they joined the Church.

Plaque at Sauniatu

It is a peaceful, beautiful place.  The Church still has an elementary school there.

Sauniatu Village, Upolu Island

In his journal, my grandfather Don C. McBride recorded making visits to Sauniatu in the early 1900s.  

As the plaque above says, LDS Apostle David O. McKay, who later became the President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, visited Sauniatu in 1921.  The Church members built a little monument commemorating his visit.

In 1963 I lived in this village for 2 or 3 weeks as part of a group of about a half a dozen missionaries receiving a little language training there. I spent many hours seated at that monument studying Samoan.

Standing at the monument brought back sweet memories

Just below the village is a beautiful waterfall with a deep pool -- ideal for swimming!  We had a great time feeling it beat down upon us.

Water falling down from the rocks was actually warm

Even Alicia – ordinarily not the bravest of souls when it comes to having fun in the water – made her way in the water around the rocky edge and sat under the waterfall, and then swam back to shore.  I was very proud of her!

Mermaid McBride

Nimble Samoan boys enjoyed showing off by climbing high up the rocky side of the pool and jumping in. I am afraid my tender feet could not handle the rocks, or I would have joined them.

There is a special spirit one feels in the Village of Sauniatu. It has a sacredness all its own.  That spirit was evident when our current Church President, Thomas S. Monson, visited Sauniatu during the same time I served in Samoa more than 50 years ago.  (In fact, I had the opportunity of meeting Elder and Sister Monson at the airport in American Samoa and driving them around the Island of Tutuila while they waited for their connecting flight to Upolu Island in Western Samoa.) President Monson had only recently been called to be an Apostle by President McKay.

Thomas S. Monson
President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

President Monson told this story during the October, 1966, General Conference of the Church:

"On my first visit to the fabled village of Sauniatu, so loved by President McKay, my wife and I met with a large gathering of small children. At the conclusion of our messages to these shy, yet beautiful, youngsters, I suggested to the native Samoan teacher that we go forward with the closing exercises. As he announced the final hymn, I suddenly felt compelled to personally greet each of these 247 children. My watch revealed that the time was too short for such a privilege, so I discounted the impression. Before the benediction was to be spoken, I again felt this strong impression to shake the hand of each child. This time I made the desire known to the instructor, who displayed a broad and beautiful Samoan smile. He spoke in Samoan to the children, and they beamed their approval of his comments.

"The instructor then revealed to me the reason for his and their joy. He said, 'When we learned that President McKay had assigned a member of the Council of the Twelve to visit us in far-away Samoa, I told the children if they would each one earnestly and sincerely pray and exert faith like the Bible accounts of old, that the Apostle would visit our tiny village at Sauniatu, and through their faith, he would be impressed to greet each child with a personal handclasp.' Tears could not be restrained as each of those precious boys and girls walked shyly by and whispered softly to us a sweet talofa lava. The gift of faith had been evidenced."

Where Does The Time Go?

A few weeks ago Alicia and I flew in a little 14-passenger plane east over to American Samoa, a distance of about 80 miles.

Not a bad little plane

We departed Upolu Island, Samoa, on a Wednesday at 12:00 noon; we arrived at the Pago Pago International Airport on Tutuila Island, American Samoa, on Tuesday at 11:30 a.m.  Go figure.

Some passengers were a little leery of the adventure.

No, seriously, go figure. We flew east across the International Date Line and arrived a half an hour – I mean 24 and ½ hours – before we left. Look, if you fly east from, say, Kansas City to Washington, D.C., you lose an hour. But if you fly east from Apia, Samoa, to Pago Pago, American Samoa, you gain an hour. Or rather, you gain 25 hours. Go figure.

Passengers are each weighed and then seated so as to balance the weight.

Coming back to Upolu Island, of course, we lost a day.  We left Pago Pago, American Samoa, on Thursday for the half-hour flight back to Apia, Upolu Island, Samoa, and arrived on Friday.  It reminded me of the Kingston Trio song, “To Morrow.”

It was great to be back in American Samoa.

I had served there for about a year more than 50 years ago.  It has changed a lot – more cars, more houses, more large shipping vessels in one of the most perfect and beautiful, natural harbors in the world. But the people are still pretty much the same, the mountains and palm trees and crashing waves are the same.

One funny thing we saw on Tutuila was this tree full of bats.  Those dark images in the tree are bats.  They open their wings and flap them to cool off.

Bats!

While in American Samoa, we took a small boat over to the Island of Aunu’u.

The history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Samoa begins on Aunu’u. Very few people live there now, but we do have a thriving branch of the Church on Aunu'u,

and a set of excellent missionaries.

Few missionaries ever get to serve on Aunu'u, or to even visit it.

We never get tired of riding out over the water.  This video can be viewed by going to the blog page itself.

This past week we took another trip to Pago Pago, only this time we went by boat, the Lady Naomi.

The Lady Naomi carries cargo and passengers.

We had some bulky materials we wanted to personally handle, and we wanted to see how well we could both handle a long trip across water.  There is more background to this story, but we will include it in a future post.

This trip to Tutuila Island was a 9-hour trip over moderate to rough seas. Alicia took a good dose of Meclazine before embarking, but it wore off after about 6 hours.  Yes, she was seasick, and had she had the strength to do so, she would no doubt have given me a black eye for talking her into the trip.  But then she took another dose, and soon all was good.

It helped that we stayed that night in The Tradewinds hotel, the nicest on the island.  We were pleased to find a few good books to read in the room.

Needless to say, we took the plane back to Upolu.