Sunday Heat

Sunday’s are always the hottest day of the week here. Sunday’s are one of my favorites here because I can actually stay home. The boats do not run on Sunday unless you want to pay twenty dollars to go across each way. I usually sleep at Lusi’s house on Sunday because we have our big after church meal and it’s just easier. They already have a room made up for me. On Sunday’s typically church lasts from around an hour and a half to two hours depending on the Sunday. The church is about the same size as Bethel except they have no fellowship hall it’s just a sanctuary. It has no fans and no air conditioning. It can get rather hot if there is no breeze. It’s not uncommon for me to feel sweat dripping off my body during the service.

One of my favorite parts of the church service is the choir. They all sit together in the church and they all love to sing. I always wish I could have them come sing our Christmas cantata. They are soooo good. They tried to get me to join the choir this year but my one experience with choir led me to never want to do it. We were preparing for Lusi’s grandmas funeral last year and all the grandchildren had to sing a song. They of course persuaded me to join. While we were at practice one night, I was lip singing because it’s all in Samoan. I can’t pronounce all the words correctly so I just lip sing. Any way apparently my row was off key. So first they made the whole row sing the song. Still couldn’t figure out what was off. So they went from person to person making them sing. In front of the whole choir, well thank goodness for my island friends behind me who said don’t call on Abby she lip sings. I dodged the bullet. Every since then I have no desire to join. I will gladly enjoy the noise from the comfort of the back of the church.

During church the pastor will usually explain the sermon in a shorter version. This summer I translated all the books of the bible so I can figure out where they are reading from because now I know the books and the numbers.

After church we go home for our big Sunday meal. Which usually consists of breadfruit, fried chicken, sweet and sour chicken, and rice. After the meal everyone sleeps the day away. On Sundays you are supposed to stay home. Most people will not go outside of their homes on Sunday. You are also not allowed to swim on Sundays. Sometimes I feel like its extra hot on Sundays just because we can’t swim. Sunday’s are also my only day to do laundry. I don’t have a drier at my house so I rely on my clothesline. I have learned that you cannot do laundry at night because it usually won’t dry because of the humidity. The only time I will do laundry is if the sun is out or it’s windy. I have learned my lesson to never do it while raining. I have a little canopy thing that I put my clothes under so if it rains it won’t get wet but the air is so damp it won’t dry and it starts to smell. One time I started my laundry and then I had it hanging and started raining and didn’t stop for a whole week. My clothes didn’t every dry and I had to re wash them never again!

Have a great week!

Pray for my students and the upcoming week!

With Love,

Abby