Praying in Samoa...

Sup!...How my homies hangin?...k, the palagi is now gonna cease the gangsta lingo...anyways, its been a long day of book report presentations and S.A.T. tutoring lesson planning...so, im gonna make this short and sweet...though i do have something to say about the practice and belief of praying here in American Samaoa...but first, ill explain the images...

the top one (speaking of religion) is of a church next to our house...its ginormous!...one of the biggest on the island...obviously the island is very, very religious...and the churches are their bread and butter...not only because they love and live for God and Jesus, but also because it gives them something to do...there isnt much on this island...theres no chuckee cheeses...or miniature golf...or shakeys...or dairy queens...so, about four out of the seven days of the week are spent at the church doing different activities and services...this church sings so darn loud it sounds like the choir is right outside my window...its like a rock concert...cept more celestial...sometimes i wanna walk over there and say, "Alright, already! God can hear ya! Must you sing loud to prove to God your love?!"...but then my own jiminy cricket advises me not to...and, yes, he does sit on my shoulder...with a cane and top hat...and sings me to sleep..."when you wish upon a star..."...



















this is the american samoa department of education...isnt it impressive?...i remember walking in there on one of our first days here and being shocked (and dismayed) at the ghettoness of it...it literally reminded me of a building you'd see in africa or india or iraq...its more than dilapidated...its crumbling, smelly, sweaty, cramped, and decomposing...america's own third world territory..."No Child Left Behind"...i dont really see this building being fixed anytime soon either...the corruption here is rampantly devastating the island...and though the people have hope (especially my students), i dont see it stopping in the near future...



















now this is the most hilarious picture ever of all time...its of lisa and some random samoan boys who were cooking out at the beach...they were obviously drunk or on drugs or something...they wouldnt leave us alone...and they spoke horrible english...and they were acting all kooked up on something....but they made us smile and i just had to take a picture...of course lisa hated me for doing it...but come on, man...those samoan afros are righteous...



















this is a picture of one of the mansions near our house...well, its actually like the only one...its right across the street from that church...i think it could be the minister's house...ive heard that the ministers here on the island make hundreds of thousands of dollars every year...they definetly make the most money...even more than the governor...he makes about 70,000 a year (yeah, thats not that much...remember, "third world"?)...but the ministers are like millionares here...which, i think, is corrupt in it of itself...but the people here worship their ministers...they believe they're the holiest, most pious and strong and upright people in the world...so they, clearly, deserve piles of money and gifts...as their own DOE and schools disintegrate...amen to that!...



















this is a picture of the theater in town...i havent really seen anything here yet...but ive heard they have different shows and festivals...its like their own marcus amphitheater...



















this is a picture of the hospital...the one and only hospital on the island...i wont even get into the third worldness of this hospital...ill spare you...but all i can say is its bad...even the name of it is bad...LBJ...he's like the worst president we've ever had...next to nixon...and bush :-)















another pic of the hospital...i had to go here last week to get my ears checked...you all know me, i get ear aches all the time...i also went to visit my student sam who got hurt during a football game...ill tell you about that right now...and my feelings about the island praying for him...

k, as i said, my student sam was critically hurt during a football game about a week ago...he's now paralyzed from the legs down...like everyone here, it hit me like a ton of bricks...discovering and realizing that sam, one of my brightest and most caring students (he gave me a batman action figure cause he knew i loved batman...as did he), will never walk or run or stand again was, and still is, painfully heartbreaking...but its not even the no more walking or running or standing thing that really upsets me...its more of my agonizing concern for his spirit...i was, and still am, worried about how he'll deal with this sudden, tragically unfair, and saddening blow...he didnt deserve this...it makes no sense at all...and he shouldnt have had to learn about the suckiness of life at such an early age...he's just a boy...anyways, i went to visit him last week and i couldnt handle it...im so bad with those types of things...when i walked into his room and saw him laying there, stiff with a neck brace and his legs resembling thin, fragile sticks, i almost sobbed...he should be in my classroom worrying about his book report...not about how he's gonna make it through the day...or hour...like i said, im bad at these types of things...grandma b will tell ya...i dont know what to say...you cant ask them how theyre doing...and then my mouth goes dry and my hands get clammy...and my emotions of grief and rage drown my hope and encouragement...and my heart stings...for the most part, sam comforted me...and i saved my tears for when i got home...i had to stay strong for him...afterall, i wasnt the one lying in the hospital bed...as i grow older, ive begun to experience the tenderness and sorrow and the injustice inherent in life...and i long to be a child again...when all those things only existed in the adult world...

as for the praying, the island is obviously praying like mad for sam...and, in my own way, i am too...i even told you guys to pray for him last week...but praying (not the praying for sam) here in american samoa somewhat annoys me...heres a conversation i had with one of my students...ill say his name is faitala (pronounced fight-ala...isnt that such a cool name?)...

LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION!

Me: So, faitala...after sam's accident, arent you kinda scared or worried to play football?

Faitala: no...not really...my family and i pray and go to church every sunday...and the Lord has blessed us...that wont happen to me...

(silence, as i thought about how i wanted to word the next question...i, of course, was distraught by his answer)

Me: well, yeah...but didnt sam pray and go to church?

Faitala: yeah...i guess...but im bigger and stronger than he was...

END SCENE!

so, i was a little distraught by this answer too but i wont go on with how the conversation went...whats important is his praying concept...the people here, and this goes on all around the world, pray for God to grant them things...like health and happiness...or to protect them from things...like football accidents...and this is fine, in a way...i mean, this is maybe why id pray if i "prayed"...and this is, techincally, how ive prayed since i was little..."God please make me do good in sports"..."God please make me sick tomorrow so i dont have to take that math test"..."God please make me get butterflies when i see a pretty girl"...but i also believe that this type of praying is horribly wrong...even giving thanks to God can be amiss...the church that im attending here in american samoa is filled with this type of praying...its what the church is based on...if you pray hard enough and genuinely with all your heart and praise, you will get your prayers answered...they pray for strength and understanding and safety...a lady the other day even thanked God for getting her that new job...i am not by any means belittling these people or what theyre praying and hoping for...afterall, im sure youll find me praying for just one more precious minute when im on my death bed...or when a loved one is on theirs...but i also truly have faith in the notion that God knows what he's doing...and theres reason and power in what he's doing...and praying wont stop it...and maybe praying shouldnt stop it...i want sam to get better...and i want God to give him strength...but i also trust God that sam's situation has purpose...and praying harder or going to church more often is not it...i dont know exactly what the purpose is...but the reason is definetly not to pray for the pain to end...or for the ability to walk...i just hope that sam realizes the reason...because i dont know if i can...

this may seem apparent to many of you...the idea of praying and worshipping hard and passionately will make the Lord happy is something all religious and christian people believe...it may...but i wish more samoans would just make sure that their praising and admiring God's confusingly dreadful and heartbreaking decisions as well...not asking him to change or stop them...

i could totally write a whole book on the religion here on the island...its fascinating...and i dont know if i am the right person to observe, study, and report it...afterall, i dont believe in God...or praying ;-)

k, way too long of a post...talk to you guys later...and thanks for all the cool responses to my past posts...it reminds me that there is intelligent life out there afterall...love ya and miss ya,
-JOE

"Bless not only the road but the bumps on the road. They are all part of the higher journey."
-Julia Cameron