Living in California until my eighth birthday, my siblings and I knew God, but we did not have a relationship with him. We tried our best to be good and always refrained from saying the Lord’s name in vain, but something was missing. It is funny thinking about how we would react to other children when they would say “Jesus” or “God”. We took it like it was the worst sin and if you did not say sorry, you would go to hell. I do not know about other children, but my siblings and I feared the devil very much. I cannot recall where such a fear came from; perhaps scary movies at the time reminded us of the evil one. I am thankful my life journey continued in Samoa for most of my childhood. It gave me the opportunity not only to experience and learn about my culture, but it also brought me closer to God.
The national motto in Samoa is “Fa’avae i le Atua Samoa”, which translates to Samoa is founded upon God. Unlike the United States of America, religion is included in government in Samoa. Samoans are very religious people. In addition to that, we are very family oriented. Family is by far the most important after our faith. When the tsunami hit Samoa, American Samoa and Tonga, my heart broke. Through the pictures and videos posted online as the days past since the tsunami on September 29th, I felt so useless being so far away from home and not being able to help. Many of my friends and fellow Samoans far from home felt the same way as we posted our feelings openly on community websites such as Myspace and Facebook. Hearing islanders refer to prayer and faith reminded me why Samoans are so strong. Our faith is what keeps us together and what binds families together.
Prayer is involved in a Samoan’s every day life. A typical Samoan family would wake up early in the morning and have family prayer before breakfast. When the school and work day ends, villages would have what is called the “sa” where no one is allowed to roam or drive through the village because families are having evening prayer. “Au talavou” is the youth group, which meets at the pastor’s house or church usually after family prayer and dinner time. Children, teenagers and young adults from around the village would get together during au talavou to have choir practice, liturgical dance practice or have bible study.
Like many who have stated their disbelief, I still cannot believe that my homeland was affected by such a disaster. I cannot even imagine what it is like to be displaced from your own home. I knew a few who perished in the tsunami and I am familiar with the villages that were completely destroyed. I will be returning home soon and I know that when I drive out to help the outer villages with clean up and rebuilding, I will be able to accept everything and probably even find some kind of closure. I am lost in my emotions for the time being and only God can comfort me and those who lost everything. With God, all things are made possible and I truly believe that my people will find happiness again. Only time will tell as so many families try to work together to rebuild what was lost in just a few seconds. I ask for prayers for those who lost their lives, homes and all they owned in the tsunami in the South Pacific as well as those who were affected by the earthquake and typhoon in Asia.
Ashley Galusina Nauer
God Bless all of you!
QUOTE OF THE DAY:
"How wonderful it is that nobody need to wait a single moment before starting to improve the world"
