This morning our family walked from the hotel to the Scocia Place chapel--one of the oldest LDS buildings in Auckland. Located just off of Queen St. in downtown Auckland, it is surrounded by skyscrapers. In 1988-89 I was a missionary in this ward for over six months. As we walked toward the building a dear sister called out to us to tell us that the English ward started at 1 pm and we were four hours early. When I told her that we love the fa'asamoa, she beamed and lead us up the stairs to the chapel. We were certainly in the minority. However, the dear women of the ward kept passing us hymn books so we could at least follow along during the singing. My language skills were never exceptional and 28 years of disuse rendered me useless as a translator. However, the Spirit of the meeting was so strong--particularly the hymns. No one who has attended a polynesian ward will ever forget the testimony borne in song. In addition, by the time we got to the sacrament hymn the key words had come back to me--Alii (Lord), iloa (know), alofa (love), faafetai (thank-you), aiga (family). The dear bishop half way through the announcements was kind enough to break from Samoan and in English welcomed the visitors (us) who clearly wouldn't understand the entire meeting but invited us to feel the spirit of sacrament meeting and their love.
As the family left, we all were enriched. We noted the reverance of the young men and how seriously they took their responsibility, the beautiful older Samoan women in their colorful dresses with flowers in their hair buns, the men in their suit coats and lavalavas, and the energy of their singing. I still marvel that I was blessed with the chance to learn from these saints so many years ago. I now recognize that one of the main reasons that the six of us are here now is because of my fond memories of this beautiful country and its people.