Talofa Samoa

3 days is not a lot of time when you come to think of it. At the beginning of the week 3 days felt like an eternity before we were to board the plane but for the Hyde’s it was just the right amount of notice, 4 days would have been forever and 2 days wouldn’t have been enough. The Lord sure knows us individually! We packed up, sold our car in a matter of hours, cleaned our studio, said goodbye to friends, received priesthood blessings and our dear friend Lee drove us to the airport.
As we checked in we prayed as our bags were weighed. we prepared to pay about $200 for our baggage. One bag came in over weight and we were asked if we wanted to shift the weight, since we had an extra check on bag we shifted what we could into that and everything past with a nod and a wink from the check in lady. Our passports were checked and we were sent to security without being charged for our bags. Tender Mercy #1. We passed through security and for the first time they didn’t search any of our bags! Tender Mercy #2. We got something quick to eat though my stomach was full of butterflies we still felt relatively calm under the circumstances and as we passed to the gate Marvin stopped us and asked if we knew Jen. Marvin is tender mercy #3. It was so great to see a friendly face and have someone who knew us to show us the way. So we got on the plane and settled in for a long flight.



At the airport when we arrived we pulled up to the airport and there were people on the runway asking if we wanted to buy some fish. (j/k…that’s a joke for our Samoan friends) but they did let us off on the tarmac, That was our first hint. There weren’t a lot of lights around the airport but we could see the golden arches which offered little comfort to Matthew. We walked into the airport and showed our passport hoping the guard spoke English (most people speak at least enough to get by), then we waited for our baggage so we could take it through customs. With security behind us we walked out to greet Samoa. We walked out to a sea of faces and banners waiting for loved one. We walked through the masses and then I heard my name. “Jessica” I turned around and there was Helaman! My first instinct was to cry as I ran and hugged him. I was so excited to know someone in this crowded throng. Matthew was behind me pushing our bags, waving to all the people thinking they all showed up to meet him. My excitement continued as I saw Myra who hugged us and asked, “what’s your plan?”…..My excitement waned. We were expecting to find the family at the airport with smiles and hugs all around and then to go home to our new rental would be waiting to greet us. This question was a bit unexpected.
We were quickly informed that the adult Myra, our new landlord and Jen’s sister was coming next we and they were expecting us to be on the flight with her so the house wasn’t ready. With that new information we decided to go to the hotel for the night, which is where tender mercy # 4 came. The Hotel van drove up right behind us and Nana and Papa went over to make our arrangements. Next thing we knew we were on the shuttle to the hotel.
When we arrived we were a bit shocked at the price but relieved at the accommodations. We stayed at the tradewinds, which is like a Marriott. We had a nice room where I didn’t even have to use my hotel sheet (mostly because I was so tired) . After a run around with the internet and a run in with our first fafafine (more about that later) we plugged in our new magic jack. It only took till 3:30 in the morning but we got it working for the next days work for Matthew. And with that we were off to bed but we were up again at 7. We had our continental breakfast of cold imitation cereal and warm milk product from New Zealand and went off to work. Matthew was able to get to all his clients which was tender mercy #5 since now we know that he wouldn’t have been able to do that had we been at the house sine we are STILL waiting for the internet. After Matthew’s clients Uncle Larry, Auntie Bernie, Hewitt, and Myra came to pick us up at the hotel and take us to our new home.