Trip journal - day 6
6 September 2005
I dreamt I was preparing for two oral arguments at a court of appeals. I realized that I had not prepared at all for one of the arguments. I crammed and tried to read and gather the gist of what I was reading. I saw myself in the courtroom with another argument preceding mine (the one I was unprepared for). In the twilight between wakefulness and sleep, what I needed to say suddenly became clear and I felt prepared. As I woke up, I realized it was a dream. But I also thought I ought to prepare more for my upcoming 10th Circuit Court of Appeal argument (in Denver, 4 days after we return home). I began thinking about it, and new insights came. I arose (around 5 am), went into the bathroom, and began typing on my laptop as the ideas came. I kept typing for a couple of hours until Cindy got up to go to the bathroom. I kept typing a bit longer, tired of it, so got up and began reading the Book of Mormon on my PDA. Other insights came, so I typed them in my laptop, too.
After a while, I got up and went next door (to Mindy’s room) to see if the kids were going to be able to do baptisms for the dead. Sini had called, and they were, but Molly had misplaced her recommend. Mindy was over at the folks (room 10) so I went over there to find out what was going on. We had a delightful conversation and joked with the folks. Mindy shared a comforting dream she had just had regarding Grant. She saw him in his gray suit. He came up to her, held her in his arms, and kissed her. She asked him how it felt to die. He said, I was all alone, you weren’t there. But he seemed contented, and kept instructing others who came up to them as he held her. She awoke with a strong sense of peace and of the Spirit burning in her heart.
We breakfasted (more orange juice, Milo, scrambled eggs with the sautéed onions, toast). Then we piled into the van (all but Cindy and Caroline, since Caroline isn’t old enough to do baptisms), with intrepid Delilah once again at the wheel. We went to the temple. We removed our shoes and put them on the wooden rack in the room to the right of the entry. The kids and Mindy did baptisms for the dead, while we attended an endowment session.
We passed a family in the reception area waiting for a wedding. In the locker room, we saw the groom (identified with the tag that said “sealing – own”). I congratulated him. Several family members were in white shirts and lava lava's seated in the locker room.
I directed Sini to a “wide-body” (wide door) locker and he thanked me. We went to the session room. It was painted with a mural of local scenes – in fact, it looked like the road we took to Sauneatu yesterday – complete with the small island just off the coast road. There was also the ubiquitous rooster. I supposed the artist studied local flora and fauna and included them in his painting. I noticed that the padded seats had no arm rests (I once heard the temples had 4 large sizes: L, XL, XXL, and Samoan…). I supposed it was for “wide bodies” to be more comfortable. It also seemed the seats were wider and had more leg room. We wore headsets to hear the session in English. I kept the volume low enough so I could hear the Samoan. Bob and Linda, and Mom and Dad stood in the prayer circle (even though the prayer was in Samoan…). I went through for Richard Wooldren.
I recognized the temple president, and his two counselors as we went through the temple. In the locker room, a young Samoan told us he had just come back from Afghanistan, but the next day was told his unit was called up because they don’t have enough people to fly helicopters in New Orleans in hurricane relief.
Patient Delilah picked us up (she had already taken Mindy and the kids back to the hotel after they finished baptisms), and she brought tickets and passports so we could get our seats confirmed on the flight to Pago Pago. Then she took us to have lunch at Comar’s (sp?) Seafood. I had a platter, including mussels, crab, tuna, and other varieties I couldn’t identify.
Then back to the hotel, where we changed. The longsuffering Delilah dropped of Mom and Dad and Robert and Linda near the temple so Mom could go to the mission headquarters and she and Bob could take pictures. Delilah then drove Gabe, Caroline, and me to Sliding Rock.
At Sliding Rock (several cascading waterfalls and pools accessible by steep stairs into the jungle) we met Steve Snow (former Samoan missionary and son of Karl Snow). We talked at length about the dedication, our trip, and Mindy’s recent loss. I took pictures of the kids, of Steve and his friend, and of Samoan kids, going down the slides.
Delilah picked up the folks and us. Mom said that she had learned that the mission headquarters once stood directly on the site of the current temple. Mom had also gotten several copies of a history of the Church in Samoa. We caught up with the rest of the group at the flea market, then to the hotel.
Sini prepared a feast for us which we ate with the hotel owner and his wife and several other Samoans in the hotel fale: prime rib, taro, stuffed baked potatoes, string beans, fried bananas, papaya dressing, salad, soft drinks, ice cold bottled water. The girls (Cindy, Molly, and Caroline) had prepared a hollowed-out coconut, and put a black pearl necklace and earrings for Delilah inside, and then beautiful flowers. Caroline made the presentation on behalf of the group. Delilah seemed embarrassed.
Having gotten up at 5 am, I was pooped, so I went up to our room with the kids, who watched a couple of movies on my laptop. Caroline made friends with Malo, Delilah’s daughter, and the two took lots of funny pictures of each other and played games. I napped. Mindy, Cindy, and Molly went to the Carters to have dessert and do laundry (Brandon Carter was a teammate of David’s on the sophomore basketball team at Timpview – he wore unique orange shoes and an orange head band – they’re here for the Church; he’s been a financial manager of the temple reconstruction). To bed.
I dreamt I was preparing for two oral arguments at a court of appeals. I realized that I had not prepared at all for one of the arguments. I crammed and tried to read and gather the gist of what I was reading. I saw myself in the courtroom with another argument preceding mine (the one I was unprepared for). In the twilight between wakefulness and sleep, what I needed to say suddenly became clear and I felt prepared. As I woke up, I realized it was a dream. But I also thought I ought to prepare more for my upcoming 10th Circuit Court of Appeal argument (in Denver, 4 days after we return home). I began thinking about it, and new insights came. I arose (around 5 am), went into the bathroom, and began typing on my laptop as the ideas came. I kept typing for a couple of hours until Cindy got up to go to the bathroom. I kept typing a bit longer, tired of it, so got up and began reading the Book of Mormon on my PDA. Other insights came, so I typed them in my laptop, too.
After a while, I got up and went next door (to Mindy’s room) to see if the kids were going to be able to do baptisms for the dead. Sini had called, and they were, but Molly had misplaced her recommend. Mindy was over at the folks (room 10) so I went over there to find out what was going on. We had a delightful conversation and joked with the folks. Mindy shared a comforting dream she had just had regarding Grant. She saw him in his gray suit. He came up to her, held her in his arms, and kissed her. She asked him how it felt to die. He said, I was all alone, you weren’t there. But he seemed contented, and kept instructing others who came up to them as he held her. She awoke with a strong sense of peace and of the Spirit burning in her heart.
We breakfasted (more orange juice, Milo, scrambled eggs with the sautéed onions, toast). Then we piled into the van (all but Cindy and Caroline, since Caroline isn’t old enough to do baptisms), with intrepid Delilah once again at the wheel. We went to the temple. We removed our shoes and put them on the wooden rack in the room to the right of the entry. The kids and Mindy did baptisms for the dead, while we attended an endowment session.
We passed a family in the reception area waiting for a wedding. In the locker room, we saw the groom (identified with the tag that said “sealing – own”). I congratulated him. Several family members were in white shirts and lava lava's seated in the locker room.
I directed Sini to a “wide-body” (wide door) locker and he thanked me. We went to the session room. It was painted with a mural of local scenes – in fact, it looked like the road we took to Sauneatu yesterday – complete with the small island just off the coast road. There was also the ubiquitous rooster. I supposed the artist studied local flora and fauna and included them in his painting. I noticed that the padded seats had no arm rests (I once heard the temples had 4 large sizes: L, XL, XXL, and Samoan…). I supposed it was for “wide bodies” to be more comfortable. It also seemed the seats were wider and had more leg room. We wore headsets to hear the session in English. I kept the volume low enough so I could hear the Samoan. Bob and Linda, and Mom and Dad stood in the prayer circle (even though the prayer was in Samoan…). I went through for Richard Wooldren.
I recognized the temple president, and his two counselors as we went through the temple. In the locker room, a young Samoan told us he had just come back from Afghanistan, but the next day was told his unit was called up because they don’t have enough people to fly helicopters in New Orleans in hurricane relief.
Patient Delilah picked us up (she had already taken Mindy and the kids back to the hotel after they finished baptisms), and she brought tickets and passports so we could get our seats confirmed on the flight to Pago Pago. Then she took us to have lunch at Comar’s (sp?) Seafood. I had a platter, including mussels, crab, tuna, and other varieties I couldn’t identify.
Then back to the hotel, where we changed. The longsuffering Delilah dropped of Mom and Dad and Robert and Linda near the temple so Mom could go to the mission headquarters and she and Bob could take pictures. Delilah then drove Gabe, Caroline, and me to Sliding Rock.
At Sliding Rock (several cascading waterfalls and pools accessible by steep stairs into the jungle) we met Steve Snow (former Samoan missionary and son of Karl Snow). We talked at length about the dedication, our trip, and Mindy’s recent loss. I took pictures of the kids, of Steve and his friend, and of Samoan kids, going down the slides.
Delilah picked up the folks and us. Mom said that she had learned that the mission headquarters once stood directly on the site of the current temple. Mom had also gotten several copies of a history of the Church in Samoa. We caught up with the rest of the group at the flea market, then to the hotel.
Sini prepared a feast for us which we ate with the hotel owner and his wife and several other Samoans in the hotel fale: prime rib, taro, stuffed baked potatoes, string beans, fried bananas, papaya dressing, salad, soft drinks, ice cold bottled water. The girls (Cindy, Molly, and Caroline) had prepared a hollowed-out coconut, and put a black pearl necklace and earrings for Delilah inside, and then beautiful flowers. Caroline made the presentation on behalf of the group. Delilah seemed embarrassed.
Having gotten up at 5 am, I was pooped, so I went up to our room with the kids, who watched a couple of movies on my laptop. Caroline made friends with Malo, Delilah’s daughter, and the two took lots of funny pictures of each other and played games. I napped. Mindy, Cindy, and Molly went to the Carters to have dessert and do laundry (Brandon Carter was a teammate of David’s on the sophomore basketball team at Timpview – he wore unique orange shoes and an orange head band – they’re here for the Church; he’s been a financial manager of the temple reconstruction). To bed.
posted by Barney at 6:46 AM
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