Our First Trained Technology Specialist

This week, we had the first person complete all four sessions of our training.  Yea, Faleatua Peleuale, Apia Samoa West Stake.  This young man is a returned missionary and we are hoping he will become our Samoan trainer.

On Friday, we held the second training session in the Malie Stake and had a interesting mix - 5 sisters and one brother.  Two of these sisters are wives of bishops in the stake and two are teachers at the Church's school at Pesega.  I was so absorbed in the training I forgot to take a picture.  We had a great time.  Theron has lots of fun with the technology and makes the firewall technical terms and reset switch fun.  Our students laugh easily and it sets a good tone for the training.

Our nights are getting full with training sessions at various stakes.  During this week, Theron worked on the sound system at the Nu'umau building for their Stake Conference.  We finished wiring the satellite rack and there were many problems with the sound system.  When you don't have new microphones readily available, you get Elder Schaefermeyer to teach them how to repair it with a little solder,epoxy and magic marker for paint.  It's always fun to see the ICS guys stand around and watch him put things back together.  I'm so grateful that he has fun with these guys and I really think they are learning to love his sense of humor and his Mcgyver ways.

To make sure that the mike worked and to help set up the stake conference, we attended the Nu'umau Stake Conference today, Sunday.  Traditionally, the ICS department or an outside sound an TV company sets up a sound system and a TV so the overflow can hear and see the speaker inside.  Part of what we are striving to do is get members of their stake to do this so Church employees don't have to work on Sunday or money isn't spend for outside contractors.
The picture below shows the overflow group outside the building watching the conference on TV under the tents.  We think they should face the TV the opposite way so they see the ocean behind us rather than the block wall.  Wow, what a setting for a chapel.  It was fun to sit and listen - to all the talks we could not understand, they were all in Samoan - and it was somewhat more interesting to listen to the waves lapping up on the sand behind us.  I have to say, my mind wandered many times and I just watched the water.