Everyday we were greeted by the smile and ever present flower in her hair of Nafanua. She was the receptionist and editor of the Service Center newspaper.
Just around the corner was Lani Smolik. She was over payroll and benefits and from day one, I would ask when I got a paycheck. Well, the last day she finally gave me my paycheck. Wow, that's a lot of tithing hugs. It is so true though we do it for hugs and smiles from everyone we work with.
Denny Afualo is the Service Center Manager and our neighbor. He and Marianne are wonderful folks. He was a joy to work with!! We look forward to seeing him again when he moves back to Utah.
This is our final report and summary of what we accomplished. It was a great time and a joy to serve the people of Samoa.
Final Mission Report – May 2015 to September 2016
Prepared by: Elder and Sister Schaefermeyer
Our mission assignment was to represent the Prophet as Area
Technology Specialist Missionaries specifically called to serve
the people of Western and American Samoa, serving on the
islands of Upolu Savaii and Tutuila, and accomplish the
following objectives as outlined by the Pacific Area ICS
Department:
1. Ensure that each meetinghouse has the standard
technology.
2. Train each Facility Manager in providing and supporting
such technology.
3. Encourage the calling of Technology Specialists for each
stake
4. Provide training to each Technology Specialist.
We reported our progress weekly to the Pacific Area ICS
Department. In doing the Lord’s work, you are never working
alone; not only were we guided by the Spirit in our teaching and
meetings with Church leaders, we were guided and taught many new things by Chris Neemia, Manager of ICS in Samoa and the four FM managers. We thank them for their daily support, friendship and guidance of this work and for directing us in the work which we performed. (In the picture are all the FM managers and their administrative assistants. We needed their support!!)
These sisters are the administrative assistants and they are terrific.
We can't express enough love to Chris Neemia, Daniel, Ian and Phillip. What great guys.
It was custom to wear the same shirt on Fridays. Here's the ICS Department dressed in Friday best. Ian is missing as he was traveling to the US when we left.
We also express our love
and appreciation to Daniel Alesana and Ian Seiuli from the ICS
Department for their patience and understanding.
Thus, our report on what has been accomplished to meet the
objectives given to us:
1. Ensure that each meetinghouse has the standard
technology.
Using as standard technology we worked with throughout our
mission--ward computer, firewall, satellite system, FHC
computers, printers—we report the following:
Computers
• Pago ward computers = 47 = 100% under warranty
• Upolu ward computers = 116 = 99% under warranty
• Savaii ward computers = 50 = 100% under warranty
In the past 18 months, 111 model Dell Optiplex 9020
computers and 46 model Dell Optiplex 7040 computers have
been installed among all the islands. This is a replacement
of 74% of the 213 total unit computers.
Firewalls – installed in all buildings except those using dongle
internet access
• Pago firewalls = 19 which is 100%
• Upolu firewalls = 74 which is 100%
• Savaii firewalls = 25 which is 100%
In the past 18 months, 14 of the 25 firewalls in Savaii are
new (56%); 15 of the 74 firewalls in Upolu wards are new
(20%); 4 of the 19 firewalls in Pago are new (21%).
In addition to installation of firewalls, we performed the
software upgrades of all existing firewalls. We also helped
identify firewall cabinets, reset switches and data wiring
needs in all chapels which either lacked these items or that
had not been properly installed to the Church standard. We
report that for these items, on all three islands, 100% of the
cabinets have been installed. Only a few reset switches
remain to be installed, these are in Savaii, and the majority of
the data cabling is now in wire mould and properly terminated
in a wall mounted internet connector.
Satellite Systems that have been updated
• Pago = 2/4 = 50%
• Upolu = 9/11 = 81%
• Savaii = 6/6 = 100%
FHC Computers – replaced in past 18 months
• Pago FHC computers 5
• Upolu FHC computers 19
• Savaii FHC computers 9
Printers - All wards and stakes have printers and/or
copiers 100%
Software
The internet service in Samoa is metered, both on the upload
and download. The Samoa ICS Department divides the 2
terabyte of data according to need and best use. The
monthly allotment for church units is stake centers - 14 gig of
data, regular ward buildings - 7 gig of data. Knowing this and
realizing how much information and media the Church
provides through the Internet, we obtained 5,000+ (200
gigabytes) of Church video files and have installed these
videos on all new (157) unit computers since these have 500
gig harddrives. Older computers only had 100 gig or less of
harddrive space.
With these files resident on the CPU harddrive, all members
of the wards have access to this rich information to use in
teaching classes, in family home evenings, in personal
learning, and for leader training.
Our message as we have
introduced technology to Stake Presidents and STS is that
the technology should be used to “Bless the Lives of the
Members.” This is one way it can be used as a blessing.
We have formatted the login of each unit computer to provide
the following access:
• Ward Clerk – access to MLS and all ward private
documents. Only ward clerks and members of the
bishopric have access to these files. (Administrator
rights)
• Member Login – access to Church videos, Open Office,
and the internet. Under the direction of the priesthood
leadership, members can use these resources for such
things as online missionary applications, copying Church
videos for teaching or personal/family use, completion of
PEF loans, Pathway learning and other self-reliance
programs, mums preschool.
• Missionary – access to Church videos, internet, Open
Office, this is for once-a-week missionary use in emailing
parents and sending mission reports to the
mission president.
• Family History –
access to all
installed programs
and internet to
assist the
members is having
access to family
history
applications, as
well as promoting
the Pacific Areas
15 in 15 Family History program, this login is provided
so the Family History consultants can assist members
who live far away from FHCs to record FamilySearch
information. This can be especially helpful for the new
convert who can then participate in Temple baptisms
and confirmations for family members as they prepare
themselves to be endowed.
• Stake Clerk – access to MLS and other auditing files as
necessary for Church administration and record keeping.
• FM – ICS and FM access to all programs and files.
(Administrator rights)
2. Train each Facility Manager in providing and supporting
such technology.
Elder Schaefermeyer has worked with each FM manager and
many of the FM technical personnel on Pago and Upolu. He
has provided hands-on training for making CAT V data
cables, correct location of internet cabinet boxes, and reset
switches, as well as providing instruction on the operation
and troubleshooting of the internet system. FM training
sessions have been held on the operation of the Satellite
System and how to use the EJ-10 “crab box” with chapel and
cultural hall sound and video systems.
We report that all FM managers in Samoa gave us 100%
support for the things we were tasked to complete. They
desired to learn and were wonderful men to work with. We
love them and all they are doing to maintain the 115
buildings, Temple, two PBO Service Centers, three Church
schools, mission office and missionary housing.
The FM have wonderful administrative assistants and staff
that work very hard. We loved working with them and have
helped with some updating of equipment records and
correcting some facility property assignments in the Church
Property Management database. This is especially important
when configuring and assigning firewalls.
3. Encourage the calling of Technology Specialists for each
stake
During the first month of our mission, we spent significant
time observing how various departments functioned at the
PBO and asking questions to FM about technology in
chapels. We discussed technology training needs and
responsibilities with ICS. Through these observations,
meetings and discussions, we were able to develop the
Technology Specialist training we have used throughout
Samoa.
We strongly encourage future technology specialist
missionaries to do the same—take the first month to get to
know the people, processes, and available resources and
current practices.
We spent considerable time reviewing stake staffing of
technology specialists and organized this information into a
database as a baseline for our work.
The Stake Technology Specialist (STS) is called as an
assistant stake clerk. This means that the calling is issued
by a member of the stake presidency.
We developed a Roles
and Responsibilities training the stake presidency, stake
clerk, stake executive secretary, STS, and PFR (when
available). Through this training we demonstrated the lines
of communication for resolving technology problems,
importance of the STS calling and the important role
technology is and will have in the Church as the work of
salvation is hastened in these last days.
There are 25 stakes among the Samoan islands. We were
able to meet and train 22 stake presidencies (88%). One
stake president, Nu’umau Stake in Upolu, would not
schedule a time for this training. We contacted him
numerous times and he would not respond to our calls or email.
His stake has 7 STS listed in CDOL, but we have no
idea whether they are still functioning or this list is current.
The stake president in Faleasi’u Upolu scheduled with us but
could not make the training, we trained the stake executive
secretary and stake clerk. We had a private meeting with the
stake president in the Apia Central Stake rather than a full
training, per his request.
All stake presidents except the three previously mentioned,
made themselves available for a 1.5 hour training. They all
were supportive of what we were doing and were
appreciative to have a clearer understanding of the STS role
and responsibilities.
Each stake president was excited to
have people within his stake trained to operate and support
the technologies within their buildings. All have expressed
great appreciation at having the Church videos installed and
the unit computer upgraded.
It appeared to us from feed-back we received that there was
not a consistent line of communication in the stakes to the
FM. We were able to explain the ‘service ticket’ system for
resolving a problem and this should help build a better
FM/Stake line of communication and respect.
We observed a multitude of ways that technical problems
were being reported and not reported. None of these
included the STS being involved in the process or given the
responsibility:
• ICS was receiving the majority of the technical calls; ICS
would then report this to FM to create a service ticket or
would just take care of the problem without ever raising
a service ticket.
• No one in the stake was reporting anything to anyone
and the problem persisted until an audit was conducted
or the ward had fallen months behind in reporting and a
member of the stake presidency finally noticed.
• Many of the stake leadership– stake president, bishop,
clerk, etc.—reported the same problem all at different
times and no one in FM or ICS was sure if the problem
had been corrected and re-occurred or if it had every
been corrected.
• A firewall was not working properly and so someone
simply bypassed it. Most often this could have been
resolved by using the reset switch which no one knew
what the equipment was for.
• When the Internet service was not working in one
building, clerks would take their computers to another
building to do the reports without ever reporting to FM or
ICS that the service was down.
Through our Roles and Responsibilities training, we have
noticed better communication and resolution of technical
problems. It’s not perfect, but it is heading in the right
direction.
Each week for the past several months, we have looked at
TM and reported firewall problems to the ICS and FM. By so
doing, we helped facilitate better internet connectivity, found
where some problem areas were and corrected these; such
things as, the firewall had been by-passed, the unit had
exceeded its data limits which helped diagnosis some misuse
of the internet, or the firewall was not functioning and needed
to be replaced.
The chart below is a list of all STS that we have trained or
that we are aware of listed by stake and FM area. The
Nu’uma’u Stake, even though we have not trained there, has
7 STS listed in CDOL, but we have not been able to make
contact with any of them. The Savaii Sagone Stake
presidency and clerks have been trained and in our
conversation with the stake president, he stated that he
cannot find anyone in the stake to call at this time. He is
aware and supportive.
The last four months of our mission, we learned from another
ATS missionary couple that they send ‘Did You Know’
newsletters. We started to do this and it kept us in better
communication with the STS. We include the aTS and stake
presidents on this list which includes 71 people. This is
something we would recommend other ATS missionaries do.
4. Provide training to each Technology Specialist
The training program we developed is designed around skills
that Stake Technology Specialists and Assistant Technology
Specialists should be able to do after participating in our
training. These skills do not include requiring STS to format
computers, configure firewalls, and fix sound and internet
problems as these tasks are currently better addressed by
the ICS and FM departments in Samoa.
The skills taught are
basic and should be sufficient to assist local units in
maintaining their computers, firewalls and printers and
providing technical support for ward and stake activities and
and general events.
The STS training consists of four training sessions, each one
and one-hour in length.
Session 1: Roles and Responsibilities – stake
presidencies, stake clerks, STS
Session 2: Internet and Firewall Use and
Troubleshooting – STS and aTSs
Session 3: Satellite System and Stake Conference Setup
– STS and aTSs
Session 4: Printers, Copiers, Sound Systems and
Teaching – STS and aTSs
(We often taught this session in combination with
Session 3.)
Training numbers are:
• 162 members were trained in Roles and Responsibilities.
There was only 1 stake, Nu’uma’u that did not receive any
of this training.
• 124 members, STS and aTSs, were trained on fundamental
operation and troubleshooting of the internet. There was
only 1 stake, Nu’uma’u that did not receive this training, as
per their choice.
• 54 members, STS and aTS, were trained in operation of the
satellite system and cameral and sound setup for stake
conferences. Satellite systems are only located at stake
centers. No training on these systems was conducted in 4
of the 22 stakes that have these systems. Plus there are
two stakes which do not have satellite systems and one
stake, Malie, has a new satellite system that has not been
‘turned’ over to FM from the contractors and does not in.
Of the 25 stakes in Samoa, only 1 stake does not have a
STS; Savaii Sagone Stake, as the stake president told us
during our Roles and Responsibilities training that he has not
been able to find someone qualified for that position. He is
supportive and will keep looking to fill the position.
Additional Information
Previous to our arriving, Elder and Sister Harper served for six
months as Technology Specialist missionaries. They
introduced the new calling of technology specialists in Samoa.
They also completed a comprehensive inventory of all
technology items in each building on all three islands. This
equipment database has been an invaluable resource for us
and for the FM and ICS departments. We leave it up-to-date as
of September 30, 2016. This database is stored on the Service
Center U drive in the ‘Common’ folder in the ‘Meetinghouse
Inventory’ folder. There are two files, the first is the inventory
for all Pago Buildings and the second is the inventory for all the
Upolu and Savaii Buildings. The FM administrative assistants
have access to this file and have been trained on using and
updating the database.
In addition to the Meetinghouse Inventory, we have left on the U
drive in the ‘Common’ folder a folder titled ‘Technology
Specialist Files.’ This folder contains all of our training
materials, information sheets, and all other files we have
created as part of our service.
Overview of the LDS Church in Samoa
Total LDS Members
American Samoa 16,149
Upolu/Savaii 77,353
TOTAL Members of Record: 93,502
Total LDS Chapel Buildings
American Samoa - 21
Upolu - 72
Savaii - 22
TOTAL LDS Chapels: 115
LDS Stakes
American Samoa - 5
Upolu - 14
Savaii - 6
TOTAL Stakes: 25
Total LDS Wards/Branches
American Samoa - 42
Upolu - 104
Savaii - 45
TOTAL Wards and Branches: 191
Satellite Systems
American Samoa - 5
Upolu - 11
Savaii - 6
TOTAL Satellite: 22
MLS (Unit) Computers
American Samoa - 47
Upolu - 117
Savaii - 50
TOTAL Unit Computers: 214
FHC Computers
American Samoa - 15
Upolu - 30
Savaii - 14
TOTAL FHC Computers: 59
Recommendations
1. All ward and stake unit computers and firewalls should be
connected to a 1000 Joules, 6-plug, electrical surge
protector. This electrical surge protector should be
changed each time the computer is replaced – 5 years.
Electrical power on islands like Samoa has power spikes
and many outages, a surge protector will provide at least
one layer of protection from electrical surges/spikes to the
electronics of the CPU.
2. Dispose of old equipment in a more timely manner. We
found far too many large, old, cathode ray TV sets in clerk
offices that were on large heavy carts with flat tires, so we
know they were not being used. These were probably
purchased many years ago but the new LED TV
technology is far better, cheaper and easier to take to
classrooms. The old TVs need to be removed and
disposed of.
The same is true of old outdated BizHub printers and
copiers. All stake center copiers have been replaced with
new Ricoh machines. However, no one has removed the
old BizHub copiers and most sit under a desk or on top of
a high cupboard. We encourage FM to remove old unused
technologies when new ones are installed.
3. Get stake clerks to correctly enter and assign the Stake
Technology Specialist and enter all contact information for
them.
4. Future couples should teach and re-teach STS how to
effectively troubleshoot internet/firewall problems and how
to properly report these to FM. STS have access to
TM.lds.org and can monitor all firewalls and communicate
to someone in a ward building how to use the reset switch
to correct the problem or further isolate whether the
problem resides with the Church or the internet service
provider.
5. Write and send at least a monthly ‘Did You Know’
newsletter pertaining to the technology, internet, or other
related STS information.
6. Future ATS missionary couples should focus on helping
STS in their training of stake aTS. They should encourage
them to set up a weekly internet check with the aTS. Help
them make presentations at ward and stake councils on
how to use technology in teaching and leadership
meetings. Train, train, train, love, love, love, repeat,
repeat, repeat.
7. Keep training the STS how to set up the technology for
stake conferences and work with sound equipment.
Experiences
• The Upolu North Stake had just received their training and
it was stake conference week-end for them. Elder
Schaefermeyer monitored them as they setup the
equipment – camera, wires, TVs, etc. For the General
session on Sunday, they operated the camera, adjusted all
sound levels, and then put everything away. How do you
measure the increase in a person’s self-worth? The four
priesthood holders beamed with pride.
• We cannot measure or put a value to the many ‘aha’
moments we experienced as stake presidents, clerks,
bishops, and technology specialists became enlightened
realizing all the things that technology could do and what
the Church makes available to them far and beyond MLS
reports. Such things as using the 5000+ videos we
installed for teaching and family home evenings, the mum’s
preschool resources, the online missionary application
process, family history, self-reliance, and the new
education iniative.
• Each STS we have worked with has expressed a
gratefulness for the new knowledge they have received.
As was often told us, ‘we wondered what that box (internet
cabinet) was for.’ All they knew was that someone came
and installed it and went away. With knowledge of
troubleshooting and realization of the usefulness of the
equipment they now feel a sense of empowerment to
protect and use the equipment appropriately.
• As the “numbers’ indicate, we have enjoyed helping ICS
and FM update all the old technology that was here. This
is so appreciated by the leaders.
• It has been interesting to watch the pride FM is taking in the
internet wiring now. We have pointed out many faults as
we have visited each clerk’s office. The work is far better
now than simply stringing wires here and there.
• It’s been interesting to demonstrate the ‘crabbox’ and watch
their amazement as they connect and play music from their
cellphone through the cultural center sound system as part
of our training. To see their eyes open as they realize
capabilities that they had never known existed in Church
buildings.
After saying good night, we traveled with Adrian and Todd to their home where we literally fell into bed exhausted!! However, early the next morning we were awakened by the aroma of Belgian waffles with strawberries and real whipped cream (we hadn't had this treat for a full 18 months). Shortly after, the doorbell rang and in popped Curt and Melanee and the triplets. Oh my, oh my, oh my, what a delight. We didn't rush at them, but took a few minutes to get to know them and observe them -- real and in 3-D. It took a few minutes for them to warm up to us.
The triplets turned "1" on October 13. We had been up a few days before to give them a present and on October 29 they were having a big family birthday party, so Curt and Melanee were alone to give them a cake and watch them dig in. This picture pretty much shows that you can't get three to cooperate and smile at the same time. The new family pictures are wonderful to have.
Could never imagine what three one-year old birthdays at the same time would be like - these pictures say it all - fun, family and chaos! It was a great day so some outside time was enjoyed by all.
We did take a few hours to visit with my folks and show them some pictures of Samoa. Mom has had some health problems of late and is trying to control her heart rate, but she is still as active as ever. Dad is grumpy and old. We helped him put his old fifth wheel hitch on KSL and he finally sold this item. I also enjoyed showing these kids the Samoan firedance video. Tyce wanted to do it.
October wouldn't be October without Halloween and of course my birthday - 66 years this year. When did that happen!!!! It's always fun at Marc's because everyone dress-up in costume. They even had an appearance from Marge Simpson - a great look alike, especially with Kacy and her pacifier.
