Samoa visit
My visit to Samoa and took place from the 5th to the 12th of November 2015.
The International Missionary Society SDA has a church in Viatele near Apia. On Sabbath 7th November the lesson was conducted by Bro Missionary. The lesson went overtime as there was much discussion. The concepts so clearly expressed and well understood in English are sometimes difficult in translation. In the end the imperfections of language were overcame and everyone agreed.
The topic of the morning sermon was about the old and new covenants. The old covenant is based on human promises of obedience. People who do not recognise their real condition often enter into this covenant. They falsely believe they can obey God in their own strength. Inevitably they fail and sometimes delude themselves into thinking they are succeeding. The new covenant is based on the promise of God to forgive sin and to renew the human heart and mind. It enables the human to live in real obedience to God.
During the Youth Meeting I spoke about three parables (Matthew 18:23-34; Luke 17:7-10; Matthew 20:1-15). The first parable was likened to the debt of sin that we can never repay. It is a debt that can only be paid by the grace and mercy of God. The other parables show that God can never be in debt to human beings. Sometimes people wrongly think that God owes them a debt because of the works they have done (Matthew 7:21-23). Instead they need to realise that, in doing all that they can, this is still the bare minimum. We are always unprofitable servants.
My trip to Samoa had originally been planned for the end of October but I had to delay my trip. Some of the church members in Samoa were unaware. The week prior to my visit, the people from the island of Savai’i had travelled to the church but were disappointed. They were not able to afford another trip for everyone. I apologised we promised to visit the island of Savaii. The people were keen to join in and a car load of six people and a few children was organised. We took the ferry to the island. The people who travelled with me were originally from the island of Savaii. One couple had not seen their home village for 14 years.
It was a joyful time we had staying overnight with the people in Savaii. We talked into the night. The next morning we drove the rest of the way around the island of Savaii. We passed through lava fields, saw the beautiful coconut lined beaches and climbed the giant Aoa tree.
New friendships were made and old ones strengthened. We look forward to again visiting Samoa next year. Please continue to pray for the souls in Samoa.
Glendon Higgins
