On December 30th, 2009, we went to some of the villages that were affected by the tsunami, and hung out with the children to find out how they were affected by the disaster. We shared gifts with them and celebrated a little longer before we said goodbye. I was sad to hear what happened to their families, and I felt sorry for them because they were like my sisters and brothers. I felt compelled to do something to help them, yet I did not feel like I had the strength to do anything because only God has the power and the strength to meet them.

The team from Youth With A Mission talked with the kids while I watched and followed them. I heard the children telling their stories of when the wave came towards their home while they were running up the mountains. Another boy told us that when the warning bell rang, he ran to the K-5 classroom to fetch his little sister and took her up to the safety area where he learned about the tsunami. He thought about his parents and hoped that they were okay. When the tsunami had passed, they ran straight home to find their parents and they were so happy to see that the parents were also safe. Unfortunately, more than half of their village was destroyed. The people from YWAM are Christian missionaries that came from Kona, Hawaii. They prayed with the children, and shared with them about God’s love to help them forget about the disaster that almost swallowed our beautiful island of American Samoa.

On January 15th, the Women In New Dimensions (WIND) ministries asked us to help them with their tsunami recovery outreach efforts. I was excited to get involved yet nervous at the same time because this would be a totally new experience for me. Actually, it was the first for most of the youth that participated…to pray for people older than us…to knock on the doors and converse with parents to see how they were doing and to find out if they needed anything….it was the first time to lend a hand to people we didn’t know. Since then, we have been going back almost every Saturdays to visit those families and make assessment for other homes.

One of the moments that gave me such joy was one of the areas I visited. There were so many people at the houses fixing things; some were rebuilding while others were cleaning and cooking. For a moment I thought that the people were preparing for an event and perhaps we came at the wrong time. So I asked one of the kids. He turned to me and said, “They are all family members who all came to help.” That moment, I smiled to myself…this means that they love each other and care for one another. It felt good to know that I live in a community where there is so much love and care to share. I’m glad I got involved.