"I am a Catholic and the church leaders are trying to help the people by making obligations not so tough," says Timu Iakopo, from the parish of Safotu in Savai'i.

"An example is that they have stopped the practice of providing gifts and food for the pastors. Before if there were four pastors at a funeral then all of them will get gifts but now only one is given a gift out of the four."

Timu says the choice of how much is given is also given entirely to the person, "But you know how stubborn Samoans are, they still give a large sum."

"Other churches should follow the example the Catholics have set," he said.

Timu has responsibility for 15 children from his immediate and his extended family.

"I am proud to say that all 15 of them are schooling. That's because I give all my trust to the Lord."

Aside from his strong faith, Timu provides for his family through hard work.

"We make money from coconut pieces," he said.

"I am able to make $250 from three sacks full of coconuts. It's a good honest way to make a living."

But with the demands often exceeding his income, Timu says it's time to go back to relying solely on what they get from the land.

He says the coconuts are a lot of work and he is thinking giving it away and, "just praying to the Lord to give me some money."

In fact he is thinking forgetting about money altogether,"we can live without money if we rely on just things from the land to live on."

"I guess the only reasons Samoan's suffer is because they want things that are expensive, if you live life like me and just make things simple, then life will be much easier.

"People want to eat chicken all the time but I think that's why we have so many sicknesses these days."

Read in Samoan Language

Source

• sobserver.ws
• Image: 1bp.blogspot.com

Barbara Day told KRIV that she was devastated by the way pastor Walter F. Houston treated her when she contacted him about a funeral at Fourth Missionary Baptist Church for her mother, Olivia Blair. Continue reading