Merry Christmas, Samoa! - Letter from the Publisher

By Muliaga Jean Malifa 25 December 2016, 12:00AM

Church Leaders,

The Head of State, 

His Highness Tui Atua Tupua Tamasese Efi; 

Members of the Council 

of Deputies,

Prime Minister Tuilaepa Dr. Sa’ilele Malielegaoi; 

Members of Cabinet;

Fofoga o le Fono, Honorable Speaker, Leaupepe Tole’afoa Fa’afisi

Members of Parliament;

His Honour, Chief Justice Patu Tiava’asu’e Falefatu Sapolu;

President of the Land and Titles Court, Fepulea’i Atilla Ropati  

Justices and Judges of the Court;

Members of the Diplomatic Corps;

Heads of Government Departments; Leaders of the Business Community; Leaders of Village Communities,

All the people of Samoa.

"It’s in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for. Long before we first heard of Christ, … he had his eye on us, has designs on us for glorious living, part of the overall purpose he is working out in everything, and everyone."

Ephesians 1:11 

And so once again it’s Christmas, it is that day in the year when Christians all over the world will put their tools and implements down, and with solemn humility they will perform the sacred ritual of remembering, the ultimate sacrifice that Jesus Christ had made in atonement of iniquities.

And so today as we’re remembering, let me say it is my pleasure and privilege as the Publisher of your newspaper, the Samoa Observer, to extend to you all the Season’s Greetings, as it has been my duty this time every year.

But first, on behalf of the Samoa Observer staff, let me say thank you Samoa for your unwavering support, for your patience and your understanding, as you have been showing consistently over the years.

Let me reassure you all that without this support of yours in whatever form or shape, we would have been unable to perform our duty of keeping Samoa adequately informed, to which we have committed ourselves.

Today, as we’re looking back over the year just behind us, we are grateful that despite the many challenges we faced along the way, that threatened to derail our journey the Spirit of Christmas did not abandon us.

Up ahead, there are bound to be new challenges that are capable of causing us harm, but then once again we put our trust in the Spirit of Christmas to guide us and protect us.

And so let us not despair.

Let us remind ourselves that we’ve been through some tougher trials in the past, and yet with the Spirit of Christmas on our side we did not succumb; instead, together we remained strong as we just kept on with the job of making our small, vulnerable country peaceful and safe for everyone to continue to call home, as it is today.

And so today, once again, when we celebrate the Spirit of Christmas, we put aside our tools of trade, our prejudices, our doubts and our silly tendency to hold back, and together we gather around with our families and friends to give thanks to Almighty God, for His loving guidance over the years.

We do this knowing that even without our asking He is extending His blessing to us all, so that we have nothing to fear as we’re embarking on our journey into the New Year that is waiting just up ahead. And so as we’re celebrating this Christmas, let us think of Jesus Christ’s teachings of humility, helping one another, forgiveness and honesty, as well as of the ultimate sacrifice he’d made in atonement of man’s wrongs, which is the unbreakable bond that is continuing to hold the Christian world together up to this day.

Let us pray for the Spirit of Christmas to comfort those who are in pain, heal those who are in sickness and in ill-heath, and give strength and hope to the poor and the needy among us.

Let us work together this year to ensure that poverty is eliminated completely from our country. Indeed, let us convince ourselves that poverty does not have a place in our country. So that by thinking that way we are able to work together to make this dream of ours come true.

And as we’re stepping on the threshold of the New Year up ahead, let us put our differences aside and work together to build our country up, so that we can be in a position to help those among us who are in need of our helping hand, and feel good inside for having achieved that wonderful task.

Let us trust in the Spirit of Christmas to help us achieve the goals we’ve set for ourselves for the Year 2017, and having said all that let me now wish you all a Merry Christmas and a very happy, and prosperous New Year Samoa.

 

By Muliaga Jean Malifa 25 December 2016, 12:00AM
Samoa Observer

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