What makes Samoa special

By Nefertiti Matatia 28 December 2017, 12:00AM

Jan and his wife, Gudrun Andrews are fascinated about Samoa.

The Australians are especially curious about the love and openness of Samoans. They reckon this has something to do with them being so open and embracing of the Gospel.

Since they arrived in the heart of the Pacific, the couple has carefully observed the people and their way of living.

They attribute Samoa’s peaceful existence to Christianity and their affinity with their God.

Since the Gospel is grounded on love, Jan and his wife are certain that is why Samoan people are friendly and welcoming.

Over the years the couple has travelled to many Pacific islands but never Samoa. 

The 74-year-old Jan shared that they have always wanted to come.

“We have known about Samoa all my life and we never had the opportunity to come here,” he said. “We lived not far from here when we were in Papua New Guinea but never got here due to family commitments.

“It’s on our bucket list to come here to see it and confirm the thoughts about the place.”

After spending Christmas in Fiji with their two daughters, their partners and grandchildren, they figured that since Samoa was close by it was a good time to fly over.

They love the fact Samoa is very clean. They say Samoa is cleaner than some suburbs in Australia.

 “We always try to stay away from the organized tours and just choose to travel around by ourselves to places. We learn a lot more from people by getting out and going to the shops and seeing what people are buying. 

“Just generally learning about the people and their way of life, it’s educational and it gives you as better perspective of what is going on in this side of the world,” Jan said.

For the next few days, the couple will be exploring the country.

They say they love their accommodation at the five star Sheraton Samoa Aggie Grey’s Hotel.  

They will spend New Year’s Eve in Apia before they fly back home with many wonderful memories.

By Nefertiti Matatia 28 December 2017, 12:00AM

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