Christmas is big on the island. Surprisingly, I have seen very few Christmas lights in the last few weeks. The one huge exception is the Catholic church in the village of Leone. Legend has it an old Samoan lady felt bad that Samoan children weren't able to see Disneyland for themselves. So the old Samoan lady took her old pen and wrote an old letter to Disneyland. The good people at Disneyland were so moved by the story they shipped hundreds of Disney-themed decorations to the church so Disney could be experienced by all Samoan children. The result is the electric church seen above.
There are literally hundreds of plastic light up Santas, Winnie the poohs, Mickeys, snowmen, and other fun plastic figures (Mary, Joseph, the donkey) covering every inch of the church's facade.
Across the street is a memorial to John Williams, the English missionary who helped Christianize the area and was later killed and consumed by Polynesian cannibals. Now, instead of cannibals, his tomb is surrounded by electric penguins in top hats and fifty or so Frosty the snowmen.
"Hooray for missionaries!"
Sad penguin and I trying to figure out the church's electricity bill.
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