The digital home of Dennis A. Smith
IT Entrepreneur
Bahai Temple, Samoa. All religions accepted.
In this Sermon from Samoa, I share how a difficult situation can bring out the best in us all – a true biblical challenge if ever there was one, and congratulate Samoa for readily accepting people as they are.
Some of us have a simple home!
I‘ve observed many well-meaning people try to help Samoa and almost just as many fall by the wayside, often getting hurt in the process. In some ways you could call Samoa a philanthropists graveyard.
In this Sermon from Samoa I draw attention to the challenges of giving meaningfully, and encourage us to question the real purpose behind our giving. I also caution against lop-sided patronising giving and explain how most giving is actually non-scriptural. [Read more...]
Samoa got tipped out of the Rugby World Cup last night – sad, but inevitable.
A sea of red and blue covered the country and partied long into the night.
Samoa was outplayed and outthought in the tournament – yes some of the loss was at the hands of the IRB with their “unfair” treatment of the smaller countries but that was only one aspect of the loss. All heart, is the name of the game from the boys that we are all proud of. Now, our tune will have to change from “Go the Manu!” to “Go Black!”
A typical car in Apia yesterday decked out in multiple flags and all painted up for the big game. [Read more...]
For those who didn’t already know or guess it, the Samoa tourism sector is in big trouble. No amount of fast talking and positive thinking can cover the facts released by Samoa Tourism Authority today. In a nutshell, tourism is down by over 7% on the same period last year and the previous year was down by over 13% on the 2009 figures.
Any business registering a 20% fall inside two years is generally in serious trouble. In this Sermon from Samoa, I totally avoid the blame game (such as blaming Air NZ for pulling their USA direct flights, the ash clouds, the Tsunami, school holidays – whatever) and I share some important factors for the way forward for the leaders – from the Bible.
Learning experiences all round - Septic Tank Construction in Samoa
Working in the Voluntourism Industry isn’t easy. It sounds “sexy” but it is hard work, and dealing many people who may want to help but have agendas and issues of their own.
There’s a limit to what you can do for people when helping them adjust to a new environment. You can teach and preach, yet ultimately “everyone is their own man” and you can only hope and pray that when they eventually fall, while they may crash, they do not burn!
Among the many projects and relationships we are establishing here, one of my core missions is to help people coming to Samoa to “help” – helping the helpers, but it is not easy.
Poet James Thomson
I was sitting in the VIP Lounge at the airport today and talked with a man very high up in government. I asked him what he did. “Oh, I’m a nobody!” he said.
This was false humility, as he was a powerful, connected and important person (and no, it wasn’t the PM, if that’s what you’re thinking – Tuila’epa doesn’t have that problem).
In this Sermon from Samoa I talk about Me! Me! Me! figuratively, and literally. [Read more...]
Girls just want to have fun!
New word for the day: Predeterminationing – the act and propensity to predetermine how events and things in the future will be, or something like that a.k.a. telling a book by its cover. Sounds much more pompous than a multi-word phrase -)
HINT: It’s not a good thing to do.
That’s the essence of this Sermon from Samoa. [Read more...]
Action shot of Samoan-style fund-raising. Grandma in the front tossing in a few coins, girls dancing (just heading off screen), and bean-counters in the background, egging it all on. An engaging performance, part act, ritual, fun and accepted social interaction!
As a long-time conspiracy theorist, I am always intrigued when the “spin” is finally unspun – it always is, eventually: Hitler, Bill ‘I never had sex with that woman’ Clinton, Pearl Harbour, Helen Clark’s multiple ‘Gates, the 9-11 War on Terror, and more. In this Sermon from Samoa, I share how spin undermines God’s best intentions for us all, including Samoa.
Two reports I’ve read this morning elaborate how the media is used to achieve a particular goal – the Urewera Debacle, and the Hubbard Debacle. As a truth seeker and one who strives to also be a truth speaker, I highlight the manipulations in these two situations thus:
The recently completed Teuila Festival 2011 has been a real success – at least compared to last year’s offering. No doubt the Samoa Tourism Authority will be well pleased. Savali editor Tupuola Terry Tavita makes some good suggestions and speaks quite frankly about the poor tourism participation at Teuila in his recent editorial.
The unasked question is: “What is the purpose [of the event]?” because as Terry observes – it is all about Samoa, not on generating tourism. [Read more...]
Apia Bus Terminal. The bus will get here when it gets here . . . OK?
The cross-cultural thing here in Samoa is huge. Engaging with a third world country has been and is still a real challenge for us, and for Kiwis and Australians, just slipping up to Paradise is fraught with cultural danger. Here are a few cross-cultural exchanges with the thinking process behind each culture. It happens here every day!
A couple of Samoa church bells - hit with a steel
I stumbled upon a great comparison of the Western culture vs the Samoan culture while “working” today . . . [Read more...]
Kids in Samoa are delightful - the world over they make you smile when they sing out to you "Palagi!".
Phone rang last night . . . I go to answer it . . . nobody there. Less than a minute later the same caller (775-1195) texts me “Please Call Me: +6857751195″.
So I do . . .
Samoan pankeke cooking - there is an abundance of cheap food in the third-world Paradise, if you know where to look.
A Facebook friend is raising funds to come to Samoa. He’s got it all worked out but is a few bites short of a full biscuit at this stage. He says now that fund-raising for missions sucks, and that he’s hurting. Arrrrr, I understand that predicament REALLY well! [Read more...]
Clock Tower - centre of Apia. Normally photographed in sunshine, but rain clouds on the hills are common in the afternoons.
It’s Sunday again and in this Sermon from Samoa, I explain how easy it is to, and share the folly of . . . you guessed it . . . shooting the messenger. No Samoa bashing, I promise! It’s all for the positive in cross-cultural understanding today!
Aid delivery truck following the 2009 Samoa Tsunami. Disasters bring out the best and worst in people. Encouraging people to help themselves the rest of the time is not easy in Samoa!
The last few weeks have witnessed a whole bunch of challenges around me – some for us, but many for others here in Paradise Samoa. In this Sermon from Samoa I explain how dealing with a challenge effectively requires us to first see our issue in the proper context, measuring reality as best as we can, and then taking constructive steps to help ourselves. Simple to say, but hard to do. [Read more...]
International Date Line
Word is that Samoa may ** WILL change it’s date to align with it’s two biggest trading partners, New Zealand and Australia. If true (I don’t have any inside knowledge but my take from the news that this is most likely [NOW CONFIRMED]) then this would be a another gutsy call by the PM, and major international news. [Read more...]
This post is about three people who really make life worth living here in Samoa, and me!
It is rare for me to be out of the office without the SWAP uniform. Wearing it at all times goes with the territory here because we draw high attention to ourselves.
It is also rare for me to be photographed, as I am almost always behind the camera snapping others.
This is a rare shot taken of yours truly by one of SWAP Ambassadors Rob Spijkerman while waiting to see the PM this week.
Of note in the photo is a series of cultural challenges – for both cultures. They are (in no particular order):
This all bodes well for Samoa over the next few years . . .
Prime Minister:
In Charge of: [Read more...]
Smart guy, American philosopher, essayist, poet & lecturer, Ralph Waldo Emerson had something important to say about principles: [Read more...]
The fourteenth and last principle I mention here, is one that I have applied in Samoa from the start. For some reason I really love and understand the idea of Walking the Land as much as any other principle! It applies to both physical land and conceptual territory. [Read more...]
A phrase I used a lot in Fusi Safata in 2009 was “Do the right thing, work hard and have faith!”. It embodied the essence of the Christian walk in a way that the villagers could hear, understand and apply. These three are biblical principles and our thirteenth in a series. [Read more...]
The principle of empowering others comes straight from the Bible. It’s our twelfth in a series. This is the idea that we should be mentoring, teaching, and helping others to achieve their aims and aspirations in life, and that by doing this, our own needs will be met and the job will get done. [Read more...]
Legs eleven. Our eleventh principle is to work smarter, not harder. We want to engage brain before our brawn. It’s sometimes hard to do, but the rewards are much greater. [Read more...]
In this Sermon from Samoa, I share the two aspects of the Christian walk that for decades have really got to me – the fear of being sent to a foreign country as a Missionary and the concept of “Walking by Faith”. Since the 2009 Tsunami in Samoa, I’ve found myself doing both! [Read more...]
It’s Sunday in Samoa, so God gets a good look-in today. The SWAP Foundation is founded upon the biblical value system. Christianity is not required of our partners or team members but respecting the values contained within the Judeo-Christian value system is a prerequisite for working with us. This tenth principle is the one to Honour the Lord. [Read more...]
Don’t you just love a winner? Be honest now, we all do! Getting behind a top performer is motivating and invigorating. Even leaders love engaging with and learning from other leaders. This understanding is our ninth principle
in a series. [Read more...]
Can you believe it? A post without preaching! Just a few photos from the rainy season. No big deal over here. Just a bit of water . . . everywhere! [Read more...]
A question now . . . who is worth more? An unemployed rural Samoan who works for a day on his plantation and feeds his family (maybe only just) OR someone like my lawyer who works for a day and feeds his family with the best food money can buy PLUS makes so much extra money that he can easily buy a new TV every day of his life? (272x more money per hour than an employed Samoan worker to be precise)? Your answer please? [Read more...]
The seventh principle we use over here is a concept that sounds easy but is a real challenge – we require a cross-cultural partnership. So what’s the catch? Well, it’s just darned hard to do! [Read more...]
The Good Book says that “It is more blessed to give than to receive”. This biblical principle is the sixth in a series explaining the values that we are using in our work in Samoa. [Read more...]
The fifth principle will have alternative thinkers, greenies and liberals delighted. Just like the rules when visiting a natural tourist destination we require that our investors to “Take nothing home”. It’s a little different from the normal Western profit-based investor mindset, but it’ll all make sense when I explain. [Read more...]
The fourth principle we apply in Samoa is that we only want to work with the best. This runs counter to the typical cultural response to getting things done here, where near enough is close enough and we’ll all do the cheapest we can. [Read more...]
The third underlying principle that we’ve been working with in Samoa is to start with what we do have, then move outwards, to that which we don’t have but that we want. It’s based on a biblical principle found in Exodus 7:9, and also in many other places, where Moses and Aaron did in faith what God had told them to do; take what Aaron had in his hand, then use it in faith and let the Lord do the magic. [Read more...]
In this Sermon from Samoa I share another principle that we have been applying to the SWAP Foundation‘s work. Coming from a Christian perspective, I challenge the Western mindset that giving primarily entails giving money and that more money means more success. God is all about relationships and faith – not programs and success. [Read more...]
In the first of a series of posts focusing on the principles that we are using to weave our magic here, I share how I see biblical principles blended creatively with the traditional Samoan way of doing things and with Western capitalism to achieve good things, perhaps even miracles. [Read more...]
I think the doors are opening for us in Samoa again. There has to be such a thing as providence, kharma, a God or similar – there just has to be. [Read more...]
In this Sermon from Samoa I share my experiences with “Smoke, smudge & smear experts” and show how the beauty of truth gets lost so often. Magicians use smoke to hide things. To smudge is to distort, making worse, something that was created good. Smear experts play the man and not the ball. [Read more...]
The lure of money is subtle, and multifaceted. In another Sermon from Samoa, I share my concerns about how focussing on monetary matters trips even the best of us up in God’s economy. I’ll start though with one of my favourites – politics and money, yes you guessed it . . . in Samoa! [Read more...]
Oscar Wilde gives some good advice to people like me who tell it like it is. “If you want to tell people the truth, make them laugh, otherwise they’ll kill you.” I wish he’d given me this advice a little earlier because they brought the guns out in Satapuala on Christmas Eve and it had me worried! Here are some Christmas Musings from Samoa for your merriment. [Read more...]
It’s Sunday again so the God talk begins. In another Sermon from Samoa I share the age-old message that the world is missing the point. We all get distracted by people and things, and living a remarkably shallow existence but we often forget to get a “life”. Unfortunately the reality is that many people don’t want to dig deeper and so miss the point. [Read more...]
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