LOCKDOWN 🔐

Talofa lava from Samoa. I’ll be updating about the latest with covid restrictions – sans my personal feelings for the most part 🤣 However I do need to be real & most of you know me well enough to know this is not written with a “woe is me” attitude. I normally I wouldn’t give a disclaimer on my own blog, however more people than I expected have been reading it (even if you don’t leave a comment or say anything – I see the stats 👀😆 )

So, following the discovery of a community case in Samoa, which happened to be a total fluke as it was someone leaving the country, not anyone who had just arrived, Samoa has gone into overdrive regarding covid. Now, the entire country is on full lockdown, as in cannot go anywhere, walking or driving. The only time someone can leave their house is when stores are open on Tuesday & Saturday 8am-2pm to stock up on essentials. To enter a store or hospital, you must show your vax card & wear a mask, this is also true for when you are stopped at a police checkpoint while driving. The island has been divided into 8 districts & you are assigned a hospital and/or medical clinic to go to if needed. Children under 12 are not allowed in public, which means we will be completely locked down at home for at least the next 2 weeks.

Now, having already been through a lockdown in the US (not as intense but close enough) we understand the affect in can have emotionally and mentally. We know how important it is to get outside & get fresh air and keep your body moving even when we would rather binge 10hrs of Netflix and stuff our faces with chocolate (I mean I might still do that too 😆) Thankfully we live on a fairly large piece of land that we refer to as our compound. It’s about 1/4 acre with 3 houses, 2 of which are occupied, our one neighbor is a sweet guy from Chicago who lives alone with his cat Augie (or “The Augsta” as I like to call her) This morning we were woken up by neighbors having a family boot camp at 6:30am, blasting music and counting out their reps loudly 🥴 I mean I get it, it’s too hot to workout later but it did catch me off guard. It did push us to wake up early and have our own workout sesh so that’s a plus! We enjoyed a walk around the compound with some squats, lunges and dance breaks in between. Here’s some shots of our morning.

Yesterday, before lockdown began, we got to spend time with some friends and our neighbor, talking outside and enjoying company & it was so very refreshing. It wasn’t til after everyone was gone that I realized how much I needed that people fill up. My friend came over with a bunch of fruit: (mango steen, sasalapa (sour sip I think it’s called), esi (papaya), star fruit (I dunno the Samoan name 😂 and I don’t even know if that’s the English name but we’ll go with it for now) guava and some vi (I don’t know the English word for it) also chicken and other essentials – seriously she’s a lifesaver. We were able to give her some stuff too and as a bonus she brought some guys to help us harvest our avocado tree and lemon tree, so we could split it between us, them & our neighbor. Here’s a pic of some goodies brought over.

Anyway, while yesterday felt a bit overwhelming with the restrictions and what not, it was also such a blessing to be reminded of how love & cared for we are. God has blessed us with the best of friends and has surrounded us with such a loving, generous, godly, encouraging community. What a gift that being so far from immediate family, we are blessed with friends who love us and care for us like family – we cannot praise God enough for His kindness to us in this area.

Over the next few weeks, I’ll update with our latest lockdown tales & any other prayer points.

Prayer Points:

◦ For us to stay rooted in the Word of God individually & as a family. That we would be consistent in spending time with Him daily.

◦ That we would make working out a priority as well. No matter how tired we are, that we would take time to walk or dance or move our bodies somehow outside.

◦ That we would reflect Christ in our parenting. I feel like I’ve been failing lately in this area. I want to give more grace to my girls. More of God and less of my grumpy flesh 😩

◦ For our marriage. That we would make our Mami & Papi time a priority daily. To spend time in the word, in prayer and just talking ans enjoying each other. While also giving each other space when needed

◦ Wisdom on our next steps & decisions we are weighing out. That we would be led by the Spirit of God and not our own wants & desires. That our will would be aligned with the Lord’s

◦ Financial provision. We would be good stewards of our money & our food and everything we have. That we would be mindful of waste & disciplined to maximize all we have.

If you would like to support us financially the easiest way is thru Venmo: @Crystal-Tapelu (profile pic is us at the beach) 💗

Thanks for keeping up with us 🌴 ❤️ We enjoy sharing a bit of our life with you. I wanted to have this as a kinda family journal for us to remember this season, but having others take a peek in as well is an added bonus.