Samoans used to grow their own food - taro, breadfruit, coconuts, bananas - pretty healthy fare. Perhaps this is where foreigners get the idea that Samoa is an idyllic, beautiful island paradise. And in part, it is.

But in the past 30 years, people started buying imported foods and adopting a new, fast-food culture in the droves. Now, they're opting almost entirely for fast food because nearly all of the food in American Samoa is imported (expensive) but fast-food chains offer a cheap and convenient alternative. The island itself is beautiful, but the health of those living on it is getting progressively worse.

The entire country has been swept up in this fast-food culture for the past few decades. And now, the long-term consequences are turning into a nationwide epidemic:

• Obesity
• Diabetes
• High blood pressure
• Impaired vision
• Poor dental hygiene

The Seventh-day Adventist church has had a long and lingering presence on the American Samoan islands, but most Samoans still don't know much about it. The churches have had revivals which have sparked interest, but, like many other revival weekends and evangelistic meetings, people quickly returned to their former lives.

With God, there's always light in the darkness. In American Samoa, there was a small group of Adventists who were meeting for months, to pray and fast over how they could meet the health needs of their people. They wanted to show their country that they cared. When they heard about AMEN Free Clinics, they knew that this was the way. So they appealed to their churches and, after several months, got approval to bring the clinic to them.

As our name states so distinctly, this is an evangelistic effort. In a series of divine intervention, Taj Pacleb of Revelation of Hope Ministries has agreed to round out our clinic with a weekend of revival meetings. By the end of our clinic, several hundreds if not thousands of Samoans will have had their physical pain relieved by an AMEN volunteer. Imagine then, their hearts and spiritual pain being touched by the hope brought to them through the Living Word.

We hope you'll join us. (We really need your help!) Until we meet in Samoa, please keep this in your prayers.

ITINERARY

• Friday (Dec. 1): All volunteers fly in
  
• Sabbath (Dec. 2): Main Campus SDA Church
  
• Sunday (Dec. 3): Volunteer orientation and opening ceremony
  
• Monday - Thursday (Dec. 4-7): Open clinic 9:00am-5:00pm
  
• Friday (Dec. 8): Closing ceremony
  
• Sabbath (Dec. 9): Revival with Taj Pacleb
  
• Sunday (Dec. 10): Guided tour and activities
  
• Monday (Dec. 11): All volunteers fly home
  

COSTS

• Round trip ticket: Up to $1,700 (Hawaiian Airlines discount available, email Tui Silafau, tui@amensda.org for more info)
  
• Meals, t-shirts, lodging, transportation, guided tours and activities: $1250
  
• Total cost: Approximately $2450 - 2950 per volunteer (Expenditure for this trip is tax-deductible)
  

• Dentists, Dental Assistants, Hygienists, Registered Dental Assistants
• Physicians, NPs, PAs
• Nurses, EMT
• Optometrists, Ophthalmologists, Opticians
• Physical therapists
• Massage therapists
• Lifestyle counselors
• Pastors
• General Volunteers

Dental

• If you’re a dentist, oral surgeon, dental assistant, hygienist, or student—we need you! Even if you're retired, we can still use you, as many Samoans haven’t seen a dentist in far too long.
• We will have X-ray capability and A-Dec delivery units with ample instruments, sterilization, and supplies. You may be asked to take a piece of equipment with you on the plane if necessary.

Vision

• We will test patient's vision, eye health and give out reading glasses. We will be offering free frames and lenses as well.

Medical

• If you work in primary care, women’s health, pediatricians, internists, ENT’s, or ophthalmologists, please consider joining this trip. You can be of life-changing value to this population group.
  

Lifestyle

• The Samoan people's lifestyle centers largely on processed foods and overeating. We urgently need lifestyle and public health experts to help with health education.

Volunteers should make their own flight arrangements, but keep the following points in mind:

• Flights to American Samoa occur only two times a week - Monday and Friday - so volunteers are required to arrive on Friday, December 1st in order to make it to the first clinic day.
  
• Read carefully!: The only airline that goes directly to American Samoa is Hawaiian Airlines. Hawaiian Airline flights to Samoa always have a layover in Hawaii, so there's an option to buy a flight to Hawaii with another airline, and then fly with Hawaiian Airlines from Hawaii to Samoa, and vice versa.
• Please NOTE: There is a discount with Hawaiian Airlines for a roundtrip ticket of $1,200 - $1,300, be sure to email Tui Silafau, tui@amensda.org for more information

Volunteers can choose to rent a car or be bussed to and from the airport, clinic site, hotel, and church with AMEN's transportation.

Volunteers can choose their own lodging but are encouraged to stay at Tradewinds Hotel, where we've managed to secure a discount.

The original price for a night's stay is $135 but if you add a note that you're there for the AMEN Clinic, you'll get a discount to $99/night + 5% government taxes.

Once you have signed up we can connect you with fellow volunteers to room together to help ease the costs for the trip.

Link to book hotel arrangements:

• www.tradewinds.as
• Note: If you prefer to do bookings via email, you can email info@tradewinds.as or otoa@tradewinds.as and Olataga/Flora will coordinate with you directly.

A vegan/vegetarian breakfast, lunch, and dinner will be served on all days and for all volunteers.

If you sign up to volunteer for this clinic, we'll send you a meal preference and food allergy form.

Tui Silafau

Clinic Manager

tui@amensda.org

(916) 514-2124

Taj Pacleb is the speaker/director of Revelation of Hope Ministries. Born and raised in the islands of Hawaii with no Christian background, Taj got involved in a reckless life of drugs and partying. His life was completely transformed at age 16 when he attended a Bible prophecy seminar. Since then, God has taken Taj around the world as an international evangelist and revivalist, conducting seminars in Asia, Africa, Europe, the Pacific Islands, and in the United States. Taj enjoys motocross, scuba diving, snowboarding, skateboarding, mountain biking, surfing, and photography. But, his supreme passion is traveling the world with his wife, Wati, sharing God's end time message of hope with others. Their mission is "to change the population of heaven one soul at a time by sharing the Hope, Health, and Harmony of Heaven in all the world."

Website: https://revelationofhopeministries.com/
Facebook: https://facebook.com/revelationofhopeministries
Twitter: @revofhope7

AMEN's mission is to motivate, train, and equip Seventh-day Adventist physicians and dentists to team with pastors and members, uniting the church to restore Christ’s ministry of healing to the world, hastening His return.

Email: admin@amensda.org
Website: amenfreeclinics.com
Location: 600 Business Park Drive, Lincoln, CA, United States
Phone: 530-883-5061
Facebook: facebook.com/amensda