Photo courtesy of Bob Baxter, Skin and Ink Magazine

The Samoan Islands are a group of islands in the South Pacific, about 1,800 miles east of New Zealand. The eastern group of islands are United States Territory which is known as American Samoa, and the Western Islands are called Samoa or Western Samoa. The climate on the islands is tropical and humid, with an average temperature of 80 degrees Fahrenheit and seasonal rainfall between November and April.

The population in Western Samoa is around 235,300 people of which around 2/3 live on the island Upolu, primarily in ocean side villages of less than 500 people. Almost 100% of Samoans are Christians and the religion plays a big part in their lives. Families gather together for Bible studies, and on Sundays everyone attends church. Most villages have a prayer curfew in the evenings for 10–20 minutes. Samoan and English are the primary languages and Samoan is spoken on a daily basis, while English is used in business and government affairs.