MALAELA, Samoa – Arriving before sunrise in Samoa, I was surprised to see a small band playing traditional Samoan folk songs to welcome the weary travelers – this was less than 24 hours after an earthquake and tsunami struck the islands.

Tourists are a big part of the economy here, and it was the tourist areas on the South coast that were the hardest hit. One family that owns a popular resort near Lalomanu, lost 14 family members when the wave struck. Traveling up and down the Southern coast, so many stories are the same. Stories of death, and amazing stories of survival.

On the coastal town of Malaela, eight people lost their lives, including two small children. All but two of the houses there were flattened. The village men were digging through the debris. It was as if the contents of the entire town – clothes, furniture, photos, cars – had been tossed and strewn across the muddy ground. The smell from the rotting fish was pungent in the tropical heat.

When the earthquake hit, the women, children and elders ran up a hill to a banana plantation, and there they remained when I visited. Almost 200 people living under tents, with nothing but the clothes they were wearing on the day the earthquake struck. But the Samoan family system was already at work. Donations of food, shelter, clothing, and medical supplies were already pouring in.

One of the village elders told me they were happy to be away from the ocean. She said they had nothing to go back to, so why not stay up in the hills? Villagers also expressed their strong faith in God, and the great comfort their church brings.

Funerals are happening all over town. It seems that everyone here has a funeral to attend – sometimes a dozen funerals.

The shock of the tsunami has made an indelible mark on the Samoan survivors. But so, too, has the indefatigable spirit of the island made an impression on me.