Tongan Update, 27 December 2007, Christmas
Christmas in Tonga was very quiet and peaceful. There were very few lights on the houses and very few Christmas trees.
The things that we did observed were last-minute shopping, people remembering their ancestors by redecorating their loved ones’ grave sites,
family and friends eating together cooking the pig and vegetables in underground pits called ngaahi umu, a spiritual group of people honoring the Savior’s birth, and fireworks.
Elder Thompson and I had a wonderful (no, glorious) Christmas season.
I’m using the word “glorious” because I read an article by President Hinckley, and he said we can all have a wonderful Christmas. But to have a “glorious” Christmas, we need to remember the Lord Jesus Christ. He gave us the gift of eternal life and meaning to our earthly existence. So…we tried to have a glorious season.
Like most of you, we went to our Branch party. It was to start at 6:00 p.m., but it actually ended up starting at 8:00 p.m. Because Elder Thompson and I arrived two hours early, we didn’t quite know what to do with ourselves. So we joined the young people in our branch as they practiced singing Christmas songs. They were polishing their songs for caroling to the widows and needy the next day. A Tongan choir is incredible. They sing four part harmony, and the sounds blend beautifully. The party was much like we have at home, but on a smaller scale—fewer members, but a lot of food, games, Disney Christmas video for the kids, visiting, and laughing. We arrived early to the party, but we had to leave early. During the celebration the Office Elders telephoned us. The boat from one of the islands had docked a day early, and had left one of our elders stranded on the wharf in the rain. There were no available missionaries to pick up this elder. They asked if we could please do it. This was the beginning of “transfer week.”
The Sunday before Christmas John had to speak in Sacrament Meeting, he give the Sunday School Lesson, and taught the High Priest group. I was the backup speaker for Sacrament Meeting if I was needed. Whew…I didn’t have to talk. A sweet Tongan sister spoke. With tears streaming down her face, she talked about Christmas as the season to remember the Savior. Elder Thompson also gave a wonderful message about Christmas.
For Primary I had taken John’s “First Christmas” script and modified it for the children. It was cute to see the Tongan kids dressed up like wisemen, shepherds, cows, sheep, etc. and say their various parts. As they watched the DVD of the “First Christmas”, one child said, “I was that part!” As Mary came onto the screen, a little girl said, “Oh, that was me.”
Our Senior Family Home Evening was on Christmas Eve. So we picked up a couple of pizzas (there is one pizza place in town) , and enjoyed good, old, American food. We exchanged gifts with the bottle of Heinz ketchup being one of the most sought after item. (Ketchup, mayonnaise, pickles, olives and a lot of other things are hard to find here.) We shared stories of our favorite Christmases and ended with reading from the Bible about the birth of the baby Jesus and the events surrounding it.
When we got home that night, the two American Elders in the office complex, Elder Olsen and Elder Jones, challenged us to a game of “Sorry.” They “creamed” us, and they were not very good winners —high-fiving, talking about Rambo, etc. I must admit, we senior missionaries need to be a little more dignified playing the game ourselves. (We’ll get them next time.)
Christmas Day…we were all feeling a little homesick. (“we” meaning Elder Thompson and me, the two office elders, and two APs--Elders Finau, Olsen Jones, and Hikila.) We needed a diversion…we needed to do something different…unusual…we decided to explore Anahulu Cave. We drove across the island with our flashlights in ready positions. The cave is located next to the beach and consists of three main chambers. It has two fresh water pools in it. Most of the stalactites are broken off, but the cave is still interesting. The young elders helped pull and tug John and me up and over slippery rocks into the blacken core of the cave. When we got to the pools, it was like Disneyland. There were so many people there. One family had brought into the cave a generator so that the whole pool area was lighted up. They were jumping into the water, splashing, and just having a good time. Our young elders wanted to continue the exploration of the cave. We went as far back as we could without having to crawl. We’ll need to go back another time better prepared with different clothes, better flashlights, and string so we won’t get lost.
We had a turkey dinner with President McMurray and his children (April, Michelle, and Danny.) The president of the temple, the Shumways, were there and also a senior couple, the Talbots. Later that evening we took Elder and Sister Talbot to the airport. They are heading home to Snowflake Arizona. With the time change they had Christmas in Tonga with us and will return home in time to have Christmas with their children. Pretty fun! (Now we’re shrinking down to three senior couples and one sister.)
Our Christmas season continued on for two more days. We had a P-day where all the missionaries on the island met together for games, songs, food, and a movie. The part that I thought was the funniest was the singing. Each Zone of missionaries (about 20 kids in each zone) had to perform a song. One Zone had our brand new American elder included with them, Elder McCarty. As they stood on the stage, the Tongan missionaries gently kept nudging Elder McCarty to the front and center so he ended facing the microphone. Then the others stopped singing and poor Elder McCarty sang a solo. Believe me, he hasn’t had singing lessons from Tom Pike! He was so serious and still in a numb state trying to figure out the whole Tonga experience—this quiet, thin, computer-type, Texan elder among the big, dark Tongans. The office elders said some day Elder McCarty will laugh his head off when he thinks of this day. It was pretty funny from our point of view, not so for Elder McCarty!
The grand finale of the season was calling home and talking to Mom and Dad, our kids, and grandkids. With only a few tears on my part, we listened to the experiences they are having. We have such a great family, and we love each and every one of them. We are all trying to do our best…what more can you ask?
We love the Lord…and we love the work. We had a "glorious" Christmas season!
‘Ofa ‘atu, Diane and John
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