TONGAN UPDATE 05 JANUARY 2008 Year-end Thoughts

Tongan Update, 05 Jan 2008, Year End Closure

It’s year end, and we thought you might like to know the ending results on a few matters:

1. Who did all the stealing? A couple of the neighborhood children confessed that their friend, Toma, took the missing items. When Toma came to visit us, he innocently said he didn’t know anything!! But the other day as I was walking to town, the first two kids were playing marbles in their front yard. I suspect that they are the guilty ones!

2. What happened to the two kittens in the attic? Simply, the neighbor’s puppies got them. They didn’t last long once the mother cat took them out of the protection of our attic and into the neighbor’s yard.

3. Did James get baptized? He was the young man from the Phillipines who we invited to dinner the first week we were in Tonga. James has been given the lessons several times by the missionaries and has never been able to commit to baptism. He is now on vacation in Australia for two months. I think he likes the attention and friendship of the missionaries more than he likes the gospel, but we’ll see what happens when he gets back to Tongatapu.

4. Our mission is down from about 188 missionaries to 153. The Mission president feels there were too many missionaries for such a small area. So hopefully fewer are better.

5. The number of conversions are way down from the previous president’s administration which is great. Many of our missionaries would just grab kids and baptize them so they would have the numbers. The other day two Elders said they had a girl who wanted to be baptized. She didn’t want to be taught the lessons—she just wanted to be baptized. The Elders explained to her that it doesn’t work that way. Apparently she wants to go to the church school, and you have to be a member of the Church…so just get baptized. This mentality is the same that John saw on his mission with the Indian Placement Program. "If I get baptized I can participate in the program even if I don’t believe in the principles."

6. President McMurray has been the mission president for six months now. He has been teaching, training, and working with the missionaries especially on this island. During this last transfer, the president sent trained missionaries out to the smaller islands and brought to Tongatapu all the rascals from the outer islands…and I mean rascals! Many of these elders have little desire to obey the mission rules. As soon as the boat landed with our wayward missionaries, trouble began. They left their assigned zones and congregated in Nuku’alofa. They were breaking three rules right there—don’t leave your area, you’re not allowed in town, and don’t leave your companion. On Christmas Day some of these charming Elders broke into the home of one of the American Elders and stole his Christmas goodies from home.

President McMurray decided to hit the problem head on. He had a conference with all the missionaries on the island. He told them he loved them and that because he did, he had some things to talk to them about. He didn’t hold back on anything. He reviewed with them all the rules they were breaking from phoning friends and families to stealing. In a sense he called them to repentance and rebuked their behavior. It is one of the few meetings we have been in where we knew that the person was speaking under the influence of the spirit. His mantle of Presidency was shinning. He spoke with clarity, power, and with authority. After the meeting, he interviewed each missionary. Each missionary had to sign a contract that listed, in detail, all the rules that he/she has to obey. If the missionary had no desire to follow these rules, they could pack their bags and go home. There were six who really struggled with the decision to sign or not, but eventually they all did sign. The President at least feels that he has explained the rules, and the missionaries have signed that they know them. If there are problems in the future, consequences will follow. It’s been quiet for a few days now. Do you think it is the calm before the storm OR do you think all those little rascals are repentant and ready to do the work?

We have our ups and downs here... not everything is rosie, but…we love the work, the senior couples are great, the office elders and APs are doing a great job and we have come to love them. We work with many people and enjoy our relationships with them. The people we work with are fun to be with. We are busy in the mission office and with our assignments in the ward. We teach. We testify. We serve. We are happy.

7. We are trying to teach principles of leadership, stewardship, and concepts of “magnifying your calling.” We are being challenged because many don’t understand these concepts. It seems like leaders simply looked the other way in the past. It was easier to ride-the-tide rather than insist on obedience to rules and procedures or to teach leadership skills. We do not look the other way. We refuse to let them blame others or find excuses for their behavior. During a conversation with John, the president said “there are many roses in our work, but you have been called to deal with the thorns. You may not see the roses very often in your assignments, but the roses are there.” For the most part, that is our work at the present time. We are pruning the thorns. Fortunately, because we get around in our calling and church assignments, we see enough roses to keep us excited about our work. We are making progress. There is beauty. There are wonderful things going on. The gospel is true and many know it and strive to do their best.

8. There is a principle that needs to be stated here. When you act pursuant to correct principles, then you can have peace in your mind and heart, even when the tide is against you because truth and correct principles will always prevail. We see disappointing things, but we have peace of mind because we know we are doing the right thing. We know that our work, our effort, our direction is pleasing to our Father in Heaven.