Tongan Update, 13 January 2008, To Market
Our friends, the Stimpsons, invited us to go shopping at the Market yesterday. The Market consists of about 90 booths where the Tongans sell items their relatives from overseas have sent them, and they no longer want or can use them.
The fun of going to the Market is that you never know what treasures you might find there.There is also a market in town where you can purchase food items and craft items.
I’ve been looking for a robe. The Elders drop by at all hours of the night with some problem or another, and I need a robe. (You can’t have “Sister Thompson” traipsing around in her pajamas!) I’ve been keeping my eyes open for a robe for several weeks, and to my surprise, there was a kind of cute robe hanging up among the shirts at the Market—and…it was brand new, never worn. HALLALUJA! Only one small problem…it was a SIZE 18 (six times too large), but I bought it anyway. It ’ll work!
John had been looking for work pants because his old pair has a hole in the knee. Low and behold, he found just what he needed. The small problem with his …eight inches too long, and they still had the mud on them from the previous owner. We’ll wash them up, cut them off, and they’ll work! ONLY IN TONGA! (I’m laughing as I am writing this!)
The other day we drove President and Sister McMurray to the airport. They were heading to Vava’u for conferences. The flight was cancelled dues to high winds and tropical storm. (The airlines notifies people about the status of flights over the Tongan radio. We don’t listen to the radio, but I did call the airlines a couple of hours before the flight, they said it was all a go. Anyway, the plane didn’t depart.) So the President invited us to lunch to discuss our feelings about the first six months of our mission. He wanted to know the highlights. That was easy…the temple rededication and all the events leading up to it. John told about the feeling of satisfaction he received by knowing that the mission was getting three new, safe boats.
I told President McMurray about an experience I had with one of the Tongan Elders, Elder Fine’isalio. In this picture Fine' is on the left. Elder Luaki, one of the Office Elders, is on the right.
He was the AP when we first arrived in Tonga. Whenever I served pancakes in the courtyard for the Elders, Fine’ (nickname for Elder Fine’isalio) would not come. I guess we overwhelmed him with our American ways. He tried to stay away from us, talking to us only if there was a need. I know that some of the issues were communication. Slowly he started to warm up to us. He even came Trick-or-Treating at our home last October.
In December, two days before he was being transferred to Vava’u, he came into the office and sat down. He started talking…for about thirty minutes he talked, and he told me his life story. When he was six years old, his father was killed in an automobile accident. His dad was in a car with three other men, but Fine’s father was the only one who died. The driver of his car was intoxicated and hit another car. As Fine’ got older, he also started drinking. His mother would go hunting for him at night, and drag him home from his drinking parties. When he turned 19, he half-heartedly decided to go on a mission. His mother is not a member of the Church, but was glad of this decision just so she wouldn’t have to take anymore abuse from him. Today we have this Elder who is going home from an honorable mission in two months, a changed young man. Elder Fine’isalio loves the Lord and the gospel. When he goes home he wants to apologize to his mom for being such a mean little twerp, and teach her the “Preach My Gospel” lessons. He wants to show her how much the gospel has changed his life, and that she can be proud of him.
Having him share his life and goals with me was nice-- one of the perks of working in the missionary office, I guess. He is an example of one of those “little rascal guys” who has turned into a terrific missionary, leader, and person.
We’re loving the work! ‘Ofa atu, John and Diane
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