Tongan Update March 30, 2008 Easter in Tonga

Tongan Update, 30 March 2008, Easter in Tonga

In the states, to be politically correct, we now call it “Spring Vacation.” However, in Tonga it is still “Easter Break” to commemorate the death and resurrection of the Savior. On Good Friday everything is closed down on the islands. And I do mean everything! It is even illegal, by law, to go to the beach.

On Easter Sunday one of John’s boating buddies brought over a good-sized lobster for dinner. It is still in the freezer because Elder Sanchez (a Piute-Mexican American) had already invited us to dine with him and his companion, Elder ‘One’one. Elder Sanchez had received a package from home with dried beans and hot sauce in it so he wanted to make Navaho Tacos for us. There was a small problem with this idea, however, because the missionaries do not have any cooking facilities in their houses. The party had to be at our apartment. Along with the Indian bread, Elder ‘One’one cooked up batches of kumala and breadfruit. With this diverse crusine, we were hoping to lure our Tongan APs (Elder Finau and Elder Mohenoa) to join us, but it was to no avail. Those two aloof Elders wanted to do their own thing. Foiled again! We’re trying to get Elder Finau and Elder Mohenoa to be a little more socialable, but no!

We might have not gotten the APs to come to our party, but we had many uninvited guests who did arrive—like about 500 of them. The Embleys, a senior missionary couple, gave us a coconut shell Easter basket filled with jelly beans and a couple of chocolate eggs. These uninvited guests didn’t come for the tacos; they wanted the sweet candy. Hundreds of one-fourth inch ANTS marched two by two along the edges of the ceiling. They marched along the east wall, the south wall, and down the west wall—their goal was the basket of goodies. I was totally grossed out; and armed with my “kill’um” bug spray, I sent them all to the Telestial World! These tiny ants drive us nuts! If you leave any food out on the counters or table, these minuscule insects are there for a snack. We have to keep everything in air-tight containers or in the refrigerator. I laugh when I think of our granddaughter, Meg. When she was three years old, she said that an ant “scared her to death”. What would she think of all of our uninvited guests?

What is Easter without a good rain storm? Yes, it rained, and rained, and rained, but we were ready this time. We sand bagged critical areas before the water could drain into our complex. We also had buckets of sand on hand to stop the rushing water if necessary. Our side of the complex remained flood free, but not so for the young Elders’ rooms. The water backed up from the sewer pipe. Yuck! They had a lot of clean up to do! The joys of living in the tropics!

All in all it was a nice Easter day. John gave a High Priest lesson, and I taught my Primary class and lead Sharing Time. We had fun with the young Elders, destroyed the ants, and waged war on the elements. Not bad for Tonga.