Tongan Update, 08 June 2008, Mission Magic Make Us Laugh
Aren’t magicians suppose to entertain us? “Yes!” Aren’t they suppose to make us laugh? “Yes!” Do any of these experiences at least make you smile?
#1 Elder Thompson was trying to give a very spiritual talk in Sacrament Meeting at one of the Tongan speaking wards. Just as he began his talk, the bell at the Weslayan Church right next door started bonging loudly. When the vibrations stopped, John proceeded on with his sermon only to be interrupted this time by two dogs snarling, growling, and then fighting with each other by the open door located at the front of the chapel. Yes, very spiritual indeed!
#2 I made arrangements for President McMurray to fly to Vava’u on the 9:30 am flight. As you now know, flight schedules usually change here; and as expected, the flight was changed to 6:00 am. Good Elder Thompson left our apartment not long after 4:00 am to get the President to the airport an hour before lift-off. When they got to the airport…I can’t stand it…the flight had been changed back to 9:30 am. The airline had just forgotten to contact anyone about the change. YAWN for those early risers!
#3 Then there’s Elder Olsen. He is being released in a few days, and his Dad came from St. George to see the Kingdom of Tonga and take his boy home.
They went to the airport for the 9:30 am flight to Vava’u only to find out that their flight had left at 6:00 am. You have to laugh or you’d go nuts!
#4 I needed to go to the post office. There were a bunch of Elders just hanging around the office so I asked if any of them would like to walk to the post office and help me bring back the mail and packages. The missionaries were mulling over my “great idea” when President McMurray walked into the room. He related an experience about two Elders going to the post office: Two missionaries drove to the post office and retrieved their mail. The passenger Elder opened the envelope of his letter and inside was a “Dear John.” His companion tried to console him and told him, “It’s all part of the missionary experience. You’ll be OK.” When the missionary who had been driving the car opened his mail, there was also a “Dear John.” Both Elders had their hearts broken on the same day.
Now do you think any of the missionaries wanted to walk with me to the post office after that story? They debated among each other whose girlfriend would remain true and faithful for the whole two years. Finally, two courageous Elders agreed to take the challenge, march to the post office, get their mail, and prove to the others that their relationships with their girlfriends were true and long lasting by not getting rotten “Dear Johns.” It turned out……….there was not one scrap of mail….nothing. The missionaries were all safe…….at least for today!
#5 The other day the Embleys (a senior couple) teasingly said to a Tongan couple with whom they have truly grown close, “Our children are planning on putting us into a nursing home when we get home.”
The response was, “Oh no! They can’t do that! We hear they do mean things to people in nursing homes!” And it was left at that.
Elder and Sister Embley went to visit their friends a couple of months after this conversation. The roof of their house was torn off, and they were putting on a second floor. The surprised Embleys asked about the new addition. The friends replied, “We are building the upstair rooms for you. If you don’t like the nursing home, you can come and stay with us!”
No one has offered to do that for us…so Troy, if you’re still thinking about sending us to a nursing home, hmmm….what are our options?
#6 One more…are you smiling? Maybe you have to be here to think these experiences are funny…
This happened after we had a bunch of flight schedule changes, plane ticket mix-ups, and one lost missionary somewhere between here and Nomuka. John bought four Tongan-English Dictionaries as requested by President McMurray. When he turned the cover page, he discovered that the entire book was backwards and upside down.
Ahh…the magic of Tonga…it keeps us laughing! ‘Ofa ‘atu, John and Diane
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