Tongan Update, October 21, 2007 Little Acts of Kindness

Tongan Update 21 October 2007, Little Acts of Kindness

I think I’ll entitle this letter “Little Acts of Kindness.” It’s kind of difficult to jump into a new culture where you don’t know the people, the work you’re supposed to do, the language, different foods, where to find food, and drive on the wrong side of the road. But we have had many people do just little things to make us feel more welcomed.

1. When we arrived at our apartment in Tonga, a big basket of food was sitting on our counter. At the time we didn’t really appreciate it. But once we had to try to shop for ourselves, we realized what a treat it was to have the foods that were given us—many items are difficult to find here, but are in every grocery store at home.

2. Many of the streets in Nuku’alofa have been closed because of the “Forum of Pacific Countries.” Many dignitaries from neighboring countries have come to this little island for a big pow-wow. So the government has blocked off access to downtown for the protection of these people. The Tongans even have a naval ship out in the harbor to protect the VIPs.

Anyway, John and I were walking home from town along a dark, unlit street the other night. A Tongan fellow past us in his van. When he saw us, he backed his car down the street and asked us if we needed a ride. Just a little thing, but very thoughtful.

3. Elder Thompson needed to inspect the missionary houses on the islands of Ha’apai leaving me home alone. (Too wild of a place for little ol’ me).

The cute office missionaries invited me to have dinner with them. They were fixing some kind of chicken dish with unusual things in it. John came home early from Ha’apai and rescued me from whatever the missionaries were going to eat. But it was nice of them to invite me!

4. The kids at Fatai Elementary School are good for my self-esteem.

Can you believe these goofy boys. No different from home.

They think a gray-haired, white lady is pretty cool! (By the way I’m one of the few gray-haired ladies on Tongatapu. Most of the ladies dye their hair black. You should have seen the children stare at me as they walked past me during the Temple Tour! They were totally in awe of someone so different.) The children like the stories, games and the pictures they draw.

TIME OUT!!! I just chased down a five inch centipede crawling up the wall. I zapped him with the vacuum cleaner because I didn’t dare get close to it. Oooo…it might be roaming around in the vacuum bag right now. Ugh!! (I hope it stays in there!) (My hero, John, is asleep in bed so he isn’t here to rescue me!)

5. Where was I? Oh yes, little acts of kindness…We had a Tongan woman take us out to dinner and then give us a pumpkin (which is yellow and tastes like our squash) and a kumala (which is purple and taste like our yams).

OPPS…JUST JUMPED A MILE! I THOUGHT IT WAS ANOTHER BUG, BUT IT WASN’T! NOW I’M ON THE LOOKOUT!

6. We have a wonderful group of senior missionaries. They already feel like our best friends. We get together twice a week for dinner, Family Home Evening, and other activities.

DO YOU THINK THAT BUG CAN CLIMB UP THE HOSE OF THE VACCUM AND GET OUT?

I think I’ll close the door to the bedroom and call it a night.

Miss you all! Take care,

Diane

P.S. DON’T LET THE BEDBUGS BITE!

P.P.S. The Elders say the centipede is called “the Devil Creature” because it has teeth and bites. OH, GREAT!!

Tongan Update, October 7, 2007 General Conference and the Temple

Tonga Update, 07 October 2007,

Nuku'alofa Temple Open House

Today is Sunday. This morning we pulled ourselves out of bed at 4:00 a.m. and drove 20 minutes to the Liahona Ward to watch General Conference. It was being shown in English in only two wards on the island so we went to the one where the other senior missionaries where attending. By the way, we watched the Saturday Conference on Sunday. Sunday’s Conference will be held on Monday morning at 5:00 a.m. It’s interesting that we can be 5500 miles away and still sustain the new officers of the Church at the same time as everybody else in the world. John went for a walk during the rest hymn. It was interesting to him as he walked from room to room to hear some people singing in English and others in Tongan. The chapel was full with Tongans singing in Tongan. It was magical to him that we all had the ability to hear messages in languages that could be understood. When a speaker mentioned Tonga in their talk, the people perked up and looked at each other with excitement.

One of the senior couples, the Embleys, invited us over to their place for a “real palangi” breakfast afterwards. (A “palangi” is any person of European descent—that’s us!) There was bacon and eggs, pancakes, watermelon, bananas, and fresh orange juice—much better than our usual cereal with different tasting, unrefrigerated milk that comes from a rectangular box. Monday morning we got up again early to be at the chapel in Liahona by 5:00 a.m. to listen to Sunday's session. John listened to the first session then he and President McMurray left to go to Ha'apai.

This was the first official week of the Nuku’alofa Temple Open House. (Last week was for VIPs like the King, Prime Minister, the Noblemen, etc.)

We’ve had the opportunity to act as hosts for a couple of hours each day. If the people need English tour guides, we are available. Our job also is to check on the Sister Missionaries who are stationed outside the Temple where guests are asked to fill out information cards.

What an amazing place the temple is! As people come through the front doors into the lobby, they are in awe—the vaulted ceilings, the elegance of the wood from Africa, the beauty of the stonework from China.

The alters are surrounded with a pearl-like facing, and the crystal chanticleers are incredible.

As in all temples, the best is used for the House of the Lord.

As we walk through the Temple with our guests, we express four main ideas:

1. The temple is the most sacred place on earth for members of our Church

2. What we learn in the temple gives meaning and direction to our lives

3. Family ties are made eternal in the temple

4. Temple worship focuses our lives on Jesus Christ

When we go into the Celestial Room, there is no talking. The room speaks for itself.

The guests are given two or three minutes to just meditate and feel the spirit. Some people are weeping as they leave the Celestial Room.

It has been a humbling experience! We are so thankful that we are in Tonga at this time! This picture hangs in the hallway just before people left the temple

At this point the temple tour was finished. While standing near the picture and father came carrying his little child. The child look at the picture, smile, and they waived goodbye.

Our Mission President, Lynn McMurray, and his family are doing amazing things in Tonga. President McMurray can speak the language better than the Tongans. He is a great communicator, and the people listen. Everyone knows how much he loves the gospel, and how he has a story to illustrate any point. The missionaries respect him and are trying to “lift the bar” as far as working harder, obeying the rules, etc. Sister McMurray is an angel. She is fixing meals twice a day for the twelve Sister Missionaries that are helping at the Temple, and she speaks at many different occasions, in Tongan I might add (with the help of a few notes).

The kids, with their blond hair, really stick out in a crowd of dark-haired Tongans. They are singing and accompanying choirs on the piano as the Tongans are preparing for the Cultural Day to celebrate the Dedication of the Temple on November 3.

The missionaries are helping the McMurray children learn their testimonies in Tongan. The McMurray family continue to be a wonderful family even down here in Tonga!!

Elder Thompson and I are trying to do our little part! We’re hanging in there and keeping very busy.

Love to you all (‘Ofa ‘atu),

Diane and John

Tongan Update, September 30, 2007 Spirt World Program, Open House Devotional, Tools for John

Tonga Update, 30 September 2007, Three Amazing Experiences

What a week this has been. We had three amazing experiences that I’m going to write you about.

First, we belong to a little Branch in the Church. It is so small because the members speak English, and there isn’t very many of us. It is also located on the main road into Nuku'alofa. the street is really busy especially in the morning.

Our Branch sponsored a fireside for the Youth in our Stake, and the theme was “The Temple.” The Branch leaders had all the participants dress in white and represent spirits in the Spirit World waiting for their temple work to be done on earth. Each participant would tell their life story, and then ask if anyone in the audience had done the work for them. If the work was done, someone in the audience would come and get the participant, and they would sit in the congregation. If no one had done the work, the participant would return to their seat in the pulpit area.

The last person to tell the story of his simulated ancestors was our Branch President. Everyone in his family had had the temple work done for them except his 8 year old daughter, Tiki. She had to be left behind. And in real life she sat on the stage and just sobbed because she was not going with her family, and her family was crying because they were leaving her behind. It was so poignant; and such a powerful message. We want our families to be together forever, and we need to do the temple work for those who have passed on. It was a very emotional evening.

The leaders wanted John and me to tell true stories of our own ancestors. So I played the part of Grandma Jemina Olsen, and John represented his relative that came from Africa.

My name is Frederick George Kershaw. I was born in England in 1824. When I was a young man, I had the opportunity to go to Cape Cod, Africa to help colonize the country for England. I traveled to Africa by ship. While on the ship to Africa met a woman that eventually became my wife. Her name is Eliza Byard. We were married after arriving in Africa. We had six children while in Africa. One night I had a dream in which two young men from American met me and told me about a church founded in America. They said that the church was the true church of God and had the priesthood. About two years after this dream, I was working on the roof of a house when two young men walked by and yelled at me. They told me that they were from America. I told them that I knew who they were because I had seen them in a dream. They taught my wife and I the gospel. I joined immediately, but Eliza waited for a year before she joined the church.

When our children were able, we arranged to take the family to American. We boarded the Brig Mexicona Ship in April of 1865 and began sailing to American. They said it would take six weeks to arrive in America. I became a cook on the ship. We traveled with 30 other members of the church. About two weeks before we were to arrive in American I became very sick. The sickness became so bad that I could not get out of bed. Eventually, I died and was buried at sea. My wife had to travel to Salt Lake City, with six kids, without me. Because of my death, we were not able to be married in the temple. If you have my name, will you please make yourself known.

I threw in the part about Grandpa driving a stagecoach, the silver mines, and carrying a gun. I don’t think the Tongan audience related too well to that, but they liked the part about Grandma’s sister having to join Grandpa and Grandma on their dates.

It was so nice to be asked to be part of this activity. To thank us one of the leaders, Nia, gave us white, laced handkerchiefs to use at the Temple Rededication.

Secondly, the Temple is officially finished. The contractors handed the keys over to whoever they handed them over to, and it started to rain…and rain…and rain. (The farmers really need the rain because their crops were drying up.) The Temple Committee had set up many big tents on the temple grounds. They were draped with flowered garlands and the grounds looked very impressive. The King of Tonga was going to be the first person to officially take a tour, and the tents were set up especially for him and the Open House Devotional of which he was invited. Because of all the rain, the committee had to move the devotional into the church across the street.

Now there is special protocol to follow when the King shows up to an event. Everyone has to be lower than he. So church members removed the benches that are in back of the pulpit and replaced them with one large chair which was placed on a platform. Everyone else (the Temple President, the Area President, etc.) was seated sideways, facing the King.

The Queen Mother sat next to her son but not on the platform and in a much smaller chair.

The King’s noblemen sat on the floor in front of the pulpit.

The Tongan choir of about a hundred people sang, “Come, Come Ye Saints.” They sang with such strength and harmony. They were terrific to say the least. The president of the Temple, Eric Shumway, speaks perfect Tongan and gave a message in both languages.

This is Elder Condie, the area President and a member of the Seventy and President Sumway, the Temple President and also a member of the Seventy. Elder Shumway served as the Mission President here in Tonga several years ago.

Then the King spoke.

He has a British accent and spoke only in English. He said some very nice things about the Church and the beautiful temple.

After the devotional the VIPs were escorted to the temple for the tour. What does a king wear to something like this? A gray suit!

We sat on the second row of the chapel. So I guess you can say, “We met the King!” We certainly won’t get any closer than that! President McMurray and family sat on the first row next to the Prime Minister. The two McMurray daughters had the priviledge of presenting flowers to the queen mother.

Other members of the royal family also attended.

The next picture is the Kings sister. She is the princess.

The people on the Temple Committee said they were surprised that the King spent so much time in the Temple. He was very thoughtful and asked a lot of questions.

Whenever the king travels on the island he is proceeded by two officers on motor cycles with lights flashing, then a lead car(a land cruiser) with flashing lights, then his van (a ford van), then another land cruiser brings up the rear.

When they drive the roads of Tongan, they drive down the center of the road at a fairly fast speed with lights flashing and forcing everyone off the road. It is interesting to see everyone pull off (actually forced off the road) to the left to clear the road. One day we were heading towards Liahona on the main road when the kings fleet of protectors came at us. We didn't know what was going on, but at the time they got close to us we had cars and a telephone pole on our left side so John couldn't pull over much. They had their lights flashings, sirens on, then as the pasted, going fairly fast, they honked at us.

Thirdly, John was talking to some of the contractors and builders on the temple. He asked if they had any old tools that they wouldn’t mind leaving in Tonga now that the remodeling is done. (How can John survive without a few building tools?) The guys said they would see what they could round up. My…they didn’t just “round up.” They had several tools sent in from New Zealand, and they were brand new.

John has new saws, drills, and I don’t know what else. Pretty nice of those guys, huh? Now John needs to do some good things with those tools.

I know a school and some missionary homes that are calling out for help.

The four American Elders that we met in the Provo MTC (Elders Salt, Makai, Karatti, and Lyon) arrived this week. It was fun to see familiar faces, even if they aren’t very familiar. Elder Karatti and Lyon will stay on this island, and the other two are heading to two smaller islands. They are all biiiigggg boys! We’ve been involved in the Temple Open House. We will let you know more next time.

P.S. We are dealing with an internet technology that is overloaded, so our mail works one time and not the other. We will just keep trying. The system is like a having a 10 lane freeway going into a single lane and expecting no travel jams. We have an internet band width designed for a small group of users that now services the entire island. We are all frustrated because we can’t do our work and send it on to the church and other service centers.

Tongan Update, September 7, 2007 Flea Market, Captain Cook, Service Project

Tongan Update, 07 September 2007, Flea Market

My sister, Julie, would love this place. There are flea markets in almost every village on the island.

The Tongans get packages from their families in America, and then they set up shop and sell the items. There are even deals along the roadside where tables are set up with the wares the Tongans are trying to sell, from vegetables to American clothes. (No one wears Tongan-looking clothes. Everyone dress like Americans. I even saw a Bob Marley t-shirt, a little outdated.)

We met with the senior missionaries on Friday. We call ourselves the Twilight Zone. Get It? (The Mission is divided into zones. Our zone is the Twilight Zone). I think it makes us sound rather old. Anyway, we had pizza and a movie. The pizza was home-made (delicious), and the movie was the McMurray’s video. Mom, you would have liked it. It was “the Inn of the Sixth Happiness" with Ingrid Bergman. Hey, we liked it too.

On P-Day we toured around the center of Tongatapu (name of the island we are on). We came across Captain Cook’s landing place.

There is a monument there. When Captain Cook landed here in the 1700s, he called the place the “friendly islands” because all the people were so kind to him and his men. Little did he know that the Tongans were planning to kill him, but he had left for the high seas before they could exercise their plan. (Luke, what does a pirate say?)

This morning our English speaking Tongan ward did a service project. We met at 6:00 a.m. and picked up trash along one of the roads in downtown Nuku’alofa.

John and I arrived with our rubber gloves and garbage bags. The Tongans arrived with their brooms made out of some kind of bush. We picked up trash, they swept. Either way the road looked a ton better when we got done.

Tongan Update, 1 September 2007, ANIMALS FOR THE GRANDCHILDREN

THIS POSTING IS DEDICATED TO OUR GRANDCHILDREN:
We thought you would like to see some of the animals we see everyday in the Tongan villages and at all hours of the day or night.


Don't you just love this picture of these two dogs sitting on the steps of a small store. They are called Kuli (koo-lee) is Tongan. There are lots and lots of dogs here. So far not one has attacked us.

We found this cow in the bush (Tongan forest) while we were scouting out one of the village areas. It was all alone way back in the woods. Cow in Tongan is Pulu (poo-lew).

This goat is by one of our missionary houses which is just in back of this grass shed. The word for goat in Tongan is Kosi (ko-see).

If you look closely you can see several little chicks walking with the mother hen. The word for chicken is moa (mo-a).

This is really a fat pig, enhanced with special effects. Even without the eye magnifier, it is a fat pig. Pig in Tongan is Puaka (poo-aw-ka). Below are baby pigs in many colors and some with spots. Their little legs make you laugh when they run.



This is a native Tongan farmer riding his horse to work in the bush. There aren't very many horses on this island. It is interesting that they are not used as work horses. The people use a spade or a tractor for farming. Horse in Tongan is Hoosi (Hoo-see)

We will do some more pictures in another posting. We have lots of pictures of animals (especially pigs. Your grandma loves pigs).

Tongan Update, 32 October 2007, Trick or Treat 2007

Tongan Update, 31 October 2007, Trick or Treat-Halloween

On Halloween night the elders living at the Mission Office Complex decided that they wanted to have some fun the American way by trick or treating. They came to our apartment after dark
dressed in costumes. Elder Olsen on the left dressed as a Tongan Elder and is posing for the picture the way Tongans do. The Tongans lean back and fold their arms. Elder Fine (Fine'asoli) is dressed as an American and is posing like many Americans do with chest out and hands at their sides. The other two elders (Elder Lauaki and Elder Holloway) are just having fun with limited resources for costuming. They were really funny as they came into our apartment.



Even the "old man of the sea" got into the act and posed with his bike riding helmet, gloves, and sun glasses. We gave them a few pieces of candy like we do in America. Nothing big.


Before leaving they invited us to visit their apartment. After the elders left our apartment, they shut off the lights in the center court of the Mission Office and waited for us to come over. As we walked towards their apartment, they began to howl like wolves in the night. It was so funny. We knock on the door and said, "Trick or treat." Then door opened and this is what THEY saw.



Pretty scary, huh!




















When the door opened this is what WE saw...four howling elders, just laughing and having fun.









They thought they were so funny, and they were to us.
After a few laughs they gave us (one by one) a can of peanuts, a can of pineapple, a carton of fruit juice, and a wooden carving.
What they gave us made us feel badly because we had only given them a piece of candy. Oh well, we will make it up Saturday by having pancakes, I guess.

The bottom line is that we had fun. The Tongans don't celebrate Halloween so it was fun to lighten thing up.

Tongan Update, 08 October , 2007, Hapaii Trip

Tongan Update 08 October 2007, Hapaii Trip

This past week was a real adventure. First, we (President McMurray and I) flew to Ha'apai in a 16 passenger twin prop plane. All bags had to be checked. The inside of the plane is really cosy. We followed coral reefs for about 45 minutes. It is interesting to see the islands and the coral reefs around them. You get a better prospective of the danger of getting in and out of the islands.

Approaching Ha'apai

Airport of Ha'apai

We landed on an island that has the main road running right across the runway. When a plane approaches, gates on both sides of the runway are closed. A car travels the full length of the runway to be sure that the pigs are off the runway, and then the plane lands. It is really a sight. to see.

This is the runway that we crossed to see missionary houses.

It is really neat to see the beauty of the island as you approach it. Our day was busy. I and another man named Vatuni, toured the main island in a van. We also toured two smaller islands by boat. The President interviewed missionaries while we were gone.

Later in the day, we had a Zone Conference with the elders. Vatuni sat next to me and interpreted for me because everything was done in Tongan. Towards the end of the meeting, President McMurray called on me to give some thoughts and to bear my testimony. Vatuni was my interpreter. I spoke about treating their living quarters as we do chapels. I called their houses "Houses of Worship". I've written a handout for the missionaries that compares chapels to their living quarters. I went over points that are common, and then I asked them, "Is there any reason why you cannot treat your” House of Worship” like we treat our chapels? I then told them what needed to be done based on my inspection of the houses.

It was interesting to me, that even though there were language barriers, there was a common medium that made possible for understanding to occur. It was a testimonial of how the spirit works to provide understanding and allows a spiritual experience to occur. There were things said that Vatuni knew were true. He broke down and cried as we worked together to communicate to the missionaries my thoughts. It is a sacred thing to know that as you are expressing yourself , the spirit is bearing witness to those that you are speaking to, thus you know that your message is being understood.

Then I started to discuss my feelings about President McMurray. We all (especially me) had a spiritual experience than warmed our hearts. He and I are a team. We are like brothers. I think everyone knows that now. After I spoke, he spoke and said similar things about our relationship. It was a tender moment when expression of love towards each other was expressed publicly " I want you to know, "he said, "that there is a reason why Elder Thompson was invited to come to Tonga. That reason will become clearer to you as time goes by. I am just grateful that he is here. He has already helped me in so many ways.”

President McMurray is a wonderful person. He is on fire in this mission. He is so talented. I told the missionaries that I know that we are not to envy others, but I do envy his gifts and talents. He is so knowledgeable of the gospel. He has the gift of tongues spoken of in the scriptures. He is so excited about missionary work. “He is all that I am not," I said. "I provide a balance which keeps his feet on the ground.”

After the meeting we had a Tongan style buffet. It was a royal feast.

Then Vatuni and I went by boat to several islands and visited additional missionary houses.

One of the mission boats (named Alama)

I felt like I went back in time visiting these islands.

The missionaries live without modern conveniences, without power, without heated water, or even filtered water. They have no cooking facilities in their houses. They rely on members to feed them or they live off the land.

Their houses are in need of repair. Things are disconnected or broken.

Wires are just dangling.

We visited a Senior Couple (they are Tongan) that are living in a house that is not in the best of shape, but what they said to me was amazing. “We are so thankful for our beautiful little house.” Believe me it was not beautiful, but in their eyes it was. Some people can see cups half full with water instead of half empty. They saw beauty, I saw problems.


We drove to the house which is located close to the shore. We simply drove our boat up to the shore, hopped out, and walked to the house (no docks).

Vatuni stands in front of the house that looks better from the outside than the inside. Inside live a couple that are over 80 years old. I think it is their 5th mission. A couple of reporters for "The Church News" did an interview with them and plan to tell their story in an upcoming edition.


As we walked back to the boat, brother Fiefia wobbled with us to the shore to see us off. Pretty amazing considering his age of 80+.

The next day we traveled by boat to Ha’afeva. It is an island so far away that you can hardly see it on the horizon. The water was rough. Some got sick and spent some time hanging over the side of the boat. Amazingly, I felt great. I was in a boat! I was having a great time.

Because it was low tide, we had to go miles out of our way to get around the coral reefs. Our first stop was a small island called O’ua. There is only one village on the island.

As we approached the O’ua dock, the water was so shallow that they had to raise the engines and walked the boat towards the dock, but we couldn't get to the dock.

As we started to get out of the boat (we had rolled up our pant legs), two of the boat hands stopped us and insisted that they carry us to shore. Can you believe that? They, out of respect for us, carried President McMurray and me to the shore. "It would had been embarrassing to us," they said, "had you gotten off the boat and had gotten wet in front of the villagers."

Welcome to O’ua

Village of O’ua

Basket and mat making is a labor-intensive process that requires stripping the bark into long stripes, then soaking the strips in the ocean for several days, then rolling the strips into coils of material. Next the people beat the strips with mallets to make it thin. They pound it until it is paper thin.

Some of the strips are used for weaving into mats, baskets, bowls, and other cases for carrying things like scripture bags.

Walking the village of O’ua was like being in a Disneyland environment. It was magical and unreal. I do not have words to describe what I saw and felt as I walked through the little village, past the LDS chapel to the missionary house.

Here on this island ,that has only one small village, is a LDS chapel and a tennis court for the people to use. All the courts have basketball standards and nets to play tennis and to have social activities.

Rain water is collected from the roofs and stored in large tank, called sima. For this missionary house, they manually pump the water from the sima to the higher tank, then let gravity do the rest.

The solar power system for this missionary house doesn’t work so the missionaries are without power at night. They have no cooking facilities or filtered water.

President McMuray is well known throughout all the islands of Tonga. He is able to talk with everyone he meets.

It is amazing and humbling to me to learn that this little island, with only one village, was and is important enough to the Lord that a small chapel with additional class rooms and a tennis court were built just for them.

After inspecting the house and chapel, we loaded back onto the boat (being carried again). We had to drive around another coral reef to Ha’afeva. This island is the center island for a group of islands. It is where District meetings are held.

This is the main island for distributing things. Boats from the other island groups come here once a week to deliver supplies. We send up barrels of fuel for our boats and diesel fuel for the power generator that provides power for the churches on the smaller islands. This is the only dock for the Ha'afeva island group.

From the dock you see this as you look towards the chapel.

From the dock we drove between these two fences to the the chapel with a few supplies while the boat moved and anchored just in front of the chapel. There is not a dock in front of the chapel so you wade to and from the boat.

We had lunch with the people on Ha’afeva, and then Vatuni and I left to visit two more islands while President McMurray met with the missionaries. On these islands there are no missionary houses, so the missionaries live in one of the class rooms at the church. Almost all the chapels in these islands are built right on the coast line so the view is spectacular. The purpose of our visit was to inspect the church property and to determine if a missionary house could be built on the same property. I felt a great need to carefully consider whether a house could and should be constructed on the church property. I knew that my recommendation would be heavily relied upon. I felt empowered with additional ability to see and think about the possible locations. The conclusion for both islands was, yes, lets build the missionary houses as soon as possible.

From the boat you see a narrow grassy area before the fence, then the chapel of Untanga. Currently missionaries use a class room to stay in when they are here.

This is the church on Untanga. It has just a few class rooms. All the floors are tiled. All chapels in the Kingdom of Tonga have floors that are tiled.

This view is looking toward the chapel from the generator building. Between the chapel and the generator building we will build a missionary house in order to get the missionaries out of the church.

From the front porch of this chapel (and most of the chapels on these remote islands) you have a beautiful view of the ocean.

On another island the chapel is located on a point with sandy beaches around it. Again, there's no dock.

On this day it was rainy and windy. We had trouble anchoring the boat. When we left the island the wind blew us into the other boats. They couldn't release the front anchor so the branch president came on board, went to the front of the boat, and dove into the water. He then followed the anchor rope, dove down. and then released the anchor from the coral. After releasing the anchor, he just waved good bye to us. No big deal.

Almost all churches here in Tonga have a tennis court with basketball standards. Most of the courts have lights so they can be used at night. This island was no exception. What was interesting to me was that this little chapel, probably only 40 square feet, still had a tennis court. The location of this little chapel was absolutely beautiful.

The small chapel

The thing that made my day was this: When we arrived on this island, it was raining hard. But six young men were playing tennis in the rain. It was so fun watching them have fun. Tennis in the rain, anyone?

The Chapel is on a hill overlooking the ocean

After visiting with the Branch President, we returned to Ha’afeva and joined the president who was having a Zone Meeting. After the Zone Meeting we had another buffet style feast. We were given lobster and crab to eat along with chicken, beef, and other Tongan foods. In the evening we had a District Fireside. President McMurray spoke and sang a song that I haven’t heard before, but his voice sounded so angelic to me. It was beautiful. He is so gifted. After the fireside the district members had a dance on the tennis court. Just when the dance was to begin, it started to rain hard, but that didn’t stop them. They danced in the rain. I haven’t seen so much fun being displayed in a long time. They were having a blast. They danced with the lights on until about midnight, then the lights were shut off, but the dancing continued until I don’t know when.

People from other islands came in small overloaded boats to attend this district event. They simply camped out in the church or with other members on the island. They had a wonderful time.

Another assignment I had while on this trip was to inspect one of the mission boats.

Last month they called and said the boat was cracking. I told them to stop using the boat until I could see the problem. Fortunately the fractures are on the deck and hasn’t affected the hull. There are four areas that need reinforcing. It is a manufacturing problem. They just didn’t reinforce areas that are subject to stress when the boat is in use.

This boat was just in for repairs on the bottom of the boat. The above are fractures on the deck. Besides having cracks, none of the electronic equipment (lights, radio) work. The mission boats have no flotation foam or bilge pumps.

Now that I have seen the problem, I know the solution. Sometime in the near future I will be going back to Ha’api to repair or supervise the repairs of the boat (since starting this summary of my Ha'apai trip, new boats have been ordered. Actually, by the time I finish this summary, the boats will be here).

The next morning we prepared ourselves to return to the main island (Pangai). Those that came to the fireside were loading also. It was so funny seeing how they loaded (overloaded) the boats.

This picture is of all the missionaries that are on the small islands near Ha'afeva, President McMurray, Vatuni, and myself. Two of the three mission boats are in the background. One of the boats has been restricted in use because of the cracks.

As we started to leave the island, I notice a box of food that was given to us for our return trip. What did we get? Yep- Lobster, crab, and chicken. We quickly ate our breakfast and started back. The seas got really rough, a lot more than the day before. After bouncing around for a while, everyone except the driver and me got sick-really sick. They threw up everything they had eaten for breakfast. Those with the weakest stomachs just hung over the side of the boat in order to throw up over and over.

There were times when I was sitting down and looking out the side window that I realized that the waves were higher than the boat. As we rolled out of these low points, the boat would then slam into the next wave jarring our whole body.

I never felt threaten. I thought things were under control. It was just rough. As I was sitting and pondering about our situation, I became disappointed. We had a prayer before we started our return trip. We asked that the seas be calmed. We were on the Lords errand. We had done good things. I was with a righteous man-the Mission President. Why weren’t the winds and seas calmed in our behalf? In all probability no one would have gotten sick had the waters been calmer. Why was our prayer not recognized? We continued to bounce around for the rest of the trip, but these thoughts continued to be in my mind. The water never did smooth out for us.

When we got back to the main island, we split up again. Vatuni and I inspected additional houses while the President had meetings. Off and on, as we drove in the van, I thought about the rough waters. My questions troubled me. Now that I have had time to think about it, I think I have an answer. I’ll explain later.

As we flew out of Ha'apai I felt a great love for what is going on here--the people and
all the churches and their beautiful settings. It is amazing how these people deal with life. It is amazing what is going on to bless them. The church has been more than generous to them at a great expense.

I wonder what God thinks as he looks down from the heavens?