TONGAN UPDATE FEB 01, 2998 SHIVER ME TIMBERS

Tongan Update, February 1, 2009 "Shiver Me Timbers!"

This Update is dedicated to Luke, our six year old grandson, who is intrigued with pirates.

Alright, all me hearties! This is a true tale of a bonnie lad named William Mariner who, at the age of fourteen, was solicited onto a English private ship of war, the Prince au Port. The year be 1805. It was unbeknownst to Mariner that the men aboard the vessel were out to plunder and pillage any defenseless ship on the seas and split the captured ships’ booties. The young boy, thinking he was on a whaling expedition, was hired on as the buccaneers’ clerk.

After many days at sea, it was rumored among the men on the Prince au Port that two South whaler boats were captured by the Spaniards and were being detained in a South American bay. These ships were said to ‘man no guns, nor any batteries’ and were full of contraband goods. At dusk the pirates raised an American flag and silently slithered into the bay. They succeeded in boarding one of the whalers, overthrowing the Spaniards, cutting the cables securing the ship, and they started to tow her out of the bay. Blimey, as luck would have it, the winds ceased, and the waters became calm. The Prince au Port was like a sitting duck. The cannons and muskets firing from the shoreline fort were taking their toll on the wounded vessel. The buccaneers had to relinquish their prize, and the Prince au Port limped out into the open waters. “Ye won’t get away with this!” one pirate cursed at no one in particular.

True to the pirate’s words, the Prince au Port terrorized the waters around the tip of South American and into the Pacific Ocean. Many a ship was seized; many a sailor was made to ‘walk the plank’; many a bounty was gained. “Arrr!” But… the heavens placed a ‘black spot’ (curse) on the crew members as the unaware ship pulled into Ha’apai Harbour. The Tongan war chief, Finau ‘Ulukalala II, and his 400 warriors were lying in wait for just such a ship as this. With clubs swinging the Tongans swarmed the Prince au Port and slaughtered everyone on deck. Fortunately for William Mariner, he scurried down into the bilge (the lowest level of a ship usually filled with filthy water) and hid. He was eventually discovered and dragged from his hiding place. Thinking they were going to kill him, William feared for his well-being. He was brought before Finau, and was happily surprised that a nobleman and war chief like Finau would preserve his life instead of sentencing him to death.

The Prince au Port was ransacked of all its cannons and weaponry. The captain’s chair was brought on shore and given to Finau. Once all items of value were taken off the ship, it was run aground, and then set on fire. The pirates had met their fates—dead men tell no tales!

The ‘yo ho ho’ pirate days were over for William. He now found himself captive on a tiny island surrounded by hundreds of miles of water, and the natives didn’t particularly like him. They spit on him, starved him, and even plotted to kill him. Mariner made plans to escape, but they never materialized. So for four years he lived with the Tongans—learning their language and their culture. But it was only because the powerful Finau had taken a liking for him that he survived at all.

‘Toki Ukamea or Iron Axe (William’s Tongan name) had knowledge about things that totally captivated Finau. He knew how to fire the cannons which were taken from the Prince au Port, and he also knew how to send messages by using come crazy coding system. ‘Ulukalala II wanted to discover the secret to this magic.

For eleven years Finau had been taking raiding parties by canoes to Tongatapu and had been waging war against the people who lived in the fort at Nuku’alofa; and for eleven years he had failed in this quest. But with the knowledge and use of the cannons, Fort Nuku’alofa was destroyed in a couple of hours. Finau now ruled, and it was the beginning of civil war on this Pacific island kingdom as Finau introduced the terror of his newly-acquired cannons.

‘Ulukalala II witnessed another magical feat when Mariner picked up a stick and etched the word ‘Finau’ into the sand. The warrior king asked what the funny things in the sand meant. William replied that it said, “Finau.” The warrior looked surprised and called over another close-by plangi and asked him what the funny stuff in the sand was. The reply was the same, “It says your name, Finau.” “No way, that’s me?”

Still unbelieving, he asked a third plangi was it was. The same answer, “It says Finau.” Finau just couldn’t understand how a bunch of drawings could mean something. He wondered how the men could decode the mysterious symbols, and he tested the Englishmen on several different words. Mariner was proving to be a helpful aid to Finau ‘Ulukalala in more ways than one. Therefore, William was allowed many privileges like owning land and having a few common underlings to serve him.

One day Mariner paddled in his canoe to a small island not far from Ha’apai. He discovered an European vessel whilst on this fishing excursion. He was so excited to think that escape was close at hand that when he approached the ship, he jumped onto the main chains anchoring it. The sentinel on guard the brig, thinking that Mariner was a warring native, nearly knocked him overboard. William yelled out that he was an Englishman…… his days in Tonga came abruptly to an end.

What’s the point of this epic?...just a little history, mateys…

‘Ofa ‘atu, Elder and Sister Thompson

TONGAN UPDATE 26 JANUARY 2009 "My HOW THINGS HAVE CHANGED"

Tongan Update, January 26 2009 "My, How Things Have Changed"

Elder Thompson and I have been in Tonga for almost eighteen months now, and my, how things have changed during that time.

August 2007 The Beginning January 2009 The Ending

Eighty percent of Nuku’alofa, the capital, was burned during the political riots about seven months before we arrived.

There were still gapping cement slabs where stores once stood. American food products were scarce and difficult to find. Heinz 76 ketchup was considered an “ideal” Christmas gift and was highly sought for.

Today, the town is a hubbub of building. The new bank (built where the old theatre was) is almost completed. A small mall built by the Princess is nearly complete with clothing stores and restaurants. A motel occupies the second floor. A new wharf

has been under construction ever since we arrived, but at the rate the progress is going…we’re thinking that in about ten years they will have it completed. The king’s “Nuku’alofa Hotel” is slowly decaying and becoming a “real eye sore”.

“Molisi”( a grocery store) has built a new store, and it is brim full of American products. There is also the “American Store” across the street from the market (the newly arrived senior missionaries are calling it “Cosco”) and “Cali” where any hungry palangi can find foods that they are used to. No one needs to grab a dog off the street.

Norattum (seniors call it Norstrom) has been enlarged twice. There is no room for parking in the front of the store because the parking lot is now part of the store. They sell kitchenware, furniture, and clothing. It is like the old variety store we used to go to.

There are several new roads, but the existing roads are still full of potholes. Oft times our driving speed is not much faster that a fast walk.

The Tonga Nuku’alofa Temple was closed due to renovation.

The senior missionaries were asked to help string the crystals for the chandeliers

in the Celestial Room

and Sealing Rooms

of the temple as one of the final projects to complete before the Open House. We also acted as hosts and hostesses at the Temple Open House. The “Cultural Show” celebrating the rededication of the temple was incredible,

and now Elder Thompson and I are Ordinance Workers in the completed and dedicated temple. We help conduct the English session on Thursday nights. Truck-loads of young adults come to do Baptisms for the Dead, bus-loads of villagers come to do Endowments, and boat-loads of islanders come to do all kinds of ordinances.

The Mission had 185 missionaries who had the luxury of 100 pa’anga per month. The Zone leaders drove cars, and the Office Elders were assigned to meet every need of the missionaries including taking items to them from the “mission store.” The Sisters wore uniforms which consisted of long-sleeved dresses over long black skirts. They then wore ta’ovalas (matted cloth) which was held up by a kafa (black woven belt) over the top of these two pieces of clothing.

All Sisters would arrange their hair in two braids like the Liahona school girls.

The Mission now has 115 missionaries.

The support fund has been decreased to 60 pa’anga a month per missionary. The Zone Leaders ride bikes, and there is no Mission Store. We are trying to stay closer to the rules outlined in the Mission Handbook.

The Office Elders have often teased Elder Thompson about getting him a t-shirt that says: “NO! READ THE HANDBOOK!”

An amazing thing is the change in the “Sisters’” clothing. They now wear the same attire as all woman missionaries around the world--the same as they wore to the New Zealand MTC. (They do wear kiakias -which are like mini ta’ovalas-over their skirts.)

The braids are gone, and they wear their hair in a variety of cute styles. There are discussion about having the elders where pants instead of the tupenus, a changes that will come sometime in the future.

The mission office complex was located in downtown Nuku’alofa.

The Mission Complex has moved to Liahona across the street from the temple.

It’s like a gated community over here where all the Church owned grounds are groomed and maintained similar to the temple grounds. Everything is so clean. Angel Moroni keeps an eye on us day and night.

From our apartment, it takes 30 seconds to be at the office, 30 seconds to be at the president’s house, and the same amount of time to walk across the street to the temple.

All animals on the island are domestic animals

Except the flying foxes (bats),

and all are considered as food sources. The dogs were a pathetic and beat-up lot of canine.

Robin Hood,

who stole and ate five of the sandwiches which were intended for the Zone Leaders, was threatened with his life by the hungry Elders. The pigs with their short stubby legs were the most entertaining animals here.

We couldn’t take enough photos of those guys, especially the babies.

Getting down to the smaller creatures here,

there were too many ants and cockroaches to even begin to count. Ugh!

The dogs still sleep under the old mission office carport.

They are excited to see us when we stop by to see how they are doing. In Nuku’alofa there are fewer roaming pigs, the dogs rule. The pigs are still fun to watch.

The dogs, except our old friends at the old mission offices, still look pathetic and beaten up.

John still smashes the bugs.

Bug bombs are still used to get rid of the little critters. Mini ants can be found everywhere. New senior missionaries are alarmed with all the bugs, old timers take it in stride. While eating dinner we just smash the ants on the table, talk about the gecko running about the walls or ceiling, and wonder what type of spider is on the ceiling in the corner.

The island is pretty much status quo on these items. The only thing that has changed is us. We’ve toughened up and have accepted the fact that this is a different culture and people think differently about their animals…and actually not that differently. We just go to Harmon or Albertson for our freshly wrapped meat. The Tongans step outside their homes into their front yards to procure theirs.

Robin Hood and Little John (we should have named her Maid Miriam) are the proud parents of six healthy stripling puppies. We know…we are worried about their fate too!

And we never get tired of watching the roaming, royal pigs. (Sister Kinikini calls them “royal” because they can go anywhere unbothered.)

Ants…ants…ants…ooooooo…that says it all!

Tonga was getting “cleaned up” with the help of the Church’s “helping hands project.”

Wow! This place is looking so much better! When we first arrived, we helped pick-up trash with the people in our Branch every Saturday at 6:00am until the opening of the temple. In fact, every ward on the island had an assigned area to keep sparkling clean. Now the Tongans have garbage cans along the streets and in town which really aid in keeping the place clean. The king has even hired a cleaning crew to clean the junk up along the waterfront and other tourist sites. The garbage dump in Popua is in the process of being turned into a tropical garden. They’ve come a long way, baby!

The people all looked the same—big, brown, and beautiful--with black hair.

We couldn’t distinguish one from another and couldn’t even begin to pronounce their names, let alone understand their English. We had each person that we came in contact with write down their name in hope that someday we would actually be able to first, remember it; secondly, say it somewhat correctly. The Tongans were friendly. We thought it was cute when we walked the streets of Nuku’alofa and people would call out to us, “Hello, Missionaries”.

Today the skin and hair still look the same, but we have come to recognize them and can pronounce (at least most of their names) their names. They are our friends and co-workers. We talk, laugh, and work together. We have come to love them.

Today, many call us by name, “Hi Elder or Sister Thompson”. Those that know who we are, but don’t know us by name, still continue to say “Hi Missionaries”.

After all that we have done or not done, they are still friendly to us.

When we arrived, few people understood that the houses missionaries stay in should be considered “Houses of worship”.

Now every Stake has received a presentation on “Houses of Worship”. The phrase is like a puzz word throughout the Kingdom. Priesthood leaders now know what is going on in these houses and have been asked to help promote the concept of “Houses of Worship”. We have spoken to leaders with candor and have shown them pictures that support our words. Likewise we have spoken to missionaries. If the missionaries following their morning study programs, if they will treat their living quarters with respect, then the houses become “Houses of Worship”.

When we arrived the mission had three boats that were used to travel to the various islands. They were made of fiberglass

and were cracking and were unsafe.

Today, the missionaries travel in boats that are safe. The new boats are made of aluminum and have air pockets to prevent the boats from sinking, if damaged.

They are faster and able to handle the rough seas better. They can safely carry more people.

When we left Salt Lake City in August of 2007, we were a couple of bewildered, heart-broken people. We were leaving our loved-ones and our comfort zone, but we did have a testimony of the gospel and a desire to serve the Lord.

We now have stronger testimonies. We can truthfully say that we have loved our mission. We’ve had our emotional up and downs since we have been here, but we have survived the pain. Now we have emotions about leaving these people. They are our friends. We like being with them. Moments of sadness still exists in our minds. Tears still flow down our checks as we are doing things for our last time. We know we are going home soon. The future worries us. We have to suppress our excitement of seeing our family and keep focused. Fortunately our work keeps us busy.

The small island of “Eua" was shocked with the conversion of a high ranking member of the Tongan church.

Today, Mataleie Havea,

the father of a young Stake President

and former member of the Tongan Church is an active member of the church. He holds the priesthood and can stand at the pulpit and declare the truthfulness of the gospel. The events surrounding his conversion and call to repentance is now called “the miracle on ‘Eua”. The amazing thing about this miracle is that we were involved in the conversation.

It is the spiritual high light of our mission.