January 19, 2014

January 19, 2014

Today is Sunday, we have had an eventful day but as I sit down to write about it my mind is mostly blank.  I think the worst part of the mission is the time is flying by so fast, our day’s just kind of blend into one another.  We gauge our weeks activities by Thursdays, the day we attend the Temple and it means another Friday to hurry up and get done what didn’t get done during the week, then try to take a breath of fresh air to get rid of the residual of the week work.  Only 2 things come to mind that are out of the ordinary this week.

Sister Johnson and Sister Aland taught 4 weeks of summer school reading classes to about 60 children around Liahona.  Friday was graduation.  So that turned into another experience.  I played for them as the group B boys and girls sang a song that was so much fun.  The only problem was they kept hurrying faster and faster the longer they sang.  The song took on a life of its own, hurrying to its conclusion.  I’m just glad I was able to finish with them and not be 3 measures behind them.  Just imagine a tornado picking up speed, that’s what it felt like. We had made 44 book bags complete with books, for the families of the “graduates” that they could take home to continue with their reading.  The program was like any other program where children are involved, they wowed their parents, did a super job with the singing and choral readings that were pretty amazing.  The only problem is that there are boys and girls who are not associated in any way with Liahona who have no way of getting to the school for this kind of program.  The reading program needs to now be taken over by a native who can keep it going, I hope that can happen.

We had 14 more missionaries come to Tonga on Tuesday.  We also helped sister Tupou prepare meals for Friday Zone conference of about 130 Elders and Sisters.  An Elder Taylor and his wife came from New Zealand to do some counseling, which was the major topic of the zone conference. They discussed how to adjust to a new life style, a new country and a new language.  I think Elder Taylor had a hard time getting through the Tongan language translation.  Our Bishop was the translator so I’m sure they got the basic principles, but translating from English to Tongan takes a lot more wordage.  The Tongan Book of Mormon is about 200 pages longer than the English version.  Viliami, who is one of our best TVET teachers told us that he reads the Book of Mormon with his wife in Tongan because she doesn’t read English although she speaks fairly fluently.  He then reads it in English which makes it clearer.  There are a lot of Tongan words that don’t have an English translation so they kind of have to beat around the bush to get the idea across.  So anyway the conference went well, I think.  There was lots of food and lots of friendly laughter between sessions.  One of the elders who was recently released showed up at the conference to see some of his missionary companions.  He was really missing his missionary work, he said it was hard to be home.  Those of you who have served understand his dilemma.

Elder Aland, who we share a car with, had gone to pick up Sister Aland to come help with the conference. He was signaling to turn right to cross the road to the chapel when a car, went around 2 other cars, tried to pass on the right and hit the Aland’s in our mission car.  Sister Mitchell who was behind them, said the driver was really going fast, and talking on his cell phone.  The Aland’s were not hurt, but shaken up some, but the front bumper and the front right tire took the brunt of the impact of the vehicles.  Elder Aland’s right wrist hurt later in the day and Sister Aland reacted by pressing really hard with her feet on “the brake” even though she wasn’t driving, an unconscious mechanism when you think by bracing you are going to make things stop or slow down.  It was pretty interesting watching the police in action investigating the accident.  The guy who hit the Aland’s was Chinese.  It didn’t take him very long to get an interpreter there and a contingent of Chinese folks to get to the scene.  The sad thing is that the Chinese people are slowly undercutting the Tongan business men to drive them out of business.  We have heard that the government subsidizes these business people so they can drive their competitors out of business.  The Tongans don’t have much love for the Chinese.  Luckily one of the Elders who is serving in Tonga, Elder Lotulele speaks Chinese so he helped translate for Elder Aland and maybe for the police.  I do know there was a young lady also who was also helping with the translation.  The accident took out the front wheel area, but we were able to slowly drive the car back to Liahona after the police finished with their investigation at the scene.  It was kind of scarey.  Sister Aland was afraid it was going to blow up because the car smelled like gas, so she didn’t want to ride in it. Elder Aland had to go the police station to make a statement and fill out an accident report. Sister Aland went back with Sister Mitchell, so we got to drive the injured vehicle. Every now and again if we went over about 10 miles an hour, it felt like the front right wheel was going to take off from the car.  We had people in front and behind us to make sure we made it back to Liahona.  So that took care of that day and our transportation until the car could be repaired.

Thursday at the temple we had a record number of people in attendance at the English session.  We had 55 total, chairs up front for the extra ladies.  The room is supposed to hold a maximum of 45 people and that doesn’t take into account the size of some of the Tongans.  They are big people.  The officiators are so afraid of the English that it is hard for them to cover for us when we have to be gone.  Last week we had a missionary fireside that we had to be at, so we couldn’t be there.  The ladies were so funny when we walked in, they got these great big grins on their faces and came up to us saying, “thank you, thank you for being here tonight, we can’t do it without you”.  We certainly love these people.

We are still hearing many amazing stories about the relief work going on in Ha`apai.  Sister Webb, humanitarian missionary, was telling us last night about some of the miracles that are happening in Ha`apai.  So I’m going to try to retell them and hope that I get the details right.  There has been an almost total annihilation of most of the buildings on Ha`apai.  The only ones without damage have been the LDS churches and the missionary MQ’s which are the missionary quarters.  The churches are sanctuaries for many people on the island, many of which are not members of the church.  President Tupou told the people that had gathered at the church that our churches are Heavenly Father’s houses and they are welcome to stay there, member or not.  Sister Webb related that they were called by the Humanitarian director to get 500 loaves of bread gathered to be flown to the island one day.  They managed to get the owner of the bakery on Tongatapu who makes bread for all the little stores on the island, to deliver 500 loaves of bread to the airport where a plane was waiting to take them to Ha`apai.  Sister Webb reported they were able to get all of the bread in boxes except 6 loaves which they bundled together with plastic, not knowing how they were going to keep the loaves from being mashed.  When they got to the airport, there was a young sister missionary who was released from her mission who lived on Ha’apai and was going home.  She carried those loaves of bread on her lap to Ha`apai.  The President had these loaves of bread given to the workers at the airport who were very grateful.  The sister missionary reported that her family home had very limited damage to their home.  They are not members of the church but because she was serving a mission she felt that her family was given a miracle of protection.

Another gentleman who was involved in the relief effort in Tonga felt impressed to add a Book of Mormon in a box that he was sending.  He wrote his testimony in the book and also added his name and phone number in the book with the statement that if the person who read the book had any further needs, to call him.  He was called by a Catholic lady who had a son who was attending a Catholic School in Tonga.  She asked this gentleman if he really meant it when he said he was willing to help with anything.  He replied “yes”, then she told him, because of the damage to the island, she no longer had the ability to pay for her sons tuition and would he help her with that.  He said he would, but while they were talking, her sister stopped her and told her “I will pay your son’s tuition.  I am a member of the LDS church and haven’t been active for years, but I know the church is true and I am going back to church”. 

During one of the relief meetings, where about 9 people were gathered, as usual, the people went around the room introducing themselves and what they were doing to assist with the relief effort.  Most of the people present were members of the church except one man.  He reported that he had 8 children who were active members, but he, his wife and youngest child were not.  During the course of the meeting, it was mentioned that there were people who needed wheelchairs and that the church had just completed a wheelchair distribution.  This man perked up and stated that his wife was an amputee and hadn’t been out of the house for a very long time because of her condition.  Sister Webb looked at him and said, ”we can fit your wife tomorrow and have a wheelchair for her by Friday.  We will send the missionaries to your home tomorrow.   What is your address?”  Sister Webb reported he had tears came to his eyes and he said, “I can’t believe anyone would do something like that for her, she is not a member of your church”.  Sister Webb just told him that it didn’t matter if she was a member or not, they would get it worked out, then his wife could come with him to church.  Sister Webb said she was totally surprised that she was so bold as to tell him to come to church, and then they could meet with missionaries. He told her he would and the rest of his family would be baptized. Sister Webb said that these kinds of things are happening every day.  Heavenly Father is certainly looking out for the people of Ha`apai.

President Tupou also told us that considering a 178 mile an hour winds that hit Ha`apai, it’s a miracle that of the 6000 that live there, only one life was lost.  President Tupou told us about an MQ that had the buildings around it demolished.  He reported that a huge tree that was standing in front of the MQ was totally turned upside down, the roots in the air, the top of the tree sticking in the ground.  Trees were literally pulverized into tooth picks. There are no crops left. The wharf was destroyed.  We have more pictures to post to show more of the damage. We have had many people from the area presidency here meeting and working out the relief effort.  I have not experienced this kind of disaster, but it is truly amazing how fast the church can respond to a disaster.  It is truly humbling to be a small cog in a very large wheel.