January 9, 2014

January 9, 2014

It has been several weeks since I have written about our mission, partly since I haven’t known what to say because of the events that took place before Christmas, partly because our lives kind of slowed down a little and I was concerned that life in the mission field was getting too boring to write about.  However, those were wrong thoughts, because life is anything but boring here in Tonga, it just may be the writer that needed a boost to get started writing again.  Just when we think we have things figured out, we get a new wrinkle or twist in fate that changes things.  Christmas actually was not too bad with missing home, because there was no snow, no family gatherings, no Christmas tree or the accompanying stuff that goes along with it.  We had instead, Missionary activities, caroling, parties, and eating.  Many of our Tongan friends included us in their activities.  So the times went really fast, and yet slow in that we had more time to explore the island.  We did find some more breath taking beaches, clouds, sunsets and experienced dramatic weather changes.  We are hot, humidity about 80% in our homes with the outside temperatures about 32-34 C with the humidity about 90% which makes the temperature feel like about 107.  That is hot, those of you that have experienced heat and humidity together know how hot that is.  The air conditioning goes on at night and sometimes during the day when we are working at home.  Luckily our office, the service center, most places that we work the air conditioning works.  It just makes it harder to be outside.  We do have a tendency to stay out of the sun.  We are always grateful when it rains or when the clouds cover the sky.  The ocean breezes help some unless you are in the sun.  Someone asked me the other day how the sun feels, it’s like standing next to a hot burner on the stove, it feels like it is burning your skin.  That’s as close as I can come to describing the heat.

Neil and Lana Kunz arrived here on Saturday, Jan 4 to work at the Dentist office.  It was so good to see someone from home and to hear about home.  We spent a lot of time with them over the weekend, ate meals together and have laughed a lot.  Neil has had to go back 50 years in dental practice though in working at the clinic here.  He came with his running shoes on, he and Lana spend many hours at the clinic, often times going without lunch to try to see all the people who are lined up to see them.  Luckily for them, Elder Berger, who was raised just a few miles from Neil lives here and everyday, he has taken them a fruit drink kind of like Jamba juice to keep them going.  We have loved watching their faces and expressions as they have seen or heard something new, like the singing and the humble friendliness of the people.  Lana and Neil have taken the “humblemobile” to town and have experienced Tongan driving.  Poor Neil should have black and blue arms and legs as Lana gets fairly forceful with her side by side assist.  It does take 2 to stay on the left side of the road and navigate the turn abouts, and “humps” in the road.  We have a missionary fireside tonight that they are going to go to with us.  All of the missionaries sing and attend as often as possible.  It will be a real treat for them. Next week we will get them to the English speaking Temple session.

Steve is working really hard to get all of his jobs finished so that the teachers will have manuals and materials ready for school.  He will be teaching ITEP classes for those who are working on degrees starting the 1^st of February.  At this time, we are not sure how many that will be.  So far, 5 of the TVET teachers have finished their Teachers Certificates and are just waiting for the approval from the area director to get back for the certificates or diplomas to be awarded.  We want to have a big splash for them.  It is really hard for these teachers who are taking classes in English as their second language.  One of the Home EC teachers, Sula, is taking classes and is so frightened about reading, writing and comprehending in English.  I don’t know what I would do if I had to talk, write or even think in Tongan.  We are just grateful we are learning first and last names and a few simple phrases.  I can’t imagine what it would be like to take college classes in Tongan and trying to pass.  Whew!

We attended our first funeral wake, I think that is what it is called, this week.  Our High School principles father-in-law died while we were all the temple Thursday night.  Fehi’s husband is the bishop of Liahona 1^st ward and he is the shift supervisor at the temple on Thursday nights while we are there.  Fehi was also at the temple Thursday night to attend a session. The session was full to the brim, and a very tender session.  Apparently Bishop Fafita’s father was still an active man at 83, I don’t think he had been sick at all.  It was just a sudden, probably peaceful death.  At any rate, they had a “service” at the hospital which is not what we do.  They have groups of people who meet together and when invited by the family, say prayers for the deceased, sing songs, give talks, sing more songs, all the while sitting on the mats that cover the hard ground, coral rocks and all.  When they are finished another group, invited by the family do the same thing for the family.  Fehi told us after our turn, missionaries and members of the 1^st ward, that there was another group after we were finished, a total of five hours previous to our “program”.  The family sits on mats during the entire time and listen to what is said.  The ward gave mats and a huge wreath to the family.  The missionaries were given a place of honor in the front and got to sit on the mats in front.  I didn’t sit on the mats because I couldn’t have gotten up if I had sat that long, I sat on a little concrete abutment close to the worshippers.  At any rate, the widow thanked us and gave us all a traditional Tongan hug.  She was very gracious, spoke some English.  The grandfather was a minister for the Wesleyan Methodist church, Bishop Fafita is the only member of the LDS church, but Fehi said the program with the Wesleyan church went very smoothly.  Grandfather  Fafita was going to be buried in Vava`u where he had been raised.  The weather cooperated; we didn’t get much rain during the service, a very lite shower.  It had been raining really hard for a couple of days.

Monday I got volunteered to go help with the summer reading classes.  That was very interesting.  The young people who have families who speak English very definitely have the advantage.  There was quite a mix of abilities.  There were about 60 children enrolled in the reading classes.  They were originally intending for about 30 children, but Sister Aland, couldn’t say no to anyone.  It is very apparent though that the people who live away from Liahona do not get any benefits of having a church school close by which is unfortunate.  The schools on the island have a major gap in educational opportunities.  I am now playing a keyboard for the children to learn a song to sing to their parents at “graduation”.  It’s pretty fun listening to them sing.  They fill the room and then some, with their music.  They love to sing.  We also are making book bags for the students to take home books to their families on completion of the reading classes.  We only have to make 44 for the families of the students, not too bad.  The students, high school age are helping with the bags, so all are cut out ready to size, all we have to do is sew them up.  There are 3 of us that have machines so we will get together the end of the week and finish them up.

The mission president, Pres. Tupou, his wife and the Hamblins made a journey to Niua Fo`ou and Niuatoputapu  before Christmas to check on the missionaries on those tiny islands.  One is the island that Elder Groberg spent most of his time on.  They flew in on a Saturday the 14^th and were supposed to be picked up Wednesday 18^th of the following week.  On Wednesday they were notified that the plane was down for repairs, but it would be repaired by Thursday.  Again no go on Thursday, then Friday, SAturaday and then Sunday. We heard rumors that there wasn’t any flight fuel. The waves were so rough with the winds that the tankers couldn’t dock in Tonga.  The mission travelers finally decided they would need to take a boat from the Nuia’s to Tonga which is a 3 day boat trip.  That would put them home on Christmas day, Hopefully!  That’s what they did, but the weather didn’t cooperate much, winds, waves and rain didn’t help much.  All of them faired fairly well, except Sister Hamblin.  She was deathly ill the whole time.  Poor lady.  She was so glad to get home and Pres. Tupou now has some valid concerns to raise with the transportation of missionaries to the outer islands.  He doesn’t want them to be so isolated as they have been.  He served in the Niua’s for a year when he served his mission there when he was 16.  So he is trying to make some changes.  He also has a big push on making sure missionaries get their education and can get jobs when they get home from serving missions.

I had an interesting experience this week during my “summer cleaning”.  I was washing out the window sills of our house.  I had pulled down the curtains, to wash them, then started on the windows.  I had two little white kind of ball things about the size of a pea on the ledge that had a little black edges on them.  I knocked one on the floor, then the other one.  I reached down to throw them into the garbage, grabbed one and promptly dropped it because it started wiggling in my hand.  I yelled for Steve, poor Steve always has to rescue me from some unknown critter, he came running.  The little round thing opened up and was a gecko which hatched when I dropped it. I felt bad when I saw how little he was, but not bad enough to want to keep him as a pet. The other one hadn’t hatched yet, but we gathered them up in the dust pan and put them under a tree in the front yard.  I think the first one probably had a major headache from being dropped.  I don’t know whether they even survived the falls or birds that nest in the tree looking for food.

Now before I sign off, I have an assignment from Steve.  Lest we forget and before it becomes so common to us, we need to share some of our menus with you.  For breakfast this morning, we had a fresh juice made with passion fruit, cantalope, coconut, pineapple and Tang for the mixer.  We also had cut up bananas and mangos.  The variety varies with what’s on the counter that needs to be used.  We had toasted coconut bread with papaya jam and Oatmeal, our favorite rolled oats from New Zealand that stays chewy when it cooks, sweetened with raw sugar.  Dad wanted to make sure everyone is aware that we are not starving or suffering most of the time.  On the 1^st of January, we went with the zone leaders to take money to the missionaries, which is favorite activity.  We love getting to meet the missionaries, see how they are doing and get to know them a little better.  One pair of sister missionaries had made a drink called OTI which is made of chunks of watermelon mixed with coconut, coconut milk, sugared water and is a great treat.  It tasted good, but it is a chewing drink.  I had my hands full, took a drink and had chunks of watermelon hanging out of my mouth.  All I could do was keep chewing and try to get it pulled up into mouth without using my hands.  That was pretty interesting, but that seemed to be a common experience with this so called “drink”.  We can’t call them smoothies, but we did like the flavor and we have tried to recreate the drink in our own version, blended.  We have tried many drink variations.

One last thought.  A talk was given in our ward about Joseph and Mary that I wanted to share.  Lolo talked about the courage that Joseph had when he was caring for Mary and her unborn child, Jesus. Can you imagine having the care of the son of God and his mother? What about putting away Mary because of her pregnancy? Wow! I can’t even think of the concerns that would be part of his raising Jesus. Lolo also suggested that maybe there was no room in the inn because he didn’t have enough money.  That is a common problem in Tonga., maybe an incentive to keep going to school and get an education. I keep thinking about that and have decided that I need to have more courage. So, that is my thought.