February 17, 2014

February 17, 2014

Today we woke up to a roaring thunder and hard pounding rain.  I wanted to just pull the covers over my head because I was so tired.  Steve didn't move much faster, but we finally decided, since we are the missionaries we had better live by the spirit of the law today. Last week was a busy one with missionary singing fireside, temple, Mission President's dinner and a myriad of other things that at this moment I can't even recall.  All I know is that by Sunday I was ready to stay in bed for a week and just sleep.  Of course that didn't happen but the thought helped some.  Oh, I know what I forgot.  We had a relief society Valentines dinner with our spouses that was a really great dinner and social with the ward members.  We ate good food and had a lot of fun.  The laughs were really good and fun/  Our Tongan friends aren't afraid to have some fun and make fun of themselves.  The night was very festive and we had a lot of fun.

We sang at a misisonary fireside that was also great because most of it was spoken in English which helps us at least understand some of what is going on.  We do have the missionary zone leaders who translate for us.  They do a much better job than I would if we were to reverse roles.  President Tupou was there and it makes such a difference when he and his familly can be there.  He gives simple direct talks about hastening the work.  The mission itself has made the goal of 3000 baptisms this year.  By that I mean, the Stake presidents have committed their wards to have that many baptisms. There are 19 Stakes in the isalnds. The missionaries are working mostly with member referrals.  The firesides that we sing at have 2-3 recent converts talk or bear their testimonies, then some talk who have been reactivated.  President Tupou's theory about the talks is investigators need to know why someone else decided to join the church and to feel the spirit of those who have converted.  He doesn't want the Stake Presidents or the Bishops to give long talks, in fact he asks them not to talk because they overwhelm the investigators.  Investigators are interested in those in the same position as they have been.  Most of the stakes on the island, don't have the opportunity of having Senior missionaries in their wards, so they really appreciate the fact that we are coming to their firesides.  The Sr missionaries do sound good, the songs are simple and we are so excited to be able to do a little missionary work that is different from our regular assignments.  We all have different assignments, humanitarian, PEF, ITEP, TVET, YSA, music, office; so many opportunities to serve, all from different walks of life.  We need more Senior missionaries  in whatever capacity.

Sunday night we had our monthly meeting with the Mission President and his family.  Of course the food was excellent and we ate all we wanted and more.  We have a new dentist couple here that are  from Boise.  Good old Idaho is well represented in Tonga.  The Cutlers are here for 6 weeks, then will be joined by a couple from Utah who will be serving 18 months as the dentist couple.  There is so much that needs to be done.  Thanks to Dr. Kunz, Dr. Cutler is going to work with the young people who are helping in the clinic to get a certificate as a dental assistant.  I'm not sure how many young people that will be involved.Dr. Cutler has an agenda for the students.  President Tupou talked about the goals of the mission and about the young missionaries.  He is really caught up in the fact that so many of them have no way to further their education and is working every way he can to open up opportunities for the missionaries.  One of the possibilities is an on line program with an education center here in Tonga which could be run by missionary couples.  Lots of ideas are being looked at.  President Tupou won't rest until he feels like he has done something to make Tonga a better place for education and employment opportunities for the missionaries. Self Reliance is a major factor in the new program that has been introduced by the church which he is trying to tap into to help the returning missionaries.

This morning I got caught off guard as we were leaving the Monday morning devotional assembly.  Maopa, our wonderful friend, caught me and asked if I could come and assist in teaching her Home EC class while she went to an emergency meeting during class time.  I had a very fast education as we walked to her classroom, where we were greeted by about 50 1st period class students.  Luckily they were studying nutrition, a mixed bag of form 5, 6 and 7, with varying degrees of learning and understanding.  They do not have the same basic food chart that we have, we used a manual that is from New Zealand, some written in a different language.  Luckily, Maopa was there for most of it, had a good lesson plan, some things I knew, some I didn't.  I did find out though that it was too easy for me to talk over their heads.  Too much information is worse than not enough when they don't understand the language well enough to translate.  By the time I got done with that class, I was super hot with sweat running down both sides of my face.  Wow, I hope I have a little more notice next time...