Week of Sept 7, 2014

For home evening we had Mele Ofa Uhila teach us how to make Tapa Cloth.



We are off to the races.  We each have a five foot strip of bark from a small mulberry
tree (Tutu) and pound it to stretch the fibers. 

The logs they pound on had a bunch of inhabitants that did not like the noise and vibration.
They came out by the dozens and had lots of the Sisters quite excited.  Cockroaches are
not their favorite visitor.

All the years of "hand work" paid off on this exercise!

You just keep working it and it widens out.  You add water to keep it soft and pliable.

Mmmmm....back to the cockroaches.  That pile is now covered with ants who are
 carrying them up the wall.  There is no end to learning and excitement in Tonga.
It's the little things that entertain us here!!!

See how wide it is getting now....only to be outdone by Sister Va`enuku.  Now she is
showing me the tricks of the trade.

Wednesday is Mom's piano class and they are all still coming each week.

They are eager to learn and have a natural ability with music.  Sometimes that
is a disadvantage, because they don't always want to memorize the notes...they
can just hear them.

Mom is making sure with this group that they memorize the notes and can read them.

She has a game of concentration to help make it fun.

Friday is Parent Teacher Conference and we presented a Teachers Certificate to
Ellin Pakalani.  Folau Kioa, Assistant Commissioner of Education in the
South Pacific adds a "Professional touch".

Friday was also an internal assessment day for the Tongan Department and they
were displaying their Tongan Art projects.  The teachers are Seini Manamua,
Mele Ofa Uhila and Selia Latu.

A view of all the projects the made.

Friday became the longest non-baptism, baptism that we have ever attended,
but that is another story for Mom to tell.  This is Sister Hamblin playing the
prelude music for Prince Ata's Baptismal service.  She played for nearly an hour
while the Prime Minister tried to talk him out of being baptized.  Mom was to
play for the Tupou's and Hamblin's after the confirmation.  We hope they have
the same program when he gets baptized so we get to go again.  See this gets
you all excited to read Mom's Blog entry.

Elder Makasini, one of the Mission Assistants who helped teach the Prince.