December 26, 2014

December 26, 2014

We are celebrating Boxer day by staying home while some of the other missionaries are going snorkeling, others to the temple and most are trying to get in contact with family.  So far, we have talked with Blake, Annie and Layne with a brief texting interlude with Layne before Christmas.  We have seen pictures from home on facebook but it still does not feel like Christmas here.  It is hot, with a breeze that does make the sun less hot, but it’s a warm breeze that just reminds you that you might roast without it. And of course, no snow, no cold, no family; so that part makes Christmas not Christmas.

We participated in a family home evening with a youth choir from Havelu (Hah vay’ loo) which turned out to be a very nice occasion.  Members of the Liahona wards were invited but we had some brave souls who braved the elements and attended our home evening.  However, the program was excellent and we got to meet many young people from town.  Their choir director works at the service center here and is an exceptional musician who can play almost any instrument.  Right now his passion is teaching the young people to sing.  The sad thing is that there are only a few people on the island who can accompany a group like that with any expertise, so these young people learn to sing by listening to recordings.  And unfortunately, when these young folks listen to recordings of young artists, they also try to mimic all of the things artists do the add sounds to their music without learning the basics first.  They really like all of this music and it shows up in their music with all the distortions which not teach them how to really sing and develop their voices.  I wish someone had had the know how to teach the simple musical concepts.  But there are a few like Sela (Sayla) who are at least trying to help the youth.  There were about 6 young people who sang solos who had nice voices, but because they had to sing with a recording it was hard to really to hear them.  Elder Holbrook had also included some history about the Christmas music which really added to the spirit of the meeting.  Garth and Sandy Hamblin sang their song about the Christ Child.  I’ve included the story and the words to the music on another page.  I played for our choir and the Hamblins, plus the openings and closing hymns.  I also got the chance to play one piece of accompaniment for the youth choir.  So I stayed pretty busy that night.

Last Sunday at Sacrament meeting, we got to hear a new young missionary who just returned from her mission to the Philippines.  Sister Kinikini gave a powerful testimony and a great talk about what she learned on her mission.  I’m not sure if the speakers were just called from the audience without notice, but I know she was.  The next speaker told a story that kind of tickled me.    It goes something like this.  One day a lady looked in the mirror and decided that since she only had 3 hairs, on her head, she was going to braid her hair and she had a happy day.  The next day, she only had 2 hairs on her head, so she decided she was going to part her hair in the middle and she had a happy day.  The third day, she only had 1 hair, so she decided to wear her hair in a ponytail and she had a happy day.  The fourth day, she had no hair and she was glad she didn’t have to worry about what to do with her hair and she had a happy day.  It’s all about attitude.  I loved that story.  The last speaker chose her talk from one given by President Hinckley that I want to look up, The 4 Imperatives of Teaching.  Those talks stressed the importance of continued learning, keeping our lives in balance, enjoying our work and above all, keep happy.    So we had a nice meeting.  Our Liahona wards have been combined since that dorm students left for the summer until January when school resumes in January.  Boy I am really messed up with these season changes.

We’ve had several missionary feasts since Christmas eve and have another one on the schedule for New Years Eve and New Years Day.   We had a ham dinner Christmas Eve and a Mexican potluck on Christmas day.  We always have more food than we will ever eat and even more goodies at home. There are some really good cooks and I now make a mean chicken enchilada which is pretty darn good if I do say so myself. We played a few games, sang some Christmas songs which was fun.  We have about 4 Tongan couple missionaries who are really good people.  It’s fun to spend time with them.  Most of these couples have spent a lot of time in the US, however, 1 couple are serving their mission from their home in Tonga.  He was the bishop of his ward before he was released.  All of these couples are working with activation and with the young missionaries in teaching, fellowshipping people.  They are very busy.  Sister Va’enuku spends every morning baking and then she and her husband take food to those families who they know are in need.  They also have a mission van, transport both missionaries and investigators to meetings.  They are so busy.  The Va’enuku’s will go home for 2 months in March and then will come back to Tonga for another 18 month mission.  They are pretty excited about what they are doing.  Funaki’s are now working with the self-reliance programs and the young returned missionaries education.  They are also a very hard working couple.  Both speak excellent English and of course Tongan, so they are really needed here.

When I looked at the calendar all I could think about is where is our free time?  I am not a party animal and this schedule has really put me out of my comfort zone.  We did opt out of yesterdays and todays snorkeling trips, I think some of the missionaries are even trying to get another one going for tomorrow.  These are missionaries who have all of their equipment and would snorkel where ever they can.  That is way too much togetherness for me.  Steve and I went for a ride to our favorite beaches, and just enjoyed having a day to ourselves and the little kids who were swimming at the last beach that we went to.  These kids have fun wherever.  We took several pictures of them, but we spent our time looking for doors (there is a picture on the blog) which we found.  One family who had a picnic lunch even took their plates down into the ocean with them and washed their plates.  Hmmm, I not sure if the plates will get another washing though before they get used again.  There are still things that surprise us and others that we have just gotten used to.

We took groceries and stuff to one of the young families that we are acquainted with.  We didn’t even try to be sneaky this year.  We just marched up to their door with boxes of stuff.  We got such nice hugs and loves, almost as good as home.  We also have a family with 6 children that we helped with goodies.  It is so sad how people have to live hand to mouth, but they are so happy and positive about everything no matter what.   If they receive something they turn around and help someone else.  We have a young lady, Samantha, which lives in our ward, who married a Tongan in the states and then ended up moving to Tonga to live.  They lived with his sister (who is the primary president) and her family for a little while and are now living in a lean to shack on a piece of property here on the island.  Her husband knows how to build since that was his trade in the states, but they have no money, limited jobs so they are making do, which is not all bad.  We all have to learn how to make do but they are taking this to new heights.  We had a really bad rain storm a couple of weeks again, the kind of gully washer we had last year.  They were just getting their hut completed when that storm came through.  The roof was not leak proof yet and they got wet.  Samantha got really wet and then has been sick in bed for a couple of weeks.  She looks like she lost some a weight but she is back to having sparkling eyes and a big smile.  Her kids are super cute and her husband seems to be a very good man.  We hope things work out well for them.  We don’t know where they live, so we will have to find them and see what we can do to help them in some small way.  We used to see her at the temple on our shift, but have missed seeing her there for the last few weeks.  When we talked with Sam this last week, she told us what had been happening.  I felt bad that we weren’t aware of their plight.

Time continues to fly.  We got a little reprieve from our big assignment, so we are actually having time to relax a little.  However, that doesn’t mean we haven’t had things to do.  Elder Hamblin asked Elder Meyers to build a frame for a picture that is an artist proof that he will be giving to a family that are featured in the January Ensign this month.  It is an article written by Sandy Hamblin about a family we met just after our arrival in Tonga.  The picture is shown of a man standing outside the window of a church where his wife and family were attending church.  It is an amazing story.  Steve is so frustrated with the lack of equipment here to do a 20 minute job that took him 2 hours to finish here.  At the point we got really homesick thinking about all of the things that we do have that would make life so much easier here.  Simple tasks are not simple or easy.

We have taken some time to think about what it will be like going home, what we will face, what we want to do and how to arrange schedules to see everyone.  I am a little anxious about mom and her situation, hoping she won’t still be mad at me.  Although Sally has been keeping me informed about what is happening with her, I am still anxious about what is going on in her mind and body. I am so grateful that Sally, Connie and David are there to make sure she is getting the care she needs.

I am looking forward to moving into the carriage house.  It will be twice as big as what we have been living in.  I am ready to simplify and try to get back into a different schedule.  The future looks a little scary right now.  I’m not sure that I really want to get back into our big house that is bigger than we need.  However, I’m also a little concerned about our knees and stairs.  So we will have some adjustments to make whatever we do.  Life does have a way of going on either with or without us.