Put a Bow on It

And then we came home!  Our work sped up over the final two months, and we didn’t find time to write a final blog post to wrap it all up.  Now we’ll take a moment to do that and put a bow on it. 

This mission has been challenging at times, and yet it has been a great gift from our Father in Heaven.  We learned so much about Him and His eternal love for His children in Tonga and everywhere.  We learned that He would always give us what we needed to accomplish His work here in Tonga, and that “grace shall be as your day.”

So, the bow…

We had another beautiful young single adult group come from Papua-New Guinea to receive their endowments and do the temple work for some of their relatives. We were told that these young men and women live in great poverty.  Some of them only had two outfits.  None of them had ever been to a dentist.  

It was a privilege to spend time with them in and out of the temple and see their pure faith.  They know what it is to have nothing, and so they value the things that really matter—faithfulness to Jesus Christ, testimony, love of others, and service. 

Papua-New Guinea is a violent place, and they live in fear because of all the gangs and paramilitary groups.  As we drove down a dirt road with tall grass on both sides, one young man told us that in PNG, it wouldn’t be safe to walk down such a road because there would be “rascals” as they call them hiding behind the grass taking drugs and waiting to attack with machetes those using the road.  What a difficult life.  The last night we saw some of the young women walking the two blocks or so to a store where they could get a treat.  They seemed to feel so free because they could walk at night without fear.

Beautiful PNG young adults enjoying a treat

It was decided that all the YSA would receive a dental checkup and cleaning, along with whatever was required to repair their teeth before their missionary service, and we were responsible to get them to their dental appointments.  

One young woman was missing the four top front teeth.  The senior missionary dentist and hygienist cleaned and worked on her teeth, and a bridge was made to replace the missing teeth.  When she first put in the bridge, she cried.  She was happy and outgoing for the rest of the week!  When anyone asked to see her teeth, she smiled broadly, and that smile lit up her face!

The hygienist and the dentist worked hour after hour to try to make the teeth the best they could possibly be.  Just watching them was exhausting.  The hygienist chatted with them amiably while she worked, and those whose teeth had been severely neglected got a gentle scolding and specific things they needed to do to keep their teeth in good shape.  Here are the stats:  95 fillings, 25 extractions, 3 root canals, 2 removable partials, and 29 cleanings.

 

They are so beautiful!

But this week was about temple work, and their experience remained temple-centered. 

The second day we had a baptismal session so all the YSAs could perform the ordinances on behalf of their relatives.  Kyle organized the session so that each young man was able to baptize two young women and then be baptized by the next young man.  It was such a tender session!  The young men were completely aware of the sacredness of the ordinances and their part.  After being instructed where to stand and how to hold the arm of the one being baptized, they raised their arm to the square and carefully read the ordinance.  They then oh-so-gently immersed them in the water, making sure they were completely submerged, and then raised them to their feet. 

As Mary sat there, the words that ran through her head were, “Sweet is the work, my God, my King.”  Watching these young men was sweet, so sweet, and she felt surrounded by the sweetness of their faithfulness and devotion to God. 

They just shine!

The capstone of the week was the sealing session.  The sealer carefully explained how the session would be conducted, and then he made sure that each young man or young woman was aware when their relative’s ordinance was being done.  Single YSAs don’t stand proxy for married couples, so the work they engaged in was sealings of sons and daughters to the parents.  He pointed out words in the ordinances that helped the YSAs better understand the sacred covenants being made and the beautiful promises.

During our final two weeks in Tonga, we were blessed to attend a few hand-over ceremonies.  The recipients hold these when a project is completed to thank the Church and express their feelings about the project.  We were invited to celebrate the completion of a project to build two much-needed classrooms for a government school.  

Elder Latimer in front of the new Veitongo GMS classrooms

When we arrived, we thought there must be a big party being held—and we were right!  Gathered in front of the new building were a really loud singer with an electronic back-up band and a lot of beautiful, energetic children.  

Charming children celebrate their new classrooms.

We were led to seats in front where we faced the audience, and after a prayer and the singing of two hymns by the audience, led by two older students, Kyle was asked to speak.  It was very emotional for him since we had attended a lot of meetings with these good people and they had worked hard to finish the project before we left. 

Elder Latimer high-fives the students.

The other hand-over ceremonies we attended were for sewing machines for a women’s development group in Nakolo Village; a new shed to cover the oxygen container at Vaiola Hospital, and a water tank stand for Fahefa Village. As with the schoolroom building, we were treated as royalty with lavish praise, all of which, we reminded the recipients, was actually for the love and generosity of God and the Saints throughout the world.

The mother on the left sewed the curtains above us for her daughter.

We are honored by being seated in front of the sewing club members for our refreshments. The man on the left is the sewing instructor..

We celebrate the completion of Fahefa Village's water tank stand.  Now the people will have access to water 24 hours a day whereas before they only had water four hours on then four hours off.  

The evening before we departed, we were feted with an umu dinner prepared by Olini, a counselor in the bishopric, and supplemented by the senior missionaries.  An umu dinner is a traditional Tongan meal cooked in an outdoor oven, and Olini is a master at it.  These meals generally include chicken and/or lamb, lu (coconut cream and corned beef or lamb wrapped in taro leaves), and roots such as taro, tapioca, and Ufi, which is similar to sweet potatoes.  We loved having one more evening together.

Bishop Lakai (left) and Olini at our final dinner together

 

We love Bishop and Sister Lakai!

And that was it!  We returned home on February 7th. 

What a challenging, joyful, and rewarding 18 months it has been!  It was sad to bid farewell to our beloved Tongan friends and our wonderful fellow senior missionaries, but we are grateful to be reunited with family and to be back home.  ‘Ofa atu!

 

Too Much Joy for One Mission

In October general conference, Elder Kearon spoke about our church of joy. Similarly, this has been a mission of joy, especially the past few weeks. Here are several recent joyful experiences: 

Trip to Eua – We traveled again to Eua which is the nearest inhabited island. The last time we visited we took the 3-hour ferry ride. This time we flew, and the flight, on a small 15-seater plane, is only 7 minutes from take-off to landing. We accompanied two other senior missionary couples who serve in the mission office and were going to inspect the young missionaries’ quarters, while we met with the local hospital staff to discuss what needs they had. We also spent a half-day seeing the very impressive nature sights of Eua – stunning! 

Stunning Eua

This is all one gigantic tree!

Sweet sister missionaries in Eua

Trip to Ha’apai - We traveled again to Ha’apai which is the third largest island group in Tonga. This time we traveled there at the invitation of an LDS member of Parliament who wanted us to meet with village officials in his district to discuss their water needs. Once we landed, we went to the wharf and jumped on a small fishing boat with the Parliament representative and others and took a lovely 30-minute boat ride to Ha’ano island. There we met with the officials from several villages. The meeting began with the attendees singing a local Tongan hymn in loud and beautiful acapella harmony followed by a prayer. Each official then shared the needs they have (new pump, new piping, new storage tank, etc.). The residents rely solely on collected rainwater, so when there’s a leaky tank or pipes or a long dry period, they are in trouble. After the meeting, we returned by boat to the main island and held another similar meeting with another group of villages in need. We hope to be able to put together a project to assist these wonderful people. 

On the way to the island

Fehi’s graduation – Fehi Sanft is a lovely, recently returned missionary in our ward. Her family is one of the stalwarts in our ward, and Fehi serves in the YW presidency with Mary. After returning from her mission, she enrolled in the police academy for the 6-month training program. Her family invited us to the graduation dinner which was held in a large convention hall. Each graduate’s family is assigned two or three tables for their invited guests, and the family is responsible to provide the food for their guests. In typical Tonga fashion, the food was plentiful and delicious. 

Fehi--now a member of the Tonga police force

Elaborate tables for each graduate

We ate the grapes...

Ngele’ia Primary School – We received a letter from the PTA of Ngele’ia Primary School, which in addition to the regular school, they have a separate program for children with various disabilities. They are requesting a shuttle van in order to transport the special needs children to and from school and for their teachers to make home visits. We went to visit the school with Elder and Sister Torres, the Welfare/Self Reliance couple who had previously provided used desks and chairs to the school and were now bringing books. It was so touching to visit with these sweet children, some autistic, deaf, Down’s syndrome, and with other conditions. We were also so impressed with the dedicated teachers who devote their lives to trying to teach them, and we hope to be able to provide the van for them. 

The beautiful children and teachers of the special needs classroom

Country office Christmas party – We attended a wonderful early Christmas party for the Church’s country office employees and senior missionaries. They hold it early because many of the employees save their annual leave and take the entire month of December off. Last year we had lunch at an Italian restaurant and then went to the hospital to sing carols and provide gifts to the children in the pediatric ward. This year we gathered at the Church farm for a traditional Tongan feast. Each table had a roast pig and ours was placed directly in front of us. After the meal, each department performed a dance number from a different country. We had been assigned Fiji and Mary performed with some of the ladies. 

We felt a little guilty eating with this view...

Faux Fijians

Fehoko party – President and Sister Fehoko, who previously served as mission leaders in Papua New Guinea, invited all the senior missionaries to their home on a Saturday for lunch and a craft workshop. President Fehoko is a nationally renowned wood carver and his wife makes a lot of crafts with tapa cloth (made from mulberry tree bark) and other local materials. We first had a delicious lunch and made our own lu. Lu is a common tin foil dinner consisting of tarot leaves, corned beef, onions, and coconut milk cooked in an in-ground stone oven called an umu. This time the Fehokos had prepared several different chopped vegetables which we added to the lu before they were placed in the oven. They cooked while we had a craft class with Sister Fehoko who taught us how to make notepad covers with tapa cloth. She also gifted each missionary with a tapa cloth angel ornament. A delicious and delightful experience! The Fehokos are now awaiting another mission call to serve at the Polynesian Cultural Center in Hawaii. 

Brother and Sister Fehoko

Brother Fehoko with his grandson and one of his beautiful wood creations

Our lu dinners ready to go into the umu

Stake cultural dance festival – One evening our stake held a cultural dance festival. The Relief Society of each ward performed a traditional cultural Tongan dance. The costumes were amazing and colorful, including ankle bracelets made out of empty soda cans which sounded like cymbals as the ladies danced. Our ward’s sisters performed an intricate stick dance. We were sitting by the stake presidency and were presented leis along with them. 

Our ward's stick dance

Elaborate costumes

Beautiful Tongan dancing

Vehicle handovers – We were delighted to be able to present new 16-seater vans to House 9 and to Tonga National University’s School of Nursing and Midwifery. We have written before about House 9 – a home for abused kids (mostly girls) run by a devoted LDS couple at their own expense (plus donations). We gathered at their home with our Area Seventy Elder Tuione and the local stake president. We are making a concerted effort to involve local church leaders at our handover events while we step back out of the spotlight. The couple and Elder Tuione offered moving remarks and the stake president presented the kays to the van. They are so excited for the new transportation and will no longer need to rely on multiple trips in their one family car to get the kids to school and church each week. 

Siope and Liu of House 9 and their new van

Later that day we moved on to Tonga National University. Unfortunately, Elder Tuione and the stake president were not able to join us. We had a brief meeting with the university and nursing school staff and some students where we presented the keys. They suggested that everyone jump in for a quick spin around the campus. They then provided a lovely lunch with entertainment from a band of students and faculty and a cultural dance. We will soon complete the rest of the project which is to provide a large amount of medical equipment for the nursing school and books for the library. 

Our good friends at Tonga National University--and the beautiful new van

Oh, how we will miss this tropical wonderland and its beautiful people!

Highlights

We’ve had an eventful month!  Here are the highlights:

In September Mary’s sister Jolene and her husband Bill came for a visit.  So much fun!  We visited them when they were on a mission to Jordan some years ago, and it was wonderful to show them Tonga.  We were on the cliffs on a perfect day—cool and pleasant with a good wind, which makes the waves more impressive.

Where's Waldo?  Find Jolene and Bill on the top of the land bridge.

We finally saw the fishing pigs!  We have heard of them, but they made their appearance for Jolene and Bill.  They are pigs that eat little creatures in the sand.  Don’t ask what because we don’t know.

  

Fishing pig

We loved attending the temple with Jolene and Bill, and we went on a whale-watching tour with the senior missionaries. 

Nuku'alofa Tonga Temple

Kyle, Mary, and sister Jolene on the boat

Some fishermen had returned with this beautiful bevy of fish.

A whale!

Our dear senior missionary group

Their visit to the blowholes was the best one yet!  Giant waves crashed on the coral reef.  

Spectacular!

We let them go on to New Zealand after Kyle pulled Mary out of their suitcase. 

We serve in the YM/YW in our ward.  It is really fun to plan things together and go to all the same meetings.  Here are photos of Mary’s beautiful young women class and Kyle’s handsome young men class.

Andrea Vaka’uta, one of Mary’s former young women, went to the MTC on her way to her mission in … wait for it … Taiwan!  She didn’t know anyone in Salt Lake, so Mary’s sister Rachel and her husband Jerry picked her up at the airport and showed her some sights.  The next day they took her shopping, and delivered her to the MTC in Provo.  As they approached the MTC, Rachel told her that they would drop her off, and she said anxiously, “You won’t be going in with me?”  They assured her that she would be in good hands, and they left her with a smile on her face.

With Andrea in front of our meetinghouse

Welcome to Utah!

We were helping a young elder from our ward prepare for his departure to the Ghana MTC, and in the process we discovered that his mission president is Mary’s 3^rd cousin!  He assured us that they would take good care of Elder Sapoi. 

Elder Sapoi, on his way to Ghana

We attended a truly impressive YSA cultural performance during which the different stakes each performed a dance from one of the Pacific Island nations plus South Africa.  For each country, they played videos from Tongan missionaries serving in those countries.  So much energy and enthusiasm!  We loved it.

There truly are 928 missionaries serving from Tonga--about 1% of the total population.

A highlight of our time in Tonga occurred when we welcomed a group of YSAs from Papua New Guinea who were either serving missionaries, missionaries with calls, or missionaries waiting for calls.  We took them to the temple four days and did six endowments (the first one was their own), two baptismal sessions, two initiatory sessions, and one sealing session.  It was glorious to spend that much time in the temple, and it was especially touching to help these courageous youth learn about the temple.  They shared powerful testimonies with us before they returned home. 

Our group

The whole group in front of the temple.

We love these spiritually mature YSAs

Some of the young women at the distribution center

Kyle gets to know the newly arrived group

And he probably ate the whole thing!

For more details, look at this article from the Pacific Area office:  https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=954629590040585&set=pcb.1651757872052930

Last week we attended the 10 year celebration of the Tonga National Visual Impairment Association (TNVIA).  We (the Church) had purchased a new 16 passenger van and computers for them, but the delivery had been repeatedly delayed.  However, things worked out perfectly, and we were able to see them receive their brand new van which they will use for shuttling vision impaired children to attend classes with their sighted peers.

The Church provided this new van to the vision impairment association.

That's what we have been up to, and so much more.  Thanks for reading all the way to the end!