Happy Birthday Prince Tupoto’a-‘Ulukalala

Two weeks are in the books here in Tonga, and all is well.  Today is Prince Tupoto’a-‘Ulukalala's birthday, so we have a holiday.  

We are starting to lay some groundwork for future humanitarian projects.  We are assisted in our work by Luti and Alisa, managers in the Welfare and Self Reliance office here in Tonga who also assist us in our humanitarian work.  We met with the CEO of the Ministry of Education to see what needs the Ministry has.  He shared with us that they would like to have a laptop in each of the primary/elementary schools throughout Tonga in order to be able to communicate with each of the schools.  He mentioned some other needs as well.  We are waiting for his formal request before proceeding.

We meet with the CEO of the Ministry of Education

We also met with the head of Tonga Health, an NGO funded by both the Tongan and Australian governments, which is responsible for diabetes education and prevention programs.  The area presidency has asked us to focus on diabetes, a major problem here.  Tonga Health has established satellite offices in each of the five island groups, but the representative in each office does not have a vehicle to travel around the island, so we are hoping to be able to assist with this as well.  We are also looking forward to meetings with the Ministries of Health, Agriculture, and Internal Affairs to see what their needs are and how we can assist in meeting those needs.

We have enjoyed some wonderful experiences outside the office.  The mother of a Church employee recently passed away, and it is customary for the other Church employees to gather at the employee’s home for a simple memorial service.  We were invited to attend along with the employees.  The service, which consisted of two messages and three Tongan hymns, was all in Tongan so we did not understand a thing, but the singing was beautiful.  A program had the words to the hymns which were not hymns we recognized.  One brother began each hymn by himself, and everyone then joined in.  Their voices and harmonies were amazing.

We attended the Nuku’alofa temple for the first time.  It is located right next to the Liahona High School campus.  It is small but beautiful.  We attended with all the other senior missionary couples and enjoyed the same sweet spirit as we do in all temples.

On Saturday (P-day) we went strolling on one of the beaches with the Hammers and Koops and collected seashells.  As beautiful as the coast is, we were saddened to see the remnants of several resorts destroyed by the tsunami caused by an underwater volcano in January 2022.  

Remnants of a resort destroyed in the tsunami

We met a couple who owned one of the resorts. Their lot is now clear except for new plants they have planted.  They described their experience that day.  They first heard and felt the sonic boom from the volcano which threw them to the floor.  They then heard but could not see the wave coming.  They hurried to evacuate their guests and then they and their three children climbed a mango tree and watched the water swirl below them  The wave did not come from out in the ocean but across the beach, washing everything away.  The couple is very religious and repeatedly praised God for saving them.  They are currently awaiting a permit to rebuild.

All that is left of their resort

We were issued a Hyundai Tucson for our mission car, just like Mary drove at home, and we (Kyle) have enjoyed getting used to driving on the left side of the road.  There are no traffic lights in Nuku’alofa and only a few stop signs and round-abouts.  Thankfully everyone drives slowly through town and is very courteous in allowing others to yield or make turns in front of them.  Kyle is getting better at not turning on the wipers when he means to turn on the turn signal. 

Our housing is still in flux.  As mentioned, we stayed in one hotel the first week and then had to move to another hotel for the second week, which fortunately is next door to our office.  

Hotel part 2 overlooks the ocean

There is no other residence available for senior missionaries on the Liahona campus, so we are looking for an apartment to rent in town.  One that we saw this week looks promising, so hopefully we will have photos in our next blog of our home for the next 18 months to show you.

Love and greetings from the Kingdom of Tonga.