Malo e lelei

September 5, 2023

After 24 hours of travel, we are finally here in Tonga!  And it is beautiful.

The famous blow holes of Tongatapu

We landed near noon, and, after being sent into the much shorter immigration line that was for the elderly and handicapped (which are we?), we thrilled to see all our luggage eventually come off the carousel. 

Another missionary couple, the Hammers, were there to greet us.  They have an awesome blog that really helped answer some questions we had about preparing to serve here.

They gave us a tour of the area, including the Welfare Office, the Liahona High School campus, and the mission office where we met President and Sister Kafusi. They are a dynamic couple who have served during a difficult time that followed two disasters—a cyclone in 2018, and the underwater volcano which blanketed the area with ash and caused a devastating tsunami in 2022.  And, in the middle of all this, Covid. 

President and Sister Kaufusi with us ouside the mission office

At the outset of the pandemic, Tonga sealed off their borders (easier to do when you are an island) and stayed Covid-free until they needed help after the tsunami.  Relief workers brought Covid in, but fortunately very few people died. 

Elder Latimer enjoys a sprouted coconut at the Church farm

 
The Kafusis took us to dinner, and we enjoyed getting to know them better.  We learned a lot about missionary work here and the challenges they face, one of which is that there are 36 inhabited islands out of the 170 that make up Tonga, so visiting all the islands that have missionaries on them keeps the Kafusis on the go.  And yes, President Kafusi did play football for BYU. 

Driving around in Nuku'alofa, we noticed that it is like Utah in that we seemed to pass one of our chapels every few minutes.  Approximately half of the people in Tonga are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 

Our hotel (where we are staying until they figure out where we will live) faces the ocean, so we have taken a couple of refreshing walks along the shore and enjoyed beautiful sunrises as well as greeting others out for a walk.  Everyone we have met has been so friendly.

The Dawn Breaks on Tongatapu

So, here we are!  And so glad that we can “lift up [our] heart[s] and rejoice, for the hour of [our] mission is come” (D&C 31:3).

Love to you all, and gratitude for your prayers.