We Don't Meet If We Don't Eat

Greetings from sun-drenched Tonga where summer is on the way! 

Nuku'alofa Tonga Temple

We attended a beautiful sealing session at the temple a few days ago.  Kyle and I arrived a few minutes early and were shown into a sealing room where we met the sealer, Brother Tafina, a gentle and spiritual man. While we were waiting, he told us the story of his grandson who was diagnosed with bone cancer as a teenager.  He struggled for several years as the cancer progressed and his lower leg, then his upper leg, were amputated.  The cancer then entered his lung, and part of that was removed as well.  When it seemed as though his grandson had little time to live, he and his wife went to Hawaii where the family was living and spent a month with them.

He related a conversation with his grandson in which the grandson asked whether he would be able to get married someday.  His grandfather told him that he wasn’t sure.  The following Sunday the grandson received his patriarchal blessing in which he was promised that he would have a wife and children.  What a comfort to him!  Just two days later he died as his grandmother held his hand.  What a tender experience.

Soon the other missionaries arrived, and we began to do the sealings.  Everyone had brought family members to be sealed to spouses and children.  The sealer did some of the sealings in English and some in Tongan. 

He told us that it was his practice to finish with a marriage sealing, and he set a couple aside for this purpose. It was so powerful!  He spoke all the words clearly and slowly, making it easier to focus on the beauty of the promises.  As he ended the ordinance, he was emotional, as were some of us.  What a precious experience!  I remember thinking that this man distilled all that is wonderful about the Tongan people—their faith, their kindness, their spirituality. 

Sister Ofa, a sister in our ward, shared a remarkable story with us recently.  She is a widow who was living with her mother-in-law, an elderly sister in her 80s, in a cinderblock and wood frame home.  One Sunday her mother-in-law was sleeping, so she went to church on her own.  However, during the meeting, she had a strong feeling that she needed to return home, so she ran home as fast as she could (her house is quite near the church). 

When she got home, she could see that there was smoke coming out of the washing machine.  She went to get her mother-in-law out of bed, but initially she didn’t want to come because she didn’t understand that the house was on fire.  By the time they got out, the house was engulfed in flames.

The neighbors came running, and a few fire trucks arrived, but it was too late, and the house was destroyed. What a blessing that this sister heeded the prompting and returned home immediately!

We recently made our first pre-project site visit that will be a part of every project.  This one was to Fahefa, a small village on the southwestern coast of Tongatapu.  The Church is helping them to get another water pump because the one pump they have only provides water half the time.  Imagine half your day with no toilet flushing, no hand washing.  You can see why this is an important health issue. 

We meet with the Fahefa Village water committee

We met the village water committee there and looked over the site which included a solid structure over the existing pump, an elevated water tank, and some building supplies for a structure to protect the new pump.  We gave them a copy of the agreement to look over in preparation for signing and took a group photo.  They gave us two banana leaf baskets, one holding papaya and the other drinking coconuts.  So generous!

We also attended a meeting of the Food Security and Livelihood Cluster Meeting hosted by the Ministry of Agriculture to discuss plans to deal with the current drought situation in Tonga caused by an El Nino which is projected to bring several cyclones to Tonga this season.  Prices have already begun to rise as the drought continues, and food prices were already very high here.  For example, a small watermelon or pineapple costs around $7. 

We were asked to introduce ourselves, and Kyle said that the Church was offering generous support to projects to help the people of Tonga.  Many of those present asked for a business card so they could contact us. 

Before the meeting I had asked Kyle whether he thought this meeting, held at noon, would include a meal.  He responded, “We don’t meet if we don’t eat.”

And this is true!  We are invited to a feast after every meeting.  When we met with the village water representatives, each meeting was followed by a buffet that included cucumber and egg sandwiches, tossed salad, raw fish, potato salad, sweet and sour chicken, stir-fried noodles, deep-fried seafood, fruit, and those starchy roots that accompany every meal.  

Incredible village water meeting feast

The Red Cross meeting was followed by a lunchbox full of meat and starch—I don’t know the names of most of the things that were in that one.  Our most recent meeting, with the Ministry of Agriculture, included a lunchbox that contained three scoops of rice, two sausages, two breaded meat items, macaroni salad, and some delicious roasted chicken.  Such bounty!

Yesterday we went to Anahulu Cave and the nearby beach with some of the other missionaries.  It was a beautiful day, as almost every day here is—blue sky reflected in the South Pacific blue of the water.  

Anahulu Cave

We toured the cave and then went back into the sunlight and down to the beach. The surf arrived on one side of the beach first and then rolled all the way down.  So mesmerizing and beautiful! 

There were several kids there playing in the water, and we enjoyed watching them. One of the boys who spoke a little more English told us that his name was Harry and that he was also a member of our church from a nearby ward.  I asked him how old he was, and he said that he was twelve.  I commented that he must be a deacon, and he brightly answered that he was.  Such a sweet encounter. 

Missionaries and new friends on the beach--Harry is in front.

We are extremely grateful for the blessing of serving the people here Tonga.  Ofa atu! Love to you!