Christmas Week with Family!

We enjoyed a wonderful Christmas week with our darling Emily and Eliza here in Tonga.  We missed having Alanna with us.  Here are some of the highlights:

They arrived on the 23^rd after more than 24 hours traveling.  They are used to our antics, so they were not surprised when, without any time to rest, we took them directly to a local Italian restaurant where we joined all the senior missionaries for a wonderful meal.  

We then went to House 9 to deliver cash donations and goodies and sing Christmas carols.  We have mentioned House 9 before, but as a reminder it is the home of an LDS couple who takes in troubled kids.  In joyful return for our visit, the kids sang and danced for us.  We were also privileged to bring five laptops from the Church for the kids to do their homework.  Such a wonderful evening.

We enjoyed attending church together on Sunday and hearing the marvelous singing of the Tongan members.  Kyle dressed up in full Tongan regalia.  Now no one wears the pants in this family.

On Christmas morning we arose at 4:30 and drove to the east coast of the island to join the senior missionaries in an attempt to be the first in the world to welcome the Christmas morning sunrise.  Unfortunately, it was an overcast and rainy morning, so we did not see the sun rise, but it was still a fun adventure. 

Typical of Tongan weather, the sky was bright and shiny in the afternoon, so the four of us went to the west coast beach for a stroll and to see the ruins of resorts destroyed by the 2022 tsunami.  

We then went to see the amazing blowholes (which were not exactly blowing, but fun anyway).

On Tuesday we again joined the senior missionaries to go to some amazing lookout points.  The views were just incredible.  We also crossed over a natural land bridge.  

That evening we enjoyed an amazing sunset again at the blowholes.

Wednesday we fulfilled one of the girls’ wishes to see a rugby game.  That is one brutal sport!  The winning team was the Liahona Old Boys, members of the Church and graduates of Liahona High School.  After the game, for some reason Emily and Eliza enjoyed going over and taking pictures of the handsome Tongan players as they stretched their muscles.

Thursday we were thrilled to attend the temple with Emily and Eliza. It’s always a blessing to go to the temple.  We feel such peace there.

In the afternoon we went to Anahulu Cave where Kyle was the only one courageous enough to take a refreshing dip in the fresh water lake inside the cave.  We then went out to the nearby beach and enjoyed the delicious sunshine and the warm Pacific Ocean water.

We had hoped to take the girls to several of our favorite restaurants while they were here, but we soon discovered that it is apparently common practice for most restaurants and other businesses to close for two weeks over Christmas and New Year, the same as for government offices.  They were still able to enjoy some delicious local delights, especially fruit.  Last week one of our friends gifted us a massive basket of fruit, so we enjoyed fresh pineapple, papaya, apples, tangerines, grapes, and lidz (a cross between a pear and an apple) all week long.  The girls also got to sample fresh coconut water right out of the coconut.  Mary’s expert culinary skills more than made up for the closed restaurants.  We also enjoyed lots of time visiting and relaxing at home and watching some of our favorite Christmas movies.

Sadly our wonderful week came to an end on Friday morning as we dropped Emily and Eliza off at the airport to begin their long trek home.  Thanks for coming, sweet daughters!

Now it’s time for us to get back in mission mode as we begin a new year of satisfying service here in Tonga.  Our best wishes to all for a wonderful new year.

The Great Youth of Tonga

 The past couple of weeks have been full of inspiring interactions with the youth here in Tonga. 

We had a great experience speaking at the For the Strength of Youth (FSY) conference!  The senior missionaries were asked to speak on part of the “For the Strength of Youth” pamphlet, and we chose “Loving God, Loving Others.”

There were over 600 youth from the entire country of Tonga gathered at Makeke, the Church camp here on Tongatapu.  It is in a beautiful location on a slope overlooking the ocean.  

Scenic Makeke

There are some dormitories built, and the youth stayed there and in tents.  The gatherings were held in a rectangle of event tents open to the center area with chairs set up in sections for each group—they were divided into companies named after Book of Mormon prophets:  Molonai, Helaman, Alma, Mosiah, Eno, Jacob, Nephi, Amulek, Abinadi, Lehi, and Ammon.

As we arrived, the companies were gathering for the meeting.  We started talking to whomever was there in the different companies, and we discovered that each company had a song and a chant, or at least a chant.  We began asking them to perform their chants, and we were blown away!  It was so powerful to hear them.  One group of young men was particularly striking—they had evidently discovered that they like to sing and are good at it, so they sang more than one song for us, followed by a cheer.  When Tongans sing, they really SING!  What a great way to build cohesiveness in each group.

We join the Amulek Company

Companies were combined to make five groups, and the five missionary couples began teaching a group for about 15 minutes, after which the couples moved to the next group.  Mary had the “Love God” topic, and she opened by talking to them about influencers.  she had a list of influencers from Tonga, and they were surprised and enthusiastic when she asked if they knew each one. 

Then she asked them, “Does Jason Tamulolo know you?” 

After a little laughter, they replied, “No!”

“Does he love you?” 

Again, “No!” 

She then told them that their Father in Heaven knew each one of them and loved them.  God should be their greatest influencer.  We talked about how, when we love God, decisions are easier to make. 

Kyle talked about loving others.  He started off quoting 1 John that says whoever says they love God and hates his brother is a LIAR!  Once they all agreed that loving your neighbor is as important as loving God, he offered five suggestions on how to love others:  1) start at home; 2) treat everyone as the child of God they are; 3) make sure your language (in person and online) reflects love; 4) forgive instantly; 5) pray for your enemies; and 6) serve others.

It was such a fun experience interacting with these terrific Tongan youth. 

After we were done, Elder Wakolo of our area presidency presented a strong message about the importance of getting on the covenant path and staying there, leading to a temple marriage and children who would then grow up on the covenant path as well.  He illustrated by having a multi-generational family come and stand in front so the youth could see three generations in the gospel.  Elder Wakolo then asked what would happen if they didn’t stay in the covenant path, making it clear that they would not only hurt themselves, they would break the chain and lead their children out of the covenant path. 

Organizers had brought a group of disabled people, children and adults, and they were seated in a place of honor where they could see a cultural program performed by the youth—it was so fun to see them dancing and singing some traditional numbers.  They presented the guests with leis and goodies.  A few times guests went up and put money in the shirts of the dancers whom they particularly enjoyed.

 

The whole Tongan FSY group--over 600!

Mary will tell this next experience:

Just a few days ago we were blessed to accompany our ward young men and young women to the temple to do baptisms for the dead.  Kyle is an advisor to the young men, and Mary is the 1^st counselor in the Young Women presidency. 

I had gathered some names from my mom and my sisters, as well as some I had prepared, and so about 50 of the names were family.  When we arrived, temple workers told us that the group after ours had cancelled so we could do 10 names per youth!  The temple added in enough temple names for us to do that many.

Kyle was ready to do some baptizing, but we had two priests in our group, so they did all the baptizing.  We had six young men and five young women, so all together we performed baptisms and confirmations for 110 people!

It was sweet to see the tender care the young priests exercised in baptizing everyone.  They made sure the youth were clasping their wrists and had their right hands free to hold their nose.  They used their right hand to make sure the youth were positioned well in the font.  And they pronounced the names with great care--no small feat since the names were a mixture of Danish, Chinese, Korean, American, and some others. 

One of the young men performed the baptisms in English, and I found out later that he is Filipino, so English is easier for him than Tongan.  This young man is very energetic, always having a goofy smile on his face. However, when he performed the baptisms, he was the best version of himself--serious, careful, and focused.  If he made a mistake, he would pause a moment, think carefully, raise his right arm to the square, and repeat the ordinance.  I told him that he had pronounced the Chinese names very well, and he shared that half his family is Chinese. 

When we began, we did the ordinances that were from my family, and I could feel the Spirit of the Lord in the room.  That temple hush was there, and I believe the youth felt it.  Afterwards, when we were all out in our cars, I made a point of thanking them in behalf of my ancestors.

Such a sweet and powerful experience. 

Our latest experience with the youth was yesterday.  All the senior missionaries participated in a project to build Solar Buddies which are little solar powered lamps.  The Pacific Area Presidency has decided that this will be the area’s Light the World campaign for this year.  Thousands will be distributed throughout the area and 500 Solar Buddies were shipped to Tonga for building and distributing.  Our Welfare/Self Reliance couple was in charge of first having all the senior missionaries build one so that we could help the volunteers.  Then yesterday we had about 80-90 youth and 10-15 local leaders show up at a stake center to go to work.  After watching an instructional video, the volunteers divided up at tables with a senior missionary monitor and flew through the project. Those young minds and nimble fingers did a much faster job at putting the devices together than we seniors had done.  

Nimble fingers at work!

We were in charge of quality checking each light.

These sharp young men joined us in quality check, and then we flew through it!

The assembled Solar Buddies are now repacked and ready for delivery to schools on outer islands where kids don’t have electricity at home in the evenings to do their homework.  Such a great project and a wonderful way to literally Light the World!

Summer Toys and Christmas Joys

Such is the holiday season in tropical Tonga. The heat is rising (low-mid 80s each day) as is the humidity which makes for some sticky days and unique shopping displays.

We enjoyed a delightful Primary program at church. This appears to be the highlight of the year for the kids and their parents. The kids all dress in their finest Tongan outfits and sing loud and clear. Afterwards they pose for pictures, so we took advantage of the opportunity.

We also enjoyed teaching our first lessons for the Young Men and Young Women, as well as leading the weekly activity nights. The YW’s president is temporarily (maybe permanently) out of the country and there is no 2nd counselor yet, so Mary as the 1st counselor is running the show along with the secretary, a lovely recently-returned missionary. Kyle is the only YM’s advisor, so the bishopric relies on him to teach the lessons.  Together we run activity night. We have had some fun games, but are more looking forward to planning a temple baptisms trip soon and encouraging the youth to prepare family names. 

Mary has begun teaching a weekly preparation course for the ELAT (English Language Assessment Test) which is the English proficiency test BYU-Hawaii uses for admission. She had four students the first week and seven the next, so interest seems to be growing. She really enjoys teaching – that is her element! 

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend. It began with a delicious Thanksgiving Day potluck meal with our fellow senior missionaries (8 couples in all) on Thanksgiving Day. The only turkey we found cost more than US$100, so we opted for ham. It was a delicious meal. On Friday we participated in the Tonga country office’s Christmas celebration. It began with a visit to the children’s ward at the hospital to offer a Christmas message, sing carols in Tongan, and share gift bags with the children. Such a sweet tender time with several newborn babies in attendance. 

We then headed to an Italian restaurant for a feast of salad, pasta, and pizza. Tongans love a feast! 

Friday evening President and Sister Kaufusi invited all the senior couples to the mission home, including the 8 US couples and 6 Tongan couples, 2 of which are serving full-time missions in the outer islands and the other 4 are local service missionaries assisting the Kaufusis in their heavy responsibilities. We enjoyed a lovely time getting to know each other and then feasted on Chinese food from a local restaurant.

 

On Saturday two local members invited Kyle and 3 other senior elders to go fishing in the ocean. The 6 of us, together with a couple of friends, all boarded the Sunshine. Tongans don’t use fishing poles, but just tie the fishing lines to plastic bottles or other things and throw the lines out. Our hosts caught several tropical fish, but the palangis (foreigners) were not as successful. One elder caught a fish in the afternoon, another caught one just before we quit for the day, but Kyle and the fourth elder were not successful. We had several nibbles but were not able to hook the fish. Regardless, it was a beautiful day on the ocean surrounding a small island called Malinoa, which according to one website is the site of the actual mutiny on the Bounty. 

Despite the weather outside, we are getting into the Christmas spirit. A local member carved a nativity set for us, and we bought a little Christmas tree and ornaments. 

One of our senior missionary friends took this beautiful photo of the temple, all ready for Christmas.

 We are beyond excited to have Emily and Eliza visit us for Christmas. 

Ofa atu from Tonga.