The Latimers in Tonga: 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.