Put a Bow on It

And then we came home!  Our work sped up over the final two months, and we didn’t find time to write a final blog post to wrap it all up.  Now we’ll take a moment to do that and put a bow on it. 

This mission has been challenging at times, and yet it has been a great gift from our Father in Heaven.  We learned so much about Him and His eternal love for His children in Tonga and everywhere.  We learned that He would always give us what we needed to accomplish His work here in Tonga, and that “grace shall be as your day.”

So, the bow…

We had another beautiful young single adult group come from Papua-New Guinea to receive their endowments and do the temple work for some of their relatives. We were told that these young men and women live in great poverty.  Some of them only had two outfits.  None of them had ever been to a dentist.  

It was a privilege to spend time with them in and out of the temple and see their pure faith.  They know what it is to have nothing, and so they value the things that really matter—faithfulness to Jesus Christ, testimony, love of others, and service. 

Papua-New Guinea is a violent place, and they live in fear because of all the gangs and paramilitary groups.  As we drove down a dirt road with tall grass on both sides, one young man told us that in PNG, it wouldn’t be safe to walk down such a road because there would be “rascals” as they call them hiding behind the grass taking drugs and waiting to attack with machetes those using the road.  What a difficult life.  The last night we saw some of the young women walking the two blocks or so to a store where they could get a treat.  They seemed to feel so free because they could walk at night without fear.

Beautiful PNG young adults enjoying a treat

It was decided that all the YSA would receive a dental checkup and cleaning, along with whatever was required to repair their teeth before their missionary service, and we were responsible to get them to their dental appointments.  

One young woman was missing the four top front teeth.  The senior missionary dentist and hygienist cleaned and worked on her teeth, and a bridge was made to replace the missing teeth.  When she first put in the bridge, she cried.  She was happy and outgoing for the rest of the week!  When anyone asked to see her teeth, she smiled broadly, and that smile lit up her face!

The hygienist and the dentist worked hour after hour to try to make the teeth the best they could possibly be.  Just watching them was exhausting.  The hygienist chatted with them amiably while she worked, and those whose teeth had been severely neglected got a gentle scolding and specific things they needed to do to keep their teeth in good shape.  Here are the stats:  95 fillings, 25 extractions, 3 root canals, 2 removable partials, and 29 cleanings.

 

They are so beautiful!

But this week was about temple work, and their experience remained temple-centered. 

The second day we had a baptismal session so all the YSAs could perform the ordinances on behalf of their relatives.  Kyle organized the session so that each young man was able to baptize two young women and then be baptized by the next young man.  It was such a tender session!  The young men were completely aware of the sacredness of the ordinances and their part.  After being instructed where to stand and how to hold the arm of the one being baptized, they raised their arm to the square and carefully read the ordinance.  They then oh-so-gently immersed them in the water, making sure they were completely submerged, and then raised them to their feet. 

As Mary sat there, the words that ran through her head were, “Sweet is the work, my God, my King.”  Watching these young men was sweet, so sweet, and she felt surrounded by the sweetness of their faithfulness and devotion to God. 

They just shine!

The capstone of the week was the sealing session.  The sealer carefully explained how the session would be conducted, and then he made sure that each young man or young woman was aware when their relative’s ordinance was being done.  Single YSAs don’t stand proxy for married couples, so the work they engaged in was sealings of sons and daughters to the parents.  He pointed out words in the ordinances that helped the YSAs better understand the sacred covenants being made and the beautiful promises.

During our final two weeks in Tonga, we were blessed to attend a few hand-over ceremonies.  The recipients hold these when a project is completed to thank the Church and express their feelings about the project.  We were invited to celebrate the completion of a project to build two much-needed classrooms for a government school.  

Elder Latimer in front of the new Veitongo GMS classrooms

When we arrived, we thought there must be a big party being held—and we were right!  Gathered in front of the new building were a really loud singer with an electronic back-up band and a lot of beautiful, energetic children.  

Charming children celebrate their new classrooms.

We were led to seats in front where we faced the audience, and after a prayer and the singing of two hymns by the audience, led by two older students, Kyle was asked to speak.  It was very emotional for him since we had attended a lot of meetings with these good people and they had worked hard to finish the project before we left. 

Elder Latimer high-fives the students.

The other hand-over ceremonies we attended were for sewing machines for a women’s development group in Nakolo Village; a new shed to cover the oxygen container at Vaiola Hospital, and a water tank stand for Fahefa Village. As with the schoolroom building, we were treated as royalty with lavish praise, all of which, we reminded the recipients, was actually for the love and generosity of God and the Saints throughout the world.

The mother on the left sewed the curtains above us for her daughter.

We are honored by being seated in front of the sewing club members for our refreshments. The man on the left is the sewing instructor..

We celebrate the completion of Fahefa Village's water tank stand.  Now the people will have access to water 24 hours a day whereas before they only had water four hours on then four hours off.  

The evening before we departed, we were feted with an umu dinner prepared by Olini, a counselor in the bishopric, and supplemented by the senior missionaries.  An umu dinner is a traditional Tongan meal cooked in an outdoor oven, and Olini is a master at it.  These meals generally include chicken and/or lamb, lu (coconut cream and corned beef or lamb wrapped in taro leaves), and roots such as taro, tapioca, and Ufi, which is similar to sweet potatoes.  We loved having one more evening together.

Bishop Lakai (left) and Olini at our final dinner together

 

We love Bishop and Sister Lakai!

And that was it!  We returned home on February 7th. 

What a challenging, joyful, and rewarding 18 months it has been!  It was sad to bid farewell to our beloved Tongan friends and our wonderful fellow senior missionaries, but we are grateful to be reunited with family and to be back home.  ‘Ofa atu!