Thurs.
We met with Mosia today. He is the FM Manager here. We talked to him about the mission quarters and the cleaning supplies and how best to stay on top of what is going on here. He is a very nice man and it was good to get to know him and make face to face contact with the people we will be calling on the phone or emailing from now on. He is a Stake President so we were also able to talk to him about the Humanitarian needs on this island. It sounds like most of them are more in the Welfare area, so we will see what we can do to help get his needs addressed by the Area Authority. He had a full day planned today, so Elder Forsyth took some time to show us around. He drove us to a few of the MQ’s before we had to be to Zone Conference. The MQ that was the farthest away had the most beautiful view of the bay. It would be a privilege to live there. Too bad it was the dirtiest one we have seen so far!
This is an amazing island. It has mountains and pine trees. You can stand on a high place and see the water on 2 or 3 sides. Today the weather was beautiful, blue skies with just a few white clouds, still hot and humid. They don’t have a lot of beaches here, just a couple of small ones. It is mostly surrounded by coral reefs and steep cliffs. You have to go way out to find the beaches. We also drove down town. It is much like Tonga, just not as big. There are small shops and Chinese stores, narrow roads and quite a few cars. They do have a couple of nice hotels and 1 resort. It’s a step up from Haapai, but still a lot of poor people that just exist. They say, “ we have coconuts and bananas hanging in the trees, oofi and tara on the plantations, chickens and pigs running free, what more do we need?”
We did our presentation at Zone Conference and then had lunch. It was more Tongan food, chicken, bread fruit and a raw hot dog. I skipped that last part. I’m not really sure how they cook the chicken but my stomach has been a little unhappy today so I am being very careful what I eat. On this trip we have eaten a lot of native food all at once and I think I need to go slow.
Elder Howell conducted Zone Conference today. He will be going home to Avon, Utah in 4 days. It was amazing to watch a Cache Valley boy stand in front of these missionaries, speaking fluent Tongan and bear a powerful testimony of the Savior, the gospel and his love for the people and the islands. He really touched my heart.
We had a wonderful dinner with the Forsyths tonight and then headed out to a baptism. Elder Howell baptized a young woman and a teen-age boy. They did it in the evening, just at dusk and they do it outside. Everyone gathered around the font and they sang a beautiful hymn in Tongan. The boy was baptized first and then the girl. I was impressed when all of the men and boys turned around when she came up out of the water. They are so respectful of women here. We went back into the church, sang one hymn and they were both back, ready to continue. It was so fast! At home it takes forever for girls to get ready. The bishop talked and then the new converts bore their testimonies. It was a beautiful baptism. Afterwards they served curried chicken and rice. We passed on that and went back to the Forsyths and had some ice cream and cookies.
