Fri.
We didn’t go right in to the office today. Instead we headed to a little village on the west side of the island called Foui. The village leader, or mayor, came to see us and wanted us to come and see their town hall. They have raised enough money to repair the roof, put in new windows, a new ceiling and paint
the building but they don’t have any money left to buy a few chairs. The village holds all of its town meetings in this hall and they need the older people to be able to come to those meetings. They are starting to not come any more because they can’t sit on a mat on the cement floor. (I know that would keep me home!) He expressed the importance of having the older people there because they are wise and the village doesn’t want to lose their input or their traditions. All they are asking for are a few chairs. We so wish that we could just buy them and give them to the village but that is not how it is done. We will do our best to help them but the church does not encourage these small projects. It is so sad. They have done all they can do to help themselves. We are hoping to find some surplus chairs somewhere to help.When we were through taking pictures of the village hall, the mayor took us on a little ride to see the western side of the island. It is the most beautiful area on the main island. The people here are poor but they take care of their yards and homes. There is no garbage on the side of the road and the village leaders make sure that people cut the weeds down, especially those who live on the main roads. The King of Tonga lives on the west side. We went to see his home. Because he was not at home and because the guard knew this village mayor, we were allowed to drive quite close to his home and even take pictures. Once again, a tender mercy from the Lord. As we were driving down the beautiful private road coming out of the King’s compound, the thought came into my mind, “every day is a gift from God. Live it to the fullest.” That is so true of every day that we have here. It’s hard to comprehend how blessed we have been to come on this mission and have the experiences that we are having. I am trying to treasure every minute of it.
We had a High Priest party tonight. Another feast! Once again we didn’t eat until after 8:00 but this time Alan didn’t eat as much. Hopefully he will be alright. We had the party at the home of Ana and Berry Feihati. Berry has been sick all week. His leg was all red and swollen and he cannot put weight on it. He has had a high fever for 3 days. He went to the Dr. and they don’t know what is wrong, if it was a bug bite or he somehow got an infection. Berry wanted a blessing and he asked Alan and Elder Bean to do it. Alan gave him a beautiful blessing and we are hoping that he will return to full health.
They live in a beautiful home. Berry was in the military and when he retired he and Ruth built their own home. They bought a book and studied every night about what to do next and then they got up and did it. I hope that I can go back in the daylight so that I can take pictures. It was amazing.
When I was helping Ana in the kitchen she was making guava punch and passion fruit punch. She asked me to taste them to see if they were sweet enough. They were great and tasted really good and refreshing. Then she mentioned that they only have rain water there, no filtered water. I looked at the water that she had used (when she wasn’t looking) and I couldn’t see anything floating in it. But just the same, Alan and I came home and drank coke before we went to bed. We have had a lot of homemade punch this week. Sure glad that I have a coke habit and that we always have some on hand. So far so good with stomach problems.
