Tonga!

Wednesday, May 22^nd

We got up a little earlier this morning to be ready for our trip to Lavengatonga. We met Ana and Steve at 8:00 at one of our chapels and then we all drove out together. Steve was a little upset that the town officer, the water committee, the Stake President and the Relief Society President were all going to meet us. He didn’t want it to be a big deal and he was afraid that they would bring us lots of food - the Tongan way. But Sione insisted that he wanted them all there because they are so thrilled that the project passed. We told Steve that this was a poor village and after today I think he understands why it was so important to us that this project be approved. He was impressed by the sincere appreciation of the people and he was able to see for himself how they have done all that they can do. He also saw the water tank and stand and there was no doubt in his mind that they need our help. It went perfectly. As we were ready to leave I wanted to take some pictures and then Sione said, “We know that the Lord has opened the windows of heaven and sent you to us. We can’t begin to express how grateful we are for what you are doing to help us.” It was so good that we took Steve out there. Now I think he trusts us and he could feel the Spirit that prompted us to go with this project. Now we have his complete support.

When Alan was talking to the water master, who is not a member of the church, he got really choked up and said that he just couldn’t find the words to say what he felt about the project being approved. Even though he is not a member of our church, he has been praying for help. Heavenly Father hears and answers all humble and sincere prayers. We are hoping that our work on this project will touch many hearts and open many doors to the missionaries.

When we left the project site, we went to the chapel and met the Stake Relief Society President. She was waiting for us at the church. She is a delightful lady and we found out that she went to school with Ana Ika. That lady knows everybody!! She speaks fluent English and she will be happy to translate our hygiene program into Tongan for us. Another Tender Mercy! I left the books with her and set up a meeting for next week where I will train her and then we can get started. She is such a wonderful woman, I know we will be able to work well together and hopefully this part of the project will go very well. We are using it as a pilot program for all of Tonga.

On the way back to town we stopped at a couple of other water projects so that Steve could get a feel for what the church has done here in the past. We also took him on a little sight seeing trip along the way. It was a good morning and I think he was very pleased with all that is happening here.

When we got back into town Steve took us out to lunch at Café Escape. Ana says that we don’t have to worry about him taking us out to lunch, “He has a much bigger budget than we do. His card is fatter than ours!” We had a lovely meal and then headed back to the office for another round of training.

We learned some interesting things this afternoon. Not only do we have to keep track of all of the money we spend on this project on our financial transaction site on the internet, but we also have to keep track of it on CHAS, the system that I can’t get on at the office because of the internet. That will cause me some headaches, but Steve promised again to really try to do something about it.

We also learned that we have to have the village sign an agreement with the church that they will sustain the project when it is finished. Well, we knew that, but what we didn’t know is that it is a legal contract, not an agreement and we have to have it approved through the church legal system before we sign it. No one ever told us about any of this legal stuff, and it is kind of important! How would we ever have known that if Steve hadn’t shown up this week? I am convinced that the Lord is walking right beside us every day. He loves the people that we are trying to help. This is His work and he is very involved in it!

By the time we were finished with the training at 4:30, Alan and I were both exhausted again. Ana looked like she had been run over by a truck and Steve was going back to the hotel to turn on the air conditioner and lay down. We still have one more day to go, I hope we all survive.

We had such a big lunch that we just had soup and a sandwich for dinner. I went for a walk while Alan did the dishes and then he came out and walked with me for a few more minutes. Our TV was off tonight so we couldn’t watch the news. We went to bed early and we were both fine with that!