Yabba Dabba Doo!

Since I'm sure that most of the major college football coaches around the country follow my blog watching for the slightest hint of a great new recruit from Tonga, I thought I'd take just a minute to set the record straight;  First of all, your recruit (especially from Tonga) will most likely take a two year sabbatical from your program to serve a mission inviting others to come to Christ.  While serving he (or she) is required to maintain a strict daily schedule that includes a 30 minute period of exercise (so they can stay physically fit).  This 30 minutes provides them a huge advantage as you will know they are staying in tip-top shape and honing the skills of their craft.   Since I have seen first hand some of the finest equipment money can't buy, I thought you might enjoy getting a first-hand view.

Gotta love the ingenuity of some of the Elders as they look for
ways to enhance their 30 minute morning exercise sessions.
These may have been wheels from Fred Flintstones old car.

I present for you the Tongan workout.  These barbells are made from the finest concrete and pipe that can be found at your nearest demolition site.  They are fastened to the bar with some very nice dishrags which add to the actual value as well.  Dumbbells are frequently 2 gallon water jugs or anything else that is heavy with some type of handle.  They also toughen up here by avoiding hot showers (only cold water is available in many missionary quarters here).  I should probably mention the fine orthopedic footwear that they get to wear all day every day (aka flip-flops).  They also have a nice unpadded area for setup's, push-ups, and stretching called a "faliki" in Tongan (literally translated ... the floor).  They are also required to "team-up" with their companion for their outside run (who may not be athletic) so they can run together at the slower pace of the two.  This keeps them from burning out too fast and allows them to jog for a good 15-20 minutes.

Elder Talisa (Australia) one of our
many athletes serving in Tonga (Rugby).
He is totally dedicated to missionary work.

Many of the missionaries try hard to get in a good daily workout (in their 30 minutes) but there really isn't much they can do except for things like jogging, sit-ups, and push ups.  Barbells and dumbbells are improvised wherever they can find something suitable but certainly nothing sophisticated.  It can be a little bit frustrating to some who have worked so hard to develop muscles to keep in shape but they all take it in stride.  Oh also, did I mention they walk everywhere ... all day long  ... in the heat and humidity!  Okay, that's enough on the workouts as it took longer to write than they actually get to spend working out each day.

Dakota Wilson, ISU
(My grand nephew...
my sister's grandson)

Tying into the "athletic theme" I am publicly declaring that I am a big fan our all of our local teams, BYU, UTAH, UTAH STATE (where I attended), and WEBER STATE.  There are a few other spattered around the country like Clemson and Tennessee too.  My college fandom extends to the rest of the Utah colleges and even creep up into Southern Idaho where my nephew is now playing for the Bengals ...  yes Dakota, you officially have a world-wide fan base (Southern hemisphere on the other side of the world).   I'm sure there are many in South Korea that are rooting for you as well.   Please don't hate me if I didn't mention your favorite school or if I root for one you don't cheer for.

** RANT **  I understand the good natured ribbing that goes on between fans of different schools but I don't think I'll ever understand the vitriol that comes out in many directed toward a school they don't root for.  Hoping that someone else fails is a hateful action and hate is such an ugly emotion that will really drag us down.  It is interesting that the athletes I talk to here don't seem to carry that hatred for the other schools.  ** End of RANT ** ( I don't use Twitter so this is my forum).

We have had some wonderful experiences with some of our "athlete" missionaries where we see first-hand the dedication to the Lord as they serve here in Tonga.  What a powerful testimony they share through their actions of putting their lives on hold to serve the Lord and their fellowman.

Here are a few of our random experiences and photos from this week adventures.

WATCH REPAIR

We had a fun little experience as we took my watch into the only watch repair shop we have been able to find here, Mark's Watch Repair.  We didn't know exactly what to expect but even if we had the experience was worth the visit.

The second hand on my watch had fallen off (inside the crystal) and would occasionally become wedged between the side and the minute hand causing it to stop.  I had decided to just have them take it out since the second hand was bent anyway.  With my shaky hands and no tools to do the work it seemed like it would be simple enough for a jeweler to just open the watch, remove the loose second hand and then put it back together.

Mark's Watch Repair Nuku'alofa Tonga.

Inside the repair shop we found the cutest little Chinese couple, who didn't speak English and of course we don't speak any Chinese so the gestures and pointing started back-and-forth as we worked to get them to understand what we wanted.  All the head bobbing and emphasizing of certain words, and increasing volume, that seem to come in when trying to get someone who has no idea what is being said come into play.  It seemed simple enough in principle but took us a little while to get to where we thought they did at least understand that the second hand had fallen off.

Mark and his wife repairing
the watch.

Mark (I can only assume not his real name) took the watch and started to take it apart.  Once apart, he immediately lost the second hand somewhere in his working drawer, and seemed to think it was important that he find it and get it put back on (I guess we only got part of our message across successfully).  He and his wife were so cute as they used a little brush to search for the missing hand in spite of our efforts to let them know that is was not needed, but our efforts were in vain as they were on a quest.  We kept trying to let them know that it was okay but all she did was to quickly turn to us and point to a sign on the top of the display case we were leaning over that said, "Oua Falala he Sio'ata".  We quickly translated the sign  (written in Tongan) to mean basically, "Don't trust the glass" or "Don't lean on the glass", so we backed off and just let things take their natural course hoping for a good outcome.  That's when we were able to snap a few photos as they continued their quest.

They eventually found the second hand (or another one that worked) put it back on the watch, then start trying to put it all back together.  After pressing and tapping, and filing and hitting, then getting out the pliers (which made me shudder) ... the watch seemed to be back together again. The total bill for this work was $20. TOP (about $10 USD).  After payment and some more head-bobbing (and thank you's in English, Tongan, Chinese and whatever other languages may have been brought into the mix, we left and climbed into the car.  It was pretty comical watching and listening to them go back and forth as they both crowded into their small work area to fix the watch.  It was all we could do to keep from laughing right there in the shop however, we did have a good laugh once we left the shop.  In any case, it seems to be working great two days later so far so good.  I hope the second hand doesn't come off again but if it does, we know a good little watch repair shop now.  

LUNCH WITH TWO OF OUR FRIENDS

Monti (near side), Sione (far side) and Lepeka.  If you see a
larger version of the photo you can see something that looks
like nets staked out in the ocean at low tide.  It is actually the
bark they make tapa cloth out of.  They use the sun and salt
water to bleach it out.

Lunch with Monti Lino and Sione Heimuli.  Both of these two young men have incredible life stories to this point in their young lives.  We have written a little about each of them and we are so glad we have been able to get to know them.  Monti is the young man that had a stroke a few years ago and Sione is the new convert who had his arm wound cared for by Lepeka.  Sione wanted to join us to see if he could help Monti see the value of working hard on physical therapy.

Sione in his new suit

They both had a Hawaiian burger and chips and seemed to enjoy themselves as we ate our lunch at a cement bench and table near the wharf.  Lepeka had a sheet in the back of the car we quickly turned into a table cloth.

After we dropped Monti off, Sione said, "I wish I had a car so I could come help him everyday."  I think they both had a good time and we will try to take them to a beach somewhere this week for a picnic.

Sione also stopped by last Sunday showing off his new suit after church. He is a really likable young man.  He is now working hard to be able to submit papers to serve a mission as soon as possible (maybe before we go home next year).

BREAKFAST FOR ONE

Lepeka still eats her bird feed and nuts and berries every day for breakfast.  She claims it's health food, and it may be, but I just can't see how that qualifies as a meal.  For me, seeds are something that just happen to be on the bun of a Big Mac, not something to center a meal around.   Two fried eggs on toast is one of my favorite breakfasts here and I fix it almost every morning (since I can't find a breakfast hamburger).  All of the eggs here are organic but we have found the brown eggs have a very dark orange color and an overpowering yolk so we buy the smaller "fua'i moa hinehina" (white eggs) which are a little closer to what we are used to.  The eggs do stick to the spatula and I break the yolk on purpose (so don't judge my egg cooking ability too harshly) .

Charlie Brown Bread (toasted).  The small
loafs are perfect for an egg sandwich or two.

I have officially named the  Tongan bread I use, "Charlie Brown" bread (you can see it in the photo on the left).  It is baked in round bread pans with a top and a bottom.  Some bread oozes out on the sides giving it "ears".  There are two different sizes, the one shown here is the small size just about perfect for one egg.   Can you figure out where I came up with the name?

All Tongan bread is very good and is definitely one of the main food staples here.  We have found some dark rye bread at Cowley's Bakery in town that we like a lot and we use that for our lunch sandwiches (lots of tuna, cheese, and peanut-butter).  It is a light textured bread, very similar  the dark bread at Outback Steak house but in a regular sized loaf.  We get a couple of loaves each Friday or Saturday  and  we generally get through most of both loaves by the end of the next week.  We do keep it in the fridge to help it stay fresh longer.

We continue to enjoy our mission experience and know that each day will present its unique challenges and opportunities.  We pray for all of our family and friends wherever you may be and hope you feel of our love for you.  It is not easy being away from the ones we love so much (except we do enjoy not hearing all the social and political upheaval daily).  I think we are definitely developing a greater appreciation for all that we have been blessed with.  Our missionaries are the best in the world and they treat us so well.  We always hope they feel of our genuine love and concern for them and their well being.  It is difficult to see them when they are feeling depressed or not feeling well but we are glad we get to serve them.

Sister Saulala (New Zealand) and Sister Sylvester (Utah)
Picnic at the blow-holes in Houma on P-Day.

More waves crashing on the beach.  I find it very relaxing to watch the waves
as they break against the rocks.  It's not always the biggest waves that produce
the biggest splash, timing is everything.

Some of the interesting tree configurations at the beach.

One more shot of some interesting trees.

This is a photo of the Apple Repair Shop owner.  He is from the Netherlands
and has been here for about 38 years.  He has many different dresses and rides
his bike everywhere.  He also has large ear hoops (no judgement here just a
description).  I took this photo through the front windshield while Lepeka was
shopping at the market.  We don't see a lot of bikes here but there are a few.

70th Birthday Bash

Liahona High School celebrated its 70th Birthday at this campus.  The first building on campus was built from cinder-brick which was made by a machine the LDS Church brought here specifically for that purpose a little over 70 years ago.  Since then, cinder-brick construction has become extremely popular and common as it is so good at withstanding the frequent severe storms that come to Tonga.  Also, it does not rot in the high humidity like wood construction.  I also understand that an LDS Church sponsored school had its first presence at the site where Camp Makeke now resides and was started as early as 1926.

They had many events to celebrate the day and things got kicked-off in great fashion with a parade of students and local LDS Church sponsored schools from around the main island.    The total distance of the parade was only about 1/4 of a mile as they marched from in front of the school through the school grounds and back to the large sports field behind the school where additional activities followed.

The first parade entry was the Liahona HS band which we get to hear quite often as they typically practice outside about 200 feet from our apartment.  We took several photos of the parade which consisted of a few cars with balloons but mostly students from each school marching in a group displaying signs with different values  printed on them.  They were all smiles as they proudly passed by us ... all students decked out in the green and white that signifies the LDS sponsored secondary schools in Tonga.

The start of the parade.  We had many people just walking along

side of the parade entries.  I stopped this one too soon so I have one

more short clip of the band playing. 

This is the Liahona High School band. 

They were the only school that had a band in the parade

Be Prayerful

I thought you might enjoy learning a little bit about the education system here in Tonga.  I have interspersed photos of the parade throughout.  I have gotten a few conflicting stories about some of the information below so I went with the consensus or what I thought was the best source.  Some of the photos are fun to click on and look at the details.  These students are so proud of their heritage and their schools.

Be True

Tongan, is a dialect of Polynesian; English, which is taught as a second language in schools, is used mainly for business (and communicating with older palangi missionaries). Wesleyan missionaries introduced formal education into Tonga in 1826, followed by Latter-day Saints, Roman Catholic and other Protestant denominations beginning in 1846. The educational system still reflects this colonial/missionary history.

School values

Primary education has been compulsory in Tonga since 1876 and is free for students between the ages of 6 and 14. Education consists of six years at the primary level, three years at the junior secondary level, and three years at the senior secondary level. The first nine years are compulsory.

Liahona student waving for the camera

Levels 1-6 (primary school) are the equivalent of grades 1-6 in the U.S. (correspondingly). Forms 1-6 (secondary school) correspond with grades 7-12 in the U.S. and after form 3 (our 9th grade equivalent) students have to apply and be accepted to forms 4, 5, and 6 (grades 10,11, and 12).  Form 7 is an additional year for students that need it to graduate and it can be taken more than once but students must apply each time and be accepted to attend.   English as a second language is one of the required classes for all.

See the lady laying in the back of the bike cart (green dress).

The secondary schools are mostly sponsored by different Churches.  After secondary school, you can also apply for 2 years of tertiary school which can be technical or vocational colleges.  Churches also sponsor the majority of these schools which include: the Institute for Vocational Education and Training, the Polytechnical Institute, the Teacher's College, Queen Salote School of Nursing, and the Tonga Police Training School.

The Government's Ministry of Education oversees the management of government schools in all provinces, including primary, secondary, and tertiary schools. In addition, it manages the adherence of private schools to the national laws on education and the National Examination programs.  Annual examinations are required for placement of primary school students into government schools; the Tonga School Certificate is the national examination for secondary school students at their fifth year, and the Pacific Senior Secondary Certificate examination is given at the sixth year. Examinations and assessments are developed internally or delegated to an external source, but they are monitored and coordinated by this unit of government. Examinations are set in the English language with a strong emphasis at the college level on maintaining knowledge and skills of the Tongan culture.

The missionaries are all well with a few minor health issues.  We received 17 new missionaries two weeks ago and as is usual there are a few that are working through the adjustment of living in Tonga and being on a mission.  The mission president is great to work with as he really cares about his missionaries and works hard to get them in situations where they can succeed.  Lepeka is always on top of everything and always follows through.  We pray constantly for our missionaries to be safe and healthy and that we will be guided and directed in all we do related to their health and well being.  It can be a difficult adjustment as they get used to the culture, living conditions and language.  We develop an instant love for these missionaries.

I'm still working to initiate some conversation around a private Church network in Tonga and I think I am starting to make some headway (at least to have the conversation with Network Engineers in SLC).  It may still stall but I'm hoping to plant a seed if nothing else.  If we can even get a small pilot approved it would be great and I think people would be surprised at what could happen here.  I keep hoping and praying with an understanding that change can be very slow sometimes and perhaps there are reasons unknown to me that would prevent this from happening.  As long as I can present to the right people I have faith that the decision will be the right one and I can live with that either way.

This weeks blog is fairly short but I have added a few more random photos and more of the parade.

Lepeka at the end of the parade.  She is such a joy to be with 24x7.

Waiting patiently in the staging area prior to the parade.

The parade route travels down the road that goes in from of our apartment.

This is the large field behind the school buildings.
We had to leave for a meeting before these festivities started.

One of our famous security guards here at Liahona.
He always smiles and waves at us as we drive in and out.
He really is normal size, but seems to have shrunk to the
'fun size'  for this photo.  Camera angle is looking down
from a small hill.

The last entry in the parade ... or maybe just following behind after taking photos.

Waves breaking at the blow-holes in Houma.  The level of the tide

isn't the best for the blow-holes but the breaking waves were fun to see.

I think I am stuck in slo-mo on my iPhone videos, I'll start checking closer

but I think it is fun to see the slo-mo on this one so I posted it.

They pruned??? the avocado tree behind our apartment.
I don't think it is going to produce any avocados this year.

Cruisin' for a Bruisin'

This is a photo from our trip to the island of Ha'afeva.  You can
tell we're moving along at a pretty good clip.  Other than a big
splash or two it was a pretty smooth ride.  I gave one of the
ladies my handkerchief so she could dry off her face and never got it back

Recently I traveled to Ha’afeva a small island in the Ha’apai group in central Tonga about 42 km Southwest of Pangai, which is about 156 km North of Tongatapu.  There is a small airport in Pangai which closes the main road when airplanes take-off and land.  I was gone for two days and I installed the internet connection and a new PC which will be shared by several wards on nearby islands as well.  They come to Ha’afeva to meet about once a month and they will now be able to enter their Church financial data and send and receive email.  Becky stayed here on the main island of Tongatapu to care for the missionaries.

While we were waiting on the dock for
the boat, a fisherman fishing from the
wharf caught this needle fish.  I tried
to identify it but the closest I got was
Tylosurus crocodilus.   You are welcome
to zoom in and try to ID it yourself, it's
a very interesting fish with a long sword-
like snout.

There were three of us that made the trip to Ha’afeva.  My job as mentioned was to get the new internet connection working and install the PC.  We flew from Tongatapu to Pangai where we spent the night at an unoccupied MQ near the wharf, then we got on the boat (one of four owned by the the Church in Tonga) early the next morning for our trip to Ha'afeva.  Early is a relative term as we were told to be ready by 7:30 a.m.  The next morning we were ready to leave and down at the wharf with our luggage (I had the PC, monitor, keyboard, mouse, and wireless router in my suitcase).  We were also told to bring all of our clothes and toiletries with us just in case the water was too rough to make the return trip that day.

It was almost 9:00 a.m. before the boat arrived to take us to Ha’afeva.  We were joined by two other women and a baby and 3 crew members for our trip across the water.  It is normally about an hour ride as the boat was powered by two Yamaha 150 HP outboard motors which push it along at a pretty good clip.  The trip was not too bad just a little rough in places and we made the trip from dock to dock in about 55 minutes.  

High speed boat ride to Ha'afeva

The landing dock in Ha'afeva and our boat the Molonai.
  When we arrived it was dry.Three hours later it was
partially submerged.  You can also see the how
broken up it was.  To board we had to wade out to
near the end, then walk back along the top of the wall.

From the landing dock, we walked about 1/4 mile to the meetinghouse (which is actually serves as a small Stake Center for several wards on nearby islands.  I went to work in the Stake President’s office getting my work going and the other two gentlemen started their training meeting a few doors down.  They were training Bishops on the audit procedures. 

Elder Oldroyd and our boat the Malonai at the end of the
dock in Ha'afeva,  you can see how broken up the dock is.

My install went fairly smoothly with a minor hiccup as I was working with the ISP to bring the router online but I eventually got connected with the right person and it came online pretty quickly after that.  The Stake had also received a new copier about a month ago and they had not unboxed it and set it up yet so I did that while I was waiting for them to finish up.  Well we all finished after about 3 hours and went back to board our small craft for the return to Pangai.  The weather looked pretty good and I anticipated we would get back in about an hour with nothing worse for the wear.  It turns out I was wrong.

The trip back would be going against the current and the swells were just enough larger to make a huge difference.  Once we were clear of the reef the pounding started.  I estimated the swells to be about 5-6 feet which didn’t look that bad but in our small craft we were tossed to and fro, jostled up and down and even at our extremely reduced speed it was almost more than I could take.  Elder Oldroyd decide to try and stand (like the crew members) holding onto a railing to see if it would ease the jarring on his spine.  He almost immediately went airborne so he quickly and wisely sat back down (good thing he was holding on).  We had no choice but to endure the incessant and non-stop pounding for the rest of our return trip.  Our return trip took us 90 minutes, almost double the time it took to get there, and I have never been so happy to get off a boat in my life.  My back and neck are still aching just a bit and it has been several days now.

Same boat slower ride back.  I didn't realize my video was being shot

utilizing slow motion but you still get the idea and can see the swells

in the background.  I'm doing my best to hold the video still.

An interesting thing happened while we were crossing the rough water.  As Becky and I have been on many cruises some with much rougher water than this, I thought about how insignificant these waves would be to a large cruise ship as opposed to the small craft I was now on.  The cruise ship could navigate this water at pretty much the same speed as we were able to in our small craft without even noticing the waves that now tossed us about like rag dolls.  Both are seaworthy vessels and safe, yet I’m not sure how often I would make the trip if I had to endure the buffeting time and time again.  

I thought about how this is like the Church in our lives, many of us think we can navigate through the buffeting of society with only our own testimonies (I know I have been there before).  The answer to “Why the Church?” has become obvious to me.  Just as the large cruise ship can sail through the rough waters, the Church can provide that same protection for the buffeting of society.  If we try to do it on our own, eventually the constant barrage that is directed against us will take it’s toll and we will become less and less willing to stand up for what we believe.  I pray that we will all do our best to enjoy the ride on our "luxury liner Church” as we travel through the social upheaval that exists today.  The buffeting will not be gone but we will have a good firm base from which to exercise our Faith.

I am constantly amazed at how life can teach us lessons if we learn to apply our experiences with a focus on what the prophets and apostles teach us.  Everything around us testifies of God and the plan of salvation if we just open our hearts and minds and apply a smidgen of faith.

A few other random photos for the week.

The airplane that flies back and forth between Tongatapu and Pangai.
It holds 17 passengers and you can't walk up and down the aisle without
folding the seats down.

Lepeka in line at the main bread store in Nuku'alofa.  Bread is about $1.50 TOP
(or .72 USD) per loaf unless you but some of the dark rye or multigrain varieties.
Bread is pretty much all they sell here with the exception of a few pastries and drinks. 

The best shot to date of our one-legged chicken.  It's amazing to see how
she gets around so well.  One of these days we'll capture a short video to show you.

More chickens for Lindsay.  They pretty much roam everywhere just like the
pigs and the dogs.  We're surprised that the dogs seem to leave them alone.

President and Sister Tui'one took the senior missionary group to
Liku'alofa Beach Resort where we had a nice smorgasbord dinner
(Tongan food) and an after dinner show. 

I hope they don't have to use this in an emergency.
Fire extinguisher at Liku'alofa Beach Resort

Cute little Tonga child with his dad waiting to order.
This is one of the restaurants we frequent in Ma'ufanga.
It doesn't seem to have a name but the missionaries
call it the Mata (green) restaurant.  All of the walls in
the dining area are lime green.

Duncan is one of our Stake Technology Specialist.
He is also an event photographer and we met him
at the 50 birthday bash for the Wesleyan Church
last week.  We heard from our sister missionaries
that serve in that area that we caused quite a stir
(they said in a good way) as two old Palangi LDS
missionaries attending and enjoyed their event.
If you remember this from last week's blog, we stayed
about 3 1/2 hours and really enjoyed ourselves.

A True Tongan Feast

Sunset over Tonga.    Lepeka captured this sunset on
Aug. 31 2017 while I was in Ha'apai.

It is raining hard tonight as I write our blog.  I love to hear the ping of the rain on the metal roofs here.   The weather is starting to turn warmer and more humid but it is still pretty pleasant overall.  We know that in a few short weeks we will be back to hot and humid so we're enjoying it while we can.

We were invited to attend the 50th birthday celebration for the Free Wesleyan Church in Kolomatu'a on Saturday.  The FWC in Tonga is the world's only state church in the Methodist tradition.  Most of the royal family are prominent members, and the late king was a lay preacher.  One son of the current King is a convert to the LDS Church and his family is okay with it since it really helped him turn his 'wild life' around.  He attends the Temple regularly and has his mind set on only marrying in the Temple.

Just a few FWC facts from Wikipedia:  The Free Wesleyan Church runs approximately 1/3 of the schools in Tonga.  FWC schools are known for their moral education as they teach obedience, hard work, good manners, and respect, which are all high values in Tonga.  As in other schools, FWC schools usually do not have class on Fridays, but instead use the day for school cleanup; all school facilities in Tonga are maintained by the students.  School uniforms are the church's colors: royal blue and white.

Some of Sione's family with Lepeka
(his mom is next to Lepeka)

The family of the young many who Lepeka treated and dressed his arm for the past 3 months, invited us to attend with them as it was some of their ancestors that were the first FWC converts in that area.  It was quite an event!

They kicked off the celebration with a ceremony attended by the current president of the Free Wesleyan Church,  'Ahio (I think that was his name).  There was an re-enactment by the youth, of the first Wesleyan missionaries in Tonga and the conversion of some of the families in that area.  There was also some singing and dancing by the youth of the church and then a performance by some very talented professional singers (4 tenors) who sang

The 4 tenors (names unknown to us) and Sione Heimuli.  We
think the 2nd guy from the left is a Sammy Davis Jr. look-alike.
He had an amazing voice and looked like him when he sang.

several songs and they were outstanding.  The congregation also stood to sing a couple of FWC hymns.  I thought it just a bit ironic that one of the hymns we sang was the same tune as the LDS hymn "Israel, Israel, God Is Calling" especially as I mouthed the words, 'Come to Zion, Come to Zion'.

Then 'Ahio stood to talk and he said just enough in english (enhanced by our limited vocabulary of Tongan) as he praised the freedom of all to worship as they wanted and that they should respect the views of others and strive to always exhibit the high moral standards of Tonga.

Tent and tables covered in food.  It's hard to see the Puaka (pig) between the fruit
baskets as they are covered with food!  Plates are stacked on the food as there is
no room.  See the guy in the middle of the picture in the white shirt?  Lepeka
thinks he needs to work on his tan.

The food in front of me when I sat down.  The brown thing in the upper RH corner
is the roasted puaka (pig).  There was one for every 3-4 people.

Lepeka's food.  You can see she has her own little roasted puaka (pig).

After this ceremony adjourned, we headed to another area where big tents had been setup with tables covered in food .... really, I literally mean COVERED IN FOOD.  There were containers of food that had been stacked on every available inch of the table 3 and 4 deep as well as a small roasted pig for every 3-4 people (no room for plates).  It was unbelievable!  As we were seated Lepeka and I looked at each other in horror and chuckled hoping they weren't expecting us to eat all of the food that was in front of us.  It would have been enough to feed us for a week.  Thankfully, they were okay with us just eating what we wanted.  The "leftovers" would be used to continue the feast tomorrow (Sunday).

Banjo, guitars and singing

Family singing and dancing

More family dancing

The dinner was followed by family presentations as they spoke and presented their prized Tapas to the Church followed by the family singing and dancing.  Then another family would follow.  It is obvious that they all have such respect for others and the family is the center of their worship as well.  We hope you enjoy the photos and are able to see the magnitude of the celebration.  All the stops were pulled out and it was quite an event.  We left after about 3 1/2 hours but it was still going strong.

As they dance people from the audience will come put money

on them to show their appreciation.

Keke (cake) depiction of the early FWC building.

Proud papa and happy child.  They are centered around their families here.

The food has the Sione Heimuli seal of approval.

I had to include a couple more shots of the sunset that Lepeka took whilst I was away.

More of the sunset taken from just outside our front door.