The Perfect Setting

The beach in Niutoa (North East on
Tonga Tapu) was a  perfect setting
for a baptism.  

Another "normal" week in paradise.  Not much new to report this week other than we were able to attend a baptism on the east end of the main island in Niutoa.  What made this one different is that they don't have a baptismal font in their building or anywhere nearby.  Their Stake center is in Navutoka which is only about 6-7 Km away and since it's too far to walk they performed the ordinance in the ocean.  It was a really cool setting and the service was short but filled with the Spirit.  Elder Veni performed the

I wanted to be respectful of the ordinance
but I did want to capture the setting.  This
was just prior to the baptism.

ordinance which was his first baptism in Tonga and he is nearing the end of his mission (he is Tongan from Vava'u).

You can see the steps leading down
to the ocean.  Elder Woods and Elder
Hirinuki were the witnesses.

Pisope Kengike and Elder Talisa
after the Baptism.

After the baptism the bishop made a few remarks.  We didn't understand everything he said but the Spirit was so strong.  He was teary-eyed as he shared his testimony and we concluded the meeting with one of our favorite Tongan Hymns.

I know there are lots of photos of this one event but it was such a great experience and the setting really magnified the Spirit for us.

I won't try to list all of the missionaries by name but this was quite a group
that turned out for the baptism.

It's also been a very hot and humid week with several 90 deg F and 90% humidity days again.  The past two days we have had a little relief as it has rained ... mostly fairly lightly and off and on but there have been a few times the sky has really opened up and the water came down in torrents.  Tonight is Sunday at about 5:30 pm and it is really coming down heavy.  The sound on the metal roofs is almost thunderous.

The kids are all back at Liahona now as school starts on Monday.  It has been a nice break but today in Church when the singing began it was obvious how much we have missed them.  They are so well behaved and even though there are 1500 students here it never seems crowded or overrun.

We had some new senior missionaries arrive this week along with another dentist (couple) who is here for 12 weeks with his wife.  They are the Fishers from Kaysville (near the Hess Farm area).  It's always fun to make new friends and help them as the acclimate to Tonga and the Tongan culture.  I have been able to write a simple database program for tracking the patients at the dental clinic.  They seem to be pretty happy with the ease of data entry and the data reporting features.

Stake President Ben Hur Kivalu with one of his  new counselors
and one of his old counselors (and of course, Superman).

I had the Stake president of the newly formed Capital Stake approach me today for help on the computer side of things as he is frustrated that nothing seems to be happening and all of the existing computers are old and should have been replaced before.  President Kivalu is a giant of a man and that he is trying to be patient and do it the Lord's way but maybe he is getting close to doing it his way.  I'm not sure why there is so much resistance to change out of the New Zealand office, they ask us to come here and find out the current state of affairs but don't seem to be able to take our recommendations for change.  I'm really not trying to talk bad about them it just seems like we run into the same wall with everything here.  I'm sure they have their reasons.

You're never to young to ride in the back of a truck here.

These kids were pushing this plastic tub around and having a great time as
they moved from pile to pile of leaves picking them up.  As soon as the camera
came out they stopped to pose for a photo.  I'm not sure ever remember work
being that much fun.

This trio is always playing as planes arrive giving them a proper welcome to Tonga.

Waiting at the airport for his mom to arrive.

Role playing at district meeting as Lepeka watches and listens intently.

The office crew from L>R, Elder Teutau, Elder Betten and Elder Rosales

Not a colorful sunset but a very tranquil ocean (nearing low tide at the blowholes in Houma).

Chicken Bend Ova

Chicken Bend Ova

You may remember from our post two weeks ago we mentioned a couple of interesting menu items that we noticed at Nauti Ruby's diner on the wharf.  Well we finally made it back for dinner and decided to be brave and order the Chicken Bend Ova and the Porkism.  The Chicken Bend Ova was two breaded chicken breasts with two slices of cheese, pineapple and bacon between them all smothered in a pineapple sauce.  Lepeka really liked it and gave me a bite to try as well.  It was quite good.  Next came the Porkism which is basically a boneless pork chop covered with BBQ sauce.  I know I make these both sound so delicious but they actually were both very good.  I would rate the Porkism as one of the top 3 things I have eaten at a Tongan restaurant.

Porkism - The widely-held belief that pork is
awesome (definition from the Urban dictionary).

We're not sure where either of the menu names for these entrees came from as they are not Tongan words (other than ova means over in Tongan).   Lepeka passed on that she's pretty sure the Chicken Bend Ova was named for the number of calories it contained.  They were both reasonable priced (about $9. USD) well cooked, and presented with some frilly carrot and cucumber shaving (evidently they've been watching Chopped on the Food Network channel).

This week I hit my first dog with the car.  We were only driving about 20 MPH when he darted across the road at the last minute and we hit him pretty much front and center then rolled under the car.  He did stagger off the main road.  Even though I was going pretty slowly I'll be surprised if he survives.  He was kind of a grown puppy and it certainly makes you feel sick when something like that happens.  I guess I'm surprised it doesn't happen more often in Tonga as the dogs run free.  Maybe it does and we just don't hear about it.

Over the course of the next few hours of driving I barely missed a small piglet, a pigeon, and even had a cow wander across the road in front of me.  Then last but not least a chicken and her chicks scampered by (unscathed) ... so why did the chicken cross the road???  Apparently they're Tongan and crossing the road is a Tongan animal thing to do.  So next time someone asks you why the chicken crossed the road you'll have an answer ... because it's Tongan.











Holy cow it's a Molokau!  We found this little guy on the sidewalk (already dead) and had to snap a photo.  Then after walking away, decided I needed some perspective in the photo so when we went back I placed a quarter sized coin so you can see how big these creatures really are!


Who are you and what are you doing in our car?

One of our regular responsibilities involves taking missionaries to the dentist and then back to their MQ's after their appointment.  Sometimes they miss their fafanga (meal) so we make sure they get food and then we try to get them back into their normal daily activities as soon as possible.

While we're driving to and from we usually get to know these missionaries pretty well as they talk about their pre-missionary life and their families.  It helps us build good relationships and often uncovers a few other minor ailments that we can help with as well.

As an anecdote, we took two Tongan missionaries to the dentist on Thursday morning to finish up a little bit of work (one from two different  MQ's) and when we took them back they stated that their district was doing ngaue ofa (service project) today so we told them we would wait while one of them changed clothes then take them to the other MQ and then on to where the rest of their district was.  When the first missionary came out to the car the other one asked him, "who are you and what are you doing into our car?"  I guess that was his way of saying, "you forgot your name badge."  Anyway we thought it was pretty funny at the time.

At the Missionary Quarters in Fasi.  What could be more natural than a jar
of hair gel stuck to the ceiling?  I think they were just testing its staying power.

This seems to be a good way to hold a roof on.  Pile lots of big rocks on it.
You can also use it as a handy place to story your stroller and chain saw.

Sow and piglets scampering away from the paparazzi!

District meeting in Talafo'ou chapel (Mu'a district).

Smoking section at Nauti Ruby's

Splish Splash!

Rope swing out over the ocean.

Summertime arrived in full force this week as the heat and humidity combined to make our A/C mandatory (either that or melt).  It's been much closer to what we remember when we first arrived a year ago.  Lepeka usually starts her exercise routine at 5:00 a.m. each day but she started at 4:30 Saturday morning and was drenched with sweat when she returned from her 4 mile walk/run (then she does her yoga and weights).  I on the other hand survived sleeping until 6:30 a.m. without any sweat (thank goodness for A/C).  If you do communicate with Lepeka, please don't encourage this getting up at O'dark thirty behavior ... it's not what normal people do (6:00 a.m. is early, 4:00 a.m is insane).

One more swing just before letting go.

All of the local swimming holes and beaches are full of children looking for a way to cool down and have some fun.  We stopped to take a few photos of these boys playing on a rope swing as they took turns playing up to the camera.  You can see that the water isn't very deep where they are playing but that didn't stop them.  I had to leave as they each kept trying to get higher and out-do the last one.

This wasn't the tree I mentioned, it was
much larger and it was too dark to take
a photo.  We ran across this one the next
day just West of Liahona.

We also experienced quite the little micro-burst of wind and rain as we drove back from the other side of the island on Wednesday evening.  The rain was so hard we could barely see the road in front of us and the wind was howling and lasted about 15 minutes.  About halfway home traffic came to a dead stop on the main road as a tree had blown down and it lay across both lanes of traffic.  There was limited space on the shoulder to get around it one car at a time for traffic coming both ways.  Everyone was courteous and we eventually took our turn.  One thing that you really grow to appreciate here is that almost everyone is a courteous driver as far as letting others into the flow of traffic and taking turns.

As we were driving back from the other end of the island on Saturday night we saw a white owl as it flew across the road not far in front of us.  There was no way to get the camera out that quickly for a photo so you'll just have to take our word for it but it was really pretty and something we hadn't seen here before.

Menu at Vaiola Hospital Cafe

The REAL Sub sandwich shop

 For those of you that wanted us to try the Chicken Bend Ova from the menu we shared last week ... sorry, we haven't made it back yet but we did see a few more interesting "food" signs and thought we'd share those.  Remember that prices are in Tongan Pa'anga which is about double the US dollar so if you cut the price in half you can compare the cost.

You've gotta love the Yummie Treats sign that advertises their Submarine Sandwich as the real thing ...  none of these fake sub sandwiches sold here!  They also have french fries, juices and smoothies (you name it).

It was a relatively quiet week for us on the medical front, transfer weeks are usually not as busy as others.  I guess it's because so many things are up in the air for the missionaries as they settle into their new surroundings or new companions.  We also love meeting the new missionaries as they arrive full of the Spirit and ready to teach.  This group was about half the size of the last 3 groups so it was a little easier to manage (10 missionaries).  We did however,  receive 12 missionaries on Friday that are awaiting their visas for the Philippines.  We think we're getting  more tomorrow.  They can be here for anywhere from a few days to several months before their visas go through.

The yard care business is a family affair as these two little guys clean up the
grass clippings from the sidewalk in front of the mission office.

There was a change in the mission office staff this transfer and there are now four young Elders serving there instead of just two.  They will be handling the mission finance and fleet maintenance as well as the regular duties of taking care of the logistics of moving missionaries, managing the internal processes, and whatever else the mission president needs them to do.  They stay pretty busy in the office.  Elder Mortenson who has been in the office for 8-9 months has gone to Ha'apai as the zone leader.  He will be missed but the new group headed by Elder Rosales who has a few months under his belt will do well.  We get to know the office Elders pretty well when they serve in the office.  The three new office Elders are Elder Teutau, Elder Pakalani and Elder Betten (no photos but they are on the mission FB page).

There was one additional major change in the mission leadership this transfer as two new APs (Assistants to the President) were called, Elder Bingham and Elder Takelo.  They are two really good Elders and will serve the President well.

And finally for this blog, we had the most precious packet of mail arrive this week from our ward (for Christmas) but even though it arrived late, it couldn't have come at a better time.  It was a packet of Christmas cards created by some of the Primary children in our ward.  Lepeka and I were grinning from ear to ear as we felt the love contained in each card.  It was such a thoughtful thing to do and we are so appreciative of the efforts that went into making this happen as much as the cards and messages themselves.  I've included scans of each of these precious cards below for all to enjoy.

OLDS COOL

D.J. Lodilodi - our music director for the evening.

DJ Lodilodi was in charge of our music for the cruise (you can see his moniker on the MacBook laptop).  You also recognize the logo on his T-shirt as the name of this weeks blog (OLDS COOL).  I also got a kick out of the other T-shirt that says, DANGER/ I MAY INSULT YOU / WITHOUT / WARNING.

Gotta love that
Chicken Bend Ova

We did try a couple of restaurants this week that we have not been to in the past with mixed results.  We tried Nauti Ruby's on the wharf and enjoyed our meal there.    The hamburger and fish and chips are both pretty good. I am specifically intrigued by menu items #16 - Chicken Bend Ova and #20 - BBQ Porkism.  Not enough to actually order either of them but I do wonder what they are ... any ideas?? please leave them in a comment below ... who knows, maybe I'll get brave one of these time?   We also dined at a restaurant called Bilfish also along the wharf.  Both restaurants were pretty good and we'll go back to both of them (in fact, we actually ate twice at each of them this week).

While we were scouting out dining options, we ran across one of the local "party boats" and were told that it was changing this year to do dinner cruises on Saturday nights.  We decided that we would try that out with the Hudsons next Saturday (since they are on the island of Ha'apai this week).  Since they were gone and we were looking for a place to eat dinner, we decided to try it out ourselves this week.

We were instructed to arrive at 4:00 pm so we could purchase tickets and that they would be boarding from 4:00 - 5:30 pm for a 6:00 pm departure.  Since we didn't have anything else planned we decided that sitting and enjoying the scenery for a while wouldn't be a bad thing and we could be assured our choice of seats so we arrived at 4:00pm.  There were a couple of other people that showed up at 4:00 to purchase tickets as well so we thought everything looked okay and we bought our tickets and boarded.

On the boat at 4:00 pm 

We had our choice of seats so we sat up top (in the shade and light breeze) where we could watch the people on the wharf.  The boat "captain" stopped and talked with us for several minutes while they finished setting up the D.J. equipment and we were informed that there was also going to be a live band (which actually ended up being one person doing more of a karaoke kind of performance while also joining the recorded music with his keyboard).  It wasn't too long before the music started and they were playing some pretty easy listening old time rock and roll music with an occasional Tongan song thrown in.

We are not alone.

Well it took about an hour before any other people actually joined us on the boat but that was okay since we were enjoying just talking and watching the scenery and the temperature was very nice as well (about 82 deg we estimated).

As other people were boarding the boat we noticed that they all seemed to be bringing their own "food" and beverages so Lepeka hopped off and purchased us a couple bottles of water.  She also asked about the dinner and saw that there were three menu items being offered; Sashimi, Steak w/mushroom sauce, or a Hamburger (large or small with fries).  We both ordered the burger and fries and they were okay.

The drone closes in for better view.

We were being spied on from a drone

I'm sure you are guessing by now that the previous "Party boat" was indeed still a "Party boat" that now offered a couple of food items.  In any case we settled in to enjoy ourselves.  The music was pretty loud but it was fun watching everyone dancing and having a good time.

By the end of the night we had several people come talk to us and one was confessing his sins and telling us he wants to do better (the alcohol on his breath may have betrayed his intentions).  All-in-all we enjoyed our night but probably won't do it again.

We'll leave you with a few photos taken from our vantage point on the "party boat" as well as a couple taken of some young boys enjoying swimming and diving in the ocean.

Leaving the port for the third time.  We kept going back to get some late arrivals.
Our 6:00 pm departure ended up being 6:50 pm which kept us out on the water
until almost 10:00 pm

Silhouette of of the most popular swimming area ... off an old wharf in Nuku'alofa.

The night lights of Nuku'alofa from our party boat.

Just before sunset over Nuku'alofa

Sunset from the party boat.

These last four photos are of some young boys swimming and diving.  They were so excited to have their photos taken and started giggling and laughing when I asked if it was okay.  They also thanked me when I finished and gave them the thumbs up.

Diver (or jumper) #1

Diver #2

Diver #3

Swimming after their diving performance.