Kenny & Becky Kapp: Mother's day

Mom quilting. She always
has some project going for
someone in need.

Today is Mother's day in Tonga and I have been thinking about the women in my life a lot more than usual this past week. I suppose that is natural but I also think it's way to easy to take them for granted. I have been so blessed with good women who have always been there to watch over me and I thank God for that. Who knows where I'd be in my life without them.

Me with Grandma Kapp on her 80th
Birthday in 1990. She was such a big
influence in my life.

I was taught the Gospel and good values by my mother and grandmothers from my birth. I remember my grandma Kapp reading to us from the stories of the Book of Mormon as some of my earliest memories. My home growing up was always a hub of righteous activities ... especially activities of service. I was alway diving under the quilt that was set up on frames in the front room as they were being tied for someone in need. I don't know that my mom ever missed a church meeting or passed on an opportunity to serve.

Grandma Farson was not a
member of the Church but
taught of a special kind of
love by caring for dozens of
foster children through the
years.

My sisters grew into wonderful women who love the Lord and would help anyone in need at any
time. My older sister who has passed on some 10 years ago is one of my life heroes for just about everything she did (I could talk for hours about her). I have other sisters that have faced serious adversity in their lives and have been able to recognize those times as blessings in their lives.

Becky wouldn't let me use a current
photo so I snuck this one in.

I don't want to go on and on but I do want mention how lucky I am to have Becky in my life, she is everything to me. She is the reason I can survive so far away and so out of my comfort zone. She is always busy taking care of the missionaries but never neglects me. She can be dead tired but always ask if there is anything she can do for me. I always marvel at her energy and her ability to care for those most in need. She is so good at making others feel loved especially when they are sick, injured or just feeling down.

Lepeka working with Tupa, a young boy in Fu'amoth. He took to her almost immediately.

Timote brought the colorful
flowers. We had the white
ones here already.

Timote Kau (many of you may recognize him as Elder Kau as he is a local who finished his mission in December of last year) stopped in early this morning with some flowers for his Grandma (Lepeka). We have stayed in close contact with him since he finished and we have a special relationship with him. Lepeka also receives many text messages from missionaries wishing her a happy Mother's day, I think they all feel her love as she cares for them

God certainly knew what he was doing when he created woman. Of all His creations she is His finest work.

We had a wonderful week filled with testimony building experiences. It always amazed me how things can fall together to get help where it is most needed. I have heard about these experiences all of my life but have rarely played a part in them until we served this mission. Maybe I am just more aware since we are specifically looking for them everyday but nonetheless, I am truly humbled to be a part of them.

Even though things are starting to get back to normal for most of the Tongans, there are still many who lost everything and are struggling to get back on their feet. There are a few who are still living in the LDS meetinghouses in their area since they have nowhere else to go.

We happened upon a couple of families that had some real needs since they had lost so much from the cyclones that came through in the past couple of months. They had kind of been lost in the shuffle and were doing the best they could to hang on but definitely needed some help. Through a series of events we ended up at their homes right when we had a few extra donations and were able to help them right when they needed it the most.

The Excel and chess classes seem to be going pretty well so far, I've had the opportunity to teach each class and everyone who is taking them still seems to be interested. The chess has been the most challenging for a couple of reasons; first, I am teaching 12-13 year old kids how to play and they're not always the best listeners; secondly, back in the late 70's I had to quit playing chess because it is a game that seems to consume my thoughts, and even my dreams start happening around the game of chess. Hopefully, I won't get in too deeply and can shut it off better now.

We had our housing sprayed for bugs again on Saturday. We haven't been having any problems since Becky sprays inside and out on a regular basis but several others senior couple are still having problems to we thought it best to have them spray all of the housing units at the same time so they didn't simply go next door for a while. We feel pretty fortunate to be almost bug free. We do get an occasional critter but they are mostly geckos lookin for and easy meal.

Liahona's marching band

The Liahona band has been getting lots better recently. We hear them practicing everyday for the opening day of the Parliament. They haven't announced when that is, but it must be soon as we were serenaded by the drum corp yesterday morning (Saturday). They are also marching around the campus and as you can see by the photo have a fan club (little boy on the sidewalk).

That's pretty much our week in a nutshell. The weather has turned downright pleasant as of late with highs around 80 deg F and lows around 72. The next five months or so are usually pretty nice from a weather perspective. We do get a few hot days here and there but in general they are pretty nice. We also get enough rain to enjoy it with the occasional downpour which is also fun.

I haven't been taking as many photos lately so I'll try to get back in the habit but here are a few from our week.

Happy Mother's Day!