Koe ko Bat Man au!

We are doing great!  We have some challenges to overcome with our individual areas of responsibilities but that’s why we’re here.  We have made a commitment to each other to work together in everything we do so it does create some long days for us but we are loving the work.  I really admire Becky, she is such a hard worker and so committed to doing the right thing every time.  She is so good when working with the sick or injured.

These Fruit Bats are huge with a wingspan of about 2 feet.
Sometimes eaten by locals but now protected by law. 

We have driven most of the island now as we give tender loving care to the young Elder and Sister missionaries.  We love them and they seem to have taken a serious liking to Sister Kapp.  Her phone text ring is a whistle and I'm not sure I like them whistling at her.  One of the places we have missionaries is in the village of Kolovai (west end of the island).  This photo was taken in Kolovai from the car window as I pulled off to the side. You could see them everywhere you looked.  I tried to get a photo of one flying but there is nothing to give any perspective as to how big they are.  Probably comparable to a hawk in size.

  

We had an interesting experience yesterday as we were walking in the town.  A young lady came up to us and started hemming and hawing so I naturally thought she was going to ask us for money.  Instead she asked us if we could pray with her.  We talked with her for a few moments and determined that she was having a marriage crisis and wanted us to pray that her husband would not leave her (she was not LDS).  She said she would be talking with him in the evening so we prayed with her (right there on the street) that she would be able to communicate her love and desire to remain together to him.  She then asked if she could go to church with us.  We told her that we would find some young missionaries that could help her and sure enough, we found them right around the corner.  We’ll try to follow-up but we’re not sure we’ll ever know the outcome as neither of us could remember her name but it was an interesting experience.

One other special experience we had this past week was all Sister Kapp’s doing.  Being new here and really not knowing what it expected of us completely, Becky got a text to present a 3-5 minute thought in the next Mission Presidents managers meeting (she had almost 24 hours to come up with a topic to prepare her though).  She thought and prayed about what she should talk about but finally settled on missionary hygiene and MQ (missionary quarters) cleanliness.  She related it to D&C 88:119.  After she presented her thought we found out that the Mission President’s entire agenda for that meeting (no agenda printed of posted) was exactly on what she had said.  He thanked her for being in tune with the Spirit and then went on to discuss the topic in detail.  We were then given an additional area of responsibility to inspect the MQ’s and train the Elders and Sisters in the North District in how to clean if necessary.  We’ll make it work.

We want to issue a challenge to any who are willing.  We ask you to share your simple testimony with us in an email.  It may be about the things you have learned in life and your individual perceptions but we would love to hear your thoughts whatever they are.  We’re not asking for anything long or lengthy.  We know you may all be busy and we respect that but if you feel you can we would love to read them.  Our email address is: kappkj@gmail.com 

We sing opening and closing hymns in almost every meeting which is fun except … sometimes it is in English and sometimes it’s in Tongan.  We frequently don’t have hymn books and we don’t know the Tongan lyrics.   I decided to just start singing (a little bit softly) just singing a-e-i-o-u.  Funny thing is … I think I got about 75% of the words right!

Thank you to those who have taken the time to email us.  We read and reread each email as they are precious to us.  We miss you all and wish we could see you and talk to you in person.  We have already developed a greater appreciation for family and friends.

There was a 5.2 earthquake last night about 4 km off-shore to the north of Nuku 'alofa last night.  We were watching a movie at our home when it happened.  Not major just noticeable  ... more like a good rugby tackle.  Also, a major thunderstorm rolled through a couple of nights ago.  It was fun to lay there and listen to the thunder.  I had to get up and go outside just to watch for a while around 3:00 am.   Did I mention how much I love the rain?!?!

Who ordered the chicken?  He actually came strutting right through the
restaurant but I didn't have my camera ready.  Not uncommon at all!

Family of pigs off the side of the road near Nukunuku.
They roam everywhere and the little piglets are so cute.

An unusual crooked Palm tree with even more rare three tops.
40 kph speed limit sign on main highway ... yes main highway.
I always obey the speed limit too.  Too many animals everywhere
to go any faster.  Driving is really not bad here, it's just slow.