TNPLH

Lindsay sent us a few photos of our home in
Bountiful.  It looks like the grandkids have been
having fun and it made us a little bit homesick
while at the same time providing us some comfort.
More photos from home at the bottom of the blog.

(There's No Place Like Home)  This was a week of getting back into the swing of things.  After our four six days in New Zealand it was nice to get back to our home away from home in Tonga ... back to our very firm mattress, our broken A/C unit and our somewhat limited food options (we're really not complaining, it's just the way it is and the AC was fixed very quickly).  While it was nice to see to some of the things we are used to back in Utah while in New Zealand, it is also nice to get back to Tonga refreshed and ready to finish our mission out strong.  We have a little over six months to go now so the time will most likely pass quickly from everything we've heard from other senior missionaries.

I was also able to watch game 4 of the Utah Jazz OKC Thunder playoff series while in New Zealand.  I've followed the Jazz success over the second half of the season closely but have not seen a game since January of 2017 so I did enjoy their convincing win.  I was also happy the one their first round series against OKC.  I'll remain positive about their chances with Houston but it's going to be a tall order to come out of this round on top.

We know the missionaries well and have come to love them so much.  They are so dedicated to serving the Lord and they put their heart and soul into it.  Many tell us that they want to keep serving as their time to return home comes around but we know it is time for the next chapter in their lives and it will be an exciting and fun time in their lives as well.

A dentist's work is never done.

We asked him which he
needed more, the ring or
finger since one of them
needed to come off.

We're not sure how he got this ring on his finger but it certainly wasn't coming off easily.  They tried all the tricks with soap, oil and even the string but all to no avail.  Thank goodness we had one more option.  This is the third time we have had to cut a "borrowed" CTR ring from the finger of a missionary since we've been here.  Maybe we need to go over what CTR means.  Thank goodness for diamond burrs... these little rings are tough!

Over the past few months I have written a program to track the Dental Clinic procedures for Tonga and Samoa clinics.   As of the end of April they are on track to provide almost $5M (USD) of free dental care to the people of Tonga.  We just started the Samoa clinic on this tracking system so it's a little early to tell how much they provide but I'm sure it's significant.  This is all done with senior missionary Dentists and a few short term volunteer dentists who roll through on a frequent basis.  They are open 5 days a week and stay really busy.  They do this all on a $25K annual budget as most supplies are donated.

I am hoping that we can come up with a simple way for them to keep track of their schedule and appointments as it is currently not tracked at all and creates some pretty long waits for some.  Tongans are pretty used to that as the Hospital clinics are done the same way.  Show up at 9:00 a.m. and get your name on the list.  You may be there all day.

I am also starting a few computer classes at the request of the senior missionaries on Excel and PowerPoint.  There are also a few that are interested in just having some time to ask questions about Windows, Blogs and other general computer related topics.  I hope they are successful and that I can provide some help.  If not I'm sure we can find some answers somewhere.

We had one Tongan missionary leave the clinic this week and even though she was all numb, as they had done lots of work, she was all smiles and said I am so happy to have my teeth clean and fixed.  I am going to take good care of them now.  She was genuinely happy and so grateful for the dentist.

This week Tonga celebrated ANZAC day (Australia New Zealand Army Corps).  It is the day they remember the battle at Gallipoli because of the huge number of casualties (it claimed the lives of more than 11,000 Australian and New Zealand soldiers).   There were also 460 Pacific Island soldiers serving in those armies during WWI from 1914 - 1918.  You can read more about it on Wikipedia by clicking here if you are interested.

Tonga had a very nice early morning service that was presided over by King Tupou VI.  Also in attendance was the Prime Minister (Hon. 'Akilisi Pohiva), offers from His Majesty's Armed Forces, officers from the Australian and New Zealand armed forces, foreign diplomats, members of parliament, and members of the Public.  The program included placing a wreath at the Cenotaph (a monument erected to remember these men) and a religious service dedicated to them.  There is a short write up with a couple of photos in the Matangi Tonga online (click here).

The weather has been really nice this week and we are solidly into the nicer part of the year from a temperature perspective.  It's amazing how much difference cooling down by 7-8 degrees can make.

We didn't take many photos this week here are a few more from our New Zealand trip and a few more from our home in Bountiful.  Thanks Lindsay for letting us see the tulips in bloom.

Sunset from our 12th floor hotel room in Takapuna

View from the Hamilton NZ Temple

View from the Hamilton NZ Temple

Flowering bush at Hamilton NZ Temple

Waiting for the flight home

Our home in Bountiful

Some of our violet and white lacy leaf tulips.

More flowers at home

Delayed but not dismayed

We visited the LDS Temple in Hamilton New Zealand.
It will close for 3 years in July for extensive renovation.

Our 4 day trip to New Zealand was a welcomed break.  Not that we mind Tonga or the work but it's just nice to get a break.  It did make us homesick for Tonga and also for our home in the U.S.A.  In spite of the homesickness, we did have a wonderful time and we were happy to see a little bit of New Zealand.  We purposely tried not to cram too much in so we could just rest and relax a bit too.

We definitely missed the open friendliness of the people of Tonga.  We have learned so much from them and hope to be able to incorporate their genuine friendliness into our lives.  At the same time, we longed to be in our comfortable home in Utah surrounded by our loved ones and dear friends.

Hillside view through the window as we headed for Hamilton NZ to see the Temple

We arrived in New Zealand at midnight and by the time we made it through customs and rented our car it was about 1:00 A.M.  We still had to drive about 25 miles to our hotel.  It wouldn't have been too bad but one of the main roads was completely shut down and we had to take a detour through the main city of Auckland.  Our GPS may not have found the most efficient way to the hotel but it did get us there eventually (after about an hour).  We checked into the Spencer Hotel on Byron in Takapuna around 2:00 A.M. and went right to sleep.

Street lights everywhere

Lights for crossing the street

When we woke up we headed out on foot.  We had already mapped several things out that were close to our hotel and we set out to find the hair salon (first order of business).  The one we had on our list had closed down but we found another one nearby and Lepeka made an appointment for the following day.

What a strange land ... every movement whether by automobile or on foot seems to be controlled by these strange red, yellow, and green lights.  It seem like I have seen them before but it is such vague memory that I can't be sure.

Big Salad at the Leaf & Loaf

I told Lepeka that I was smiling but
she said it looked closer to a grimace.

We also had to find some of our favorite foods and first on the list was a salad.  Lettuce is one of the things that Lepeka misses the most since good lettuce is so scarce in Tonga and very seasonal, so that was second on our to-do list.  We found a local diner with an acceptable salad on the menu and we both ordered one (yes you  heard me right ... I had a salad too).  It must have been pretty good since I ate it all but as soon as I was done I was ready for the main course.  You can only imagine my surprise when Lepeka told me that the salad was the main course.

Lepeka ordered the
Granola and yogurt

My breakfast 

We ate one of our breakfasts the Honey cafe across from the Pacific Area LDS Offices in Takapuna NZ.  Lepeka ordered the Granola and Yogurt while my breakfast was a good ol' ham, cheese, tomato, and mushroom omelette.  It came with some type of greenery (maybe bean sprouts) on the top but I quickly brushed them aside (I've had my salad for the year).  They probably shouldn't have had to tell me that the skillet was hot but since they didn't I found out the hard way.

Who knew that you could also order salad at McDonalds.
If I had only know before I ordered the Big Mac extra value meal!

Driving on a multi-lane highway was a bit more confusing than
driving in Tonga even though I am used to driving on the left.

Driving on the left side of the road on multi-lane highways was much harder than driving on the two lane roads in Tonga.  Signage, exits, roundabouts, and lane markings seemed pretty overwhelming at first.  We were glad we had a GPS in the car we rented.

We also went grocery shopping at Countdown (one of the big grocery chains in Auckland).  We didn't buy much since we couldn't bring it back with us but just walking through and seeing all of the options was fun.  We were going to buy some more Miracle Whip and just pay the fee to bring it back but we couldn't find it at any of the store we walked through.  I guess we'll just have to wait until we get home again in November.

Sister Kapp is all smiles while waiting for her first good
salad in a long time at the Leaf and Loaf.  Hair cut and style
is on the schedule for tomorrow.

Sunset view from the wind of our plane on Saturday night.

We headed back to Tonga on Saturday evening and were 2 hours into our 3 hour flight when we were informed that due to a storm in Tonga we would be returning to Auckland.  Our 3 hour flight back to Tongan had now turned into a 4 hour flight to ... nowhere.

We were told that since the cancellation was due to weather they airline was not responsible for our hotel.  We tried to reach every hotel listed on the convenience board that we near to the airport (probably about 15 of them and they were all full.  We rented a car and decided to put hotels in the GPS, select one and go there and ask (our phone didn't work in NZ).  After trying a few we decided to get a little bit further away from the airport.  I found a Best Western about 10 miles away and we headed there.

It took us quite a while to get there since we were routed through all of the backstreets.  Oh, and did I mention it was also raining cats and dogs in NZ.  When we finally got to the Best Western, the lady at the desk said she could move a few things around to accommodate us and then asked, "how did you find us?"

She said that not many people are able to find them as there location is pretty out of the way.  We felt grateful and very blessed to find a place to stay our 2 extra days in New Zealand.

Boarding for the second time on Monday afternoon with our fingers crossed.

The flight locator on our flight Monday afternoon.   Hmmm, I guess we weren't
the only ones thinking about coming back to the United States.

A Visit from Dusty, Carly, and Keni

Welcome to Tonga!

We were able to welcome our Grandson Dusty and his wife Carly to Tonga this week as they came for Spring vacation to get away from work and the rat-race at home.  It's been fun having them here and we were also able to revisit some of the fun places we have been in the past.

They arrived at the airport right on schedule and zipped through customs.  We welcomed them with the traditional kayla (or lei) made from flowers and plants by the locals.  The leis are very beautiful and aromatic.

We immediately headed for lunch at Central Kiwi Kai in Veitongo (under new management) for fish and chips Tongan style (batter dipped and fried mahimahi).  They also have very good pizza (my vote for best in Tonga) but we'll save that for another time.  Then we headed to Liahona so they could get settled in.  I won't try to put everything in order but here are some of the highlights.

First thing on the agenda was to prepare for our second cyclone in the past 5 weeks.  This one was a rapidly developing one in Fiji that immediately headed for Tongatapu, cyclone Keni ... yes I know it sounds a lot like Kenny but it wasn't as big of a blow-hard as I am.  As near as I could tell the worst damage on Liahona campus was self-inflicted as they took down all of the tallest palm trees that were near homes on Liahona.  You may remember that the one home that was completely destroyed on campus by Gita was caused when a palm tree was blown over and damaged a roof which let the wind inside, then taking the entire roof off and a cinderblock wall crashing down (the family was uninjured).

We could watch its progress online as it headed in our general direction.  Tongatapu was only projected to be on the outer edge of this one instead of the direct heat we had with Gita.  It was also only a category 1-2 cyclone compared to Gita which was a cat 4-5 (depending on who you believe).   We still got some moderate winds (60-70 mph) and lots of rain during and after.   I guess no one told Keni that the cyclone season ends on April 1st.   We certainly hope we are finished for the year.   Sorry, we can't promise a similar experience to other visitors.

We did receive a nice phone call from our grandson Joshua warning us that Keni was coming and exhorting us to seek shelter in the church house nearby.  We did feel safe as our homes are built to the same specifications as the meeting houses (and we did survive Gita).  It's nice to have him watching out for us as one of his many hobbies is studying weather.

Tsunami rock.  They now have a gate to prevent cars from driving in.

We took them to see Tsunami Rock and spent some time on the nearby beach.  Dusty didn't climb on the rock but I could tell he wanted to.

Wading out in low tide. You can see
the edges of the protective reef.

Searching for shells

Friday night at Oholelei resort with Na'asipa
Sea Kalonihea (sister K - served with Dusty
in Oregon) Dusty, Carly and Lepeka

On Friday night we went to Oholelei, a Tongan feast and show put on twice weekly.  The food is typical Tongan fare and we had 19 different dishes to choose from.  Anything from ota ika (raw fish) to roasted puaka (pig) cooked in an uma.  They also had seaweed, lu kapapulu, kumala (sweet potato salad), talo, clams, watermelon, etc.  They also had Lepeka's favorite food ... good old tossed salad (iceberg lettuce and tomatoes only but salad non-the-less).

Oholelei resort cave program after dinner

We attended church in Te'ekiu on Sunday  which is Sister K's ward.  She had us sit pretty much front and center and the Stake Presdient even recognized and thanked Elder and Sister Kapp for joining them as well as the young couple next to us (Dusty and Carly).  The singing was the usual, no piano accompaniment but lots of gusto.  Tongans singing is the absolute best!!

I'll leave you today with a few more photos of their visit.  They head back to the U.S. tomorrow morning (Monday) at 11:20.  They will loose a day this time so this may be the longest Monday of their lives.  We really enjoyed having them visit and they now have some great memories and a wonderful story to tell any who will listen.

Dusty and Carly at the blow-holes in Houma

Shopping at the downtown market for souvenirs.

Snorkeling at Surfers beach in Kanokupolu (Kanokupolu?)

Dusty used his go-pro to take underwater videos (I haven't seen them yet).

Finished swimming, now looking for a good warm rock to dry out on.

Where's the Ark?

Today is Thursday and it is the 6th straight day of heavy rain. (2+ in per pay).  Almost all drainage (except for downtown Nuku'alofa) in Tonga is simply natural drainage and there are no rivers or streams.  It is surprising to me that we don't get more flooding.  We do get standing water in many places and that can even close some roads on occasion.  Even with the cyclone the water dissipates very quickly.

This is a short video clip that is typical of the rain storms

that have been with us for most of the past week.

This road had to be closed shortly after this clip was taken as the standing water approached 2ft deep.   This is a low spot in the road that supposedly has drainage.  I think some of the blockage in the drainage system in Nuku'alofa is due to debris from cyclone Gita, but it has always  been a spot that  collects a lot of standing water.

Bypass road flooding by Lords and Food World

Looking the other direction on
bypass road (hala Viavamama'o)

I think we got more rain from this storm that Gita.  However, Gita was a 12 hour phenomenon this storm lasted about 7 days.  It did start to clear up shortly after we took this photo and things were pretty much back to normal the next morning (Thursday) as schools prepared for their Easter programs and the long 4 day weekend coming up (Good Friday through Monday).  

Practicing for the Easter program in
Nuku'alofa (GPS school)

Grad school in Houma cleaning up
the trash.

We drove past several school that had a school ground clean-up project by the students.  There are no garbage cans around outside so it seems like everybody just drops their trash (wrappers and cans) on the ground.  Someone always seems to be cleaning up the debris in the towns but it seems to us that providing a few trash receptacles and a bit of training could really make a difference.

Many of the schools have make-shift classrooms in tents to
protect them from the rain.  There are also many classes that
are held outside when the weather permits.  It's going to take
a long time for life to get back to completely normal.

 One of our favorite lunch spots (Central Kiwi Kai) had been closed as it's owners are from New

Zealand and decided to move back there.  They were selling their restaurant and their home.  Someone purchased the business and it is now a pizza place (with a few other menu items).  We tried it yesterday (our Saturday) and it is now officially the best pizza in Tonga (my official ranking).

Becky and Jan at the counter ordering our lunch.

Phil and Jan also had fish and chips and said it was delicious.  Pizza is a little bit expensive (about $35. TOP for a family size pizza) but the fish and chips was only $8 TOP and Phil (Elder Hudson) gave it his approval.

They also had Coke Zero which is a big plus on the "lunch approval scale" (not diet coke but at least it's close).  We all shared a family size pizza which was half pepperoni and half hawaiian.

Sunday hours:
Go to Church

We had dinner at Sabrina's Chicken in downtown Nuku'alofa on Friday.  We love their  barbecue chicken made with a sweet chili sauce.  They have a huge menu but rarely have more than 4-5 items that are actually available.  We typically have to wait for chips or rice to be cooked if we order those but at least we know they are fresh.  The sign to the left is posted inside and we especially love the Sunday hours "Go to Church" (you may have to click on the photo to be able to actually read the writing).  It's hard to describe how peaceful it is having everything shut down on Sunday.  

"Nine years of practical jokes and she
just takes it"

Our missionaries are all healthy with only a few minor maladies (a cold or two and a few minor bumps and bruises).  Lepeka does such a good job taking care of them.  I thought I'd leave you with a couple of medical tips:  

• Remember that laughter is the best medicine ... except when treating diarrhea.
• The pain will go away when it stops hurting

A few photos from the week.

This little guy greeted us at the market.  I think he is fascinated with our
light skin as he couldn't stop staring.

One of the local volunteer schools with their roofs all repaired.

I'm not sure how they get in and out of this car that is parked in a very tight space.

Tongatapu prison van

Elder Folau and Elder Kivalu in Fua'amotu

Elder Woods (zone leader in Hahake zone) already for conference on Sunday.
They have to come to the MQ in Fua'amotu to shower since their water is not
working.  He's still all smiles and loves being a missionary!