Burn Baby Burn!

Health clinic room at Mission Pharmacy in Nuku'alofa.
This one is run by a Nurse Practitioner from the U.S.

We have really been looking forward to the cooler and less humid weather that accompanies Fall and Winter (Apr - Sep) here in Tonga.  It is much easier on the asthma and hay-fever than Spring and Summer (Oct-Mar) ... at least that what we were expecting.  It seems like it has gotten much worse and we attribute it to the massive burning that is taking place.  All of the downed trees and dead brush and leaves have been raked into piles that are set on fire which makes the air quality here go way down.  It has really started in earnest the past 2 weeks and we are hoping that it won't last too much longer.

This week's blog will be much shorter than normal as I am a bit under the weather.  Nothing major, mostly just long hours and my asthma has been acting up again.  I did visit one of the clinics and made some short term changes to my meds so I'm hoping that will give me some relief.  Lepeka never complains but I can tell her allergies are about as bad as it has been since we got here as well.

As I mentioned, we have had some really long days this week as we have had several missionaries that are sick and or injured.  Nothing too serious except for a broken wrist that should heal well.  There are also several sprained ankles and sore knees.  Who knew that volleyball could be such a dangerous sport.  The missionary with the broken wrist has a great attitude and we're hoping he stays nearby so it's easier to keep close tabs on him. The rest have just required lots of time and travel out to their MQ's and then back and forth to clinics as necessary.  Part of the long hours are self imposed as Lepeka does so much follow-up on everything just to make sure the missionaries are well taken care of and that they feel our love and support.  I don't think there's a missionary here that doesn't absolutely love her.

The Senior missionaries that are attending the Excel class still seem to be enjoying themselves.  They seem to be learning quite a bit in spite of their instructor.  It has really helped to have Lepeka and Sister Evans (who are both more familiar with Excel) out among the students helping answer questions one-on-one.  It also lets me know when I need to either slow down or spend more time on a particular topic.  My star pupil is an 81 year old retired dentist from the U.K. via Australia (for 45 years).  He has come to me during the week with questions on projects he is now working on for the Dental clinic.  As soon as I show him anything, he gets it.  We plan on letting this class run for a few more weeks then perhaps having a class on PowerPoint.

Again, I'm sorry that this weeks blog is pretty short and without many photos.  I'll try to do better next week.

Most of these giant shade trees far reaching branches were decimated in Cyclone
Gita.  This one is in downtown Nuku'alofa and lost mainly the top branches
and almost all of its leaves.  The leaves are now starting to fill in again.

This photo was taken at the same location as the one above.  It is zoomed-in on
the students.  The boys were being slow as they headed back to class on a
"no uniform" Friday.  It does seem strange to see them without their uniforms.

I added this photo for any civil engineers who may be looking for work.
The original eave overhang was destroyed in Gita ... I was worried that my
heavy breathing might bring down the repaired one.  The white support beam
is pretty precarious and only supported .... well, you can clearly see how.
They mostly make due with what they have and I'm hoping this gets reinforced
somehow in the near future.