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The Mafi family reunited

The family of one of our Elders who finished his mission this week wanted to surprise him by showing up a couple of days earlier than he was expecting.  President Tui'one approved it so we picked up his parents and sister from the airport and drove them to the mission office for his surprise.  It was fun to see and feel the love of this family as they were reunited after two years.  

Mele at the Villa Ishadora

While they were here we got to spend a little bit of time with them. We were able to join them for dinner and for lunch later in the week.   They stayed at the Villa Ishadora on Vuna road and gave it the thumbs up.  it was clean, had air conditioning and provided breakfast each morning.  They rented a car and seemed to be having lots of fun exploring the island.  They are headed to the islands of 'Eua and Ha'apai this week before heading home.

Eler (Kalisi) Mafi

We will miss Elder Mafi but feel like we have made some special life-long friends.  We wish them well as they move into the next chapters of their lives individually and as a family.  Seeing them reunited gave us a sense of how much we are looking forward to being with our family and friends soon.

Wheelchair passenger boarding

While we were waiting at the airport for the Mafi family to arrive, we noticed they were loading a wheelchair bound young man prior to boarding the rest of the passengers.  The ambulance arrived and backed up to the Air Terminal Services vehicle and he was loaded on to the lift then he raised up to the  plane.  The rest of the passengers waited patiently in line until he was situated before boarding.

Sister Va'enuku and Elder Coombs
Joint effort in blowing out the candles

We finally resumed our Excel class on Wednesday night and people actually showed up again.  The class seems to be well liked and I hope they are learning some things that will be of value to them in the future.  I do know that I have had fun teaching the class.  After the class we had cake and ice-cream to celebrate two of our senior missionary's birthday.  Sister Va'enuku (now 66 years old) and Elder Coombs ( now 82 years old).  Maybe everyone came to the class so they wouldn't miss the cake an ice cream ... whatever the reason, I'll take it.

Moapa Finau and Sister Kapp making the connection (finally)

We finally met Moapa Finau ... okay, we had met her before but today, we made the connection to her daughter Alex who was one of our original Tonga culture teachers in Provo.  She was living behind us for a short while about a month ago but we never made the connection.  We met her at the Liahona clothing design exhibit at the Agricultural fair which helped us make the connection after 1 1/2 years.

Vaiuku and son at the fair

We also ran into (on purpose) our old friends Tevita and Vaiuku Pola'apau.  They are the couple that creates so much of the Tongan art we love.  They had their booth at the Agricutural Show again.  Of course, we had to purchase another nativity set.  They are going to be better prepared to sell and ship more of these as they seemed to be a hot ticket last year just before Christmas.  He has a web site that we are finishing up and will plug shamelessly in the near future.

Just in case you are following the saga of our baby chicks ... they're all still
here, all eight of them.  One is hidden by the mother in this photo.

The rest of this weeks post is of the Tongatapu’s Royal Agriculture, Fisheries and Tonga-Made Show that was held on Saturday (July 28, 2018).  This is always a fun event to attend.  Last year it kind of surprised us as we hadn't heard anything about it and just happened upon it in our travels.  This year we have been anxiously awaiting the end of July to get the full experience.  

Crafts beautifully displayed

The band

Big shoes to fill

Bill goat gruff

One of a kind family heirloom.

A whole lotta bull

Specialty cakes

The Crowd

Eating out of his hand

See the shark? (bottom center)

Kava bowl and flowers display

A face only a mother could love.
(No alcohol was consumed for the making of this photo)

Ready to plant

Even hardware

Big pig

Special Kava bowl

Veggies.  Note the long beans (lower left)

Does this post smell like fish?

Large veggie display

Do you think I'm sexy?

Mom is worn out

Plant, plants and more plants

Photo op on the octopus

I've included many additional photos from our visit and will let them do the rest of the talking.