Ma'a Fafine Moe Famili and Vaiola Hospital Bed Donation

Ma'a Fafine Moe Famili

Silongo Samani, Sister Dione Evans, Elder Thomson, Sister Thomson shaking hands with Betty Blake, founder of Ma'a Fafine Moe Famili, and the caseworkers

LDS Charities donated 3 computers and 5 computer tables to Ma'a Fafine Moe Famili, an NGO that cares for the elderly in their homes and with disabled children.

The caseworkers are out in the community each day in the homes of the clients. Fridays they come to the office to fill out the paperwork. Prior to this donation, they were all sharing one computer.

Vaiola Hospital Bed Donation

Filipe Taufa (Hospital Executive Officer), Dr Siale ‘Akauola (CEO), Stake President ‘Alavini Sika

Setting up a bed on the floor

LDS Charities provided Vaiola Hospital 28 electric hospital beds, a donation from Pacific Assist in Australia. The beds came out of a hospital in Melbourne which was remodeling. We will be receiving more shipments in the near future. Vaiola Hospital is very much in need of these new electronic beds.

I expect to pass through this world but once. Any good therefore that I can do, or any kindness that I can show to any fellow creature, let me do it now. Let me not defer or neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again.                                                                                     
                                                                          William Penn (1644-1718) British religious leader

Papua New Guinea Boys - New Shirts and Tupenos

Liahona High School has students from around the Pacific. We had a fun experience getting to know the boys from Papua New Guinea.

At church Sunday, Malachi Kioa (stake high counselman in our ward) spoke about ministering...  becoming like the Savior as we serve everyone. At the conclusion of Malachi's talk, he mentioned that the Papua New Guinea boys have only one white shirt and one school uniform called a tupeno. Each night they wash their clothes and the next morning iron them.

As Monte and I walked to our home from church, we both wanted to help these PNG boys. We decided to tell our senior missionary couples the story of these young men and ask if they would like to join us in purchasing shirts and tupenos for these boys. Elders Heiner and Coombs asked about the boys in the other Liahona ward, did they need the same? Of course they must! So we decided to include them as well.

Kelly, Jack, Livingstone, Zachariah, Mandela, Eddy (Alfred not pictured)

I called Malachi and he gave us the names of the 1st Ward boys and their sizes. Monte and I went shopping Friday on our way to work. We  called Malachi when we got home and asked him to have the 1st Ward boys come pick up the shirts Saturday morning.

Saturday, we passed out the shirts but were short 2 shirts from 1st Ward and had not shopped yet for 2nd Ward as we did not get their sizes until Friday night.

Ben, Izekiel, Clement, Francis, Jack, Jeff

The 2 boys who were without shirts came shopping with us so we could find their sizes, and they helped us purchase the 2nd Ward clothing. We had to go to many stores before we were able to get the right size shirts for all the boys. --- Welcome to Tonga, there are not department stores like at home. Each store has a little bit of this and a little bit of that. It took several hours to shop for 9  white shirts. Tupenos were all purchased at one shop, however.

Livingstone and Zachariah

Before starting home, we asked
Livingstone and Zachariah if they liked ice cream --- BIG SMILES --- YES!

They had a bit of trouble deciding which flavor among so many choices. I think they both ended up with Hokey Pokey... vanilla ice cream with toffee bits.

It was a very fun trip to Nuku'alofa. These boys are so fun and good to the core.




To show how great these boys are, they came to our senior missionary Family Home Evening Monday to thank us personally for the gift - genuine heartfelt thanks with tears and smiles intertwined. True gratitude.

As a side note, the couples asked how much to contribute. We told them whatever they felt they wanted to, we would make up the difference. The money collected (plus what we planned to contribute) totaled the exact cost of the shirts and tupenos. Circumstance or divine design?

kindness is the essence of greatness ... it softens hearts and molds relationships that can last lifetimes.
                                                                     elder joseph b. wirthlin

We met the King!

Liahona Farms won the blue ribbon at the Royal Agriculture Fair 2018. Tevita Makihele, the farm manager, who we work with and our friend, asked if we would accept the certificate. YES! It was an honor to shake hands with King Tupou VI and accept the certificate.

One must bow when they approach the King

Royal Agriculture and Fisheries Fair 2018

 We had been told not to miss the Agriculture and Fisheries Fair. That was great advice. This was an event not to be missed. All the kingdom comes together to show their works. The fair actually began a month ago in Niua, then moved on to Vava'u, Ha'apai, Tongatapu, and next week to 'Eua. The King also travels to each of the islands.

Agriculture

Great looking vegetables

Capsicum

Ufi, Casava, Kumala 

Man beside his ufi

Big Bull - I fed it some melon

Handcrafts 

The ladies were having fun as they waited for the King to come by

Prosperity and safe travel at sea

The ladies show much creativity in their handicrafts. Much time is spent in making these beautiful crafts. The mats are handmade and painted with oils from plants. The ladies weave the kiekie and kafa, and make the tupeno and ta'ovale. This traditional dress is worn as a sign of respect. The wood  carving seems to be done by the men.

Liahona High School students 

The Liahona High School students displayed their talents in fashion design at a booth. They also did a fashion show Friday night.

Cake decorating included taro leaves cake, pineapple cake, apple cake, and carrot cake.

Fashion design students modeled their work. Even the drum major outfit was made by the students.

Tevita Makihele's son had paintngs. Artwork also included sculpture and wood carving.

Fisheries

Squid

Tonga is known as a hotbed for fishing... Marlin, sailfish, mahi-mahi, tuna, wahoo,shark, and giant trevally, and other. Fisheries industry also includes octopus, squid, crab, mussels, and other crustaceans. 

       

  

Fishing is for livelihood as well as sports fishing. It is a huge tourist activity. 

HIKE down trail at Land Bridge

There is not much you can call a hike on Tongatapu. It is very flat. We were very happy to find this trail. It goes down about 100 feet from the Land Bridge to the ocean below, and the trail is rather hidden. We found it, and boy are we glad we did. 

    

We found the trail!

     

The beach as we finished the hike down

  

Waves crashing onto shore

A couple love birds

The land bridge is up above

             

The waves can get pretty large with the incoming tide. There seemed to be about 10 average size waves, then a much bigger one. More than once we got splashed unexpectedly. But it felt good on a warm day.

We spent quite a bit of time walking the rocky shore, looking for hermit crabs which we were told were abundant, but found none. It was still a great day. We will return.  

No one else was on the beach. We had it all to ourselves. 

We found an interesting sea creature. It looked something like a sea cucumber lying on the sea floor. We tickled its back and it opened up and swam around very gracefully.

Karen Fetzer and Sister Thomson

It was a fun to spend the day with Karen Fetzer, from the Amanaki Fo'ou group who we picked up at the airport a day early. We loved spending the day with her! Karen lives in Hawaii with her husband. She has been a long-time friend of Andrea Ferguson who along with Rob Ferguson, podiatrist, and Kendall (another podiatrist) and Tiffany Shumway put this program together. Karen is a trained physician assistant. She helped in many ways including nutrition, cooking, zumba, etc.

Tide is coming in!

We walked out along the rocks to the reef edge. We arrived at low tide and when the tide started coming in it came in fast. Looking at this picture, we were out beyond where the wave is crashing a few minutes before.

Starting up

Where is the trail back to the top?

   

In His hand are the deep places of the earth: the strength of the hills is his also.

The sea is his, and he made it, and his hands formed the dry land. Psalms 95:4

Amanaki Fo'ou Cooking Demonstration

Amanaki Fo'ou (meaning New Hope) is a group from US including Eric Shumway who are promoting healthy living to help the Tongans combat diabetes. They come yearly for a couple weeks. The podiatrists in the group and nurses teach wound care at the hospital when they visit. The others lead zumba, make keyhole gardens with Tevita Makahele (manager Liahona Farms), diabetes screening, and demonstrate healthy cooking. Sister Thomson was asked to help with the healthy cooking along with Sister Huni and her daughter Latu.

Sister Thomson, Nunia Huni, Kay Lotulelei

Front: Uini Hosea, Tiffany Shumway, Latu Huni

Sister Huni makes a wonderful talo stem salad. Amanaki Fo'ou group were a bit leery of talo salad as they know it has to be cooked. They thought stem salad would not be. But they agreed to let Nunia and Latu make this salad. It was a BIG HIT. They asked her to make it the second session as well.

To make the salad:
Cut stem from the fresh cut talo. Save leaf for lu.
Peel off the outer skin - like cutting strings of celery.
Cut in 4-inch pieces.
Boil.
Peel stem into sizes as at left.
Mix with lemon, a little sugar, tomato, lime.

We also served lettuce wraps with chicken, sweet and sour chicken, soup, sweet potato (kumala). We had a lot of fun working in the kitchen together.

Karen Fetzer (from Hawaii) discussed healthy eating with the group before we ate. She was very interesting and answered questions from the ladies.

I will not feel deprived when I bypass junk food. I will feel empowered because I made the RIGHT choice.

Nukunuku Free Wesleyan Primary School Delivery

Great fun was had today when we delivered school furniture, balls, and hula hoops to Nukunuku FWPS.


Principal Vincent Tupou said “I told my teachers you were coming with school furniture and they said ‘you are an answer to prayers.’ We are one of many schools in Tonga. We are a very poor school. We have been praying for help and you came. You are angels. Now the students who have been sitting on the floor will have chairs and desks."

HULA HOOPS
Remember the first time you tried your luck at hula hoop? We laughed as we watched these girls learn to keep the hoops go round and round. On the first try, the hoops went straight to the ground. I showed them to wiggle their hips. Several students succeeded! Smiles were aplenty – laughing at their attempts and laughing at their successes.

SOCCER AND RUGBY BALLS
The boys ran for the balls. Many groups played soccer and rugby. All the boys know both sports.

Sister Thomson even got to play.

 
At the handover ceremony, Sister Thomson told the students we hope this school furniture will help make your learning easier.

She told the students they are young but they will one day be big. She told the children to dream of what they want to be. They can be a teacher, a farmer, a doctor, a banker, a rugby player. Do not let anyone tell you you can’t live your dream. Work hard on your studies so your dreams can come true.

                                      Never stop learning, because life never stops teaching.