TWELVETH WEEK IN TONGA, PANGAI

Beginning of Transfer #3

Hey everyone sorry it's been a week or two since I've been able to email home, the past couple weeks have had a good amount going on! 'But today is the start of a new transfer and I am getting separated from my two moms (follow up trainers)!  But it's OK because I will still be in Ha'apai! 'I will be working in a village right at the beginning of the island called Hihifo.' It's a pretty big village which I'm really excited about because it's kind of hard to be in a really small area.  My new comp is Elder Despain!  He's been out for a while and has way good Tongan so I am really pumped to learn a ton from him!  Anyways a little bit about t he past couple of weeks! 

We had our Christmas week last week which was a good time! We had our Christmas party that the Mission Presidency came up for and spent a day with us which was fun.  Had some more pineapples from Vava'u...so dang good but we all learned not to eat too many.  Next day we had our Ngaue Ofa (service) which was painting a bathroom by the Warf in Pangai, then a member of our stake presidency showed up with food and drinks for all of us which was so nice because it is getting into the hot season here in Tonga and it is so bad . Especially because our MQs don't have ac and we only have one fan that doesn't rotate and there has been 3 of us in one room so my Sr. comps tend to hog it but that's all right,  I know my place as the greeny. 

We got to meet an All Blacks Rugby player, Malakai Fekitoa which was sick!  He hooked us up with some otai and chicken, what a homie.  Then for a Zone Christmas service kinda thing, we put together these buckets to give to 2 poorer families in each area.  It was really awesome to see it all work out and then take it to all the families, they were all very appreciative and most of them really needed some of the things we gave them.

The week before that though, I had the chance to go to Ha'afeva for a couple of days with the zones for a baptism interview.  Ha'afeva is one of the islands that Kolipoke (Other side of Heaven) served on.  The boat ride there, we fit 17 people on the Nifai (the mission boat) and the waves were pretty dang rough.  Not gonna lie I almost threw up because it was like a 3 hour ride with not a lot of room. It was fun to be there for a couple of days and meet some people there. The boat ride back was a ton better though because we had two boats pick us up instead of one.  Honestly so lucky to be in a mission were I get to ride boats and planes to get to our areas.  I feel very privileged and happy to be working here even through all the ups and downs. 

I hope everyone is having an awesome Christmas today and remembering what the true purpose and meaning of it is!  S/O the family that I got to talk to yesterday, even if it was only a short phone call, I'm so happy that I got to talk to you guys!  Love all you at home and am so thankful for the support!!

Ofa Atu Kimoutolu!

Do you dare me?

 How would this be on my Missionary Plaque?

 #2 choice

 Hanging at the beach

 Love these views

 Name plaque photo

 #3 choice

 Tongan or Monopoly?

 #4 choice

 Always good food

TENTH WEEK IN TONGA, PANGAI

Hey family and friends!

So I've had a pretty dang uneventful week here in the Pacific Ocean.  The work is sometimes very slow out here in motu (islands).  Just to give you guys an idea, there are around 4000 people here in Ha'apai, mabye less, and there have been missionaries here for about 100 years.  So somtimes there's not much to do other than go and spend time with the members or study! 

We have had a ton of Mangos this week, I think that's my favorite fruit now, they are soo good!  We had 64 pineapples dropped off to us from the boat from Vava'u.  Yeah.. 64...  They were from one of the elders families that lives there. I've heard that the pineapples in Tonga mainly Vava'u are better than the ones in Hawaii.  You can eat the whole inside even the middle part its so soft.

One day the water was out for a little bit so we were just like, it's fine we can take a bucket shower, and then we realized our bucket broke so we couldn't take a shower for a little bit.  That's just Tonga for you right there.

This last Sunday we were asked to bare out testimonies super last minute I am still amazed at how laid back and informal stuff is sometimes here.  One of my comps from Tonga, Elder Paongo, bore his testimony with out slippers on and a comb in his hand (I have no idea why).  Speaking about slippers (flip flops) I've gone through 7 pairs already.  They either brake or get stolen by little kids.

Another funny thing about Tonga is it's a law to not do anything on Sundays.  Every single store is closed and nothing happens except for church and then everyone goes home to eat and sleep.  Elder Paongo freaked out when he saw two guys throwing a football in front of their house, he was like, "Do they not know it's Sunday??" But the thing is they could actually get arrested for that.  And yesterday we saw a plane flying over the island and he was so shocked at that.

That's about all I can think of right now! Christmas is coming up and it feels so weird being in this burning hot island.  And it's not really a big holiday here so it's safe to say I've never felt so unchristmasy and it kinda makes me sad sometimes.  But hey, our neighbors have some pretty awesome Christmas lights up they flash and everything.

Hope everyone is happy wherever your at!  Love you all!

-Elder Kalanite

NINTH WEEK IN TONGA, PANGAI

Hey everybody hows it going!?  These past couple weeks have been a little crazy and I don't have much time right now.  So I was on my little island Uiha for about 4 days... and then I got food poisoning. So I got sent back to the main island of Ha'apai, Pangai, and have been with the Zone Leaders over Ha'apai for the past 2 weeks.  I was really kind of bummed out to be sent back from Uiha. I was talking to kids who said they have never seen a Palangi on that Island.. but.. I'm taking that setback as best as I can!  Still smiling! 

So this past week we had the Tonga Mission Tour, which is when President, and our Area 70 come and visit all of the main islands in Tonga. It was way good!  We had like a two hour meeting with the 70 and learned some great things from him!  President asked me to bear my testimony.  Kinda scary with an Area 70 sitting right there, but I was super grateful for the opportunity.  I have noticed that every time I bear my testimony, especially in Tongan, I learn so much and feel the spirit so strong! 

The Sunday that I was in Uiha, 10 min before sacrament meeting started, the branch president came up and asked me and my comp to take up 20 min (10 min each) with our testimonies and thoughts.  I instantly thought about all the times that I heard from RM's that that happens in small wards and branches all the time.  He told me that it was OK if I did it in English but I was like, heck no, I'm going all Tongan.  And then we had to prepare and bless the sacrament so we had no time to really prepare or think of something to say.  We were going 100% spirit on this one.  Or at least I was.  But somehow when I got up there, I took up 10 minutes, bearing my testimony to the branch, in Tongan, which I'm not gonna lie was a total miracle!  I was really grateful and happy I had the opportunity. 

So things are going good though!  Trying to keep happy though all the trials and setbacks and I hope all of you remember to do the same!  Everything happens for a reason and we all have so much to be happy about, we just have to look for it!

'Ofa lahi atu kimoutolu! Oua ngalo ke ongo'i fiefia taimi kotoa pe!!

Sorry for no pictures, next week for shuuree!!

These have got to be, "Wise Men", with a great messege!

SEVENTH WEEK IN TONGA, UIHA

Hi this is Elder Nonu, Aka Elder Grants Dad. or his trainer. hahaha, I'm just emailing you to let you know that Elder Grant is doing ok.  I am currently talking with your son and he is missing you guys a lot.  He wants to share a little experience of what happened yesterday at his church.  So he went to his branch and ten minutes before the sacrament meeting started the branch president asked Elder Grant and his Companion if they could each bear their testimony for ten minutes.  There were around ten people at this little branch and they also had to serve the sacrament so they had no time to prepare.  Going off nothing except the spirit Elder Grant was able to speak for those ten minutes in Tongan.  He doesn't remember what he talked about but he did know the spirit really made it possible for him to speak for that
long.   That's all  Elder Grant wants to share with you guys.
     
But I do want to say thank you for raising such a good young man. I consider it a blessing to have trained your son.  I know he will be a good missionary.  I learned a lot from your son in the six weeks  I was with your son.  He has a good desire to get the work done and he really knows whose time it is while he is here.  Your son is really smart, it still amazes me how fast he is getting the lesson and I know he will be a great leader in the mission.  In closing, I just want to
thank you for raising Elder Grant and for the example you set for us.  Ofa lahi atu kiate kimoutolu.  Take care and just reminding you that your son is in Good hands.

Elder Nonu

Connor with his new companion

SIXTH AND FINAL WEEK IN SOPU TONGA

TRANSFERS

Hey everybody! A ton has happened this last week and a ton is about to happen this coming week! I'm slowly running out of time so I'm gonna go over the big stuff like last week!

Last Monday we had Zone P-day which was so fun.  We had umu (underground oven) which consisted of Pig, Chicken, and Dog. You know.... the usual.  But it was awesome to get out and play some games because most P-days the only thing to do is play volleyball which kinda gets old.  So we all played some ultimate Frisbee, kickball, and gator ball (it's like cage ball, shout out for those high school cage ball days).  Really fun though.

This week my bike has been the worst.  We got it fixed a couple of times but it kept braking. One day my comp literally pushed me on my bike for at least a couple of miles, because my pedals weren't working.  But.. turns out, slippers and bike peddles don't really go good together and my foot got kinda jacked up, (pictures in the folder).  Put some good old Tongan medicine on it, which was this certain kind of leaf rolled up and you squeeze the juice out of it and it's supposed to make it so it doesn't get infected.

We baptized 3 more of our investigators before the end of the transfer! That was so dang awesome! President came to it which was tight! I attached a couple of pictures from it but we never got a picture with just them which is too bad. We got really lucky though. One of them was this little girl who used to be a member but her parents kind of fell away from the church but are now coming back. So she already knew everything, we just had to teach her a couple of the lessons. One of the others, some sisters on one of the other islands found him and taught him, but we helped finish up the teaching and get him baptized. The Stake President baptized those two. The other was this girl whos friend and also part of her family is members. So shes already been to church a lot and knew a good amount about the church. It was really cool to be able to help them and be apart of their joining the church!

We started teaching this other young lady also.  Her boyfriend is a member, and they want to get married in the temple, so we taught her the first lesson.  Something really awesome from that was at the end when we were inviting here to read and pray about the Book of Mormon.  She asked, "Well, how will I know if it's true, what does the Holy Ghost feel like?"  So I shared with her a verse that talks about the feelings of the Spirit.  After we read it, I asked her, "Do you think you've ever felt the Spirit through feelings like these?", and she said, "Oh wow, I never realized it but I totally have before, like when I pray.  Wow, that is the Spirit?" and then bore testimony to her that that was the Spirit and I told her that if she will read the Book of Mormon with a sincere heart that the Spirit will testify to her of its truth, and she instantly said, "Yes, I believe it."  That was SO cool to help her recognize certain truths about this Gospel!!

Another similar experience, we had finished up a lesson with this other girl, and we asked to say a kneeling prayer at the end. And after she said the prayer, as we were standing up, she said, "Wow, I feel really good."  We told her that that was the Spirit for sure!

This Sunday was Ward Conference for Ward Sopu which was nuts!  They literally go all out for ward conference here. Me and Nonu taught a lesson to like 20 people who weren't members during one of the class hours.  That was pretty intimidating, but went good.  And then after everything, everyone just went out the their cars and started bringing in a ridiculous amount of food and we had another crazy Kai Poula (feast). I had some turtle and some Lobster.

So big news today, I'm getting transferred tomorrow! I'm getting sent to the island grouping called Ha'apai, more specifically this little tiny island called Uiha.  I'm super stoked to go somewhere like that and I'm sure it's going to be a crazy adventure.  Only downside.. I'm not going to have internet for probably about 6 weeks. So... this will probably be my last group email for a while.  But hey,  I love all you guys back home and am so grateful for your support!  Keep me updated,  I'll see everything when I get back to check my email in a little while.  Keep me in your prayers!

OFA LAHI ATU KIMOUTOLU!​

Elder Nonu and I on our weekly boat ride

Who has the funniest face?

Great group for a baptism

We love having the Pres. and his wife with us

 He has been a great trainer

 My gang

 Not sure, but tasty

One of my favorite places

Great skies

Oh yah!!!

OUr Stake Pres. and wife

This is how they do Ward Conference

 Ward Conference

This is why flip flops and bikes don't go together

Baptism for the Sisters

Heaven

I need to make sure the focus is good

FIFTH WEEK IN TONGA, SOPU

Hey everyone! 

Not a lot of time today, so I'm going to keep it real short!

This week I got sick from this fruit that was bad that.  We also had some shark that is way good and these weird clam things that are just terrible. 

We spent a lot of the week preparing our investigator to get baptized this Saturday! And I had the opportunity to baptize him and this other kid who's records were lost.  That was awesome! So glad we could help our investigator quit smoking.  Just last week, he came up to us and said, "Elders! I'm done, I quit smoking!"  And it was just awesome, we have seen a huge change in him since we met him.  We have hopefully another 5 or 6 baptisms coming up this week before my comp gets transferred! So exciting!

 Last thing I'll mention, on Saturday there was the craziest thunderstorm.  It was so nuts.  There was lightning probably like 200 yards away from us, like 10 times. Apparently it doesn't storm like that very often so that was an adventure! 

 One last story, we went to this house that is being constructed and were talking to these 2 Fijian and a Samoan guy in English, and then all of a sudden like 3 cars of drunk people showed up and they all wanted to shake hand with the Elders.  We left pretty fast.

OK, sorry the email is super short!  Love you all, have an awesome week!​

 Do I even like Clams?

Tasty Shark

 Investigator ready   

 Great day

 Just hanging

 What's for lunch

 Tasty looking morsels

 More things to eat

 The gang

Just can't get enough

 The clouds are moving in

 The storm is here

 Great looking cup

The font

FOURTH WEEK IN TONGA, SOPU

Hey everyone!  Another great week here in my area!  It was pretty much the same as it's been so I'm just gonna mention some things that happened through out the week and attach some tika pictures!

We went on a lot of vilo hoa (splits) this week so that we could go and talk to more people and try to get more people to come to church and to share some poupou fakalaumalie (spiritual supports). That was fun but also pretty hard because I went with a member who knows pretty much zero English, so that was interesting.  Had a couple of discouraging moments sharing some spiritual thoughts.  I thought I was saying some good stuff and shared a good scripture but after I shared my thoughts this old lady was just like, "Ok... you want some ice cream palangi?"   I don't think she understood much of what I said.  That happens a lot.

Something funny about Tonga, when you go and buy some chicken or any kind of meat from a fale kai (restaurant) they ask you, "Do you want some sauce?" and then they will just pull out a bottle of ketchup and pour a ton on. Love that ketchup. 

We spent the night at 'Ataata again this week like we usually do.  This time the Zones came and spent the night too.  We taught a couple of lessons which went really good.  I think we have 3 investigators on 'Ataata that are going to get baptized!  Only hard thing is we can only go there once a week. But that's super exciting!

So Halloween is just starting to become a thing here, one of our wards had a trunk or treat.  I'll send some pics of that.

Gross things that happened this week, I was cutting some coconuts for a member with this big ax, and I hit open this one and all of this rotten coconut and worms went flying into me. That was unfortunate. 

Big news this week, we had Pizza like 3 times this week which is not common because it's super expensive here. But that was awesome. 

But the most exciting news this week, I had the opportunity to baptize 3 of some other sisters in our districts investigators! That was SO dang cool and I was so excited.  It made me even more excited to be able to baptize my own investigators, people that I helped teach and grow their testimony's.  But that was still an awesome thing to be able to baptize those 3 little kids.  Tongan names are hard to say sometimes though.

And later on that day, on our way home pretty late from our fafanga, and this man that was very drunk stopped us and requested that we talk with him.  So we pulled over and started teaching this man a short little lesson about Jesus outside this shack thing where people go when they are drunk.  And in the middle of this little lesson these 3 other huge drunk Tongans walk up and join in on this little lesson.  That was really funny. 

Well that's my week here in Tonga.  Love you guys, have fun!

-Elder Kalanite

P.S. I think I have a better way to share pics now.  Just request access to view the folder I'll share in this email, and then I'll put a new folder for that weeks pictures every week. Ofaa Atuu​

We have Donuts

 Hanging with kids at a shack

 I got to baptize the Sisters investigators

 They have creepy spiders

 Birthday celebration

 Trunk or Treat party

 Put and about

 Spider boy show his skills

 The Baptismal font

 At the Bptism

 The wrong coconut to open

 Tongan Halloween

 We're in boats a lot

 No one we knew came in 

 OUr sister Missionaries

 Pizza is the best