EIGHTEENTH WEEK IN TONGA, HIHIFO

Na'a Mau Kai Pisa

So transfers are in and I'm staying in an area longer than one transfer for the first time in my mission!!  That was good news, I like where I'm at, Hihifo is awesome and investigators keep showing up because these members are awesome and let me tell you, in Tonga, the members are the way you get anything done.  Gotta be in good with the members!  I'm really happy to see how many people we've been able to teach this last transfer and how we have been able to help the work grow here!  We think we will have a good amount of apostle come to Tonga!!  Not just that, a member of the Presidency of the 70, and also the Presiding Bishop of the Church, and the 70 over the South Pacific Area, Elder Hallek AND the area 70 over Tonga, Elder Tukuafu.  SOO, needless to say this meeting is going to be legendary!

Our mission is also making changes to the schedule like everyone else.  Except we didn't watch the broadcast out here in Tonga, we just found out about it from our Zones like 3 days ago.

So, not a whole ton happened this week because my comp has been sick, a ton of rain down here though.  There was supposed to be a Class 2 cyclone I think, a couple of days ago, but nothing happened.  Kinda crazy stuff,  2 years ago the cyclone that hit Ha'apai totally wrecked it and leveled all the houses and trees.  There are still some abandon houses throughout the island that haven't been repaired or anything. 

We were teaching someone this week, he was really awesome and believed in just about everything we shared him.  At the end Despain asked him, if he believes all these things (which contradict the things his current church believes in) and why he is a member of that church. He just said it's because his parents were apart of it, even though his parents have since passed away.  That kind of a Tongan thing that is kind of unfortunate.  A lot of people are apart of their religion only because that's what there parents are or where even if they don't really believe in it.  Our next lesson we are going to introduce him to the Book of Mormon and let that do its job!  Man I love that book, cant get over it.

Got some pizza with the zones this week. Blessings.

Quick shout out to our awesome bishop out here in Hihifo.  This dude is the MAN!  Despain says he's probably the best bishop he's worked with on his mission.  He is always calling us and telling us that he has set up another Fakafamili (Family Home Evening) with someone for us to teach. And then he will feed that family and us and always gives us Otai (Tongan drink) and he told us about how he fasts every week for the missionary work.  Such a stud!

Ran into some more drunk people this week. Ya know, the usual. 

Here's a little Tongan culture for you guys:  Every time you pass someone or say goodbye to someone, you say "Yo" so we say that like a billion times a day. 

Also, every goodbye feels like a competition of who can say the last thing to the other person, it just keeps going on, and then you eventually say "ok!" and that ends the conversation for sure.  I feel like I'm going to be a weirdo in the states, saying "Ok!" to say goodbye to everyone.  Ah well.

All yalls have a good week wherever you are at!  Keep on keepin on!

Ofa atu!

-Yah boi Elder Kalanite