Elder Connor Grant's Adventures in Tonga: WEEK 41 IN TONGA, PANGAI MOTU

"E Ikai Te Te Teitei Tetetete"

Hey Mom and Dad, same thing this week! Not letting me send it to everyone, so here it is for you guys! The title is just random cuz it sounds funny. It means, "One would certainly not shiver". Love you guys! Plus I put more pictures on but it's not letting me add the link. Probably just go to the link from past emails.

So on Tuesday we went to the Wesleyan Church to have a giant sing off between the different churches. Everyone was definitely trying to out do each other and it wasn't fair because the Wesleyan already had their speakers hooked up in the church so they could blast their background music as loud as they wanted.

Ok, maybe it wasn't a sing off, but it kinda felt like one. There were 2 guys from BYU here making a documentary about the Faiths of Tonga, so everyone wanted the 2 palangis with cameras to record them. Some ladies will take things to whole new levels. They said it will probably air in between Conference sessions in about a year. And I found out that I'm related to one of the guys from BYU. He's family also with one of the first missionaries to Tonga. What are the odds!

We are still ever trying to get the work moving hear, and the progress is very slow, but coming along. Not gonna lie, the days are rough. 10-5 there is almost nothing to do, but wander aimlessly through the streets over and over again, trying to say Hi to someone or have a conversation. The nights, are about the same but at least people are home, so we can actually run into a lot of people, just not new people. We finally got to go and knock some new doors with one of the Pule Tapu (High Priests I think??) We definitely ran into a family or 2 that I have way good feelings about.

This ward really wants to build a new Fale Lotu (church building). The one they have now is nice, but small. It's been their goal for a long time to have a new, and actual sized one be built. The only way to do that though, of course, is to increase the ward membership, or at least ward attendance (because I'd say more than half of the place is probably already baptized). That is constantly talked about during Sunday meetings, and my companion has said it's been like that as long as he has been here, but we are yet to see the members get into it. I think a big problem in the past is, this area has only had pau'u (rule breaking) missionaries work here the past long while, so a big thing is having the members realize, that we are not like that, and we are here to have them reach their goal.

A big thing, is getting a close relationship with our Bishop. He is such a good man. We went to his house last night and ate Lu and talked about his Chef days, working at resorts for palangis, for a while.

Our water is out too right now, which means showering at bishops house and using our neighbors out house which has 3 walls(not 4) and those walls have large holes in them