WEEK 58 IN TONGA, FALAHA

For Christmas Eve we ate Horse and Ham.

For Christmas Day we ate Pig, Turkey, and Salmon.

This is my Tongan Christmas.

Haha Christmas was awesome on the main island! Pretty differenent from last year on lil Ha'apai! Of course, the best part was skyping with my family! Loved hearing all of their voices!!

Hope all you other peeps had a blessed Christmas!

  

Here some Pics I haven't sent yet!

Chewey the Rat has some splainin to do

 Friendly reminder

 I hate rats

 Package

 The Pday that we spent in the Police Station

 Vilos Hoas eith the DL's

WEEK 57 IN TONGA, FALAHA, DIFFERENT MQ

Alrightyyyy so these last 2 weeks were crazy..

MLC was way awesome! We came back and had a meeting with our DLs and shared with them all we talked about.

Me and Satuala were just walking home from a teaching, minding our own business one night, talking to our neighbors, when Elder Satuala takes a phone call while I just keep talking to the neighbors, he walks back up 3 minutes later and tells me that it was the APs that just called, and they said we were getting transferred the next day to a different area in the zone. I didn't believe him at first cuz this guy messes a lot, so I was like, "Hey Elder, you messin?" and he was like, "Nah Elder, I'm not messin." Pretty sad actually cause we had 3 baptismal dates set up for the coming weeks.

*Next Morning(Pday)*

We wake up and get ready (btw Pdays as Zones aren't Pdays anymore, they're 'do errands for the missionaries day' haha), we start our list of things to do... we were headed to the Sisters MQ to pick up something, we pull up to the turn and are waiting in the middle of the road with our blinker on, waiting to turn down the road, but the car coming from behind us didn't see that we were stopped and plowed right into the back of us going like 40 mph probs. Soooo our car is now out for the count smh. We literally had the car for 5 days this whole transfer haha. But it's all goods, we get to stay fit, walking our huge area now. So we spent the rest of the day down in town at the police station, explaining what happened to like 3 different people so they could write a report. Pretty lame pday tbh haha.

BUT! About our new area:

So our new MQ used to be the Sisters and they stayed here toko4 (4 people), and for whatever reason, now it's just me and my comp here and we have all of the areas that those sisters covered. Coolest part: we live at the Area 70 of Tongas house! Our first day we went in and used his washing machine (American washing machine👌) and had us come in and have a little lunch with him. He's actually pretty close family with my companion haha, so we are basically homies now lolol. It would blow your mind though how many people we've run into that my comp is families with haha. When we met one of the ward mission leader in one of our ward, we found out that he lived with my comp in America when he was like 6 haha.

So, not gonna lie, white washing an area isn't super easy in the middle of the transfer, and it's 2 areas at once that your white washing. But it's way fun at the same time.

We taught a little family our first week. Probably some of the most honest and understanding people I've been able to teach. The husband was just super interested in the Book of Mormon which was way cool to see. Lessons with members can be a little frustrating sometimes cause for some reason they will just go off on rants whenever you give them an opportunity to talk. Like 10-15 min rants about stuff that we aren't even talking about haha. Funny people.

SHOUTOUT to my Fam! Thank you so much for the Christmas Package! Only sad news: The 'rat' (it's basically a small cat, it's so big (we call it Chewey)) that lives in our house found the Recees :( Do not worry though, the retaliation plans are in progress.

Favorite thing I saw this week: A Bishop with a Nike swoosh and logo tattoo'd on his bald spot on top of his head lolol

Sorry fam, gotta run got a lot of people waiting behind me!

I LOVE YOU, DEAR READER OF THIS EMAIL!

HOPE YOU ALL HAVE A BEAUTIFUL CHRISTMAS!

-Elder Nite

WEEK 55 IN TONGA, FALAHA

Sooo I got a new comp. Elder Mataele got his with of a new foha (training) and Elder Satuala is my new comp. He's an old man (at least to me) because he graduated way before me, but he is the man!

Beginning of this week was a little stressful because transfers happened super last minute. We thought they weren't happening until Sunday but Wednesday night we get a call from the APs telling us they have transfers. Then my comp gets transferred and our car gets taken away because it needed a new battery (we've had to jump start it everywhere we went for a good 2 weeks) and a new bumper (comp killed a dog) and I was toko3 with the Elders in the next area over, so all of a sudden I had to plan our zone baptism/help cover the Elders area I was with while trying to get to our own appointments in Folaha/take all the phone calls about missionaries needs without a comp or a car. Sttressffulll. But our baptism went great!! The pics are on another Elders camera so I can't send them right now. We baptized 2 of our investigators (the 3rd one is getting delayed). But this week we have taught an additional 2 investigators that are looking at baptism soon! Super pumped! One of them is a man whose wife is a member and she straight told him that if he doesn't get baptized then her and the kids will move out. Talk about pressure! So we are making sure he is getting baptized for the right reasons hopefully!

Had a cool experience with the Book of Mormon last night while I was complaining to my comp about how I don't think the BoM says very much about a certain subject but while I was studying I got slapped in the face by the book. Proved me wrong like 3 times in a row. Love it!

We have my second MLC tomorrow and Friday. Gonna be way cool already know it and I'm get to go to the temple here for the first time!

The area is good though! Work is fun. Love the comp. Really happy with how everything is going here in Falaha :)

-Pineapple is almost a daily thing here 😇😏🔥

Love Youu!

-Eleter Galaniter

PICTURES

Pictures of all the celebrating

WEEK 54 IN TONGA, TONGA FALAHA

Heyy everyone!! Quick email today cause we got ZONE PDAY TODAY😮😏😄

The Zone goal was 40 baptisms this transfer. We are gonna hit 37, so me and my comp decided it was worth asking President if a Zone Pday would be aight. He said ask the APs haha, and they said yes. WOOOO.

This was a good week of getting 3 people ready to be baptized on this Friday! (PICS NEXT WEEK)

Yesterday the Mate Ma'a Tonga team came to Tonga after taking 3rd in the Rugby World Cup (first time that's happened in a long time) Everyone was outside so we went out to the main road and took pictures and watched the endless stream of cars with people. Heckkaaa funny!!

Dang! Gotta run, the Zone is a-waitin'!!!

Love you all soo much!!!

-Elder K

Great lunch

 Close companionship

 Hanging

WEEK 53 IN TONGA, TONGA FALAHA

It's interesting working in areas where just about everyone has had constant interaction with the church basically their whole lives, or places where you know like the last 3 sets of missionaries knocked ever door in the area, and yet somehow there is still work to do haha!

Man, super happy moment this Sunday when we got to meet, probably the most prepared person I've ever met out here. We taught him in our bishops office with his wife (already a member). He already wants to join the church but doesn't know too much about it. Our first questions we asked, just trying to make convo, "So you want to join the church?" He quietly responded not too confident in himself, "Io, ko e faka'amu ia (Yeah, that's the hope)" I knew right then that he was hecka pau. The lesson went way good, and at the end he even thanked us for taking our time to share with him(like it was inconvenient) our message and to help him become a member. Man, only met him once but I love this guy to death. 

Besides that lesson, this week wasn't too successful as far as teaching our investigators (live out of town/drunk/hiding from us)

My favorite hobby right now is interviewing other missionaries investigators, even though most of them have been pretty young, its so fun to me to help those kids get ready for baptism.

Another impromptu parade went down this week when Tonga beat some other team again taking them into the final 4 #MateMaaTonga. People have 0 self control when there country wins a sports event, I have learned. The parade basically includes everyone running to their cars as soon as the game is over, getting inside/on top of/hanging on the outside of there cars, painted red and waving flags, blasting terrible Tongan remixed music out of the car and then driving to town yelling stuff about Tonga hahaha. Favorite thing to watch. But then it stinks because our village is empty, just us hangin around with everyone out partying, so we go home and read the scriptures lol.

Random event of the week: this morning me and my companion stared in awe as we saw 10 dogs kill an innocent baby pig. Yes, of course, we tried to save it, but it was far too late..RIP

-Elder G

I'm squatting, but I can still get up

 Elder Mataele and I

WEEK 52 IN TONGA, TONGA FALAHA

Highlights of my week:

-Tonga beating Samoa in the rugby world cup. Everyone was going crazy in the streets.

-Tonga beating NZ in the rugby world cup. Everyone was going CRAZY in the streets. Straight loco.

-My first MLC on Monday which included being taught be Elder Cardon of the 70. So good!

-Mission Tour on Tuesday which included being taught by Pres and Elder Cardon once again for like 4 hours. Soo Good!

-Special Meeting today with... Elder Tukuafu(Tonga Area 70), Elder Halleck(South Pacific Area President(spoke in gc)), and Elder Uceda(of the Presidency of 70)...which was... SOO GOOD! And since Pres, and the APs had already left with Elder Cardon to Ha'apai, my stud companion was asked to conduct the meeting so I got to sit on the stand behind 3 70s and feel all cool hahaha.

I am straight exhausted now haha. Soo many good meetings, which all seemed to have one topic in common: prayer! Elder Uceda gave one of the best teachings ever about prayer and scripture study. It has gotten me so excited to make my prayers and reading even better to gain more spiritual power to help in the conversion process of the spirit that others experience through me and my companion. He is one of the most inspirational people I've ever met, literally the most sweetest man ever but can turn so fast into such a strong and powerful testifier of truth. Goals.

-We have a couple of awesome investigators who should be baptized soon :) 

You alls know I love yah! 

-Elder Kalanite

Can't stop to look up, I'm eating

 Everyone is very proud of the rugby team

 Just out of high school and in his first area

 Lasagna

 MLC

 More MLC

WEEK 51 IN TONGA, TONGA FALAHA

Hello! Sorry not much time to email today guys, we just got back from donating blood at the hospital aka SAVING LIVES haha Sooo heres some random pics from the week :)

Our buddy in the street 

 We need to find a way to teach him

 Why the grapes

Some awesome pig

WEEK 50 IN TONGA, TONGA FOLAHA

HELLO FAM :) 

Man sad news, we might not be able to continue teaching our golden ta'ahine investigator. Her dad got low key mad that we were teaching her. But our Bishop is hecka maka (rock) so he's going to go and talk to him. This Bishop is a lot like the bishop I got to work with in Hihifo, Ha'apai who was THE MAN. During our Fakataha Alalea (Ward Council Meeting) we set up 4 appointments in his house within the next week. LOVE IT!

Talking with our ward mission leader, he told us that there are SO MANY people in Folaha that are not members but want to join the church. They literally all know that it is true, but they are all SO embarrassed because, 1. there family and/or 2. the members of their current church. If they joined the church it would be like unleashing all heck for them. So.. our current plan is to help these people build up the needed courage and testimonies to make the change!

Tongan driver are low key crazy. People pass each other on these 2 lane roads like its nothing. Like, I don't even know how many times I've seen are car pull our from behind us, pass us and the car in front of us and barely not get hit by the car coming the other way. THEY CRAZY.

On Sunday we had the 2 Folaha wards' Primary Programs. Haha Tongan kids are so dang cute. Especially when they speak English. Primary Programs are better here because everyone gets ice cream at the end of church.

We also ran into one of my companions old kaingalotu (members) and he tells us, "Hey you guys come over, oku i ai ae Lu e thirty." Haha 30 Lus! YUPP

Story of the week: while we were on exchanges with the APs this week, my companion and Elder Soakai, stayed here in Folaha, while I went to the AP's area. My comp and Soakai, decided to do some exercise in the morning, so they went out to go to the church with our basketball. When they discovered that the church was locked, they decided to just go and check out the beach at the bottom of our area. While they were walking there, a little kid asked for the ball, and my companion said no. Well, the little kid wasn't very happy about that, so he started using some very choice kapekapes (swear words) at these 2 missionaries. They just ignored him and continued on there way. Later that day, there house literally burned down. It was there that morning, and now it is a big black mark in the grass. Sooooo...don't swear at your local missionaries.

I gotta go play volleyball right now and help get our 'lunch' this week ready :) 

Love yalls!!!

PICS 

Could never eat this guy

 He was in one of my last areas, now he's on his mission

 Pizza, that I will always eat

 Sweet Boy and Big Momma. Who's who?

Don't look at me like that!

WEEK 49 IN TONGA, TONGA, FOLAHA

 Great meal

 Elder Mataele and I

 Pancakes

 Today's lunch

Helping weave something

Hello my beloved friends and family!

Well, my first week back in Tonga has been straight up crazy. Like so much more has happened this week than any other week for me in my mission haha. Soo heres a little tour of my week:

-First off I had my first hamburger in probably 9 months😄😄😏😇(it had 3 patties on it...🙈)

-We alllmosttt got to teach a lesson in the Area 70's (he covers all of Tonga) house, but it wasn't lava 

-We tried to give a drunk guy with surprisingly good English a Book of Mormon and as soon as he grabbed it he threw it and started screaming about how it burned his skin and he needs to throw it away and then started cussing at us haha

-We had pancakes too....😇😏😰😳🙉

-We found 10.. yes 1-0 filled out yet not turned iN baptismal records in our house! I don't get how that happens!?!

-Found out that another Elder Kalanite served in Folaha like 2 years ago

-BIG change in Misiona Tonga: we can now choose if we want to wear vala fakapalangi (white person clothes (pants/shoes/suit)) or just the normal, traditional vala fakatonga (tupenu/ta'ovala/kafa)

-In our areas there is TONS to do, which I am soo happy about, and the members actually WANT to talk to us here!😂😂😂

-We have a golden investigator here in Folaha. Its this 15 year old girl who is soo smart and super humble and willing to seek out the truth. We've only been able to teach her once so far, but she's wayy pau (solid)

-We found a drunk guy in the other little town we cover, Longoteme, and in his drunk slur he told us we need to help him because hes really less active haha, and luckily church was the next day so we told him to be ready at 9:30AM and we'd be there to go with him, and he actually came!

-Being a zone leader doesn't make things too different except we have a car and we get random calls everyday with peoples random needs that we have to go and do haha

But, the craziest thing that's happened here this week, happened during the 2nd fight that went down in Folaha in the past 7 days. The first one we weren't around to see, but the second one was right next door. Here's the short version: we were helping my comps auntie (she lives 2 houses down from us) move a little wagon by her house when we heard some yelling coming from the house in between ours and my comps aunties. We look over and see this couple that lives there swearing and yelling at each other from opposite sides of the yard. The family was trying to stop the lady from yelling stuff and the man was standing by himself holding a brick in his hand. My comp saw that and ran up to him and started trying to talk to him and calm him down and get the brick from out of his hand which he did. Things were calming down for about a minute and a half, when these 2 cars pull up on the street. The guy driving gets out of the car and starts walking up to the guy and my comp, and says, "hey, toko.." I thought at this point that he was going to try and help calm the situation down.. but he ends up taking the first punch at the husband and they start full on fighting, then the guy driving the second car jumps out and joins in on the fight. Turns out the 2 guys in the car are the wife's brothers who do not like her husband and they were there to end the argument...but not in a good way. So there they were, 3 guys, the husband who is in wayy good shape, and the 2 brothers of the wife which one was reallyy fat and the other was reallyy old, all trying to beat the heck out of each other. It was really bad. They were using metal pipes, random pieces of wood on the floor, and big rocks all over the place, and the only one trying to stop the fight was my comp! What a stud. I was trying to make sure the group of kids gathered around were safe haha. But at sometime during the middle of the fight, the wife passed out cold on the ground, which I didn't even notice. All the other ladies that were in the house were trying to get her to wake up and crying like crazy. I only noticed that when my comp yells at me to run and grab my oil from my bag so that we can give her a blessing. So I ran to get it, we ran up to the lady and knelt by her head. It wasn't until this point, that I realized that she wasn't even breathing. I quickly anointed with the oil, and right after my companion gave a very short blessing. The second after he said, "Pea oku ma pehe kiate koe ke ke fakamo'ui koe" or basically "We say unto you to be healed", she took a huge gasp of air and started trying to sit up and started shaking like crazy and saying that she was super cold, but after 10-15 minutes she was totally fine.

I have no doubt in the priesthood power that we, as members of the church have access too and this experience only adds to my testimony. 

Man, that took forever to type and not sound like a FOB soo Im outa time, but I still love you guys!!

Ofa lahi kiate kimoutolu taki taha!

-Elder Nite