Serving a Mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
Growth of the Church in Tonga
1897 – 15
1917 – 517
1930 – 1,185
1950 – 2,975
1990 – 35,227
2000 – 46,623
2013 – 61,470
Population of the Kingdom of Tonga – 107,0122
“Know ye not that I, the Lord your God, have created all men, and that I remember those who are upon the isles of the sea.” (2 Nephi 29:7).
No – for some reason, we are not getting Island Fever.
It’s really fun to see so many patients who are so sweet and genuine!
She was SO proud of her Young Womanhood Award. The little “Honor Bee” award on the right* was presented to her because she completed an extra 40 hour project above and beyond the requirements for the award, which are:
Attend sacrament meeting regularly (where possible).
Live the standards in For the Strength of Youth.
Complete the value experiences and value project for each of the eight values (faith, divine nature, individual worth, knowledge, choice and accountability, good works, integrity, and virtue).
Keep a personal journal.
Attend seminary.
Read the Book of Mormon regularly.
Record your testimony of the Savior Jesus Christ.
What do you think?
One of the daughters of the owner of Oholei Beach Resort. We took our visiting dentist from Samoa (Frank Pitcher and his wife Sandra) to the Luau, with a dozen people from our clinic and Liahona. We have been there a half a dozen times now, and it doesn’t get old!
This time, we sat with Dorothy Tonga, and watched as she sucked out the eyes from a fish. Yummy!
Her son does the “fire-dance.” He is quite amazing!
They’re getting the shingles on, and so far, no-one has died. Most of the time, when there are 8 or 10 people on a job site, 9 of them are in a supervisory role.
I hope he’s not wearing flip-flops!
We are lucky to have the temple just a 3 minute walk from our house. We get to serve there as ordinance workers each week.
“In the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it.” (Micah 4:1), On Tongatapu, the Nuku’aofa temple is at an elevation of 241 feet above sea level, which is the highest point on the island.
Our Tongan volunteers have a great time in the clinic. (Dorothy on the left, and Narissa, or “Risa” on the right.)
They are seeing patients every day, and using the cavitron on stubborn supra-gingival calculus (that usually gets blown off in HUGE chunks). It’s so much fun being in dentistry!
Just your typical patient. Elder Coombs, our oral surgeon from Australia, removed 254 teeth in March. I removed 16. But I was able to do 661 restorations. That is roughly 661 more restorations I would have been able to do, if Dr. Coombs were not here. This clinic could not function (could not meet its objective of serving the needs of the students, pre-missionaries, and missionaries) without our oral surgeon!
These are the names of the students for whom we have been able to complete all treatment. That usually means four quadrants of restorations (+/- 20), extractions, an a prophy.
Dr. Courtney Fisher, our volunteer dentist, and his wife, Paula, did 593 procedures in March. They have served above and beyond the call of duty. They have been here since January 27 and are leaving April 19, and we are really going to miss them!
We do a lot of restorations that we would never dream of doing back in the bubble (in the U.S.). We just do what we can, and hope for the best. Thank goodness for Thera-Cal and bonding agent. (And our Wave-One Endo system that was provided by Midwestern University).
Yes! We have a red one and a blue one! (And in this case, a silver one).
The Ta’ovala is worn with the tupeno, and is roughly the equivalent of a tie that is worn with a dress shirt. Everyone wears one with the tupeno on Sunday, and probably 75% wear one during the week.
The Ta’ovala is also worn by women. It is very common. This patient was making one while waiting for treatment in the clinic. It takes about a month to complete a ta’ovala.
Mine is very similar to the one she is making. One like this costs about $75.00 (U.S.).
All of the missionaries (Elders and Sisters) wear the tupeno and the ta’ovala. Everything is kept in place by the kafa, a rope about 12 feet long, that is wrapped around the waist.
This is Siosifa ‘Amanaki Moanaifea Poua ‘I Saione Toluta’u Pita.
He is a pre-missionary. Pre-missionaries are those who are ready to turn in their papers, but need a dental exam/treatment. (We’ve done 1,191 procedures on 244 pre-missionaries so far this year, for a total of around a quarter of a million dollars in dentistry).
Siosifa ‘Amanaki Moanaifea Poua ‘I Saione Toluta’u Pita, goes by “Sifa.” (I wonder if his missionary name badge will just say “Elder Pita?”
Every now and then, we let our hair down (so to speak).
And then we get the girls back to work – using the cavitron!!
These are a sampling of the names of our patients in the clinic. Most of them arestudents at Liahona High School. *
Sione Vaiangina
James Napa’a
Uneloto Toutai
Aisaka Kotoa
Tupou Masila
Losaine Vave
Salote Faka’osita
Senieh Vea
Sela Enielo
Kabo Taeifuna
Kelly Imoro
Sione Lehapoto
Subrina Mahe
Fokikovi Moala
Sione Tafengatoto
Suliana Siale
Petulise Movete
Marie Kanmatule
Namoe Vailea
Paukakala Mailau
Kefu Tonga
Isileli Panuve
Mele Masila
Losemalei Masila
Ika Finau
Siaosi Anitoni
Teuteu Loni
Afoa Fangupo
Fele’unga Vaea
Alisi Kofutu’a
Paula Vimahi
Vikama’u Neiufi
Petelo Taunata
Sione Taunata
Puafisi Fone
Vitolio Taulaki
Etina Pahulu
Siaola Hausia
Uaafe Akau’ola
Tilisa Tafengatoto
* When it’s time to call a patient from the reception room to come back, for treatment, we generally let Dorothy Tonga do the honors.
The Ma’u family is from E’ua, a 37 square mile island with a population of around 5,000. Two stores, no restaurants, no movie theater. They have sent their two older children to Liahona, to get an education. Sister Ma’u weaves baskets, and sells them, to earn money for the kids’ tuition.
Their daughter came to our house for lunch, and she had tacos. First time. She liked them!
Eric Shumway spent a week in Tonga, just after Gita. He was here to launch a documentary series that he was involved in, on Diabetes Prevention. He was a missionary in Tonga in the 1960s. In 1988, he published a book (“Intensive Course in Tongan”) that is 760 pages in length. I haven’t yet gotten through it.
Her Royal Highness the Princess Salote Pilolevu wrote, in the preface, “Eric Shumway is the only palangi I know that speaks Tongan so perfectly that even Tongans are baffled!”
He was President of B.Y.U. Hawaii from 1994 – 2007, and then President of the Nuku’alofa Temple for three years. When we told him about our work in the Liahona Clinic, he was very interested. He wants us to stay in touch with him, and consider a documentary on oral health in Tonga, focusing on prevention.
We received our shipping containers. They left the U.S. in December, and managed to avoid Gita on their way to Tonga.
When they arrived, no-one called from the shipping company, so they sat at the dock for a few day. When they arrived at Liahona, the forklift wasn’t working. (Typical). Took a couple of hours to fix that problem.
Then, the forklift got stuck in the soft grass. Finally, a tow strap was located to pull the forklift back onto the driveway.
Dorothy and her sister came to supervise the work.
All’s well that ends well! We put the crates behind our house, and have unloaded everything, and tucked the supplis away in the clinic. Placing around 800 composite restorations a month is taking its toll on our inventory!
We drove by this construction site the other day, and thought to ourselves “We probably wouldn’t see this in the U.S.!” I’m pretty sure O.S.H.A. doesn’t exist in Tonga.
The clinic is humming along like a well-oiled machine. Semisi Finau has everything working (keep your fingers crossed, for our poor, tired equipment) and we are enjoying the generosity of Midwestern University School of Dentistry, as well as of Randy Gardner, Matt Coplin, and Rick Ballard, our volunteers who were here in October, December, and January, and Courtney Fisher, who will be here until April. We are using electric handpieces, have high intensity curing lights, and use the Isolite on every patient. Every time I utilize a dental material, I think of them.
We still see patients who break our hearts. It is particularly distressing to see students in Form 6 or 7 who have been at Liahona for 3 or 4 years, who have never been to the clinic. But, we have established a good relationship with the administration, and they are sending students to the clinic every day, 2 or 3 at a time.
With the Isolite system that Matt brought, we can do two quadrants of restorative procedures in one visit. This means we can do 10 or 12 restorations, on one side of the mouth / upper and lower teeth, in one visit. We can finish the treatment on a student in two visits. We are constantly adding to our “Wall of Fame,” that lists the students who have completed treatment.
It may seem hard to believe, but most of our patients actually like coming to the clinic. Many have never been to the dentist and it’s strange to treat a patient who has no pre-conceived ideas about how the appointment should go. This means that they have no idea what to expect from the administration of anesthetic. (We do a lot of nose wiggling and ear pulling, and a lot of patients find this very amusing). They also don’t know how to spit (gets messy sometimes), or tap their teeth together. But they also have a VERY high tolerance for pain, and after doing a dozen restorations, they rarely have post operative discomfort (that they tell us about). They also frequently come back in for their second visit a day or two later. We rarely give them analgesics, and almost never give antibiotics.
For you dental types out there, I use septocaine almost exclusively. This means I can adminsiter anesthetic, and begin preparing a tooth immediately thereafter. Generally, we seat a patient in the chair, and are beginning treatment within a couple of minutes. We don’t waste any time. If we don’t run into problems, we can do ten restorations in an hour. But I do use a lot of sedative base material, because most of their cavities are very deep. We go to great lengths to avoid pulpal exposures, but even teeth that have had very large lesions seem to respond well (not many flaring up and needing root canal treatment). I should write a book on Tongan tooth anatomy. Tongans have 1) large mouths – plenty of room for third molars, 2) deep pits and fissures, 3) intact smooth surfaces (no decay between the teeth, in general), and 4) a high tolerance for pain. They are uncomplaining, and very rarely present with behavioral management issues. (I did have one patient who was needle-phobic, but we got past that quite easily with nose and ear wiggling).
It’s nice to walk through the Liahona campus and see students who are patients in the clinic. They always call out hello (or malo e lelei – but it is an English speaking campus).
It reminds me of when I practiced dentistry in Switzerland, and the little children in the alpine villages would greet me the same way. (Except they would say: “Oh, le piquer! Ca fait mal!).
I’m not sure I have a favorite type of patient, but I do like to ask where the students are from, and what their background is. Many are from very small islands in the South Pacific, where there is no opportunity for oral health care (or medical care, for that matter). I really admire the students from P.N.G. who have made it 1,500 miles to Liahona to go to school for 5 years, away from their families and culture. Many are on scholarships, and after their missions would like to go to B.Y.U. Hawaii.
All of the students have bright eyes, and are alert, and an the girls are vivacious. They have a sweetness about them that is so refreshing. They all love to sing, and it’s very common to hear them day and night, singing in small groups.
F.Y.I. In February we placed 899 composites (fillings), and did 164 extractions. So we are tipping the scales in favor of saving teeth. (It was about even when we first got here).
We are also seeing a lot more students, pre-missionaries, and missionaries (which makes the Presiding Bishopric Office happy). The students returned to Liahona at the end of January, which explains why 1) we didn’t see many in January, and 2) why we saw so many in February.
The Va’enukus are senior missionaries who live three doors down from us. Technically, they are office missionaries, who assist President Tuione, but practically they are humanitarian missionaries who serve the members all over the island.
Sister Va’enuku is a great cook, and with the assistance that has been so generously provided by many of you, her small apartment is filled to the brim with food. She spends hours and hours cooking, and then with her husband delivering food to members and non-members alike.
They were the ones who organized our Christmas caroling, and now they have really stepped up to the plate, providing assistance to those whose lives have been affected by Cyclone Gita.
This evening, when I went over to their home to give them another 500 pa’anga (that had all been donated to Jan’s Venmo account), they had just gotten home (at 9:30 p.m.).
Sister Va’enuku was preparing a small meal for herself and her husband. They had not eaten all day because they had been so busy delivering meals.
They know all the missionaries, and often enlist them to help them reach out to people that only the missionaries know are in real need.
Every pa’anga that has been donated for Gita relief has gone to purchasing basic foodstuffs.
Sister Va’enuku mainly cooks from scratch, so her meals are both nutritious and delicious.
The Va’enukus have used some of the money to purchase basic ingredients for families that have fuel or electricity. Most do not, yet.
I have been over to their house three times to deliver the cash donations that have been pouring in from America. The Va’enukus have been sure to let everyone whom they have been serving that the food was made possible by people in America who don’t even know exactly where Tonga is on the map, but who felt in their hearts that they needed to reach out and help.
Every one has expressed their love and their thanks. (Malo aupito! and Ofa atu!)
Isn’t it wonderful that even if you are 6,000 miles away, when you sense there is a need, you can almost instantly reach out and help, and know that your contributions will take shape through the hands of helping hands of senior couples like the Va’enukis, whose only desire is to serve their brothers and sisters in any way they can. You have helped to make that possible!
We’ve seen patients in the clinic from all over the South Pacific, but notably the three island groups of Tonga, Papua New Guinea (PNG), the Cook Islands, the Solomon Islands, one or two from New Caledonia, and a lot from New Zealand and Australia.
Today, in the clinic, we saw our first patient from the Niuas, the northernmost island group of Tonga. Today, the population of the three islands that make up the Niuas is about 1,200. The land area is 71 square km, which is less than the city of Spokane. Our patient, Lomalito, grew up on the Niuas. When she was a girl, there were about 200 people living on her island. There were no stores, and everyone lived off the sea, their gardens, and what grew in the bush. They drank rainwater that they stored in cisterns. Even today, there are no ATMs on the Niuas.
She had very nice teeth – no sugar growing up. She’s since moved to Vava’u, and told us that most of the young people in the Niuas leave the island to seek opportunities elsewhere, as she did.
Amenaki (the dental director at Vaiola Hospital in Nuku’alofa) tells me that there is a hospital clinic in the Niuas, and he has encouraged us to go there. There are only a few members in the Niuas, though, (3 branches of the church) and the air service is sketchy. Royal Tonga Airlines flies once a week (on an intermittent schedule). We could get stuck there indefinitely. Maybe I’ll send one of our volunteers, and see how it works out. (I wonder if they read this blog?)
This is our fale on Eua. We just heard that Eua was spared the brunt of the cyclone, and the resort survived!
The coast line in front of the resort. During whale season, we were told you can see whales from the porch of the fale!
Saturday afternoon, and Sunday morning were beautiful. We walked up and down the beach before going to church at 10 a.m..
We left the resort with the manager about noon, on Saturday, and went to the ferry terminal to wait for our car to come in. (We had dropped off the car in Nuku’alofa at the ferry terminal on Friday evening). While we were waiting, we had lunch at the Ovava Tree Resort. The resort was closed but the owner made us lunch, anyway.
After retrieving our car, we headed off on the main road out of town. (There actually is just ONE road out of town, so that sort of makes it “the main road,” I suppose.)
The road quickly deteriorates, and turns into a 4WD track. The weather looked threatening, so we turned around before reaching the lookout that was our intended destination. We also did not see ANYONE else, and that was a little disturbing.
Back in town we stocked up on vegetables, and went to one of the two “markets” on the island. Both markets are VERY basic. We understand that most people on Eua live off the land and the sea.
Saturday evening, President Ma’u and his family came over to our fale. There are 6 church units on the island – about 1300 members, I believe. They brought us a fan from the stake center because it was VERY hot and humid.
On Sunday, we went to church and met the Ma’u family there. His sister sat with us and translated – it was a Tongan speaking ward (and stake).
Ward members on Eua.
There is a Middle School adjacent to the Stake Center. We were hoping to be able to see many of the students from the school, since it is just down the road from the hospital and dental clinic. But Gita ruined our plans.
In case anyone was wondering, we did go to Eua just before the cyclone. (We left on Saturday morning, heard about the cyclone on Sunday afternoon, and returned to Tongatapu on Monday morning).
There are 12 missionaries, I believe, serving on Eua. There is one stake. When the missionaries go, they usually take the boat. We flew (and sent our car on the ferry). The ferry crosses the Tonga Trench between the two islands and it can get pretty rough.
We leave Tongatapu for the Outer Islands from the domestic terminal. This plane is sitting next to the terminal. (No doubt designed to instill confidence in passengers waiting for their flight.)
Actually, this was our plane. Each row of seats has its own personal door.
After getting comfortably settled in, we got pre-flight instructions from the pilot.
Leaving Tongatapu on the 7 minute flight to Eua. The landing gear is fixed in place. No time to put it up and down, anyway.
We kept pretty close tabs on the pilot, checking the gauges ourselves to make sure everything was working properly. The shoreline of Eua on our approach to the landing strip.
There is only one town on Eua. Exiting the aircraft, we didn’t need to wait for those passengers in front of us to disembark first.
The terminal in Eua is not very large. There was one person working at the terminal. Part of her responsibilities were to jump in a pickup truck and drive up and down the runway before the plane came, to make sure there were no stray pigs that might get in the way.
There are three “resorts” on the island. They are mainly there to accommodate the tourists during whale season (July – September). We stayed at the “Deep Resort,” and were the only guests.
Loueni Huni is 65 years old. He lives on Tongatapu, and is retired. He and his wife served a mission in 2015 – 2017, and now they are preparing to turn in their papers again. That’s not too unusual – missions are highly regarded in Tonga, and many senior couples serve.
But Loueni is special. When he was 9 years old, his father taught him to spear fish. And he has been doing it ever since. But for the past 20 years or so, he has been going out, alone, at night, beyond the reef, to spearfish. Dressed in his swim suit, he wears a mask, snorkel, and swim fins. And he takes a simple Hawaiian sling. And a stringer to hold the fish he has speared.
His wife, Nunie, stays in the truck while he is in the water. And she prays for him. Every night. Until he returns about 8 hours later, at around 4 a.m.. He can tell when the dawn is about to break.
He knows there are sharks in the water. He likes going to Makeke. I have been there. It is well-known for sharks. People are discouraged from swimming at Makeke. But he goes, two or three nights ever week, at about 8 p.m. and makes his way over the rocks, out through the surf, and over the reef.
He says the sharks know him, and they leave him alone. Even when he has up to 200 fish on his stringer. If they get too close, he says he pulls the line in and holds the fish close to him, until the sharks leave.
(They were SO excited to be getting their paperwork done for their next mission).
He says he has never speared a shark, and they know he is not a threat to them. Or food to him. There is plenty of blood in the water, to attract predators. Big predators cruise over the coral reef at night, looking for food. Loueni uses a light, to attract the fish. (The sharks get curious about the light, as well).
Maybe the best thing about this story is what he does with the fish. He and his wife bag them in plastic, and during the day they visit the poor and distribute the fish among them. They have been doing this for twenty years. (It was difficult to get Loueni to tell me about what he does, because like most Tongans, he is very humble, and self-effacing. I think he was embarrassed to tell me his story, but I am Palangi, so I persisted.)
Sometimes the people they give the fish to, will ask him how they can have fish all the time. He tells them to meet him at the beach. Then, he teaches them to spearfish. Nunie says that when he teaches them, they will have fish to eat for the rest of their lives. (I asked her about Brigham Young’s famous remark about teaching a man to fish. She had never heard of it). They just quietly live the principle.
(Affixing the all-important “stamp” to their papers.)
We were happy to sign their papers for their next mission. By the way, during their last mission, which was in Tonga, he spearfished three times a week, and continued their custom of giving the fish to the poor. I suspect that if they serve near the ocean, he will continue the practice. (If you were wondering, the last time around, his mission president gave him permission to do so.)
(Those of you who have a missionary in Tonga know how important the stamp is.)
By the way….. Inspiring examples of service such as this can be found all over Tonga.*
(Ready with their papers!)
The Tongan Saints are stellar examples of the scripture that reads: “Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand,Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me to drink. I was a stranger and ye took me in. Naked, and ye clothed me. I was sick, and ye visited me. I was in prison, and ye came into me.” (Matthew 25: 34-36).
* But I think it would be hard to top the story of Loueni Huni and his wife Nunie.
This is what is left of the school in the village just down the road from Liahona.
Two of the buildings were destroyed, and a third lost its roof.
Air conditioning, Tongan style.
Classes have been suspended. (But some schools are holding classes outdoors.)
Things haven’t been cleaned up because the administration and teachers are dealing with similar issues at home.
As of Tuesday evening – most of the island is still without power. The roads are clear Crews are out in force working on the power grid. The missionaries are EVERYWHERE. Last night we saw several zones out at the Royal Tombs, near downtown Nuku’alofa. I’m sure the dead people were grateful for the clean-up of debris on the lawn.
“When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? …Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.” (Matthew 25:38 & 40).
If you would like to make a contribution, in any amount, to help those with critical needs, you can be assured that 100% of the money will go directly to the benefit of the Tongan people. They need clean water, dry clothes, and food to feed their families.
Sister Hudson will give money to the President of the Liahona Stake and to the President of the Eua Stake. They have already expressed to us that there is a great need to purchase food, water, fuel, clothing, and other basic necessities.
The word is that there is enough food in the bush for most Tongans to survive on the basics for the next three weeks or so. Then, the fruit and vegetables that have been knocked to the ground by the wind will be gone.
By the way, we have already seen a marked decrease in the number of dogs and pigs on the island. Whether these were killed by the storm, or whether they have ended up in cooking pots, we do not know.
Venmo is a wonderful way to get money to family and friends. It is an app that is very safe and easy to use. You look up the app on your computer or smart phone, and then sign in with various safeguards in place. You are then good to go. You can get money to anyone who also has an account. There is no service fee, and it is lightning fast. We use it often. It is self-explanatory. If you have any questions, or need help setting up the account, please email us at JanWHudson@gmail.com.
Jan’s name on Venmo is Jan-Hudson.
What the Tongan people need the most is for people like you to not forget about them.
We want to acknowledge all those who have already made significant contributions. Thank you, thank you, thank you for your kindness and sweet spirits. We’ll try to post how your generosity is being spread out all across the island and kingdom.
Tomorrow (Monday) Elder and Sister Va’enuku are taking monies that have been deposited to Jan’s account, along with meals they have prepared, and are purchasing additional food to be distributed to the members. She cried when Jan told her about the great generosity that is allowing them to share so much more than could on their own. The other day we saw them leaving the neighborhood with the trunk of their car full of aluminum pans filled with delicious meals. Today they did the same. Your contribution assures us that many families will not go hungry tomorrow night and for many nights to come. God bless you.
Jan sent this email to the kids. I’m posting it just to share with so many who have asked how they can help:
Sunday, February 18 (6 days post-cyclone):
Today, as we sat in church, we listened to the mighty songs of faith sung by the students and ward members who live here, and we stand all amazed at the joy and optimism that is in their eyes and in their voices. I wish I could describe the overwhelming feeling of gratitude we have in our hearts that so many were spared their lives during the cyclone that blew through Tonga last Monday. The Liahona Campus looked like a war zone, and much of the island still does. Metal roofs are everywhere, wood, trees, stores, and rubbish lie in piles wherever you cast your eyes.
As I walk around campus, there is evidence of the thousands of man-hours that have been given in service, as students and countless others have cleaned up the downfall and picked up debris and rubble. Much still needs to be accomplished, and many have lost their homes. Still, they smile and express gratitude for all they have. They help one and other and they leave no room for despair or bitterness in their hearts.
Our dear friends are doing wonderful things to buoy the spirits of the missionaries, and others are providing amazing and selfless services in other ways. One senior missionary is constantly cooking and taking meals to those in need. The people being helped are not necessarily of our faith, but simply are those who need love and support….as well as a meal.
I am more than willing see that 100% of anything that comes my way goes to those in need. I have a Venmo account (jan-hudson) which you could use if you are so inclined.
Malo aupito.
(The man in the right photo (with the REALLY white teeth) is our shift co-ordinator at the temple. He says it should open on Tuesday.)
We had only one hour of church today, so everyone could get back to the tasks at hand of sorting out after the cyclone. The students are helping on Campus – and it is looking really great (except for the buildings that were damaged.) The vegetation should come back quickly.
Semisi Finau on the left – he is our “dental tech” who regularly saves the day for us in the clinic. He and his wife and their six kids sat on their porch in lawn chairs and watched the storm (so he says). I think what they really did was peek out their door, that was cracked open an inch or so. Before the storm, he put plastic sheeting up over his windows facing east. Then, when the storm came, the wind blew hardest from the west!
As we met ward members before the meeting, we would ask: Fefe hake? and they would invariably respond Sai pe, malo. They have an incredibly resilient spirit. The students in our ward all live in the dorms. We are inviting all of them to come to the clinic while school is out. So far this month, we have been able to provide almost a thousand procedures for our patients. It is really nice having three dentists, and three assistants (our wives) in the clinic. We also have Sister Evans, a senior missionary who arrived two days before the cyclone hit! Her I.T.E.P. position is in limbo since the school is closed. So she is coming to the clinic to help out up front.
This little girl on the right has been in to the clinic twice – two quadrants done! She is EXCITED to come back and see us next week.
No matter that their fale might have been damaged or destroyed, or they might be living with relatives. They all have an incredible attitude. We met the owner of Oholei Resort, on the eastern end of the island (that got hit very hard). His is the resort where we have gone several times for the Umu and floor show. He said he had only damage to the trees – his buildings survived. (Which is remarkable, because they looked a bit “flimsy.”) As we talked to him, he simply said: “God is great!”
The student on the right is from P.N.G., and we have done some cliff-hanger dentistry for him. He says he feels great. Miracles never cease. He is most interested in computers, at school. I find this remarkable, because New Guinea only recently emerged from the Stone Age. The glory of God is intelligence, or light and truth! He joined the Church five years ago, and is the only member in his family. But they wanted him to get an education, so they sent him to Liahona.
Many of the men, women, and boys were wearing the tupeno, with the ta’ovala and kafa. They always wear their Sunday best, but not in response to any dress standard or external pressure, but out of respect to the Lord. The girls mostly wear their very long, thick, black hair up in a bun, or in braids. They do this out of modesty.
It was probably one of the best Sacrament meetings I’ve ever experienced. Most of the time, in Tonga, Sacrament meeting brings tears to my eyes, and today was no exception. We began by singing “O My Father.”
Everywhere we go in Tonga, people are so happy to have their photo taken.
As we were singing “in my first primeval childhood was I nurtured near thy side,” I looked around the room and I saw the image of God reflected in the faces of all those in the congregation.
Then we sang: “when I leave tis frail existence, when I lay this mortal by, Father, Mother, may I meet you, in your royal courts on high? And I thought that Heavenly Father is as likely to welcome us home with “Ofa lahi atu . Sai aupito!” as He is with “Well done, thou good and faithful servant.”
Then we sang “I Stand All Amazed,” and I thought about these people singing their hearts out, in spite of the fact that nearly everyone in the congregation has suffered as a result of the storm.
“I stand all amazed at the love Jesus offers me. Confused at the grace that so fully he proffers me.”
This is Fehi, the school principal, with her husband Fifita. He is in the stake presidency. They lost the roof to their house. They said it was very well constructed, but the contractor who put it on saved on tie downs, and only used them on every other truss. So the roof came off, but in once piece. It is lying on the ground down the road from their house. They will put it back on.
“Oh, it is wonderful that he should care for me enough to die for me! Oh, it is wonderful, wonderful to me.”
The Tongans really have their priorities straight, and they don’t let little things like cyclones get in the way of what is really important in their lives.
The man on the left s the Young Men President. I don’t think any of them mess with him.
As an intermediate hymn we sang “Called To Serve.” Suffice to say, I have never sung it as we did today! It was indescribable. The Liahona First Ward has sent the standard for the Church, in my mind.
“Called to know the richness of his blessing, sons and daughters, children of a King. Glad of heart, his holy name confessing, Praises unto him we bring.”
This is Peni Tonga and his wife Sylvia in the upper right photo. His daughter Dorothy, who volunteers in the clinic, (lower left photo) has been at home all week helping with the clean-up. PNG students in the lower right photo None of the students from PNG had ever been through a cyclone. Most of them said they were really frightened.
As I have seen these people out in the community, providing service to their friends and neighbors, I know that it has gladdened my heart.
I love wearing my name badge, and being a part of something so magnificent. Going to Costlo yesterday, and seeing a video playing on the big screen above the rows of food, with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir praising God, gave me goose bumps.
Store employees told us that the owners are Catholic, but they hire Mormons and play church hymns – I am sure they feel the Light of Christ.
This is Fehi with some of her students.
We’ve finished about half of their mouth(s) – they are excited to come back for more. (It’s refreshing to see patients who actually WANT to come to the clinic!) 🙂
We sang “Onward, Christian Soldiers!” as our closing hymn. Again, unbelievable. The Tongans add little trills, and notes, to many of the hymns, and they sing as a choir would. They follow the chorister (who should be directing the MTC!), and Dorothy Tonga plays the piano magnificently.
“Onward, Christian soldiers, marching as to war, with the cross of Jesus going on before. Christ, the royal Master leads against the foe; forward into battle, see his banners go!
Like a mighty army moves the Church of God; brothers, we are treading where the Saints have trod. We are not divided; all one body we: one in hope and doctrine, one in charity.”
This is the young man who was in House #5 on campus, when a tree blew down and hit his roof. It opened up just enough of a hole for the wind to get in under it and blow the entire roof off. Neither he, his wife, nor his 4 children were injured.
“Onward, then, ye people; join our happy throng. Blend with ours your voices in the triumph song; glory, laud, and honor unto Christ, the King. This through countless ages. Men and angels sing.
Onward, Christian soldiers, marching as to war, with the cross of Jesus going on before!”
Hope still exists in the world. This is the Kapps’ home, next to ours. These two little palms needed rope to keep them up, before the storm. They blew down in the wind. Afterwards, Kenny straightened them up, and now they are standing on their own. I think there is a message there. Ofa atu to the wonderful people in our ward, and to the people of Tonga.
The missionaries are out in force, providing service in the community. These three came into the dental clinic for some R&R.
I put them to work.
We went with the Kapps (Mission Nurse) out into the villages to find the Elders and Sisters and give them some provisions. It is REALLY hot and humid!
If they are lucky, they’ll get a hot lunch!
Some of their M.Q.s are still drying out, or are without power, so they have moved their beds to the church buildings. They sleep outside, but it is cool in the evening. (And they use bug repellant!)
Classrooms at one of the ward buildings.
People are still staying at church buildings, while they assess the damage to their homes.
Some of them have lost their homes, but they all have a great positive attitude.
I’d Die for Tonga!
This concrete slab used to be a home.
Cleaning up the debris from the home, and salvaging what they could, was the project of the Zone for today.
Avoiding a sunburn is a high priority.
The missionaries are in great spirits, and working hard. They tell me they drop into bed at the end of the day!
They are all bundled up, because of all the scratchy branches, and debris. It is really hot, though.
The Kapps always have goodies in their car for the missionaries. Especially water – Sister Kapp is always telling them to drink more water! She keeps a case of bottled water in her car, and if she sees missionaries walking along the road (which we always do when we are out and about) she stops and gives them water.
This is the foundation of a home that the missionaries have cleared of rubble.
The Zone.
This is one of the THREE fire stations on Tongatapu. There is one on Ha’apai, and one in Vava’u. (5 stations in the Kingdom). Let that thought sink in for a while.
This is the marketplace on the wharf, in Nuku’alofa. It is usually the busiest place in town on Saturday. We went there to see if Peni Tonga had his kabob stand up. Not so much.
We are told that Tongans who live in the bush, or harvest their food from the bush, will be in a world of hurt in about three weeks. Just about the time when people forget about Tonga. (Although I believe there are relief planes and ships coming all the time to Tonga – the help from abroad has been much appreciated).
The bush has taken a real beating.
But……………..the three-headed coconut survived! God is great.
We had something truly wonderful happen to us in the clinic today. A young man from Papua, New Guinea came in for a check-up. It was the first time he had ever been to the dentist. He was 17 years old, and had been a member of the church for 5 years. He had grown up in impoverished circumstances, in a traditional tribal village. He had never eaten a hamburger and french fries, had never tasted a bar of chocolate, and had never been served processed food by his mother. In fact, he had never tasted ice cream.
Instead, he had eaten fresh vegetables from his garden, fruit from the trees, and fish from the sea.
If one wanted to find a test subject, whose body had never been subjected to the corrosive influences of the outside world, he would be it. Here was a once in a million (once in a billion?) opportunity to see what would happen over nearly two decades, if a strict regimen of healthy lifestyle choices were undeviatingly maintained.
Guess what? His B.M.I. was probably < 20, his skin was clear, his eyes were bright, his intelligence was evident, and………………..he had 32 perfect, pearly white teeth!
The moral of this story is…………..stay away from the lollies (and move your family to P.N.G.). Okay, that might be extreme, but Big Macs, soda, and Hershey’s Kisses? Really?
And it came to pass in the two thousand and eighteenth year, in the second month, on the twelfth day of the month, there arose a great storm, such an one as never had been known in all the kingdom. And there was also a great and terrible tempest; and there was terrible thunder, insomuch that it did shake the whole earth as if it was about to divide asunder. And there were exceedingly sharp lightnings, such as never had been known in all the land. And there were news reports of a great and terrible destruction in the land of Samoa.
But behold, there was a more great and terrible destruction in the land of Tonga; for behold, the whole face of the land was changed, because of the tempest and the whirlwinds, and the thunderings and the lightnings, and the exceedingly great quaking of the whole earth; And the highways were broken up, and the level roads were spoiled, and many places that had beforehand had only the occasional pot hole became rough.
And many great and notable villages, such as Ha’akame, Lomaiviti, Neiafu, Vaotu’u, and ‘Ahau were sunk, and many, such as Mailetaha, and Pahu, and Hala ‘o Vave, were shaken till the buildings thereof had fallen to the earth. And Nuku’alofa remained; but the damage thereof was exceedingly great, as was the damage at the Liahona Campus.
And there were some who were carried away in the whirlwind; and whither they went no man knoweth, save they know that they were carried away. And thus the face of the whole island became deformed, because of the tempests, and the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the quaking of the coral.
And behold, the cinder block walls of Facilities Management were rent in twain; they were broken up upon the face of the whole earth, insomuch that they were found in broken fragments, and in seams and in cracks, upon all the face of the campus. And corrugated iron siding materials littered the grass.
And it came to pass that when the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the storm, and the tempest, and the quakings of the island did cease—for behold, they did last for about the space of three hours; and it was said by some that the time was greater; nevertheless, all these great and terrible things were done in about the space of three hours (roughly between 11 p.m. and 2 a.m.) —and then behold, there was darkness upon the face of the land. And it came to pass that there was thick darkness upon all the face of the land, insomuch that the inhabitants thereof who had not fallen could feel the vapor of darkness. And the darkness did not cease until around 6 in the morning. (When the sun came up).
* It was a Book of Mormon experience.
This is the entrance to the Facilities Management building. We don’t know why it took such a hit. It was constructed no differently from any of our homes on campus.
This is the hallway at F.M. leading to Ennismore Hafoka’s office (The F.M. Manager).
It might be difficult to get into Ennismore’s office, at the moment.
Ennismore’s office is not usually this cluttered.
The main office at F.M.
F.M. currently has no roof – and it has rained every day this week.
F.M. at the Liahona Campus.
This is the F.M. building, down by the High School Music Room.
This used to be “inside.” It is now “outside.”
This is the music room.
You can see why Liahona High School has suspended classes indefinitely.
The bush next to the campus.
At least, now you can see the temple from our back yard.
This palm was not cut down with a chain saw. (It was cut down by the wind.
We had an unexpected visit to our clinic by the missionaries. They stopped into say hello. The missionaries on the island are all out in force, helping in the community. (President Tuione has temporarily suspended the dress code.)
We put them to work. I think he wants to be a dentist!
I think the hats are a nice touch.
Just to reiterate, we had a Category 4 Cyclone less than 72 hours ago.
According to the “book,” – With a Category 4 Cyclone, catastrophic damage will occur. During a Category 4 hurricane, winds range from 130 to 156 mph. At these speeds, falling and flying debris pose a very high risk of injury or death to people, pets and livestock. Most mobile homes (read: Tongan homes) will be destroyed. Some frame homes may totally collapse, while well-built homes will likely see severe damage to their roofs.
A Category 4 hurricane will blow out most windows on buildings, uproot most trees and will likely down many power lines. Power outages can last for weeks or even months after storms of this level. Water shortages are also common in the aftermath of Category 4 cyclones, potentially making the affected area uninhabitable for weeks or months.
F.Y.I. – Wind speed at Liahona during the height of the storm was 233 kph / 144 mph.
Also F.Y.I. – all of the above has happened on Tongatapu.
However, we consider ourselves very fortunate. All the missionaries are safe, and most church buildings remain standing. No report of any members perishing. Flooding is less than expected. Cost-Low has a good stock of food (Many Tongans live off what they can harvest in the bush). Water and power remain the big issues.
A few observations from today…..
The students are being well-utilized, and the campus is humming with sounds of vehicles – mostly trucks, picking up all the downed branches and green waste. I just saw my neighbor foraging through a pile, and he hauled home a treasure trove of bananas – about 100 of them.
Next, I think, will be the corrugated metal and verandas that need to be broken apart , in order to be loaded up.
I walked back to the Facilities Management building, and was shocked at the destruction there. They got really hit hard, and the offices have had to be relocated in the Service Center. The music department was also in that building. All the instruments have been damaged beyond repair. I saw about 20 keyboards that had been tossed to and fro. The computer lab suffered major damage, too. The way this storm worked reminds me of how we get hit at the lake, with big areas that are devastated at random. I went and talked to the man who lives (actually lived) in the home on campus that was destroyed. Initially, it was hit by a tree that resulted in a corner of the roof being damaged, which gave the wind an access point. It didn’t take long before the roof was peeled open like a sardine can. I was sad to see a pretty YoungChang piano outside. It had not fared well, at all.
Walking through the Service Center you can hear the hum of the big fans that have been set up to dry things out. The furniture has been removed, as necessary, and the staff is very much on task.
When we were coming home from Costlo, we had a chance to look at several of the meetinghouses. None of them sustained any damage that we could see, but I know there was a bit here and there. The roofs were all exactly where they were before the storm, which gave me confidence that they were built exceedingly well.
Becky talked to a couple of missionaries today who were feeling a bit sorry for themselves. She was like the wonderful drill sergeant which she is, and told them to get off their behinds and just get serving. It doesn’t matter so much what you do as long as you just do it. Put on a happy face and get the job done!
I think the most interesting part of the day was when I went to the new Costlo to provision up a bit. As I came in the front door, I heard a recording of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, and commented on what a funny thing that was. Upon going inside, I looked up, and there was a huge TV screen on which they were playing the most recent Conference. Is that strange, or what? Anyway, I knew the songs they were singing, and it was a fun experience doing my shopping to the accompaniment of the beautiful choir.
We also went around dropping things off at the missionaries’ MQ’s and then came back home to work. It gave us a real time view of what the island looks like. Many homes are just fine and just have stuff scattered around outside. But next door, you might see one that has been totally destroyed. The interesting thing is that the people are very very positive and accepting of this challenge, and do not seem dismayed or discouraged. They are out and cleaning up, and everyone is helping each other.
Long term, I have seen various people here on campus with clipboards and such, so I know a plan is being put together. I am not worried for us, but just hope supplies come in quickly, so the rebuilding can begin. I know that the damaged buildings here at Liahona were about 60 years old, and will be rebuilt according to present standards, as is the way of the Church. It will take time though, and that is the million-dollar question. When Becky and I were talking and walking around tonight we said that the powers that be will most certainly send over a FEMA type person to coordinate everything. The magnitude is that great. So I feel no reason to be worried – just aware and prepared. I will stock up on canned goods next, that do not require any preparing and that we can eat, as is. I have lots of oatmeal and granola, pastas and various sauces. Also tuna, canned beef, and of course a freezer full of chicken, fish, and ground turkey ,etc. I also bought a box of 12 cartons of ultrapasturized milk, and we have lots of water. When I use up one bottle, I just refill it from our filtered water faucet.
Right about now, I will go to sleep. Each day is a new and interesting adventure. We will see what tomorrow brings with it!
If we get cut off from the internet or from cell-phone service from time to time, no worries. It’s to be expected as things are put back together.
Love to all of you!
xoxoxoMom
Mom’s photos that she sent to the family via email (with Dad’s editorial comments):
Everyone in the family urged us to seek shelter, and not to go outside for any reason during the storm. Good advice, which we heeded. The basic construction material on the island is corrugated metal, which is now littering the landscape.
This is the service center where we sought shelter. We were in the other wing. We kept hearing the sound of metal shearing off the roof, and hitting the building, during the storm, but didn’t know for sure what had happened until morning. By 7 a.m. the storm had passed, and it was very calm.
Many of the trees were reduced to rubble.It was amazing to see what wind can do.
The students on campus cleaned all of this up the day after the storm, and now it is being hauled away in trucks.
This is just across the street from L.H.S.
When we entered this hallway the evening of Monday, February 12, we went in the door on the left. We were fine. The door on the right is where the roof got ripped off. It gives a whole new meaning to: “Choose the door on the left, or the door on the right.” Who knows ahead of time, what is behind the door?
This is the breezeway between buildings at the service center. That is our house peeking through the breezeway. You would not have wanted to walk (or run) from the house to the service center during the storm.
This is our avocado tree in our back yard. It was really pruned back, in October, and it was really getting to look pretty again. Believe it or not, I think it will survive. I’ll take another photo in a couple of months, for comparison.
This is pretty much what all of Tongatapu looks like right now. The amazing thing is, that we have talked to students from Ha’apai, and Vava’u, who say the cyclone passed by them, with nothing more than strong winds and rain. It was headed straight for us, instead! What did WE do to deserve this!!!
This is what the bush looks like, on the drive from L.H.S. to Nuku’alofa (about 10 k). This is the famous “three headed coconut tree” that is a MAJOR tourist attraction. If it had blown down, it would have been devastating to the tourist trade (which is booming in Tonga!!)
This chicken survived, but it’s looking a little the worse for wear. The bad news (seriously) is that “Peg” our little one legged chicken friend, is no-where to be found. She used to come around every day for bread crumbs. She had 4 chicks. The day after the storm, they were all accounted for. 24 hours later…………..only one remains. I guess its’ just survival of the fittest.
Plenty of breadfruit. Too bad it is tasteless. They say that Captain Bligh of the Bounty was bringing breadfruit back to England on his ill-fated voyage in the South Pacific. (The mutiny occurred just off the island of Lafoka, in the Ha’apai Group.) Fletcher Christian wisely threw all of the breadfruit overboard, before sailing to Pitcairn Island.
It used to be so pretty driving through the country-side. It will be again, in a few months.
I don’t think this one is going to make it, though.
p.s. Thanks to everyone for keeping the people of Tonga in your hearts and in your prayers. I know what happens after a natural disaster…………in a few days or weeks, nearly everyone living in their comfortable circumstances elsewhere in the world forgets that places like Tonga, that don’t have a lot of depth when it comes to infrastructure, and doesn’t have deep pockets, will continue to rebuild as best they can. There are 16 stakes on Tongatapu, and 160 congregations. Over a hundred full time elders and sisters, and nearly 20 senior missionaries.
As Paul wrote: we are here for “the perfecting of the Saints, for the work of the ministry, (and) for the edifying of the body of Christ.” (Ephesians 4:12).
First – we live next door to the Mission Nurse, Sister Becky Kapp, and her husband Kenny. They had a full tank of gas in their car, but were only able to get out on the roads today. They blew through half a tank visiting the elders and sisters all over the island, taking them M&Ms and water. They have reported all of the missionaries are well. Many of them spent Tuesday and today helping clean up their neighborhoods as best they can. The palangi missionaries got sunburned!! It was very hot and humid today, so they worked in the early morning hours and again in the evening hours. Many members have lost their homes and are staying with friends or relatives, or in church buildings.
When the Kapps use all of their gas, they will probably not be able to visit the missionaries. There were lines a mile long at the one gas station that was open today. When it ran out of gas, everyone went to another station (that also had a generator). Fuel is going to be a real problem, very shortly.
Speaking of fuel – Liahona Campus has diesel fuel for its emergency generator, but the supply will last no longer than three weeks. No-one knows what is going to happen then, and I have not heard of any contingency plan. But when the generator stops, our lights go out, our water system stops working, (the clinic stops working, as well), and our refrigerators and stoves stop working. We will remain optimistic, but I hope we get the power grid up soon, or else the entire island will be in trouble.
The Facilities Manger at Liahona is overwhelmed with the magnitude of the work that needs to be done here. There was widespread destruction of campus buildings, as well as home #5. Five of the Seven computer labs at the school were destroyed, the music room with at least 20 keyboards, as well as band instruments, was devastated, and so school has been indefinitely suspended. The good news is that the dental clinic is functional, and the live-in students (when they are not working on the cleanup) have begun coming in for treatment. We were supposed to work until noon today, but we saw patients until 4:30 p.m. – students from Ha’apai, Eua, Vava’u, and Papua New Guinea. Most had never been to the dentist before – so we are treating them by quadrant, and we placed nearly a hundred restorations. We will continue to do that every day, until they go back to class.
The Kapps have reported that nearly every power line on the island is either down, or at some crazy angle, and there are lines down everywhere. A dangerous situation.
There are probably hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions, of coconuts on the ground. We talked with Timote Kau (returned missionary) who said it is a “windfall.” (My word, not his). But the way the Tongans look at it, “after the storm, flowers bloom,” and their coconut bonanza is a blessing.
Tongans that we have talked to who have lost their homes are taking it very philosophically. I hope that foreign governments provide assistance to re-build. If that happens, their new homes will probably be much better than their old ones. We saw this on Ha’apai – the cyclone in 2015 resulted in 500 new dwellings on the main island of Lofuka.
We have hard that Eua got hit pretty hard, but President Ma’u and his family are okay. he may be the recipient of a new Hyundai hatchback (with only 29,000 km on the odometer). We left our car with him when we flew back to Tongatapu on Monday, and I have no idea when/if it will be sent here via ferry. I told him, before we left, that he is welcome to use it for however long he needs it. It had a full tank of gas, and since the island is so small, that might last him a few weeks.
We don’t know anything about our mission assignment in the future. It all depends upon the power grid getting up and running. Without power, we cannot operate the clinic. We will just have to wait and see and it is no use speculating at this point.
What has happened in Tonga validates my feeling about this country. It flies beneath the radar – we have friends in the U.S. who were unaware there had even been a cyclone in the South Pacific. I think in the U.S. in particular, we live in a bubble. I always thought that the U.S. was the center of the universe, and that everything revolved around it, and not the poles of the earth. But here in Tonga, we have experienced the real world that 7 billion people deal with every day of their lives. Maybe that is why the Tongan people seem to be taking this disaster in stride, even casually. Life happens, and what is important is how you deal with it. And life generally throws you a curve, so you’d better not expect it to be a bed or roses. The sun will rise tomorrow, and the banana tree will bear fruit in a week or two. The papaya will continue to provide. (And there are always pigs and chickens, although we have seen some chickens who had their feathers plucked from their bodies by the wind!). I suspect that, in a couple of weeks, when we gather for Fast and Testimony meeting, the people will generally express their love of the Savior and their thanks for His generous blessings. The Tongans are a very faithful people.
I have heard that the temple may re-open tomorrow. It was relatively untouched. If I know the Tongan people well enough, the sessions will be full. Endowed members of the church typically go to the temple every week. There is a 5:15 a.m. session every day that is packed.
Really, what more does one need? I have my pillow (actually not MY pillow, but the one that was in our house when we arrived, that had obviously gotten a LOT of use. We have a container coming in a week or so (if the ship didn’t sink in the storm) that has a couple of new pillows in it. I have my blanket, and my Igloo ice chest with a yoghurt and chocolate bar). I didn’t really worry during the storm, about our possessions in our home across the street from the Service Center. When the wind got really intense, and things were banging around quite a bit, I thought about the Nephites who endured hours of destruction after the crucifixion of the Savior. I think I gained an appreciation of what they went through. We didn’t really know how things were going to turn out. We didn;t really fear for our safety, but we didn’t know if our house would be there when we ventured outside at first daylight. We didn’t have much in the way of personal effects in the house – we only brought a suitcase with us on our mission. During the storm, we were able to focus on the things that are really important. In that way, it was a positive experience. And who gets to say they lived through a Category 4/5 Cyclone, with 165 mph winds aimed directly at them, and that seems to have had a personal vendetta for them?
So……..this Valentine’s Day, we are not giving each other boxes of chocolate or bouquets of roses. Everyone rolled up their sleeves this morning and got to work. The Senior Missionaries were out in the community providing helping hands, and the Coombs (at 80 / 82 years of age) were in the clinic all day, tending to the needs of the students. They go home each evening, and fall into bed. The Fishers were the last ones to finish with patients this afternoon. We thought we were all done, but there was one girl who had been waiting all day, and so they saw her as their final patient. They are volunteers, which means they can come and go as they please, really, but they were sent here just two weeks before the Cyclone, and they have embraced the work. When they leave Tonga after 12 weeks, they are going to the clinic in Samoa for another 8 weeks. (If they have any energy left.)
Amazingly, 24 hours after the winds died down, we are headed to the clinic. I was in contact with Fehi, the principal of L.H.S., and we agreed that since the students were out of school, it would be a good time for them to come to the clinic. I just called over there, and we have 8 or 10 patients waiting. We are going to see 3 per hour and see how it goes.
We could be doing Humanitarian work, clearing rubble, etc., but we agreed that we are better suited to treating patients. 🙂
Considering the sustained wind speed was over 160 mph (for what seemed like several hours), things aren’t looking too bad at Liahona. However, we have heard that 50% of the buildings on the island have been damaged or destroyed.
The breadfruit tree at the corner is looking very sad.
The temple remained unscathed. The grounds not so much.
The bush really took a beating.
Left: Service Center (the building where we spent the night).
The front of the Liahona Campus. It used to be so pretty coming to Liahona from town.
Left: the road approaching the dental clinic. Right: across the road.
Facilities Management (Kind of ironic – it’s F.M. that manages the Liahona property.)
Liahona on the left. Looking toward the temple from Liahona.
Left: our street at Liahona. Right: the gate to the temple.
Left: Liahona Middle School. Right: a residence near the clinic.
This pretty much tells the story.
250 kph winds / 40% of the buildings in Nuku’alofa without roofs / widespread flooding.
The students at L.H.S. are out in force, cleaning up debris.
Senior missionaries are out, as well. I’m keeping my defibrillator handy.
The word is that all 160 church buildings on the island were “packed to the gills” last night. The missionaries were evacuated to these buildings, also, so that might have worked out well. 🙂
Left: the Campus. Right: Our next door neighbor’s home. He is the volunteer dentist who has been here for two weeks. Great timing.
Left: Our house. Right: Across the street from Liahona Campus.
The front of the campus.
Service Center: 7 p.m. Monday to 7 a.m. Tuesday. The eye went over us at about midnight. Two walls on either side, between us and the elements.
We’re in the Liahona Service Center with several other senior missionaries. Just across the street from our house, but in a cluster of buildings (added protection?) It’s really blowing now – sounds like the proverbial freight train. We are in the center of the building. Not too worried (about us) but we think about all the Tongans who are in dire straits right now. And the worst is yet to come. The eye is headed right for us, and we are hoping the track will wobble even a few miles so it misses Tongatapu.
We are safe and sound and just riding out the storm.
I moved my “bed” out of the traffic pattern.
Two walls of protection between the central hallway and the outside world.
But here is the problem. This is a typical Tongan home. The raised shed on the left is sleeping quarters for family members. These structures are not going to do well in this cyclone.
This is someone’s home in the bush. It will be gone by morning.
This one may have a chance to survive the night.
These are the fales at the Deep Resort, where we were staying on Eua. They were not built to withstand a Category 5 Cyclone.
This is the restaurant at the Deep Resort. The large roof and no walls catch my attention. Hardly anyone has cyclone insurance in Tonga – even the resorts. They just put away a percentage of their profits each year in an emergency fund, to use to rebuild after cyclones.
Change comes like a flash of lightning and a clap of thunder. The people shrink in fear, but after the storm, flowers bloom. (I Ching, the Chinese Book of Proverbs).
President Ma’u and I talked for some time while we were waiting for the plane this morning. He said “If there’s night, there will be day. If there is sadness, there will be happiness. If there is a cyclone, there will be smooth seas, and it will be better than it was before.” He has an amazing outlook on life.
He said that he and his wife take the ferry every month to Tongatapu, to go to the temple. He said that when the sea is rough, he thinks about those for whom he will be doing ordinance work, and he believes they are in the boat with him, praying for him, and asking Heavenly Father to calm to seas.
He said: “I feel in my heart that children and your grandchildren are yearning for your safety.” We have certainly felt the outpouring of love and support of our family and it means a lot to us. Thank you. Malo aupito. Ofa lahi atu.
Everything he does is based on prayer, and on confirmation by the Spirit. When he asked his (future) wife to go on their first date, she said she couldn’t say “yes” just yet. She asked him to give her a few hours. Later, when she said “yes” he asked her why she had to wait. She said she had to ask Heavenly Father first, if it would be all right. That is the way the Tongan Latter-day Saints are. They are the most humble, spiritual people I have ever met.
Before President Ma’u was called as Stake President, he had a strong feeling that the call would come. He didn’t share the feeling with his wife. But she did tell him that she had a dream, that he was given a piece of paper by the Area Authority. She didn’t know what it was. When they were called into his office, and the call was extended, the Area Authority gave them the piece of paper that she had seen in her dream, with instructions for new Stake Presidents on it.
Before his call, he did not own a computer or a cell phone. His car was broken more often than it ran. He walked or rode a bicycle wherever he had to go. He served as bishop of his ward for 8 years. When he was called as Stake President, he had to start driving all over the island to visit wards and members. He said it costs 100 pa’anga a month for gas. This is money he does not have. His wife weaves baskets to sell, for their spending money. He said that maybe the Lord is trying to tell him that he needs to be more humble. His wife said that serving as a Stake President has been a great blessing to their family.
He has completed the Pathway program, and is now working on college credits online, with B.Y.U. Because of his Stake Presidency responsibilities, he can only study between 11 p.m. and 3 a.m.. He gets up at 5 or 6 a.m. to start his day. One can only imagine how he can do it, but he feels so blessed to be able to get an education. He is the eldest of 10 children, and feels a responsibility to lead his family by example.
Four Hours Ago:
“The forecast right now looks like severe Tropical Cyclone Gita will become a Category 5 by 7 o’clock this evening,” says Director of Tonga MET, ‘Ofa Fa’anunu at a press conference this morning. The cyclone is the strongest in recorded history to approach Tonga this evening.
“Category 5 means that the winds have reached 110 knots. This is around 220 and 230 km per hour winds.”
Tonga MET is urging people to prepare and to evacuate to centres such as the Latter Day Saints churches that can withstand the strength of the cyclone.
“We’re talking about Category 5, the strongest category for a cyclone. We need to move now to evacuation centres. No one will be able to move about tonight.” NEMO (the National Emergency Management Office) is expecting a huge impact with major structural damage to buildings and infrastructure, potentially a very high storm surge, as well as heavy rain and flooding that comes with it.
“The winds should start reaching gale force winds tonight. We expect around midnight for it to be the closest to the main island and when the winds will be strongest.” “People need to understand that from 7:00pm or close to it, or even 6:00pm, from tonight to tomorrow morning, we will have the cyclone at Category five over Tongatapu and ‘Eua.”
The government has declared Tonga a state of emergency.
* p.s. We’ll keep you posted on how well that scripture works out for us tonight.
Two hours ago (local time is now 12 noon on Monday, February 12
A storm surge of 30 feet would be devastating to much of the population of Tongatapu. Many coastal villages are only a few feet above sea level. The center of Nuku’alofa is only 21 feet above sea level. (Liahona, on the other hand, is about 200 feet above sea level.)
We have been advised by our mission president that he has been instructed to take “special care” of the senior missionaries – that the First Presidency has them “in their hearts.” (Not sure what any of that means, but maybe there will be special mattresses with our names on them, on the floor of the baptismal font area in the temple).
We’re exploring our options right now – the temple may be our best bet. (As many of you know, it is the highest point on the island, is very well constructed, has a sturdy roof, and basically no windows).
We have made a run to the A.T.M., as well. The Kapps (our neghbors with a car – ours is still in Eua) have filled their gas tank, in case we decide to evacuate to New Zealand. We have filled our bathtub with water (gross! we have cockroaches that live in the trap). I have two Cadbury Milk Chocolate Bars. I did have a can of Pringles, but ate them all – out of anxiety, I guess.
For some reason, we bought a case of milk (it comes in waxed boxes and doesn’t need refrigeration). I only eat cereal once in a while, and we don’t drink much hot cocoa, as you can imagine, so maybe we’ll barter the milk with our neighbors, or give it to the feral cats. As I think about it, I should make another run to the store for more chocolate bars. Inexplicably, mom said we should get a couple of dozen containers of yoghurt. (For a Category 5 storm, you can never have too much yoghurt. It’s hard to culture your own yoghurt when the wind outside is blowing 150 mph.) After the storm passes, there should be PLENTY of coconuts to gather. Just as long as they are not in our living room.
When I think about it, we could have Cadbury Chocolate bars, with shredded coconut sprinkled on top of it.
This is the plane that “evacuated” us from Eua. It came from Tonga with no passengers. It just came to pick up the 8 stranded souls who were trying to get off Eua. We had to leave our bags behind, because of weight. We’ll get them “when the next plane comes from Eua.” Whenever that may be.
We sat right behind the pilot. (Only 1 pilot – in great physical condition, or so we have been told). We never flew faster than 110 knots, or higher than about 950 feet above the sea. It was a very smooth flight. On our landing approach, we both thought: “We’re coming up way short of the runway.” We landed on the grass that WAS well short of the paved runway.
As soon as we landed, we called President Ma’u, in Eua, to let him know we had made it safely. He and his family were wonderful to us. They are hoping to come to Tonga to go to the temple in a couple of weeks, and we are going to take them out to dinner.
They waited with us for an hour and a half at the airport, to make sure we made our flight.
As you can see, there’s not too much to the airport terminal in Eua.
“The latest forecast for Tonga is not something you want to see – a forecast for already Category 4 Severe Cyclone Gita to reach Category 5 status (the highest on the scale) and make a direct hit over the top of Tonga and the capital Nuku’alofa on the main island Tongatapu tonight and early Tuesday.
Over 75,000 people are in the path of a storm already more powerful than anything New Zealand has ever seen with torrential rain and damaging winds forecast to be averaging close to 200km/h and gusting over 230km/h by tonight when it makes landfall there.
Maximum wave heights could be in excess of over 10 metres with storm surge at the centre of the cyclone lifting the sea up even further leading to coastal inundation and sending those waves even further inland. These incredibly dangerous seas could last 24 hours aroud the southern islands of Tonga. The most severe portion of wind and rain at the centre of the low will last around 12 to 18 hours over Tongatapu.
Powerful cyclones do tend to wobble at times from the forecast tracking. A last minute jog to the south could have significant benefits to Tonga, but a jog to the north could make things worse. These ‘wobbles’ are unpredictable, as we saw with Category 5 Cyclone Winston in 2016 which at the last hour wobbled off the forecast track and ended up making landfall in Fiji instead of remaining just out at sea.
By Tuesday afternoon conditions should be calmer in Tonga weatherwise, although dangerous seas and more normal rain could linger through Wednesday.
Computer modelling agrees that a direct hit to Tonga from the centre of Gita looks highly likely in the main southern island of Tongatapu overnight tonight.
With the island being so small, there is a chance Gita won’t technically make landfall (when the centre crosses land), but even a close brush will be equally as damaging.”
11:45 a.m. (local time Monday) – the wind just picked up in about 2 minutes from a light breeze and some blue sky, to 40 mph gusts, and it has begun torrentially raining (horizontally). It looks like it is beginning.
5 a.m. – Monday, February 12
Weather Forecast – 5 a.m. Monday, February 12:
“Severe Tropical Cyclone Gita is forecast to hit Tonga with up to Category 4 force winds from tomorrow morning, Monday February 12 according to the latest forecast from the Nadi Torpical Cyclone Centre in Fiji. A Category Cyclone 4 has mean winds 86-107 knots and is extremely destructive close to the centre. The centre is expected to track close to Tongatapu Monday morning. Tongans are handicapped in their preparations for the storm as strict sabbatical laws prevent Sunday trading for emergency supplies. At 4:30 pm Sunday, the capital, Nuku’alofa remained quiet and sleepy. Tonga Met officers said this afternoon that if the cyclone speeds up from its present slow moving approach it might arrive earlier. A hurricane warning remains in place for most of Tonga. The WeatherWatch New Zealand says that Tonga should be on high alert until the storm passes on Tuesday morning.”
Post from Eua:
The cyclone looks like it is heading straight for Nuku’alofa, and is a category 4 storm. Right now, in Eua, it is calm, and there are stars in the sky. (But we are on the west coast, and the storm is coming from the east.) There is no wind.
Mom is schedule to fly out at 9 a.m. this morning from Eua to Tonga. There was only one seat open on the flight. We are going to see if a second seat opens up, assuming the flight has not been cancelled.
This is the “terminal” in Eua.
The ferries left early, yesterday at noon. A day early because of the impending storm. Bummer. (They were supposed to leave today, and I was getting in the car to go to the ferry terminal to see if we could get on, when we heard the news they had just left).
We have become friends with the stake president (there is one stake in Eua) and he has arranged for mom’s flight. I am thinking that the plane will go, because it does not appear to be stormy at the moment. Unfortunately, the forecasts call for category 4 force winds later in the day today (Monday).
Our plan is that as soon as mom takes off, the S.P. and I are going to take a fishing boat from Eua to Tonga, depending upon how the weather is. There is a break in the reef on the eastern side of Tongatapu (about 10 miles closer to Eua than Nuku’alofa) – if you have a map, it is at Oheoli, by the Hina Cave. He says we can get there in an hour (it is a fast boat).
If the seas are rough, or the wind is high, we will not go. In that case, I would just hunker down here and see what develops. If I need to ride out the storm, I will go to the stake center at the top of the island. The resort where we are staying has small wooden fales that are pretty close to the beach. But I don’t know how rough the sea will be here, since we are on the western side of the island. But if it comes down to it, I will not take any chances, of course.
(Just in case you were wondering, this is NOT the plane that flies between Eua and Tongatapu.)
THIS is the plane – it wouldn’t do well in high wind.
The church buildings in Tonga are the safest structures on the island, and the government uses their building code as the gold standard for cyclone shelters. (I say that, realizing that the government doesn’t actually have any cyclone shelters – they just rely upon the church, in emergencies).
If I need to stay here, I will probably not have internet, and don’t know about cell phone service. I that case, I probably wouldn’t be able to check in with any reliability or regularity. But, aside from being stuck on Eua for who knows how long, I should be okay.
I am keeping my dental supplies with me (mom will take only a small carry-on bag) so if I am here for a while, I can work in the hospital clinic, in the meantime.
By the way, if Mom doesn’t make the flight for some reason, we will call you. In the morning, in just a few hours, we should still have cell phone service. So don’t try to call us – we can easily call you.
The news reported that Tonga is relatively unprepared for the cyclone, as the Sabbath day laws prohibit stores from being open. So no-one has stocked up. I couldn’t say for sure what is happening at Nuku’alofa on Tongatapu, although I heard that it’s just its normal sleepy atmosphere. Here on Eua, we have been told that there will always be rainwater to drink, and the bush and the sea will provide food, if commerce is disrupted.
It won’t be as it is elsewhere, where starvation is just one container ship away. But………..transportation could be disrupted, and that is a concern, because right now the Tonga Trench is looking pretty menacing and deep. Frustratingly, I can see the lights twinkling on Tongatapu, just 20 km or so away.
Considering how many homes were destroyed in Samoa (and it was a Category 2, then), we are really worried about Tonga, because the quality of construction of homes all across the kingdom is very poor. There are NO building codes, and most homes have sheet metal sides and roofs, haphazardly tacked together. At least there are no front doors, so the wind might just blow right on through.
There could be flooding on Tongatapu, and on Ha’apai, because they are pretty flat. Vava’u and Eua have hills and mountains – flooding here should not be a problem.
Come to think if it, if I do ride out the storm here, and airline/ferry service are suspended, I could always take the fishing boat to Tonga, if it survived the storm, and wasn’t needed elsewhere. We’ll just have to wait and see what develops.
This is the door to our row of seats. Hopefully, we’ll be boarding soon.
Anyway, to sum up, we will find out in just a few hours how bad the storm is, and what our options are about getting off the island and back to Tonga. We’ll keep you posted.
The captain’s pre-flight instructions.
The fishing boat could be quite an adventure – I am remembering Patrick taking the wave runner out on the lake during a storm. This could be the same, except it’s 20 km from shore to shore and it’s 35,000 feet deep. No wading ashore. (By the way – if you were thinking about the reliability of the motor, or the seaworthiness of the boat, President Ma’u assures me that he has done this many times.) 🙂
XOX DAD J
We received this letter from a patient yesterday. This is the good news
Jan sent this email to our kids yesterday. I thought I would share it with our blog friends.
“We just got this letter today from one of our patients. She told me the other day when she was visiting us with some little children that she wished she could do something for us that would express the gratitude she felt in her heart for the service our clinic provides for the people of Tonga. She was so persistent and vocal about her feelings that I finally told her that if she wanted to write a little note we would quite cherish it and would pass it along to the powers that be so they could hear what patients feel about the care they are given, and that the church considers so important. We treat non-members and members alike as they sit in our chairs and I am so happy that our efforts are appreciated. This note just made our day!
Normally I would not share it, but I thought you would like to see it too.
Our mission is a small sacrifice for us all in our family. We appreciate your support on so many levels. Each one of you is part of the reason we can serve and we want you to know that not a day goes by when we don’t think of that. Without your support we simply could not do it. Thank you all so much for your encouragement and daily efforts in our behalf!”
But, we often have to deal with bad news.
We work really hard to see as many patients as we can, and do as many procedures as we can, to save as many teeth as we can. With our volunteer dentist and his wife, we have stepped it up a notch or two.
The young people who come to the clinic have dreams, just as we all do.
But, sometimes, their dreams are interrupted by a visit to the last chair in our clinic, where Malcom and Heather Coombs, our oral surgeon and nurse, need to remove teeth – on kids as young as three or four years old.
This is a 16 year old Form 6 (12th grader) student, at Liahona High School. She has been at Liahona since Form 4. Somehow, she slipped between the cracks, and had never been seen in the dental clinic. There are over 800 students at Liahona High School, and we have vowed to do everything in our power to see that this tragedy never repeats itself.
You meet the nicest people at the ice cream store.
A nice afternoon at Camp Mekeke.
Lots of steps getting down to the beach at Oholei.
I can visualize Captain Cook’s vessel, “The Endeavour,” sitting at anchor in the bay.
We do get in the water occasionally – this time at Pangai Motu.
We had a great time with Rick and Rosalee Ballard.
We’re hoping you will come and visit, too!
Hina lived near the beach at Oholei. She fell in love with Sinilau, and they were married.
One day, Sinilau went fishing, but never returned. Hina lay down in the cave and died of a broken heart.
It is said that no matter how you feel outside the cave, when you enter, you will only be able to think of the your loved ones.
(Never turn your back to the sea.)
All we could think about at Oholei was the buffet dinner and the floor show.
Molokau – If these pre-historic looking creatures were human, they would ride Harleys, wear studded leather jackets, and be rude to your mom. They could have been created by the special-effects team on the set of Alien. Their bite is incredibly painful, and they will chase you across the floor, if you’re not quick enough. I use a large volume from our bookshelf (“Orthopaedic Anatomy & Surgical Approaches,” 515 pages) to kill cockroaches, although I did see one bench-press the volume and try to walk away. But I would probably need the entire set of Encyclopedia Brittanica to kill a molokau.
The one pictured above was on the street in Nuku’alofa. (Dead). Everyone who has lived in Tonga for more than a few months has a molokau story. One palangi describes how while using a can of bug spray to kill one, it chased after him down the hall. (Again, think “Alien.”)
They’re aggressive little buggers who especially like to come indoors when it’s raining. I am always looking over my shoulder during and after a storm. The molokau is made up of all the nastiness that somehow never made it to the rest of Tonga’s creatures.
Something like 18 fales on 200 + acres, that the Church obtained a number of years ago for a few hundred pa’anga.
At the northwestern tip of Tongatapu is a monument commemorating Dutchman Abel Tasman’s ‘discovery’ of Tongatapu on 20 January, 1643.
He was in the employ of the Dutch East India Company, on his way back to Indonesia after firstly bumping into Tasmania, then New Zealand. With great European sensibility, he named Tongatapu “Amsterdam.” Luckily, the name didn’t stick.
In 1642, Tasman anchored in a bay off of Tasmania. The sea was too rough to bring a boat to shore so the ship’s carpenter swam through the surf and planted the Dutch flag. Tasman then claimed formal possession of the land. So it went in the 17th century of European exploration of the South Pacific.
For over a century after Tasman’s voyages, (until Cook’s voyages) the remote South Pacific was not visited by Europeans. Australia was only bumped into by accident.
Cook made three trips to Tonga. From Tongatapu, he traveled to Lifuka, in the Ha’apai Group. There he was met with such entertainment, he wrote, “as would have met with universal applause in a European theater.”
Little did he know that the local chiefs planned to kill him and his crew and loot his ships. He sailed off before they could execute the plan. (William Mariner was the only survivor of a similar plot, when the Tongans did raid his ship, the Port au Prince, at Lifuka, in Ha’apai, many years later. Mariner spent four years living among the Tongans before he was rescued by a passing vessel. (See: “An Account of The Natives of Tonga, in The South Pacific Ocean,” 1827).
Cook was dissuaded by the Tongans from traveling to the Vava’u Group, having been told that there was no suitable anchorage there. In fact, its Port of Refuge is one of the world’s great harbors.
The Burden of Maui is a stone trilithon located on the north of the island of Tongatapu, near the village of Niutoua.
A trilithon is a structure that consists of two vertical stones with a third stone supporting the top. (The ones you are probably most familiar with, are at Stonehenge.) The Tongan “Stonehenge of the Pacific” is constructed from three coral limestone slabs, each weighing 30-40 tons. It was built around 1200 A.D..
It may have been made by Maui, the legendary demi-god who figures prominently in the traditions of Hawaiians, Tongans ,Tahitians, and Maoris.
If you have seen the movie “Moana,” you can see why Maui would be the only one strong enough to lift the stones into his canoe, and carry them to Heketa, the royal compound of the kings.
The Tongans were the most adventurous deep-sea voyagers of Polynesia at the time the Pacific was explored by Europeans. Their war canoes were a hundred feet long, and could hold up to 150 people.
“Surfer’s Beach” is a long strip of sand on the western side of Tongatapu.
It encompasses Ha’atafu Beach, Liku’alofa Beach, Monotapu Beach, and Fahefa Beach, all north of the Blowholes.
Keleti Resort is on the south side of the island, at Halafuoleva Beach.
The price is right, if you want to get away from it all on Tongatapu – 15 km or so from Nuku’alofa, on a stretch of beach all by itself.
Getting in to the water is tricky. You have to time it in between waves.
At the resort, a bungalow with a private bath is $51.00 per night.
A family of 4 pays only $62.83 per night.
Our good friends, whom we’ve known for over 20 years, came to visit us. They left the snow in Sandpoint to get a taste of summer in the South Pacific.
In Tongan, ‘pangai’ means royal, and ‘motu’ means island.
So Pangaimotu means ‘royal island’. It is, indeed. Pangaimotu Island is just over a mile northeast of the harbor in Nuku’alofa, but it feels a world apart. The day we were there, only a handful of visitors were at Big Mama’s Cafe, and we saw only one person on our circumnavigation of the island.
Looking east.
Looking west.
I’m told the photos don’t do the storm justice, but in fact, we are having quite a blow. They are thinking of canceling the ferry that normally comes from Tongatapu. Flights are still coming and going, but are bumpy.
We awakened in the middle of the night , feeling wet. (We have no window – only a large screen. But it does keep the bugs out.)
Addendum #1 @ 8:30 a.m. Having been awake for much of the night due to the storm, we both went back to sleep as the dawn started to break. I woke up first and was surprised to see that the rain has passed, at least for a while, The ocean is a bright, and a very spectacular light azure blue. There is still a very stiff breeze, but we seem to be getting at least a brief break from the torrential downpour that kept us wiping down the floor and furniture and staying back from the windows for quite some time during the night. I have to say, I feel a bit chagrined, because I just noticed that we have a large storm window on hinges that we could have shut, had we been aware of its existence. It hinges down from the ceiling of the porch of our fale. The wonderful thing about today is that, for the time being, the humidity has abated, and it feels simply heavenly to be sitting in a chair and reading, as I watch the waves and feel the trade winds blow. xoxoxoMom
Addendum #2 @ 2:00 p.m. – Waiting for our flight at the airport. Our friend Sepa, the gate agent, told us that people who just arrived in Ha’apai from Nuku’alofa, enroute to Vava’u, are trying to get on this flight to Tongatapu. During their passage to Ha’apai, the sea was so rough, that they got off the boat in Pangai, and they are now trying to get back to Nuku’alofa, so they can then fly to Vava’u. (Instead of continuing along from Ha’apai, on the ferry for another 8 hours.)
This is the (entire) terminal. Everyone is waiting for the one flight that goes out at 3:40 p.m.. The aircraft seats 17. I count 15 passengers, not including me! Looking good!
This is Sepa Tatafu. She is our friend from Tongatapu, and is the RealTonga Airlines Manager there. She is on a temporary assignment here in Ha’apai (and gave us first row seats on the plane! (More about that, later).
This is the baggage area. They don’t have a baggage truck, conveyor belt, or carousel.
This is the departure gate (or door). The pad is where the plane parks. The gate doesn’t have a number, but it’s hard to miss.
This is the plane that has just arrived from Nuku’alofa. They sometimes alternate between two different planes, but the other one is broken, at the moment.
Getting on the plane is a bit of a challenge for your average Tongan. Not for us, though! Cycling and power walking have paid off! Watch your head, though!
One seat on the left, and two on the right. Aisle in the middle. We are in the first row, so we have to negotiate 4 rows to reach our seats. The rugby player in the hoodie could prove to be a problem.
Successfully past the rugby player; now just two more rows to go. Watch those shoulders and elbows. (And don’t drop anything.)
Comfortably settled in, right behind the cockpit!
“This is your captain speaking, from the flight deck.” Just in time to hear the safety announcements. (No flight attendant this trip). In case of an emergency, we are to follow the illuminated strip on the floor to the nearest exit, keeping in mind that it may be behind us.
Pedal to the metal! I thought I heard him ask: “Is it the white, green, or yellow levers? And do I push or pull?”
Seated for the 30 minute flight. (If you were wondering – no bathroom.) We were never free to get up and move about the cabin, if you were wondering.
Upon arrival, the door is open, and the announcement is made that passengers are free to gather their belongings, and exit the aircraft in an orderly manner, row by row.
One last check. “I know you can do it!” she calls out. “The trick is to walk sideways.”
Back on home turf.
“To every man there comes in his lifetime that special moment when he is figuratively tapped on the shoulder
and offered a chance to do a very special thing,
unique to him and fitted to his talents.
What a tragedy if that moment finds him unprepared or unqualified
for that which would be his finest hour.”
(Winston Churchill)
First of all, Matafonua is fortunate to have an EXCELLENT cook – a member of the Church from the local village. (I bet they have GREAT ward dinners!)
Secondly, you couldn’t ask for a better setting to enjoy a good meal!
As the sun began to set, a storm moved in, and the water in the channel between the islands began to throb with an ethereal light that was absorbed by the clouds.
We all cleared out of the veranda and hurried to the beach. This photo is looking north.
We turned the corner and looked to the west. In just a few minutes, dessert had been served!!!
During our dinner, Darrin and Nina told us that they have “owned” Matafonua for 9 years, and just “purchased” Sandy Beach Resort a year ago. (In Tonga, the king owns all of the land, and people lease it from him.
In the case of Liahona, for example, the Church is roughly in the middle of a 99 year lease.) Darrin and Nina bought their lease of both Matafonua and Sandy Beach for a total of 10,000 pa’anga, roughly $5,000.00 U.S.. Not bad!
However, no-one (no lessees) own the beaches in Tonga. They are for everyone to enjoy.
Peni and Dorothy Tonga enjoying a swim off Sandy Beach.
The permanent residents of Matafonua have Mana!
(You can see Liahona, toward the western end of Tongatapu. Lifuka and Foa, in the Ha’apai Group, are much smaller islands than Tongatapu.
Sandy Beach is near the northern tip of Foa. Matafonua is right at the tip.
It’s the end of the week (more or less) and we are staying a couple of nights at Sandy Beach. We are going for dinner at Matafonua, its companion resort 1 km away.
This is our fale.
No air conditioning, but a nice ceiling fan.
Our night light.
(This is our fale when the wind blows.)
Nice snorkling right in front of the fale / protective reef a quarter mile off-shore.
(This is the way the beach was most of the week.)
This is the beach when a storm blew in last night.
We hadn’t been at Sandy Beach very long before these two dudes showed up on our doorstep. (See our post: “We Have Amazing Missionaries!”)
This is the kitchen. (Very clean!)
Our cook (and our watermelon that we brought from town).
Lunch today was Wahoo – caught yesterday (71 kg of steaks!)
We are the only guests staying at the resort, at the moment.
There are no car seats in Tonga. We have seen two year olds perched on the roofs of pick up trucks as they go down the road (with 6 or 8 people in the bed.)
We went to a ward dinner at the Ha’afaka Henga Ward, in the village of Fale Loa, on the island of Foa.
We went with Peni Tonga, his daughters, and their auntie, who is from the small island of Mo’unga’on e. It is about two hours by boat from Ha’apai, and doesn’t have a harbor. 300 people live on the island. When outsiders visit, the boat stops offshore, and the people jump into the water and swim ashore.
We got to sit right next to the pig. I’m not sure if it was us, or the pig, who was the guest of honor. He definitely seemed to receive more attention.
The fruit that looks like an Asian Pear. It is somewhat crisp and a little tart, but good. The Tongan name for it is fekika
Dorothy Tonga wanted only the head of the fish. As she sucked the eyes out, she smacked her lips in satisfaction. It’s all a matter of taste. I remember my mother sucking the marrow out of the bone, when she would eat steak, and my grandmother sucking the juices out of the heads of lobsters and crabs. And they were both Palangi!
The children are the highlight of our day.
These children stood outside, and were thrilled when we kept passing them snacks.
We just poke our noses down promising looking roads to see what we will find.
I this case, it was the eastern beach. It was low tide.
There were great tide pools with lots of seashells.
There is more fossilized coral on the beaches, that are protected by an outer reef.
We rarely get above 15 or 20 kph on the roads in Ha’apai.
This is looking south, in the center of town. Tailgating, or following too closely, is unheard of.
This is looking north, in the center of town. Ha’apai redefines “peaceful” and “quiet.”
There are very few road signs on the island. Nothing is more than 5 miles away.
We are staying right at the wharf.
I doubt if he is a personal injury attorney. (Or an ambulance chaser – as you may have learned from a previous post, the island just got its first ambulance 🙂
We grabbed a quick bite, before we came to the clinic, this morning. (We don’t even notice the mealy apples, anymore. And as I posted earlier, the ants are on their own, when we find them swimming around in the jelly that we put on our peanut butter sandwiches. It is our philosophy that they shouldn’t be there, in the first place! So they get what they deserve!)
When we arrived at the hospital this morning, there were workmen digging a big hole outside the clinic. Not a good sign (literally – see below) – I hate to say it, but we rarely see workmen, at all.
It seems the plumbing in the hospital has backed up. None of the toilets work. (I haven’t heard what the alternative solution is, to using the toilets. Personally, I took a walk, in the mid-morning, down by the beach. It was lovely.)
On my walk, I noticed that all of the water in the hospital comes off the roof, and is collected in big cisterns. (Typical). We drink bottled water – we try to drink all the time. We get leg cramps sometimes, at night. Probably from being chronically dehydrated.
There is no air conditioning and all of the rooms have open windows (with no screens). We are in the middle of summer, and it is hot and humid. (I may have posted earlier about the weather).
The fan in the clinic moves the air, and evaporates the perspiration. Feels great! We’ll try to find some cleanser for the accumulated grease on the fan’s screen.
This is our pesky chair that won’t move. We physically muscled it up a few inches to save my back, and then stabilized it with two by fours.
This is our vacuum. The latex glove is keeping the collected waste where it belongs. Where is the duct tape when you really need it?
We try to encourage tooth brushing.
We’ve seen a few extraction patients this morning. I tried to get mom to do them, but she wouldn’t. (Class 3 mobility…..).. We went to lunch at the Mariner Cafe – which is one of two restaurants on the island. We could have taken the Tuk Tuk, but a driver from the hospital took us – it was about a three to fifteen minute drive from the clinic, depending upon how fast you drive.
We also have breakfast and lunch at the Api Ko Lata cafe.
This is the kitchen at the cafe.
This is a photo of the “Prison Van.” They bring all of the inmates from the prison on Ha’apai to various projects around the island. Come to think of it, it is the prisoners who do a lot of the work on the island. There are a total of 7 inmates currently serving sentences in the prison. They all fit in the van at the same time. Crime is not a big problem on Ha’apai.
This is the main lodge. Dinner is served on the veranda.
There are 12 fales. They are just a few steps from the beach.
The view from a fale.
The resort was hit hard by the cyclone in 2015. The beach in front of the lodge still has’t recovered. “Fo’i on’e o’ne” means “sandy beach.”
Peni Tonga and one of his daughters were the only ones in the water between the resort and the end of the island.
The ferry came in, at 6 a.m. this morning. It left Nuku’alofa last night, at about 6 p.m. It comes once a week.
The harbor at Pangai is very quiet.
Today, a a new ambulance was delivered to the hospital. Everyone came out to the road to watch it drive the 1.5 km from the harbor. It’s light were flashing, and it’s siren was blaring. It was the social event of the summer, I think.
Yesterday, when Luisa drove us to the restaurant from the clinic, she never got above 15 km per hour (that’s 10 mph.) People on Ha’apai live life at a much more relaxed pace.
The shipping crates made me think about our crates that are now on their way to Tonga.
This sign is actually on Ha’apai.
This is looking north…………………….
This is looking south………………………..
This is the the dental clinic at the Niu’ui Hospital at Pangai, on the island of Lafoka, Ha’apai. The hospital is 40 years old, and it has absorbed some hard use. The Kingdom is building a new hospital, that should be completed next year. The dental clinic is about what we expected, but not what we are used to in the U.S.
The charting system is rudimentary.
The x-ray machine doesn’t work.
The suction doesn’t work, either.
It sucks up a little bit, and then disgorges all of the contents of the container back into the patients’ mouths. Not good.
We work from this mobile cabinet. The fan moves the air. It’s about 90 degrees and 99% humidity.
This is our back-bar, just behind the chair (that doesn’t move.)
We have a stand for tray set-ups, but it’s being used for other purposes, at the moment.
This is where we do charting. We learn to make-do with what we have.
We have a case for medicines, but we don’t dispense much. We only have the basics.
This is our central sterilization area. This is the clean side.
We could use some more cleaning agents, but it’s not in the budget, at the moment.
I think they could use some plastic bins!!
This is the pharmacy for the hospital.
It is a little cluttered.
Exam Room.
Anything you could ever imagine that you would need is at your fingertips.
A basic room – 4 beds, open windows lots of flies.
The oxygen tank is a little scary.
Not fancy, but I suppose it gets the job done.
Pediatrics.
It is “Tongan” clean.
Welcome to our world. 🙂
We received a call from the F.M. (Facilities Manager) on Ha’apai that the sister missionaries were locked out of their M.Q. (Missionary Quarters).
So we drove over there with a key to let them in. It was a really hot day, and they were having a siesta.
They are really nice – one is from Tonga and the other from Hawaii.
Their M.Q. is typical of those you see all over Tonga – generally on Church property adjacent to a meeting house, but not always.
The fenced yard is to keep the dogs and pigs out. (As is the lower portion of the fence across the gate. They gave us several pieces of ice-cold watermelon. It tasted delicious.
We met the elders on the causeway connecting Lifuka to Foa, at about 9:30 p.m. on our way back from Sandy Shores Resort, where we had dinner.
They had been walking for about an hour, enjoying the stars without any light pollution. We were surprised to see Elder Mortensen (who has been an Office Elder for about 8 months, in the mission home). He just got transferred to Ha’apai yesterday. He is ecstatic. In the darkness, he was very surprised to hear our voices.
He had no idea we were on Ha’apai. We gave them a lift to their M.Q., which is right next to the airport runway.
(But there is only one flight a day into Ha’apai now. There used to be two, but one of the planes is broken.) It was about 2 miles to their M.Q.. It would have been another 45 minutes of walking if we hadn’t come upon them. (They were pretty hard to miss on the causeway).
Earlier in the day, we met another group of elders on the road in Pangai. (The Palangi is second one from the right in the photo. I believe he is from someplace called “Utah”).
The hospital was built in 1979. It is showing its age. There are eight rooms, with 4 beds in each room.
Dr. Mele Fonua is the dentist at the hospital clinic. She graduated from “dental school’ in Fiji last year, and has been working at the clinic for 3 months. When she finished “Form 7” she went to 5 years of “dental school.” (Form 7 is roughly equivalent to 12th grade in high school.)
At least the high speed handpiece worked. The suction was so-so. The two by fours are holding the chair up in a position where I can work on patients without breaking my back.
The left-hand chair works. The right hand chair doesn’t, so we use it for extractions (on the lower arch). The fan helps keep the temperature manageable.
This is the storage room where supplies are kept. The clinic is critically short on just about everything you could imagine was essential to run a dental office.
The highlight of the day was going out to lunch, with Luisa, who runs the Red Cross office in Pangai. She is a member, born on Ha’apai with three kids. She was a storehouse of knowledge about Ha’apai.
I had chicken curry, and mom had fresh-caught fish for lunch.
We downed the pitcher of punch in no time. It is really important to drink constantly, because of the heat and humidity.
The Ha’apai Group – Outer Islands, Kingdom of Tonga
Travel guides describe Ha ‘apai as “well off the beaten path, ” and “an undeniably authentic slice of Polynesia.”
These are understatements. Ha ‘apai seems to be the epitome of the undiscovered, unspoiled South Pacific.
We have a lot of autonomy on our mission. I emailed the Mission President and told him that we were going to Ha ‘apai for a week. He emailed back to wish us “bon voyage.” (We contacted Sosaia Tonga’ovevai, the Stake President on Ha ‘apai – there is one stake here – and asked him if the priesthood and relief society leaders could please make announcements in Church that we would be here to treat the members.)
We also had the Mission let the 45 missionaries on Ha ‘apai know that we would be here. The Tongan missionaries tend to need a lot of treatment – the Palangis generally have less oral pathology. Many of the Tongan missionaries have never been to the dentist (except to have a tooth removed). Most have certainly never had their teeth cleaned. The pre-mission dental exam is a joke. It is just another piece of paper to be signed off.
Pangai is the only real town on Lifuka. It lies 127 miles north of Tongatapu and directly west of the Tonga Trench. Looking out over the flat ocean, it’s hard to imaging that it is 7 miles deep. Much of Ha ‘apai was devastated in the cyclone in 2013. 500 homes were destroyed. Most were rebuilt by the Red Cross and L.D.S. Church.
Pangai is right on the water, and the beaches are unreal.
There are 62 islands, atolls, reefs, and shoals scattered across thousands of square miles of pristine azure blue waters. The travel guide describes “looming volcanic islands, warming trade winds and pristine atolls lapped by gentle waters, that provide a superb tropical backdrop for more adventurous travelers.”
The island of Lifuka is very narrow, and there wasn’t much room to build the airport.
So the road that runs the length of the island crosses the runway.
They put down a gate across the road when there is a plane landing, which is only a couple of times a day. And there is a sign that warns you to drive on the runway. It’s probably a T.S.A. thing
The terminal is in the distance.
I have ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA why these two young men were walking down the runway dragging palm fronts behind them (and over their heads, as well). No-one seemed alarmed by their suspicious activity.
This is the main road on Lifuka. When you get out of town, it quickly gets primitive.
But the drive from town (about 5 km) is worth it. We were the only ones on a stretch of beach about a mile long. The first European to visit Haʻapai, was Abel Tasman in 1643. Captain James Cook came over a hundred years later, in 1774. It stretches my mind to think that his visit was almost 250 years ago!
In 1789, the Mutiny on the Bounty took place between the islands of Lifuka and Tofua, in the Ha’apai Group, when Fletcher Christian seized command of the ship from Captain William Bligh.
Bligh was set adrift in a small boat (with charts), and navigated X miles all the way to X.
Ha’apai is the central group of islands in Tonga, in between Tongatapu and Vava’u. On Real Tonga Airlines, it was just a 20 minute flight.
During Cook’s voyages of discovery, he described the Kingdom of Tonga as ‘The Friendly Islands’ after he received what he perceived to be a warm reception on the island of Lifuka. We are staying on that island for a week, while we work in the dental clinic.
Seventeeth of the islands are inhabited, including the main islands of Lifuka and Foa that are linked by a causeway.
The only source of fresh water on Ha ‘apai, and in all of Tonga, for that matter, is rainfall. The islands are volcanic and petrified coral / limestone, and the ground is very porous. No wells, and most of the islands are low-lying. So every one has cisterns, fed by gutters feeding off the roofs of houses. When it rains, it’s time to grab a bar of soap!
There don’t appear to be any stores on Ha ‘apai. Well, we found two Chinese stores. (In Tonga, when you characterize a store as a “Chinese store,” it is as close to a term of derision as a Tongan can get. Think of a scaled down dollar store, filled with poorly made goods from China. There are no cash registers (or laser scanners). Everything is done on a pocket calculator. The clerk shows you the total on the LED and you hand over your pa ‘anga, and get change. I understand the bills, but not the coins. We are feeding a very large container of coins at home.
Islands, or motus, dot the horizon. Some are inhabited, while others are not. White beaches encircle all of them.
In the distance, maybe 15 or 20 miles from Lifuka, one can see the island of Kao, a volcano that is 3,432 feet in elevation. It is the highest point in Tonga. (No snow skiing, though, at least not yet. Give it another 10,000 feet.)
7,212 people live in the Ha’apai Group. Lifuka and Foa have around 4,300 residents. There are 45 missionaries here, and many of them are visited only occasionally by their zone leaders, who travel to the outer islands by boat. The missionaries live off the land and the sea. Their preparation time each day consists of personal study, companionship study, and fishing for dinner.
Sandy Beach Resort is a secluded property at the end of the road, with just 12 fales. It fronts a deep white sandy beach, rightly described as the nicest beach in Tonga. If I were in a high-stress profession, Sandy Beach would be my get-away from the hectic pace of life. (Wait a minute! I AM in a high-stress profession!) And we ARE getting away from it all.
It certainly is one of the premier holiday beach resorts (okay, maybe the only one!) in Tonga. Most of the resorts we’ve visited have not been what we’ve been accustomed to. But recently, I’ve been starting to wonder which one represents the real world.
Matafouna Lodge is the companion resort to Sandy Beach, just down the road (at the end of the road, actually.) The name means “end of the island.” It is kind of like an “eco-lodge” for more adventurous travelers.
Everywhere we looked, there were white beaches stretching off into the distance, with gentle surf lapping the shore, and coconut palms shading the sand.
Barrier reefs protect the islands from storms and high surf.
During our first day of sightseeing, we passed only a few cars on the road, and saw just a handful of people on the beaches. Most were deserted.
At Sandy Beach, there were 5 fales that were occupied; at Matofouna, there were about 10. Those are really just about the only accommodations on the islands of Lifuka and Foa. (We are staying our first few nights at Church accommodations, in town).
A girl staying at Matofouna stopped us, as we were walking down the beach, and asked if we were staying at the Lodge. She said she didn’t recognize us, and wondered if we’d just arrived. I don’t think there are many secrets on this island.
The Niu’ui Hospital and dental clinic are somewhat rustic – rough around the edges. We brought a lot of our own equipment and supplies, and also brought supplies for Dr. Melesivolu, and Tauifia, the therapist. They are not very well supplied by Vaiola Hospital, in Nuku ‘alofa. I think they make do as best they can. (Which seems to be the operative phrase in Tonga).
Everyone waves at each other from their cars, as they pass each other on the road. Either there aren’t very many cars, or they are just very friendly, but probably both.
We found all sorts of shells on the beach, including some very large convoluted clam shells. Some of the shells had occupants, so we left them as we found them.
The water is very warm – probably in the mid-eighties (about the same as the air temperature). It’s also very clear. There are no rivers with runoff, and the water gets very deep very quickly outside the reef. There are also strong currents outside the reef. I keep thinking about Tom Hanks’ character in “Cast Away” trying to get his raft through the breakers on the outer reef.
We had to make reservations ahead of time for dinner at Sandy Shores Resort. (Mahi Mahi). We had lunch there, the day we arrived. The proprietor just said she would initiate a tab, and we will settle at the end of the week. She is bringing her kids in, to see us in the clinic. She is an expat Brit, who has been here for 9 years. Kids are home schooled.
When we checked in for our flight, I was 3 kilos overweight on my bag (because I had packed a lot of supplies for the clinic, that I won’t be bringing back with me). Allowance is just 15 kilos. Excess baggage fee was 30 pa’anga. (about $15.00 U.S.) which I gladly paid.
When we boarded the flight, it was insufferably hot in the cabin. It was a sweat bucket. There is absolutely no security at the airport. If someone hijacked an airplane, where would they demand to be taken? I don’t remember even showing our photo I.D. at check-in. The agent just looked at our name badges, and looked up our reservation (on an actual computer!) Elder and Sister Hudson is how we were listed. The Church books a lot of travel between the islands, what with missionary transfers, and Stake, Zone, and District conferences.
For lunch, at Sandy Shores, I had fish and chips, made with fresh-caught Red Snapper. Mom had fish cakes. We were the only patrons at their “restaurant.” Sandy Shores employs about 20 people from the nearby village – I’m sure it’s the largest employer on the island.
In Pangai, there are two Chinese stores, two ice-cream parlors, and one restaurant. It is very laid-back.
There seem to be fewer dogs, pigs, and chickens on Ha ‘apai, than on Tongatapu or Vava’u.
All of the wards are Tongan wards, so we only went to Sacrament meeting. It seems like every ward in Tonga begins its services at 9:00 a.m., which is fine with us.
I finally bought a hat. The mid-day sun is relentless! (Only mad dogs and Englishmen). We should probably adopt the Tongan habit of carrying an umbrella with us (when it is sunny, but not for when it is raining. No-one uses an umbrella in the rain.)
We learned that those who live on Ha’apai are very eco-conscious, and are concerned about the whale-watching boats, especially in Vava’u. Evidently, there are about 20 operators who take tourists out during whale-watching season (August-September) in Vava’u. They line up to take their turns getting close to the whales. The whales, evidently, have figured out that frolicking in the waters off of Vava’u attracts annoying tourists, so their pods have moved to the waters off Ha ‘apai, where there are only 4 whale-watching boats. The whales will actually approach the boats, in Ha ‘apai.
Tonga is one of two countries that allow tourists to swim with the whales.
But there is a law that you cannot approach a whale closer than 3 meters. (But there is no law prohibiting the whales from approaching a swimmer closer than 3 meters, which happens a lot). Whale watching season is in the winter – July – September.
“Don’t count the pain. Count what you have accomplished.”
(What I learned in Sacrament meeting today.) Li’e, a warrior from the village of Ko’ula on Vava’u, said this as he lay wounded after battle. His men had just successfully defended his village on Vava’u from an invasion by natives from Ha ‘api.
(This is not a photo of Li ‘e. He lived a few hundred years ago. This is actually our friend Peni Tonga, who I think looks like Moses must have, flip-flops and all, just before he parted the Red Sea.)
Pangaimotu is an island just a mile from Nuku ‘alofa. It is accessible by boat, or by kayak.
The first Jesuit missionaries to visit Tongatapu established a Catholic church on the island (for safety) 175 years ago.
We caught the boat at 11 a.m., and arrived at the resort at about 11:10 a.m.. It was roughly the same time-frame as the flight from Tongatapu to Eua (which is 7 minutes).
When we got back to the dock after our walk, we had lunch at Big Momma’s Café. The boat ride and lunch cost $25.00 (U.S.).
We brought Peni Toga and his children with us. None of them had been there before.
Dorothy Tonga told me it had been one of her dreams to visit the island.
Dorothy has been volunteering in the clinic for the past couple of weeks.
We took snorkeling gear. We didn’t use it, but the Tongas loved it! There isn’t any coral – it is a sandy bottom.
This beach goes all the way around the island. (We walked all the way around in about an hour.)
There were about 100 people at the resort, but we met only two on our walk.
There are a dozen other motus dotting the horizon. There is a boat that takes people on a dinner cruise through these islands. We are going to do it in a couple of weeks.
That’s the resort in the background, and the mainland in the distance.
The water temperature is probably in the low eighties. You could almost walk to the other motus.
There isn’t much of a tide – but we hit it just right. At high tide, this beach is covered.
The ship reminded me of the Tyee.
We had great weather, but later in the day (after we’d returned to Liahona), it POURED RAIN!
A “friend” showed up at lunch-time to share my fish and chips. My necklace symbolizes “Mana” or positive energy; the life-force. Whenever I wear this particular necklace, I can feel the power of Mana. I believe that’s what attracted the cat to me, because normally I would give off negative energy in its presence.
The unspoiled South Pacific!
Sione (Nelson) told his dad that coming to the island was the best Christmas present he could ever receive. He is learning to climb the coconut tree. The old Tongans talk about the Copra Economy in the old days. When the market collapsed, it really devastated many island economies. There has been a resurgence, though, because of the demand for coconut oil. Tongan farmers are getting 25 cents to 40 cents per coconut. There are A LOT of coconuts in Tonga!
Peni used this palm front to shield himself from the sun. He didn’t want to burn. All of the Tongans who were swimming at the resort were fully clothed, and some took umbrellas into the water.
Mom has done a very commendable job of getting her feet wet. (up to her thighs, this trip!)
It was “refreshing.”
Mom and Becky Kapp took a stroll down the beach (with the sunken ship just off the resort, in the background. That’s the mainland in the distance.) There is no development on the island, other than Big Momma’s. Nothing remains of the original church that was built by the Jesuits.
On Wednesday, December 27, we were invited by our assistant Pauline to accompany her after the clinic closed (at noon) to a birthday party of a friend, at the Liku’alofa Resort, near the western tip of the island, on the Sunset Coast.
This is Pauline. She speaks real good English.
Her father is the vice-principal at Liahona High School.
Liku ‘alofa Beach is not too far from Liahona. (Actually, nothing is very far from Liahona, as it turns out.)
We went, not realizing that it would be a full-blown Tongan feast, celebrating the 21st birthday of the family’s only daughter.We were surprised to find a couple of hundred people gathered for the celebration. We were the only Palangi, and although we weren’t singled-out, we were given a table at the front of the banquet hall, right next to the stage.
They had roasted 16 pigs for the occasion. (So much for the “Nine Cow Woman.”)
Many of the women were wearing the Ta’ovala, (apron), a traditional woven mat. The Ta’ovala is worn to show respect. It is held in place by the kiekie. (When men are wearing the tupelo, they hold their ta’ovala in place with the kafa (braided rope).
There was a buffet meal, followed by singing and dancing.
The tapa cloths were for ceremonial dancing, after the meal. Kukui nut oil,or coconut oil, on the skin of the dancers is symbolic of virginity. The party went on for about three hours. After the buffet, there was music, dancing, and many speeches (in Tongan). It was an amazing experience, and we felt very fortunate to have been included in the celebration.
The tapa cloths are then given to the young lady (as a future wedding present).
It is great that we are beginning to see patients outside of the clinic, with whom we are making friends. One has a pastry shop in Niku ‘alofa!
This cheesecake was delicious!
He also gives us free ice cream cones.
At Mapu’a a Vaea, on the west coast of the island, there are hundreds of blowholes in the limestone/coral along a 5 kilometer stretch of coastline. When there is a strong swell, they can spurt up to 90 feet in the air.
When we arrived at the Blowholes, the clouds were amazing. It took us a second or two to spot the moon peeking at us from behind them.
It’s a great spot to watch the sunset, and it’s only a 10 minute drive from Liahona.
Nuku ‘alofa, Tonga lies at a latitude of 21 degrees south (1,452 miles south of the equator), and 175 degrees west (which puts it almost exactly half way around the world from Greenwich, England.)
Locations around the globe that lie at this latitude include Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, and Madagascar, in Africa, and the islands of Reunion and New Caledonia in the Pacific.
Tonga lies just north of the latitude of Raratonga, French Polynesia, and the Cook Islands. It is in what is characterized as “the remote South Pacific.” The nearest landfall is Fiji, 464 miles away. Then, Samoa at 551 miles, then the Cook Islands at 995 miles, and New Zealand at a distance of 1,239 miles. Tahiti is 1,690 miles away, Australia is 2,228 miles away, Honolulu, Hawaii is 3,144 miles away, and Los Angeles, California is 5,333 miles away. Spokane, Washington is 5,946 miles away, as the crow flies.
“God and Tonga are My Inheritance”
I left the lights on the tree to contribute to the festive atmosphere.
Traditional crepes for breakfast, complete with yoghurt and whipped cream!
Of course, a pig for Christmas dinner.
We drove out to the tip of the island, to the Abel Tasman landing site.
It was hot and muggy, as we hiked through the bush, and then along the shore.
I kept saying, “Just a little closer. Just a little closer. This is going to be a great photo!”
We met a friend along the path to the beach, who dropped in to say malo a lelei (hello!) (Typical Tongan = very large.)
Then, we made our way by car down from the tip of the island, to Kanokupolo Beach, Otuhaka Beach, and Kolovai Beach (all collectively referred to as “Surfer’s Beach.” These are the western beaches, facing Australia – just 2,228 miles away).
There were a few scattered “resorts” on this stretch of coastline. Very basic fales renting for a hundred dollars (U.S.) per night. But they are right on the beach.
At the end of the day we were hoping for a great sunset – but were disappointed. 😦 Typically, the Tongans were all swimming in their clothes. When all is said and done, it didn’t feel a whole lot like Christmas, but it was a good day, nevertheless. 🙂
At some time, each of us has probably has an experience that touches our souls and causes us to reconsider all that is of value to us. We pause to think of where we spend our time, our energy, and our money. We think more deeply about how we serve and help others and where we place our priorities. In moments of reflection, we set aside our daily concerns and self-absorption and look more deeply at what should be the defining and motivating aspects in our lives.
Tonight about thirty of us piled into our large, white Liahona bus and spent the evening on a Light The World mission, so to speak. Among us were the senior missionaries who are serving here from various places in the U.S., Canada, New Zealand, and Australia. We come in various sizes and shapes, ages and skin colors, but we are all here because we feel we have been called to serve. We also were joined by a Pedodontist from Helena, Montana, his wife and three sons, and his dental assistant, who is staying with us in our home. They are here for two weeks volunteering in the clinic. Penni Tonga, whom we’ve mentioned before, his wife Silvia, and their daughter Dorothy also came along, and added their beautiful voices to our caroling.
Our first stop was half an hour east of us. When we pulled up to the tiny white home (about the size of our family room) we were greeted by the mother and five children. One, in his early teens has severe mental and physical challenges and just recently learned how to walk. He reminded me of a little feral animal in his movements, but he had a big and loving smile. Mostly he did a crab-like crawl to get around. This family basically lived off the grid and in the bush for many years. The father had left them to face life on their own and without his support.
When we arrived, they all came out to greet us, and right away were presented with two big boxes of food and goodies. Sister Va’enuku, (who is Tongan herself) had made a beautiful Christmas cake. She and her husband (who are service missionaries) had told us about the conditions that had brought them to the place they live now. It is a story born of tragedy, poverty and sadness, but it now has the light of promise. The Red Cross built them their little one room home, which is on land owned by the mother’s uncle. They now have a place where they can be safe and protected.
We sang songs to them, and finished by joining together in singing Silent Night in Tongan. Penni and Dorothy played the ukulele, and Silvia sang a beautiful harmony. I thought we were an angel choir. Tears of gratitude were shed both by us, and by them. It was a sacred experience for every one there. As we left the neighborhood we drove by the remnants of a dwelling made of sticks where the family had last lived. They had been chased away by neighbors who destroyed their home. All that remained of had once been a little shelter was a pile of wood and sheet metal.
Our next stop was at the end of a dirt road. There was a “tree house” about six feet above the ground, with a ladder going up to it. This was home of a young pregnant woman in her early twenties. Off to the side, was a corrugated metal shack where a family of seven lives. The roof was propped up by large sticks. Unlike many other properties, this little home was immaculate and we could see inside the one room, to a bed, and mats rolled up on the floor. They had swept the dirt outside with a Tonga Broom (which is made of coconut fronds and serves to sweep anything up at all, inside our out, and looks somewhat like a witches’ broom)
Outside was a cooking shelter and a big spotted pig and her babies. When the father and mother came out with their children, my heart just leapt. Everyone was so clean and their girls’ hair had been washed and braided. The children were beautiful. Again we sang, and left them with boxes of Christmas foods and treats. This time I simply couldn’t contain myself. The tears just sprang to my eyes. We hugged and kissed and exchanged our love, each in our own language.
The feelings I had during those moments were mixed. I felt joy that we are here and able to be of some little bit of help to all who come and see us, but at the same time I was completely overwhelmed by the level of need that we saw. Sometimes those feelings just well up in my heart and I feel so small and insignificant. When we sang Silent Night with them there was such a feeling of joy and love amongst us that our differences became almost nothing. I felt like we were truly brothers and sisters of a loving Father and that we were exactly where we belonged at that very moment.
Both Dad and I were not able to put into words our feelings as we got on the bus. There was a quiet reverence as we drove away and on to our next family. Christmas was burning brightly in our hearts.
Our last stop was at Semisi Finau’s home. His wife, who is Palangi, is in Spokane visiting her mother during the holidays, and he is home alone with his six children. Semisi is a biomedical engineer who is the one responsible for helping our clinic to stay running. Without him, we would literally be dead in the water. At his home, we sang again, and presented the children with presents, which had been brought from the U.S. by our volunteer couple. Mindy had made old fashioned monkey sock dolls for the younger girls. You should have seen their little faces light up when they opened their bags. When we met a bit later for root beer floats, they were still playing with them as though they had been given the most beautiful gifts in the world. (This is a culture where it is not unusual for children to receive a balloon for Christmas.)
While we enjoyed root beer floats together, back at Liahona, we watched all the Light the World Videos. (You can see them on the LDS.org web site). It was a wonderful conclusion to an extremely beautiful evening where we all were touched more than we ever could have imagined.
One last bit of sharing. Yesterday, as we came home from town and errands, we drove along our bypass road and saw a group of women waving their arms and joyfully smiling and beckoning us to stop. I would have driven on as we had much to do, but Dad wisely stopped. Right in front of us was a large banner about 6 x 9 feet that someone had painted with the words “Light the World”. On the nearby fence was a sign saying, “Everything here is free today”.It turns out that the Relief Society of the local ward had organized a give away and had collected clothing and items to be shared with anyone in need. They had been making delicious donuts all morning and were happily sharing those and the donated items with whomever stopped by. We accepted a donut and took pictures (of course) of the happy girls and their mothers. What an amazing example of love and service was being shown here. Mothers were teaching their daughters how they should be sharing and loving, and furthermore showing them that there is great joy to be felt as they do these things. No matter how meager our means or how simple our lives, and gifts, there is a way we can share and show our gratitude.
All of us in our missionary “family” have been taught much more than you can imagine while we have served here. We see joy and happiness that is so pure and true. Tongans may have almost nothing, but most are radiant and positive, and certainly a most thankful people.
It is a blessing without measure to be here among them.
xoxoxMom
You better watch out, for ye know not when the master of the house cometh.” (Matthew 13:35).
You better not cry, or be “as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance.” (Matthew 6:16).
You better not pout, for “a wrathful man stirreth up strife (Proverbs 15:18), and “whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment.” (Matthew 5:22).
I’m telling you why, so pay attention when I ask you to “listen to the words of Christ.” (Moroni 8:8).
Because the Savior, disguised as Santa Claus, is coming to town “to redeem his people.” (Alma 11:40).
He’s making a list, and when He does so “another book (shall be) opened, which is the book of life.” (D&C 128:6).
He’s checking it twice, for “in the mouth of two…witnesses shall every word be established.” (D&C 6:28).
And when He does, He’s gonna out find out who’s naughty or nice, for the Lord “is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” (Hebrews 412).
So, around the Christmas season, remember that the Savior, disguised as Santa Claus, is coming to town “to redeem his people.” (Alma 11:40).
He sees you when you’re sleeping, and softly encourages: “Lift up thine eyes now the way toward the North” Pole. (Ezekiel 8:5).
He knows when you’re awake and longs for you to “go forth into the north country.” (Zechariah 6:6).
He knows if you’ve been bad or good, for “our transgressions are multiplied before (Him), and our sins testify against us.” (Isaiah 59:12).
So be good for goodness sake, that you “might rejoice and be filled with love towards God and all men.” (Mosiah 2:4).
With little tin horns, we will “make a long blast.” (Joshua 6:5).
Our little toy drums will be as rooty toot toots, or “as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.” (1 Corinthians 13:1).
Our rummy tum tums, will fill the air with “the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and all kinds of musick, (Daniel 3:7).
We will rejoice that we have put Christ back into Christmas and understand the hidden meaning in the lyrics of “Santa Claus is Coming to Town.” (Haven Gillespe).
Tonga Nuku ‘alofa Mission Christmas Party – December 22, 2017
Sunset at Camp Makeke, which is the Church Camp on the island of Tongatapu.
Matt Coplin and his wife Mindie, their three children (Kalvin, Xander, and Talmage) and his dental assistant (Heather) arrived on December 16. They will spend two weeks in the clinic. He is a pediatric dentist, has taken over the second clinic, and is a huge help to us.
With a machete!
The Church of Tonga held a wonderful Christmas celebration in Nuku ‘alofa last weekend. The festivities went on all day on Saturday.
The church elders sat in a special tent all by themselves, and watched the dancing.
We were the only Palangis there.
Everyone was dressed in their finest.
They all were happy to have their picture taken!
Parents, grandparents……
Aunties, uncles, brothers and sisters, cousins…..
On the way over to the ward Christmas party, we were treated to the sunset behind the campus.
The feast quickly got underway!
Servings were ample!
The food kept coming.
The entertainment was great.
“To give, and not count the cost …..
To fight, and not heed the wounds …..
To toil, and not seek for rest …..
To labor, and not ask for any reward, save that of knowing that we do Thy will”
(Ignatius of Loyola)
Sylvia Tonga said: We live on a Christian island, where we say “Merry Christmas,” instead of “Happy Holidays.” Her husband Peni and his family have been trying to “Light the World.”
Their daughter Dorothy was really looking forward to going to her first Young Adult Stake Dance. On the way to the dance, she received a phone call from a non-member friend, who asked her if she could come to her church (the Wesleyan Church) and teach Tongan Dance to a group of children. Dorothy decided to “light the world,” and so she went to her friend’s church instead of to the Stake Dance.
Peni and Sylvia make kabobs every Saturday, to sell at the street market in Nuku ‘alofa. Last Saturday, they decided to light the world, and they gave away all of their kabobs to visitors at the market.
A ward member has a beautiful flower garden, and a knack for flower arrangement. She lights the world by bringing floral arrangements to church each Sunday, and then giving them to sisters in the Relief Society.
At Church, the closing hymn in Sacrament meeting was “How Firm a Foundation,” and I thought of these humble Tongans who are lighting their part of the world “in every condition, in sickness, in health, in poverty’s vale or abounding in wealth.” They do it “at home (and) abroad; on the land and (especially upon) the (isles of) the sea.”
Someone mentioned that on the island of Tongatapu, the greatest consumer of electrical power is the Church (especially the Liahona Campus and the Temple), followed by the Vaiola Hospital in Nuku ‘alofa. This isn’t surprising, and I find it especially interesting to compare it to priesthood power.
Samisi Finnau bore his testimony and related an experience he had in Australia when he was there studying to become a biomedical engineer. He went to a Free Wesleyan Church service with a friend, and during the meeting the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper was served. Samisi asked how often this ordinance was performed and he was told once a year. He asked his friend if he thought it might be important to participate more frequently in such a sacred ordinance, and his friend said he thought not. But then, Samisi asked him, what if he only studied the course curriculum for biomedical engineering one time during the year, instead of at least every week, before taking his final exams? His friend got the point.
“Mommy, why is that person’s skin such a funny color?”
“He look SO funny! I’m going to try hard not to stare.”
There is no security whatsoever on domestic flights in Tonga.
We met Elder Kau at the airport on Tongatapu. (He’s the bigger one on the right, in the photo). He is getting off his mission in three days.
Before his mission, he entered the “Mr. Tonga” competition. (And won). He is going to live in New Zealand, open up a gym, and be a fitness trainer. (Good choice).
I offered to help him muscle his luggage to the car.
This photo isn’t really fair, and doesn’t do me justice, because my shirt was untucked. (Does anyone have any suggestions on how I could photo-shop it?)
When I spoke in Sacrament meeting a few weeks ago, I said that it had been my observation that Tongans personify the 13th Article of Faith. They believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to others. They follow Paul’s admonition; they believe all things, they hope all things, they have endured many things, and they hope to be able to endure all things. Indeed, if there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, they seek after these things.
At that time, I was unaware that Tongan society is guided by four core values, all of which combine to encompass the virtues in the Article of Faith. These four core values are:
Fefaka’apa’apa’aki – mutual respect.
Fevei tokai’aki – sharing, cooperation, and the fulfillment of mutual obligations.
Loto to o –humility and generosity
Tauhiv aha’a – loyalty and commitment
Family is the central core of Tongan life. Older people command the most respect and each member of the family knows their role.
A typical family unit is comprised of parents and children, adopted children, grandparents, aunts and uncles, and cousins.
We had a great breakfast at Bella Visa – very appropriately named, overlooking the harbor. Today dawned bright and beautiful.
This is our waiter who served us all week long. He has his master’s degree in Finance -finding a job in Tonga will be challenging. We kept coming back to this restaurant because of the view of the harbor.
We headed to the airport today for our 1 p.m. flight to Nuku ‘alofa, and when we got there (at 11:30 a.m.) we were told the flight left early – at 10:00 a.m.. No real explanation.
So we are on standby for the 3:00 p.m. flight. If we don’t make that one, the next one is Monday morning, inasmuch as there are no flights in Tonga on Sundays.
We came back to the campus – and will take a nap. We could do worse.
“At the banquet of consequences…..
there will not be much that is satisfying at the table…..
unless we are able to bow our heads in reverence,
and not hang them in shame,
in the presence of God who will be there.”
(Marion D. Hanks)
This is Hanite (or Nit e) Vuki McClean. She works for Moana Island Tours in Neiafu, Vava’u. 35 years ago, her Canadian husband was lost at sea in a fierce storm, while sailing a boat to American Samoa. The U.S. Navy searched for 11 days, but found no trace of the boat or crew.
She has raised 7 children in Neiafu. For an entire afternoon, she showed us all around the island. She was a storehouse of knowledge.
We covered a lot of territory on dirt roads – it rained intermittently but it (literally) didn’t slow us down.
We ended a perfect day at dinner on the veranda of a restaurant overlooking the harbor.
We were as happy clams at high water. (We now know the meaning of this expression, because at low tide we see pigs wading in the shallow water, rooting out clams, as they would truffles.)
P.S. We don’t eat a lot of pork.
Almost two hundred years ago, Goethe wrote:
“One should often wish to have been born on one of the South Seas islands in order, just for once, to enjoy human existence in all its purity, without a touch of falseness.”
Evening at the Port of Refuge, Neiafu, Vava’u, Tonga.
Following a quiet dinner overlooking the harbor.
Testing the water, and looking for seashells.
Spending a wonderful afternoon with our new friend Hanite (Nit e) Vuki McClean, exploring Vava’u.
I could definitely tell that our van was two wheel drive!
No matter where we go, we always run across the missionaries!
We also encounter interesting people in the bush. Nit e knew both of them. The man with the head-gear actually spent time in prison in New Zealand (for a murder he insists he did not commit). His name is Tou Tai – Fisherman. (And his last name is Matte – Die 😦
In the village of Utulei, an English doctor and his wife, built their home. He was the first doctor on the island. They lived here for over 50 years, and they died about 15 years ago, when they were in their eighties. His wife, Pat Madison, wrote a very popular book called “My Tongan Home.”
This sea turtle shell was for sale for just $65.00 (U.S.). We resisted the urge to buy it, because the fine for bringing one into the U.S. is about $50,000.00. (The shell washed up on the beach, we were told).
On hot summer days, the locals sit on their front stoops and quietly ponder the complexities of life.
Laundry always brightens up the day, as we drive around the island.
I am not certain, but I think there’s a good chance this is grizzly bear scat!
There are graveyards everywhere (even in people’s front yards). When another person dies, they dig up the previous occupant, and carefully wash the bones in coconut oil so that the spirit is not upset about being moved. Then they put the bones in a pile in the corner to make room for the new tenant. (They don’t embalm or use caskets – they wrap the body in tapa cloth).
Then, the mourners wear black and the women wear a special grass skirt. The period of mourning used to be for a year but the king thought that was a bit excessive, so he decreed the official period of mourning to be just three months.
Some homes are nice, while others are more modest. The Palangi (white people) often own nicer homes, and are absentee landlords. Also, many Tongans living abroad send money home to their families, who can then afford nicer dwellings.
Basically, the king owns Tonga. He leases or sells land to the commoners. (There is royalty, the nobles and commoners). Most people are commoners.
This guy standing with President and Sister Makai from the Mission Presidency is the governor of Vava’u. He is a member of the royal family, a cousin of the king. (He is the one in the black shirt). He is also a member of the Church! He really wants to be a normal person. Having said that, he told President Makai that he really likes him, and to show his appreciation for all that President Makai does for the Tongan people, he wants to give him some land (something like 40 acres, or so). Any piece of land he would like, in Tonga. (If there is someone else on the land, the governor would just politely ask him to move).
I tried to impress him that mom and I were volunteers in the Liahona Clinic. However, that didn’t carry the day, regarding our becoming landowners in Tonga, as well.
I thought this was a nice sign, at the entrance to the village of Pangai motu, but then I learned that it means “King’s Island.” The king owns the village (and everything in it). Crazy!
Tonga is the place where old cars would like to go when they die…..
This one may still have some life in it.
This one has definitely bit the dust.
I heard this one whisper: “I think I can…” (He wanted to be a car when he grew up).
All this one needs is a little touch-up paint.
I think this one is running on empty.
If trees can muster up new life, maybe cars can, too!
Experience is the vehicle of history……
What stories these cars could tell, if only they could speak to us.
This afternoon after finishing our last day at the clinic on Vava’u we were heading into town. I saw two missionaries walking down a rough and unpaved driveway and my heart just burst. I had had a few difficult moments at the clinic during the morning (more on that later), but seeing these selfless young men out and about “lighting the world” with their message of family, service, kindness and a Heavenly Father who knows and loves each one of his children, just made my heart leap with such joy. We waited for them to spend a few minutes with a lady at the end of the drive and then they headed back towards us.
We offered them ice cream, a ride, and shelter from the rain. They declined all offers. They had no umbrellas and didn’t seem to care one bit about the wetness. Their smiles were big and genuine, and their eyes sparkled. The one (with the rounder face) has been out on his mission for 18 months, and the other has just been here for two weeks. We asked them how they were doing and in unison they replied how very happy they were. When pressed, they insisted that they were doing great and that they didn’t mind walking in the rain one bit.
We left and they proceeded down the street. What a great thing these young men are doing. They are serving and learning what it is to be truly unselfish at a time of their lives when many can think of not much but themselves and what brings them immediate pleasure. I am so grateful our paths crossed today. They certainly did light my world!
xoxoxoMom
For some reason, today I completely lost my emotions at the dental clinic. A sweet little girl of about seven years came in and sat quietly in the chair waiting to be seen by our senior dental therapist, Solote. Since Dad was doing a large case of seventeen (yes that number is right) fillings with his amazing assistant, Sina, on a handsome eleven year old boy, I moved over to watch as she was examined. Wearing pink leggings and a little worn tee shirt, her sweet eyes were like large brown pools. I could tell she was worried. Her Dad sat behind her on the bench. I asked if she wanted me to hold her hand but she kept looking back over her shoulder at at him with such trust. When her mouth opened I was horrified to see that all of her baby teeth were completely rotten. Her Dad was told she needed extractions and soon tears started to well. But they weren’t just her tears. Mine started flowing too. I soon became completely overcome. At first I sat on the bench with the father and then I finally had to move into another room as I tried to contain myself. But I just could not. The tears just ran down my cheeks in a river. There is absolutely nothing that makes me more sad here than to see the totally avoidable come to pass. No child should ever have this happen to them. No little child should be told that it is their fault at this age. Parents need to take responsibility. If you can’t afford a toothbrush whittle a stick and chew on it. I would say to the parents if they could understand me, “Please, please, please forgo the sweets that are destroying the health of your precious children! Wake up to what is happening!” I am developing a short one minute presentation I will give to all parents who bring their families to us from now one. It will be short, to the point, heartfelt, and I hope well received. Twenty years ago Tongans had great teeth. Today they are a country of dental cripples. I am reading a book called “Where There is No Dentist”. It is written from the perspective of a Health Care Worker who has devoted his life for many years to third world countries, where there literally is no proper oral health care. The author talks about diet, providing extractions, mending broken jaws, and filling cavities, and helping people with various diseases including HIV. He speaks to health workersin places where there are no professionals to lend a hand. I feel I have been given an education that has opened my mind to many things as I’ve made my way through his book. In any case, I think that what we have witnessed in the last weeks finally just caused my emotional bucket to overflow. There is nothing I would rather do right now than put an end to this suffering. For now however, I must just take it one day at a time. We will do our very best to leave a mark. Maybe somehow it will make a difference. I hope with all my heart that it will.
xoxoxoMom
Philip Wheeler, and his family, live in the bush. He is Australian, and has been living in Tonga for 27 years. He repairs sails in Neiafu, Vava’u, and built his home out of native rock. The thick rock walls insulate his home from the heat (so he says).
His home is called Api Oe Hengehengha – the House of Hengehenegha (the Tongan Whistler, a bird on the verge of extinction. 4 pair live in the bush around his home).
He and his wife are self-styled botanists. He has the most amazing flower garden.
They can tell you all about every plant and flower.
One thing Vava’u has over Tongatapu – it is green and lush (but it rains a lot and is very hot and humid.)
“Who are these children coming down like gentle rain through darkened skies, with glory trailing from their feet as they go, and endless promise in their eyes?
Who are these young ones growing tall, growing strong, like silver trees against the storm; who will not bend with the wind or the change, but stand to fight the world alone?
These are the few, the warriors saved for Saturday; to come the last day of the world.
These are they, of Saturday. These are the strong, the warriors rising in their might to win the battle raging in the hearts of men, on Saturday.
Strangers from a realm of light, who have forgotten all – the memory of their former life and the purpose of their call.
And so, they must learn why they’re here, and who they really are.”
(From “Saturday’s Warrior,” lyrics by Doug Stewart).
Monday was the King’s birthday, and a holiday, so we spent it sightseeing on Vava’u. Then, we capped off the day with dinner with friends at a restaurant overlooking the harbor.
Children were splashing about and swimming, well into the evening.
It’s a hike in to the Lookout, but it’s well-worth the effort.
View from the lookout,
Once again, we were the only ones there.
We had to get past this group of fierce Tongans, on the road in to the Lookout.
Mount Talau is just outside of Neiafu, the capital of Vava’u. It isn’t very high (just about 430 feet) but the 180 steps up from the parking area are killer when the temperature is 90 degrees and the humidity is 90%.
The view of Puatalefusi, or lolo ‘a Halaevalu, the Port of Refuge, is worth the climb.
It’s a “National Park” but we were the only ones there.
We were looking forward to a treat when we got back to the car. But it was about 120 degrees in the car. 😦
“So much depends upon our willingness to make up our minds, collectively and individually, that present levels of performance are not acceptable, either to ourselves or to the Lord.
In saying that , I am not calling for flashy, temporary differences in our performance levels, but a quiet resolve to lengthen our stride.” (Spencer W. Kimball).
“When President Kimball urged members to lengthen their stride, he knew that the spirituality of the members would be intensified. Christ urged the man in bondage to go the second mile, to double his stride. The second mile is a gift of spiritual independence that removes the veil of insensitivity to a destiny.” (Richard L. Gunn, “Sensitivity and Spirit”, p. 197).
“I know God won’t give me anything I can’t handle…
“but sometimes I wish He wouldn’t trust me so much!” (Mother Teresa).
You cannot discover new oceans unless you have the courage to lose sight of the shore.
A man was walking along a dirt road that grew increasingly primitive, until it was nothing more than two deep tire tracks stretching off into the distance. Before him was a sign that cautioned: “Choose your rut very carefully. You’ll be in it for the next twenty miles.”
Becoming Christ-like may be the ultimate, incredible journey, because it empowers us to become what we had heretofore scarcely dreamed possible. It is the road less traveled, and many detours, dead ends, conceptual cul-de-sacs and telestial traffic jams threaten to lead us astray, but the rewards make perseverance and enduring to the end worth the effort.
“I shall be telling this with a sigh somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I, I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.” (“The Road Not Taken”).
“The Savior is not looking forward to retirement and relaxation. He is, and will be throughout eternity, looking for new opportunities to serve. We see this philosophy in action, as He came to the earth to live in much less comfortable circumstances than those to which we are accustomed. During His ministry, He thought only of others. While here, He experienced all that we experience and more.
I love my mission because it allows me to join the Savior in His work to bring to pass our immortality and eternal life. I am grateful for it all; not only for the joy and the incredible happiness, but even for the heartache and frustration.
Through it all, I have come to know my Savior. As we seek to become purified and sanctified as we move along the pathway that leads to exaltation, we must all pass through our own Gethsemane, the refiner’s fire, so that our spirits will be malleable and ductile in the hands of the Lord. I know this holds true especially during a mission. We are asked to follow the road less traveled. Sometimes it hurts. But we look up to a God who loves us so much, whose outstretched hands are there to bring us into the warmth of His bosom, and Who turns us into instruments that can bless the lives of our fellow travelers.”
On Saturday, December 2, we traveled to the Vava’u Group – 70 islands, an hour and a half by plane, north east of Tongatapu. Seventeen of the islands are inhabited. We are staying for a week, and working at the clinic on Tuesday- Friday. We have scheduled similar week-long trips to return to Vava’u, to Ha ‘apai, and also to Eua, (different outer islands), each month that we are here. There are Vaiola Hospital satellite clinics on each of these islands, where we will work. We have a great relationship with Dr. Amanaki, who is the head of the Dental Division of the Ministry of Health, Kingdom of Tonga.
Our boarding passes, check in counter, and the flight schedule board that was regularly updated with a dry-erase marker. (As you can see, there weren’t too many flights out on Saturday.)
The parking lot at the “terminal” was empty, and getting on our plane was easy. There was no security.
The first Europeans to visit were the Spanish in 1781. James Cook knew about the islands a decade earlier, but the locals had told him there was no anchorage there. They probably didn’t want him eating all of the delicious Vava’u pineapples, that today are touted as the “best in the world!” Mangoes are also coming into season!
Leaving Tongatapu.
On the flight over, we never got above 8,000 feet. We didn’t see any boats, but did spot a few whales.
We saw dozens of islands from the air. (None of them inhabited).
Vava’u’s Port of Refuge, a haven for yachtsmen and yachtswomen. 🙂
Typical homes on Vava’u. They are neat and “clean” by Tongan standards.
However, cars here die a slow and painful death.
Pigs are a renewable source of protein. Many of these will eventually end up in an Umu.
This is a vanilla bean plantation.
We have been hosted by the Elder & Sister Makai, who are in the Mission Presidency, (she is Pulangi, and he is Tongan), and by the Lauritzens, who are Information Technology missionaries who hail from Arizona.
Vava’u’s Port of Refuge is one of the safest and best sheltered yachting harbors in the Pacific. Many sailors go there when there is a cyclone brewing. It is visited by about 500 yachts a year- but now (cyclone season from November to April) is the low season and it’s pretty quiet.
Typical roads on the island. Tonga is at the heart of the South Pacific, and remains largely untouched by outside influences. It is far enough south of the equator that it isn’t insufferably hot. It is just west of the International Date Line, and is the first nation in the Pacific (and the world) to greet the new day. We are about 21 hours ahead of Pacific Daylight Time. But I have to admit, with no geographical frame of reference, I still get north and south, and east and west, confused. My internal gyro-compass hasn’t clicked in, yet.
The travel guides will describe Tonga as 150 islands or so – but there is no way to make an accurate count. It depends upon the tide, and what your definition of an island is. Vava’u is one of 4 groups: Vava’u, Tongatapu, Ha’apai, and Ni ua. On the way here, we stopped at Ha ‘Apai, but only to take on passengers. We are going there next month for a week, though.
In the south is Tongatapu. Eua to its south-east, a 7 minute flight away. One hundred and sixty kilometers north is the Ha’apai Group, and 100 kilometers further north is the Vava’u Group. In the far north, 300 kilometres from Vava’u, (toward Samoa) lie the remote Niuas, where traditional life still thrives. We hope to go there next year. But the airline schedules to the Niuas are very shaky, and one can get stuck there for a week or more before another plane arrives.
Most of the Tonga’s islands are raised coral limestone, with some volcanic islands. To the east, the Lifuka and Nomuka groups have many small coral islands and reefs, while the islands to the west (Tofua and Kao) and north (Vava’u group and the Niuas) are volcanic in origin. There is a lot of “red dirt” on Vava’u. There are active volcanoes on four of the islands, including Tofua island, where the crater is filled with steaming hot water. Falcon, an active volcano under the sea, spouts up lava and ash from time to time. We haven’t seen any of these volcanoes yet. It’s amazing to think that the islands even exist, because the depth of the ocean is greater than 35,000 feet in the nearby Tonga Trench.
This is the campus of the church high school. (Saineha High School). It is situated on the side of a gentle hill. When he visited here, President Hinckley spent some quiet time alone, on the summit. Many think that he envisioned that a temple would be there someday.
About 400 students attend the school, but they have gone home for summer vacation, and it is very quiet now.
All over the islands, cisterns gather rain water from the roofs of houses. Rain water is NOT in short supply in Tonga, and we are only now headed into the rainy season. We have a metal roof on our house, and last night it poured. It sounded like we were trying to sleep inside a drum.
There are a lot more cows on Vava’u than there are on Tongatapu. The beef here, though, is not what we are used to. Let’s just say we don’t eat steak a lot. We really can’t go wrong with fresh tuna, swordfish, snapper, or mahi mahi.
Vava’u is more lush than Tongatapu, and is a lot more varied in its topography. The pace of life is even slower than Tongatapu.
This is our accommodation at the campus. We have been given a van to get around the island, and to and from the clinic, which is about a half a mile away.
To visit the missionaries (about 50) who serve on about 10 of the islands in the Vava’u Group, there is a mission boat. It currently doesn’t work, (welcome to Tonga) so the missionaries on the outer islands have been on their own for a few weeks. They are normally accustomed to spending part of each day fishing (for their dinner). There are no stores on some of these islands, and the people live off the land and the sea. A few months ago, one of the missionaries had acute appendicitis. It burst before he could get to the clinic on Vava’u, but after emergency surgery, he was (almost) as good as new!
Everything has shut down (on Monday) in celebration of the King’s birthday. We’ll go to the hospital clinic tomorrow, for four days. There is one part-time dentist, who comes from Tongatapu, and two full-time therapists, to serve the needs of about 17,000 people. (That’s actually better than the dentist to population ratio in Tonga as a whole, which is 1:19,000.) There are four chairs in the clinic. We brought a lot of our own supplies in our suitcases, as well as scrubs, that we are going to leave at the clinic.
We have experienced more “small coincidences” in Vava’u. (The Lord working behind the scenes). We explored the island on Sunday morning for a couple of hours before Church. (Almost all the meetings in the chapels scattered around the island start at 9:00 a.m.). Toward 9, we found one, and walked in to sit down. There were the Makais, who had decided to go to the same meeting house. During the service, they translated for us (all the wards speak Tongan on Vava’u).
We found out through them, that 80 of the ward members are visiting Tongatapu next week for a temple outing. They are going to stay in church accommodations next to the Liahona Campus. We asked President Makai to have the Bishop make an announcement that we would open up the dental clinic to them. They were ecstatic (the way people normally are, when then find out they are going to be visiting the dentist)!
They are traveling to Tongatapu by boat. It will take the better part of a day to get there. It all depends upon how rough the ocean is. We will pray for good weather, light wind, and a following sea!
Flip flops are the norm, but one of the members passing the Sacrament had no shoes, as did one of the members who stood to bear his testimony. As is typical on Vava’u, there was no microphone at the podium, and no piano/organ. But the congregation sang acapella, and sounded wonderful during the songs. They added a bit of delightful variety to familiar hymns. Luckily it wasn’t too hot or humid during the meeting, and there was a pleasant cross-breeze. (Vava’u has a reputation! You pay a price for lush, tropical jungle.)
The island absolutely shut down on Sunday, and it looked like its entire population was in one church or another. There are Free Wesleyan, Seventh-Day Adventist, and L.D.S. congregations (in every village), as well as an eclectic mix of other denominations. In a couple of hours of driving, we encountered only a few cars on the road. No stores or restaurants were open. (Fortunately, the Makais had invited us dinner, and we joined them at 4:00 p.m.!)
We got an email from the Service Center at Liahona, that basically says: “The temple will be closed tomorrow.”
“Tu’unga ‘i he tu’utu’uni ‘ehe ‘Ene ‘Afio ke hoko ‘a e ‘aho Pulelulu ‘aho 29 ‘o Novema koe ‘aho malolo fakapule’anga, koia ‘e tapuni ai ‘a e Temipale ‘apongipongi pea ‘e toki ava pe ‘ihe ‘aho Tu’apulelulu koe ‘aho 30 ‘o Novema ‘i hono taimi anga maheni. Koe ‘aho lahi ‘eni ki he fonua hono katoa pea ko ia ai ‘oku fakatau ange ke hoko ia koe ‘aho ke mou kau mo fiefia fakataha mo si’o mou ngaahi famili.”
Getting a haircut in Tonga proved to be quite the adventure two weeks ago, and I thought I really should document it. It turns out that since I have been here I have only seen one Beauty Parlor. I know there are more, but really, I do have my eyes on the lookout wherever we go, and I haven’t seen a one.
The only thing I do see, on occasion are small little buildings (if you want to call them that) about the size of an overgrown telephone booth. Generally there is some kind of sign, which says it’s a barbershop, but it is just roughly painted or on a little wooden plaque leaned up against the wall. Usually the shop is one room with a chair in the middle. This is a regular chair most times, but once in awhile I see something that looks reminiscent of an old dental chair. There is just room for that chair with enough space for the barber to walk around the customer. The shop has no door and while it may have a window or two there is certainly no glass.
That’s it, there is no more. Your basic barbershop is about 5’ x 7’.
So I really did need my hair cut as I have determined growing it out in this humid climate is something I do not want to do. Asking a Senior Missionary seemed the best idea so after consulting with several friends it seemed that I should search out David. He has a place downtown near our bank. No appointments are ever made, so I just walked in. He is open from 9-9 six days a week. Doesn’t leave much time for a social life, does it? I did ask him what he did when he got home and he said he basically drinks. I told him all I cared about was that he did not have a hangover when he cut my hair. He assured me, with a smile, that he did not have one that day. Actually he’s a very nice guy.
Luckily there were three young women there who seeing my nametag all became my instant friends. It turned out they were all returned missionaries and so we had lots to talk about. One was having her nails done and she turned to the owner and said, “Oh we can finish up when you’re done with Sister Hudson. Go ahead and cut her hair for her”. So that’s what we did. David it turned out was trained in China and appears to be in his mid 20’s. I now know why everyone calls him Edward Scissorhands.
Scary as it seems, his haircuts take about 7-10 minutes. Basically he throws your hair up in the air and his hands start flying……snip, snip, snip. They go so fast you can hardly see them. I was panicked for a moment or two and thought perhaps I should flee, but there was no good way to do that, so I took a breath and just watched. It was like a dance, I guess, in a weird kind of way. Toss and cut, toss and cut. Quick as a wink I was done and $10 was exchanged.
I actually think he did a decent job and I’ll be going back again. It really was quite fun!
Jan
We should be excited to live in a time when smiling is in vogue, with the possible exception of runway models who look like they have been weaned on pickles. There is so much to smile about! From “selfies,” to Facebook posts, to Instagram photos, to Pinterist, and even to SnapChat, it’s cool to broadcast a smiling face in cyberspace. But in a disposable world that casts aside interpersonal relationships like empty plastic water bottles, where the counterfeits for happiness can be so easily manufactured, processed, packaged, and promoted, let’s make sure we generate daily smiles, and are doing it for the right reasons. Let’s not allow gullibility or photoshop to overpower our native common sense. Let’s take a lesson from Joseph Smith, who by all accounts was a good-natured and affable soul. But even he admitted: “I was guilty of levity, and sometimes associated with jovial company, not consistent with that character which ought to be maintained by one who was called of God as I had been. But this will not seem very strange to any one who recollects my youth, and is acquainted with my native cheery temperament.” (J.S.H. 1:28).
It’s easy to learn to smile. When we smile, our faces light up with a celestial glow. We smile large; our cheeks may hurt, but it’s the cutest thing. We truly smile when our mouths and hearts coordinate with each other. We smile as if we’ve just been told the best joke on earth. When we smile like the morning sun, our lives are filled with fun. Anyone can smile on their best of days; we want to meet those who can smile on their worst days. Our genuine smiles come from our hearts, but our healthy smiles need good dental care.
We smile like flowers and attract everyone. We are smile-magnets. We smile at others as if it were the last smile they would see on earth. When we smile, not only our ears rise, but so does our listening ability. We decorate our faces with piles of smiles. We smile like the sun at daybreak. We smile at perfect strangers, and mean it, because nearly everyone could use a lift. We look for special opportunities to spoil the day of a grump, by giving him our smiles. We would crack a smile, but we don’t like breaking things. Because it’s the worst form of identity theft, we refuse to let anyone steal our smiles. We know that life is short, and so we smile while we still have teeth.
If we’re not using our smiles, we’re like the person with a million dollars in the bank and no pen to write a check. If we’re not smiling, our hearts are on vacation. When we wear a smile, we have friends, but when we wear a frown, we have wrinkles. No one is perfect, unless they smile. Our smiles preemptively confuse approaching frowns. While frowns mean nothing, our smiles means everything. It takes 64 muscles of the face to make a frown, and only 13 to make a smile, and so we ask ourselves: “Why work overtime?” (It really does take more muscles to frown than it does to smile, which make sense because yesterday I saw someone who frowned so much they ended up pulling a groin muscle). Before we put on a frown, we need to make absolutely sure there are no smiles available. It’s no coincidence that smiles turn up the corners of our mouths, while frowns turn them down. In the economy of nature, it could have just as easily have been the other way around, but God does seem to have prescience, as well as a sense of humor.
We never ask for permission to smile, and never consider ourselves too poor to give one away. One time, I thought I had lost my smile. But then I found it in a daffodil. Life is about the number of faces that smile when they hear our names mentioned. I have been told that I have a winning smile, but I must confess that it’s just not true. My grin only won a silver medal at last year’s Facial Expression Olympics. We smile and thank God that we are alive. Especially when it’s cold outside, we can always bring someone into the warmth of our smiles.
We smile so powerfully that it shames the sun itself, because a smile can provide even more warmth. We smile as if the sun had just come out from behind a cloud. The world always looks brighter from behind a smile. Sometimes we feel that if we had a star for every time we smiled, we would be holding the night sky in our hand. If we haven’t seen our wives smile at a traffic cop, we haven’t seen them smile at their prettiest. Our children are always on their best behavior when they’re smiling. We know by experience that love is a smile that is shared between two people. Our smiles are often the best reaction to life’s experiences. Smiles are the twinkle that adds to our happiness, which is probably why each of us has smiles to go before we sleep. All the statistics in the world can’t measure the warmth of our smiles. Our enigmatic smiles are worth ten pages of dialog. When we smile, we reflect the face of God.
If you want to know who is amazing and has the best smile ever, read the first word of this sentence again. Your smile isn’t about you; it’s about who it helps. A smile doesn’t always stand for a perfect life, but a man who smiles when he falls, gives the devil a good slap on the face. If we smile, or don’t smile, it affects everyone. Our smiles are a perfume that we cannot pour out on someone else without getting a few drops on ourselves. What sunshine is to flowers, smiles are to humanity.
Our smiles are like stress-formula vitamins. When we sulk, we create noise, but when we smile, we create music. If we can win an argument by stretching our lips into a smile, it makes no sense to open our mouths and lose it. If the world appears abundant in smiles or overwhelmed by scowls, we might ask ourselves if we are responsible. It’s hard for someone to stay angry with us when we smile. We keep right on smiling. It makes people wonder what we’re up to. Our smiles create love and peace, but love and peace can also create smiles. If we disagree with another, our discussion should be punctuated with smiles. Smiles increase our face value. When we put smiles on our faces, we are more likely to be lucky.
Our smiles are contagious and they are the only infectious affliction everyone is encouraged to spread. They can start an epidemic, and so we should indiscriminately share them. Most smiles are jump started by another smile. The shortest distance between two people is a smile. Our smile can be the key that fits the lock on our hearts. Our smile is evidence that we are on the side of its recipients. One smile probably won’t change the world, but it could change ours, and so, we smile at everyone, because we never know when we’re smiling at an angel. Although a laugh can be a smile that has burst its borders, a smile means a lot more because it is a true reflection of emotion. Laughter is just a by-product of humor. Unlike gossip, no-one minds if you spread a smile. Our smiles speak a language that even babies understand. Just think of the smile that flickers on a baby’s mouth when it is sleeping, and prepare to be amazed.
Let’ all hope and pray for sunshine in our souls “today more glorious and bright than glows in any earthly sky, for Jesus is (our) light. O there’s sunshine, blessed sunshine, when the peaceful, happy moments roll; when Jesus shows His smiling face, there is sunshine in the soul.” (Eliza Hewitt).
Remember to smile the next time you stand before the congregation to bear your testimony, when you are given a service opportunity, when you approach the Recommend Desk at the temple, when you greet your son or daughter who has just returned home from a date, when you are asked about your home or visiting teaching report by your file leaders, when you meet with the Bishop to discuss a Church calling, when you entertain the missionaries with a meal in your home, when a non-member friend asks you a question about the Church, or when you are asked by a neighbor to move outside your comfort zone to provide temporal or spiritual assistance.
Remember to smile when things don’t go as you have planned, when life throws you a curve, when your best-laid plans go awry, when the baby needs a diaper change, when the car starts making a weird noise, when your son throws an errant baseball through the front window, when the new driver in your family has a close encounter with a curb or a tree, when a carton of yogurt falls upside-down on the kitchen floor, or when someone before you in the bathroom has squeezed the toothpaste from the middle of the tube.
Remember to smile when you miss by one day the big sale at the department store, when someone at work who is less deserving gets the promotion, when someone else gets recognition for your achievements, or when a neighbor comes home with the new car you’ve been dreaming about.
But also remember to smile when you think about how the Lord has blessed you, and how He has provided for your needs and even granted you a surplus, how you have friends you can trust, how your spouse and children sustain you, how others look to you for counsel, how your dog thinks you can do no wrong, and how fortunate you are to be alive.
Mom and I spoke in Church last Sunday. In typical Polynesian style, when you say “Hello,” the congregation responds with malo e le lei, or with fe fe ha ka (how are you?).
In my remarks, I basically described what I like about these Pacific Islanders.
O tu motu anga ofa. I said they’ve made their home the Friendly Islands, because of their mana, their energy, good works, and their service.
I described their singing, their hiva, and how their countenances shine, and the radiance from the presence of the Lord rests upon them, as they sing praises unto his hoy name. (D&C 128:34).
I mentioned how, as a dentist, I can appreciate their mali mali, their smiles, and I complimented them on their lea, their language, which is melodic and easy to listen to, and even to understand by the Spirit. I told them that, as in the movie Moana, I can hear their voices, that they are voyagers.
Their kata, their laughter, is infectious, and I can hear it in their animated conversation, even though I do not understand the words. Their kau mea, their friendship, is easy and natural.
I especially like their me a ka i, their food, and am particularly grateful that they are no longer cannibals, as they were when Captain Cook arrived in 1773.
I like their fak a malo, the way they give thanks, and their lotu, their example in prayer. There is a lot of thanks in their prayers, and not so much of asking.
I love theire ta au, their modesty, and their loto ma u lalo, or their humility. Their anga faka fonua, or culture, is the best expression of the culture of the Church, which is not a Utah culture, or an American culture, as it turns out, but a South Pacific culture.
Truly, o tua mo tonga ko hoku tofia: God and Tonga are their inheritance. They have a strong cultural identity, and mate ma a Tonga; they would die for Tonga.
But, they know Who really died for Tonga. It was Sisu Kalaisi – Jesus Christ. I love the ready expressions of their tui, their faith in Him. Tui ia Sisu Kalaisi. Their hearts have been changed through faith on His name, wherefore they have no more disposition to do evil, but to do good continually. (Mosiah 5:3).
I love their faka mo oni, their testimony. As the Apostle Paul wrote: “We are no more strangers or foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the Saints, and of the household of God.” (Ephesians 2:19).
I told them that I may be palangi, but in my heart I would like to be Tongan. And I closed my remarks I he hu afa o Sisu Kalaisi, emeni.
Getting names straight has been a challenge. These are the names of those who work at Liahona, in the Service Center, in Facilities Management, etc.. I have most of them listed on my phone, under contacts like “Car,” “Housing,” “Travel,” “I.T.,” and so on….
Vili Fakataha Toutai
Tapaita Finetu’a Pulini
Ennismore Hafoka
Sioeli Unga
Latu Ta’ofi
Venisi Uata
Isileli Fatani
Alipate Tupou
Fifita Taufa
Etuate Tavo Toutai
Tuai Mei ‘Uta Finau
Fe’ao Teutau
Tamaline Tuifua
Harvalene K. Sekona
Lavenia Fonua Taufalele
Sione ‘Ilaniume Langi
Verna Tukuafu
Vikatolia Ta’ehia
Mosaia To’a
Tevita Makihele
Nua Hoeft
Aloine Havea Silongoatona Samani
Viliami Fuatoutai-‘i-Lateiki Taufatofua
Ofa Ki Mala’e Siutiti Tupou Fangaofo Liutai
It was a wild night in Nuku ‘alofa last Saturday night, when Tonga beat Lebanon in the World Cup quarter finals. The entire downtown district was cordoned off with barricades, and it seemed as if every Tongan on the island (all dressed in red) took to the streets in celebration.
I’ll be wearing my red t shirt on Saturday, when Tonga plays Great Britain.
Surprisingly, in the scriptures, there are just 4 references to smiling; 3 are in The Book of Mormon, and 1 is in the Pearl of Great Price. Considering that smiling is a universal language that is emotionally understood in much the same way by almost everyone on the planet, I find this perplexing. Maybe the Patriarchs lived in a more austere and somber age. Perhaps they simply used different words to communicate the expression of the human emotion that we describe as a “smile.” Certainly, in the Gospel there is a lot to smile about, and one would think that the prophets would openly address its emotional appeal.
Gordon B. Hinckley was one who did. On more than one occasion, he urged us to light up the world with our smiles, and not to be pickle suckers. He begged students at B.Y.U: “I come this morning with a plea that we stop seeking out the storms and enjoy more fully the sunlight. I am suggesting that we “accentuate the positive.” I am asking that we look a little deeper for the good, that we still our voices of insult and sarcasm, that we more generously compliment virtue and effort. I am not asking that all criticism be silenced. Growth comes of correction. Strength comes of repentance. Wise is the man who can acknowledge mistakes pointed out by others and change his course. I am not suggesting that our conversation be all honey and blossoms. Clever expression that is sincere and honest is a skill to be sought and cultivated. What I am suggesting and asking is that we turn from the negativism that so permeates our society and look for the remarkable good in the land and times in which we live, that we speak of one another’s virtues more than we speak of one another’s faults, that optimism replace pessimism, that our faith exceed our fears.” (11/29/1974).
Our smiles lie at the pinnacle of our discipleship: “All those who humble themselves before God, and desire to be baptized, and come forth with broken hearts and contrite spirits, and witness before the church that they have truly repented of all their sins, and are willing to take upon them the name of Jesus Christ, having a determination to serve him to the end, and truly manifest by their smiles that they have received of the Spirit of Christ unto the remission of their sins, shall be received by baptism into his church. (D&C 20:37).
The scriptures abound with allusions to our smiles that can be grammatical constructions, curves that set everything straight. Even though it may be raining, the scriptures teach that if we keep smiling, the sun will soon show its face and smile right back at us. Smiles in the scriptures are often concealed as honest emotions, but they cannot be hidden for long. As these smiles peak out at us from behind familiar passages, we can almost hear the Spirit challenging us to smile in return, to smile so widely that we could eat a banana sideways.
When we feel happy, we smile with all our heart, and when we’re down, we smile with all our might. When we mourn with those that mourn, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort, if we do nothing else, we can be the smile on their face. A smile is a daily exercise that we can do without ever breaking a sweat. The smile we wear on the outside tells others what’s happening on the inside. Sometimes our joy is the source of our smile, but sometimes our smile may be the genesis of our joy. As we smile with a conscious effort to fight our way through brimming tears, the corners of our mouths point toward heaven.
Even as the world sends us insistent messages that it is beauty that can give us an advantage, we know that our smiles are the guarantee. When we get up in the morning, we are only half-dressed until we put on our smile. We realize that, when it comes to smiling, one size fits all. Our smile is an accessory that never goes out of style. No matter what obstacles may be thrown before us throughout the day, smiling in the face of our challenges somehow makes the tasks that lie ahead seem easier. Somehow, our trials are no match for a confident smile. Others are less likely to notice our imperfections, our shortcomings, or our old clothes, when we are wearing a smile. As frugal shoppers, we know that a smile is an inexpensive way to change our look. Every smile makes us a day younger. Our smile is like an instant face-lift. Stubborn frowns bring out wrinkles, but those with dimples are doubly-blessed, and have been given a special role in the universe to smile.
As we embrace life, we will recognize that vibrant color is nature’s way of smiling at us. After every storm, we will look forward to the dappled rays of sunlight that smile down upon us. Among all the mighty works of man, we will realize that a smile is civilization’s finest adornment. Among all the creations of God, we will acknowledge that a beautiful smile that is flashed for no apparent reason separates us from all other creatures. As a matter of evolution, we have no original facial expressions. We have inherited our smiles from our parents, we borrow them from our friend, and we receive them as gifts from complete strangers. We are drawn to those who make a difference in our lives, to those who make us smile.
With our smiles we sign our personal autographs. They may be the most powerful forces in nature, whose effects may last for eternity. It only takes a split second to smile, and then we may forget about it, and yet, to the one who needed it at that exact moment in time, its positive influence might last a lifetime. When we receive a prompting to smile at a stranger, we might never know that we have changed a life. When we are blessed to see the smiles on the faces of innocent children, we are given a glimpse of the divine that is in each of us.
Smiling can be intensely gratifying. It can warm our heart when others smile, but most of us especially like it when we make them smile. When we carry a smile, one of the many faces of love will knock at our door. Smiles will fill our hearts with the joy of life. When we smile, we will find that, all along, happiness was right under our nose.
Smiling is inexpensive therapy for wounded souls. Sometimes we smile to keep from crying. When we feel that there is no reason to smile, we try to find one, because we have learned from sad experience that nothing can shake a smiling heart. If we have to, we will be the smile on someone else’s downcast face, to melt away their fears. Our smile can replace their despondency with cheerfulness. If need be, we will be able to face the gallows, give a jest to the crowd, a coin to the hangman, and make the drop with a smile on our lips. Short of that, we pray for opportunities to replace the tears on every cheek with little smiley faces that point the way to the windows of our souls.
We are ever on the lookout for those who could really use a smile as therapy for their lonely heart. When we see someone who needs a smile, we give him one of ours. We keep apples in our fruit basket, but we know by experience that a smile a day keeps the pain away. Smiles are spotlights that shine on our hearts. The simplest gift we can give is our smile. We try to so live that we can be someone else’s reason to smile. We recognize the incredible power of our smiles to change the world, and so we guard ourselves that the world might never change our smiles. We smile at everyone because it might be the last chance we have to do so, because they may not be here tomorrow.
We smile if for no other reason than that the world seems to be so full of frowns. Our smile makes a positive statement that squarely addresses the pessimism of a dark world. In fact, the most potent force in the world could be our smile. We smile because we accept hatred with love. Our smiles, the light of our souls, can conquer even the coldest hearts, because it is a light that dances. We smile as if unborn poems are stirring within us. Our smiles are the bouquet of our joy, the expression of our ecstasy with life, and a God-given manifestation of love, that drive out darkness,, which is why, so often, a genuine smile is the best form of communication.
If we need to recharge our batteries, with conscious effort we take a few steps into the darkness, buoyed up by the sustaining influence of our smile, which is our spiritual strong searchlight. If we have lost our smile, we know in which direction we must move to find it again. If we are really desperate, can cannot find a reason to smile, we may go out and buy a puppy. When we are still, and are seeking quiet spiritual confirmations, the surplus of our heart will overflow in a smile. When technology threatens our inner peace, we replace the cell phones in our hands with a smile on our faces. Every once in a while, we smile even if life tastes like bitter bile. When thunderstorms roll in, we make a choice to either succumb with tears to the gloomy downpour, or smile and look for rainbows.
Our smile releases an awesome power within us. We have heard the compliments of others, who say: “Your smile becomes you.” But perhaps you become you when you smile. Those who smile while they are alone used to be called insane, until we invented smartphones and social media. A smile is the light in our window that tells others that there is a caring, sharing person inside. In the morning, we drink a glass of sunshine to brighten our hearts and lift our spirits. We smile to spread the light of life. As we pleasantly smile, we own the moment.
Sometimes, when we wish to make particularly significant contributions, we offer our silence with a smile. We smile at others with such intensity that they feel that they have won a prize. Our cheerful conversation tickles our throats and forces our lips into smiles. We only really know the value of a smile when we own the face behind it. But precisely because our smiles are really just the expression of the divine center within us, they are easier to give away.
Even simple smiles are rewarded in heaven. Our smiles are the unfathomable gifts of the gods. With a smiling face, we hope to be sent to heaven. When we die, we would love to die smiling, because we have been inspired to see smiles on the faces of those who are about to pass through the veil. However, should we forget this in the excitement of the moment, we hope to have someone there who will be inspired to gently smile, and prompt us to remember to do the same. When all is said and done, we hope to die with smiles on our faces. We cried at birth and hope to be able to smile at our death. In the interim, the biggest reward of our lives will be to have finished each day with smiles on our faces. Someday, we are going to be able to look back on every shared smile, and quietly smile one more time.
Not everyone is like the Kentucky hillbilly who never wore shoes. One evening, he came into the cabin and stood by the fireplace. His wife said, “I reckon you’d better move. You’re standin’ on a live coal.” He replied, “Which foot?”
Most of us don’t have feet that are so heavily calloused and insensitive. The weakness of the great warrior Achilles, after all, was his heel. A dog may be man’s best friend, but we call our own feet “puppies,” our comfortable shoes “hush-puppies,” and we say “our dogs are tired.” Sometimes, a swift kick (with the foot) in the rear is all it takes to get us moving. If we try to hold on for dear life, we “get a toe-hold.” When we want to accomplish more, we “lengthen our stride.” Things that are really easy are “a cake-walk.” We “take a step back” to appraise a situation objectively, but if we’re ready to go right now, we “step up to the plate.” When we relinquish our position of authority, “we step down.”
If we have “feet of clay,” we have trouble getting things done. When we encourage someone, we tell them to put both their feet on the ground. If we haven’t got a care in the world, we are “foot-loose and fancy-free.” If someone’s philosophical position is unsupportable, we say they “haven’t got a leg to stand on.” If we want to be upwardly mobile, we try to “get our foot in the door.” If the shoe fits, wear it. If we stumble over our words and say something inappropriate, we’ve “put our foot in our mouth.” When we venture into new territory, we are “getting our feet wet.” If we are fully committed to a new course, we “jump in with both feet.” If we are slow to adopt a policy, we are “dragging our feet.” When we “kick the bucket,” we are carried out “feet first.” Then we are buried “six feet deep.” If we are awkward, we have “two left feet.” If we are true to our principles, “we toe the line.” Because feet are sometimes seen as a liability, we see signs that read: “No bare feet allowed,” or “No shirt, no shoes, no service.” “Walks” and “runs” are integral to baseball. A “false step” might bring us to defeat, but putting “our best foot forward” could carry us to victory.
If we move recklessly forward, we call it a “mis-step.” But if we move quickly, “we step lively.” If we are true to our principles, we “have our feet planted firmly on gospel soil.” If we consciously try to make a good impression we “put our best foot forward.” But sometimes, we “take a step backward.” Distances are measured in feet. Light is measured in foot-candles, and power is measured in foot-pounds. If we are nimble, we are “sure-footed.” If we are passive, we take timid, halting, or hesitant steps. When we dance around a dominant personality, we are “walking on eggshells.” If someone faints, we elevate the feet to improve circulation. When we have had a long day, we “put our feet up.”
When Neil Armstrong walked on the moon, he said: “That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.” Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “Build a better mousetrap, and the world will beat a path to your door,” presumably on foot. During Israel’s exodus from Egypt, they walked through the Red Sea on dry ground. (The pursuing Egyptians should have followed their example. Instead, they and their horse-drawn chariots were drowned). Richard III cried, “A horse, a horse. My kingdom for a horse,” presumably because he didn’t think himself adequate to the task when afoot.
We talk about the steps of repentance. When we exercise unrighteous dominion, we overstep our bounds. If we carelessly put our feet down without forethought, they are sometimes caught in a snare. Depending upon our perspective, obstacles in our path can be seen as stepping-stones or stumbling-blocks.
The stage-lights that illuminate a set are called “foot-lights.” The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step. We maintain our forward momentum by continuing to put one foot in front of the other. If a tennis player crosses the service line too quickly, he commits a foot-fault. A gentleman’s servant is called a footman.
In the advanced stages of diabetes, peripheral circulation is so poor that all feeling may be lost in the feet. When this happens, there is a tremendous risk of infection from even minor irritations that go unnoticed. Stepping on a nail, for example, can have devastating consequences if we are “past feeling.” There are spiritual equivalents that are equally devastating that can be traced back to the feet. The feet can take us on detours so that before we realize it, we are walking around in our summer home in Babylon.
Feet are one of the miracles of creation. Leonardo daVinci called them “a masterpiece of engineering and a work of art.” They contain one quarter of the bones in our bodies. The average person by age 55 has walked the equivalent of two and a half times around the world. In all our perambulating, the “lives of great men all remind us we can make our lives sublime, and departing leave behind us footprints in the sands of time.” (Longfellow).
Indulge me for a moment, and allow me to vent….. Leonardo da Vinci’s “Salvator Mundi” just sold for a record $450.3 million dollars at auction. While I do appreciate fine art, I wonder if the money could have been better spent serving the needs of the poor? I think of our clinic, for example, that could be duplicated for a couple of hundred thousand dollars. The half a billion dollars just spent on pigment and canvas could have instead provided the means to establish 2,500 clinics in areas of critical need. There are 650,000 practicing dentists in the world. What if just 2,500 of them were persuaded to staff these hypothetical clinics, on a volunteer basis? If each facility served the needs of 25 patients a day, 250 days a year, 15,625,000 patients could be seen each year.
That’s probably a drop in the bucket, when you consider there are probably 5 billion people on the planet without access to health care, but as the Mission Nurse here in Tonga told me today, “One starfish at a time. One starfish at a time.”
Still, I can’t help but imagine what could be done if the Bill Gates Foundation, or some other multi-billionaire, gave just a small fraction of their fortune to do help their less-fortunate fellow travelers?
These are three young guys we met in Nuku ‘alofa who are on the Tongan Rugby Team.
Many patients come to the clinic wearing a tupeno, (skirt), a kafa (apron), all supported by a tu ‘ovala (cord). It’s not at all unusual to see the tupeno worn around town, very casually. I’m wearing mine to dinner tonight. Midwestern is going to “Little Italy” on the waterfront, and they’ve invited us to join them.
A couple of patients came to the clinic, wearing grass skirts. I complimented them on their attire, not realizing that it was the traditional dress of those in mourning for a departed loved one. They wear it for a year, afterward.
We saw a girl today, who needed a root canal on a 12 year molar. While she was being treated, I found her mother waiting in the reception area, and I led her to the “x-ray room” where I took a set of bite-wings. Then I grabbed a dental student and asked him to do an exam. We are going to see her in the next few days to do several restorations, and make a flipper partial to replace missing teeth. You could pull any person, at random, off the street, or out of the reception area, do a quick visual exam, and find a dozen procedures to do.
Because I don’t have specific responsibilities to treat patients while Midwestern is here, I can just roam around and find people who need attention, who are getting lost in the shuffle. If I see a vacant chair, I seat my patient down and stake out a claim. Once I’ve done that, it’s pretty easy to get a student to do a visual exam, chart 4 quadrants of decay, and get them started on treatment. Very few patients have inter-proximal decay. It’s all pit and fissure caries, and if we don’t get to it in its early stages, the coronal tooth structure will be destroyed, and the tooth will either need a root canal or extraction.
Even as we provide oral health care, we recognize that a little bit of sugar helps the medicine go down.
There has been discussion about establishing a rotation for Midwestern students, in Tonga. They are thinking about making the director of the dental clinic an adjunct professor at Midwestern, so they could send students five at a time, for a two week period, to get some real-world experience. It’s all just talk, for now, but it might just develop into a viable program. Planting seeds. Who knows what could happen?
Midwestern University, with its 16 dental students and 5 faculty members, has been great. When we arrive at the clinic at 7:15 a.m., there are around 50 people waiting to see us. We have a short devotional, a prayer, and then it’s pedal to the metal until 4:00 p.m., when we try to finish up, or more realistically 5:00 p.m., when we actually finish the last patients.
After three days, we are working on around 35 dentures and partials that will be delivered by the end of the week, about 35 endo cases have been completed, probably 150 teeth removed, and we have done hundreds of restorations on dozens of patients, And we have another 7 days to see patients!
I am not looking forward to returning to our normal schedule, where I can only see a fraction of the patients who need treatment. But our oral surgeon is coming on Saturday, so that will help out tremendously.
We are lucky to have seen a number of pre-missionaries – Tongans who are turning in their papers, and need a dental exam and required treatment before they leave. Typically, in the past, they would just get their papers signed without following through on any of the treatment. Of course, then they would have problems out in the field. Now, we screen these patients and bang out multiple quadrants of restorative dentistry, root canals, extractions, and even crowns.
The crown patients are a bit problematic, though. Midwestern has a scanner. They prep the tooth for a crown, and take the measurements back to Phoenix. They fabricate the crown there, and return in 6 months to seat it. I hope they make nice temporaries!
Monday, as we were about to close for the day, I saw a 14 year old girl sitting quietly in the waiting room. I asked her if I could help her, and she said she had been given an appointment for 8 a.m. but no-one had called for her. She had been waiting all day long – for 9 hours. We got her in, did an exam, and then some treatment, and reappointed her for 8 a.m. yesterday, got her right in, and did some more treatment.
We have seen patients who have been waiting for flipper partials for 6 months – no front teeth. I pre-screened about 50 of them in the last few weeks, and we started seeing them on Monday, but ran out of impression material on Wednesday. We are getting some more when the second wave of students comes on Saturday, and I hope we will be able to see them all. If not, it’ll be another 6 months before they will have front teeth.
A patient yesterday had a difficult extraction and needed the socket to be packed with a product called “GelFoam” that helps to create a clot. I remembered seeing some GelFoam when I was organizing things in the clinic, and I located it,and brought it over to the chair. W read the label on the jar, and were shocked to learn that the expiration date was 1982. It had expired 35 years ago! However, it’s really only a cellulose sponge, and we reasoned, what can happen to cellulose, after all? So we used it. But we also put GelFoam on our wish list of things to bring to the clinic.
We also had a 13 year old with a severe infection and cellulitis. He had a bombed bicuspid that had only been in his mouth for two or three years. I looked in our medicine cabinet and reached for the jar of Amoxicillin. It was a 1,000 capsule jar, and it had about 11 capsules in it. We sent him to the hospital and are hoping that they will be able to treat him appropriately. However, they often just give their patients Panadol, which is just an analgesic.
There are no dental specialists in Tonga to bail us out if we get in over our heads. Luckily, we are equipped to deal with most of the issues that confront us, and the hospital in Nuku ‘alofa has a staff of 9 physicians – no specialists, though. If patients need specialty care for dental or medical needs, New Zealand is the closest option. I’ll be interested to see what the state of oral health is of the population living on the 35 outer islands, where there is no professional health care, at all.
Midwestern University had a very busy day in the clinic. They took impressions for 9 dentures and 26 partials, did around 25 root canals and saw at least 30 patients for restorative dentistry. They said it was the busiest day they have ever had, and they’ve been coming to Tonga for 7 years (two weeks each November and one week in May).
We started at 7:30 a.m. and finished about 5:30 p.m., with a staggered lunch break. Semise, our lab tech, took the day off from his regular job at the hospital and stayed all day at the clinic, trouble-shooting problems.
We never got the vacuum working in the main clinic, so we used his 1400 watt vacuum cleaner from his house in the morning, until it overheated, and then somebody zipped into town and bought a more powerful vacuum cleaner that we used in the afternoon. Actually, it worked quite nicely, It turns out that shop vacs don’t exist in Tonga.
In the evening, we had a Tongan Feast, that Penni Tonga and his family hosted.
One uninvited guest dropped in for dinner.
They put on a terriffic show after dinner, with music, and dancing. They are all VERY talented. Their nephew demonstrated climbing a coconut tree (about 30 feet up), and Midwestern presented their daughter Dorothy with a Samsung tablet. She was so happy – she said she never dreamed that in her life she would ever have such a thing. She just graduated from Liahona High School (184 graduates) as valedictorian in her class. She wants to be a dentist – and I talked to her about working in the clinic until she receives her mission call. I think there’s a good chance that Midwestern will make it possible for her to receive her dental education.
We’ve really never had a day like this. Being able to help dozens of patients in one day was an incredible experience. When Midwestern leaves, we’ll be back to seeing patients in a linear fashion – and will only be able to help a fraction of the people who need it, but the faculty kept reminding us that something is better than nothing. I guess one or two people can make a difference……. But it sure was nice to see all seven chairs in the clinic full of patients for ten hours straight! We can’t wait to do it again tomorrow!
Last night, when we got home from the clinic, we sat down to dinner, and Mom asked, “Do you feel that?” At first, I thought she meant “Do I feel the exhaustion settling in, from spending the afternoon bent over the vacuum pump in the clinic (see my previous post). But then, within a second or two, there was a very sharp jolt, followed by shaking that lasted for 10 seconds or so. It didn’t knock anything off the table, and my glass of water only sloshed around a little bit (kind of like the water that vibrated when the Tyranosaurus Rex was approaching the goat that was staked out, in “Jurassic Park.”)
We immediately went next door to ask our neighbors if we should go to the temple (see my previous post), and she assured us that we were at the highest point in Tonga – about 220 feet above sea level. I reminded her that she had taken us to see “Tsunami Rock” last week, and that whatever washed that boulder ashore was probably higher than 220 feet.
But after calming our fears with rice krispy treats, we returned home, and went to bed. All night long, I dreamed I was on a ship that had been torpedoed, and was in a sealed compartment that couldn’t be opened without having the ship go down.
Anyway, we are fine. Here are some earthquake facts: You can go to this website to learn more: https://earthquaketrack.com/r/tonga/recent
There was a moderate earthquake in Tonga, at 10:01 p.m. on November 12, 2017. It was 4.8 magnitude, and was 47 km from Nuku ‘alofa, at a depth of 23 km.
Tonga has had:
The largest earthquakes in Tonga, this year, have been: 16 days ago, 4.9 (which we didn’t feel, and didn’t even know about until now), 23 days ago, 4.9, 25 days ago, 4.9, 26 days ago, 5.1, 26 days ago 4.7, 27 days ago, 5.1.
So, they happen all the time (although the largest ones have all been in the last month!) No worries, though. We are right next to the Tonga Trench, which at a depth of 35,433 feet, is the deepest point in the Southern Hemisphere’s oceans, and the second deepest point on earth, after the Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench (at 36,070 feet). By the way, one crazy fact is that the Mariana Trench was established in 2009 as a United States National Monument, although not many tourists visit it. (That would be a good Jeopardy question).
The Tonga Trench has cooler water than elsewhere in the South Pacific, so cyclones tend to lose steam as they pass overhead – this protects Tonga from the effects of destructive winds. And the barrier reefs around Tongatapu protect the island from tsunamis (except for the one that moved Tsunami Rock 200 meters inland. But that was “approximately thousands of years ago.”)
Update on the clinic’s vacuum pump – Midwestern University (16 students and 9 faculty members) descended on the clinic Sunday after church, and emptied the contents of 16 suitcases of supplies in the reception area. As they were organizing things in discreet piles, I proudly turned on the “new” vacuum pump to show off how efficiently it worked. It sounded like the last wheezing gasps of a camel dying of thirst in the desert.
Mind you – this is Sunday, just after church. I walked over to the home of the wonderfully gracious bio-medical technician who had done the trouble-shooting and installation of our FIFTEEN YEAR OLD RECONDITIONED pump, that came with no warranty (and no oil – see my previous post). He left his Sunday dinner with his wife and six kids, and came to the clinic to analyze the problem. He was there for the next seven and a half hours, with his friend, who is an electrician. We tried everything – to no avail. So now, we are using his vacuum cleaner from his home, with a little duct tape, as a make-shift vacuum pump, and making do.
This morning (Nov. 13) I am making a quick run into Nuku ‘alofa to purchase a shop-vac. I think it will be okay – we will jut have to shout at each other to communicate, because a shop vac generates about a hundred decibels. But it does have suction – something I have not experienced in a couple of weeks, now.
We have cats living behind our house. The kittens’ names are: Katie, Danner, and McKenzie. We haven’t named the fourth one yet.
On the way over to the clinic, there is a tree trying really hard to recover from a significant pruning.
We have all the shelving in, and the bins labeled. Midwestern students came last night with 16 suitcases of supplies, all stacked in the waiting room. I have no idea where it is all going to go. (Hopefully into patients’ mouths during the next week. They will keep these four chairs humming with restorative dentistry. The three chairs in the other clinic is endo.
There are three main roads on the island. Most sections are paved but the further you get from Nuku ‘alofa, the more primitive are the roads. The roads to the beaches are not marked, but we are figuring things out.
800 Young Single Adults from many islands are descending upon Camp Mekeke on Tongatapu this weekend. The last time a group came, they brought a (live) pig, and butchered it in the cafeteria fale before roasting it in a pit. I suggested to the Tiltons, who are the senior missionary caretakers at the camp, that they have a few cans of coke on hand to clean up the bloodstained concrete floors afterwards. (Coke also works well on corroded battery terminals, when your car won’t start.)
This is the back corner of the Liahona Campus. The photo looks kind of industrial, but it really isn’t. The water tower is to create pressure for the system on campus. All of the houses for Senior Missionaries, and teachers at the high school have cisterns that collect rainwater. We also have filtered water that we use for drinking. Seniors have furniture in their homes, and stoves in the kitchen, but Tongans just sit on the floor, and cook outside.
This is the entrance to the clinic. When we arrive in the morning, the Tongans are all waiting outside the (locked) doors of the clinic. We invite them all to come in and sit down in the reception area. It is air conditioned inside and is generally a lot cooler than it is outside, even early in the morning. The temperature doesn’t change much from day to night. Some of the Tongans feel uncomfortably cool inside, because they aren’t used to air conditioning. We leave the temperature about 18 – 21 degrees Celsius. (In our house, too). Without the air conditioning, black mold forms very quickly.
Mom asked yesterday about getting a computer for the reception area to keep better track of patients, and the Church approved it! We have no idea when we will actually receive it – it could be a while, but at least it’s in the system. We really will need it, especially when we have another dentist working in the clinic, and volunteers coming, that will increase our patient flow.
This is the reception desk, and behind it to the left, we have a small lab where stone-work is done. When Midwestern comes, they bring with them equipment to do flipper partials and a few full dentures. For the past couple of weeks, we have been doing a lot of screenings, and deferring treatment – as it turns out, I was reminded yesterday that I have asked a few dozen patients “Come in on Monday, November 13!” We are going to be slammed on Monday, but there are 16 students and 9 faculty members who will be there to attend to the needs of the patients.
You can see our x-ray unit on the wall, on the right side of the photo. It is in the doorway between the reception area and the main clinic. Patients sit on a little bench when we take x-rays. It makes walking between the two clinic rooms a little awkward. I don’t think it would be up to code in the U.S.
This is our main clinic area with 4 chairs and units that were donated by Midwestern. Behind each chair and unit, I straightened out and zip tied up all of the hoses up out of the way. It was a Gordian Knot that made it a major challenge just to find the rheostat (foot pedal) so we could use the units when treating patients.
I also added new shelving behind the units and organized it with labels to make it more convenient to find supplies when treating patients.
This is the second clinic room that we have been using while we were working on the vacuum pump in the other clinic. That process was a week of frustration spent trouble shooting without making much progress. We finally figured out that the pump had been wired for 110 and not 240, and the amperage to the motor was causing it to overheat and shut-down, so everything is working well now, just in the nick of time for Midwestern, who will descend on the clinic in two days. There will be 2 students at each of the 7 chairs, and 2 in the sterilization area. The instructors will circulate around, and I will basically keep out of their way, and let them do their own thing. They have been coming twice a year for 7 years, have donated tens of thousands of dollars in equipment and supplies and have it figured out. I tend to reinvent the wheel when I am thrust into new situations, and this time, I will try to have the wisdom to leave it well enough alone.
This clinic with three chairs will be primarily for Endo. It has its own vacuum pump. I have been talking about basic infrastructure in the clinics that we take for granted will work, but here even a minor breakdown can be a major catastrophe. We can’t call Patterson Dental or Sullivan Schein and have a dental equipment technician on the site in an hour. We have used the technician who works at the hospital in Nuku ‘alofa, and have been very lucky to have him. He brought in a colleague yesterday, who is an electrician as well, and they figured things out, just as we were about to have a new vacuum motoer air-freighted overnight from South Dakota. It was a miracle.
It all comes down to this. We are here to serve the people, and when we get side-tracked by the perceived short-comings of the delivery system, we are jolted back to reality by people who come to see us who have real human needs that can be heart-breaking. We tend to take for granted so many conveniences that are, in reality, heaven-sent blessings, and we are reminded over and over again about our stewardship responsibilities. This is going to be physically exhausting, but emotionally and spiritually rewarding.
Today I was thinking about all the little things that are becoming a part of our lives and thought I would share them with you.
(Some much needed supplies that came in the mail- You can never be sure if they will arrive damaged as these were).
xoxox Mom
Driving around the island, there are banana trees everywhere, and no-one cares if you stop and borrow a bunch.
The road isn’t great, but at least it hadn’t rained for a while (like a day and a half).
We finally made it to the “Land Bridge,” a cave whose roof has partially collapsed.
Volcanic headlands on this coast (down by the airport, on the “heel” of the island.
Paths lead down the cliff face to secluded beaches.
This is near the church camp (Came Mekeke) – 40 acres along the coast purchased 50 years ago for 250 pa ‘anga (about $125.00 U.S. dollars).
It’s not exactly a swimming beach, and because there is no barrier reef, there are lots of sharks.
There are about 20 fales (houses) scattered across the 40 acres.
It’s going to get a lot of use from all the stakes on the island now that it’s summer.
There are papaya trees on the church property,
Things grow like crazy – this is a tree stump. This patient gave Mom these flowers.
Mom emailing in the clinic – we don’t pay for data usage in the clinic. We blew through 25 gb of data in 6 days ($100.00), and then 50 gb of data in TWO days. So now, we are being more careful about the internet. The terms are up on the wall in the clinic.
These are our friends the Tiltons. They are the caretakers of Camp Makeke. They live in this “house” – all 350 square feet of it. They are from the U.S. but live in Tonga. Permanently. (At least until next March). We are meeting them in Nuku ‘alofa on Friday night for pizza.
This is actually a very good hamburger shop. Some of the hamburger you buy in the store is mushy. There are no beef cattle on the island. It all comes from New Zealand.
Random pictures taken near Camp Makeke – it’s about 12 miles from Liahona.
I kept calling out: “Move a little it to your left, and it will make a great photo!” “Memorable!”
There are a lot of pigs. They all think life is wonderful, and they cross the road in front of cars, without a care in the world…..totally oblivious to what is in store for them.
Just outside of Nuku ‘alofa, on the way in to church in the morning. The church unit we may be attending is not on the campus – it is about a 10 minute drive. It’s an English-speaking Tongan ward.
People without cars have a few options. They can walk, take the bus, ride in the back of a truck, or even take a taxi!
The Chinese came in and set up a solar energy grid – 2.5 megwatts. Enough for 17,000 customers. There are only about 70,000 people living on our island(depending on who you ask). They could be energy independent in no time. (And drive down the cost of electricity – which is very high now.
We found a second dental office on the island. Haven’t mustered up the courage to go inside yet.
Farmers working in the fields.
Somehow….I don’t think this resort is going to open this year. There has been a fair amount of construction, but we haven’t seen anyone working, yet.
On the road to CostLow. They have lots of Kirkland brand products.
The Queen’s summer residence. (She hasn’t been there for a while).
Everywhere you turn, the ocean is in front of you. (It’s like Mt. Hood, viewed from Portland). A barrier reef circles the island.
Along the beach road near Nuku ‘alofa.
Falling coconuts represent a real hazard for pedestrians and cars. They should really post signs for “hard hat” areas. Many cars have cracked windshields, and some have gaping holes from coconut encounters. There are thousands and thousands of coconut palms on the island.
There is colorful laundry hanging everywhere. There are a number of instances along the road from Nuku ‘alofa to the Liahona Campus where people called “bush” people (because they live off the land – don’t have plumbing, or electricity, and cook with propane or with barbeques) live in shanties or in cargo containers.
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View west of Nuku ‘alofa. The land is much more open on this end of the island (above the airport). – Speaking of the airport, yesterday (November 5) there was a jet airplane flying overhead – the first one I have seen or heard since we arrived on October 19. I think I timed it just right, for the 3:50 p.m. flight from Fiji.
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Our Sunday School class. The chapel had 15 overhead fans going during Sacrament Meeting, and all the side windows were open for cross ventilation (you may have seen the same thing in Hawaii).
Today we attended a new Ward about 10 minutes from our home. It was really a unique experience. There was an English couple visiting Tonga on their way home from a mission in New Zealand. They were delightful and we were glad to make their acquaintance, however brief. It’s always interesting to hear about peoples lives, and their unique views and perspectives, and for us especially so when they come from other countries and have such different life experiences. Sharing a core belief gives you something in common to begin with, but then there is so much to learn about and to share. Today there were just a few (and I mean JUST a few) pilanges in the Ward, and the rest were Tongans.
It seems that no matter where you go that people love to sing. While I was in Relief Society we could hear the children’s melodies as their meeting room was just across the patio from ours. All the windows are open because of the temperature, and I found it a bit surreal to hear their harmonies. Even being so young they have discovered how to blend their voices so beautifully.
I actually took a little nap in the afternoon and then spent some time on our front porch reading. It was so very quiet as the campus has just emptied and the students are on summer vacation.
In the evening all the senior missionaries met for a potluck dinner. They do it once a month. It was delicious, and we had lots of fun. I was quite amazed at how inventive people were with what they made. Imagine crab salad and cream puffs! We just can’t get lots of things we take for granted back home. People seemed to really like my Quinoa salad and were surprised that I had found the grain. Me too! I had to admit that SueRae Johns who lived here before us had gifted me with quite a few delicious things she had acquired one way or other, and along with the Quinoa is a wonderful box of spices. It’s worth its weight in gold!! It will take a bit of getting used to, knowing you’d like red pepper flakes, for example and realizing that it just isn’t going to happen. Oh well, it’s all good.
Tomorrow we’re going to adventure out and about with the Kapps and we’re both looking forward to that. It’s a Government Holiday so everything will be closed down. When they say closed down in Tonga, they really mean it. No one works and nothing is open. I think we will be going to the beach and that will be just the best!
Our home in Tonga. Comfy and just perfect for our needs.
It’s quiet. The road that goes past the house is on the Campus, so it is seldom traveled. Our neighbors are senior missionaries, so no late-night parties. There are roosters crowing in the morning, but our air-conditioning provides “white noise.”
Clothes dry in an hour. No socks to wash – We haven’t seen a sock on this island since we arrived (except for Dad’s, that he wears when cycling. 🙂
Headed out the door to graduation – 184 graduates, from all over the South Pacific.
Everyone is busy before-hand, making leis.
If you want to take a photo, or if you admire someone’s lei, it’s suddenly yours, with a smile.
The daughter of our friend from Papua, New Guinea, graduated from Liahona High School. There are 11,000 members in New Guinea.
There were lots of very proud family members. Graduating from high school is a very big deal. It really is the passport to a prosperous life in countries with few economic opportunities. As we watched the graduates receive their diplomas, it made my graduation from B.Y.U. seem small in comparison.
Everyone was thrilled to have their picture taken. They’re humble people who are justifiably proud of their families.
Sometimes you just need to take a break!
Many of the graduates will go on to B.Y.U. Hawaii to continue their education.
Others will submit their mission papers. I do a lot of pre-missionary exams in the clinic.
Without a screening and treatment at the Liahona Campus Dental Clinic, many of these students graduate with unresolved oral pathology, If we could do nothing more than comprehensively treat the students at the high school, so they would graduate with healthy mouths, we would be satisfied.
This is what we deal with every day. 4 years old – 20 decayed teeth. The rule of thumb is: remove the primary teeth that hurt, and leave the rest (decayed) to serve as space maintainers, until the permanent teeth come in. I have been doing a lot of Class 1 / occlusal composites on 6 and 12 year olds, because by the time they are 8 or 14, their teeth are bombed. We have also implemented a protocol to apply fluoride varnish on everyone’s teeth at every appointment, no matter what they have come in for.
THIS is how I like to think of these kids!
-Did you know that the church has missionaries on some of the smaller islands in the Kingdom of Tonga, and that they do not have stores where they can shop for anything but the very basic food stuffs? These young men actually catch the fish they eat and pick the fruit from the trees that are nearby. The Kapps,( our neighbors) tell us that the guys who are there absolutely love it, and that they do not consider it a hardship. Kudos to them!
-We plan on going to some of these nearby islands with our small dental unit, when the time is right. We will probably do nothing but extractions and visual exams. More to come as we figure things out.
-At the Liahona graduation today were young men and women from PNG(Papa New Guinea-various islands), The Philippines, New Zealand, Samoa, numerous islands in Tonga, and a couple of other places I’ve forgotten. It was a fabulous couple of hours, and you should see the beautiful clothing that was worn, especially by the mothers and extended family of the students.I am so inspired by the strength and courage it must have taken for the parents of these noble young people to let their children go so far away to better themselves, at such a young age. It was very impressive to hear them speak and to hear what certifications and awards they have achieved. Parents are to be commended for encouraging their kids to achieve and to grow, and it was obvious that the trust that was put in them had been rewarded. The valedictorian spoke of how her father made a commitment to stay up with her whever she needed to study late or arrise early to complete her assignments. He walked with her every step of the way as he loved and encouraged her. Many of the students showed great emotions as they sang, spoke and received their diplomas. Afterwards the party began! More on that llater.
-Oh, and by the way. NEVER tell a Tongan you like something they have. I admired a beautiful gardenia lei worn by a young girl and she absolutely insisted on giving it to me. Dad did the same to someone else shortly afterwards and he ended up with a handsome one as well. By the time we left the afterparty we both were smelling wonderful and wearing half a dozen necklaces made of candies and flowers. I told dad we should have had cards for the clinic to give out to the people who gifted us. With all that candy there will be a great need, that’s for sure!
-The Kingdom of Tonga is the very first country in the world to see the dawn of every new day?
-Our L.D.S. Temple smells like gardenias inside. It’s absolutely lovely!
– Businesses and shops are closed by law on Sundays here. There are no airline flights in or out of the islands, and business contracts signed on the Sabbath are legally void.
– According to the tourist bureau the four core values of the Tongan people are, Fefaka’apa’apa’aki(mutual respect), Lototoo(humility and generosity),Tauhi vaha’a ((loyalty and commitment), and Fefeitokai’aki(sharing, cooperating and the fulfillment of mutual obligations). Family is the central unit of Tongan life with older people commanding the most respect. Sundays are devoted to church, family, and rest. I love how the people cherish and live these values.
-If I chance to walk home from the clinic during the lunch hour I can hear the students as they practice their singing. Even teenagers love to harmonize and it’s almost surreal hearing them. Today is graduation for the high schoolers. 182 will get their diplomas and I plan to be in the gymnasium watching the ceremony. I am assured it will be memorable. Women are busy making leis now and it will be a day of colorful Tongan dress as well as beautiful flowers adorning the seniors.
-Wednesday I was given a beautiful lei. When I asked how long I could wear it I was told that they are worn until they stop emitting their beautiful aroma. I have worn mine ever since I got it, even while cleaning teeth. It makes me feel so happy!
– Our “new” (refurbished) compressor was installed yesterday evening after the old one died mid-morning today. It takes at least four big Tongans to repair such a thing. Generally one works, encouraged on by the others, and they switch places now and then. Sad news is that the new compressor lasted only about half an hour before it overheated. With no air, or water or pressure we were down for the count. People, however did not stop coming in and Dad did some heroic dentistry. Imagine extracting teeth with literally no direct vision, no way to rinse, and no way to clean up your patient. We improvised though and got the job done over and over again. I have now renamed our clinic “Fourth World Tongan Dentistry”. Amazingly, everyone not only did well, but left with a smile. We keep meeting the nicest people. Fast forward to Friday morning. We had one father and his family show up at our door last night about 8. Another this morning shortly after nine. Both had family members complaining about toothaches. We ended up going into the clinic and making do with what we had, which wasn’t much. That’s part of what will be our new norm I’m thinking
-Papa New Guinea has 800 distinct languages according to one of our favorite patients. Could that even be possible? I loved our animated discussion about all the different people who live there – their ethnicities, body types, hair differences, and varying skin colors. They really have a little bit of everything in them there. This woman, a single mother, is super smart and determined to provide well for her children. Her daughter graduates today and it will be the crowing glory of her life to date. Talking to her is fascinating and makes me even more aware that we do not have any kind of monopoly on determination or the will to succeed.
– I am discovering that the happier a person is in general, the easier their dental appointments go. It’s really true! And – the happiness level is not much related to fiscal prosperity. I find myself hugging many of the women and exchanging “I love you’s” as if I’ve known them all my life. When people leave we’ve often become good friends.
-A young girl in her mid teens was absolutely thrilled by what Dad did for her. She was already a beautiful young woman, but after her appointment was so relieved to find that her fillings didn’t show and her smile was prettier than ever. She told us that she now wants to be a dentist because she wants to make people happy like Dad made her.
-My kitties are getting bigger every day. They have such distinct personalities. When I come home from the clinic I often sit down in my chair for a little talk with them. I usually find all four curled up next to the hot water heater or playing next to my washer. Today one of them got up his courage and crept over to me for a more personal “hello”. He checked out my pretty pink toenails and rubbed against my legs. He might be a wild little thing, but I want him to know he has a friend in me. His mother thinks otherwise and still hisses when she thinks I’ve come too close. One can only do so much. Dad gave the little ones a bit of leftover chicken after our dinner. They gobbled it right up.
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Looking the part!
Looking even better!
Ready to attack the buffet at Oholei Beach Resort.
When Midwestern University comes in two weeks, they are bringing me a biking helmet. I just had them pick one up at a bike shop in Phoenix, rather than mailing them one from Spokane. The only real hazards that I have encountered (because I stay on the Liahona Campus) are speed bumps (8 of them) that are almost impossible to avoid. There are a couple of rain grates, but they are cross-hatched, so I’m not going to torque a wheel or anything. The main problem is that I ride before the sun comes up and it is hard to see. There are a few street lights, and joggers and walkers (who, when you come up behind them and call out “On Your Left” they seem to always veer to the left.) Now, I just give them a wide berth.
This is a photo of my new bike. I raised the seat, adjusted the handlebars, and pumped up the tires, so not having any gears isn’t so bad. I have learned how to avoid the speed bumps, curbs, and grates, so not having any shocks is not a problem. I do need to leave it outside, when I am not using it, so it is subject to the elements.
I left my bike outside for 24 hours and this is what happened to it. Everything rusts very quickly. And gets soggy quickly. Bread, crackers, cereal, etc.. On the bright side, it’s good for opening up the pores of one’s complexion.
On a typical day in the clinic we see patients from Tongatapu, Vava’u, New Caledonia, New Guinea, New Zealand, Australia, and Fiji. Some are here visiting, some are visiting their children who are going to school at Liahona, some are at the Tongan branch of the University of The South Pacific (USP), some are expats, and some are associated with the school.
This photo represents one mornings’ surgical instruments. I have found that I am going to need a lot more surgical length burs. Bombed teeth don’t leave much to grab on to, and many patients come in with just decayed roots.
Today in the Clinic – the new vacuum pump lasted about 20 minutes. Doing restorative and third molar extractions without suction was interesting. Fusi decided to take a little rest, while I was cranking on a wisdom tooth. I’ll be focusing on what I am doing, and ask for suction, and………….where’s Fusi? Luckily I had Patterson Technical Services there to trouble shoot the problem.
We stopped at the fish market by the wharf in Nuku ‘alofa on Tuesday, when the boats had just come in. We had ordered tuna and swordfish, and luckily that’s what the boats had caught, so we had them filet 2 kg each for us. $4.00 per pound!
When we leave home to go into town, we drive past the temple. It’s only a few hundred feet from the house, but when mom went Thursday morning (at 5 a.m.) there was a sudden downpour, and she was soaked by the time she arrived. Too bad she wasn’t doing baptisms!
In church on Sunday, one of the speakers said in case of tsunami, we should run to the temple. He said it is built upon the highest point of land on the island, and he pointed out that the power of the priesthood is there. Good advice!
We had lunch at a nice casual restaurant in town that specializes in hamburgers. Mine was great. Mom had a wrap of some kind that was also delicious.
We had a nice dinner on Halloween night at a great restaurant in Nuku ‘alofa. Our waitress was from Fiji.
We had mahi mahi. It was great. (Mom felt undressed, though, without her name-tag.)
Sometimes, dinner is served on a banana stem.
And sometimes on a table cloth.
The beaches are kind of random, and are generally accessed by a dirt road; and there are virtually no street signs on the island,
On our way to church on Sunday, October 29. No one mentioned anything about Halloween.
We walk across the campus to our meetinghouse, that is on the other side. It takes about 5 minutes.
The land is owned by the king, but the Church has a 99 year lease. It’s an island within an island.
It was the Primary program today.
The singing in Church is amazing.
These two Elders are from the U.S.. The Pulangi is from Washington, and the Tongan from Provo!
We’ve had a full and wonderful week here in Tonga. It has been a time of hard work, adjustment and happy new discoveries. I thought I would briefly let you know my impressions of things as I see them.
Tonga is much more primitive that I had imagined. The people are so poor and the infrastructure is not supportive of modern technology or economic growth. Most of the people here are just getting by and are living day to day. That being said, they are happy, friendly and loving people. If you say you like something they have, they are likely to give it to you. If you walk by their homes and say hello, it is said that they will invite you in and share a meal with you, insisting that you eat first and that you take home any leftovers. That is just the Tongan way.
Life moves slowly here and people are not impatient. In our clinic patients do not mind waiting all day to be seen. They are very, very grateful to have their work done and accept your best efforts as a gift. It quite literally breaks my heart seeing such levels of dental disease. Young patients come in with teeth rotten to the gums, and adults are missing many teeth. The attitude of the dentists previous to us has had to be that we take care of urgent needs and just let the more moderate problems go untreated. That is hard for Dad, but at weeks end, he is realizing that with so many needing care we will just have to prioritize and do what we can.
It is warm and humid here and the summer is just around the corner. I understand that by January it will feel like 110º. I think it is amusing to see youngsters wearing hoodies and jackets when it’s 85º outside. They love their American style clothing. Many families sell clothes, which hang on lines in front of their homes. Family will have sent them crates filled with things they can sell, and that’s how they make their living. They also sell any excess they have by spreading it out on tables along the roads. There are tables piled high with vegetables and fruits, and mounds of melons are everywhere. We buy them for about fifty cents to one dollar.
The children in the schools here all wear uniforms. I like that they do this because that way no one stands out as being more or less privileged than anyone else. Our schoolchildren here at the Liahona campus wear green and white. Other schools have their own colors – Some are red and white, some are dark gray and burgundy and others are brown or other colors. Most young men and boys wear the traditional tupeno(or skirt). It is more comfortable than pants in the heat. The children all look happy and well cared for. It is the rule that all the girls wear their hair in braids with a part down the middle. I have heard that many homes do not have hot water, and that is not unusual for children to shower buck naked outside when it rains. All the children wear flip flops or basic brown sandals.
In the schools nothing is provided for the students. I did not see books in the classes though I know there must be some. There are red and white journal type books that the kids bring with them to class and that is how they take notes. There is almost nothing we might consider normal in the classrooms. Just desks and a board in front. Pencils and pens are not in abundance. I think of my boxes of those at home and feel awful. I am glad I got a bunch and that they will be arriving soon so I can give them away.
I am grateful for the money that was given me to buy supplies and other things for the children here. I will distribute them happily when they come. I know that they will be received with great joy! When I see children playing, it is with a stick and a ball. I have not seen any with toys other than that. You do see some in the stores, but they are mostly things like buckets and shovels.
I am doing my laundry in the washer on the back porch. It is outside of our kitchen window and in front of the large cistern, which provides us our water. Dad is concerned we might have a dead cat or mouse in there so we are careful not to drink the water. Who knows? (We do have a three-part water filter by our kitchen sink. We use that water for drinking, cooking and such.) After the load is finished I clip the clothes to the line. When I washed our sheets yesterday it took them less than an hour to dry. They look pretty flapping in the wind. Next to the washer are the little baby kittens, which I am nurturing with lots of love and gentleness. They like cuddling in a pile with their backs up next to the water heater. Soon they will be venturing out with their mama, but for now they are still staying close to home.
We see a lot of pigs wherever we go. They are lean and mean and the meat is tough. I will probably not eat much of it. They are black or dark brown and just walk around unfenced most of the time. Cows are kept in check with a long rope tied to a tree or plant, and dogs run wild everywhere. They are all skin and bones.
We are getting the bugs – specifically the tiny ants under control. I made some boats of foil and put a wet cotton ball in them, which is dipped in borax powder. If you leave it out the bugs stay pretty much away. We are having a learning curve about putting dishes in the rack next to the sink…washed in soapy water and rinsed. If you leave them with anything on them, there is an instant feeding frenzy.
Rain comes without warning, is short lived and keeps things watered enough that there are no sprinklers here that I have seen. The air is fresh and clean except when people are burning their trash, or rubbish as it is called here
xoxoxoMom
We stopped by the dental office of Liani Hikila, in Nuku ‘alofa. She was trained in Fiji, and has a dental therapist (pictured) named David. He provides extractions and simple fillings.
We introduced ourselves and told David that we can give him supplies from our clinic (extra stuff that we don’t need or use). He was very excited about that.
No x-ray, but he did have a high speed handpiece, suction, and barrier protection.
(Who am I to criticize Dr. Hikila for not having an x-ray. This is a photo of our x-ray “room.” Our patients sit on a bench. We have the x-ray unit mounted on the wall. Amazingly, they are able to hold their heads steady without a seat-back, or headrest.)
And this is a photo of the work area behind my chair, in our clinic. There is no-place to put anything, and there is absolutely no organization. I have bought about 50 trays for set-ups. I’m going to have shelving put in for the trays, so I can have everything at my fingertips. Right now, I have to get up half a dozen times during any given procedure, to go pawing through piles of supplies, to find what I need to complete the procedure.
The large tray organizer on the left side of the photo is my endo supplies. Of all the trays, I use three. The rest I can get rid of.
This is the “Darkroom” sign in our office. (We don’t have a darkroom – we use digital x-ray). I have no idea how long this sign has been dangling from the door, but I am amazed at its tenacity. I am going to leave it there and see how long it lasts before it flutters to the floor. (It’s like “The Last Leaf”).
Dr. Hikila has a satellite office on Vava’u, a large island to the north east. Our hope is that we can use her clinic when she is not there, to treat the local members and missionaries. (The Liahona clinic directors have done this in the past). We just need to coordinate it with President Tiuone – who has indicated that we can fly there some time when he goes for zone conferences. (We don’t want to take the ferry – it is 24 hours over rough seas – first stopping at the Ha ‘apai Group of islands.
Unfortunately, this is the plane we would need to take to get to Vava’u. (Not really, but almost as bad – the Church won’t allow us to go on many domestic flights, because the pilots and aircraft are not “certified.” – I don’t even know what “certified” means, but I am sure certification must be a good thing, that we would want to make sure our pilot and airship would have.)
‘I have made no very great discoveries, yet I have explored more of the Great South Sea, than all that have gone before.” (James Cook, 17 August 1771).
David Samwell, who sailed with Cook on Resolution, wrote of him: “He was a modest man, and rather bashful; of an agreeable lively conversation, sensible and intelligent. In temper he was somewhat hasty, but of a disposition the most friendly, benevolent and humane. His person was above six feet high: and, though a good looking man, he was plain both in dress and appearance. His face was full of expression: his nose extremely well shaped: his eyes which were small and of a brown cast, were quick and piercing; his eyebrows prominent, which gave his countenance altogether an air of austerity.”
Captain Cook came ashore in 1777, during the American Revolution. His voyages of discovery were so significant that he received a “free pass” to explore wherever he wanted, without fear of reprisal from the American “colonies” or any of her allies.
“Cook’s second voyage marked a successful employment of a marine chronogropher, which enabled Cook to calculate his longitude with great accuracy. Cook’s log was full of praise for this time-piece which he used to make charts of the southern Pacific Ocean that were so remarkably accurate that copies of them were still in use in the mid-20th century.”
Thursday I went out to a rural area where the church has a Middle School, and we taught four groups of 50 students each how to maintain a healthy smile. In the first group only 1 child had ever seen a dentist. In the other groups about 10-15%. These children have such soft brown eyes and they are just so beautiful and happy. They are eager to learn. Unfortunately they know nothing about caring for their mouths. Despite what we did they will be fighting an uphill battle if things don’t change. Their lifestyle is one where their families grow enough to feed themselves but there is little left for anything else. The women often provide for the family and are the leaders in their homes and communities. They are fierce protectors and want better lives for their children. The reality is that there is not much here that would provide for a good future for the upcoming generations. I would hope in the next year I can come up with a good enough program for teaching these little ones so that perhaps a difference will have been made. I will do my level best for them.
One of the teachers came to me and told me that she studied economics at the Church College of Hawaii. She lives on the seond largest of the Tongan Islands and she will be teaching the sciences there when she leaves in a week. Here she has taught math. She is so pretty and obviously dreams of a good future. She wanted to have her widsom teeth looked at. What a project that turned into! After lunch she came into the clinic to see Dad. Three teeth and 90 minutes later she was finished, but that Tongan bone which is so dense and hard, put up a really good fight. Dad was patient and he got the job done, and I assisted (whaever that means since I’m not good at it). Our equipment was substandard – we were working from the hygiene chair, and there were times I felt like it was just too much for him and for her. I was SO glad when the job was done.
When we got home a sweet Tongan neighbor brought me fruit – a large papaya like thing with a skin that is rough like a prickly pear. Then another neighbor knew I needed flour so she brought me some (it comes in plastic sacks). Not much later another showed up with the delicious Tongan yogurt I had been searching for. What dear people they are! Our plummer came and now we have a semi-adaquate shower instead of the dribble we’ve had before. He told me the Tongan way is to put a bucket below the dripping faucet and let it fill up. When it is full just dump it over your head. The other way to shower here is to wait for a rainy day and just go outside…..I’m not kidding one bit! I guess the little ones just strip down and run in the rain, and that’s their bath. Finding out our pipes are gravity fed partially explains our situation. Dad is somewhat concerned that our cistern might have a dead cat or rat in it so we will probably used filtered water when we need to drink or cook.
So our first week is finished and we have survived. I actually love it here, ants, roaches, humidity and the whole of it. I love walking in the morning; I love the kindness of the people and I appreciate the unhurried pace of life. I feel that we made the right decision to be here and know we will be blessed to discover what our contribution should be. Everyone has a different purpose and we will find ours.
xoxoxoMom
When you go to the bank, you take a number, and then take a seat. It’s like being at the DMV. We waited about 30 minutes before “our number was up.”
The longer story is that Dad was able to use the ATM without a problem. He thinks it’s quite magical how the machines just keep giving out money, having never used one before. My card, unlike his was not able to be processed and the machine gobbled it up. To get it back we about had to get a character reference from the king (only kidding). They made it SO hard.
You might already know that Tonga is almost 100% a cash country. That is one of many reasons why it is not visited terribly often. People do not have the ability to process credit cards almost anywhere, and if they do, there is a surcharge.
In any case, we now are good to go, and we can get what we need without having to enter the bank again. Sadly we have to go into town to get cash because the other ATMs nearer to our campus will not take chipped cards.
This is a dive-boat that takes visitors out to the reef. Not fancy, but it gets the job done.
This is the boat that takes the Tongan spearfishermen out to the reef (remember, it’s FIVE miles out), and FIVE people in the boat) to go after the day’s catch. That they then sell to the public for about $2.00 a pound (U.S.). Which reminds me, I have to go in to town to get my Swordfish, Mahi Mahi, and Tuna (all about $2.00 per pound).
‘Twas an evening in October, I’ll confess I wasn’t sober, I was carting home a load with manly pride, When my feet began to stutter and I fell into the gutter, And a pig came up and lay down by my side. Then I lay there in the gutter and my heart was all a-flutter, Till a lady, passing by, did chance to say: “You can tell a man that boozes by the company he chooses,” Then the pig got up and slowly walked away.
p.s. This one didn’t. He stayed for the party, until the very end.
This wave at the Wedge is due to a south swell that typically originates in the southern hemisphere (often in the Southern Ocean south of New Zealand). So even the Wedge has a Tongan connection!
This evening, we went to a surprise birthday party for Sister Tiuone, the wife of the mission president in Tonga. All of the senior missionaries went, including the office staff, and A.P.s. About a third of the seniors are Tongan, and we really enjoyed ourselves. They opened with a song in Tongan, and then an opening prayer in Tongan, and then introductions, (in Tongan). Then, we dived in to a buffet dinner, including raw fish, octopus, and a whole pig. It was fantastic. The raw fish was good, but the octopus was excellent. It was quite firm, and didn’t taste at all fishy. The Tongan who had prepared it was seated across the table from us, so at first we had to try some, but after tasting it, we went back for more.
Fish that are for sale on the dock. They sell them whole, by the bag.
They open up the clam with a knife, cut out the meat, slide it into a baggie, and off you go!
They also sell octopus. It actually tastes quite good.
This is the boat they go out in. 5 fishermen with Hawaiian sling (spearguns), snorkling in 30 feet of water, 5 miles from the island.
This is the speargun they use.
(8 a.m. rush at the clinic.)
After several days of very temperate weather, today was like a sauna, an at the birthday party, it was sweltering. We came back to our house where the air conditioning was on full blast. I spent an hour or so preparing plastic trays and bins, that hopefully will make my life easier in the clinic. We definitely need some organization there, or I am going to lose my sanity. Even though I can generally find what I am looking for, after pawing through piles of consumables, it takes twice as long as it should to accomplish a procedure.
I used my laser again today for a couple of surgical procedures. I hope I will be able to use it a few times a day. Most of what I did today was oral surgery and I chased down a number of pesky root tips, all with minimal suction, and no assistant. It’s challenging.
After we finished to day, Sister Kapp, our next door neighbor (the Mission Nurse) came to the clinic and I removed a large cyst from the top of her foot. Randy Gardner assisted me. (Of course, I used my laser). It worked out really well. I think I am going to specialize in foot and mouth diseases!
I am now treating foot and mouth disease.
As simple as removing a fibroma from the mouth. (Having said that, we asked her to wiggle her toes from time to time – wanted to make sure we weren’t near tendons!)
Excising the lesion.
(She has remained asymptomatic since the surgery – reminds me of Patrick’s surgeries, only not nearly as Alien-like.)
Mom has been doing GREAT in the clinic. She sees patients throughout the day, and is getting the hang of the cavitron. When I think that I am two years out of practice, and then realize that she is 45 years out of practice, it gives me some perspective. But she has a really positive attitude, and is great with the patients. It’s not easy bending over patients all day long, and she works without an assistant as well.
Our missing assistant finally came in today, 15 minutes before closing time. She brought a friend with her who had a toothache, and I think that’s the only reason she came to the clinic. Her friend had all 4 wisdom teeth, and #17 had overlying tissue that was getting traumatized by #16. So I used my laser and did an operculectomy. I hope we see our assistant on a regular basis from now on. Time will tell.
After driving around town again this afternoon, on various errands, I realized that THERE ARE NO TRAFFIC LIGHTS ON TONGATAPU. This means there are NO traffic lights IN THE COUNTRY. That’s right, the entire Kingdom of Tonga has not a single traffic light. I think that qualifies Tonga as a Third World Country. That could be a jeopardy question: This country has no traffic lights. (Maybe the Vatican City doesn’t either, and maybe Nepal, Tibet, and Bhutan don’t have any.)
When seafood actually gets to your table in a restaurant, it looks great and tastes great.
Diners at the restaurant where we had dinner on Tuesday evening (October 24, 2017).
When we walked in to the restaurant, the man at the end of the table got up, came over, said “Hello Elder,” introduced himself, and told us about the group of children he had brought to the restaurant for pizza – which was their prize for winning a competition at their school. Many times, on the street or at a shop, total strangers will come up and shake hands, and then tell us about themselves (“I live in such and such a village. I served a mission in the U.S., I’m the bishop of such and such a ward.)
Sister Kapp, the mission nurse, always carries Purell. Tongans don’t wash their hands very often. We’re told that when it rains, parents will send their kids outside in their undies and a bar of soap in their hands.
We’e learned that one reason Tongans only brush their teeth once a day is because a normal size tube of toothpaste costs about $18.00 Pa’anga ($9.00 U.S.) They figure thatif they brush twice as often as they’re used to (we encourage our patients to brush twice a day) it will cost twice as much as they’re used to
The Tongan concept of “borrow.”
Yesterday, after taking our clothes off the line, we left the pouch of clothespins on the line. Within a few hours, the pouch had been “borrowed.” This afternoon, when we are in town, we will buy another box of clothes pins.
I hope to buy a bike this week, too. (and a sturdy chain lock). Because we’ve heard that bicycles are “borrowed” frequently.
We leave our car locked. (I haven’t heard of anyone “borrowing” a car, yet. J )
If you were wondering, when we leave the clinic, we put the computer (that is used for digital x-ray), my laser, and my loupes, in a locked closet. I keep the key. Fusi, my Tongan nurse, evidently also embraces the cultural concept of “borrowing.”
Speaking of nurses, I am supposed to have an actual dental assistant, but she hasn’t showed up for two days. Evidently, this is another Tongan norm. She may wander in today, or later in the week, as if nothing is amiss. I’ll keep you posted, but in the meantime, I’m having dental school flashbacks, to the last time I worked without an assistant (45 years ago).
Update on internet in our house. It was supposed to be up and running on Monday, and then yesterday, for sure. The Mission Nurse (whose husband is the I.T. guy, and who live next door to us) will check again today. The person doing the scheduling at TCC (Tongan Communications Center) wants to come to the clinic for treatment. I think Sister Kapp is going to use that as a bargaining chip to get our internet installed. We’ll keep you posted.
On the way back from dinner last night, we stopped at Ping’s, a roadside Tongan version of 7-Eleven. (I’ll take a picture, because words are inadequate.) We had run out of food for lunch today. Ping’s didn’t really have anything, so I just bought a liter of Coke, breakfast biscuits, and three Cadbury chocolate bars. I thought we could eat the biscuits with chocolate sandwiched in between, and wash it down with Coke. (Mom was not enthusiastic about that). Anyway, as I was paying for it, the mission president’s wife stopped by to make a purchase. I am sure she was not impressed with the dietary choices of the mission dentist.
We arrived in Tonga just three days ago, but it seems like we’ve been here for much longer. After arriving on Thursday afternoon, we had Friday to get settled in, Saturday to go to the open air market in Nuku ‘alofa to get much needed supplies, Sunday to attend our ward and spend some quiet time in the afternoon catching our breath, and then Monday (today) to hit the ground running and spend a full day in the clinic treating patients and learning routines.
This is what our clinic looks like each morning when we arrive.
It’s been a steep learning curve, that was compounded by my dropping my loupes on the floor this evening and cracking one of the magnification lenses. Luckily I have a couple of spare pairs of loupes, and I’m temped to just throw these in the garbage (but they did cost about $1,400.00). However, they do have a bifocal prescription that I no longer need (and that is an annoyance), the focal length is awkward, and the orientation of the magnification loupes to the “target” is off, so that I had to kind of cock my head to make them work. Additionally, I am hoping that the spare loupes that I will now be wearing won’t fog up so easily. So, having said all that, it was probably a blessing in disguise that they broke. The Lord works in mysterious ways.
We met with President Tuione this morning. He said he goes to outer islands frequently to visit the missionaries (about 100 of whom serve on the outer islands). He said he would like us to accompany him, so that we can meet the members and determine what their oral health care needs are. That will be fun.
We have also met a few more of the “Junior” missionaries. About half native Tongans and half “Palangi” (white people). They all wear the Tupeno. They all live in Missionary Quarters that are adjacent to chapels, that are found in every village on the island. Their “MQ”s are tiny. Generally one room about 15 feet square. They eat two meals a day (Tongan meals are enormous). Dinner at member’s homes are interesting. They prepare a feast, and serve the missionaries, but do not join in the meal, unless asked to do so. The members eat what is left over, and the missionaries have been cautioned by Pres. Tuione to leave some food for the members, because what they serve is what they would have eaten themselves if the missionaries had not been invited to dinner.
We are learning that this culture is very family oriented, and very traditional. Many of the customs are strange to us, however. For example, many male Tongan, even members of the Church, go to “Kava” parties. Kava is a powerful drink – almost a narcotic – that has been described as liquid novocaine. It dulls the senses and according to our High Priest Quorum instructor, who denounced the practice, it robs one of agency. At least it gives the person an excuse to act in ways he shouldn’t. Those who drink Kava leave to their wives the responsibility to care for their families. Some Tongans would rather drink Kava than work. (Kind of reminds me of Middle Easterners who sit and smoke narcotics from water pipes.)
This is not a Kava Party. This is a Tongan girl eating delicious New Zealand ice cream on the street in Nuku ‘alofa!
Having said that, and having been given just a glimpse of the appalling state of oral health in Tonga, I can see why they might want to drink Kava. I have seen teenagers 14 years old whose permanent teeth are decayed to the gum line, with nothing but black roots left. I did a pre-missionary exam today on an 18 year old, who will soon be out in the mission field, whose central and lateral incisors (maxillary arch) all needed root canals. Two of them were beyond restoration, and had to be extracted. I am hoping that when Midwestern Dental School comes in November, they will bring equipment so that they can at least make him a flipper partial to replace the missing teeth.
We have been told that the Church no longer sends Tongan missionaries to the U.S., Australia, or New Zealand. What was happening was they would serve their mission, and then go A.W.O.L. when it was time to get on the plane and return home. They would just disappear – they couldn’t face the prospect of returning to Tonga, where there is little opportunity for education or decent jobs. I’m beginning to realize that this is a problem all across the South Pacific (and probably in most third-world countries).
I am sure the church is doing what it can – the Senior Missionaries here are Humanitarian, Self-Reliance, Medical, Dental, Physical Facilities, and Educational, but the scope of need is almost incomprehensible.
Having said all that, when we went to Church on Sunday, there was a great spirit in the meetings, and the members seemed happy. I think they are grateful for their blessings, and are not concerned about temporal things. Most of them have never been off the island, and probably have little idea what life is like (temporally) in the U.S.. The people in the open-air market on Saturday are a good example. They were all busy selling their fruits, vegetables, poultry and fish, and handicrafts, and getting ready for the biggest day of the week: Sunday, which is a family day. They probably have their priorities in order more than a lot of people who happen to have a lot more temporal wealth.
We walk past this playing field on the Liahona Campus on our way to the clinic from our house.
The villages here are certainly not fancy – homes are basic, and construction is rudimentary, but yards are relatively clean and I haven’t seen any small children selling chicklets on the street. However, they haven’t quite grasped the concept of not littering. They do seem to toss their trash on the ground (and on the beach) without much regard for the environment. They DESPERATELY need a waste-to-energy plant (which they do not have on the island) because power is generated by oil, (or some solar panels),and trash goes into landfills. (Again – third world mentality. Think: China and coal-fueld power plants.)
They say that if you push a stick into the ground, in a couple of months there will be a flourishing plant growing with abundant fruit hanging from its branches. There are mango trees, papaya, breadfruit, banana, watermelon, etc. everywhere, and fruit stands lining the roads. Many people live ‘in the bush” off the land and the sea. Large Mexican papaya are $.50 (U.S.). A large watermelon is $1.50 (U.S.).
The morning rush.
Interesting day. We saw scheduled patients in the morning, and walk-ins in the afternoon. We started at 8 a.m., took an hour for lunch, and finished at 3 p.m. All in all, it wasn’t too stressful. I did exams, oral surgery, and assisted Randy Gardner on endo and restorative. I took notes on what materials he used, and made mental notes about where said materials were in the clinic. The surgery instruments were unfamiliar to me, but I got by. The overhead illumination is not what I am used to and my glasses fogged up constantly with my mask on. The humidity is so high. I worked without a mask part of the time.
The Clinic.
Randy has an LED light on his glasses and I really need something like that. I have a light source back in Spokane but would have a hard time putting my hands on it right now. Luckily, he and I have about the same inter-ocular distance and his loupes are 2.5 magnification, which is the same as mine, so he may leave them with me when he goes home. (I will pay him for them and he will get new ones when he gets home). That would be VERY NICE. You have to be able to see what you are doing, when performing dentistry!
I fractured off a lingual root tip on #15, and couldn’t see very well – the suction is marginal, and no assistant. He helped me get it out. It’s nice to have another set of eyes and hands and I’ll be a little anxious when he leaves. Patrick and Kevin: I’ll be face timing you a lot for your second opinions.
In the morning, we took a half hour out of our schedule to go meet with President Tiuone at the Mission Office. Had a nice visit with him. He is Tongan, but grew up in New Zealand. He’s about 40, and has been President for a year or so. His wife has a big fibroma right in the philtrum of her upper lip. But I asked the Mission Nurse about mentioning that I could remove it with my laser, and she said I couldn’t bring it up. Sis. Tiuone is of “noble” blood, and the fibroma is a token of her standing in the culture.
There is a volunteer dentist coming in a month or so, and he asked us to provide him with a wish list. I have half a dozen things on it and I am sure the list will grow. Even basic things like caries detection dye predisone, and articulating paper holders, are non-existant. We really can’t even get antibiotics or Rx strength analgesics.
Tomorrow is the day anyone from the community can come to the clinic, and it will be Triage. They will come with a chief complaint, and a mouth full of time bombs waiting to explode. We will do a lot of extractions.
Tonight is Home Evening for the Senior Missionaries. I am going to take a nap before hand, for sure.
We We snuck in a quick visit to Tsunami Rock.
This rock started out at the beach, just beyond the bushes in the background behind the coconut palms.
Saturday (October 21 2017) evening, the Seniors went to the Blowhole. It is just 3 km from Liahona. It was windy, and many were wearing sweatshirts. I had on a t shirt and shorts. The surf was pounding the lava bench and dozens of blowholes were spouting up and down the coast.
Jan went to the beach with three other Senior Missionaries while Phil went into town on a futile mission to procure storage containers.
The ocean completely surrounds the island!!
The water comes right up to the sand!
Tsunami Rock waiting to happen!
(This is Tsunami Rock)
Mom said it was very warm.
Lots of sea shells by the sea shore.
We’re going back this evening for the sunset.
When we left the Liahona Campus this morning, it was hovering in the low seventies, and the “guard” at the gate had on a down parka, gloves, and a ski hat. I am not sure that it was, in fact, a record low, but by mid-day it was in the eighties, and only about 50% humidity! I could hardly feel it. (But I do take at least two showers a day).
By the way, if anyone is wondering what to get me for Christmas, I would really like a Jet-Bell. And mom would like the superyacht it is sitting on. (You can look up “Pursuit” on the internet.
These were in Fiji. I don’t think we will see theses in Tonga. B.T.W. – we are going deep sea fishing (not sure when). I told the organizers that I enjoy deep sea catching. They said I would have a good time.
Phil and Jan's Adventure in Tonga 