After the Storm, Flowers Bloom

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.