The Joys of Procrastination

If you're wondering why we always take so long to update the blog, it's because the task of creating such a detailed blog is very daunting...and they get kind of long. On the other hand, if we don't make it detailed then it's boring. It's kind of a lose-lose situation. But now you have a very lengthy blog AND pictures!!! Enjoy! :)

Juicy Temple Details

We're really sorry that we're such losers at keeping this updated, but we just want to post things a month after they happen.....NOT! Anyway, this post is on the details of the temple rededication, with an emphasis on the cultural event the night before. If you want to hear more details in an area we don't go into, just ask, or email...both are good. PS in advance, this is a really long post, so if you don't want to read anything, feel free to skip down to the pictures.

1) Everything started with the open house. For three weeks, the sisters came to our house for breakfast, and then they headed over to the chapel, where they conducted tours and such. It was fun to hear them singing each morning while I got ready for school. We celebrated the commencement of the open house with a big ceremony, and even the king showed up! He gave a speech, which was mainly interesting because of his cool accent and his silver suit. Michelle and April even got to present a huge bouquet to the Mother Queen Mata'aho! Then we got to go on an official tour of the temple, led by none other than the Mission President! We got to take more tours with school groups throughout the three weeks. The temple is gorgeous!!

2) Some of the little details: We all got to go to the Time Capsule ceremony, which was cool. April put in a packet of pictures of the old temple, and Michelle put in some Article of Faith cards with a picture of the Tongan temple on the back. There was a big sign across the street from the temple that said "Families are Forever". It was cool. We wanted to get a picture of it, but we never did. Then there were two really cool signs that went above the road. We really, really wish we had gotten a picture of this, because it goes to show how Tongans decorate. (But there is one picture of it in the November 10 Church News.) The first one was by the school, and it said on one side, "Welcome Home, Elder and Sister Nelson", with a picture of the Angel Moroni. (They had come for Stake Conference and, left to visit Samoa and Fiji, and then came back again for the dedication events.) The other side of it said, "Give our Regards to President Hinckley". The Tongans really wanted him to come, and yet, they were understanding and cheerful--not angry or upset--when he couldn't make it. The second sign was down the street, by our house, and on one side it said, "Let's Rededicate Ourselves". That was particularly special to April, because that was the school theme of 2007, a school year that means a little more to her than other years, if you can imagine why. We're not sure, but we think the last one said, "Welcome to Tonga". But they all had woven palm fronds covering the ugly poles and such, and then covered with balloons and flowers. It was definitely a sight to see.

3) Then there was the cultural event. Think Day of Celebration, only Tongan style. That means that over 2,400 youth on Tongatapu spent the last six months practicing different dances. Each stake did a different polynesian dance. The youth gave so much for that event, and it was so special! The sky was stormy all week long, and we even practiced many mornings in the rain, but on the night of the performance, despite the big storm clouds, the ground was dry. The dances told a story called "A Treasure That Lasts", about a young couple that had lost their only daughter, and in hopes of finding comfort, they traveled around Polynesia. The couple got gifts from each place they visited--something tangible, as well as a lesson to be learned. (that's when each group danced.) When they got back from their trip, they met the missionaries. The missionaries enjoyed seeing all their treasures, and then said they had a treasure to share with the couple as well, only it was something that would last. At that point, the missionaries came and stood all around the stadium. It was SO cool! Then, at the end, the couple's little daughter came out in white, as the narrator talked about the treasure of the temple. It was incredible. Anyway, the pictures below will show you some of the costumes so you can kind of get an idea.

4) The next morning, which was Sunday the 4th of November (which also happened be our four month anniversary in Tonga), we walked over to the temple. We got to be in the celestial room for it. Elder Nelson was so nice to us, he let us go and be part of the corner stone laying, too. There were two choirs that sang, and they sounded so beautiful! The best part by far (and that means the best part of this whole experience), was at the end. Elder Nelson invited everyone to sing The Spirit of God, in their native language. The reason this was so cool is because Tongans love to sing, and they love to sing loud. They also have slightly different tunes and harmonies in some of the hymns. So between the Tongans and the Palangis, we practically had an eight-part harmony. We were all singing just about as loud as we possibly could, and could barely hear ourselves. There really must have been angels singing with us. It was so incredible.

Well, I think I got the main points, so here are some pictures (You can see more pictures at planet-tonga.com, although this is basically the best):

Mom, Dad, Sister and Elder Nelson. All four are remarkable people, as I'm sure you'll agree.

President Condie and the Nelsons meeting Princess Pilolevu, just before the cultural event.

The first dance was Tahiti. Too bad there were no action shots, because Tahitians are the ones who "get really crazy with the hips!"

Next comes the Maori, from the land of the long white cloud, complete with poi balls, those weird sticks, and face paint!

This is Hawaii. They began with a really cool fire dance, performed by our two friends, Tu'itakau and Manase. (We wish we could give a better description, because it really was amazing, but it probably would just confuse you:)

That little girl was adorable! And it's a good shot of the costumes.

This is Samoa. Apparently it was a really cool dance, but sadly we were always in a lousy position for watching this one. The guy in the yellow is our multi-talented friend, Nela.

This is Fiji. The girls move around quite a bit on this one, and my friend explained it's because Fijian women actually do hard work. Who knows?

The Fijian boys were also really cool. Really, all of the dances were amazing, but this one got April's vote as the coolest. The one above is a better shot of their costumes.

Here's the couple meeting the missionaries, just before Tonga comes on the scene!

And here's Nela again, doing some serious jamming on the drums. I just wish this picture could show you how wild he really got.

Here's Michelle, the Vahenga, doing the Ma'ulu'ulu! (The Vahenga is the most important person, usually filled by a noble. Since there were no nobles, the next in line was Michelle.) Below is just a nice shot of the boys uniform, although not much unlike what the girls wore.

Extra points to whoever can guess which of us this is. Seriously, even we had a hard time telling.

Boys again. What's new?

Go Missionaries!

This is just a cool shot at the end of the show, where everyone came in together.

Families are Forever!!

Wow! It actually worked!!!

See below for my fantastic post....complete with PICTURES!!!!

Class of 2007!!!

Joey, the answer is, yes. I'm a graduate! I hope these pictures work so that you can see all the fun, too! Basically, I graduated on October 26th, from Liahona High School, Nuku'alofa Tonga. My class was 195-ish people big, The week before included Seminary Graduation followed by a stake dance, Graduation dance, and practices all week for the marching and singing. It was fun to hang around with all my friends before they all left. There were a few parties here and there, including a real kai me'akai for my friend Nata! I went by myself and enjoyed a genuine Tongan feast! It was my first one, and it was cool! Tongans can eat probably 4 times as much as any palangi I know!

I think the highlight for me about graduation was graduating with people I could really call friends. The idea of moving to a tropical island and leaving my friends behind didn't really worry me, because I knew I'd make more here. But at first I was a little worried because I still felt so much like a stranger, even after three months! I didn't feel like I belonged with my graduating class, but it's amazing what four months will do that three months won't. I was so, so happy on that night, because I could look back on all of my HS experience, and I was happy with all of it, but especially happy with the past four months. I still don't know half my classes' names, but that's ak, because I love them anyway. :) They're all my friends. Ok! That's all I can think of, so here are the pictures!!

This is Nesi, me, and Suka, a Fijian, on the night of Seminary graduation. They are two of my best friends.At the Graduation dance, there was a special swing number, and this is some of the group. The colors are hard to see, but the matching colors indicate partners. (My partner is not featured in this picture...)This is my best friend here, Nesi Latu. Her nice Grandma was the one who made that beautiful kahoa (lei) I'm wearing, and it was the first one I ever had that was made especially for me! (this picture even made it into the graduation DVD as the background for all the selections!) The green balloon says it all: LHS 2007! One of the funniest things about Tongans is that where the camera is, they will be. This picture group probably started with three people trying to get a picture together, and ended up with someone jumping in every second or two. But this is a good picture of lots of my friends and it captures the moment pretty well. This is mom, with her two Spanish students. When they were Saineha HS in Vava'u, she taught the very first missionaries departing for Spanish speaking missions. These are two, Brother Kupu (right) and Brother Kulu (left), and their wives. Here's my class at Graduation, with the straight A students wearing yellow at the front. All I can say is, I'm glad I came here, because I never would have been included in that elite group at Skyline!

Well, I can't get this one to rotate, but this is me, seconds from receiving my diploma! (I also included this one because I think I look like Load Runner.)

This is all of us, after the ceremony, and right before things got hectic! Man, I love graduation in Tonga! Everyone was packed in the gym because of the rain, and everyone was giving candy and flower kahoas to everyone! Apart from the fact you could hardly breath, it was very fun, and my cheeks have never been so sore from smiling. Sorry, again, it won't rotate. (oh, wait! No, I was just laying on my side for this one! ....Jk) This kahoa was so special because I didn't think I'd really get one from the family, because no one actually knows how to make them, but Sneeky Mom and Sneeky Lani planned/made this for me, and it was gorgeous! It was easily the prettiest one I've ever had.

Mom, me and Dad. Man, if you think that was a lot of kahoas, that was nothing! I eventually got so many they were falling off my shoulders! (Luckily, Tongans are as gracious receivers as they are givers, so as soon as the younger students made it into the gym--hence, adding to the confusion--it was easy to get rid of a few.)

Yeah, I would say this is the best picture if you want to see how many kahoas they were giving out,although it's still not as many as I got that night. This is me and my friend, Tiane. (That's short for Kalistiane, or Christian)Meet the President! This is Pasimi Mesuli, SB President of Liahona High! (He's obviously emotionally moved by the intensity of the night...)Nancy, Shelia, and Me. Shelia was the Valedictorian, and Nancy was first runner up. Nancy was my marching partner. (Well, and she's my friend, too.)This is Nesi, Michelle and me....with a bunch of dorm boys. After graduation, Mom said I could invite a few people over and have lemon bars. (Sometimes she doens't realize how much Tongans eat...) Anyway, no one was around except for the dorm boys, so they all came over for a while...Unfortunately, Nesi told them we were having a feast, so I think some of them were a little dissappointed when they got a small rectangle of lemon merangue. Oh well, I had fun!

So there you have it. Graduation at Liahona. That's a lot of pictures, but I think it will make up for the fact that pictures haven't worked until now. (I think it may have something to do with the fact that I switched to gmail.) Love you all! O4A2!

I am a Conformist

Well, everyone seems to be getting new email accounts, so I thought I'd join in the fun. I finally created a gmail account so that I can re-enter the world of technology. Please, send me something so that I get your email addresses! My new address: epe.lhs07 at gmail. (It stands for epeleli, Liahona High School, class of 07! (And my lucky number...)) You can still send stuff to my hotmail, but who knows when I'll get it. PS, dear skyliners, will you pass the word on? O4A2!!

You Asked, Here Are The Answers

Sorry this has taken so long; I tried to post this just after you asked all of your questions, but the internet has been kind of temperamental again lately. Anyway, here's a quick answer to all of your questions. We'll try to post more detailed responses as the questions trickle in and we feel so inclined, but for now, here they are:

Peter: Tongans do celebrate Halloween, but not quite like they do in America. The kids in our ward came trick-or-treating, but the costumes were not quite as extravagant as most of the costumes that you probably saw.
-The school year is over, and so are all of the exams, which means the dorm kids have all gone home, and the kids who come down and stay with family have gone back to their islands, too. It's getting kind of boring; there aren't nearly as many people, and not as much to do. We're taking our "Mission Tour" of the islands in December, though, and I'm excited to go see all of my friends, and to see where they live. April and I are also flying to New Zealand to stay with the Mission President and his daughter for a week in January. I don't know what the other Tongans do during the summer, but we're turning into quite the travellers!
-Speaking of communication.... Our old hotmail accounts don't work still, but I set up a gmail account, which is mcmurray05@ gmail.com so you can all email me! I'll try to keep in touch better. But even if we don't, remember that we still love you!

Joey: Tongan is slowly but surely coming. Sometimes I can carry a basic conversation, and other times I think that I’m speaking an entirely different version of Tongan than these people. They’re all really nice about trying to help us learn, though, and I know we’ll get it eventually!
-What do we miss most from the U.S.? Well it’s kind of hard to pick something like that, because we have all of the necessities, and learn to live with whatever we don’t have. But I would have to say that I miss friends and family the most. Oh, and I really miss the mountains. Our island is totally and absolutely flat. I love the palm trees and the ocean, but I wish I could have mountains and snow, too…
-April has indeed graduated, but I'll let her tell you more about that, because that's her story!

Heidi: (I never told any boys I had a lip disease, so can I skip that part? Just kidding! :) Small items I wish I had… Well I can’t think of any specifics right of the top of my head, but I wish things were more conveniently located. There are little stores (falekoloas) close to our house that are pretty well-stocked with basic food and such, but if you want anything else, you have to go downtown and find a store that carries it. Mom misses Costco.
-Food craves: I love the fruit! I especially love the fresh pineapple. They’re so sweet, and you can even eat the core. It’s less sweet, but it’s still good. I love papaya, coconut, and bananas, too!
-April and I are both playing the piano in church. We play with another girl named Selai, so all of us play one song every week. We both took piano class in school, but April’s keeping it up a little more than I am.

Abe: Biggest differences between Americans and Tongans? That’s a really broad question, and it kind of defeats the purpose of this Q&A…you were supposed to ask questions that would not make us try to analyze such complex ideas… But in answer to your other questions, I think my favorite thing about the Tongans is how loving and sharing they are, even if they don’t have very much. My least favorite thing is probably how often you hear things blamed on “the Tongan way”. They don’t seem to understand that you can change if you think something should be different. And the boys are a little….overwhelming….

Matt: The beaches down here are mostly coral, which are fun, but not in the same way as sandy beaches. There are a lot of fun coral formations to climb on, and the blowholes are amazing, but they are different from the sandy beaches you might be envisioning. There are some fun sand beaches too, but they’re mainly coral.

Brad: We have tons of fruit trees in our yard. We have coconuts, bananas, papaya, Indian apple, breadfruit, and a mango tree (whether or not that actually gives fruit we have yet to discover). We also have sugar cane, and a tangerine tree hangs over the fence.
-We haven’t exactly acquired any pets of our own, but our neighbors chickens are in our yard so much that it sometimes feels like they’re ours. There are almost always new chicks, and it’s so fun to watch them get bigger. Our other neighbor has a rooster, and for those of you that are under the impression that roosters only crow at the crack of dawn, let me straighten you out. They crow ALL the time!

Dear Peter

Tongans do not celebrate Halloween. However, I think they all know what it is, and our ward primary sort of celebrated it. The English wards have done it for many years, and this was their first year to try it. But we made pumpkin cookies, paper michee jack-o-lanterns and ghosts to make our home a little more festive. My English teacher also had a Halloween party in class, and that was kind of fun too.

Now that school’s out, we plan to visit the other islands, and that’s what some people do. But most people don’t do anything over the summer holidays, and that’s not an understatement. If there’s no organized activity, you can be sure they won’t be doing much. Most Tongans will probably sleep, eat, play volleyball, and visit the local internet café all day everyday this summer. They will probably visit the beach once in a while too. The sad thing is, Tonga is not as quick paced as America, which is really nice most of the time, but it pretty much ensures that I will see very few if any of my friends over the summer, unless they’re in my ward, because they all stay close to home. No hang out/chill games for me. I suppose if I hear of any dances I’d go, and then I would see the kids of that neighborhood.

If I could do what I wanted to the school system here, I would start by rewriting the curriculum, and it would include regular and honors classes, so the few who are ambitions about school don’t get held behind by those who aren’t. I would also make a minimum grade to be able to participate in any sports. Nothing too high, but high enough that kids don’t enroll in school just so they can win a few medals. I would also give the student body officers more leadership opportunities. Right now, the prefects basically don’t do anything, and they are often worse students than anyone else at going to class, and not wearing their complete uniform…There are tons of things that need a lot of improvement, but that’s a start. The students are not incapable of learning more, and the teachers are not incapable of teaching better, but someone somewhere doesn’t agree with me, and it’s really taking a lot out of their education.

I haven’t kept in good touch with anyone really, because of our internet, but when I get the chance to check my email at school (three times now!) I write some friends from school, and a few of the ward girls. I basically just try and catch up my inbox, which is practically hopeless by now.

I always knew deep down that I was half Tongan. Yes, we have plenty of free time and we waste quite a bit of it. I know, it’s the beginning of summer, and that always happens in the first few weeks, and it didn’t help that we had dance practices half the day all last week, or final examinations this week and next. I’m sure we’ll get on top of things really well soon. Michelle and I have been helping our exam friends study, and we’ve also started working at the Health Center on campus, where we are dentil assistants to the new American dentist. It’s pretty rad; I’ve seen two root canals, countless fillings, a tooth/post reconstruction, and a couple of wisdom teeth extractions, and I only started working on Monday! Danny and I also help with this reading program they have for middle school kids, to improve their pronunciation and comprehension. It’s very sad, most of them are reading those skinny Richard Scary and Clifford books. These kids are older than Danny! But it’s nice to help out, and it’s a very interesting program.

Well, I hope that answers your questions pretty thoroughly. We’ll do another blog soon so you can get all your “juicy Temple details.”

Everyone Has a Kissing Story

But My story actually has to do with how I evaded it! I was going to be fair and go in order of who posted first with answering questions, but Heidi's question about my lip disease was too good to put off. (You guys are asking fabulous questions by the way.) But I'll recap the whole story for those who didn't get the first part of it:

So there's inter-server chatting, and it's all the kids ever do once they get to Computer class. The teacher says we're not allowed, but she doesn't really care, nor do any of the teachers, so it's quite rampant. So, while I'm still relatively new at this chatting thing(Tongan's call it texting), this stranger gets on and talks to me. He wouldn't tell me his name, or how old he was or anything, and no one in my class knew who he was. I finally bullied his name out, but I still had no idea who he was. One day, though, he got on and basically said, "Will you meet me in the back of the gym and make out with me? Because I need to be around people with higher standards." (Uh, and that will help your standards...how?) I hope you believe in me enough to know I said no to him. Naturally. Then he asked me why. "Is it because you don't know me?" (duh)

This is where my red horns and tail start to grow.

I answered, "Partly, but it's also because I have this lip disease and I would hate to pass it along." The next few days/weeks entailed conversations where he said some nice but funny things, like, "Can I do anything about it?" "Does it hurt? I can't stand it when people are in a lot of pain..." "Have you prayed about being healed?" "I'll check and see if I have any creams at home for you..." And my personal favorite, "Well, at least your lips don't look like they're infected or anything..." He even asked me the name of my disease, and I tried to evade that one for as long as I could, until I couldn't, I just made one up. End of part 1.

After a while, he completely stopped texting me, but I still wondered who he was. Then one morning, at one of our practices for the temple program, my friend introduced me and Michelle to two boys sitting nearby. When she said, "That's Charlie," I was entirely surprised, because he is the Stake president's son, and he's in form 4 (equivalent of 10th grade), and he'd been talking to me lately, but I hadn't known his name. Luckily for me, I acted indifferent and figured it would all take care of itself. Then a few days later at yet another practice, we were sitting next to each other, and he asked me the name of my disease again. I started to laugh and then apologized because it was all made up. He wasn't really mad, because for one thing, he said he hadn't believed me (yeah right), and for another, he deserved it! But it all turned out great in the end because I had a great laugh, and now we're friends, and I don't think he wants to kiss me anymore. Which is good, because I don't really want to kiss anyone, let alone a tenth grader. End of part 2

I hope you find that as funny as I do, because I still laugh about it when I think about it, and it happened forever ago. I'll answer some more of your questions soon!

Q&A

We apologize profusely for our severe lack of dilligence in making our blog more exciting. It is due partly to our lame technology, partly to our lame ability to manage the lame technology, and partly to the fact that we are getting so used to things down here that sometimes we forget what we have and have not always lived with.

So we had an "apostrophe."

Your job is to think up really cool questions and write them in comment form, and we will make up really cool answers. (Ok, you can ask stupid questions if you want, but you run the risk of getting stupid answers. But at least we won't tease you...too much) You now have the chance to ask anything you want. Then we will make a new blog where we answer them, or make separate blogs for each one. (It depends on the amount of feedback) That will be exciting, won't it? :) Fire away!

Tau'olunga!

The typical Tongan way is to put off...well, everything. So for example, our ward's talent night is this Wednesday. When did they start teaching April the dances? Last Tuesday. They taught me one. On Thrusday, they taught me another two. So if you haven't guessed, this post is about Tau'olunga, or the Tongan dancing.

The fact is, it's absolutely beautiful to watch, and I can't figure out how they look so graceful. I feel so awkward, epecially when I watch the older women, who are of no insignificant size, do it so flawlessly and gracefully. I asked the girls in my ward casually as we were walking home, "So you just all know how to dance?" Their reply was equally casual in the affirmative. They just all know how to do it, not to mention Samoan, Hawaiian, and Fijian dances as well. They can pick up dances after watching them just a few times.

The first dance I learned (ever), is the Laka-Laka. It's the one our stake is preparing for the Temple dedication in November. The cool thing about it, is they're dances that involve a ton of people, and they all have the moves synchronized. They also sing during it. I'm nor sure it that's exactly the definition of a Laka-laka, but so far those are the differences I've noticed.

The second dance is a dance specifically about Ha'apai, one of the main island groups. It's definitely the hardest one I've learned, but the Young Women president seems optimistic and wants me to do it on Wednesday with the other Laurels. Then in the summer when we go to Ha'apai, I can perform it with the other two laurels who come from Ha'apai.

Next, is the Samoan dance we're doing with the combined YW and YM. The girl who taught us was kind enough to teach us some of the moves backwards, so when we added in the boys, I kept turning away from my partner, and not towards him. Lets just say I am a very reliable source of entertainment to these people. (And myself, to be honest.) Then we do a Hawaiian hula with the combined YW.

The fun thing about preparing for this talent night is that I'm learning a new talent. It's fun, and it's a way to get closer with these people. I'm better friends with the kids in our ward now because I've allowed them to laugh at me, and teach me something that means a lot to their culture. It's also nice, because like everything else that's difficult in life, it gets easier the more you do it. I can pick up the dances much faster than I could when we arrived here almost three months ago. Not that that's saying much, but it's comforting.

Well, I could go on telling about the fun costumes and such, but hopefully we'll get some cool pictures this Wednesday of the talent night, and then we can post them (in theory), and you can see it for yourself. And after that, we'll probably start taking formal lessons, so then we'll really know what to do!(sort of) Until then...'Ofa atu!

Technical Difficulties

If you were thinking we dropped off the edge of the planet, you're wrong. However, we aren't responding to any emails because we can't actually access email. Beats me why we can access almost every webpage (some of the time), but not hotmail. Anyway, we're not ignoring you, we're just internet-less. I promise as soon as I can I will email you all back. In fact, since I'll be lucky if this message even up-loads, I'll tell you now, too, that we can't figure out how to put pictures on our blog, so right now, it's kind of boring. Anyway, check up on it every once in a while and maybe you'll get lucky. (Hopefully we will too.)

The Liahona High School Mustangs

After tons of requests to hear about school, I finally decided to just make a post, so here it is.

We go to Liahona High School, which (if you can't guess by the name) is an LDS school. We go to our homeroom every morning where we have a devotional, and there are church pictures and scriptures all over the campus.

I'm finally getting used to the schedule! At first it was way confusing to have 8 classes in a 7-period day, but now I like it because it keeps the days separate from each other and less monotonous. Most Fridays are short days for sports (usually rugby), and every Wednesday we start at 9:10 instead of 8:15, and then go to Liberal Arts for last period. During Liberal Arts, we go to the gym and learn a Tongan dance that we'll perform at the dedication of the Tongan temple on November 4. (If you think April and I stand out when we're just standing around, you should see us when we try to dance! )

The classes here are pretty easy. I started in form 4 (10 grade) when we got here, but it was too easy, so I'm now in the middle of form 5 (11 grade) which means I'll start my senior year when all of my Utahn friends are in the middle of their sophmore year. :D I'm still going to stay here for the full three years though; they offer a college-prep course that I'll complete before coming home. Fun stuff.

The one thing that really surprised me though, was when my history teacher told me that I had to write a 10-page paper on the history of the LDS church in Tonga. (Where am I supposed to find 10-pages worth of information on that?!) Then I found out that it is really a 5-page paper, plus a cover page, bibliography, etc., and that it just has to be on some aspect of Tongan history. Oh, and just for the record, I'm taking History, Math, English 1, English 2, Science, Seminary, Choir, and Piano.

The only other thing that's really worth hearing about at our school is sports. We have an awesome rugby team that won nationally last season. We also have volleyball, basketball, tennis, and netball. Oh and of course soccer! April and I are on the team, surprising as it may seem. Neither of us have really played since elementary school, but we're still two of the best girls on the team. Whenever the coach has us run laps, April is always the first girl finished, and is usually only beat by a couple of the older boys. All of the Tongan girls on the team tell us that we're too fast. :P

So now you have an idea of what Tongan school is like. You should be jealous. :)

You Don't Have to Push a Handcart

I know it's late, but I love Pioneer day, so I wanted to tell you all kind of what it means here.

Every Monday we have an assembly at school. Who would have guessed you'd start assemblies with a song and a prayer!? This week, Mom and Dad were the featured guests. It was fun to hear all the old stories of Ben the Wagon Boy, Mary Benson, and others. Dad also taught the whole school "Pioneer Children Sang as They Walked." They loved that song. But Dad mentioned something that was really cool. He taught us what makes a pioneer. A Pioneer is someone who

1) Loves God
2) Makes Sacrifices for the things they believe in
3) They can sing even when it's hard

I'm really glad Dad didn't just say, "We're all pioneers." Dad, in his wonderful, wise way, taught us specific things that make us pioneers. When we have those things, we combine them with the talents we have, and we become Pioneers. It's very special to know that. I didn't expect to celebrate Pioneer day when we got here, because we're not in Utah, but was amazed to find out that the Tongans love the "Paionia" people, too. We had such a great celebration on Friday, and it was incredible to see their efforts in making the Pioneers more real to us. In our sacrament meeting, the speakers, who don't have much personal connection to the actual pioneers, spoke of themselves, and told how they too are pioneers. Tha's incredible to me.

So since you're not pushing handcarts over the mountains, you can come and be a pioneer with us in Tonga! (I promise Trek will be much easier. Michelle and I did the whole thing in flip flops!)

Oiaue!

Pronounced "oi-oh-way," with the accent sort of between the last two syllable. (If you actually knew Tongan, you'd know why) This can be your first word. You could use this word when you saw a beautiful sunset, or maybe you'd say it once you realized it was Friday the thirteenth. You can also hear it in "The Other Side of Heaven," during the funeral. Basically, it takes place of any interjection and can express any emotion. I like it a lot. In one little word, I can tell you all how I feel about Tonga. It's crazy, wonderful, different, beautiful, and all that jazz. I probably have said it to myself 30 times in the last day because I have felt like I'm in a whir of everything. So, next time you want to impress someone, like a date (or your spouse if you're married), you can use it! Oiaue!

Tongan Adventures

We spent so long getting our blog going, that I think it's silly to leave it devoid of real posts any longer, so here is a quick summary of everything that's happened to our family so far. (If you got April's email then don't worry about reading this:)

We flew from Salt Lake to San Francisco on Friday morning, where we spent a day sightseeing and then flew to Auckland, New Zealand. We got there at 5:30 am on Sunday, so we slept for a few hours and then attendended a Tongan ward. Later that night we also went to a Tongan fireside, where my dad spoke for 30 minutes in Tongan, and the rest of us tried. (I only had to read my scripture in Tongan, but believe me, it was still a mouthful!) We stayed there until Wednesday morning, the whole time being hosted by Elder Condie, the area president, and his wife. We visited a kauri rainforest of HUGE trees that can grow up to 20 feet in diameter; sheep world, where we got to feed baby lambs and watch sheep being sheared; the Mauri museum, where we watched some cool traditional dances; a cool aquarium; and we also went to some of the more scenic beaches. Everything was amazing, even in the "freezing winter" of rain and wind. :)

On Wednesday morning we flew from Auckland to Tonga!!! We have a really nice house, and our yard is full of cool plants. We have coconuts, bananas, papaya, Indian apple, sugar cane, breadfruit, and "mate loi", a plant that shrivels up when you touch it.

We go to an all-Tongan ward, but school is all in English (or at least is supposed to be--it's not really). And for all of you that think having a different schedule every other day is confusing, never move to Tonga--we have a different schedule every day. (Well we go to the same order of classes, but since we have 8 classes and a 7-period day, the classes get shifted.) There are also about 9 buildings that all look the same, and it's easy to get lost. Luckily everyone is really nice and helps the palangi* find her class. :)

Tonga itself is really pretty too; the trees are so big and beautiful, and I love the ocean. We went to a beach, and the blowholes, which are amazing to watch. The waves come up and hit the coral reefs with a ton of force, and they blow up like gysers.

This quick summary is getting rather extensive, so suffice it to say that Tonga is incredible. You should all come and see it for yourselves!

Michelle
*Tongan word of the day-- Palangi: a white person

Greetings from the Tongan Islands!

Well, the moment you've been waiting for is officially here!! (Ta-da!) Our April and Michelle blog is now up and running for your benefit! From here, you can see pictures, and stories of our adventures here in Tonga. (We know you're already jealous, but it's more fun to rub it in!) We might even throw in a few Tongan words now and again so you can learn some of that crazy language. Visit us again soon to see some real posts that will actually be worth reading, as well as cool pictures. (Yes, Tongan computers are even slower than you might imagine.) More to come soon!

April and Michelle