New Arrivals to the Tonga Mission

We were pleased to have two new Senior couples arrive for their mission here in Tonga.  We first welcomed Elder and Sister Deakin from Tremonton, Utah.  They came in at 8:55 PM with the "deer in the headlight look"!  They are Church Auditors and will be auditing the Stakes and Wards here in Tonga.   Next we welcomed Elder and Sister Johns, from West Virginia.  They will be running the Dental Clinic at Liahona, as he is a dentist.  They will also be working with all other dentist here in Tonga bringing what expertise they have in the hope to help all dentist here in Tonga.  They arrived at 1:20 PM, again with the "deer in the head light look".  Following are some pictures of us welcoming them to Tonga!

The arrival of the Deakins on September 19, 2015.  He is the one in the white shirt and Sister Deakin is in front of him.  We were all up on the observatory deck waving and hollering at them!

Here they have just come through customs and are greeting us all!

This is President and Sister Tupou with Elder and Sister Deakin.

Here is all of us that came to greet them.  We are all very happy they came to be with us!

This is Elder and Sister Johns, the dentist, just coming from the plane on September 25, 2015.

Here they are just coming through customs.

President and Sister Tupou and Elder and Sister Johns.

This is the group that was able to come a greet them.  It was in the middle of the day so some were not able to be here.

This young Elder is coming home from his mission and this is his family greeting him.  Notice the young man with the towel on his head and in his mouth.  This happens a lot here in Tonga.

The family had all of these candy leis to put on him.  They were so happy to see him!

"Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's will never be the same again once you have celebrated them while serving a mission...The twelve or eighteen months will seem as a small moment, but the memories will last through the eternities."    Vaughan J. Featherstone