Sights and Events in November 2015

There are always beautiful sights around the island, especially the sunsets and watching the waves of the ocean.  So calming and peaceful.  We will greatly misses these sights back in Idaho! We also enjoyed a real Thanksgiving Dinner with our Senior Family.  We had everything except olives, none on the island and the sweet potatoes were purple as that is Tonga's sweet potato.  But all was very tasty!  We did not have a lot of time to sight see this month, but here are a few shots that we took.  Hope you enjoy them as much as we have!

These are the Blow Holes and they were really blowing this day, so amazing to watch!

The picture does not do it justice.  In real life the huge wave was a clear blue green, so beautiful.

This was the sunset we enjoyed while watching the Blow Holes.  As always amazing!

Another shot of the sunset at the Blow Holes!

This was a beautiful sunset we had while sitting having dinner at Keleti Resort with a group of Senior Missionaries.  Great food, wonderful company and beautiful sunset!  Who could ask for anything more?  Well it would be nice if my family were here to see it as well!

Here is our Thanksgiving Dinner.  The first couple here is Kaitlyn and Zach, a couple from Wisconsin who are doing their internship at the National Diabetes Center.  They were with us all through National Diabetes  Week events.  We invited them for Thanksgiving Dinner with us and they were very happy to be able to have a Thanksgiving Dinner.  Zach said that it was even better than what he would have had at home, but he says he won't be able to tell his Mom that!  Very nice young people.  We hope that maybe a seed was planted from the little devotional we had at this dinner, so that when the missionaries approach them, they will be open to their message.

This is our group at our Thanksgiving Dinner.

On this day we took Elder and Sister Clarkson, who are from London, to see some of the sights of the island that they have not been able to do yet.  This is the beach at Hina Cave.  It is a beautiful area.

This is Sister Clarkson inside Hina Cave where they do the Fire Shows after the dinner that they do on Wednesday and Friday nights.

Here is Elder and Sister Murdock half way up the stairway leading from Hina Cave.  Such a beautiful view, but very windy!

These are two of the special shells that I found today in our travels to different beaches.  The first in a long time.  I had almost thought Sister Wood took them all home with her, but I guess not!

This is dinner date night with the Seniors.  We have found a new place, Carpe Diem.  It is owned by a German lady, they ground their own beef and make the best hamburgers ever!  And to top it off it is spotlessly clean!  A very wonderful place that we are sure we will visit again!

"The purpose of our life on earth is to grow, develop, and be strengthened through our own experiences."  Robert D. Hales

Handover Ceremonies for November 2015

The first Handover we had was on November 6, 2015 with the Village of Fo'ui.  We were able to get them a new water engine. They had been suffering from lack of water for quite some time, because their old pump kept giving them problems, so they were spending their funds for that as well as putting in water lines to the houses in their Village.  Needless to say they were short on funds and came humble asking for help.  The Town Officer just kept saying he does not like to depend on anyone else, but he could not see any other way to go.  He was so humble!  Following are some photos of the Handover Ceremony.

This is the new engine we were able to purchase for them.  Once it was installed they have not had any more problems with being out of water.  They were so grateful!

This is our Champion, Hoseci, in this project.  He is so organized and works very hard for the people in his Village.  He is also in the Bishopric besides being the Town Officer.

This is Ana and Elder Murdock, instructing the people the importance of having a maintenance fund so that when their pump does go out again they will have the funds in place to repair it.

This is the group that we worked with on this project.  They are all very good people and very hard working.

Here we are enjoying the refreshments that we brought for the Ceremony.  All seemed to enjoy them.

Here is Ana sharing with this young man, he was so cute.

And of course we were not allowed to leave empty handed, our trunk was filled!

This Handover Ceremony was for the Village of Holonga.  They had a problem with their old water tank stand that collapsed onto the school grounds of the Government Primary School.  Thank goodness there were no children around to be hurt by the falling water tank and stand.  There is still one stand and tank standing on the school ground.  In this project we agreed to help them, but that they were to move the other stand next to the location of the new stand that we built for them.  They did agree.  They also were able to repair the tank that fell so they could use it on the new stand.  They were also needing a new pump as the old one did not have the power needed to pump the water to the village, so the people were continually running out of water.  The construction company that built the stand did a wonderful job and worked very hard and efficiently.

This is the footing of the new water tower.  We were impressed that they used this much re-bar!

Here they are moving up the columns of the water tower.

Next they are putting the frames up for the next beams.  No cranes to lift anything, all done by hand.  Even all the concrete was mixed by hand and hauled by buckets to pour the beams and the columns.  It was amazing to watch how hard they were working.

Here they are setting the frames for the upper columns, again all by hand, no cranes of any kind!

Here the upper floor is done and they are putting up the railings.  The man in the orange shirt was welding with just a pair of sun glasses.  Elder Murdock was amazed at this!

Here the water tower is complete and ready for the tank to be put up on top.  We feel they did a very nice job!

Here we are having them spray paint LDS Charities on the cross beam of the water tower.

On November 17 we had the Handover Ceremony.  This is our Champion in this project, he worked very hard!

This is Ana and Elder Murdock instructing the people as to how they need to proceed in moving the other tower and tank next to the new one so that there will not be any accidents on the school grounds.

Here the Stake President is handing over the tower and pump by cutting the ribbon on the water tower.

Here Elder Murdock is putting our LDS Charities sticker on the new water pump.  The village has not had any more problems with running out of water, they are so very happy!

Instead of filling our trunk with food they took us back to the church and had a feast for us, then they filled out trunk with the left overs, such as pig, roasted chicken, ufi and a bag of fruit.  As well as some very nice gifts.

These are the gifts that they gave to us, a wall hanging, a small matt and a 10x20 foot tapa cloth, a bag and a fan.  They were so generous with us!

Sister Murdock had to take a selfie of the lei they put on her.  She said it is one of the most beautiful ones she has received and she has received many!

"It is human nature to seek elsewhere for our happiness.  It is precarious to dwell on why we have not been given more.  It is, however, beneficial and humbling to dwell on why we have been given so much."   Steven e. Snow

End of National Diabetes Week in Tonga

On November 14, 2015 we had the National Blue Light Ceremony that is done all over the world in thousands of countries.  Elder Murdock had the privilege to flip the switch to turn on the blue lights.  We also had all of our winners in each category there to perform their song, skit, essay, or poem.  The Art was displayed and the young man was honoured.  Each school received their certificate for their 50 class room chairs for their school.  It was a loving evening.  Following is some photos of the evening, but most was too dark for the pictures to turn out well.  Hope you enjoy the ones we have.

This is part of our students that were winners in the contest preparing to perform for all at the Blue Light Ceremony.

This is Siva, our Champion.  She is Head Dietitian of the National Diabetes Center.  She was the MC for the night.

This is after Elder Murdock flipped the switch to turn the blue lights on the front of Vaiola Hospital.  It is amazing to know that this same thing is going on all over the world in the awareness of Diabetes Prevention.

On November 15, 2015, they had a special church service to close the National Diabetes Week.  It was held in the Free Wesleyan Church Hall.  It was a beautiful hall and we are sure a very nice service, but it was all in Tongan!

These are the chairs that we were able to purchase for all the winners in our Diabetes Contest.  We put our LDS Charities stickers on each one.  We thought they looked wonderful and so did the schools when they came to pick them up!

Here is Nuku'alofa GPS with their 100 chairs as they were winners in two categories.  They left very, very happy!  This has been a wonderful project that we feel was inspired by our Heavenly Father.  We pray that we were able to touch some of  their lives to remember to Choose The Right and Choose Healthy Eating to Live Longer!

"Many feel that the Word of Wisdom is for the principal purpose of increasing our health, increasing our mortal life, but more careful study of the revelation (D&C 89) reveals that there is a deeper purpose. ....The spiritual promises greatly exceed the physical."   Spencer W. Kimball

Saying Hello & Goodbye

This month we had one Senior couple and one single Senior leave.  It is always hard to say goodbye when you become like family here in Tonga.  But we also got to say Hello to two wonderful Senior couples that has  brought laughter and happiness to our little Senior Couple Family.  Following are the pictures of these events.

This the Elder and Sister Moncrief with President and Sister Tupou.  He is a doctor and will be the doctor for the mission.  His wife will be managing the Mission Office.

This is the group that was able to greet them at the airport.  They came in the middle of the week so a lot of us was not able to be there due to other commitments in our mission.

Here is the arrival of Sister Radmacker.  She was very happy to be here!  Sister Holbrook is putting a lei on her.

This is Elder Radmacker who also was very happy to be here.  Elder Holbrook just put a lei on him as well. Elder and Sister Radmacker are ITEP missionaries.  They will be working with the Liahona Schools.

This is the group that came to greet them.  Also there is a young Elder who was returning home that had been on the same flight as them.

This is Elder and Sister Funaki who was part of our Senior Family and they are just checking in to fly home.  They will be greatly missed here in Tonga.

And here is our wonderful Sister Burbank, the Mission nurse.  She spoiled all the young Elders and Sisters, including the Seniors.   We will all be lost without her and her wonderful smile.  She is headed to Canada to her family.

Here is Sister Burbank's final goodbye.  Oh how she will be missed!

National Diabetes Week in Tonga

The National Diabetes Week in Tonga is a week full of activities and since Diabetes is a Major Initiative with the Church we were very involved with the activities for the week.  We started the week on with a Handover Ceremony for the National Diabetes Center.  In this project we were able to get them two water dispensers with 4 large water bottle, two lap top computers, a desk top computer and printer, a 50" flat screen with DVD player and portable rolling stand, a projector and screen, and a numerous supply of instruments for the Diabetes Center that they were so desperately in need of.  It was a very special ceremony with the Ministry of Health in attendance.  He was very grateful for all that we were able to get for their Diabetes Center.

This is part of the items that we were able to purchase for the National Diabetes Center.  The sign is our new water bottle label that Sister Murdock created to help people to be more aware of diabetes.

This is the waiting area of the National Diabetes Center.  This is where we held the Ceremony.  They had it decorated very beautifully with flowers, palms, and balloons.

This is our Champion in the project, Siva.  She is the Head Dietitian of the National Diabetes Center.  She is an amazing women with a lot on the ball!  We will continue to work closely with her until we leave on having seminars all over Tongatapu for Diabetes Prevention and Awareness.

This is the Stake President and the Ministry of Health, on left.  He gave a speech thanking us for all that we have done and that he hoped that this will not be the end of us partnering together.  He stated that we have made a big difference in many Tongan lives, because of what we have done.

Here the Stake President and the Ministry of Health are cutting the blue ribbon to handover all the supplies we purchased for them.

Here many are enjoying our refreshments that we brought with us.  There were some diabetes patients at the ceremony as well.

Here all are enjoying the refreshments of the day.

The next part of the week is our National Diabetes Awareness Awards project.  In this project we asked 12 Government Primary Schools to participate in a contest in five different categories, art, skit, poem, song, and essay, all to do with diabetes awareness.  The winners of each category will receive 50 new class room chairs for their school and will perform their category at the National Blue Light Ceremony at the end of the week.  On the 11th and 12th of November we were able to get a bus for the judges,all were from the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Health, and the National Diabetes Center.  On these two days we were very busy travelling to each school to judge each school in each category.  Elder and Sister Murdock prepared lunches so that we ate travelling between the schools.  Once the judges were through with their part, Ana Ika and Sister Murdock, presented 2500 students with CTR rings, instructing them that CTR stands for Choose The Right, and that Heavenly Father wants them to always choose the right in all they do.  But most importantly He wants them to Choose Healthy Eating so that they may Live Longer.  It was an amazing two days!  We have some pictures of this activity, but it was hard to choose which to use as they were all so wonderful!

This was our first stop, Fua'amotu GPS.  This group had an amazing aerobic dance and the dog and pup even joined in!  They really had their hips moving!

Our next stop was Nakolo GPS.  These students had some amazing essays.  We were so proud of them.

This stop was Ha'asini GPS, they did a wonderful skit as well as a wonderful song.  We sure would not want to have to be the judge.

This is Fatumu GPS, they were our winners in the Art Category. We were so proud of them!

This is Folaha GPS doing their skit. It was very good.  And their song was wonderful as well!
We really liked their display of eating healthy as well!

Here we are at Veitongo GPS.  This young man stood up and recited a poem that he had written himself. He looked so good in his Tongan attire!

This is the second day and our first stop was Fatai GPS.  This is a very small school so we were so proud of them in all the areas that they performed in but their song was outstanding.  The judges even ask them to sing it one more time for us before we left.  Needless to say, they were our winners in the Song category with, "Diabetes Kills", written by the students.

Our next stop was Free Wesleyan Primary school in 'Utulau.  They were very good in all their categories as well, but the skit was wonderful, they had so much vibrant animation in it!

This is a student of Atele Si'i GPS.  She has written a poem and even dressed appropriately for the  performance.  She did wonderful and she was our winner in the Poetry category.

These are the students of Ng'eleia GPS.   There art and skit was pretty amazing.  Here they are showing off their CTR rings.

This is Nuku'alofa GPS, they was our winner in the Skit category.  It was a pageant with girls dressed in different kinds of food, most were not good for you, so the King would not pick them, until Miss Pella Leaves came out and he did pick her.  It was wonderful.  They were also the winner of the Essy category.  The young girl did an essay on diabetes in Tonga and was able to recite it without notes.  She was wonderful.

This is our last stop, Kolomotua GPS.  They were amazing in all the categories, especially the song and skit, they were hilarious. They did not place 1st but they were runner up in one of the categories.

This is the bus that we travelled on for two days.  It was so good to have it to take our group of 18 people to each of these 12 schools.

This is a picture of our group, judges and head nurses from the National Diabetes Center that were a great help passing out all the CTR rings.

This is Sister Murdock explaining about the CTR ring that each of them would be receiving.    We explained that CTR stands for Choosing The Right and that Heavenly Father always wants them to Choose The Right in all that they do, but most importantly He wants them to Choose Healthy Eating that they may Live Longer.  They were all so excited to get  a ring.  We just hope that it has planted a seed with in them that just because they are Tongans they do not have to get diabetes, if they would only Choose The Right and Choose Healthy Eating to Live Longer healthier and happier lives!

These two days were amazing.  The students were so happy to receive their rings.  We feel this project was a great success!  The National Diabetes Center has requested of us to do this project every year as it is helping them to get the word out to the children on diabetes prevention

"We believe it is essential that our young people gain sufficient education to care for themselves in this highly specialized age, and also to serve their fellowmen, and we have in the past and shall continue in the future to support education at all levels.  Joseph Fielding Smith