Hello Everyone! -- November 20, 2016

November 20, 2016

Malo e Lelei!!

Food Update: I'm getting more use to the food here. I can eat the raw fish without throwing up! Haha This week I got to have two meals with ketchup though! It is super expensive here, like $10 dollars a bottle, but the members love to spoil the missionaries! One of my favorite Tongan foods is this treat called keke (cake).  It is only flour mixed with water to make these little dough balls, then they but a sugar butter sauce on them! They are super delicious! I got to have "lu pulu" this week. They get banana leaves and wrap pieces of beef and some vegetables and pour coconut milk inside. They wrap it up, then wrap it in tin foil and let it cook in an underground oven for a couple hours; it is the best Tongan food, I think!!

Well this week I almost got bit by a dog! We were walking to one of the member’s house and they have this big black dog. We walked up to the door and the dog just watched us, it didn’t bark or anything. The next thing I knew, the dog lunged at me and bit my shoulder bag that I was holding next to my leg. Luckily, my companion was right there because he kicked it straight in the neck and it ran away. I’m thankful I was holding my bag in my hand or the dog would have latched on to my thigh! The family felt bad, but don’t worry, they told me we will eat the dog next week! Haha

This week we have been able to help a lot of people. My companion was an electrician before he came on a mission so we fix a lot of people’s stuff, like washing machines and light bulbs and anything to do with power.  The people really appreciate it, paying for the electrician or a new washing machine is not cheap. We also got to help our neighbor pick off the peanuts he got from the bush. He has a truck load full of peanut plants, it takes a long time to pick them all off the plant, but it was fun. We also helped clean the side of the main road this week. They don’t have a lot of weed whackers or lawn mowers, so they gave me a machete to cut the big weeds and overhanging branches, it was super fun!!

The language is getting better for me. I am finally able to understand a lot of what people are saying and respond. I have been focusing on listening to how people say the words and copying it. It has helped me a lot. I feel like I am singing a song when I speak because Tongans use so many different tones in their voice. I love telling stories and jokes because the Tongan people are amazed at how native I sound. They always laugh at my jokes too! Haha Everyone calls me Kolepoke because I am learning pretty quickly. I am far from fluent, but every day I get better and better!

They don’t celebrate Thanksgiving here. I feel like I eat a Thanksgiving feast every night! Some Tongans just eat lying on their belly so they don’t have to sit up when they are done! I kind of like just sitting cross legged and eating with my hands, it is a lot faster than a fork! Haha I dare all of you to have family dinner on the floor this week and everyone sit cross legged until everyone is done eating, then you will feel like a Tongan!

Tongans really love Christmas though, and Christmas music! The other day I heard a Joy to the World and Macarena remix!! Tongans love remixes. Haha We have been listening to Christmas music for weeks, so I am excited to see how they celebrate!

I love you all so much and I am so grateful for all your love and support! I hope all of you will have a good week and be safe. I just want all of you to know how grateful I am that I chose to serve a mission. The work isn’t easy, but it sure is worth it!

Oku ou ofa lahi hoko fakamo'ui pea oku ou ilo oku ne mo'ui mo fienga tokoni kiate kitautolu! (The Savior loves you, and I know he lives to help us all.)

Ofa Atu,

Elder Hami!!

Ko hai fie ma'u SPAM?? -- November 13, 2016

November 13, 2016

Hello everyone!

I hope all is going well, the election is like a worldwide event because I even hard about it here in Tonga! Haha

Tongan 101: I thought I would teach you all a Tongan word today!

The word is "Nima" the "i" makes a (ee) sound and the "a" sounds like the  a in fAther.
Nima is the word for the number 5; it also is the word for your hand because you have 5 fingers. Haha

Food update: This week I didn’t have any fish which was a nice change! Haha We had a lot of fried chicken and pig this week. I think my favorite thing was a can of American Spam! It made my day! Haha The stores in Tonga are all privately owned and they run out of people’s houses. The hard part is that the store is open whenever it wants, so it is always a guessing game to go see if the store is open around here to buy some food! Haha

My companion got sick this week. He had a really bad fever. We were stuck in our house for four days, I about went crazy! There is a senior missionary couple here from Idaho that takes care of sick missionaries. They don’t speak Tongan, so they liked talking to me in English. Haha It was really funny, one day we were talking about where I was from and they knew some Binghams where they lived and the Man asked me if I needed anything when they were leaving. I said I was fine, then he said, are you sure you don’t need a chicken steak from Maddox? Haha I about died, that sounded really good!!! We just laughed and they went on their way!

My neighbor is a fisherman and goes out to the ocean every day. A couple days ago he caught a ton of eel looking fish. I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to take a picture, so I hurry and put on my p day clothes and took a picture so I wouldn’t get my white shirt dirty holding the fish! I will send it to all of you!

This week when Elder Teutau started feeling better, we started looking for new people to teach. It is almost impossible to find houses here unless you know who lives there; there aren’t addresses or anything, just word of mouth! I think this week we will start finding some more people!

I gave a blessing to a little girl the other day. She fell from a tall fence and hurt her leg really bad, she could barely walk it hurt so bad. The grandma brought her to our hut and we gave her a blessing. I memorized the blessing in the MTC but I haven’t reviewed it since then in Tongan. Somehow I knew the exact words to speak in my mind. She was crying uncontrollably, but when we started the blessing, she stopped. When we finished, she said she felt better. She still felt sore, but she could walk normal again. It was a very cool miracle!
I gave a talk in sacrament meeting this week! I was pretty nervous about it, but I knew I could do it. I prayed for a lot of help all week. My talk was about the Holy Ghost. I really enjoyed studying about it to prepare. Sometimes I think just reviewing the simple truths of the gospel can bring new light and understanding into our lives. At the end of my talk in the ward, I felt prompted to say that without the Holy Ghost, I wouldn’t be able to speak to you all today and you surely wouldn’t be able to understand! Everyone really liked it. The bishop told the next ward’s bishop, so I talked in that ward too! Haha I am so grateful we all can have the help and guidance from the Holy Ghost in our lives if we are seeking for his companionship!

I love all of you and pray all is going well at home! Take care, talk to you all next week!

Ofa Atu, 

Elder Hami

 

Oku ke fie ma'u Tokoni'i?? -- November 6, 2016

November 6, 2016

Malo e lelei everyone!!

I have had a crazy week this week! I hope all has been going well at home!

Food update: This week has been the week of fish! One day, the lady got an alive fish from a bucket, smacked it with a hammer, and then handed it to us to eat! Haha I got to have a lobster this week too! That was super good; in Tonga they just call it 'uo. The pineapple and mango are starting to grow a lot, so we get to eat a lot of those too! If you have never had pig roasted over a fire, you are missing out too!

Weather update: This week was a ton of uha (rain). When it rains in Tonga it pours! There was a lot of thunder and lightning one day too, it seemed to shake our little hut! Haha As soon as it is done raining, the clouds go away and it becomes way too hot and humid (afu). It gets so humid that you feel like you can barely breathe! Haha But you just have to wait a couple hours and it will rain again!

When you are walking around in Tonga, in the super-hot sun, Tonga has provided a nice refreshment around every corner, you guessed it, coconut! The old coconuts fall on the ground. The best coconuts or niu, are still in the tree. You can try climbing it, throwing a big rock, or my favorite option, finding a huge stick to knock it down! This week our neighbor had a lot of fresh niu in his tree and let me knock them all down! It was fun, but you have to watch out when they fall! Haha No one wants to get hit in the head with a coconut! My favorite coconut is called a nukula, it has the most juice in it!

This week the work has been getting better. We are finding more people to teach. The best way to find someone to talk to is to just talk to people walking past! My favorite way to say hello to someone and start a conversation is saying in Tongan, "Hello, me and my American companion want to share a message!" It always makes them laugh because I am obviously the American! Haha

I want to end with a funny story I had this week. We were at one of our favorite member’s house talking and I had to use the bathroom. Their bathroom is in a small cement block building behind their house. The door is a wooden door that has an old bar lock on each side of the door. When I was in there, the father of the home tried to come in because he didn’t know I was in there. He quickly apologized and left. As I went to leave, I tried to open the door and it wouldn’t budge. I realized the father had accidently locked it from the outside! I tried everything I could to open that door! I was trapped in a 3 foot by 5 foot bathroom with no way to open the door! I was pretty mad. Haha I didn’t want to yell for help either, because I didn’t want to be embarrassed. Finally, after ten minutes or so, I let down my pride and yelled out the cracks of the door. "Oku ou fie ma'u tokoni'i!' (I need help!) The father quickly came to see what was wrong, realized what he had done, and let me out! He felt really bad and apologized; he obviously didn’t do it on purpose.

As funny as being trapped in an outhouse is, I was pondering about the experience and had some revelation. I realized, I had the power to open the door the whole time, yet I refused to yell for help because I didn’t want to be embarrassed. I feel like at one point or another, we are all locked in an outhouse emotionally or spiritually. It wasn’t even my fault I got trapped, either. Either something bad will happen to us, we make a mistake, a bad choice, refuse to apologize to someone or accept an apology, or any other number of mortal trials on this earth. No matter the trial, we all end up locked in. We all need help. One of my favorite quotes that I found in a book that I am reading is by Thomas Carlyle, he said. "The greatest of faults is to be conscious of none". I believe what he is trying to say is we are at our weakest when we believe we obtain the strength to go through this life without help.

Like I said earlier, I had the power to open the door the whole time, but not by myself. The honest truth is we all have that power no matter what stall we are stuck in. We get to choose how long we want to be stuck. Our Savior, suffered all things, the scriptures say he descended below all things. There is no door he can’t unlock, no lonely feeling he can’t comfort, no sin he can’t forgive, and no rescue he can’t aid when we only but ask. In Isaiah chapter 50:2 it says, "Is my hand shortened at all, that it cannot redeem? Or have I no power to deliver?" 

Trust in him. He is the only one who knows perfectly how you feel, your trials, your weaknesses. And I testify He is the only one who has the power to redeem and to help us. I have needed, need, and will need a lot of help. I know when we are conscious of our weaknesses, and strive to ask for help or improvement, our Savior is able to help us progress until one day, we will look back and be amazed on how far we have come. I love this gospel; I am so grateful I have an eternally loving Savior who was willing to suffer and descend below all things to know how to exactly come to my aid every time I ask.

I love all of you. I feel your love and support. This mission is hard, but when I think of what I have to rely on and the loving people waiting for me back home, the heat becomes cooler, the steps become easier, my heart becomes calmer, and I open my eyes and see this beautiful land God has created. I love all of you and pray for you every day! 

Ofa Lahi Atu!

Elder Hami

 



 

 

 

Alu ki fe? -- October 30, 2016

October 30, 2016

Hello everyone!

I hope all is well, I have been doing good. The language is coming slowly, but I learn more each day!

This week started out kind of bad. All four of the baptisms we had lined up fell through. All the parents of the kids we teach will not allow us to baptize their kids. It is pretty frustrating, but we don’t give up. There is a right time for everything!

This week I got to eat shark and an electric eel! They were okay, not my favorite Tongan food. One of the members made us fried chicken and she had a bottle of ketchup!! It was a miracle! Haha We mainly eat meat all day long. Tongans love meat! Meals usually just consist of a drink, tapioca, and lots of meat!

The other day we were walking next to the ocean on the road. The sun was setting, and the biggest bat I have ever seen swooped in front of us! This bat had a wing span of probably like three feet! In Tonga, they call them Peka. You can always see them flying in tops of trees around sunset, they look like dinosaurs!

One of the members in our ward passed away this week. Tongans sure do know how to morn. She died on Wednesday, so they hold a service every night until they buried her. Everyone wears black and really big mats to show respect. The services are held in the person’s house; everyone just sits on the floor and sings lots of hymns. One person gives a talk every night, but they talk in noble Tongan, Tongan has three different forms, Royal, Noble, and Peasant. Each form uses different words but the structure is similar. SO, I didn’t understand a word! Haha

When they buried her, the service started at 6AM and ended at 3PM! There were a lot of speakers and hymns! They don’t bury people in Tonga; they just put them in concrete boxes that are a little bit buried. They put the casket in and then put concrete slabs on top and seal it up. Then they put dirt on top so they can plant flowers! All the gravesites are always decorated, it is very cool!

This week I was talking to man about what he does for a living. He goes to the Bush (jungle) every day to find and farm food for his family. I asked him how he knows he will find food. He told me some days he doesn’t know if he will find food. But he goes anyway. I just am amazed at the amount of faith he has. Every day he travels to find food, not knowing exactly where it is to feed his family. Yet somehow, he always comes home with food. I really feel this applies to all of us. If we are willing to go to the bush so to say every day, despite our trials, despite our imperfections, as long as we just do our part, life has a way of working itself out.

Missionary work is difficult, some days you want nothing to do with it. Learning a new language is hard, but I know as long as I just keep trying, giving my best effort, the Lord will be able to use me to bless his children. There is no other blessing better than knowing that you were able to bless the life of someone else. Everyone has discouragement. Everyone has hard times, But I promise if we don’t give up, with whatever we are trying to accomplish, and put our faith in Him, we will be able to accomplish more than we ever thought we could do by ourselves.

I love all of you and pray for all of your safety and happiness!

Ofa Lahi Atu!!

Elder Hami

Every day it looks like this!

 

I'm Johnny Lingo!

 

 My favorite breakfast!

My New Name!

 

Malo Tau Lava! -- October 23, 2016

October 23, 2016

Hello Everyone,

This week has been really good! I hope everything at home is going well!

My Tongan has been improving! I talked in two church meetings yesterday and everyone understood me! Haha I have learned the quickest way to get people to like you is to make them smile! I make mistakes in my speech a lot, but the best thing to do is just laugh and move on. As long as you are trying, the people here really respect that and want to listen to you!

This week has been raining a lot! When it rains in Tonga, it pours! But then the rain will just stop. Haha It doesn’t rain for very long at one time. It is funny though, because the people will all just stay home and sleep if it is raining; everyone here is very relaxed! When the rain stops, the sun comes out, and it gets very hot! We are always walking under the "shadow of the trees" as my companion says. Haha  We walk all day long! Our area is probably two miles long! We can walk along the beach though! The cool ocean breeze is awesome; this place definitely is the other side of heaven!

We got to eat Pizza and Ice cream this week! It was so good! I miss eating American food--Tongan food is good, but it is just so much meat!  The members here love feeding us. On Friday, we had five meals! You can’t refuse food! Haha  I love it here a lot!

We teach a lot of people. We have three baptisms coming up this week, so I am really excited! We met a 15 year old girl last Friday and she was so prepared for the lessons, she is getting baptized this week already! It is so awesome!

A miracle I had happen this week was pretty cool. There is this one family that lives in the bush (jungle) on the very edge of our area. We decided to make the long trek to their house because missionaries have not visited them in a long time. They are members, but they live so far a way that they don’t get to talk to a lot of people. When we got there, they were so excited to see us. They live in a clearing in the jungle with a lot of grass. They live in two little bamboo and leaf huts. It is pretty humbling. They got their best mat and let us sit in the shade under a tree in the grass. It was really cool. I mainly just smiled and nodded my head in the conversation but they were so happy missionaries had come all the way to see them. We are trying to build them a real house so hopefully our plan is going to work!

Missionary work is hard, but it is rewarding. I have learned to find joy in the little things and to live in the moment. No matter what is happening, you can always find something to smile about. I think that is the best advice I can give! I love you all and can feel your love and support!

Ofa Lahi Atu!

Elder "Hami"

P.S. I ate my first dog! It doesn’t taste like anything you have eaten before. It is an acquired taste! Haha Everyone thinks I am really rich because I am from America. Haha, I got asked how big my private plane was the other day.  Everyone calls me Cholepoke!

 

Fefe hake (How are you) ??? -- October 16, 2016

October 16, 2016

Hello Everyone!

Well my second week here was really good! I am growing to love this place a lot! It is so beautiful here, everything is always green and everyone is super nice.

I came up with a list of 10 things you need to know if you are going to Tonga:

1. You are going to sweat a lot! Just get used to it! Haha

2. Your feet are never going to be clean, but don’t worry, no one’s feet are!

3. Dogs are always going to bark at you, just give them some food to go away!

4. There is no such thing as a vegetarian in Tonga!

5. If you leave something out, someone will take it, they call it borrowing! Haha

6. You have to wash your clothes in a bucket and wash your dishes next to the toilet!

7. Little lizards and bugs are everywhere, there are always mosquitos too!

8. It is very disrespectful to not eat until you are full, even if that means the whole table!

9. It is very polite to sit on the floor even if they have a couch, but it is very disrespectful to sit on the floor if they tell you to sit on the couch!

10. Everyone will talk to you and everyone is related somehow here!

This week I had my first baptism! It was super cool and really exciting. His wife is a member and they have a little baby boy. He has always been Catholic, but he wanted to be baptized when the missionaries started teaching him. I got transferred here just at the right time I guess! My companion and I planned the whole thing and the whole ward came, all six of the families in the ward! Not a very big ward, but an amazing group of people!

We get fed every day here! Sometimes three times a day. We will walk by a house and they will yell at us to come in and eat. Haha Everyone eats on the floor sitting cross legged. It is hard at first, but your legs get used to it. The family will make a dinner for the whole family, but no one gets to eat until the missionaries are done, It is very humbling. Even if they don’t have a lot of food or money, they will buy us expensive food or make everything they have to feed us. It is very humbling. They like to say, "kai ke osi" which means eat it all, but they are perfectly happy if you eat till you are really full! The trick to eating a lot is to keep chewing and don’t think about stopping! This week I ate raw fish and horse, pretty delicious!

The ocean is very beautiful here! I live next to a bay, so there are no waves, but a lot of fisherman in the mornings and afternoons. This place truly is the other side of heaven! The kids here are so sweet. They love to follow me around and play games with me. They all call me "Hami" or "Palangi." Haha They love games, so I will always make up new ones. Their favorite is the slap game where you put your hands on someone else’s and you have to move yours really fast when they try to slap your hands. I always let them win! Haha

I love you and miss you all! I am doing good here, the language is hard to learn, but I am still progressing every day! I love that I get to serve here and be in this beautiful place, it truly is “The Other Side of Heaven!”

Ofa Atu,

Elder "Hami"