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
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