SUNDAY - GREAT CHURCH MEETINGS, INTERVIEWS, AND EARLY BIRTHDAY

This picture up above is of the Senior missionary housing.  Tonga is one of the only places where most of the Senior missionaries are all together.  They have their different assignments in the mission, but they all live close together, so they do a lot of things together.  Some of their assignments are to serve as the Dentist, Physician Assistant, Educators, Office managers of the mission, Auditors, Equipment repair people, Trainers for the Teachers, Self-Reliance workers.  They all work very hard and are really good at what they do.  We love them all!

Today's church meetings were great!  There are a couple of experiences that were shared that I want to share on this blog.  I feel they are faith promoting and inspiring!  

Sacrament meeting

A good Tongan Brother from the Stake Presidency spoke.  He said he has a question that has haunted him for the last 7 years.  The question is, "Are you acting like a return missionary?"  I constantly has to do a self evaluation to make sure he's doing the things that he needs to be doing.  He has to make sure that he's living up to his full potential.  He then turned that to the young men and young women of the church and asked these questions -   Are you acting like a priesthood man?  Are you acting like a young woman and practicing the young women values?  He said that we have to do a self check from time to time and see where we are at.  What do we need to improve on in order to be our best self?  

The experience that this Brother shared about the heartbeat was the one that I was moved by.  He said that when his young son was born, he wouldn't stop crying.  He went to the Dr. and asked him what could be done?  The Dr. said take your shirt off.  He said WHAT????  The Dr. said it again.  The man took his shirt off.  The Dr. laid his son next to his heart on his chest.  The Dr. said your son is in a new environment and can't see much.  He is used to feeling and hearing his Mother's heartbeat.  Right when the Dr. did this, his son stopped crying.

He said we have to listen to our Mother's heart beat.  We have two Mothers.  One is our earthly mother.

The other is the church.  If you think about this, the gospel of Jesus Christ is much like our Mothers.  It teaches us what we need to do, what pitfalls to avoid, and how to be happy.  He said we need to listen to our Mother's heart beat.  We need to be close enough to the heartbeat to hear it.  What this means to me is that we need to be in tune with the spirit.  If we are, we will be able to see and will not be afraid like the little child was.

This talk was powerful!  Great talk!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!  That's what the kids were chanting when I walked into their apartment.  They decorated and surprised me with an early Birthday.  I was going around to the Senior Missionaries with Logan today to video record their "favorite scripture and what they learned here in Tonga" for a few hours today.  While Logan and I were gone, the other kids and Heidi decorated for my 39th Birthday.  How cool is my family!  That's why I love them.  They then invited some of the missionaries that live close to us to come over.  All of us (especially the kids) have grown attached to these wonderful couples that are serving here in Tonga.

The kids made me dance around some presents and open up some gifts.  One of those gifts was the 100 Grand candy-bar.  Hey, I can indulge on my Birthday, I just have to brush extra well.  :)

Ella is helping me dance around my Birthday presents.

The best Birthday presents were the kid's letters that they wrote me.  They each wrote a letter to me thanking me for the experiences they have had in Tonga.  They also wrote their testimonies to me.  I shed a few tears reading the influence that this experience has had on them.  I know they are going to remember the experiences and the people for the rest of their lives.  It has changed us all.

We then played some games with a few of the missionary couples.  We had over Elder and Sister Johns (of course), Elder and Sister Radmacher, and Elder and Sister Bearce.  We played the candy bar game where you have to roll doubles with the dice and then you get dressed up in funky clothes and carve into a candy bar.  We all had a great time!  Below are some pictures of the games.

Braden was going crazy with the game.  Full of Energy!  When there is a candy-bar included, Braden is all in.  He had a lot of fun with everyone.  He is such a social butterfly.

Little Ella dove into the chocolate and stuffed her mouth FULL.  She looks like a chipmunk.  What a cutie!  

The kids love taking "selfies".  Heidi and I will leave our phone laying around somewhere and we'll find tons of "selfie" photos of the kids on our phones.  We keep the great ones and delete the really weird ones.  The kids love having fun with it.  Here's a great one of them!

SNORKELING, HELPING A FAMILY BUILD A HOME, AND PIZZA NIGHT!

This morning, we went to the market place and did our shopping, but then we also went shopping for some souvenirs.  After shopping, I took Logan and Makayla snorkeling with Elder's Deacon and Elder Waddup.  Elder Deacon is considered the snorkeling expert among the missionaries.  He took us to a sweet spot on the island.  He said the conditions are only perfect about once every 3 months.  That was the case of today.  It was a perfect snorkeling day and we had a great time!  The coral was so alive with all sorts of creatures, fish, and marine life.  

Makayla really took to snorkeling.  She was diving deeper than any of us.  She was loving it!

Logan and Kayla having some fun.  Makayla is a great "poser".

Makayla and Dad diving along the coral shelf.

Some of the colors that the coral reef had.  Sorry, no pictures of the fish.  We got some great videos of them though.  We'll have to show those to ya.

This is a family that Elder Radmacher is helping out.  They are in a tough situation.  This house is barely held together by scrap metal, nails, and whatever material was available.  This family has 5 young kids and they live in this home.  Elder Radmacher asked us to come visit this family and help bring some food and help them financially to build a new home.  They need to be in a better situation.  There are so many families like this.  Our hearts go out to some of these people.  The parents work so hard and are doing their best to provide for their family.  

Their son (Solomon) was there to receive the food.  He didn't speak a lot of English, but you could see the gratitude on his face.  

This is the inside of their home.  5 kids and they live in this little tin shack.  Amazing people.  So little, but their faith is so strong.

The group of us that went and visited them.  The parents were over at their new property where they are being helped in building a new home.  You can see the excitement in their faces as they see their new home taking shape.  What a blessing this will be for their little family.

This is the where the outhouse will be.  Braden and Ella thought it was pretty cool to be down in the hole.  The kids were playing and laughing about being in the "potty" hole.

This is where the new home will be.  The foundation is being built right now.  The husband is doing everything himself right now.  They need funds for all the materials.  Elder Radmacher is asking all of us to donate what we can to help them build this new very modest home.

They will have electricity and plumbing for the first time.  They told us that they may have to wait until later to install a bathroom.  They'll use an outhouse for the time being.

PIZZA NIGHT with the Senior Missionaries.  Elder and Sister Killari owned a pizza place back in the states.  They made the dough, prepared all the toppings, and had each of us make a pizza.  We then took it home, baked it, and brought it back for a Pizza eating frenzy.  The kids were in HEAVEN.  I think all of us were in heaven.  It was very good.  We've only had pizza twice here in Tonga.  Not a common thing to find here on this island.  This is one dinner Ella will eat!  :)

Finished pizza ready to gobble.

Sunset tonight at Liahona.  We all will miss these sunsets.

All the pizzas baked and ready to eat.  Amazzzzzing!

Family pictures at the temple on our walk home.  We love the shadow pictures that we get at night here in Tonga.  This is the LDS temple right next door to where we live.  The five shadows are .......  maybe you can guess.  :)     Makayla, Braden, Maddison, Ella, and Logan.

Cool picture of the oldest three.  Let's see if you can see what they are trying to spell.  Give up?

CTR - Choose The Right.  Cool heh!

MORNING ASSEMBLY FOR THE HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS AT LIAHONA.  We got a phone call yesterday asking us if we would give a presentation to these students about the field of Dentistry. They wanted to know what it takes to be a Dentist, what a Dentist does, and what opportunities are out there in Dentistry.  Dr. Johns asked me if I had any ideas.  I told him that I would put together a power point presentation after we attended the temple last night.  We came home and I thought I could use one I already had from home, but when I asked for it to be sent (by Alisa and Dr. Permann back home), it didn't come through in the right format.  So, I created a new one last night.  It was a blessing in disguise.  It might sound strange, but I did feel the Lord blessing me in what I was to put in the presentation to help make a difference for these young people.  This picture is a picture of the students filing in.  When everyone came and we started, there were about 700 students total.  I e-mailed the presentation to Elder Dr. Johns last night expecting he would use it.  This morning as we arrived, Elder Johns told me that he wanted me to present my presentation that I created.  I asked how much time he wanted me to take, and the Principle said to take 20-30 minutes.  I told Heidi that it was crazy, but I felt like this is one of the reasons we were supposed to be here at this time.  The presentation went really well, and later I found out that there were several students that were moved by it.  The reason for sharing this, is to illustrate that the Lord works in mysterious ways.  This morning, I felt like I was an instrument that the Lord was using to help these young men and women see that whatever they want in life, they can get.  Dream big, work hard, have faith, follow Heavenly Father, and you will succeed.  One quote that I shared with them is from President Monson - "Decisions determine Destiny"

Dr. Johns and the Brother that was in charge of the Assembly.  Good way to start the morning.

One of the kids we treated today.  Makayla is handing out her bracelets that she and the family made. This little boy is just admiring his new bracelet he got.  These kids are incredible.  They wait for sometimes 2-3 hours to be treated.  For the most part, they are so patient.  Sometimes, it can be very difficult to treat them.  Especially, the 2-4 year olds.  We don't have any nitrous, so it makes it more difficult.  Back in Dental School, we had a saying that said, "Hug em', Drug em', or Slug em'".  The only thing we can do here in Tonga is try to Hug em' and the Tongan parents can do the Slugin'.  We've seen some tough love some times from the parents.  Fusi (our front desk receptionist) is perfect to show tough love and talk these kids through some of the procedures.  I asked her if she wants to come with me to America.  :)  She laughed.  She's tough, but she's so good for these Tongan people.  They know she's tough, but they all love her so much!

Some girls were playing and dancing next to our apartment.  These kids love to laugh, play, and listen to music.  We love to see their smiles and hear their laughs here on campus.

Tonight, we went to one of the poorest villages on the island.  We wanted to go to a "The Woodcarver".  He lives in a village called Popua.  Some of the pictures down below are pictures of these people and their homes.  They are literally "shacks".  The history of Popua is that this land was given to other Tongans that are from other islands, but want to come to the mainland for better opportunities for their kids or for themselves.  If they wanted land, the King and the government told them that this land is theirs and they can do what they want with it.  It is a swampy land that no one wants.  When there are floods, this is the first place that is hit.  When their are storms, this is the first place that gets hit.  It's sad, but it's all they have.  Well, there is a Brother that lives in this village that is a wood carver.  He is so good and his work is so good, that people seek him out to have him carve things for them.  He has employed and taught several of the people in the village.  I love the quote that says, "Give a man a fish, you feed him for a day ----Teach a man to fish, you feed him for a life". That's exactly what this man has done.   

These kids are living in shacks.  They would be considered "barns" to us.  They are dirt floors, a lot of them don't have bathrooms (there are outhouses in the back), some don't have electricity.  It is crazy, but they are happy and they are surviving.  Somehow.  I don't understand how.  We want to scoop all these people up and show them a better way.  I guess small changes and things we can do hopefully will help make a difference.  

Another Tongan Sunset.  There are kids out in the ocean fishing.  Probably for their dinner.  

GOLD TEETH IN TONGA - This is a big deal in Tonga.  There are so many Tongan people who do this.  I finally found out what the deal is with this.  I asked why kids as young as 11 and 12 have these.  There are a lot of adults that have these gold foils in their front teeth and they ruin the tooth to put them.  Over time, they leak and cause the tooth to weaken.  We've repaired quite a few of these.  One of the Tongans told me that whenever someone graduates or has a birthday or wants to congratulate someone, a lot of times, they will pay for them to get a gold inlay in their tooth.  It's a way of showing prestige.  This kid is only 12 and he thought it was pretty cool.

This kid had an extra tooth growing out the side of his 1st Molar.  We've seen a lot of anomalies here in Tonga.  Very interesting for us Dental nerds out there.

Dr. and Sister Johns with one of the classes that we saw today.  

Fusi (our receptionist) is awesome!  She can be a little rough around the edges at times, but she is AWESOME!  She just says it the way it is.  It works well for some patients (if you know what I mean).  That's why we love her.  She is the school nurse and our receptionist.

We went to the temple tonight.  This is Elder and Sister Moncrief and Elder and Sister Radmacher.  They both are so amazing!

A good night going to the Tongan temple.  We've tried to make it every Thursday while here.  It's a good date night and the kids love it because they get to hang out and relax while we're gone.

FRESH COCONUT MILK THIS MORNING.  The girls got some fresh Coconut juice for Breakfast this morning.  Their friend got a machete and cut into the coconut for them and they brought it home. They thought it was pretty cool.  You see all sorts of people around the island carrying around machetes (young and old).  It's very safe here, but if you saw that in America, there would be some concern.  It's not every day you get to drink straight from the jug.  :)

Makayla having some coconut milk with her Cheerios.  She had to try it out too.

We had some awesome patients this morning.  We had several kids come in.  This little girl was so good and polite.  We told her to pick out a bracelet and she picked out three of them.  That's how good she was.  The kids here do pretty good.  We wish we had some nitrous to help treat the kids, but we do as much as we can with what we have.  

Braden having fun with the dish soap.  He's not getting too many dishes done, but he sure is having fun with the bubbles.  That's what kids do!  Leave it to Braden.  Also, Braden lost another tooth here in Tonga.  We were praying for lunch and he started crying during the prayer.  When the prayer was done, Heidi asked him what was wrong and he said that his tooth fell out during the prayer.  

Heidi reading some night-time stories to our little Ella.  She wanted "The Missing Tooth" book because Braden lost his tooth.   Funny girl!