LAST PATIENT OF THE DAY.  We were supposed to end on Fridays at 12:30, but this patient had quite a few needs (still does in some areas) and Logan was a "trooper" and we went for it and helped her out.  She has had so many patches on her teeth.  We decided to move as much as the "patchwork", remove the decay and clean everything up.  Because of this case and others, we didn't get done until about 3:00 or so.  Normally, I would have done crowns on this patient, but because we don't have that luxury, we do very large fillings and try to make them look like crowns.  They are not ideal, but with the materials that we have, they look decent.  She was very happy and that's what counts.  I really wish I had all my instruments, burs, handpieces, etc., but it's all good.  Also, I really appreciate my Dental Team back home. It's great to have our kids involved and to teach them about the Dental Art of doing things, but I realize how awesome our team back home is.  They really are incredible and very talented at what they do.  It helps the Dentist out so much to have talented and skilled Assistants, Hygienists, and Office Administrators. 

      I had a guy come today that is a big part of the "peace corps" here in Tonga and he had some teeth issues.  I had a chance to talk with him and get him taken care of.  He's a great guy and has now served in the peace corps for the last 3.5 years.  He said he loves the simplicity of Tonga.  That's one thing I love about Tonga too.  It's so simple!  Sometimes, the simpler, the better.

        

This is what the Barfi clan looks like after playing soccer with other Tongans in the rain.  After work today, we played soccer for about an hour and had a great time.  If you take a ball out into any field here in Tonga, you're guaranteed to have a group of other Tongan kids join you.  They are so welcoming and want to be your friend.  Great for our kids!

We went to a real authentic Tongan feast.  These are banana palm leaves used for table cloths.  This dinner and show is a family business where the Dad (owner) has taught his whole village how to cook, play music, sing, serve, dance, have customer service, etc.  He has given several Tongans employment through this resort that him and his wife have created.  It's pretty incredible what he's done for his family and his village.  Throughout Tonga, there are different "villages" where there are groupings of homes.  When you tell people where you are from in Tonga, you tell them where the name of your village and they know exactly where that is.  

This is the owner, his wife, and his family and friends next to him.  Before we had the dinner, he sang his favorite hymn and had a prayer on the dinner.  It was really refreshing to see him give Heavenly Father the glory for his success and show so much gratitude to God for his blessings.

This is the "suckling pig" (baby pig) that we had.  It doesn't taste like normal pig that we're used to.  It's very fatty and taste kind of like turkey.

These were our plates to put our food on.  They are banana stalk.  They cut this off the banana tree and it's used as a plate.  Very creative!  On the plate on the left side, you see salad, Tongan pudding, some potatoes and or course watermelon, chicken stir fry, and the suckling pig.  Good food!