SUNDAY HIKE!  Today we went on a Sunday hike to the ocean where the "blow-holes" are.  It's about a six mile hike.  Most of the pictures down below are of the hike.  Before I write about the hike and what we saw, I wanted to write about church this morning.  We meet at 9:00 AM and go until 12:00 (noon).  Church today was incredible!  The spirit was amazing and the experiences shared, the lessons taught, and the lessons learned were one of the most incredible Sundays we've had.  For some reason, Tonga has a real spirit that is alive and strong.  It's hard to describe in words, but I'm going to let you all know some of the lessons I learned today.

Lesson 1 - I am learning from these faithful Tongan Saints the power of faith and obedience.  

There was one Tongan Brother that bore his testimony this morning and said...........

"Anything that the Lord wants me to do, I will do"

"Find goodness in everything that you see and do"

"If we attend the temple every week, the Lord will direct our activities"

Another Tongan Brother got up and bore his testimony about an experience that he had at the hospital.  This Tongan Brother is a Biomedical Engineer and has to make sure all the machines are running right in the ICU at the hospital.  He said that he sees people pass away from time to time and he has tried to just focus on his work with the machines.  Just recently, there was a little child who came in to the hospital and he had to make sure all the equipment and machines were running right.  The child was critical and close to passing away.  This good Brother asked Heavenly Father if he could spare the life of this little child (if it was his will).  He went back to work the next day and the child was gone.  He thought the child passed away, but found out that the child was dismissed because she was better.  It was a miracle!  He knelt down and thanked Heavenly Father for sparing this child's life.  He said from now on, he doesn't focus on just the machines and equipment, he focus' on the patient and who they are and what they need.  That experience changed his focus.    

Lesson 2 - "Intelligence means the proper use of knowledge.  When you are intelligent, is when you properly use and "apply" the knowledge that you have."  - Harold B. Lee  

You may think you know things, but the Spirit can teach something different.

The Mission President of Tonga was in our Priesthood class and he shared an experience that I wanted to pass on.  Recently, he was just released from being Mission President and the new one just arrived last Thursday.  It's neat to see the "changing of the guard".  President Tupo (the one that just got released) told us about being in a Stake Conference in one of the Stakes and he saw about 25 young men being ordained to the Melchizedek Priesthood.  Two of those young men looked a little different.  One had a brand new haircut that had Basketball Player's names carved into the sides of his hair and the other one had dreadlocks down to his waist.  He thought to himself, "Are these young men ready to serve their missions?"  He watched as everyone sustained them to receive the Priesthood and there were some that were hesitant to.  He had a thought that changed his perspective. He said that he saw them becoming great missionaries for the church, he saw them getting married in the temple, becoming good fathers and husbands, and good Priesthood holders.  After he had that thought, the pre-judgment left him and then he had another thought.  He said that the Bishops interviewed these good Brethren and they were worthy to be ordained.  It wasn't up to him to judge, it was his job to sustain and support these good Brethren and help teach them how to become the best Priesthood Brethren they could become.  I thought that was a great lesson.  We need to look for the good in everyone.  Everyone has something to offer.  We are all sons and daughters of God.

"If you look for the good in people, you will be the happiest person"

This is a very unique palm tree.  It's a coconut palm, but see how it has three branches at the top.  This is the only one in all of Tonga that is like this.  All the other trees only have one trunk.  This is right by where we are living.  People from all around the kingdom come here to see this strange coconut palm tree.  Kind of different and unique.

This is the family on the hike.  It was a good little hike and the kids did great.  Little Ella (our 4 year old) hiked most of the way.  One of the kids friends came along as well.  Her name is Lupe.

This is a typical "commoner" home.  They don't have a door, so if you want something, you just stand outside and yell.  You don't knock on the door.  I asked why they don't have doors and one Tongan replied, "most are too poor to afford doors".  Not sure if that's the reason, but a lot of homes are like this one.

This is the King and Queen of Tonga.  We saw this billboard on our hike and thought you might be interested to see a picture of them.  The King's Birthday is July 4th.  How cool is that!  Because of that, it's a holiday here as well.  Not for the same reason of course, but a holiday none-the-less.  :)

SO, we have tomorrow off and we decided to have Braden's Baptism tomorrow on July 4th here in Tonga on the King's Birthday.  Braden is super excited about that.  We are going to Baptize him in the ocean at one of the beaches.  It will definately be a memorable experience!

This is a cemetery here in Tonga.  The families kind of share graves.  Let me explain........  Once they bury a loved one, they give it time to decompose.  Then, when someone else passes away, they dig them up, move the bones to the side, and bury the new deceased person.  That's what was explained to us.  Interesting way to do things.  It is done differently if it is a person of nobility (form the royal family).  The graves are decorated with lots of flowers, blankets, and decorations.

The kids by the "blow-holes"

This is where we hiked to.  We had all the kids find a spot to meditate and write in their journals about their experience so far.  Each one of them picked a spot and I spent time with each one of our kids talking to them one-on-one.  Every Fast Sunday (1st Sunday of the Month), I "interview" each one of our kids to see how things are going.  We thought it would be a great idea to take them to this sight, do the interviews, and have the other kids write in their journals while I was interviewing.  It turned out to be a beautiful day and it was a "Proud Dad" moment.  I felt like I had some bonding moments with our kids.  I love each one of them and am happy that they are experiencing some great things here in Tonga.  They are forgetting themselves and focusing on others.  That's one of life's greatest lessons we're trying to teach.

You'll see this scene a lot here in Tonga.  These pigs just run wild in people's yards.  

These two pictures are some of my favorites.  One is our 5 kids and the other is our 5 kids and our friend Lupe.  As the sun was going down, I had to get this picture and share it.

Well, good night from Tonga.  I'm excited to write about our day tomorrow.  Braden's Baptism Day.