LAST DAY ON TONGA!  MIXED EMOTIONS!  This morning, President Mau (Stake President of the island of Eua) knocked on our door early this morning.  He wanted to say his goodbyes and give us a gift for what we did for him and his people on the island of Eua.  He is such a spiritual giant and I'm amazed at what he does for the 3-4,000 people living in Eua.  They are here for the celebrations this week.  It was so good to see them before we take off.  This is his family with him.  They got up early (around 4:00) to come to the temple and say their farewells.

President and Sister Mau gave a basket to our family to say thank you.  They make these baskets out of roots of trees and weave them into amazing pieces of artwork.

Elder Johns and Leanna working away today.  Elder Johns is 68 years old and is such a great example of hard work and endurance.  He's amazing!  He and Sister Johns will be working in the clinic for a total of 23 months.  The people here in Tonga love and adore them.  They have had such a huge influence and impact of these people.  It's amazing to see their dedication and diligence in this work.

Logan is AWESOME!  Logan created an educational DVD that teaches the people that are coming into the clinic about oral health (brushing and flossing), diet (proper foods and drinks and what to stay away from), some fun clips about Dental Health, and a couple clips from the LDS church.  He worked hard to put that together to help educate the Tongan people as they come into the clinic.  Sometimes, there are people that wait to be seen for 5-6 hours.  If they watch this video enough, they will understand the importance of what they need to do to stay healthy.  I feel that Logan's influence will continue on long after we are gone from Tonga.  That's one of the Lord's tender mercies.

We worked in the clinic until about Noon, and then we got ready to go to the airport.  This is taken in front of the kid's apartment where they stayed and where we cooked all our meals.  This apartment is one of the nicest places in Tonga.  We were spoiled.  By American standards, it is very basic, but served our needs.  We will miss this home (#'s 36 and 38).  Not the bugs and the ants, but the experiences and memories that were had.  This will be a place we will always remember and cherish in our minds and hearts.  We love you Tonga and it's beloved people!

The kids with our adopted Grandparents.  The Johns are on the right (Steve and Sue) and the Radmachers are on the sides of our kids (Richard and Sister?).  They have loved our kids and been amazing Grandparents to them.  Our kids have fallen in love with them as well.  Coming to Tonga, we thought we would have so much influence on the Tongans and they on us.  AND, that has happened, BUT what we didn't realize is the influence that the Senior missionaries would have on our children and us.  They have been amazing in so many aspects.  Thank you to them for their dedication in serving, their examples of faith, and never-ending love towards us.

This is the TONGAN RUGBY TEAM.  We saw them at the airport.  They will be playing against Fiji in Hawaii.  We will probably fly with them to Hawaii.  They were taking pictures and Braden slipped in (once again) and got a picture with them.  We had plenty of time at the airport, so it was fun to spend some time with them.

This is the team captain of the Tongan Rugby team.  

We had a number of the Senior missionaries come to the airport to see us off.  They are so supportive and we will miss them.  From right to left, we have Elder and Sister Moncrief, Edler and Sister Deakin, Elder and Sister Johns, and Brother and Sister Walker.

Braden is such a "social bug".  He met a new friend on the airplane.  Her name is Liva (sp?).  She is traveling to Salt Lake and is going to get married in the Salt Lake City Temple.  Her finance is already over there.  She was so good with Braden.  They put a puzzle together, played games together, and Braden made her some origami.  We hung out with her at the airport as well and had lunch with her.  It was our one last time with a Tongan who we have grown to love.

Maddison reading the letters that were written by the senior missionaries.  They are so thoughtful.  Maddison looked a little sad as she was reading because of all the sweet memories she has of them.  They will be missed, but the memories will go on forever.

Doing a puzzle together to pass some time.

Braden made some origami for his new friend.  

Flying on Fiji airlines from Tonga, to Fiji, then to Christmas Island, then to Hawaii.  Sleeping on the airplane is like trying to sleep in the hospital.  You get a few minutes here and there, but not much.  We'll have to crash in Hawaii.

The sun coming up over the horizon as we're flying.  

Little Ella slept almost the whole time.  What a blessing!  Her baby slept pretty well too.  There was one time, Ella woke up, looked for her baby, tucked her in her arm, and fell back asleep.

Christmas Island!  We touched down for an hour in Christmas Island

Off in the distance, you can see one of the islands of Hawaii.