Making Friends: We met Sateki Longi at the annual agriculture show where he
had a booth set up showing his wood carvings.
It was impressive and I asked him if he would do a large hook on a stand
with intricate etching. He said he has never had such a request but would do
it. Sateki gave me the best workmanship
I have yet seen on the island, hands down. Check out the master fish hook he carved for me.
The detail shows up in the natural light of this picture. The webbing is tightly done and compliments
the color of the wood, which is ‘iron wood’.
This is an amazing piece of art.
He is doing more pieces to give my family. (He is a Latter Day Saint)
The story
of the Tongan Fish Hook goes back to the time when most islanders were farmers
and fishermen. When someone went out on
the ocean to fish he would catch enough fish for his family and also the
families of his neighbors. If enough
fish weren’t caught in the first tide to take care of his neighbors he would
return with the changing of the tide and go back out during the second tide
until he caught enough fish to feed his neighbor’s families.
We were invited to Katrina Tongi’s 1st Birthday
Party. What a great family love and atmosphere as Sateki gave an emotional
expression of love and appreciation for this ‘little blessing’ of theirs.
Lienora, 17 year old sister, expressed her love to the family and for Trina and
sang a song to, about, or for Trina (in Tongan).
When it was time to part we thanked them as sincere as we
could and expressed our gratitude for their kind invitation to join their
family party. Upon reaching the car sister Tongi gave Sherrie an afghan as a
token of their love and appreciation for honoring their family. Sherrie knew she must accept the token and
with a big hug thanked her for such a thoughtful gift.
When presenting the afghan to Sherrie, she said, “we don’t have much but want to give this to you.” We were reminded of the value of family and the tender reward of family love. We gained a deep insight of Tongan family culture. Missions bring you close to people and you cherish them.
Pacific CES has initiated a Mentoring Program for first year teachers, emerging teachers and teachers who need a little more motivation. Here are some pictures from teaching those classes.
Meet the Mormons premier VIP showing was held at the downtown
convention center where the senior missionary choir sang the opening song. There were 125 guests in the audience,
including one of the Prime Ministers.
Sherrie taught “Secondary Reading in the Content” with 11
teachers enrolled. The class is very
lively and happy with laughter and humor.
It is a sign they are really enjoying the course content and the
presentation of material. Each class can
be so different, but one commonality is that we try very hard to be good
instructors, examples of good instruction, practice what we teach.
Annual
S&I Principal’s Conference -- Auckland, New Zealand
We went to the “Principal’s Conference” conducted by the S&I
Area Office in Auckland, New Zealand. There
were 7 ITEP couples at this conference.
3 from Tonga, (from two islands), 2 from Samoa (from two islands), 1
From Fiji, and 1 from Kiribati. What an
experience to rub shoulders, share stories, compare our experiences and learn
from one another. We also were able to
meet the principals from the other islands and enjoy our experiences with them.
Elder Gifford Nielsen, Area Second Counselor, spoke to us
about what it really means for us to be a covenant
people. Our mortal mission is to fulfill
those covenants and our missionary mission is to help all Latter Day Saints fulfill
their covenants.
Sister Holbrook, Fehi Fifita - Principal, & Elder Holbrook