Yo,

Just a few things that happened this week -

The First Counselor (Simote) took my companion and I to dinner this week and we got in the car thinking he was going to take us to one of the local falekai  but instead he took us clear to the other side of the Island to the best place in Tonga, To explain my problems with eating let me explain this meal in detail:

Background:  before the dinner I thought that the Fafonga wasn't lava (not gonna happen) so I ate 2 bowls of some Tongan cereal and some top ramen so in American Terms I'm wasn't really hungry.

Introduction:  We order an appetizer, get a family size pizza, which in Tonga Means extended family as well. I have 5 pieces of of pizza to start, 4 Hawaiian and 1 meat lover.

1st body paragraph: Then the real food comes, pasta with meatballs, 5 meatballs the size of tennis balls. Currently my state is already full from the pizza.

2nd body paragraph: Manage to finish the meatballs, now I'm stuffed to Mars, Simote, tells me to eat the rest of the pizza,(three pieces) I drink a bottle of water in preparation but I'm currently dead.

3rd body paragraph, It takes me 15 minuets to eat one slice of pizza, I drink two more water bottles, I finish half of another slice and cover it up with my napkin, I currently cannot eat any more and think I just gained 30 pounds right there.

Conclusion: He buys us ice cream and cake, we take it home I lay down and am unable to stand.

Aside from that, the work is going alright. We have 4 new investigators that have potential. We might have 1-2 baptisms this week or next week depending on the progress of our investigators.

Church is true and Mormon 9 is a way awesome chapter

 

Ofa atu

Elder Wilson

P.S.  I finally have my Tongan name, Elder Vilisoni which means "vision" in Tongan.

Hey,

Life has been going in Tonga.  Just a few things that have happened in this last week. 

One, we had our two baptisms on Saturday for Asena and Mataola. It went really well, The Bishop baptized both of them. One problem I see in Tonga is a lot of people get baptized for the wrong reasons. But I really feel good about Asena and Mataola because they seem like they are going be really strong. Asena might be thinking about serving a mission which would be awesome. 

Two, I SAW A BLAZER SHIRT, HOLY COW. It was really good timing too! I wasn't feeling so good at the time but I walked into the house to eat and there it was, the best shirt in all of Tonga. (Picture attached below).

Three, right now my companion and I are just trying to find new investigators and try to strengthen the ward. I didn't really do a whole lot this week quite honestly. Tonga is a small country and these areas are tiny! I'm just trying to be the best missionary I can be and adjust to missionary work in Tonga.  

Ofa,

Atu

Yo,

Life is good in Tonga. I spent a lot of time writing personal emails this week so I don't have a whole lot of time.  Elder Talisa and I have two baptisms set up for this Saturday, the 19-year-old who we have been teaching these past couple of weeks, and an 11-year-old in the ward who randomly hasn't been baptized (Tongan lifestyle).

I've been sick the entire week. Last P-day I ate some dog(very popular p-day activity) and then had stomach problems the rest of the week, but I'm getting over it and I have gotten back to work these past couple of days. Honestly the hardest thing for me so far is not being able to communicate with anybody, My patience with myself is really struggling. But I've been improving and life has gotten better this last week. Other than that I'm just trying to work hard to be the best missionary I can be. 

Also the first aid kits made it to Tonga. [From his eagle project last winter.] The customs people went all through the boxes but didn't take anything. We actually are going to deliver them to the School here in my area which is gonna be pretty awesome.

Random Tongan saying:  when you greet people you give a "YO" which is way fun.

Work hard, eat hard, pray harder.

 

If opportunity doesn't knock, build a door.

Devin Booker is MVP is three years.

Love,

Uncle Leaves

 

Hey! I'm starting to adjust to life here is Tonga. Life has been pretty hard this week but I've endured and I'm ready for another week. I've had the chance to read the scriptures a lot this week and every time I'm feeling down I've always found comfort in the scriptures. I've really liked Joshua 1:9.

Just some random things about my life in Tonga:

1. My MQ (missionary quarters) is a 12x12 ft tiny house thing. It has a sink, fridge, desk, two beds, and a bathroom. Whats funny is that my MQ is way better than the other elders because it used to be a sisters MQ. I saw my first molo'kau( centipede) this week in our MQ, It wasn't that bad because it was a baby one and wasn't fast as lightning.  

2. Fafonga- I mentioned it last week but Fafongas are kind of like... the death of athleticism. I have to eat so much. To give food, money, etc. in Tonga is a blessing, so if you don't accept it you are kind of disrespecting them. It's funny because my companion talks to the families who fafonga us, and I have to eat which stinks because he's huge and I'm eating more than he is! The families usually give us anything. Honestly half the time I have no idea what's on my plate.  I just have changed my attitude and eat it all. 

3. On a normal day in Tonga we wake up, exercise, (usually lifting weights) shower, personal, companion, language study. Go to our first Fafonga. Go to members houses, or our ward missionary leader, and try and figure out people to teach. We usually go to scheduled activities with families who usually aren't there (flip). Missionary work is so different here in Tonga. One day we walked around our area 3 times! But then randomly we got a phone call that said, "hey we have somebody for you to baptize. So we went to teach a lesson and invited D, a 16 year old boy who's Catholic, to be baptized, but he wasn't able to because his mom would kick him out of the house. 

4. Another person we got to teach was A. She is 18-years-old, and used to be Catholic as well. We taught her the plan of salvation and she said she wanted to get baptized! We don't have a date yet but it's really exciting to get our first baptism in this area. 

5. We "taught" a Fijian lady who only spoke English. It was clear from the start she didn't really want a lesson but to Bible Bash. The funny part is I was going to say the prayer when I hear JESUS BLESSED BE YOUR NAME uttered, I swear 10,000 times, as loud as she could haha. It was a way different lesson but we are going to continue to go back every Wednesday. 

Life is Good in Tonga.

Love,

Elder Wilson

HEY.   Life is good here in Tonga, but a lot of stuff has happened since last week. In the MTC we had a branch devotional before we left where everybody in the district says their First Vision discussion and we sing a song. Our first vision went really well and then we sang Folofola Mai a Sisu which was super spiritual. It was really hard to say goodbye to all the districts. I got really close to the Samoan and Fijian districts.

Then we flew from SLC-LAX-AUCK-TONGA. It was super long and stressful and I'm just glad I made it here.  We stayed in a mission complex that they have right across from temple. I did a session in Tongan which was fun and very confusing. I was a part of the biggest intake and biggest transfer in Tonga mission history. There were 35 of us in the intake, including 15 from America and 16 from New Zealand. There are 180 Missionaries in Tonga. We did some introduction stuff and had a meeting and then we met our companions.

My Companion is Elder Talisa. He is from Auckland, New Zealand and jacked to Mars. He could lift me up with one finger.  He played pro rugby in Australia for a couple of years before he came here. He is way cool, super smart and wants to work. I'm in Pea which is kinda central in Tonga. My ward is super cool, which helps a ton with missionary work.

Some Tonga things:

For missionaries they have what are called, Fafongas, which is when members give you all the food in the world and want you to eat it all. I have probably eaten more in the last 5 days than in 6 weeks in the MTC. I eat at my Fafaonga then I fast until the next one so I can eat it all.

I also have more mosquito bites than Gav had dunks and Jorde has 3's last year. Mosquitoes love white skin, I swear.

While my companion and I were touring our area for the first time, we drove up to this huge Tongan wedding reception where the Bishop was. We were outside this huge tent and the Bishop invited us in where there were probably 15 cooked pigs just sitting on all the tables for the reception. Let me tell you, Tongan receptions are amazing, people throwing money everywhere, somebody always talking into some microphone and so much food. It was a crazy intro to Tonga.

But life is good. I'm just trying to get my Tongan down. I really like my area and I'm excited for the things we can do.

Ofa Atu

Go blazers

Time has gone so quickly here in the MTC. I leave for Tonga on Monday. My district is flying to LAX to Auckland to Tonga and I honestly don't think I've ever been so excited in my life.  I literally only know my testimony, prayer, and some super simple stuff in Tongan, but I know God will help me and if all I can do is testify, then that's all right. I'm just going to work as hard as I can to learn the language and have the spirit with me.

My teachers have been showing us pictures and apparently there are some huge centipedes in Tonga that I had no idea about. But quite honestly, I'm going to a country where there ain't no snakes, scorpions, or spicy food. The church is true.

Oku ou fakamo'oni o Sisu Kalaisi mo Ene Fakalelei. Oku ou ofa 'a e ongoongolelei 'o e Sisu Kalaisi. Oku ou ilo Sisu mate ma'a kitautolu. Te u Feinga malohi i Tonga ki ako'i 'ae ngaahi lea oe Kalaisi.

I love you all. Thank you for your examples in my life.

Hey! Life is good in the MTC, though, I'm not gonna tell a lie. It's kinda the same thing now and I'm just pumped to get to Tonga. Our district gets our flight plans today and I'm SO EXCITED. 

This week Elder Nasilai and I had a great lesson with one of our investigators. We taught lesson 3 and the spirit was so strong. That was the first lesson I told myself, okay no notes. And although I really can only pray and bear testimony in Tongan the lesson went really well. Speaking of that, we have our first skype TRC tonight which I'm way excited for. I've heard it can be hard because you can't really hear them over skype. 

Okay, if you thought I was kidding Tongan singing being incredible, I'm not. My favorite song of all time, (probably a little better than Dame Dolla) is Folofola Mai a Sisu. I sing in twice an hour. My companion may or may not be a wee bit annoyed with me singing it every 5 seconds but that's ok. Please look it up, it's amazing. I literally wrote it my journal twice this week. Sorry journal I was singing my heart out instead of writing. It's just apart of the life style that I love.

Not a whole lot has gone on besides that, I'm just trying to work my hardest to be the best missionary I can. Over the last month I've grown to love the Gospel so much. I can tell the impact it has had in my life and the impact it can have on others. 

OFA ATU

Elder Wilson