Week 73: Niutoua- Work of Love

February 27, 2017

Hello family,

            I think I forgot to tell you, but last Wednesday we had the opportunity to go to the Palace to do service. The king’s mother died so we were helping things look nice for the funeral. We were able to paint the entire fence and clean up a bunch of trash from a nearby field. It was awesome. The word for service in Tongan translates to work of love. It’s pretty perfect, because that's what it is. Well, we had another opportunity for service today. We woke up crazy early and were picked up by the bus. We went and basically swept part of Nuku’alofa. We went from the king’s house all the way to the Royal Palace. I’d guess it was about a mile or two. We picked up trash and made it look all nice. Afterwards, we had a big lunch because we were all so hungry. This took up most of our P-day, so now I have to do laundry. I do it in a bucket with a PVC pipe; it gets your forearms buff. I’ll teach you how when I get back.

            So this is exciting. Sister B is ending her mission and her family is coming to pick her up. She said that if you can get a small package to her mom, they will hand-deliver it to me when they come. I’d really love some Snickers and some letters if you can manage it. They could tell you all about the trip to Tonga which might be helpful for when you come.

            We had some good news with one of the little girls that we are teaching. Her name is F and she is one of my favorite people. I really want you to meet her. She will be twelve soon. We taught her in October and she was all ready for baptism. Her parents gave permission and on the day of her scheduled baptism, they changed their minds. She had gone home to get dressed for the baptism and they suddenly took her to another town and she didn’t show up for her baptism. I was so sad. Anyway, we got another chance because the parents finally said yes. So we baptized her and she was so happy.

            Last night we visited the family that we just baptized. They are doing awesome. They go to church by themselves without being invited. They love to learn and are really progressing. The mom actually really reminds me of mom and she’s hecka funny. She really tries hard to get everything right. We are going to do another family home evening with them and teach them all about the Priesthood. We are also going to explain the whole organization of the church. The kids are all super smart and you can tell the parents really love their children. The two-year-old is really rambunctious and so funny. He’s always smiling and calls my name in this cute little voice. It’s such a great family.

Well, that’s about it; I sure love you guys!

Ofa atu,

Elder Sitaki