On
August 15th an assembly at Vaiola College kicked off Math & Science week with the
theme, Language of Creation. The
devotional focused on Genesis 1:1. In that verse, “In the beginning God created
heaven and earth”, time (math ) and creation (science) are designated. Students were encouraged to engage a growth
mindset by broadening their learning with effort on their part. They were taught to Believe in Yourself
by being you. Activities and booths
throughout the week supported Math & Science.
On
August 18th in Apia we Senior Missionaries were invited and privileged
to attend the annual Robert Louis Stevenson garden party where we mingled with
dignitaries including the Head of State, religious representatives, community
organizations, and other individuals.
Brother Winegar of the Foundation spoke about the prolific letter writer
RLS was. A recent donation of Samoan
collectibles was on display. It happened
that BYUH President Tanner was touring the Pacific Islands and had been invited
to be the keynote speaker. He spoke of “building
roads” as referenced by RLS and making a difference in our journeys. His great grandfather translated the Book
of Mormon into Samoan. It was a
festive outdoor affair with lots of flower décor and delicious foods.
On
August 20th before flying to Tonga we attended a Sunday devotional
in which we listened again to President Tanner and Sister Tanner.
August 20th we
flew to Tonga via Fiji to attend the Principals Conference of the Pacific
Church Schools. ITEP missionary couples
were invited this time. We learned there are only eight ITEP missionary couples in the whole church and we
all serve and support the Pacific Island church schools. No wonder people inquire about ITEP. Simply stated we are education
missionaries. Mexico has requested ITEP
missionary support and that is under consideration. (Didn’t know we had a church school in
Mexico.) During the week of August 21-25,
we were trained on the church school standards, operating ITEP classes,
supporting school administrations, and maintaining integrity throughout our
areas of service. The leadership team
from the Area office in Auckland conducted the conference and were inspiring. It was great to get acquainted with other
couples doing what we do. We also met in
conjunction with all the principals for various segments. They are awesome administrators!
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| President Tanner of BYU-Hawaii addresses Principals Conference |
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| Planting Trees --- Conference Service Project |
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| ITEP Back Row: Ron & Karla Rees, Elder & Sister Busby, Sister & Elder Lauritzen, Sister & Elder Starke Front Row: Elder & Sister Holbrook (Area Coords.), Sister & President Tanner (BYUH), Jon Shute (ITEP Director), and Matthew Carthew (Director of Pacific Church Schools) (Note the leis made by the students.) |
Along
the way we got to tour classrooms in Fiji and to visit the state of the art
campus in Tonga. Tonga College (high
school) has 1,300 students which dwarfs Vaiola’s 400. In Tonga there are two church middle schools and a
primary school. TVET (vocational)
cooking students prepared our lunches each day and served amazing food. Other TVET classes created each conference
participant a lei made from coconut hair and shells; they also sewed each of us
an apron so that we may serve others; and students constructed wood pen holders
including pens that they had lathed. It
was an uplifting conference and and was planned well.
FIJI COLLEGE CAMPUS:
TONGA LIAHONA CAMPUS:
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| Beautifully sculpted trees around campus. |
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| Student Assembly with President Tanner |
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| Bell Tower Main Office |
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| Campus |
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| TVET Student Art |
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| TVET Auto Shop |
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| TVET Sewing |
On
opening night each country shared their talents which was mainly
comprised of dances---very interactive and fun.
On
Wednesday evening all of us attended an English speaking session at the Tongan
Temple.
Tonga’s
landscape is flat with more grassland area--less foliage than found in Samoa. There are no rivers or waterfalls in
Tonga. On Friday August 25th after our
conference ended, we found out that the King of the Kingdom of Tonga dissolved
the government. What does that mean we
aren’t sure except that we were thankful there weren’t any riots or fires like
happened the last time the King did this.
Apparently there will be re-elections in November.
The Sr. Missionary couple serving in Tonga, Elder and Sister Busby, took a few of us under their wings Friday afternoon and Saturday up until our evening flight and showed us the sights. We also got to reconnect with another missionary couple who went through the Missionary Training Center with us and is serving as auditors there in Tonga. We went out dinner with the Tongan Sr. Missionaries. Here are pictures of some of our Tongan excursions.
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| Landscape of Tonga |
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| Ocean View from Tonga |
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| 3 Headed Coconut Tree Yes, it was delineated with its own sign. |
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| Blowholes MUSEUM ARTIFACTS: We ran across this mini museum located off a resort gift shop. |
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A "Pillow" for resting your head. |
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| Site where Captain Cook landed. |
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| Leaning Rock Sister & Elder Busby, Jeany Obley (VP of Vaiola Primary School) Ron & Karla and Sister & Elder Starke |
This is a different rock know as the Psunami Rock that was hurled out of the ocean during a Psunami. The size is enormous.
Elder & Sister Needham, Ron & Karla, Sister & Elder Starke, Sister & Elder Busby.
Another
fun part was meeting the parents of two full time young Tongan missionaries
whose sons are serving in Samoa. We knew
both Elders and were delighted to bring gifts back to them from their parents.
On
Thursday while we were in Tonga, Samoa held their National Champ Of Champs
Field/Track high school competition and Vaiola took first. Here is a link to read a really well written newspaper article to sum it up. Additionally, the
students were met at the returning ferry by the student body and the police escorted the athletes back to campus. August 31st
was our school celebration. These are
amazing athletes; Ron was privileged to assist in coaching the
long distance runners.
Congratulations
if you read this extensive account! ---sorry it was so long but we wanted to
record the important events and impressions that will forever be our special
memories.
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