Tonga at Last!

Hey Mom, Dad, Family!!!

So, where to begin?  This has been one heck of an opening to my mission!!
We arrived in Tonga at about 12:00 pm on Wednesday! We got off the plane walked across the runway.  Seriously, right when you walk out of the plane you're already soaked! No joke!! The humidity is crazy!  Which makes me so happy that I get to wear a tupenu, because if not, missionaries would get sent home all the time just from heat stroke!!  After we went through customs and all that,  we walked out and already standing there is our mission President! He gave us a huge hug and welcomed us to Tonga! It was super exciting.  Then we drove back to the mission home! It was directly across the street from the Temple, which was also super exciting 'cause for a day and a half we could see the Temple! The funny part was the grass was greener around the Temple! Every where else it wasn't nearly as green!

We spent the night at the mission home and the next day we received our trainers! My trainer and Companion is Elder Groom or Elder Kulumu Tonganized! My new name tag now is Elder Sepeti! That was cool to get a whole new name tag! My trainer is awesome.  He is really teaching me a lot about the language and about how the Tongans do things! It has been super fun! We already have a baptism lined up for Saturday! The Tongan's name is Lau.  He is 20 and married and his wife is married! He has decided to be baptized and so we will be baptizing him this Saturday!
(Parental Comment: We think this is so funny and so Connor!)

Now, onto food!  The food here is incredible! It tastes awesome! But, here is the weird part,  OK, so, for all the Elders we have something called Fofonga and that is pretty much when we walk to a members house and they make the food for us.  So, we never cook and the members get angry at us if we do cook? Ha-Ha We have not had to cook and won't need to my whole mission. See?  Now, here is the really awkward part though, when we go to eat.... we eat first and they sit and watch us! Literally watch us! And their family eats after we leave.  So, you can see all the little kids staring at us while we eat and its super sad.

Sunday
  OK, Sundays are hilarious here! First we sing a hymn and the meeting starts when the Bishop feels like starting it.  So it can be 10 minutes early or 30 minutes late! The hymns though are the best part! The whole congregation seriously YELLS the hymns at the top of their lungs so loud! Seriously, it took all my will power not to laugh cause it was so loud.  It was awesome!  They don't watch the conductor, so they go at their own speed. So, basically,  you hear people holding notes too long or too short but, they just keep singing! And the best part is that they let their little kids just run up and down the aisles. They don't even chase them.  It's so great!  They run and yell so, the person speaking just yells louder into the pulpit! and it just gets louder and louder and louder. 

Onto my house.  We'll there's only one room.... It has 2 beds, a sink and a shower and bathroom. That's it. It's tiny.  We walk down a dirt road covered in potholes and other road blocks like rundown cars and such! Oh,
and I have not had a hot shower since I arrived here in Tonga.  They have all been ICE cold, like super, super cold!  So,  shower time is not as enjoyable anymore! It's a very quick in and out shower!!

So that's been my first week here in Tonga! It's been very exciting!!
LOVE YOU ALL!
Elder Sepeti

SLC, LAX, New Zealand, Tonga = 24 hours travel time

Tonga Travels:
     Connor left the MTC yesterday en route to Tonga.  He was able to call us from the airports as he made his way around the world.  As this was our first conversation in six weeks, we had lots of questions.  Here are some of the more memorable excerpts of our conversations:

Connor:  (for some reason all of our children repeat our name twice in addressing us:)
     "Dad, Dad! Are you by your computer?"
Kip: "Yes"
Connor: Okay, look up Tonga on Google Earth.  We could do research on Tonga during our down time.  Okay, once you are there, go to the bottom right corner of the main island, Tongatapu.  See that line?  Zoom in on it.  That is the international airport of Tonga!"

Here is the link to Tongatapu, the main island of Tonga:

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=Tonga&hl=en&ll=-21.164563,-175.173569&spn=0.230839,0.483913&sll=37.269174,-119.306607&sspn=25.127739,61.940918&oq=Tong&t=h&hnear=Tonga&z=13

Bennett: "Connor, what do you think it will be like in Tonga?"
Connor: "Hot and Happy!"

Mom: "Do you get to ride a bike or walk?"
Connor: "The joke is: Yes, you could ride a bike if you could find somewhere to get it up to speed!"

Jackson: "What about the food?
Connor: "They eat horse, dog, pork, fish and lamb."
Connor: "They eat with their fingers."
Bennett: "I'll send you a fork."

Connor: "I am very excited because it is the start of mango season.  I am bummed because I missed pineapple season."

Mom: "What kind of housing will you have?"
Connor: "You know the huts from "The Other Side of Heaven"? Yeah, well, like that."

Connor: "The island groups of Ha'apai and Vava'u still run on gas lamps.  There is very little electricity.  Some of the islands have big reefs and the large boats cannot get into the harbors, so they bring you as close as they can, then you jump in and swim to the smaller boats that come out to meet you."
Mom: "What happens to your luggage?"
Connor: "It gets wet, too."
Mom: "It's a good thing I sent all those ziploc bags to keep your books and batteries dry!"


Connor: "Dad, Dad, go to the little tiny island almost all the way to Samoa.  It is called Niuatoputapu Island. This is the island that Elder Groberg served on during his mission.  If you zoom in on the bottom left of the island there is a dirt strip.  That is the airport.  If you serve here, you hope you can fly back for zone conference because the ferry from here takes 24 hours, one way!"

Here is the link to Niuatoputapu Island:
 https://maps.google.com/maps?q=Niuatoputapu,+Niuas,+Tonga&hl=en&sll=-21.164563,-175.173569&sspn=0.230839,0.483913&oq=Niuatoputapu+&t=h&hnear=Niuatoputapu&z=15

Mom:"What is the plan when you arrive in Nuku'alofa?
Connor:"The AP's will meet us at the airport.  We will go to the mission home for dinner with the President and his wife.  After that, we have rooms at the Liahona High School where we are supposed to go and sleep for the next day.  After our day of sleeping we will get our new companions and be assigned to our areas." ( You can see Liahona High School on the map of Tongatapu, it is in the middle and left of the airport))

Jackson: "What will you be doing?"
Connor: "Most of the area is farming.  We will have knives and be out doing service on the farms.  Apparently, we will need knives to cut open coconuts and fruit."

Connor: "It's going to be an exciting time in Tonga, They are getting a new King, having a royal wedding  and we are getting a new Mission President in July.  So there will be lots of cool ceremonies and events!"

Letters take between 2 and 4 weeks to arrive in Tonga.  Drop him a note if you can because he will most likely only be receiving snail mail.  His P-day is on Monday.  If he has email capability I will post his letters.  If not, I will transcribe his letters as they come in the mail.
Thanks for all your prayers and support. 

Week Five at the MTC

Hey guys!!!

This week has been awesome!  First of all, the best TRC (training resource center) experience ever!!!! Remember the older Tongan Lady I told you about? I'm so excited to teach her every time cause she is so funny! This week the topic we were teaching was  "Inspiration through The Book of Mormon" I started and my job was to explain the story. I began this time with telling her about Nephi and his family and how the book begins. That went by quickly and smoothly so then I began with Joseph Smith! Right when I said his name,  she stops and says "Oh, I love Joseph Smith! I want to sing a hymn about him!" She stops us mid lesson and busts out into a 4 verse TONGAN HYMN! Elder Latai and I are sitting there and we looked at each other and we had no idea what to do! It was so funny! We said "oh good that was beautiful" and we continued on.

OK! On to new things:
 I GOT MY TRAVEL PLANS WOOOOOOOOOO!! I'M LEAVING THE MTC FINALLY!!
I meant,  I'm so sad to leave this place. I wish I could stay longer........
Not really! I'm ready to fly!  Seriously!

This week has been great! It's kind of long. When we got our travel plans we were so excited but 6 days now we leave the 25th (Monday) at 1:30,  so Mom and Dad and Family be ready!  I'm calling home between 1:30 and 4:00.  I fly to AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND!!! I'm extremely excited about this because I'm gunna go get myself a meat pie! We stay in New Zealand for a small layover then we fly to TONGA and arrive the 27th of March.  Ahhhh, I'm so excited! Now for the word on the Visa,  I'm positive we have it because we got a slip of paper telling us to clear out of the room ASAP! So, I will be doing that super fast! You will be getting a package from me super soon with winter clothes ha-ha! Oh,  and we were given permission to break in our mission shoes haha!  So, I have been walking around in flipflops and socks for the last week! I don't think my district could look any dorkier! ha-ha It has been great!

Luckily,  I have been to other countries but,  I think the fact of me being on a mission will hit pretty hard. It's going to be a crazy experience! To be honest, I hope I don't get any high callings,  because I want to be in the field the whole time, all 2 years, so that I can serve more and more! I'm excited to wear the tupenus! That's going to be awesome! I have a few things too look forward to! It's going to be quite the experience, that's for sure! I'm so excited to call you guys!  Hopefully you are all really close so it's less phone calls! That would help because I would love to hear everyone before I leave!

OK,  onto the language,  I can now OFFICIALLY, with lots of praying for help and asking for the spirit,  can say any sentence I want because I have memorized the grammar structure! Now,  it's just a matter of vocab and stuff! That was pretty exciting for me because I just figured that out last night! So, my companion is super annoyed because I haven't said a word of English to him for 2 days (ha-ha) and most of the time I'm looking up casual conversation words and my sentences take forever! But, I will not yield!

OK, now begins the mocking....

Oooooh twins,  how was your first date?
How were the slow songs;)
Did you guys get your first kiss?
I can't wait to see pictures!

And Walker,  Hey Buddy, I'm glad you aren't sick anymore.  Miss you dude , LOVE YOU! Are you sad the rugby season is over?

Give my CONGRATULATIONS TO BAYLOR AND PARKER AND SALLY!! And tell Baylor to get his visa, NOW!  More than half the missionaries going there right now have been reassigned.   The Peru missions are right above me in the residence.  So get started NOW!


LOVE YOU GUYS
Can't wait to hear from you:)

Love,
Elder Sipi!

Week Four at the MTC

Hey everyone!!!!

So,  one thing I have noticed here.  Any word you mess up on in Tongan seems to be a swear word...... No joke!  But,  I though it was hilarious so,  I had to tell you guys!!

     So, I was sitting in my lesson and my companion was speaking to our "investigator" (our teacher) His name is Sunia (real name Brother Hopoate and yes, related to the rugby players from Mormon messages! They're cousins!) My companion finished and I began my part of my lesson.   About halfway through,  I really wanted to test my language skills, so I decided to ask him if he had any questions and he asked me "Who wrote the "Book of Mormon"?" I began telling him and I told him "many prophets......" then I said "Oku ma tea"
 and I stopped because I didn't know what to say so I kept repeating it and what I though I was saying was "We would" but instead I was saying "We sh***" hahahahaha The look on his face was priceless! He started laughing so hard he started to speak to us in English! It was great! Luckily, though I wasn't the first! Our whole district has done it multiple times,  he just does his best to keep a straight face Haha!!!! I've actually stopped speaking English...... so, I can learn the language better!!!  They are getting really annoyed but, I don't care because it is helping me!  I'm gunna keep it up until I leave so  I can learn better!!
     The work is going really well and the language is coming along great! When I call you guys at the airport I'll bear my testimony to you guys in Tongan over the phone!  Hopefully, you guys will be able to understand.
     That is sweet that you guys get to go back to Hawaii! The twins and Walker are so lucky that they get to go! But, what am I saying?  I'm going to Tonga! We went over the food today because we are finished with the grammar already.  Tongan is so easy compared to other languages! But, of course every language is hard but, with the spirit they are made easier!
    
Okay, onto new things!

I was released as district leader Sunday! It was a fun calling for 3 weeks! It was a great honor to be called as the leader! It was fun! My district is doing great.  My companion is awesome, seriously! Since he already speaks fluently it makes me try harder in the lessons to be better! He is a great asset during the lesson, too! Whenever I'm speaking and I decide to use a  new word,  I just look to my right and I have a sitting dictionary next to me which is quite handy!
This morning the West Virginia guys left for their missions and that was sad because that makes us the only people on our residence floor! Whenever we come back,  instead of the fun loving Tongans and the West Virginia boys it's just empty halls of nothingness......so now we just go to bed at like 10 because there is nothing to do ha-ha. I got into a major habit of working out then going to sleep right after!

Other than that its been a fun week.  I hosted London and it was cool to see her! and I'm glad I could help ease her stress! The MTC really takes it out of you!  I hosted her on Wednesday and I didn't see her until Sunday because our schedules are so off in comparison! But, it was good to see her again! I've also seen London a couple times and I have been taking care of her. I  helped her  and her companion with one of their lessons.

Oh, on a high note,  I get my travel plans at the end of the week! I am super excited to get out of here! As fun as it has been, these brick walls are getting closer! Even with Elder Leveni's (he is from Melbourne, Australia) humor,  it still is not enough to get things moving!

That is incredible to hear that so many people are getting their mission calls.  Congrats to Mark and I'll get out there and host Allan!  If you guys can find out what he is driving,  that would be awesome cause I'll get out there and help him out! and Could you find out if Jordan Rex got his mission call or any other of my friends there? I'd love to hear it all!

Hope you are all doing fine.   I expect a lot of pictures from the twin's Prom:)!

Love,
 Elder Sheppard!

Week Three at the MTC

  Hi Family,

   So, this week has been pretty good, yet really tough.  We have transferred from taking notes into our lessons to just a couple vocab words! This was a great experience but, at the same time really humbling because it really teaches you to be ready for the language! It is nice though because I have a walking dictionary as a companion because he already speaks fluent Tongan. He came to the MTC already fluent? Not sure why he is still here? But, that's not the point because I have a fluent companion and that makes my language barrier a lot easier to hurdle.
      Hmm, let's see OH! Elder M. Russell Ballard came and spoke to us! The cool thing about this is the fact that my service here at the MTC is to set up the gym for all the devotionals and firesides! We have found out that if you start vacuuming and extra cleaning that means someone very important is coming!  We went super early and basically sat at his feet! It was AWESOME!! He gave a great talk on how God trusts youth with his calls like David, Nephi, and other various Prophets then he pronounced an apostolic blessing on the whole MTC!  So now, any time an Apostle is coming I will know first!

     OH! Funny story! Some new Tongans from Tonga moved in down the hall and they are as usual loud and super funny!  3 nights ago I was walking down the hall and stopped by their room to say "Hi!"  As I walked in I noticed that they had a frozen pizza! Are you ready for this? Elder T takes the frozen pizza breaks it in half gives the other half to his Tongan companion and they start EATING IT! FROZEN SOLID!  I was laughing so hard!  Then that got me thinking, are we going to have microwaves in Tonga?

      All the elders in my district are going to Tonga and but neither of the sisters are because they don't send sisters to Tonga. One of the sisters is going to San Jose, California and the other to New Zealand! That will be pretty cool, all of us are Tongan speaking!