The First Vision is a lot longer in Tongan!

Hi Mom and Pop,

     This week has been great!! The work here has really picked up!! It’s been incredible!  We usually have about 2 to 4 lessons a day and my Tongan has been immensely increased.   I can teach just about the whole first lesson once I memorize the First Vision! But, the problem is the First Vision is a lot longer in Tongan.  So,  it will take some time but I am determined! 

     Funny story for the week! We are attacked by dogs about 2 times a day! We had Fafanga at this house the other day and we have eaten there once before.  They have these dogs that almost attacked us,  in fact , it was a mommy dog and she took a snap at my ankle. Well, this time on the walk over we decided to get ourselves some sticks to protect ourselves! So, we start walking over and Elder G and I have our sticks and are all ready at 100 ft. away,  the dogs see us and begin to bark! Now, this house is tucked around a corner so you can’t see it but you can see the driveway!! So, we keep walking and when we finally came within about 50 ft the dogs start inching forward! Then, all of a sudden we hear from the driveway,  a war cry , and hauling out of the driveway with a stick raised above her head in defense of the missionaries, is a 5-year-old little Tongan girl! She runs up to the dog and just whacks it in the nose with her stick!! The dogs back off and she walks up and takes my hand (I know her from church she always comes and sits with us in Sacrament meeting) and leads us safely to the house! Ha-ha Greatest moment ever because these dogs were mean!!!

     Mom, you have no idea how much the kids love us!! They come and sit with us during Sacrament meeting.  They are so cute! And they always call our names.  ha-ha I can’t wait to show you over Skype.  Seriously, they are so cute!!!! And time is flying!! The weeks go by so fast! I can’t believe to day is Pday, already!!!
 

     So, this week was incredible!! We had another baptism this last Saturday a 12-year-old boy named Pila and I’m super excited for the coming weeks because we will have a baptism every Saturday for the next 3 weeks! It’s exciting!! We are teaching this family that we haven’t set a single appointment for because they continually invite us over before we ask.  It’s amazing. 

The language is coming slowly but surely its hard though. Everything is backwards compared to English so I need to think of everything backwards but I’m teaching two principles a lesson, which is really helping. 

     My understanding is actually a LOT better than my speaking. In most conversations I can usually catch what they are talking about or who they are talking about so that has increased a TON.

       I get one extra hour every morning to study the language.  The rest I have to do on the run, which makes it incredibly hard. I think the hardest part is vocab because it’s not anything like English.  One word usually means about 6 different words for example... 
 

Fiefia: happy, joy, excitement, peaceful. Now, it sounds easy but you always forget that. 

     There are 30 elders and sisters in my zone. Eight of them are sisters and there are only four white people in my whole zone in the whole mission, 130 missionaries currently, and about 50 are white! 

     There are 6 people in our district and surprisingly Elder L from the MTC is in my district. That’s really nice.  Our district meetings are every Tuesday at 11:00 AM. 

       All of the Elders and sisters except for my companionship are all from either Australia or Tonga. 

     As for the beaches, I wish we had some in our area but unfortunately, we have the harbor. Now, the awesome part is, right along side of the road by our church building are a bunch of benches. So, every time we are given money to eat that night, we go get barbecue, walk to our bench and look at the ocean as we eat.  It’s beautiful! 

     As for the last question,  I am always amazed about where I am! It’s incredible here.  The lifestyle, the people, everything is incredibly unique! It’s awesome! The people here are amazing! They truly help the missionaries at all times,  with food, driving, money,  you name it, they will provide.

OK,  It was an AWESOME week!! Can’t wait to hear from all of you!!!

Love,

Elder Sheppard

Tonga is Beautiful!

 

Hey Guys!

      So another great week has passed here in the humid Kingdom of Tonga!
As usual, a ton of walking has been done and I know for a FACT that I have lost weight! So that is a huge blessing! As I said last week,  the animal gangs are still at it every night like clockwork! Its crazy that they go at it so often.  There are dogs limping around with broken legs and pigs are hurt, too.  It’s getting pretty serious out here...

Ok, onto to the latest update!

      So, we had a teaching this last week on Monday and as we were waiting for the time to go by,  because our previous appt.  had finished early, I saw a couple kids playing catch. So, I wandered over and started to throw the ball around.  I was there for about 20 minutes when the mom came outside smiling! She walked up to Elder G and started talking with him! Her name was Feau and she’s married to a white guy! Turns out,  she was baptized when she was 16 and never returned to the church! She really wants to come back and have her kids come, too! So, we might be having a 3 person baptism in the coming weeks! That’s pretty exciting! Her kids are awesome, too.  There’s Sione, Mo, and a daughter we have not met yet! They are an awesome family! In fact, we have FHE tonight with them!

    Another investigator we have is Pila! In fact we will be baptizing Pila this coming Saturday! He has been an awesome little kid. He is currently 12 years old and we have been teaching him for 2 weeks now!  He came to church yesterday and has kept every commitment we have extended to him! He truly believes and  it has been an awesome experience teaching him!

     So,  basically Tonga is beautiful!  I can’t even describe the feelings I have walking around here. Saturdays are crazy here! On Saturday no one is home all day until the evening! They are all out shopping for food for Sunday! Then when they get home they rake up all of the leaves and put them in their burning pit. Yes, I said burning pit.... ha-ha in fact every Pday we take out trash to our pit throw it in there,  light a match and burn our trash because there is no trash system! So, everyone just burns everything! Then when Sunday comes that’s when ALL of Tonga goes quiet.  The streets are dead, like when you imagine the road in the middle of nowhere with the tumbleweed.. That is Tonga. No one is out side or anything! And if your shop is open then you are fined by the police the next day! The only shop that is open is the bread shop so that you can receive your fresh bread!

      So, it’s been an awesome week! Humidity is actually starting to drop a
bit because "winter" is coming to Tonga! So the nights have gotten a
little colder! I’m so excited to send all of you pictures from Tonga!
It’s beautiful here and nothing compares! I feel so blessed to serve
this people and have the opportunity to speak the language!

Love you all!!!
Elder Sheppard

Parental addition:  We received a letter today with a photo of Connor on the day he arrived with his mission president and his wife.   It is dated March 27, 2013.  He looks tired and pale and slightly disheveled.  The suit is now in a suitcase for two years. We'll see what a few weeks of tropical sunshine will do for him:)

I see Tongan in you!

MOM , DAD
 Ahhhh, I miss you guys!

So,  first I sent a letter today for the twins and Walker! So,  if timing
is correct it should arrive in about 3 to 5 weeks..... short, right?

No, unfortunately, I have not received the letters yet, but every time
the zone leaders come down the road I'm at a full sprint running at
their car,  asking them if they have letters for me! I'm so excited to
receive them!

Now,  the reed thing around my waist is called a ta'ovala and its just
really significant. The people here have always worn them.
To be honest, I don't know why they are so important.  By the way,
that reminds me,  I need everyone's waist sizes, EVERYONE'S because it
takes a long time for them to be made and I'm getting one for each family
member, hand made to wear at my home coming and that will take all 2
years to gather! So, I need waist sizes now!!! Hayley and Kade, too!

Okay,  so onto the questions:)

1. My week was awesome! It went by wicked fast and I absolutely love
the people here.  They amaze me every single day. I experienced my first
Vilohoa this last Wednesday which is basically a Companionship
exchange! And that was really fun.

Now, something funny here that has been occurring lately.
There are now two gangs that have risen in the streets on my areas....
One is called the Ngaahi Puaka and the otheris called the Nghaahi Kuli.
 Now here is the actual scary part: It's actually the animals!  Puaka (pigs) fight the Kuli (dogs)
and its always at night! All of sudden at 2:30 AM, I hear right outside
my window, a symphony of dogs barking and whining and pigs whining and
snorting. Seriously,  I can't help but laugh every time I hear and
see it! The animals go at it outside! They fight with all they
have! It is the greatest thing to watch I about die laughing
every time I witness the dogs and pigs fighting!


Parental comment: My favorite line of the week "Seriously, I can't help but laugh!"

2. This week lesson wise there weren't that many. To be frank here, in
comparison to other missions, the work here is super slow. To have
amount of investigators that we do right now, which is only 3 is an
incredible blessing! We usually have about one teaching a night. Most of
our lessons fall through so,  I had the idea to get a sheet with less
actives names on it from the Bishop. So, hopefully this next week we
will have a lot more teaching to do! The mission president has called
this mission the self revelation mission because we get A LOT of time
to study! My companion and I though are out every night until 9:00 even
if we are just walking and talking to random people on the street.

3. So our area covers two wards. In the Houmakelikau ward there's
about 150 active members who come every Sunday. In our other ward Nukua'lofa 4th Ward there's about 100 active members who come every Sunday!
We have quite a few people that come to both wards!

4. Now the youth! We have basically none... it's pretty much primary
kids! But our neighbors have a little son, he is 2 years old, his name is Mo and is the seriously greatest little kid ever! I was able to watch Sunday conference in English yesterday! During it Mo
stands up and in English starts singing "I Am a Child of God"! The best
moment ever! I'll send a picture of him soon enough!

5. Ok So to answer all the rest of the questions! Walker,  I am really
missing sour patch watermelon.... and you! You should just send
yourself out here and be my new companion and teach with me! I see
Tongan in you!
My shirts are amazing! They hold up beyond nicely!  They are such a
pure white! It's incredible!

Well, I love all of you! and I hope you are all safe and having fun!
You are always in my daily prayers! and I miss you! I always look
forward to PDAY to see how all of you are!

Love,
Elder Sheppard!!!

Week 2 in Tonga

 

Hey Mom, Hey Pop, 

      Ok, so this week was really good. Yes, we did Baptize Lau, in fact, I was   the one who baptized him! I'll send you the picture. In the coming weeks we will have more baptisms.  People have definitely been placed here and they are ready to hear! It's incredible! In fact, the other   day we had a TON of lessons planned and they all fell through! So, we went to Sandra (a lady in our ward) because she had an investigator for us to teach. Her name is Sella and I don't know if God could have   placed a better moment for us. We found her house, walked up she called us in and set up her own date for a lesson! It was AMAZING!! God truly does work in mysterious ways! I have now witnessed it! 

-->

      All we have is a one-room building. The sink in the bathroom the sink is about 5 to 8 inches wide.  We have no air conditioner, just a fan and we have no water heater, just cold water comes out and the showerhead is just a hole in the wall!  And as for a kitchen, we have a sink and a water filter.  High class living!

        So, before I answer this plethora of questions, I have yet another   funny story! This week in church was Fast and Testimony meeting...   So, it's going well, I got up and bore my testimony (fakemo'oni) and so   did my companion! After we went up an old lady and when I say old, I mean OLD, makes her way to the stand and sits down. She gets  up and begins her testimony, instead of walking to the microphone, she gets right up to the front of the stand sticks her chin up and   starts YELLING her testimony!!!  Ok, now to answer questions... 

1. How is the language coming along? 

    The language is a bit rough. It's hard because all of the Tongans speak slang here.  So it's been hard to understand and it will be a very long time before I do start to understand! But, I'm working on it.  I’m definitely paying attention at church! It's too funny not to! And, I listen intently for anything I can pick up! So, I'm working at it!   

 2. Are you able to understand the locals? 

      I am able to understand the daily questions they ask me but, for the most 

part, no. They speak incredibly fast and with all the(faka's) words seem to 

blend super easily..... ha-ha It makes it really hard but, I hear a lot of words that I know!!!

  

 3.Are you able to understand at church?

      Like I said up above, not really. Also, because they talk right into the microphone and that kind of makes weird noises and you can hear them breathing which makes it super hard to hear them.

     4. Where is your companion from?

     My companion is actually from Murietta, California! It has been super fun to talk to him about surfing and stuff from home cause he isn't that far from us! He is a palangi and he's my height but a bit more chub on him from the Tongan food haha. He told me that.   I'll send a picture of us. 

  

 5. How many lessons do you teach a week?

    We teach quite a few lessons each week. Actually, we probably have   been teaching a steady two a lessons a day or so. This area has picked up a bit again, so it's been super fun. We do a TON of walking everyday!   And we talk to everyone, seriously, everyone!

  

 6. Do you go door to door?

     No, we don't go door to door. And if they had doors on their houses we still wouldn't knock. The people here don't respond to that and they don't like it. So, we only go through members and we get TONS of referrals through that, seriously! We had 13 last week and we   are teaching most of them!!! It's amazing!!! 

   

 7. What is your typical day like?

     Our day usually consists of this schedule: from 6:30 to 12:00 we are studying and preparing for the day. From 12 to 5 really just trying to find something to do because everyone is working or asleep! Then from 5 to 9 we have lessons and dinner.  That is a normal day here in Tonga!!!

  

 I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH!!!

 ELDER SHEPPARD