Mother's Day letter and phone call

This is the view from Connor's walk to the beach.

Connor sent home a letter for Mother's Day that arrived on Saturday!  A beautiful pressed flower from his front yard made it all the way here:) A portion of the letter reads:
"Mom, I want you to know that I have a burning testimony of this church.  I know that Joseph Smith restored the church and that through him, the Priesthood authority is back on the earth.  I know that Thomas Monson is a true prophet today and that he leads and guides this church.  I know that families can be together forever and I am blessed to to be able to see my mom forever and always get to look up to her!  Because you are the best example I could possibly ask for! I know that Jesus Christ died for us on the cross and He took upon himself all the sins of the world.  He loves each and every one of us!  You have no idea of how proud I am to be your son! 
What a beautiful letter and testimony from my sweet boy:)

Connor was able to call home for Mother's Day.  We were not very hopeful because the island he has been transferred to is rustic:) But, in the middle of the afternoon the phone rang and there he was!  Tears of joy to hear his voice!  A member of the ward had given him her prepaid cell phone for the day to call home.  Bless those lovely saints all over the world that help the missionaries talk to their moms:) He sounds great and is loving his experiences.  Here are some excerpts from our conversation yesterday:

What is your new area like?

'Eua beach, just down from Connor's house

"It is beautiful here,  We can walk straight down the road to the beach. Most of the island is a national park with lots of rainforest. We have a small hut right across the street from the church.  We walked down to the beach and because my camera is waterproof,  I set the timer and held it by the strap underwater to take the picture.  The water is so incredible.  It is so clear it's amazing! I have a new companion who is a native Tongan.  He is from an island that almost touches Samoa. I miss speaking English with Elder Groom but, my new comp. is a great guy and I know my language will only get better!"

What is a typical day?
"Our area is two wards and there are only five nonmembers in our area.  So, we get up every day between six and seven.  We meet the Bishop and go with him out to work the farms of the local people.  We dig up taro roots which can be 40 to 50 pounds each.  We chop down trees, burn brush, climb the trees to cut down coconuts and bananas.   It is super hot and I stop every morning at 11:00 to put on sunscreen.  If I don't,  I get really burned." 
We help the locals crate up all of the produce and go to the harbor to put it on a boat for the main island, Tongatapu. 
After we finish,  the locals all take naps in the heat of the day and we see them again at about 5:00.  Everyone in the village comes out in the evening to play together.  We all play tennis and the kids run around and the moms all talk together.  "I love that here.  I wish we did that more at home.  It is really great!"

How is the food?
"Well, I have eaten dog, horse and octopus."  Walker asked, "How was the octopus?"  Connor, "Tentacley! I didn't like it much but, I ate it."  (Coming from Connor this is a big deal!!)  Breakfast is usually, octopus or fish.  Lunch is noodles and chicken, taro, eggs bread and maybe horse.  His favorite thing is "lu" it's made from different meats. It can be chicken lu, pig lu or
(my favorite), meat from a can lu.  "One thing I miss is boneless meat!  Everything here has bones in it.  "Oh, and mom, can you send me some more floss?"
"Mom! They all know Kentucky Fried Chicken!  So they cook it and then they"Kentucky"it. Which means they fry it!!"  Kentucky is funny in a Tongan sentence."  

What is the animal life like on the island?
There are lots of beautiful wild parrots.  There are some very poisonous centipedes that are nearly a foot long.  They are red and black and ugly!  There are huge hermit crabs down at the beach.  I miss the dog and pig wars. 

'Eua rainforest

"My car ride to town today was in a car with no door handles, tops out at 40 mph and my seat was broken so I kept rolling back and forth the whole way!"

"The island finally got an internet cafe.  It is in a shed."

The police don't do much here.  But, just don't hit someone's pig!!"