When Doris and I retired we started planning to go on a mission. But we needed to finish the new house, and get ourselves physically ready. Three surgeries later, it was time. There was an opportunity it seemed in New Zealand, which led to the International Teacher Education Program (ITEP). After our papers were in, we waited 7 weeks and received a call to serve in Tonga. svj
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| There is Tonga. |
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| 16" of snow! |
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| The Day We Left Utah |
The ITEP program is designed to elevate education on the Islands of the South Pacific by further educating the teachers so they can receive their teaching certificates. We started our mission on 29 October at the Missionary Training Center in Provo, UT and flew to Auckland, New Zealand on 10 November and arrived on 12 November, we missed Sunday by crossing the International Date Line. A few days of training in Auckland and lots of good food and we were off to Tonga on the 15th. svj
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| A little Maori flavor |
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| Arrived in New Zealand |
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| An Auckland Sunset from our hotel window. |
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| Hamilton New Zealand Temple |
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| Beautiful leis on our arrival in Tonga |
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| The Food |
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| More Food |
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| Let's Pray and Eat |
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| Thanksgiving Missionaries and Friends |
As
of this writing, we have been here three weeks and have taught an intensive
Foundations of Education course, two credit hours in two weeks. So we had to
hit the ground running. We love it here, the life is much simpler, and more
complex at the same time. Just buying subsistence items is a half day affair.
From one market to another, this one has this, that one that. No Safeway,
Luckys or even Maceys here. But interestingly enough, the flea market (FAIR) has
lots of American goods, that relatives send from the states to be resold here.
The Tongans are very friendly and sing very loudly. We love it! We have been
introduced to a number of Tongan foods, most of which are quite good. (Kamalla
is a sweet potato that is purple on the inside.) When we go to the FAIR, inevitably
someone will give us something that we wanted to buy. They feel they will be
blessed if they give to the Senior missionaries. We’ve started giving them some
money to put toward their children’s or their own missions. So far they have
accepted that. svj
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| Education 212 w Elder Johnson |
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| Education 212 w Sister Johnson |
Pua, Ina, Siosi, Ruby, Elder and Sister Johnson, Sailini,
Sarina, Mele, Temalisi, Telu, Hingano, and Susana
These 11 beautiful ladies survived the first class we taught
here in Tonga—yes we jumped in only one week after our arrival—reading,
planning, and then teaching Foundations of Education 212—4 hours a day for 2
weeks. It really is summer—they are dressed to survive the air conditioned room!
Initially I felt apprehensive about teaching the
Tongans—worrying if I could understand their English, remember and pronounce their names,
avoid saying something that could be taken as disrespectful…all kinds of
unfounded worries. We learned all their
names, developed sweet relationships, had lots of laughs as they learned
strategies that will help them become better teachers and get closer to
acquiring their ITEP teaching certificates which will also bring a pay
increase.
Shortly after I began the prep for this class my computer
screen turned black and would not go back on, a big cold sore appeared on my
lip (in my limited time we found our way to the pharmacy for a prescription),
and I lost my power point which had to be re-written and designed late Saturday
night. Elder Johnson came to my rescue
and agreed to teach at least an hour on most days—we survived—all for our good,
and for our students’ good! The most wonderful thing about teaching here is
that we pray, share scriptures and relate academics to gospel principles! daj
