Malo 'e lele. How are you all doing? Before I go on, let me introduce myself. My name is Elder Feletoa. I am from Salt Lake and I'm serving alongside your son/brother, Elder Tulane. I thought I'd take some time to write to you all and let you know that he's doing really well. I first met him a couple of months ago, his first month out. He really didn't say much but we introduced ourselves, then departed and went our separate ways. I talked to a lot of the native Tongan's and they have a lot of great things to say about his language. I recently ran in to Elder Tulane and I'll tell you, it was like running in to a whole new person. His Tongan is impressive and he gets along well with everyone. I know he is serving somewhere in Tongatapu, I just forgot the name of his village. I know he is comps with a native Tongan.
Family, the young lad is doing great! You'd be proud to see him
Love, Elder Feletoa
7/8/09
A long time overdue...
So we have a few things to catch up on with Elder Tulane.
Lets start back at May 25: "I've just been doing my usual thing. Nothing really exciting has happened except I might have had my first tevolo (devil) experience. A tevelo is a bad spirit and almost everyone here in Tonga has some crazy story about them. I was on a comp exchange and when I woke up in the morning my comp asked me if I could hear him talking in the middle of the night. Apparently he woke up and a tevolo was standing in our room so he cast it out. I'm glad I was asleep! haha Tongan's have all kinds of superstitions."
May 31: (Excerpts from Jed's birthday letter) "I'm sitting in church while I write this and I still can't understand anything that anybody is saying, so I thought this could be a good time to write you a birthday letter. Are you excited to be getting out of Primary? I know I would be. This birthday is a big one, you get the priesthood. You know, people in other religions go to school for years to get the "priesthood", but for them its just a title. It really doesn't mean anything. When you receive the priesthood you will have more authority than those guys. Pretty cool huh! Make sure you honor your priesthood.
Well I thought it would be fun if I told you some things that I have noticed that have changed about me. I'm sure if you and the family could see me, you would be able to see a lot about me that has changed, but these are just some of the things I've noticed. 1) I'm small. I weighed myself a couple of weeks ago and was 165 lbs. I haven't been that small since 9th grade. 2) I love reading the scriptures. I think I almost know as much now as the average primary kid, that actually pays attention! 3) I love vegetables. I eat them every chance I get. I also love bananas and pineapple now. And coconut is growing on me too. 4) I can't eat a lot. Even when I do find something I like, it's not long before I get full. I think my stomach has shrunk! 5) I don't mind speaking in public.
I'm sure there are more, but I can't think of any right now. Remember that by the time you read this, I will already be finished with 25% of my mission, so I'll be home to kick your butt before you know it! haha"
June 8th: Hey sorry for last week (NO EMAIL), all the palangis played football and we didn't have time to write after. You'll be happy to know that I did good and caught the winning touchdown! We played today too but I stopped early so I could e-mail. One of the kids in 'Forever Strong' is a missionary here now. I only know him as Elder Salt (I don't know his first name) but he isn't hard to miss. He is a giant!
June 15th: Hey, transfers were today and I'm staying with my comp but we got 3 more missionaries in our house with us. This is going to be a long 6 weeks I'm afraid. Tonga is nice this time of year. It always rains at least a couple of times a week and the temp stays in th 70's. Sometimes at night it gets into the 60's and it is pretty chilly. haha Our AP's came by and talked to my comp and I last week and the one AP that is Tongan, who also happened to be my trainer, was talking to my comp. My comp was saying how cold it is and the AP was like "You don't even know cold until you lock yourself in a freezer naked." haha These guys are always saying weird stuff like that.
June 24th: Those other 3 elders only stayed for 2 days until the boat came and took them to another island. I have another palangi in my district so I do a lot of comp exchanges with him.
July 2nd: We haven't found any new investigators except for these 3 kids who are already like lifelong members and have grown up in the church, but I guess they were just never baptized. They are getting baptized tomorrow I think. I have still been doing exchanges with Elder Swanson, the other palangi, and he has helped me out a bunch. I'm always in a better mood when I am with him. He is from Blanding, UT. It's down by Monticello in the 4 corners area. The members love palangis and sisters, so we have no problem talking to people.
That is the latest and greatest from Elder Tulane. Hope you enjoyed catching up!
Lets start back at May 25: "I've just been doing my usual thing. Nothing really exciting has happened except I might have had my first tevolo (devil) experience. A tevelo is a bad spirit and almost everyone here in Tonga has some crazy story about them. I was on a comp exchange and when I woke up in the morning my comp asked me if I could hear him talking in the middle of the night. Apparently he woke up and a tevolo was standing in our room so he cast it out. I'm glad I was asleep! haha Tongan's have all kinds of superstitions."
May 31: (Excerpts from Jed's birthday letter) "I'm sitting in church while I write this and I still can't understand anything that anybody is saying, so I thought this could be a good time to write you a birthday letter. Are you excited to be getting out of Primary? I know I would be. This birthday is a big one, you get the priesthood. You know, people in other religions go to school for years to get the "priesthood", but for them its just a title. It really doesn't mean anything. When you receive the priesthood you will have more authority than those guys. Pretty cool huh! Make sure you honor your priesthood.
Well I thought it would be fun if I told you some things that I have noticed that have changed about me. I'm sure if you and the family could see me, you would be able to see a lot about me that has changed, but these are just some of the things I've noticed. 1) I'm small. I weighed myself a couple of weeks ago and was 165 lbs. I haven't been that small since 9th grade. 2) I love reading the scriptures. I think I almost know as much now as the average primary kid, that actually pays attention! 3) I love vegetables. I eat them every chance I get. I also love bananas and pineapple now. And coconut is growing on me too. 4) I can't eat a lot. Even when I do find something I like, it's not long before I get full. I think my stomach has shrunk! 5) I don't mind speaking in public.
I'm sure there are more, but I can't think of any right now. Remember that by the time you read this, I will already be finished with 25% of my mission, so I'll be home to kick your butt before you know it! haha"
June 8th: Hey sorry for last week (NO EMAIL), all the palangis played football and we didn't have time to write after. You'll be happy to know that I did good and caught the winning touchdown! We played today too but I stopped early so I could e-mail. One of the kids in 'Forever Strong' is a missionary here now. I only know him as Elder Salt (I don't know his first name) but he isn't hard to miss. He is a giant!
June 15th: Hey, transfers were today and I'm staying with my comp but we got 3 more missionaries in our house with us. This is going to be a long 6 weeks I'm afraid. Tonga is nice this time of year. It always rains at least a couple of times a week and the temp stays in th 70's. Sometimes at night it gets into the 60's and it is pretty chilly. haha Our AP's came by and talked to my comp and I last week and the one AP that is Tongan, who also happened to be my trainer, was talking to my comp. My comp was saying how cold it is and the AP was like "You don't even know cold until you lock yourself in a freezer naked." haha These guys are always saying weird stuff like that.
June 24th: Those other 3 elders only stayed for 2 days until the boat came and took them to another island. I have another palangi in my district so I do a lot of comp exchanges with him.
July 2nd: We haven't found any new investigators except for these 3 kids who are already like lifelong members and have grown up in the church, but I guess they were just never baptized. They are getting baptized tomorrow I think. I have still been doing exchanges with Elder Swanson, the other palangi, and he has helped me out a bunch. I'm always in a better mood when I am with him. He is from Blanding, UT. It's down by Monticello in the 4 corners area. The members love palangis and sisters, so we have no problem talking to people.
That is the latest and greatest from Elder Tulane. Hope you enjoyed catching up!
5/16/09
MotHeR's daY PhoNe CaLL!
Last Saturday night @ 9:30, we were able to talk to Elder Tulane during the annual Mother's day phone call. The phone call lasted about 3 hours and we all took our turns running our jaws! Thanks mom for sharing your coveted time with us! Here are some of the things that we learned in our discussions:
* Currently there are 75 Tongan elders, 25 Caucasian elders, and 16 sisters serving in Tonga.
* Their mission slogan is "The Tongan Way". Stan has adapted this slogan for his personal benefit to be "The Lords Way". He is trying to learn as much as he can both in the gospel and the language. He is relying on the Lord to shape and mold him while on HIS errand.
* He has found himself teaching and speaking with the Spirit more and more often. He tends to take a step back afterward and acknowledge the Lord's hand. He recognizes that it is not him speaking, it is the Lord guiding him.
* He just got a new companion. He really likes him. Even though Stan has been out a full month longer, he is the junior companion. Stan said that the mission president has a lot of faith and trust in his new senior.
* His new area is much closer to the city. There are more people and much more abundant and better food. He told us that he currently weighs 170 lbs, (that is less than he weighed in high school). In his last area, he ate just enough to get by, but is catching back up quickly and thinks his weight will even out soon!
* The Tongan people are very giving people. They offer more than they have frequently and Stan has politely declined such offers. Although his intentions are pure, he often has received the "you're too good" comment. He says adjusting to the Tongan culture has been a little difficult.
* He has access to this blog and looks at it every so often...so, Stan let me know if there is anything you would like me change or revise!
* And of course, Stan and Mitch talked lots of football and UFC. Typical brothers!
Stan sounded AWESOME! He has definitely matured. We were lucky enough to get a few hours just catching up. We love you Elder Tulane! Our prayers are in your behalf constantly! Continue to rely on the Lord and he will continue to bless you!
* Currently there are 75 Tongan elders, 25 Caucasian elders, and 16 sisters serving in Tonga.
* Their mission slogan is "The Tongan Way". Stan has adapted this slogan for his personal benefit to be "The Lords Way". He is trying to learn as much as he can both in the gospel and the language. He is relying on the Lord to shape and mold him while on HIS errand.
* He has found himself teaching and speaking with the Spirit more and more often. He tends to take a step back afterward and acknowledge the Lord's hand. He recognizes that it is not him speaking, it is the Lord guiding him.
* He just got a new companion. He really likes him. Even though Stan has been out a full month longer, he is the junior companion. Stan said that the mission president has a lot of faith and trust in his new senior.
* His new area is much closer to the city. There are more people and much more abundant and better food. He told us that he currently weighs 170 lbs, (that is less than he weighed in high school). In his last area, he ate just enough to get by, but is catching back up quickly and thinks his weight will even out soon!
* The Tongan people are very giving people. They offer more than they have frequently and Stan has politely declined such offers. Although his intentions are pure, he often has received the "you're too good" comment. He says adjusting to the Tongan culture has been a little difficult.
* He has access to this blog and looks at it every so often...so, Stan let me know if there is anything you would like me change or revise!
* And of course, Stan and Mitch talked lots of football and UFC. Typical brothers!
Stan sounded AWESOME! He has definitely matured. We were lucky enough to get a few hours just catching up. We love you Elder Tulane! Our prayers are in your behalf constantly! Continue to rely on the Lord and he will continue to bless you!
4/29/09
Sunday, April 12
We got to watch conference this weekend, which was awesome. They showed the Priesthood session first on Saturday afternoon, followed by the morning and afternoon sessions. Then, today we watched both Sunday sessions. I sat through the first two, watching in Tongan and not understanding a thing! Until I found out there was a separate room where they were playing it in English! Ha Ha. We just watched it at the Stake Center on a projector screen, just like the Priesthood session back home. My favorite talks were from Elder's Cook, Holland, Snow, and Oaks (especially Oaks). But, I really enjoyed the whole thing. The first time in my life I have ever been excited about conference! Ha Ha.
This transfer has kind of sucked. My companion is what Tony Perkis would call "a destroyer". He hates to work and loves to break rules. Much of my time has been spent studying while he sleeps or messes around with some of the guys from the neighborhood. We haven't been teaching much, but I have enjoyed my study time. I am putting together a nice little library that is helping me a lot. My first companion, Elder Alatini, gave me some student and teacher study manuals from the Old Testament, Book of Morman, Doctrine and Covenants that help alot; plus Preach My Gospel and the book you sent me by Elder Holland have helped me so much! I am beginning to find a ton of joy in studying the scriptures. I have noticed now that I can read faster and get more out of it than I used to. I am finding that there is so much knowledge to be found that I never get bored.
A few nights ago, I had dinner at the home of President Moleni, who was the mission president here before President McMurray, and he gave me a Tongan name. Taulani. It means tow truck. Ha. He said it's because I need to pull my companion along, just like a tow truck would, when he is not working right.
Well I want you to know that I am doing good. Sometimes I get discouraged and tell myself that I can't do this for 20 more months. But then I just remember that I've already done it for 4 months, so I know I can do 4 more. By that time, I will have done 8, so I'll know I can do 8 more. Even though I wish the time would go faster, I must admit that its gone pretty fast so far. Can you believe I've already completed 1/6 of my mission! I'll be back home before you know it. I love you guys so much and I pray for you every night. I am so grateful for your love, prayers, and support. I know this is where I need to be. And no matter how hard it gets, I can always remember Elder Hollands talk from the Sunday morning session and take comfort in knowing that the Lord will not leave me alone. And, "the Lord will shape the back to fit the burden placed upon it".
Ofa Lahi Atu,
Elder Tulane "Taulani"
(We posted lots of new things today, so continue looking down the page for more updates and lots of fun pictures!!!)
We got to watch conference this weekend, which was awesome. They showed the Priesthood session first on Saturday afternoon, followed by the morning and afternoon sessions. Then, today we watched both Sunday sessions. I sat through the first two, watching in Tongan and not understanding a thing! Until I found out there was a separate room where they were playing it in English! Ha Ha. We just watched it at the Stake Center on a projector screen, just like the Priesthood session back home. My favorite talks were from Elder's Cook, Holland, Snow, and Oaks (especially Oaks). But, I really enjoyed the whole thing. The first time in my life I have ever been excited about conference! Ha Ha.
This transfer has kind of sucked. My companion is what Tony Perkis would call "a destroyer". He hates to work and loves to break rules. Much of my time has been spent studying while he sleeps or messes around with some of the guys from the neighborhood. We haven't been teaching much, but I have enjoyed my study time. I am putting together a nice little library that is helping me a lot. My first companion, Elder Alatini, gave me some student and teacher study manuals from the Old Testament, Book of Morman, Doctrine and Covenants that help alot; plus Preach My Gospel and the book you sent me by Elder Holland have helped me so much! I am beginning to find a ton of joy in studying the scriptures. I have noticed now that I can read faster and get more out of it than I used to. I am finding that there is so much knowledge to be found that I never get bored.
A few nights ago, I had dinner at the home of President Moleni, who was the mission president here before President McMurray, and he gave me a Tongan name. Taulani. It means tow truck. Ha. He said it's because I need to pull my companion along, just like a tow truck would, when he is not working right.
Well I want you to know that I am doing good. Sometimes I get discouraged and tell myself that I can't do this for 20 more months. But then I just remember that I've already done it for 4 months, so I know I can do 4 more. By that time, I will have done 8, so I'll know I can do 8 more. Even though I wish the time would go faster, I must admit that its gone pretty fast so far. Can you believe I've already completed 1/6 of my mission! I'll be back home before you know it. I love you guys so much and I pray for you every night. I am so grateful for your love, prayers, and support. I know this is where I need to be. And no matter how hard it gets, I can always remember Elder Hollands talk from the Sunday morning session and take comfort in knowing that the Lord will not leave me alone. And, "the Lord will shape the back to fit the burden placed upon it".
Ofa Lahi Atu,
Elder Tulane "Taulani"
(We posted lots of new things today, so continue looking down the page for more updates and lots of fun pictures!!!)
Rewind to post on March 2nd..
... "I have some big news, I got my first baptism yesterday! (March 1st). The kids name is Nepote. He is about 18 years old and we only started teaching him less than 2 weeks ago, so it happened pretty fast. My companion let me do the honors, since I’ve never baptized anyone before. It was awesome. I said the whole prayer in Tongan and even got to wear the white tupenu. The fonts are outside here so that was really cool as well."
Random pictures from Tonga!
In the package we just received, Elder Tulane sent a memory card from his camera. Here are some random pictures from life in Tonga. Enjoy!!!
3/23/09
Rock'n and Roll'n in Tonga
(CNN) -- A tsunami warning was issued and then canceled Friday shortly after a major earthquake struck early Friday off the coast of Tonga.
The earthquake "generated a small tsunami," but there is "no evidence of destructive waves," said Stewart Weinstein, assistant director of the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii.
Robert Cessaro, a geophysicist with the center, said: "There's a tsunami in the water, but it's not gonna do much."
On the largest island in the Tonga chain, Tongatapu, in the capital city of Nukualofa, a clerk at the International Dateline Hotel said the earthquake was felt but caused no damage.
At the Fafa Island Resort, off Nukualofa, Joseph Sanladerer told CNN that the earthquake woke up guests and shook wine glasses from racks, but caused no significant damage. iReport: Did you feel the quake?
The tsunami center issued the regional tsunami warning for parts of the Pacific near the quake's epicenter, about 213 kilometers (132 miles) south-southeast of Nuku'alofa, Tonga. The quake struck at 6:17 a.m. local time (6:17 p.m. GMT).
At a depth of just 6.2 miles (10 km), it is considered a shallow earthquake. Typically, the shallower the quake, the more destructive potential it carries. But that is not always the case.
The USGS recorded the quake as 7.9 magnitude; the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said it was 7.7. There were no immediate reports of damage or death.
The earthquake struck a few hours after a volcano erupted off Tongatapu, Tonga, about 200 km away.
Ken Hudnut, a geophysicist at the U.S. Geological Survey in Pasadena, California, said: "The association with the volcanic activity seems to be an interesting added dimension to this. It's not clear at this point that there is a direct association, but it seems suggestive at this point."
Elder Tulane's thoughts on the events...
Hey mom
Yeah the earthquake was pretty cool. It happened around 8 o'clock on Friday morning if I remember right. I was just laying on my bed when it happened. It shook us really good but there was no damage done anywhere. It lasted for about a minute and was pretty fun haha. I didn’t find out about the tsunami until later, they were gunna have to move a few missionaries but then the warning got canceled so everything was ok. I’m not positive but I’m pretty sure I would have been safe where I was.
Transfers were today and I’m staying in Holonga but I’m getting a new comp, he is on his way from Vava'u so it will take a day or two for him to get here. In the mean time I’m staying with my district leaders.
This week has been kinda tough, I've been sick and haven't been able to eat much; mostly head aches and stomach pains. The whole thing has made me pretty homesick (haha) but don’t worry its nothing serious and our nurse, Sister Garrett, is taking real good care of me.
Well it was great to hear from you. I miss you guys like crazy
Elder Tulane
The earthquake "generated a small tsunami," but there is "no evidence of destructive waves," said Stewart Weinstein, assistant director of the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii.
Robert Cessaro, a geophysicist with the center, said: "There's a tsunami in the water, but it's not gonna do much."
On the largest island in the Tonga chain, Tongatapu, in the capital city of Nukualofa, a clerk at the International Dateline Hotel said the earthquake was felt but caused no damage.
At the Fafa Island Resort, off Nukualofa, Joseph Sanladerer told CNN that the earthquake woke up guests and shook wine glasses from racks, but caused no significant damage. iReport: Did you feel the quake?
The tsunami center issued the regional tsunami warning for parts of the Pacific near the quake's epicenter, about 213 kilometers (132 miles) south-southeast of Nuku'alofa, Tonga. The quake struck at 6:17 a.m. local time (6:17 p.m. GMT).
At a depth of just 6.2 miles (10 km), it is considered a shallow earthquake. Typically, the shallower the quake, the more destructive potential it carries. But that is not always the case.
The USGS recorded the quake as 7.9 magnitude; the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said it was 7.7. There were no immediate reports of damage or death.
The earthquake struck a few hours after a volcano erupted off Tongatapu, Tonga, about 200 km away.
Ken Hudnut, a geophysicist at the U.S. Geological Survey in Pasadena, California, said: "The association with the volcanic activity seems to be an interesting added dimension to this. It's not clear at this point that there is a direct association, but it seems suggestive at this point."
Elder Tulane's thoughts on the events...
Hey mom
Yeah the earthquake was pretty cool. It happened around 8 o'clock on Friday morning if I remember right. I was just laying on my bed when it happened. It shook us really good but there was no damage done anywhere. It lasted for about a minute and was pretty fun haha. I didn’t find out about the tsunami until later, they were gunna have to move a few missionaries but then the warning got canceled so everything was ok. I’m not positive but I’m pretty sure I would have been safe where I was.
Transfers were today and I’m staying in Holonga but I’m getting a new comp, he is on his way from Vava'u so it will take a day or two for him to get here. In the mean time I’m staying with my district leaders.
This week has been kinda tough, I've been sick and haven't been able to eat much; mostly head aches and stomach pains. The whole thing has made me pretty homesick (haha) but don’t worry its nothing serious and our nurse, Sister Garrett, is taking real good care of me.
Well it was great to hear from you. I miss you guys like crazy
Elder Tulane
3/7/09
3/5/09
3/2/09
E-mails March 2, 2009
Hey mom, thanks for the letters! I have good news but I already wrote about it to dad, so you will just have to ask him what happened cause I am not gonna write all that twice! Ha ha! Missionaries here all have their own houses, we live on the Stake President's property, but in seperate houses. Our house has one room with a sink and 2 beds (it is smaller than my bedroom at home), and a bathroom with another sink, toilet and shower. We have running water but it is cold, which really doesn't bother me. We have a scheduled fafanga (meal) every morning and night with different families in the ward. The houses here remind me of Charlie Bucket's house (from Willey Wonka and the Chocolate Factory). I have not been able to finish a full meal yet, ha ha! My companion is really good. The AP told me that Pres. McMurry was worried that my MTC experience wasn't great since I was a solo missionary, so he hooked me up with the best elder they had!!! I'm getting plenty of good pictures. Anything else you want to know, just ask and I'll be happy to fill you in! Oh yeah, I'm on Tongatapu, which is the main island, in a town called Holonga. But our area also covers the towns of Malapo and Pelehake. I love you all and miss you very much. Ofa lahi atu! (Much love to you!)
Elder Tulane
Hey dad, its good to hear from you. I’m more adjusted this week and I’m sure that I will continue to adjust with every week. I have some big news... I got my first baptism yesterday! (Sunday). The kids name was Nepote. He is about 18 years old and we only started teaching him less than 2 weeks ago, so it happened pretty fast. My companion let me do the honors, since I’ve never baptized anyone before. It was awesome. I said the whole prayer in Tongan and even got to wear the white tupenu. The fonts are outside here so that was really cool as well. I’ve been to Liahona a few times, mostly on P-days when I go with the other palangi, (white) elders, on the island to language study with President Shumway. How is everything going back home? I miss you guys very much. Send all my love to the family.
Elder Tulane
If any one has any questions you would like us to e-mail Stan and ask, just post up a comment!
Elder Tulane
Hey dad, its good to hear from you. I’m more adjusted this week and I’m sure that I will continue to adjust with every week. I have some big news... I got my first baptism yesterday! (Sunday). The kids name was Nepote. He is about 18 years old and we only started teaching him less than 2 weeks ago, so it happened pretty fast. My companion let me do the honors, since I’ve never baptized anyone before. It was awesome. I said the whole prayer in Tongan and even got to wear the white tupenu. The fonts are outside here so that was really cool as well. I’ve been to Liahona a few times, mostly on P-days when I go with the other palangi, (white) elders, on the island to language study with President Shumway. How is everything going back home? I miss you guys very much. Send all my love to the family.
Elder Tulane
If any one has any questions you would like us to e-mail Stan and ask, just post up a comment!
2/23/09
Our first e-mail from Tonga!!!
Hey family,
Sorry it took so long to write, the e-mail was down last week. I had to make to new account because "ldsmail" is too slow here. I'm doing fine. My area is called Holonga. My comp is Elder Alatini, he is from here in Tonga. I haven't aquired a taste for the food yet, haha, and it's been a bigger culture shock than I thought it would be. It is very humid here and I am always wet and sticky. We have running water but it is cold. The members feed us all our meals, I'm not starving. The people live very humble lives here and sometimes we just eat crackers because thats all they have to offer us. The biggest thing that bugs me is the lack of hygene, but I'll get used to it. This is not what I pictured a mission being like. It's alot more laid back than most missions. I still haven't decided if thats a good thing or a bad thing. I'm not really enjoying myself yet and I've been upset more than a few times, but I am enduring. All of the people here are very nice. Tell everyone my new e-mail address. I love you all tons and miss you.
stantulane40@gmail.com
Elder Tulane
(Feel free to e-mail Elder Tulane, but don't expect a prompt response. He is only allowed to e-mail parents and siblings, and it takes a few weeks to get a letter back from him!)
Sorry it took so long to write, the e-mail was down last week. I had to make to new account because "ldsmail" is too slow here. I'm doing fine. My area is called Holonga. My comp is Elder Alatini, he is from here in Tonga. I haven't aquired a taste for the food yet, haha, and it's been a bigger culture shock than I thought it would be. It is very humid here and I am always wet and sticky. We have running water but it is cold. The members feed us all our meals, I'm not starving. The people live very humble lives here and sometimes we just eat crackers because thats all they have to offer us. The biggest thing that bugs me is the lack of hygene, but I'll get used to it. This is not what I pictured a mission being like. It's alot more laid back than most missions. I still haven't decided if thats a good thing or a bad thing. I'm not really enjoying myself yet and I've been upset more than a few times, but I am enduring. All of the people here are very nice. Tell everyone my new e-mail address. I love you all tons and miss you.
stantulane40@gmail.com
Elder Tulane
(Feel free to e-mail Elder Tulane, but don't expect a prompt response. He is only allowed to e-mail parents and siblings, and it takes a few weeks to get a letter back from him!)
MTC pictures
Here are some photos from the MTC.
Elder Tulane pointing out Tonga on the infamous MTC map!
Stan holding his "Em Tee Cee" awards. He won Kolipoki and Chunk King.
His buddies: Elder Wall, Elder Brunson, Stan, and Elder Sheppard
He and Elder Wall at the Temple.
His Fijian District
Stan even met up with one of his buddies from home, Tyler Hall.
Here they are, muscles in tow!
Elder Tulane pointing out Tonga on the infamous MTC map!
Stan holding his "Em Tee Cee" awards. He won Kolipoki and Chunk King.
His buddies: Elder Wall, Elder Brunson, Stan, and Elder Sheppard
He and Elder Wall at the Temple.
His Fijian District
Stan even met up with one of his buddies from home, Tyler Hall.
Here they are, muscles in tow!
2/5/09
Finally... an update!
Elder Tulane assures us that his camera memory card is on it's way, but until then, he sent a couple of pictures to tide us over!!! Doesn't he look so good! We just found out that he got his flight plans to Tonga. He leaves next Tuesday, February 10 at 3 pm. He flies to L.A. where he has a 6 hour lay-over. Then flies all night long, straight to Tonga, leaving at 10:15pm. He should arrive in Tonga on the 12th at 8:30 am. He will never live in February 11, 2009! He flies over the international date line!!!
Here are a few little excerpts from some of his recent letters:
December 22
I just had an interesting experience in the Resource Center and I have to tell you it before I forget. The Resource Center is where I get on the phone and either call people to confirm that they received a book or video that they ordered or I receive calls from people who have questions. So this guy just called me and wanted to talk about the Book of Mormon, so I said "Of course". Then he started to tell me all these inconsistencies with it and accused me of not being Christian. He read a scripture from 2nd Corinthians talking about believing in a false Jesus Christ. I asked him if he had a Book of Mormon? He said yes. I asked if he had prayed to know that it is true? He said he didn't have to because God had not commanded him to. He said he wouldn't pray about something so ridiculous. So, I told him to pray to know that the Book of Mormon WAS ridiculous, and he still said he wouldn't. He asked me if I agreed with the scripture in 2nd Corinthians and I said, "Absolutely! And I'm glad that I belong to the very same church that Christ, himself, established during his mortal ministry". This guy even tried to say that the Book of Mormon was false because there was a guy named 'Moron' in it!(I guess he forgot about the man named 'Nimrod' in the Bible!!!) He said that "Lehi" translated means "jawbone" so obviously the Book of Mormon is wrong. He chastized me for believing that Jesus and Satan are brothers and called me a Satanist for thinking we have a Heavenly Mother. He even told me that I believe that God is a polygamist. I tried to bear my testimony and tell him that I know the Book of Mormon is true and I know that Joseph Smith is a prophet of God, but every time I tried to defend my beliefs, he would just interrupt me and didn't care about anything I had to say. (How very Christian of him!) He even accused me of being childish because he heard me tell another missionary that we were "bible bashing". When our time was up to leave the Resource Center, I told him that I had to go. He asked me to consider what we had talked about, leave the "cult" and become a true christian. I in turn invited him to do the same and wished him a Merry Christmas.
I am really upset right now and now that I have had time to think and gather some thoughts, I wish I could talk to him again, even though it wouldn't do any good because he didn't call to have a discussion. His agenda was to shake my faith. What he doesn't realize is that he strengthened my faith! See, the past few days have been tough. I'm struggling with the lessons and have questioned myself about whether or not I knew enough to teach other people about the gospel. I have heard in talks and read in books here where it says that in order to invite people to know the things that I'm teaching are true, I need to know they are true first. I wondered if I was struggling with the lessons because I didn't know that what I was teaching was the truth. The past several nights in my prayers, I've asked my Heavenly Father to testify to me that the things that I'm teaching are true. So today when this man was trying to get me to turn my back on what I believed, I did not hesitate to bear witness to him that I know the things I believe are true. I realize now that God answered my prayers with that phone call.
I know now that I can teach these lessons because I know that I'm preaching the truth. I know the Book of Mormon is true. I know it was translated by a prophet of God and I know that we are led by a prophet today. That prophet called me specifically to go and preach the things that I know to the people of Tonga. I know my Heavenly Father loves me.
December 25
It doesn't even feel like Christmas here but I have been doing some cool stuff. Last night elder Bednar spoke to us and we got to shake his hand after. It was sweet! Then this morning Elder Holland came, we didn't get to shake his hand which was a bummer because he is my favorite Apostle, but he gave a great talk. We have 2 more devotionals today so I am excited to see who we will get to hear from next! There are 2 elders from Tonga here and yesterday they came in my class and I got to sing some Tongan hymns with them. It was awesome!!! They have songs that we don't have here in America, and they are such good singers! One of them has a way high singing voice, if you heard his voice without seeing him you wouldn't believe it was coming from his mouth. The other has a way deep voice and he reminded me of The Rock.
December 28
I thought I would write and give you some stuff for the blog:
Elder Wall is my new companion. His companion had to go home for surgery. We have our own room and we have discovered that the top two floors in our dorm are empty, so we get private bathrooms too, haha! Wall is from Layton, by the way. Technically I'm in my own district, but I do activities with the Fijians. There are 5 of them. We are in a zone with 8 elders going to Haitian speaking missions in the U.S.
January 31
The Fijians are leaving today so my new district will be with the Samoans until I leave. I'm going to be just like Mike, and will be flying all by my lonesome. Last night, we had a zone "Awards Show" and I won the 'Chunk King' (will gain the most weight on my mission) and the 'Kolipoki' award (will be most loved by the people I serve). It was one of the funnest nights we've had.
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You can see in this picture Elder Tulane's "studying face"!
"I have always said a little church goes a long way, so you can imagine how far church ALL day, EVERY day can stretch! haha! I love and miss you all!"
Elder Tulane
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