Watch for more updates soon!5/19/10
A Picture View of Vava'u
Last October, Elder Tulane was shipped out to Vava'u. Before we update you with letters and other information, we thought we'd share a couple of pictures of Elder Tulane's adventures.
Watch for more updates soon!
Watch for more updates soon!
7/8/09
Dear Tulane Family,
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
Family, the young lad is doing great! You'd be proud to see him
Love, Elder Feletoa
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!!!
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