Letters from Kolonga

Elder Tulane certainly had a spiritually uplifting and enriching experience in Kolonga, filled with conferences, insights from the brethren, and even a temple trip!

He was the only missionary who watched General Conference in English:

In May, the missionaries had an area conference. Elder Tulane wrote on May 26:

We had an area conference a couple of Sundays ago. We got to watch a satellite broadcast with President Eyring, Elder Ballard, Elder Condie, and the new sister in the primary presidency. It was really good. The broadcast was for Tonga, Fiji, and Carabus and Elder Condie bore his testimony in all three languages. It was cool!

In June, Elder Tulane got to go to the temple. On June 2, he wrote:

My comp and I went to the temple with one of our wards to do baptisms for the dead and confirmations on Saturday. I got to read the names out loud so the guy doing the confirmations would know how to pronounce them. It was really fun. I also did a comp exchange with my zone leader yesterday. He works in Holonga where I was trained. It was cool going back and seeing my old members.

The work has definitely been going well for Elder Tulane. On June 26, Elder Tulane sent home some exciting news:

Hey, I got another baptism this week. I think that moves me up to 11 now.

At the end of June, Elder Tulane received another transfer. He's been moved to Vaini, right next to his first area in Holonga, where he's currently working hard.

WE LOVE YOU, ELDER TULANE!!!

A Kolonga Time

In April, Elder Tulane got transfered to Kolonga - one of the bigger villages on the north end of Tongatapu.

The missionaries took a trip to visit the Ha'amonga 'a Maui. It's a 12-ton stone trilithon at the north end of Tongatapu.

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Like when serving in other areas, Elder Tulane and his companion hit up some pretty beautiful cities to serve the Lord, and search out those interested in hearing about the Gospel. The city in the pictures below is called Navutoka.

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The missionaries also had the opportunity to explore some of the cliffs on the southern coast.

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Missionaries are definitely called to serve. In Ha'afeva, Elder Tulane got to help move a pig. In Kolonga, Elder Tulane was involved in another very interesting service project.

Losing Yourself in the Work

James E. Faust once said, "If you lose yourself in missionary service, you will find indescribable joy" (Ensign, May 1996).

Elder Tulane has certainly been losing himself. Literally! In his last e-mail to the family he let us know he's lost 50 pounds since he left the MTC!

Bring on the joy!

Birthday Letters

While Elder Tulane was in Vava'u, we got a letter from him telling us he was leaving to Ha'afeva in January, and did not hear from him again until April! It was about 89 days without contact! He did write, it just took a while to get the letters. Mitch, Staci and Mike all received their birthday letters from Elder Tulane about the same time.

January 25, 2010
To Mitch:

So this island that I'm on right now is pretty crazy. It's called Ha'afeva and it's way tiny. There is no electricity during the day. They turn the generators on for a couple hours at night but that's it. My house doesn't have any power, period. When I write in my journal at night, I either use my flashlight or a candle. I live at the church and it's only about 40 or 50 yards from the beach. It's awesome looking out the window during sacrament meeting and seeing the ocean.

This island is a blast but getting here was a nightmare. I left Vava'u about 8 p.m. We got to Ha'apai around 2 a.m. which is where I was supposed to get off, but the boat didn't stop. The boat didn't stop until we got all the way to Tongatapu where they informed me I would have to get back on the boat a few hours later to go to Ha'apai. So here is the journey: Friday, 8 p.m. leave Vava'u, Saturday 12 p.m. get to Tongatapu, Saturday 10 p.m. leave Tongatapu, Sunday 8 a.m. get to Ha'apai, Monday 6 a.m. leave Ha'apai, Monday 9 a.m. get to Ha'afeva. Can you believe that?

(Going from the big boat to Ha'afeva)

The work here is good. It's just me, my comp, and the work. We are teaching one girl right now and so far so good. She is coming to church and her family is really supportive. Hopefully everything will work out and we will baptize her, maybe in the ocean.

February 21, 2010
To Staci:

Well life in Ha'afeva is awesome; I'm loving every minute of it. It's like I've gone back in time. My only communication with the outside world is when I call my district leader on Sunday nights to give him my weekly numbers. It sucks not being able to e-mail every week but other than that I'm loving the island life. I got to eat lobster for the first time in my life, as well as raw fish. You just catch it, clean it, cut it up, and enjoy. It's not as bad as it sounds.

The other day I woke up shivering in the morning, and when I looked at the temperature it was 81 degrees! On Fridays we go to the Primary School and teach the kids. Fridays are reserved for religious lessons at the schools here, almost like having seminary all day every Friday.

I don't know if you guys heard but we had a Category 4 hurricane down here last week. The mission president called me and warned me not to go outside during the storm because the winds were going at 150 knots which is deadly force, meaning that if you get hit with flying debris it will kill you. All the members boarded up their houses and came to stay at the church because it's the strongest built building on the island. The radio said it was the worst storm in Tonga in 50 years. We spent that night in fear and waited for it to hit early the next morning. We helped a guy tie down his boat and the wind was blowing so hard that getting hit with a grain of sand felt like a bee sting. Well, that's about as bad as it ever got. The winds blew and it rained for a few hours, but then it was over. It turned out to be a real dud. It did leave the air extra humid for a few days, though. Everything in our house was damp just from the wet air. I've never seen anything like it.

The work has been more fruitful here. My comp and I were able to teach and baptize two kids on another island called Matuku. It's even smaller than Ha'afeva. So small, in fact, that the chapel doesn't have a baptismal font, so I got to fulfill my mission dream and baptize them in the ocean. It was awesome!

March 8, 2010
To Mike:

The island group I live in is called Lulunga. It's the smallest in the Kingdom. I've been able to see and count 18 islands, but I guess people only live on nine or ten of them. The one I live on is called Ha'afeva and is kind of like the main island of Lulunga. If someone from another island gets an investigator we get to go live there for a few days while we teach them.

While on the small island of Matuku...There is only one small road on the entire island and it's not even big enough to fit a car. There are no cars on the island (Ha'afeva only has three). Every house has a small solar panel so they can have power for a few hours after dark. The nights are awesome. There are thousands upon thousands of stars. I've never seen anything like it. I could see Ha'afeva from the beach and there was a small glow in the sky above it from the lights from peoples' houses.

We spent another week on an island called Kotu. It's bigger but with less people. My zone leaders came to bring my new comp because transfers had just happened. As they were riding away, we yelled "Hurray for Israel!" Just like Kolipoki on The Other Side of Heaven.


Kotu was fun, though. We got another baptism and I got to eat turtle for the first time. It tastes fishy but is a little thicker and chewier. There is only one priesthood holder on the island and only about 13 members total.

And finally, the family got a letter
March 24, 2010

Well I am still loving Ha'afeva. It is the closest thing to what I pictured Tonga being like when I first got my call. Very small and poor, house near the beach, get to visit other islands, eat lots of fruit. I think it's the best place to be in the entire mission. It's paradise.

We had Zone Conference on the 12th and the mission boat came and picked us up the day before. Conference was good. I didn't get to go to zone conference last transfer because the weather was bad, so this was my first time seeing President McMurray and other missionaries since coming to Ha'afeva. I found out that our zone baptism goal for last transfer (January 11 - February 21) was ten, and we ended up with four. My companion and I had two of the four. This transfer (February 22 - April 4) the goal is eight, and we had one as of March 12, which belongs to my comp and I. We've also added one more since then. I know it's hard to believe but Elder Tulane has led his zone in baptisms for the past two transfers ha ha.

I love you guys and miss you like crazy. I hope everything is good back home. I can't wait until the next time I get to hear from you.

More Ha'afeva Pictures

Life in Ha'afeva

Elder Tulane had the privilege to serve in Ha'afeva from January to April 2010. He got to work on a few different islands like Matuku and Kotu. He said he had been looking forward to this type of island living since he found out he got called to Tonga. He was without electricity the entire time! In fact, this is how the missionaries got their water for drinking and bathing:

Here is Elder Tulane giving a small tour of Ha'afeva

Missionaries are often known as the fishers of men. Well, sometimes they get to be the fishers of fish, too! Fishing, Tongan style, requires one of these:

some hermit crab or a chunk of pig fat for bait, and practice!

Spreading the gospel in Tonga requires a little island-hopping. In this video, Elder Tulane made a trip to Matuku to further share the word. While they were there, they slept on the floor of the church. Definitely a different form of tracting than for most!

It's easy to say that no news is good news, especially since Elder Tulane often is a man of few words. However, Elder Tulane happened to be in Ha'afeva during some hurricane weather, without e-mail! Elder Tulane made it through unscathed, and he even got some video. He witnessed a "Category 4" hurricane (one with winds ranging from 131-155 mph) in the video below.

Missionary life is often replete with discoveries. Sometimes missionaries document some startling findings:

(Disclosure: cave sand discovery was not actually made in Ha'afeva)

As well as some beautiful ones

And the best discoveries of all

Stay tuned for some of the letters and more pictures from Ha'afeva.

Leimatu'a, Vava'u

From October 2009 to January 2010 Elder Tulane was serving in Leimatu'a, Vava'u. Here's Elder Tulane's map of where he has been in relation to the other islands (and where he will be in future posts):

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Before Elder Tulane left for Vava'u there were various threats of tsunami and earthquakes.

Elder Tulane wrote:
October 1, 2009

"Hey yeah it was kinda funny. Yesterday morning I was laying in bed and thought I felt a kinda weak earthquake and then a few minutes later our ZL's came over and told us about the tsunami. They were going to come back in a few minutes to take us to mission headquarters. Well we went to a store while we were waiting for them to come back and the radio was on so we heard about Samoa and stuff...I'm OK though so don't worry. Everything is fine. As far as I know nothing happened to Tonga at all."

So Elder Tulane had a few tsunami adventures, and then got sent to Leimatu'a, Vava'u, which, as you can see in the pictures, was breathtakingly beautiful!

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October 28, 2009

"Hey. Vava'u is good. The boat took a full 24 hours and we made a few stops at islands along the way. I got a little more sea sick than I thought I would but nothing bad. There were a few hours when there wasn’t any land in sight. It was crazy. There are hills up here and I like that better than flat. It’s hard being senior companion. I’m constantly learning patience in this mission and how to deal with people."

Video of the boat ride:

November 11, 2009

"My week has just been normal. We have had a few teachings but I don't know how serious the people were about it. We spend most of our time just visiting members and asking them if they need help with anything...Oh yeah I forgot you asked about my living conditions. They are probably the worst I've had yet but I don't even care. I love it. I want to be able to say I lived like a barbarian on my mission haha."

December 9, 2009

"Hey thanks! I cant believe it's already been a year. I am very warm, the weather almost never goes below 80 haha. I don't miss the snow at all. The work is OK. Not teaching anybody at the moment but I love my companion. Today was zone conference and it was really good."

January 2010 came around, and so did transfers. Elder Tulane got some exciting news.

January 12, 2010

"Hey I'm so glad you wrote early because I have some big news. Transfers were on Monday and I'm moving. I didn't want to leave Vava'u so soon but I'm really excited about my new area. It's a little island called Ha'afeva. Its in the Ha'apai island group and about an hour long boat ride to the nearest missionaries. I will eat almost entirely fish and might get to even go to a few of the close islands for a few days at a time. There is no electricity so I won't be able to email so expect this to be the last one you get from me for a few months.

It's going be really tough but this is what I've been waiting for ever since I got my call to Tonga. I think I'm leaving tomorrow. Well I love you and am going to miss not being able to talk to you every week but I am very excited for the adventure ahead. I hope everything is going well. Love ya."

Elder Tulane