Our last night in Tonga we went to a viewing
of a woman that some of my parents friends knew
quite well. She had a disease since birth where her
right leg kept growing and it was enormous. It
got where she was unable to walk for the last
year of her life. She was still young and had
a 1 year old and 3 year old. She also had her
first born child die very young from a heart defect.
On her last c-section she wasn't allowed any
medication, including an epidural or anything
else to numb her. She had to endure it all. I
will not complain again about getting c-sections.
These 2 women wore the full outfit because
they knew the woman well and were honored guests.
They even laid out palm leaves and tapa cloth
to sit on. They were all sitting "indian style"
and singing songs. It was beautiful to hear
them all singing.
This is the kings palace. It is like the parliament
where work is done. He lives in a separate palace.
This building was built in the 1800's.
The hospital OR
The waiting room
Random wires hanging down
This is a main hallway.
We then went to the Tongan cultural center.
It was really neat. The museum had mostly artifacts
from Captain cook. He gave the king a tortoise
as a gift on his last voyage and it lived until the
1970's. They have it preserved here.
He is holding up what the bark of the tree
looks like before and after when made into
the Tapa cloth.
They still make the tapa cloth by hand. The
women make it all. They bang it with the large
wooden mallet until it is a certain width. You can
hear the banging around the villages all day long.
Some newly planted banana trees
Weaving a mat
Showing us how to cut open a coconut.
Shaving the coconut, it was so yummy
Of course some singing and dancing.
Enjoying our refreshments afterwards. A fruit
plate with some coconut water.
Here are some random shots around town.
The minced meat sold at every little store. They
love it.
A little store by my parents house. The students
go to the Liahona school across from my parents.
More shots of the stores
This is the mission office and you can see the
temple in the distance. It is just across the street.
On the left is the mission office and the white
car is in front of my parents house.
My parents house. They have an avocado tree
in their front yard.
For my small handful of readers, I hope you
enjoyed seeing about our trip to Tonga. We had
a great time and I am glad David insisted we go.
