Workin' For the Weekend

For a long time, the words ‘busy’ and ‘Tonga’ never seemed to go together. This is no longer the case as our life in 2014 has been a constant barrage of activity, obligations, and new experiences. Many past volunteers told us year 2 of service is where everything just clicks. Funny how true this is. Since we have returned from New Zealand, things have felt different. Different in a good way. For lack of a better way to describe it, Tu‘anuku has truly become our home. We are excited to be a part of big events in small ways.

For example, the Wesleyan Church (called the Methodist Church in America) is currently preparing for it’s annual conference, which for the first time in decades will be held here on the island of Vava’u. This is a huge deal for everyone on the island. The conference is at the end of June. It will be a week of singing, church meetings, and food. Each village congregation will be responsible for feeding the entire conference (est. at thousands including the King and Nobility) for a meal. Ryan and I have been so touched to see our entire village support the small, 10 family Wesleyan congregation in their efforts to prepare. Every night, most of the village comes to choir practice. They will help perform to make the choir stronger. Since we live across the church, our home has become the unofficial meeting place for women waiting for practice to begin. Every night we sit and chat with groups of women while their kids play cards and color. Of course, we have been invited to join them in singing, but the stakes are so high, we chose not to burden them with our lack of skill in this area. But, we still get to be a part of it with our nightly entertaining. Ryan and I are on a high right now, just able to enjoy the balance and stability of our life here in Tonga.

Time seems to be passing so quickly. It hits me sometimes just how sad it will be to no longer have Tonga be a part of our life. Once we re-enter America, everything will change in an instant. But, for now, we are just trying to take it all in until we have to say goodbye to all we have come to know and appreciate.

Highlights from the last few weeks:

·          Mandy and I were invited to teach at the monthly principal’s meeting. This was a wonderful step forward for our project here in Tonga. We were able to do a short lesson on English grammar for all principals on the island to help them with their classes at their own schools. Our lesson was well received and principals told us the information was incredibly helpful. (Mark Cooprider, your grammar skills and sequence handout is like gold. They LOVED it.)

      The Ministry of Education came to my school to ask me to take over the benchmark testing program on our island. I will now be developing monthly benchmarks and term exams to help principals better identify what their students struggle with. This is a big project, but one I think will have a lasting impact.

·          I had brought a cookbook back from New Zealand as a gift for one of our former students, Ane. She came over to try “sausage bread bowls” from the book. Our good friend Tuki stopped by and wanted to participate. This turned into one of the most special Saturday mornings I have ever had. At one moment I looked up to see Ryan and Tuki practicing singing Mark’s English/ Tongan songs for kids and giggling like 5 year olds, Ane and Villiami  intently focusing on their uno cards as they were determined to beat each other with the smell of cooking sausage warming the house. Truly a moment in time I will carry with me forever.

Ane, Tuki, Villiami and I doing some cooking!

·         I lead an activity at the local library in the capital Neiafu as part of the Saturday literacy program. Really neat to see Tongans leading kids in literacy activities. We really just provided the stuff, read a book, and let the librarian and her volunteer take over!

The kids working on their project. We read the book "The Rainbow fish" and then created our own beautiful, glittery fish.

This is the public library in the capitol. It is so great the kids have a space to come and enjoy books and literacy projects regularly.

Wil with all the finished projects. Wil is an amazing young man. 

·         Our school participated in the annual Sports Day event. I would not have thought this year could have topped last year, but it did. Our school has dropped significantly in numbers, which puts us at an athletic disadvantage. After the first few events, many of our kids were in tears because they had lost so bad. This lead to not many kids wanting to even participate anymore. One mom stood up and took charge. She told the kids they were here to work hard and do their best and it was about the exercise, not winning. She taught them a few cheers and lead yells for any kids participating in an event. Even if they lost, they returned to a tent of people yelling their name and thanking them for their work. After that, stamina was at an all time high from the tent. Small but mighty was once again the battle cry of Team Tu’anuku!

 

Team Blue: Small but Mighty.

Our official team cheerleader, Fine.

·        We are anxiously waiting to hear news of my new nephew being born. Emily’s due date in March 14.

·         We are currently in Australia with the Klobs right now. Everyone looks great and we are excited to continue to explore all the sights of Sydney. Have a good weekend everyone!