Tonga trip 2023

I was the first to arise yesterday morning, and I showered and ate breakfast, before preparing for the devotion. It was quite late before everyone was ready to begin, and everyone had a chance to contribute. It was good to talk about being pure in heart and being peacemakers for God.  Following our devotion was a great time of reflection on our time in Tonga - what we had learnt, and how God had worked in our time here. This got quite emotional at times, and it was really special to see how God had relieved anxiety, and brought peace and joy. It was also valuable to hear from James and Mafi how our time here had brought about a change in attitude, and encouragement for the elders in what they were doing to modernise and bring young people through.  A group of young people arrived, and we prepared lunch and played card games. Some of then made Tiktok videos - just like young women from anywhere in the world! This was good fun. They genuinely just enjoyed being with us.  ...

What a beautiful day! The temperature is consistently warm now and the wind has died down. Today we taking a group of the young people to a nearby tropical island for a day away.  After devotions, we worked quickly to prepare food for our time on Pangaimotu. With little time to spare, we got on our way to the boat launch site... and got stuck in the only traffic jam that we've had in Nuku'alofa! With a bit of creative driving, Max had us past it and on the beach road. We arrived at the harbour right on time, and there waiting were a good dozen of the young adults.  The boat was smaller than I was expecting, and I wasn't sure how many people it could take (or how many life jackets) - but we split into two groups and all safely got over in two trips.  We met Earl "Pangai" when we landed and he directed us to the best place to swim. And he was right - It was amazing!! Quickly into togs with goggles and snorkels, and the sea life swam all around us. Follow...

Slow morning on Wednesday, but I thoroughly enjoyed my cold shower, and was very happy to shampoo and condition my hair, which was feeling quite wild.  We left the house at 10:30am, after breakfast and devotions, and headed into town to the markets, stopping at James' tyre shop.  Driving past the king's palace, we saw a police escorted cavalcade enter the gates, then parked at Friend's Café before walking to the markets and spending too much money. It was good to get some bartering practice again, and to buy some local goods and then have coffee at Friend's. We did some washing at James and Mafi's house before going to the local swimming pool - an ocean-connected pool which had been shaped and deepened. Some of us ate over-priced food at the attached burger bar and enjoyed our lunch, did some swimming and some pontoon diving, while looking out at the islands in the bay.  Later in the afternoon, we picked up our washing and returned home to hang out the w...

I have been thoroughly enjoying my breakfast each morning - my muesli from home with fresh papaya (and sometimes watermelon). It's a great way to start each morning.  Normally I'm up and have eaten before anyone else (bar Max), so this gives me time to publish my blog for the day - out by the container, where there is 4G - go for a bit of a walk, and do final preparations for the devotion each day.  Today, we packed a lunch, and drove south to check out the Mapa 'a Vaia blowholes. The waves come crashing into the sharp rocks, and create high pressure spouts. Very cool! After that, we headed east to the Anafulu Caves and Beach. They were awesome!! We ate our picnic lunch outside, then walked inside the caves. This required some ducking, and walking along a sketchy path over the limestone in low light. Fortunately there were ropes to guide. The cave pools were amazing, and the swimming was so much fun. There were stalagmites that had grown up to create...

In the morning, after a short devotion, we headed into town for some supplies. This was great! Several of us got some money out, and then went and bought bits and pieces, and popped into Friends Café for a drink.  Jonty, Ben and I then walked to an Information Centre and on to the market where we got picked up.  We drove home for lunch (where I finally had a shave, after having bought a razor), and then Abbey and Ariana joined some of the young women from Manuka and went to the swimming caves.  The rest of us drove west to the beautiful Ha'atafu Beach after popping up to the northernmost point of Abel Tasman Landing.  There we enjoyed swimming and snorkelling above the coral, and following small colourful fish as they darted quickly into the crevices in the coral. Just floating on the water and letting the current drift me around was so relaxing and awe-inspiring. I was in my own little world, free from all cares. After a little su...

Tonga is a country which is 99% Christian. The Sabbath is constitutionally enshrined in Tongan law. There is to be no work done on a Sunday.  Bells from a nearby Catholic church woke us at 5am, and then the beautiful sound of singing himi (hymns) filled the air. I slept for a little longer, but then started praying and thinking about the sermon that I was to give later that morning.  Everyone dressed very smartly, and we left for church a bit later than we had hoped. On the way to the church in Touliki, we would have passed ten other churches - Catholic, Anglican, Mormon. It was good to arrive, but it was not immediately obvious how we fitted in.  At 9:45am, we were nearly the last to arrive for a 10am start time. Everyone was sitting in quiet contemplation and prayer listening to worship music.  Viliami did a fabulous job of leading the service, and gave the members of our team opportunities to speak.  He translated during my sermon on "Grace and Forgiveness". ...

Waking at 8am after six hours sleep and having a cold shower, we (or at least some of us) felt somewhat refreshed and ready for breakfast. It was so nice to feel human again.  We had fresh fruit (papaya and watermelon) with our cereal, and spent some time sorting out our surroundings.  Picture this, we're in a big hall, and all of the guys are sleeping on the stage, while the women have a room. There are supposed to be curtains closing the men  off from the main hall, but the rails and runners are a bit broken. Nevertheless, after a bit of perseverance, and a little ingenuity, we reset the rails and re-threaded the curtain hooks - and the curtains could be pulled across. Our first small success of the day! We were invited to James and Mafi's home for lunch, but needed to pick up some vegetables and items from the market on the way.  Water!! It is so warm and humid in the market. We need to stay hydrated, while trying to avoid having to go to the bathroom ...

 What an eventful day for the team!  The team of nine of us: Max, Gillian, Ariana, Abbey, Rodney, Joe, Ben, Jonty and I were finally ready to head off on our long awaited journey.  After waking at the ridiculous time of 2am, we discovered that our SuperShuttle was not going to show. This was very disappointing for us, but HUGE thanks to Jane, Russell and Penny for stepping in and getting us to Auckland Airport with plenty of time to spare. It was really nice to have friendly faces see us off too. It took us a long time to get through security. There were barely any operators, and this was creating a real bottle-neck. It was great to be able to send our baggage straight through to Tonga though.  Finally it was good to get on the plane and fly to Sydney.  Jetstar was as average as ever, but it was good to get a bit more sleep (even if it was really uncomfortable). It was surprising to find that we were landing in a cool and overcast Sydney; however, th...