Elder Michael WRITES from TONGA

Malo e lelei kainga mamani!!
'Oku ou nofo 'i Tonga!
Well after almost 5 months of waiting i have arrived in TOnga, it is
truly the otherside of Heaven, the pretttiest place in the world, i
have to pinch myself (or have a misquitoe bite me) to remind myself im
actually here. I am serving in the village of Nukunuku, on the west
side of the main Island of TOngatapu. My companion's name is Elder
Mafoa, he his from Haakame about five villiges over from where were
serving. He doesnot speak alot of English, in fact he never spoke
english before his mission so there is not a lot of communication
that goes on between us, but it okay its going to force me to learn
TOngan which is something i really need. Our house is maybe the same
size at my dorm room at BYU, maybe a little smaller. no maybe a
little bigger because we have a bathroom and shower, only cold water,
but ill roll with it. Our area covers threee wards, two in Nukunuku
and one in Fatai. we do a lot of walking, alot of walking but its all
good. i have a tavala and a kafa that i wear with my tupenu so i look
like a legit tongan. I spoke in one ward in Nukunuku on sunday i
really just bore my testimony, it was that good, i have a lot of work
to do concerning the language and PMG. but its all good Aunt Melissa
thank you so much for your advice, "Roll with it" has become my theme,
because in tonga you just have to go with the flow especially if you
and your comp dont speak the same language. If there is hair in your
drink, roll with it and drink it any way, if there are ants in on your
crackers it means you have some protien with your breakfast. the first
night here there were i think 7 cockroaches and centipedes, but there
not poisionous so i dont worry. I trust in the Lord to protect me and
so i trust in Him and roll with it. THe food here is amazing!! like
amazing best food ive ever had. The first two days we got here
before we headed out to our areas Sister Tukuafu made us a feast at
every meal, ive eaten more then i thought i could, but its all healthy
so its all good. You literally pick the fruit off the trees and brush
the bugs off(if you dont want any protien) and bite in. Ive had fresh
picked coconuts, guava, mango, mei, vi and a bunch of others that i
cant remember. realllllly good. THe meat is aweosme too, They eat
corned beef, regular beef, pig, sheep, dog, chicken, horse, bat, cat,
fish, and a bunch of other things. the other day a big spider was
running across the floor and my hoa(comp in tongan) picked it up and
ate it, yeah thats how it is here, i dont think i will be doing that
any time soon. I hear horse and dog are the best food here, i havent
tried them yet but i think i will ask some members to make it for us.
The members here are awesome, the best members in the world live in
Tonga, 50% of the entire country is already baptized but there still
is a lot of work to be done. We mostly just go and hangout with
members all day, its through them that we do all the missionary work
so its important to have a good relationship with them. I mostly just
speak to the children at the homes there are a lot of little kids here
and i love talking to them, they correct my tongan and are not
imdimidating to talk to, my tongan knowledege is also alot closer to
their level. Its horrible but i knoe that the best way to learn is to
open my mouth and speak. thats what im trying to do. the Lord has
blessed me with a hoa who can teach me the language. this is the
greatest thing i have ever done in my life, and i wouldnt be any
where else in the world. Yesterday we had an open house at a church
building in Houma
and a lot of investigators came, we taught them the Palani 'o e
Fakamo'ui (plan of salvation) i didnt teach i just stood around and
looked nice, but i felt the spirt so strong, it was one of the
cooolest things ever! i know that they all felt the spirit tooo. Ah i
love spreading the Gospel! Oh ive been to the Temple in Liahona
twice, its all in tongan but it is soooo coool, i dont understand
anything but you can feel the Spirit. the Spirit speaks alll
languages, whether its lea fakaTonga, lea fakaPalngi, lea fakaMiko,
lea fakaPortugal, or any other lea. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is
true no mattter what you speak, or where you are.
This is a much longer email because im at a ward building in Houma on
a Church computer and there is no time limit woot woot wooot, i dont
know if i will be able to email ever week i will try but im not making
any promises. Snail mail takes about 2 weeks to get here, i just
barely got a letter from Ashley Holt that was sent to me on the 25th
of Feburary. i am really close to the mission home so i should get
mail sooner then if i was any where else in the mission, in some
places where there is no internet, you go months with out mail. but
its all good because i didnt come all this way to wait around for the
mail to come, i am here to as it says in D&C 42:6 "..go forth in the
power of my Spirit, Preaching My Gospel two by two.." thats what im
here to do, build up the kingdom of God on the Earth.
I hope that all is well with everyone back home and that Arrio is safe
in Japan, we had a tusnami warning here in tonga but nothing
happened.I trust in the Lord to protect us. Dad you mentioned
something about there being two 6.0 earthquakes in Tonga, i dont think
there were, i havent felt the ground shake at all and I've asked
around and i think the Fijin new was mistaken. Everything is find and
danty here in Tonga, President Tukuafo is sending you, Mom and Dad, a
snail mail letter. I think its just to let you know that we are safe
and stuff. I hope the kitchen is goin well and that its at least
started to be constructed. Love you all more then luggage!! there is
no rowing going on down here in Tonga uncle dave and Melissa. The
weather is straight up perfect and it rains often but its like a warm
shower, wont have many of those the next two years. Oh and i might
have to buy a laundry machine like Russell did in Germany, except that
a laundry machine consists of a bucket, soap, water, and two hands.
Some one stole i mean "borrowed" our bucket. Love you lots hope this
wasnt tooo long of a letter i thought it would make up for all the
really short ones i had in the MTC.
'Ofa lahi Atu
Elder Maikolo
Ps i will try to email some pictures, i have a lot

ELDER MAIKOLO arrives in Tonga

We believe Jacob is in Tonga! We have yet to have that verified but we haven't heard anything that would suggest he was not there.

Last Tuesday we were able to speak with him for a few hours when he landed in Los Angeles. He phoned from the pay phones there in the Terminal and when one of the calls dropped, I called the number back and to my surprise and amazement, Elder Michael answered the phone. This new arrangement meant that we would talk until he boarded the plane, or until he said goodbye. We learned how to do three way calling and got Russell on the phone as well as Aunt Melissa and her family (except for Luke, he would not wake up!). We called Dean's parents in Washington and they were able to say goodbye to Jacob as well.

During our visit, he spoke Tongan to us--sharing the things he learned in the MTC. We told him we thought he spoke really well in Tongan--of course, we don't speak it but he sounded like he knew what he was saying. He sounded happy and excited to be leaving for the mission field.

When it was time to say goodbye, Jacob asked if we could have a prayer with him--he offered it in Tongan, and we did feel the spirit in his words. He is ready.

We got to speak to him one more time. He phoned us from New Zealand==collect. Not sure what that will cost, but no amount of money can take away from how good it was to hear him. He said they were met at the airport by one of the Elder's family in their group who lives not far from the airport. The dad drives a tourist bus and brought it to pick the 13 of them up to show them around and feed them. They had an 8 hour layover so there was time. He sounded tired but excited. He mentioned he knew they were on their way because everyone in the terminal was Tongan--

Now, we are waiting to hear how it was to arrive in Tonga. The earthquake happened Friday and the Pacific Islands were on Tsunami watch until Saturday. There were two earthquakes in Tonga but were not big enough to cause any damage-however, the islanders were moved from the coast and camping out at the King's residence--so Elder Michael arrived just in time for a warm welcome.

We hope to hear from him...sometime. I am prepared to have it not happen too soon as we know the internet isn't available on many of the islands. We know he is in good hands and that Heavenly Father is watching over him. Thank you to all who are praying for Elder Michael and all the other Missionaries. I know those prayers are heard--Malo e Lelei

LAST EMAIL FROM THE MTC

Dear mom and all

Isn't it crazy that this is my last email from the MTC and my last time i will actually be on a computer in the united states for the next two years! wow it has really flown by extremely fast. sorry about last week, i completely lost track of time. i have plenty of time today and should say everything i want to say.

So this has been my last week at the MTC and i have strived to make it my most successful and productive. i'll go day by day. Last Thursday we received our travel plans! we leave for Tonga on the 8Th of March (next Tuesday) we fly from Salt lake to LAX then from LAX to New Zealand then we wait there for 8 hours before we head out to Tonga. overall it is 27 hours of traveling which is ALOT but just means more time to study the language, i think I'm going to read my entire dictionary on the plane ride. Friday there was a HUGE snow storm here in Utah. I've never seen so much snow. I'm so happy that i leave for Tonga in 5 days. We had a really good lesson from Brother Payne on Friday about caring about the needs of our investigators, and how we should always focus our study around their needs. I love Brother Payne. He is my favorite teacher and always gives the best lessons. the other teachers are great but Payne is the most experienced and really knows how to teach well. Saturday was another great day. we finished service in 20 mins again. we didn't make our goal of 15 mins but there is always this Saturday. We prepped all day for the TRC, we taught all in Tongan again and it went really well, i still have sooooo much to learn though. The volunteer we taught got back from Tonga in December he told us some really cool stories about what he ate and other things, i will have some crazy stories to tell when i get home. He said that they eat fish like an apple over there, like you catch the fish, cut the skin off and dig in. Hmmmmm sounds delicious! He also said that he had over 60!!! boils!!! i hope i don't get that many. Sunday was great, i love Sundays best day of the week by far! The fireside speaker was awesome, he was hilarious and had a very good message. One of the things that he did was have missionaries stand up. He had all the missionaries who have siblings who are currently serving a mission stand up and i stood up. That was a really cool experience and I'm so grateful to have a sibling serving a mission at the same time as me. Ofa atu Irma Michael! Sunday night i said bye to Elder Hoffman who left for Japan on Monday. Elder Makinati and i went to his residence to say goodbye to him, he is going to be a great missionary and will tear it up in Japan, it was weird to see him all packed up and ready to go b/c that's me in 5 days!!! it got me really excited about going to Tonga. Monday was great too, but i can't really remember anything that happened right now and i only have 4 mins left, sooooo Tuesday was awesome, i finished the Book of Mormon which was really cool, I've been waking up at 5:45 to read it and i really wanted to finish it be fore i left, a Haitian creole speaking district left Tuesday and it was sad to see them go. we were pretty close to them they are going to Florida Ft Lauderdale. The Devotional speaker on Tuesday was Bishop Edgley and it was really a great talk. Elder Makinati told me that a bishop from the Lynwood ward passed away it hit Paul pretty hard. I can't believe that i am leaving in 5 days.

i have loved it here at the MTC and have grown so much spiritually I love you alll

Ofa Atu

Eleta Maikolo

OKU OU OFA MO'U!!

Dear Mom and All,
In 12 days I will no longer be in the US but instead on an Island more then 2000 miles from where you are. I can't believe that it all has gone by sooo fast. It's crazy that I've been here 8 weeks. It's crazy!
I hope everything back home is going well with everyone and everything.
This past week was full of really cool experiences:
I received a package from Clay & Jessica Blackmer which had some really really good cookies.
On Saturday Elder Lose and I finished service in 20 mins!! record time we are shooting for 15 mins this Saturday. ha ha!!
We had the TRC in all Tongan again and we were teaching lesson 2 for the first time in all Tongan so it didn't go as smooth as lesson one but we teach it again this Saturday and it should go better. Oh there is volunteer who comes to the TRC and is from Murrietta and knows Aunt Judy. His name is Hernande.
As a district we made up a rule that if you have a worldly thought or start singing a worldly song you have to do 10 push-ups; its kind of a way to keep every one focused. We are going to be yoked by the time we get to Tonga. ha ha
It snowed like crazy the other day here. I really can't wait to get to Tonga where it is 78 degrees year round. The sporadic Utah weather is really kinda annoying.
This Sunday I was in the Choir for the Fireside; it was pretty cool. We sang Precious Savior Dear Redeemer. I fell asleep in Choir practice while singing, it was pretty funny. The devotional was really good. It was a member of the MTC presidency and his wife they spoke all about Music and how it touches the soul and is really good at bringing the spirit into a room. Music is a HUGE part of the Tongan Culture.
I met a Madagascar teacher here at the MTC who was companions with Will Lumsden. It's such a small world. I also met an elder who is from Lewiston, Idaho and went to high school with Austin. His name is Elder Peterson. And I hosted this Wednesday an Elder from Pomona CA who's grandma is in the Downey 3rd ward, Mary Ann Foster.
It is neat to see all the different nationalities that are represented here at the MTC. You have Elders and Hermanas from all over the world. This really is a world wide church.
On Tuesday our devotional speaker was Elder Kearon of the 70. He is from England but has lived all over. He gave a great talk about inviting people into the refuge. I love that we get to hear from General Authorities every week. I only have one more Tuesday left which is crazy to think about. I also only have one more email that i will send from the US. That is INSANE!!
Hope all is well, love you all

Ofa atu
Eleta Maikolo

19 DAYS TO GO!

Dear Mom and all,

I only have 19 days here at the MTC, then i am in TOnga!! im so excited to get out in the Field and start serving. Also it has been really cold here in Utah and i cant wait to get to warm sunny Tonga!! Plus the food here at the MTC does things to a persons stomach that i wont mention here and i cant wait to have real food in tonga

Well this week went by so fast, actually all 6 weeks ive been here have gone by super fast, it feels like yesterday i arrived here.

On saturday i finally saw Dana Kendall, that was really cool, also on Saturday we taught lesson 1 in only tongan at the TRC and it went really welll. Elder Rose and i practices teaching twice before we got to the TRC and that really helped. I think that the language is coming along really well the Lord has blessed me with the Gift of Tounges and i am being blessed. I got a package from grandma and grandpa Michael full of valintines day goodies that was really awesome. Also on saturday we got done with service in 30 mins which is warp speed and i used the extra time to take a small nap and study the language, its always important to shapen the saw.

On sunday i tried my best to stay focued the entire day and use my time wisely, on the Temple walk i toook a lot of pictures and saw some friends from BYU, speaking of friends from BYU yesterday i had the opportunty to be a NEw missionary Host, The elders who greet the new elders as they arrive at the MTC, i hosted one of my good friends from BYU Elder Jake Shuss who was in my summer ward. It was really cool beuing a host, you can see the excitement on the new elders faces wayy awesome.

Monday was another productive day got a lot of studying done, i saw a kid from Uncle Johns ward, Elder Call who is going to texas.

Tuesday was not a productive day at all, as a district we wasted a lot of time and didnt get anything really done, and the Devotional speaker's talk was just what we needed.

The Speaker was Elder Pearsons of the 70, i was sad at first because it wasnt an apposle but the talk was the best one ive heard at the MTC, it was all abut how we need to be 100% obedient and jhave the faith to succeed,

One thing that stood out from the talk was that he said these exact words "happiness is a choice" no lie he said that, chills ran dwon mty back bec that was Aunt rachels famous saying, and i realized that its up to me to become who i want to become.

sorry i ran out of time love you all

Ofa atu Elder MIchael

LONOGO LAHI (really excited)

Dear Mom and Hello everyone else i hope all is well where ever you may be,

This week has been a really good one,

I got your pakage mom, thanks for all the goodies and the extra clothes. i love getting packages they are the best.

This Sunday was Fast and Testimony Sunday and i bore my testimony, i feel like when ever i bear my testimony it grows stronger so i am going to try and share it as often as i can. We had Mission conference this Sunday too and that was really cool, all the missionaries in the MTC were gathered together and the MTC presidency spoke to us. I fell asleep through the first half, (just like in school) but woke up for the second half and im glad i did, President Nalley spoke to us about 10 things that missionaries should never forget, they were things taht we need to be reminded of and they were things that i needed to hear. President Brown spoke about how important is that we never forget that we are representatives of not only the Lord Jesus Christ, but also we represent our surname or family.

Sunday Night i watched a fireside that Elder Holland gave to Missionaries a few years ago and it was the best talk i have ever heard. He talked about how we as missionaries are basiclly apostles, just with a lower case a. This is the only chance we will ever have to have that apostelic calling and we need to do our best as representatives of the Lord. I hope this is all making since, i read a lot of emails and i dont have much time so im not elaborating on likne anything sorrry

Oh the high light of my week (after Holland's talk) was being able to ride in a car for the first time in over a month. An elder was having surgery on his stomach and i got to be his companions companion while he was in surgery. We drove by Helaman halls and that was really weird since i loved there a month ago. It was really cool to be on the outside of the MTC people were all really nice and stuff. on the way back to the MTC we drove right p[ast the Cannon Center and that was sooo strange that a lot of my friends were probably eating there at that instance.

Well i leave for tonga in 27 days i am lonogo lahi (*really excited)

Love you all sorry this is a short em,ail

'Ofa 'Atu

Elder Maikolo

ONE MONTH

Dear Mom and all,

Im really sorry if I havent written some of you back yet.

This week was a really good one, we had a lot of neat experiences. I'll try to tell you about them all.

Brother Payne gave us a really cool lesson about teaching by the Spirit. He gave an anology about a power plant, power lines, and a home. He talked about how the Lord is the Power Plant, we the missionaries are the Power lines, and investigators are the home. We are the power lines that connect the Lord to the investigator and the only way to do that effectivelly is to have the Spirit with us. We need to have the Spirit with us when we teach or else our entire purpose is pointless. It really emphasizes how important having the Spirit with us all the time is... really great lesson. One of the things that he said at the very end was that we have two years to serve our missions and the rest of our lives to look back on it. I want to be able to look back and say i gave my all.

It is really weird that I have been here a whole month!! It has gone by soooooo fast it's insane! I feel like i got here yesterday and now it's already been a month. In another month I'll finally be in Tonga!! Woot Woot!! can't wait to get there. The MTC is great but I really am looking forward to nice sunny warm Tonga.

I have been really tired this week. I fell asleep while I was reading PMG out loud with my companion. It was really funny.

This Saturday I have to Teach at the TRC in only Tongan!! I'm really nervous but I know with the Lord's help I can do it. I feel like I can speak in complete sentences now in Tongan which is great.

On Tuesday we heard from Kevin R. Duncan of the 70. He gave a really good talk about building bridges between the Lord and the investigators. One of the things i took away is "it will not be easy, but work hard, work dilligently, and lose your self in serving the Lord". That has kinda been my motto since ive gotten here. I have had some difficult times with some of the Elders in my district who dont want to work and the language has been pretty tough at times but you just have to trust in the Lord and work hard and it will get better.

This past Wednesday when all the new missionaries were arriving here at the MTC, a couple of us experienced elders put our name tags on backwords and went up and asked the newbies where they got their name tags engraved. the look on their faces were hilarious, we asked some sisters and they totally fell for it; it was hilarious

Well, my time is just about done.Sorry this is kinda short. Tell Uncle John I met an Elder from Temecula who knows him. I didn't catch his name but he told me his dad works in Downey which was pretty cool. It's always fun to meet people from back home

Love you all hope all is well

Ofa Atu

Elder Maikolo