Dear Family,                                     Sept. 12th. 2016

We made it to Otea this week! There are about 80 people on the island,
50 of them are members of the church and the only other church is the
Wesleyan church. It is so peaceful and calm and beautiful. It reminded
me of 'Eua, just no cliffs and tiny. We got dropped off just the 2 of
us on a small boat. It didn't take us long to find the church and our
place to stay because its so small and the church is right on the
beach. The entire island runs on solar power. No running water.
President gave us 2 days out there this week to start our work and
meet the people. We spent both of those days sick, diarrhea and
throwing up. They thought I was "puke tevolo" (sick with the devil or
possessed) because apparently the graveyard near our place isn't a
friendly one. I know that I wasn't possessed and I just had a really
bad fever so I was shaking. Disappointing that we didn't get to work
or teach any of the families, but we did meet with some of the members.

This week was one of those weeks where nothing really goes as hoped or
planned . One of the families we are teaching that had baptismal dates
for this week, their parents delayed the baptism, but the good news is
they still are fine with us teaching the kids. Our other golden
investigator is moving to California at the end of this month and
wants to get baptized before she leaves. She lives with her aunt who
is fine with us visiting and teaching as long as baptism has nothing
to do with it, and then we are no longer welcome. We are not letting
it get to us or giving up. Even though people's agency is frustrating
sometimes I love this work!

Love you all have a good week!!
Sister Petalisi

Hi family!

First off I want to give a huge CONGRATS to Bryce and my new sister-in-law!! I feel so blessed to be coming home to a new sister that isn't a total stranger. Best wishes to you and Meghan and the new life you will be starting together. Speaking of weddings, Kalolo and his girl-friend will be getting married this Thursday and he will be baptized on Saturday!

 Lots of changes these past couple weeks. First off, I hopped islands once again and am now serving in Vava'u! We are working in town, Pouono, and we cover 3 wards. 2 words here in Neiafu and 1 ward on another island, Otea. We haven't made it to the other ward because lots of craziness these past 2 weeks, but we will be boating there tomorrow and starting our work out there. It's definitely different here. Working in town is a little busier and crazier than any of the other areas I've worked in. Lots of people and lots of tourists. Vava'u is lots of mountains . Every day feels like training for another climb up Rainier. The hills are killer but my legs are starting to get used to it. We are currently teaching 2 families. 1 of them we are preparing for baptism and the other is my companions sister's family who we are still working on.

Saturday night and yesterday we had stake conference with one of the 70, Elder Lilta, a Samoan. It was amazing. So many inspired words and lots of revelation. I wish I could share more but I'm going to have to keep it short this week. I want you all to know how much I love this gospel and how grateful I am for a loving Savior who I have felt so close by my side the last how many months I've been out here. I know that this is His work and that obedience brings blessings like crazy. I love you all! Have an amazing week!

Sister Petalisi

​

Hey family!

Another wonderful week has flown by! So many good things are happening in the Finau family (the family in the ward whose brother we're teaching, Kalolo.) Friday night we took them to visit the temple and it was a miracle because not only did he and his girlfriend make it, but his mom who is not a member and also the husband who we are currently working with to come back to the church and get his priesthood so he and his wife can be sealed in the temple.  It was such a wonderful and spiritual experience for all of us! It was a turning point for both the husband and the mom. The missionaries have been trying to work with her mom for years now and she has refused every invitation to read the Book of Mormon, fearing that knowing the truth she will have to make a change. Not only did she come to church with her family on Sunday, but she also accepted the Book of Mormon and agreed to read it! Her daughter is so happy and everyone is shocked to see her coming around. But we are all so excited for this cute little family.

Saturday morning we all went to the Vaiola hospital to do service, picked up trash and painted the fence around the hospital which was fun! Helping hands team was all over the island Saturday preparing for the 100 years of Misiona Tonga festivities this week. 

So many things I wish I had time to write about. But I want you all to know that I love you and I love this work. Go out there and make someone else happy (: 

Love you!

Sister Petalisi

Hello everyone!

It's been a good week and although change is i guess a little hard for me, I'm getting a hang of things back here in Tonga! I realized that I COMPLETELY forgot to mention anything about our new President and his wife. We have a new mission president and I absolutely adore them and their family. President and Sister Tu'ione are from New Zealand but originally from here and they are shaking things up a bit. At MLC we were able to set the standards for the mission and this past week we had a meeting with all the missionaries to talk about the new changes and our standards of excellence. I love everything that is happening! 

A little update on the people we are working with that are progressing - We have been teaching an older brother of one of the converts in this ward and his girlfriend for a few weeks now. Since the first day we taught them it has been really neat to see him warm up to us and his desire to do good slowly change. Right now him and his girlfriend are living together and now they are working towards getting married so he can be baptized. His girlfriend grew up in the church, but has been away for awhile and she is trying to quit smoking and live the commandments and come back to church. She has been attending church for a few weeks now and yesterday, they both came for the first time!! It was a very happy experience for all of us (:

Of course there are always a few bumps in the road and this week had a few. I got pretty sick one night, throwing up and diarrhea all through the night and morning. Luckily medicine came in the morning and by the afternoon all outbursts were subsided for the time being. I still felt pretty terrible, but we felt like we needed to go out and visit those we had planned. In just the first 2 hours that we went out, miracles happened! It was a less-active single mother of 2 little boys that has been away from church for years. We started working with her this week and she has strengthened my testimony that obedience increases faith and faith brings miracles. Yesterday we were so surprised when she showed up to church with her 2 little boys!! After visiting her that day, we went to another less-active and although he wasn't home, his sister and her husband were home and we were able to teach them and at the end of the lesson they agreed to be baptized! We haven't seen much progress with them because we were only able to teach them once after that, but more to come in the future.

Love you all. Thank you for your love and prayers <3

Sister Petalisi

 

Selfie of the sisters with Sister Tu'ione at MLC

Sunrise after our morning run

Hello!!

So sorry I did not get to email last week. Nothing terrible happened the net was just down. But wow lots has happened since I last emailed and I'm going to do my best at a decent update. 

So first of all, I got transferred back to Tongatapu. It was honestly the last thing I had expected and so it was pretty hard on me, but I got the news last week that I'd be leaving 'Eua. I'm now working in Kolovai and Fo'ui. It was a little shock coming here because it feels like everyone here speaks english. I'm kind of worried about my Tongan! There are just so many people that are from New Zealand or overseas and prefer speaking english. We cover two wards like my last area and it is not nearly as big but we have a car which is nice! My companion is one of the hardest working missionaries I've met! Sister Bever is from Oregon City , OREGON. The first day she got here to Tonga we saw each other and tried to figure out for a few minutes how we knew each other and realized that we took the same Book of Mormon class our freshman year at BYU. She is super smart and ran track for BYU. I believe she is going to help keep me in shape. 

I was lucky enough to to leave 'Eua just after the baptism we had scheduled with one of the girls we've been teaching in Pangai, Mele Ngatehau. Her younger brother, who was just recently called as the new ward mission leader, came back from his mission recently and came back just in time to baptize her. They are now the only two in their family that have been converted to the gospel and will continue to work towards the rest of their family! I know that one day they will all be baptized.

We also had a baptism here in Fo'ui. Her name is Sina Loni and her husband, Sika, is a member and performed the baptism. When she first married her husband, who was less-active at the time, she didn't really want much todo with the church, but having met her this week, it would not seem so. She has a strong testimony. I am excited for both of these woman to continue developing their faith and conversion and to be able to enter the temple a year from now. I am filled with so much every time I see someone who is humble enough to listen to the missionaries, and then give up the things of the world to follow Jesus Christ and be baptized. I know this is the true church and Jesus Christ stands at the head. Ofa lahi atu!

xoxo

Sister Petalisi

Mele's baptism

Last p-day in 'Eua

Sina Loni's baptism

Washing our car with some helpers

Hello everyone! 

I feel like it's been awhile since I last emailed and so sorry I didn't last week! But I'll do my best to give a good update..

1. Happy 4th of July!!

2. We have a new mission president, President and Sister Tu'ione! We have yet to meet them here in 'Eua. But we will be flying to Tonga tomorrow for the temple and MLC and we are so so excited. President and Sister Tupou will be missed here they are so wonderful and I love them and their cute little family.

3. Pangai ward was ON FIRE this week. We had 7 new investigators and 5 baptismal dates set from those. 4 of these were siblings of a missionary that just recently finished and came home last week. He is the only member in his family and now we are preparing 4 of his siblings for baptism. They are so so cute. We started teaching on Wednesday and since then have met with them every day to teach them. Another is family with one of the older woman in our ward,  a 14 year old girl named Susana and it was her first time hearing the message of the restoration, but it was a beautiful lesson and when we invited her for baptism she was so so happy. We are taking it slowly with her because the hardest thing with most of those we are teaching is making sure their parents and grandparents are okay with it. 

4. Other than that, the majority of our teaching pool is less-actives. Thanks to our new ward plan centered around the meals the members feed us, we have been able to see 2 of the less-active members we are working with in Pangai come back to church! They are both preparing to go through the temple for the first time and hopefully by next month when our stake in 'Eua takes a trip to the temple!! One is a single mother in her 20's and the other is a married man in his middle age, whose wife is active and has been a huge support to him all these years. 

5. Last week we had a really good experience cleaning up a non-members yard in Ha'atu'a. We rounded up some brooms and a few neighborhood boys with lawn mowers and showed up at their house in the morning. The woman in the house that lives there came out and helped us and Sister Vimahi was able to start talking to her about the gospel while we all swept, weeded, cut the grass, and burnt the trash. By the time we were done she set a time for the Sisters in Ha'atu'a to go back and teach the family. 

6. Last week was a little wild. Sister Vimahi fell into a pile of mud trying to climb over someone's gate so our phone broke and we got locked out of our MQ and ended up surprising the Ha'atu'a sisters late at night after trying for forever to get into our house. But now all is well, new phone and new lock on our door. 

7. We had a stake fireside last night on living healthy and preventing diabetes, a very big problem here. A palangi doctor from America spoke at it and he was accompanied by a team of other doctors. We all had a change of heart and Sister Vimahi and I committed ourselves to taking our morning workouts more seriously. 

Well I love you all! I hope your week was just as good as mine! Here are some pics 

Me and Sister Pohahau

Ngaue 'ofa

Sister Vimahi's trip to the mud

President & Sister Tupou

Hi family!! 

This week our whole district was able to finally fly to Tonga!! We had a little zone meeting with President and Sister Tupou, which was our last time spent with them and we had final interviews with him as well. They will be released next week which is so so crazy. I love them so much and grateful for all of the things they have taught me. But we are looking forward to meeting our new President and his family. 

The past few days have been a little rough, Sister Vimahi and I BOTH sick. I thought it was just the lack of nutrition we've been getting lately but turns out it's food poisoning. I don't think my stomach liked the American food we've been getting lately at President's house and again this morning from our members who served us all American food. I never thought I would not be down for a bowl of cereal and pancakes for breakfast. So sad! 

Another highlight of the week were two of the families that we recently started working with. With our new fafanga program, our Bishop added two families, one less-active and one non-member, who asked for a time to feed us. We were able to go meet them for the first time this week the day they fed us and teach them. It was a very neat experience because they were all so so humble and grateful to be feeding the missionaries. One is an older couple who wants so badly to go through the temple and be sealed but the husband has been away from church for awhile and a convert to the church. They came to church yesterday! Another family is a lady who's kids are all baptized and come to church but is Catholic and she accepted our invitation to teach her as well as her mom who is already baptized, but went back to the Catholic church. We are so excited to continue to teach them and help them come unto Christ.

Ofa lahi atu!!

Sister Petalisi

Early morning to catch the 1st. sunrise in the world!!