Elder Bean Finds Himself in a Most Unsuitable Situation

If Elder Bean’s suit could talk, what tales it could tell since it agreed to accompany Bob on his mission.  Elder Bean was advised by senior missionaries already serving in Tonga not to buy a new missionary suit.  One reason is because it is so hot in Tonga, that wearing a suit can be downright uncomfortable.  It is also quite humid over here and mold tends to make a happy home on a man’s suit.  Elder Bean was told he would probably only wear the suit twice on his mission: on the plane over to Tonga and on the plane back.  For those reasons, Elder Bean chose to bring his trust old well-worn grey suit.  You may already know that Elder Bean and his grey suit were together 18 days in a row at the beginning of our mission:  6 days at the MTC in Provo, 5 days at the Church Office Building in Salt Lake City, 4 days at the Pacific Area Office in Auckland, New Zealand, plus the plane rides.  We also attended 2 weddings when we first arrived in Tonga, which required a suit. Elder Bean said after wearing the same suit so many days in a row, it was no longer necessary to hang the suit up.  He simply had to lean it in the corner. 

 Little did Elder Bean’s trusty grey friend know that its adventures were just beginning.  Elder Bean inadvertently left two cough drops in his suit coat pocket.  Those became the refreshments for a family reunion of ants.  The suit ended up hanging outside on our clothesline after Elder Bean carefully washed out what was left of those lozenges.  The suit took a break between adventures, and hung happily in our closet for a while.  Elder Bean was careful to air the suit out on the clothesline every few weeks to prevent the formation of mold.  There was not an occasion that would require Elder Bean and his trusty grey suit to pair up, so it was content to rest again in the closet.  One day, Elder Bean noticed his grey suit had a green tint to it.  Upon closer observation, he discovered that his mold prevention plan was not working.  The suit underwent another thorough Elder Bean scrubbing and was consigned to the clothesline for the better part of a day.  He brought it inside in the evening and hung it on the door jamb until it was totally dry.  The next night, Sister Bean noticed an army of ants had circled the living room ceiling and were marching right down the wooden hanger that held Bob’s suit. It appeared as if they were holding an ant convention on his suit. 

It was now time for drastic measures.  Elder Bean’s trust grey spent the night outside on the clothesline.  The next morning, it took a trip to Tonga’s state of the art dry cleaners, Savoy.  Elder Bean did his best to explain that this suit needed to be separated from the mold and ants and cough drop goo that had inhabited it.  We were told that cleaning the suit would be no problem, and we could pick it up a few days later. We arrived at Savoy Dry Cleaners on the appointed day and picked up the suit.  It looked very nice under the protective plastic wrap.  Elder Bean gave the suit a quick look-over and found it to be free of ants, mold and goo, so he paid his money, took the suit home and put it in the back of his closet, where it rested happily for a few days.   During that time, Savoy Dry Cleaners called Bob several times to make sure everything was OK with his suit.  We thought it quite nice that the dry cleaners were so careful to make sure their customers were satisfied.

A few days later, Elder Bean got a phone call from a gentleman with an Australian accent.  Tom Wilson, a businessman from Australia asked Elder Bean if he had recently picked up a suit from Savoy Dry Cleaners.  Elder Bean said that he had.  Mr. Wilson asked him if he had looked carefully at his suit.  Bob admitted that he had not.  Mr. Wilson went on to explain that he too had picked up his suit that week from Savoy Dry Cleaners.  When he started to put his suit on that morning, he discovered that it was not his suit.  He made a frantic call to Savoy Dry Cleaners and demanded answers.  The woman at the dry cleaners said that the only other suits picked up that week were from the Mormon Church.  Phone calls were made to senior missionaries and Tom Wilson was given the telephone number of Elder Fakatou .  Tom Wilson asked Elder Fakatou if he had picked up a suit from Savoy Dry Cleaners that week.  Elder Fakatou replied in the affirmative.  Tom Wilson asked him if he had looked at the suit since he picked it up.  Elder Fakatou admitted that he had not, but said he would look right then.  As expected, the suit hanging in Elder Fakatou’s closet did not belong to Elder Fakatou.   

Tom Wilson was excited to have found his suit and asked if he could drive right over to Elder Fakatou’s to retrieve it.  Or course, Elder Fakatou readily agreed, since he was also anxious to get his suit back.  Tom Wilson made the 20 minute trip from Ma’ufanga to Liahona to Elder Fakatou’s house.  Sure enough, the suit Tom Wilson had, belonged to Elder Fakatou.  The problem was, the suit Elder Fakatou had did not belong to Tom Wilson.  By this time, the Australian businessman was beginning to get pretty hot under the collar.  This is the part where the plot begins to thicken.  There were more phone calls to the dry cleaners and to more senior missionaries.  That is how Elder Bean got involved.  Tom Wilson was convinced that he must have Elder Bean’s suit.  He asked Elder Bean what the brand name was on his suit.  Of course, Elder Bean couldn’t remember.  Mr. Wilson asked if he could bring the suit over to our office to have him take a look at it.  Tom Wilson arrived quickly and Elder Bean looked at the suit.  Sure enough, Tom Wilson was holding Elder Bean’s trusty grey suit.  The problem now was, the suit had been totally thrashed.  The lining was ripped, the hems were frayed, and it must have been pressed with a curling iron.  Tom Wilson was heading back to Australia the next morning, and he was anxious to fly home in his own suit.  He asked if he could follow us home to see if his suit was hanging in our closet.  We decided to prevent Mr. Wilson from having a heart attack, we’d better leave work early and check things out.  Tom Wilson made his 2^nd 20 minute trip of the day back to Liahona.  He was well rewarded because his suit was indeed hanging in our closet.  It was even in good shape.  Tom Wilson flew back to Australia the next day happily wearing his own suit.  But Elder Bean’s trusty grey suit however, is awaiting new adventures as it sits in the home of a local seamstress who is being paid by the cleaners to make the necessary repairs.  The trusty grey suit missed another opportunity to team up with Elder Bean when the King of Tonga came to Liahona High School’s graduation.  Wearing a suit for that occasion would have been very appropriate, but alas, Elder Bean’s suit was out on yet another adventure.

Liahona High School’s 2012 graduation was really something.  It was held in the gymnasium and it was decked out to the nines.  Everyone was in their seats approximately 30 minutes early.  Because we are senior missionaries, we got very good seats near the front.  The reason everyone was seated early is the King was coming to graduation to hand out the diplomas.  We were on the side where the King was to sit.  Because no one can be seated at a higher elevation than the King they had built a special viewing stand for the King that was higher than anyone on the stage.  We watched as the King’s motorcade came to the side of the gym next to us.  There were army guards and police everywhere.  Then the King stepped out of the Toyota SUV.  Yes, I did say Toyota SUV.  

He was escorted to his special seating area, served with drinks, a special fan turned on for him, and the ceremony began.  At the appropriate time the King moved out of his box and handed each graduate his/her diploma.  Because the King’s time is so valuable, no one really knows what he does all day; the ceremony was brief by Tongan standards and only lasted an hour.  We were all grateful as the room was hot, Tongan hot.  Although it would have been hotter if I had been wearing a suit.

With the ceremony over the fun really started.  Parents and relatives make these unbelievable leis for their students.  From rolled up money, to candy bars, to candy, to flowers, anything they can think up, and then drape them over their students.  Some have 15-20 leis on and can barely see out of their lei cave.  What fun.  Then there was food and music for hours afterward.

The UK has its Stonehenge, and of course there is the Rock of Gibraltar.  Did you know Tonga has it’s version of Stonehenge.  Many centuries ago one of the Kings had an archway built that is just huge.  There is also a huge structure sticking out of the ground that looks like the back of a chair nearby.  No one really knows when or why these were built, but they are fun to visit and see.  You could imagine the ground mounded up and a hole dug for each stone.  The huge stones dragged up the sloping mound and dropped into place and then the soil removed to create the arch, but why?  Oh well, its Tonga.

Our morning office is at Ma’ufanga, Toliki.  We are just across the street from the Pacific Ocean.  The only problem is we are not much higher than the Pacific Ocean.  If there was ever a tsunami, we would be toast if we didn’t scramble out of there.  The building we are in is the old Welfare office.  They moved most of the functions to another location because of flooding.  We haven’t gotten any water in the building yet, but when it rains hard, and it does that a lot, our parking lot turns into Lake Erie.  Shallow and polluted.  Samoa and Fiji got whacked by cyclone Evan, but missed Tonga thank goodness.  It is called a hurricane in the Atlantic, a cyclone in the Pacific. 

We had a real treat in December.  Elder John H. Groberg, Kolipoki as he was called on his mission here and reflected in his book and movie, “The Other Side of Heaven,” was here for a week.  He is, “The Man,” here in Tonga.  He arrived on a Saturday and announced a fireside at Church Sunday morning for that night in the Liahona Gymnasium.  I wondered why not the Stake Center located across the street.  It was because the gym holds more people.  Busloads of people came from all over the island.  There were over 1000 people in attendance.  He came with his wife, one daughter and her husband and 4 children and a friend.   Most of them spoke before Elder Groberg as the meeting went 2 ½ hours in sweltering heat, but no one left early.  They just basked in the light and enjoyed the spirit. 

The next morning we got to hear him speak to all the missionaries on Tongatapu and that was special too.  He then left to travel to another island, Vava’u, to speak to those missionaries as well.  On Christmas Eve we had a big dinner put on by the senior missionaries including Elder Groberg and family.  Cath got her book signed by Elder Groberg and I presented a CD to him prepared by a member of our ward who made a song with his movie as the backdrop for the music.  It was pretty cool.  Elder Groberg spoke to us, a group of about 30 people, and it was fantastic.  He told some amazing stories of his mission days and when he served as mission president.  He was the right man at the right time for Tonga.  The Lord new that.

We are in the middle of summer now.  Being in the southern hemisphere, January is the equivalent of July.  We are further south than Samoa and Fiji, and the temperatures don’t get quite as hot as those places, but it is hot.  The daily temperature is usually 86-88 degrees, which is not too warm, but the humidity is usually 90-100%, which makes it feels like 100 plus.  I have a fishing hat I brought with me and it changes color by absorbing moisture when it is humid.  When I put it on it is like I just dipped it in the lake.  However, we have A/C in our home, car and at the offices we work from, so it is quite tolerable.  But, we are careful of our outside time as it saps you pretty quickly.  We had a little weather break earlier this week and we played tennis.  We go for walks and try to exercise most days of the week.  We are getting Tonganized, but I wear a hat everywhere and SPF 70.  Cath is at SPF 100.  When the sun is overhead it feels like you are under a sunlamp.  The next couple of months will be warm, but it will cool off by the end of March. This is also the rainy season and cyclone season.  We have seen lots of rain, and if we don’t see a cyclone, that would be just fine.  The rest of the year is very nice.  Our June through November was quite comfortable.

Our specific calling is as Education Missionaries.  That includes Perpetual Education Fund loans, Returned Missionary grants, BYU Hawaii applications, administering English tests, teaching departing missionaries, setting up and supervising a computer lab for BYU Hawaii online students 5 days a week in the evening, teaching a Planning for Success Workshop, talking education at schools, etc.  We have always been busy, but this January is like the proverbial,”pig in a python.”  The schools in the Pacific have their summer break from November through January.  All the schools start up again in February.  All the young people 18-30 we work with come to us for funding and advice leading up to the start of school.  They have to complete their workshop before they can get funding.  BYU Hawaii has a February 1^st deadline for applications for summer and fall enrollment.  So everything converges in January.

It has been super busy, but just great.  We started keeping a log in January.  In this month alone we have been working with approximately 100 students with grants, loans, enrollment, advice, you name it.  It has been wonderful.  A real confirmation of our mission here.  It is so exciting to see these kids get into school and have an opportunity for an education, and a chance to succeed in life.

This past Friday Cath and I were teaching the Planning for Success Workshop in our morning office to a group of 12 students, when there was a knock on the door.  One of the other senior missionaries announced there was a police officer outside wanting to speak to me.  Several things flashed through my mind including wondering if I had run a stoplight or something.  Then I remembered, there are no stoplights in Tonga.  This guy was big and had a form in his hand.  I’m going, Oh Oh!  As it turns out he is a returned missionary turning in his RM grant application.  Office Finau is a very nice young man who is furthering his education so he can improve his position in the police department.  The grant we work with will pay for his tuition this year at night school.  It is great to be a missionary!