News and Views from Tonga, February, 2005

Here's my first monthly update from my new mission assignment in Tonga.

The Kingdom of Tonga is made of 176 islands. I live in Nuku'alofa on
the island of Tongatapu. Tongatapu is the home of the Royal Family,
the seat of Government, the center of commerce and the heart of
Polynesia. Tonga is the last remaining Polynesian Kingdom and the
only nation in the Pacific never to be colonized. Right now, our
85-year old King Tupou is in the USA for medical treatment. (If you
see him, give him my regards.) I saw him a few weeks ago in church.
He was just sitting there alone in a special chair – he wasn't wearing
a crown or regal purple robes or anything. I think he liked the
sermon, because he stayed for the whole thing. That must have made
the pastor feel pretty good. The King's granddaughter, Salote, is a
student at the school where I teach.

Tonga is in the middle of the South Pacific. There are a bunch of
island groups nearby like Samoa, Fiji, the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu
and Tahiti in French Polynesia. Australia's fairly close, but I'd
guess it's still about 2,500 miles away. I've read that the island
that I'm on, Tongatapu, is about the same size as New York City. I've
barely seen any of it yet though. I'm still trying to figure out
where to buy a fish and how to open a coconut.

The United Methodist General Board of Global Ministries and the
Volunteers in Missions program has several projects in the area. As
far as I know, all are related to education. I'm teaching at Queen
Salote College (QSC), an all-girls secondary school. There are about
800 students here, and I'd say about half of them stay in dorms on the
grounds. QSC is affiliated with the Wesleyan/Methodist Church, so
devotions, sermons and scripture class is a part of everyday life.
The girls follow a fairly strict daily regime of school, Bible study
--- and chores. It's amazing what 800 girls can accomplish with only
a few brooms and simple gardening tools.

My biggest surprise about this island is the friendliness of the
people. Most Tongans will wave and smile or say hello to me as I walk
or ride my bike through the community. I was really amazed at how
welcoming they are. My biggest disappointment about my town is that
there isn't a beach here. How can an island in the South Pacific not
have a beach EVERYWHERE? I'm still sort of baffled by that. I've
been told that there are some beaches within an hour's bike ride of
Nuku'alofa. I bought a single-speed beach cruiser bike just for trips
like that.

The college has a couple small houses for teachers to share, so I live
on the grounds of the school. I usually get up at 6:00 for personal
morning devotions, breakfast, Australian radio news, and house
sweeping. I wander over to the QSC Assembly Hall next door for Tongan
morning sermon at 8:30. This usually runs about a half hour and then
classes start at 9:00. I teach four computer classes, and I have a
break during the day for lunch. My classes have anywhere from 20 to
35 girls. They're all under 16 years old. I'm teaching basic
computer classes like Windows, Word, Excel, etc. So far, most of my
students have been pretty good, and I haven't had to give anyone
discipline duty – when the disruptive girls might have to wash my
clothes (great!), weed the garden, or clean the school grounds. I'm
finished teaching by 4:00. I go for a bike ride beside the sea or
maybe a swim in a hotel pool. Come home, do chores, fix dinner or go
out to eat with a teacher, maybe talk with some of the girls or watch
a DVD movie, practice playing guitar, read a little, and go to bed at
10:00. My house is under both a mango and a breadfruit tree, so every
fifteen minutes another piece of fruit drops from the tree and hits my
metal roof with a loud bang. I'm pretty sure I'll soon stop jumping
every time that happens.

Feel free to forward this to anyone who might be interested.

Bob May
Queen Salote College
PO Box 116
Nuku'alofa, Tongatapu
Tonga Islands
South Pacific

Phone: 58-678