Week 17 - Little Bitty Stingin' Rain

Malo e lelei!

Well, I survived a tropical cyclone, everyone! I guess it was big enough to get a name. Its name was "Tino." It was pretty intense. Trees were falling left and right, and I felt like Forrest Gump when he said:

"Little bitty stingin' rain, and big ol' fat rain, rain that flew in sideways, and sometimes rain even seemed to come straight up from underneath.
Shoot, it even rained at night."
  

That is exactly how I felt during the storm. Ever since the storm we have just helped clean up some debris and went back to our normal everyday missionary lives. Nothing big has happened since the last time I emailed except for the fact that this is the last week of this transfer, and then who knows, maybe I'll be somewhere else next preparation day.

I have noticed that I'm slowly getting better at speaking Tongan. It's funny because sometimes I see progress and then I feel like there is no progress and it's just a pattern like that. I think the best thing I can do is to keep being diligent.

I love you all so much, and I keep you all in my prayers. And always remember to stand for what you believe in even if it seems you're the only one there. Just as Thomas S. Monson said, "Dare to stand alone!"

Ofa lahi atu!

-Elder Delgado

Before and after Tropical Cyclone Tino.

Week 16 - Tropical Cyclone 'Tino'

Hi Everyone!

This is Elder Delgado's Mom.  I didn't send an email to you last week because we didn't receive an email from Elder Delgado, but we were able to speak to him two Sundays ago. He is as happy as can be and loving the village of Tu'anuku and serving with his companion Elder Tongolei.

We weren't able to speak to him this week and didn't receive an email because the Tongan islands experienced a Category 3 Tropical Cyclone named "Tino" on Saturday, January 18th. We learned from the news that his island received some really strong winds and rain, and perhaps the power was out.

We were happy to receive an email the next day from his mission president telling us that Drew and all the missionaries are safe. Then later that evening, I received a message from the Facebook account of someone in Drew's village with a message from Drew telling us hi and that he loves us. Both of those messages were great to receive.

So, in summary, Elder Delgado is doing great. He loves Tonga and all of the adventure he finds there. We hope to hear from him this week, but if not, we know our Father in Heaven has Drew and the other missionaries in His hand and helps them each day.

Ofa atu!
Missy 

Week 15 - Things are going great!

Mom and Dad didn't get a "weekly email" from Elder Delgado this week but we did get to enjoy a great video call with him! He's so happy and doing great! He has a 12 year old investigator he and Elder Tongolei are teaching. He also reports that they are eating well. Elder Delgado emailed a video home of him belly flopping into a giant rain puddle in the grass to take a bath. We're so grateful he's happy and healthy.

Week 14 - Happy New Year!

Hi Everyone!

This week was great. we taught a lesson about the Word of Wisdom to a bunch of teenage boys. It was pretty nice. For those who don't know, The Word of Wisdom is a health code that members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints follow. The biggest things it mentions is to not to smoke tobacco, drink alcohol, use illegal drugs, or drink coffee and tea. Most people when they hear of this they think it's crazy, But it's really here to protect our bodies from addiction and to keep us healthy. I think some of the blessings that come with The Word of Wisdom is that we don't feel locked down by anything, and our minds are clear and can make good decisions. There's a scripture in the Bible in 1st Corinthians, Chapter 3 verses 16-17, it says: 

16 - Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?

17 - If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.

In this scripture it talks about how our bodies are temples and that we should keep them clean. When we keep our bodies clean it makes room for the spirit of the Lord to dwell. I know that the Word of Wisdom blesses lives and that it protects us and keeps us healthy.

In other news, Elder Tongolei and I did a few things this week. We hiked to the top of a mountain with people from our town. I rode a horse (thanks to Sandy, Ken and Cory for teaching me how to ride a horse). It was bareback too. I felt like I was in the movie Spirit riding the horse with no saddle! LOL. We also ate well this past week. Last night our neighbor brought us two big bowls of rice, but they weren't just any ordinary bowls of rice they had butter and sugar mixed in. It was my diabetes fix for the week. hahaha.

I hope everyone is having a stellar new year, and I hope ya'll are just happy as can be.

Ofa lahi atu,

-Elder Delgado

Week 13 - Diligence & Perseverance

Hi Everyone!

This week was cool. My companion and I taught the lesson at our district meeting. Most of it was in Tongan but sometimes I would speak in English because I wouldn't know how to say it in Tongan. This week we also cleaned the church building. It is so satisfying to clean the church on Saturday, and on Sunday walk into a clean church building. After we cleaned the church I tried to climb a coconut tree, but I was not successful. I can get about halfway up and then it's just hard. But then right when I got down our bishop jumped on and climbed up and knocked down 6 coconuts, and yes we ate them all! This past Sunday night there was a pretty big storm, not like a hurricane or anything but it was big, and since our water is out we decided to shower in the rain with our clothes on, so we get laundry and a shower in at the same time.

To be honest this area I'm in is a hard area to be a missionary because nobody wants to hear what we have to share with them. I think the biggest thing I have learned from this area is diligence and perseverance. I think these things will help me out later in life with school or future jobs. I can really see the mission starting to bless my life. 

I hope everyone has a great week, and I hope you will dare to be different and dare to be great.

Ofa atu,

Elder Delgado