Soon to be coming home

Well, the time is quickly arriving that we will be headed home. Seems like the 6 months has gone by really quickly. Each mission has been exciting in it's own way and different from all the rest. This time, we have been more involved with service as Dad was giving dental service and I at his side trying to keep up with his needs. I have a new appreciation for what he does and how hard of work it actually is. Yes, he is sitting down most of the day, but the physical and mental drain on him is tremendous. He said to me more than once, "didn't I retire a few years back?" "let's retire again when we get home". Of course, the older we get the harder it is on him. Kenyon, I appreciate your skills also with a new understanding now that I have been a "chairside assistant" for a few months. I know that it is "four handed dentistry" that you both practice, but Dad has been doing "3 handed dentistry" because I was just learning. It has been an emotional drain on both of us as we each day would see child after child with full mouth decay and adults with hardly any teeth, and teenagers that were loosing teeth because it was too late to safe them. Our hearts have just gone out to them.

Because of this difficult situation here in Tonga, Dad would work hard each night after being in the office all day, on creating a program that will make a dramatic change in the lives of these people within 3-4 years as it is applied. We are both very excited about the way that it is taking hold, and the dentist here are now accepting it and buying into the need. It is now THEIR PROGRAM FOR THEIR PEOPLE, and they are ready to take it and impliment it into their culture. One of the dentist said to us, "we have always wanted to help our people, but we have not known how. You have shown us how and now we can."

The final step of the program is a movie that will be taken into the villages to help teach them on proper dental cleaning and care. And this is the exciting part. Yesterday, Thursday, we picked up Lawrence Porter, from SLC, who is here to do the photographing for the movie, and then will go home and make a DVD for us to use. He has some exciting ideas that will take the needed information to the people and then add a bit of excitement that will get the children's attention and make it very inviting for them. We are so grateful that he was able to come while we are still here, so that Dad has been able to help and have some imput as the DVD is created.

Lawrence has come prepared to "pay" people that help and are photographed for the DVD and has had a hard time understanding why no one wants to take his money. We have tried to explain to him, but it is hard to believe unless you live with them for a while and see what their culture is like. We think money talks, and will solve most of our problems, but these people live a different belief and they are better off than we are in many ways. I think, they have what we say we would like to have, but are not willing to give up much of what we think is important to gain the spiritual happiness and peace that they have, the simple but beautiful way of life.

(Luke 18: 18-30)

We will in deed return home with something from the Tongan people that can not be learned from a book or bought in a store. It is an appreciation for the simple things in day to day life and the importance of family and how we are with each other. Here in Tonga there is no welfare program, no homeless, no old folks homes. That is because they take care of their own, they will feed anyone who is hungry whether they know you or not. There is probably not one home on the island that does not have extra people living there because the need was there. Their hearts are as big as the need and they do not think anything of it, it is just the way we are and it is what we are suppose to do, that is what they believe and that is what they LIVE. It does not take money to live here, because their life is so simple and basic and they desire for nothing more than they have. They are happy with what they have, no matter how little or how much. If someone need a meal, they will literally give the last food in the house to them and be very happy to do it. One of the saddest things to a Tongan is to have nothing to give to someone else, regardless of how little they have.

We have loved our time here. And we are excited and and ready to come back to our family and friends. We miss all of you and will look forward to seeing you soon.

Dad and Mom, Grandpa and Grandma, Dick and Reta

Update on Dental Initiative Program - Things are happening

Well, we have been plugging along for another month now and we are entering into the last 2 weeks of our time here in Tonga. Time has really gone by fast, and I guess that is because we are so busy that we do not have time to count the days or wonder where they have gone.

After this week, we will no longer be in the clinic. Next Monday there are 6 students and 4 instructors coming from UNLV and they will be here for 2 weeks. They will need all 7 chairs so we are stepping aside and letting them have the complete clinic starting next Monday. We will spend 1/2 day orienting them to the clinic and then they will take over. We will spend our last week here in Tonga, seeing some of the sites that we want to see again and going to the temple, and just relaxing. It will be nice, because during the last 3 weeks Dad has begun to have positional pain in his shoulder from so much dentistry. He is seeing about 30 plus patients a day and that really is hopping from one to the next without any kind of a break, only to take 3 steps from one chair to the next. I am even having a hard time keeping up with him and having the patients gone, the next one ready and all the charting done. Wheeeeeehhhhhhhhh. So we are ready to take a break. He has said more than once, "didn't I retire a while back?" He says he is going home and retire again. Ha, ha.

Well, all of Dad's hard work in the evenings on the Dental Initiative Program has really taken some big steps in the last couple of weeks. He had his BIG meeting with all the Ministers here in Tonga, and they were very impressed with it, and willing to support it. Then last week he was on TV to be broadcast here in Tonga, in Tongan, about his program the effects that it will have for the people in the future. Then 2 days ago, while we were home for lunch, he was asked to come and show his presentation to the South Pacific Welfare Manager for the church, who was here in Tonga. And I guess you could say that it went quite well, because before he left to return to the office he said to Dad, would you be interested in going and taking this program to other countries as a dental specialist for 2 or 3 months? And Dad said, "sounds like something that we would be interested in if we were called to do it, we would then consider it." He told Dad that it would be the first of the year before they did it , if they did it. This man is from New Zealand where the South Pacific Area Presidency is. They are the ones who authorized the money to Tim to do the movie.

Now, about the movie. The script is done, it is being translated into Tongan here at the Liahona by church staff, who are official translators for the church. We are waiting for the information about when the filming will be done. We should hear any day now. We were hoping it would be before we leave, but maybe not. We will see.

We are headed home on the 24th (2 weeks from today) and we are anxious to see everyone and have a few hugs and kisses for the grandchildren AND their parents. Funny, funny.

Any one want a banana? Guess what? They all rippen within 2-3 day - banana bread day!

David Bingham the day we took him to the airport to return home - we enjoyed having him with us - he was VERY POPULAR WITH THE ISLAND PEOPLE.

A typical Tongan home - humble.

Love to all, Dad and Mom