Tuesday, Dec. 30

In case you are wondering what we did on New Years Eve, this is it.

In the morning we prepared breakfast for the Elders. We had our zone leaders here and we had a district meeting after eating. On the left is Elder Boster who is from a part of Oregon that I did not know existed. He lives south Ontario, Oregon on the east side of the Snake River. I thought the state line followed the river but now I know. Elder Lohrman is from Germany. He is the oldest of the young missionary Elders at 27 1/2. He was inactive for 9 years, and playing goalie on a semi- pro soccer team. At 25 he turned his life around and needed special permission for him to go on his mission. Elder Bruce Haven was quick to help him as he had seen him change over a period of a year. We had a great meeting.
Before going to our English lesson we took what was supposed to be a 15 minute hike up to a world war ii gun in placement on a hill on the north side of the Grey River. The area is called Cobden, where most of the Tongan members live. This is looking south towards downtown Greymouth. We live three blocks north below the hill at the far end .
The hike turned out to be 156 steps up the hill.
This is a view of Cobden looking sw toward the jetty. On the right is a patch of grass and a yellow house with carport in the back. That is where we teach two boys English and the entrance to this trail is 2 blocks down their street.
Here is Sister Hoagland on our way back down the steps.
Here she is at the top at the gun emplacement. This is a ridge in front of a mountain that runs North and South. The foliage is so dense and the ridge so close you cant tell the ridge exists when you are off of it.
We went to teach the boys and they were not home. They were with their dad at the river while he was fishing with the other Tongan men. We were working with their older sister Hola on reading so we read with her and then went looking for the boys. This pictures is of the Branch President on the left catching a fish. He caught 22 this day.


Here are the boys playing on the rivers edge. They were all by themselves and did not know how to swim. We were concerned about that, but what can you do.
Here is the father, Aho Langi, on the left, and his friend Manase Toli on the right. I didn't hear how many they caught but they all have freezers and eat this fish for many months after the season is over. They are all on vacation from their work in the forest except Manase who is a teacher at a technical school.
Subway does very well here too. The read building houses a large discount store where missionaries and poor Tongans buy clothes. I have never been able to figure out their pricing yet. Most of the time I pay much less than I thought I was going to pay. We bought a little stuffed bear for Iriah Langi when he was in the hospital. It was marked 9.99 and the sign said 20% off. It cost $3.98
There are a number of talented missionaries in every mission. Here is Elder Lohrman's talent. I hope you are not offended, but he asked me to pick a hymn.