Peas in a pod

We were at lunch the other day with Ryan and Abby, the other married couple serving here (who also happen to be from Colorado). We sat down and were handed menus, and after looking at them in silence for a few minutes, I said to Mark, "whatcha thinking babe?" while at the exact same moment Abby said, "what do you think, Ry?". I think both of the guys eyes about popped out of their heads. Abby and I thought it was absolutely hilarious.

It is different to be serving in the Peace Corps as a married couple. In many ways, I think it is easier. But sometimes, it is very challenging. Our experience is very different because we are married. The way Tongans relate to us is different. The way we do (or more often, don't) fit into community here is different because we are married. It's just different. And while we are very thankful for everyone serving in Vava'u alongside us, we are especially thankful that another married couple is too. It's nice to know we are not alone in some of the unique challenges we are facing.

Lisi

Amen or oh me

For as long as I can remember, I have not felt comfortable saying "amen" in church. It's just...not me, at all.

I'm a private person, very aware of the way I express. And when I hear a really powerful, or true, or poignant point during a sermon...I don't feel a need to express externally.

And if I DID need to say anything...I'm not sure "amen" is what I would choose.

I stumbled into a black church a few years ago (I have no idea if it's pc to say black church or African American or....? Someone feel free to tell me! Just know I am not trying to be offensive in any way!) Well, really, it was like I was drug in. My friend Elise and I had just left a different church and were driving home with the windows open, enjoying the California sun, when we heard this soul moving music. There on the corner was a little old church. The music and energy coming from that church...I don't even remember talking about whether or not we would stop and go in, we just did. The pews were crammed full, the music was hopping, the people were dancing and shouting and lost in worship. There were Kleenex boxes being passed around like offering plates, and I absolutely fell in love with it. And best of all, during the sermon, instead of saying "amen" , the women called out a loud and throaty "uuuuh huh!" and "preach it".

The truth is, I wish I weren't such a private person...wish I were better at cutting loose. Wish I could dance down the aisle, or shout an "uh huh", or cry or clap or...anything without one tiny thought about what's appropriate and what's not. Wish I could just always do what I feel and think a little less. Working at it...But, in the meantime, I just don't know what an uh huh will sound like coming from me, but I do know, that I'm much more of a "preach it!" kind of a girl, than an "amen" kind of a girl.

All of THAT to say, I think I'm going to have to be an "amen" sayer these next two years. We went to the Pentecostal church in Matamaka last week, and it was...a blessing, to put it simply. Our hope is that we can make it there every other week. During the sermon, the pastor would translate at various times. And when a pastor is translating just for you, and you are the only person able to understand a certain part of the sermon, and the pastor says "amen?" , you really just have to say amen back, don't you? I mean, what kind of a person wouldn't? I absolutely agreed with everything he was saying, so no problem there...it's just....I've never much liked saying amen. Maybe I'll try responding with a "preach it!". I'm sure mark would give me the look of death for that....

Lisi

Christmas Pageant

I'm very sad I missed your big performance, your "breaking of the ground" of "A Salinas Merry Christmas", so to speak.

As it turns out, I also performed in a Christmas play this year. It wasn't anything I was planning on, in fact, it seems the whole village was apart of the plan except for me.

As apart of our attempt to know everyone in Nuapapu, we have been visiting all the different churches here. This week we attended the Mormon church, where the people were exceptionally friendly, though the service was a long three hours. After the service we were finishing up a long lunch with the pastor, when a student of mine, a PK of the Wesleyan church, asked us to come to their Christmas lesson practice.

Not exactly sure of what a Christmas lesson practice was, and always eager to comply, we said yes.

When we arrived at the church, I was given a paper with my lines, and informed I was Mary, or Mele, here, and Mark was Sosifa. Ohhh those sneaky Tongans! I know for a fact that this Christmas lesson practice has been going on for a good month, and I haven't a doubt that all along it was planned that Mark and I would be the holy couple.

After a two hour practice, and a reminder to return at 5 for dress rehearsal, home we went. At the end of that day, our church time was at about 8 hours...a little much for me.

Of course the play went off fine. My only lines were about my virginity ( which people loved ). At one point mark and I walked in the wrong direction and people were hissing left and right, and I got to wear a headband type veil thing, which was pretty neat-o.

The highlight of the night was when we recognized the song "Silent Night", and amazingly, surprisingly, saw that someone had Christmas lights decorating their house. I definitely got a lump in my throat.

Everyone asked, do you do something like this around Christmas in Amelika. I couldn't help but smile as I thought of you, dad, and For Unto Ya"ll.....ya, something kind of like this.....

(but for all the Christmas "pageants" I've been in, this was my first as Mary. Geeez dad!)

For as long as I can remember, shortly after Thanksgiving, a day is planned to begin. To begin the celebrating of Christmas. While growing up, we put up the tree with laughs about old, ugly ornaments with popsicle sticks and glitter, a certain white feathery dove, and arguments about which, truly was "the good" coffee cake. (sadly my dad has never known...)

And always, always we listen to Steven Curtis Chapman "Music of Christmas".

When I got older, and went off to college, my first Christmas season away from home I promptly went to the first Walmart and purchased ol Steven Curtis Chapman...

When we got married, and moved in with Nick and Beth, we knew there might have to be compromises about Christmas traditions...they are real tree people, and we'd always been fake tree people....they insisted on decorating their dog, Sufi, with as much care as decorating the tree...but the one thing we didn't compromise on was good ol Chapman. Sure...we had to listen to some pretty horrific Amy Grant** Christmas melodies due to Beth's childhood, but still Steven sang on in yet another Christmas.


And now here we are in Tonga....and though we attempted to get in the spirit, Steven just hasn't been played....too many memories, elicits too many tears.
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It's Christmas today. Raining cats and dogs. Our laundry is hanging on the line, so that's always something in weather like this. We were awakened by our neighbor shouting our names and saying "open the door". They had made us some "cake". We're off to church soon, then supposedly a wedding/birthday/Christmas feast....we're a little unsure of the details. Over our cake breakfast we asked each other if we were sad. We are...but marks in the shower and I put on old Steven anyways...just seemed like the right thing to do. A few days ago I realized I hadn't bothered to buy anything for Mark...hadn't really considered celebrating just the two of us. I feel a little guilty about it...like we should be creating this exotic Christmas experience here that we blog and post pictures about that make everyone jealous...that we could have told our one day kids about that time we were in Tonga and celebrated Christmas all by ourselves...but the truth is, we don't want to celebrate Christmas all by ourselves. It's you all we miss, it's you all that make Christmas so magical. So, today we'll celebrate fakatonga...and it will be different and cool. And this weekend, I will most definitely turn into Mrs. clause whilst we celebrate with fellow volunteers. And maybe one year, we won't be so utterly sad when we have to celebrate alone...but not this year.



***A few weeks ago, we were in town on a Thursday and wound up at trivia. One of the questions was a song being played, and you had to guess the artist and song title. I was so sure it was Amy Grant. In fact, I said something like, "I grew up in Mustang, Oklahoma. I know Amy Grant when I hear her!" of course...it wasn't Amy Grant...should have listened a little more closely when we decorated the tree, huh Elders?


Also, if we were able, we'd decorate Buster too.

Buster

We got a pup! His name is Buster, mostly, we thought, because of the show Arrested Development. However, the day after we brought him home, I awoke and immediately let out a loud, long, shrill, "buuuuusssteerrrrr" and immediately thought of my sister. You see, we'd visited them right before moving here, and they have a dog named Buster.

Here he is:




Don't be fooled by that face, he is usually busy doing this:




Biting one of our skirts... (love that I get to say ours!)


Buster loves food (even though we mostly eat vegetarian-he'll only eat beans of they've been seasoned-what a brat!), pigs (that's why he's always dirty), and biting....everything.