Michael’s Tonga Blog

Malo e Lelei! Six weeks ago I had never even heard of Tonga, or if I had it didn’t stick with me. Samoa? Yes. There are quite a few Samoans in Alaska, plus the famous Orthodox NFL linebacker Troy Polamalu is of Samoan Descent. Fiji? Best I could tell you is it was...

Hot, but not too bad. Partly cloudy, so the sun isn’t killing me. I rode in front with His Eminence, and Fr. Paul behind, helping to translate as necessary. His Eminence speaks English fairly well, but he’s only been in New Zealand a year or so, and he’s still getting...

His Eminence Metropolitan Myron officiated the Divine Liturgy this morning, and I helped Fr. Paul with the singing. About a dozen local Tongan people came to the service. Afterwards His Eminence and Fr. Meletios spoke with the small congregation a bit about the Church...

It’s Monday. Sakini (the Tongan electrician) has been drawing out his wiring diagrams, and His Eminence is helping me take measurements of all the windows and doors. I climb all over and get the numbers, and he’s writing them down. After we wrap up, everybody took off...

Eseta (or Seta) lives next door to the church, and has been a big supporter of the mission. She keeps an eye on the property when no one is onsite. On Monday, she came over to visit and meet His Eminence Metropolitan Myron, since it was his first visit to Tonga since...

I mentioned in an earlier post that I met a Tongan fellow named George on the flight from Fiji to Tonga. He had been on an extended visit with family in the Los Angeles area, and was coming home for a while. While still on the plane, George asked me to carry in a...

February 2020 has been quite a month! On January 31, I emailed Fr. Paul Patitsas, the priest whose interview on Ancient Faith Radio inspired me to reach out to the Archdiocese of New Zealand. My momentum on this project had stalled out somewhat since my first trip in...

So, at this point in our story, the team is built but there’s a catch - we have no money. Travel to Tonga is expensive, and we also needed money for supplies and tools to get the work done. The Archdiocese of New Zealand had devoted everything they could from their...

I am overwhelmed with all the support we received. In 2 weeks we raised nearly $20,000 to send 5 missionaries to help the on-site team of 3 Greek men to finish weather-proofing the Church. We covered all our travel expenses, plus labor & materials costs for number of...

It’s funny to say it, but you can thank a little bug for this blog post. We're in Tonga now, getting familiar with the project. Early this morning, I laid down after an early morning bathroom visit and felt something with lots of legs crawl across my back. I reached...

We arrived in Tonga on Saturday afternoon. The flight from Fiji is only about an hour and a half. The pilot said it would be a three day trip in a Tongan canoe. I’m glad we have airplanes! One thing I noticed in the airport is that Tongans travel with the hugest...

Those who read my blog from my first trip to Tonga know that it is illegal to do any work in the entire Kingdom on Sunday. The day is reserved for worship and spending time with family. Like most people in Tonga, we started with our worship service, the Divine Liturgy...

A lot happened in our ten days in Tonga during March 2020,The three men from Greece, Ilias, Romeos & Nikos, were delighted to have support, as they had been alone in this work for over three months. We all became close friends in a short period of time.The people...

During our trip, Myles commented to me several times, “You’ve changed. Something is different.”What he was seeing was a growing desire in me to come live in Tonga both to complete the Church of St. George and to walk with this small group of Orthodox Tongan people as...

Malo e Lelei! Six weeks ago I had never even heard of Tonga, or if I...

Hot, but not too bad. Partly cloudy, so the sun isn’t killing me. I...

His Eminence Metropolitan Myron officiated the Divine Liturgy this...

It’s Monday. Sakini (the Tongan electrician) has been drawing out his...

Eseta (or Seta) lives next door to the church, and has been a big...

I mentioned in an earlier post that I met a Tongan fellow named George...

February 2020 has been quite a month! On January 31, I emailed Fr....

So, at this point in our story, the team is built but there’s a catch...

I am overwhelmed with all the support we received. In 2 weeks we...

It’s funny to say it, but you can thank a little bug for this blog...

We arrived in Tonga on Saturday afternoon. The flight from Fiji is...

Those who read my blog from my first trip to Tonga know that it is...

A lot happened in our ten days in Tonga during March 2020,The three...

During our trip, Myles commented to me several times, “You’ve changed....