Week 6: Welcome to the Kingdom of Tonga!

Dear Malie Sasaki,

President Tuione and Elder Sasaki

There MTC group arrival at the airport.

Elder Chandler, Pres. Tuione, and Elder Sasaki at the airport.

Your son, Elder Tyler Maikeli Sasaki, arrived in Tonga in good spirits on 26 Jul 2017.  My wife and I greeted him at the airport and took him to our home along with the other new missionaries.

Picking up their missionary attire.

Elder Sasaki meeting his companion/trainer.

After a healthy dinner, a great interview, and an orientation about all aspects of the mission, we put him right to work.  We are excited to have him here to teach these wonderful people.  Enclosed is a picture of us taken with him after he arrived.

Pres. Tuione, Elder Sasaki and Sis. Tuione outside the mission home.

Elder Sasaki will do well and has already caught the spirit of this great work.  I am sure his mission will be a great testimony-building experience for him.  We are very happy to have your son serving here in the Tonga Nuku’alofa Mission and will do all we can to help him progress in the work of the Lord.  If there is ever anything you would like to discuss with me, please do not hesitate to contact me.

 

 

Sincerely,

Sione F Tui’one

Mission President

 

Elder Sasaki’s travel plans started on the July 24th leaving the MTC @ 10:30am. He and his group left SLC airport @ 5:45pm for San Francisco. They were there with a 4 hour layover. Elder Sasaki called us to chat before leaving the states. There were no pay phones around for him to use his phone card, so a nice lady at the counter let him and his companion call home. It was fun to talk with him. He was glad to be out of the MTC and on his way to Tonga. He spoke a little Tongan for us (the accent was pretty good). He and his group boarded their flight at 9:45pm, headed out to Auckland, New Zealand. The New Zealand missionaries were picked up. After another 4 hour layover, the three missionaries left, including Elder Sasaki boarded for their final destination —- Tonga. The arrived in Tonga in the afternoon on the 26th of July.