THE ANNUAL WESLEYAN CHURCH CONFERENCE is always a highly anticipated event in Tonga. The conference this year, June 12 to 21, 2007 was no exception, although no one could have forseen the grave sadness we all experienced when on the second day our good friend Kalipoli died of a heart attack. He had travelled with our party from Ha'apai to the Jubilee in Vava'u just weeks earlier, and was in his usual good spirits as we made the journey down to the conference. He is missed very much by all of us. But the conference went on, albeit on a more somber tone than is usual. After all life is for the living of it, as much as we miss Poli there was much more to do, and many lobsters to eat!

There were several stops on the way to Nuku'alofa, including Tungua, Ha'afeva and Nomuka. In these places the small boats come out to meet the ferry and people and goods are tossed back and forth from the ferry boat's lower doorways. I snapped this picture of Kalipoli while we were at Ha'afeva. I remember one year watching as they threw a little girl's pink suitcase, a little girl's pink bicycle, and then, you guessed it, they threw a little girl in pink sleepers into the waiting arms of her uncle on his fishing boat at Nomuka. They are very experienced at this and there is no danger of ever dropping any precious cargo.

Once we arrived in the capitol, we were all very well taken care of. The staff and students of Queen Salote College must be commended for their truly Tongan hospitality. From the band playing at the wharf we were all bussed to the campus where a delicious snack had been prepared for us. We all roomed in either dormitorys or classrooms converted into sleeping rooms. There were many of the same goodfellas in my sleeping room whose company I had enjoyed at the Jubilee up in Vava'u. It was a grand reunion of sorts. As you might imagine, with the great number of visitors, rooming space was at a premium and the beds were placed edge to edge. Good thing nobody snores, well, not me!

My favorite part of these events is actually the singing that goes on in the massive Centennial Church. There were Tongan choirs from all over the world: all parts of Tonga, New Zealand, Australia, the USA, Fiji and Hawaii. The order of the day is George Frederic Handel, with all parts of the Messiah and Zadoc the Preist particular favorites. I shall never tire of hearing the Tongans sing this fine music, and they shall probably never waver from these selections. Perhaps a choir might try and squeeze in some Purcell or Byrd? I think that would be nice, but I don't expect this to happen anytime soon.

Most of the choirs are accompanied by small orchestras. In the past there have been strings, but this year it was wind ensembles. The Tongan schools, including my own, have very active brass programs. They use either the Tongan numeric notation, or more commonly the British system of all parts in treble clef, transposed to either Bb or Eb. The variety of conducting skills runs the gamut from very good sound technique to "What the heck was that?". This leads to an occasional extra beat or missing beat in the extreme cases, but no matter because the magnificent sound wins the day in all cases. Perhaps I can give a conducting workshop for Wesleyan bandmasters at some point in the future.

It was my great joy to perform with the Atenisi Institute choir (Atenisi Foundation for Performing Arts) once again. With Sisiuno Helu conducting and her sister Makhe singing the soprano solos, it was a big hit, as always. I was greatly uplifted to see Distinguished Professor Futa Helu present at all the AFPA performances, happy to know his health is strong enough to permit his smile to grace the proceedings. He is one of the most brilliant men I have ever known in my life, a great inspiration to me. Of course I also enjoyed a few cups of kava with the Atenisi crew while visiting Nuku'alofa.

But let us not forget the mantra of attending a church conference: mohe (sleep), lotu (pray), kai lahi (eat big), repeat. These massive feasts, three times each day for 10 days, do actually change the food supply for the entire kingdom. People in other churches or who do not attend the conference always remark (sometimes heatedly) about the scarcity and increased prices of fish, eggs, and other staples during the period leading up to the conference. I try not to let their misfortune disturb my non-stop consumption of lobster and fresh fruit. Alright, I am joking. All of us Wesleyan missionaries have to find our own way to accept or adapt to Tongan culture. Many have stopped going to feasts altogether, but don't mind if I bring them a crab now and then.