Utah couple called to serve In Tonga mission trying to contact family

A Utah couple that will head to Tonga to serve in a mission president’s office for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is still waiting to hear family members in Tonga are OK.

Rich and Ofa Kaufusi were called to the Tonga Nuku’alofa Mission and are scheduled to arrive in July. They are also both of Tongan descent and have family and friends in the island nation hit by a tsunami last weekend.

They describe Tonga as “paradise, an idyllic setting” and one that is struggling after the natural disaster.

“We stayed up late into the evening, watching whatever was coming in,” said Ofa Kaufusi of the weekend. And, with most power still down, they are just now getting bits and pieces of news from their homeland.

“Today we are just getting in limited communication from the main island in Nuku’Alofa,” Kaufusi said. “But nothing from the outer islands from family members.”

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Officials say it could be several more days before communication is restored with the outer islands, which leads to a tough game of patience.

“It’s scary,” said Rich Kaufusi. “It’s the unknown, we wait to hear what to do next.”

The couple has been thinking a lot about Tonga since that call to serve, and they expect much of the work in the months ahead to be focused on helping Tongans get back on their feet.

“You think about crops, about water — this isn’t going to go away — the ocean, the fish,” said the Kaufusis. “So, it’s going to last a year or so.”

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