keais writing

My husband doesn't write much but now that he's in a writing class, he doesn't have much of a choice.  he wrote this and this is the most I have ever seen him write so I thought I would put it in here so that my kids would have access to it  :)


THIS IS MY LIFE
Hi, my name is Hakeai' I Honolulu Tatafu. I was born to a poor, but loving family at Vaiola Hospital. I am from a small island in the middle of the Pacific, called Tonga. I am the second oldest of eight children. I have four brothers and three sisters. My parents worked hard to raise the eight of us. My dad had little education. He never finished junior high. He had to drop out at an early age. The only job he could do was fishing and farming. I grew up helping him with the fishing and farming to provide for the family. My mom was a stay at home parent to care for the younger children. Seems like it was just yesterday. At the age of  nine, I would come home from school and change my school uniform. It was the only uniform that I had for school. I would then walk about five miles to where my dad farmed because we didn’t have any form of transportation. I would help him with the hoeing and planting. Many days I would spend the night there and then wake up early to walk home and get ready for school. I would usually leave to school without breakfast, because we didn’t have a lot of extra money. hat little money we did have, my mom would have to use wisely to feed a baby my mom had at the time and the younger children that weren't old enough to attend school yet. At lunchtime, my sister and I would come home from school but there wasn't any food. instead, there would be 20 cloth diapers waiting for us to be hand washed. e didn’t have a laundry machine. My mom would have us wash them before we had to return to school. My older sister and I would split the diapers between us to make it a little easier on us. 
Years passed. My brothers and I were older. Financially, things seemed to get better. We were able to help my dad more with the farming. My dad was finally able to purchase a little car to help out with getting us to different places. I was very appreciative as it was tiring to have to walk to the farm and back daily. There would be food on the table and sometimes we would have breakfast. We were happier. It seemed like there was less yelling at home, because my sisters were able to help my mom with the house chores and cooking. 
October of 1995, I graduated from high school. I could tell my parents were happy. The sacrifices that they had made were paying off. I was held back for one year, but my dad expressed his feelings when he told me that I was now better than him. In his mind, I think he compared my endurance in making it through high school to his quitting school at an early age. It humbles me to know that my dad thought so highly of me. Immediately after graduation, I filled out an application to serve as a full-time missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  It took 3 months to receive my response that I would serve for two years in the New Zealand Wellington Mission.  If only others could see my heart to know how much joy I felt.  There are no words to describe how happy my parents were. I was excited and yet at the same
time, I was nervous.  It would be the first time that I would leave the comfort of my home, my parents, my family, and my friends.  I would also have to learn a new language.
Arriving in New Zealand was a shock for me.  I spent all nineteen years of my life knowing nothing but my little island.  It was like a dream.   Everything was big.  The roads were so wide, the buildings tall, and so many cars on the road.  I was not used to seeing so many white skinned people around.  I could only understand a few words of what they were saying.  I had to adapt to new food.  I was used to my mom's cooking which would consist of boiled chicken or lamb with some vegetables, such as, taro leaves.  In New Zealand there was such a variety of foods.  Driving up to a window and being able to order food on a speaker was a new experience.  The changes were overwhelming and I began to miss home more and more.  
One of my biggest challenges was having to learn to speak English.  It's hard to describe how nervous I was for my first encounter with an English speaking man.  I didn't know what to say. If he were to talk to me I thought that I probably wouldn't understand.  I thought to myself, "I would rather die than to speak English to anyone."  Happy to say, I did improve and was able to face that fear.  I turned my weakness into a strength.  I spent two years there and returned home with honor in June of 1998.
I was home for about a year when my father had me apply for a visa to go the the United States.  To my surprise, my visa was approved.  It was and still is, very difficult to be approved for a U.S. visa as an unmarried person.  In the fall of 1999, I arrived in the Honolulu, Hawaii International Airport.  Having already been to New Zealand, coming to the U.S. was not as bad as my first experience leaving Tonga.  I lived in Hawaii for a few months when my grandmother, who lived here in Utah, had me come to stay with her.
It was winter of 1999. This was my first time seeing and feeling snow.  Now, I knew what it really meant to be cold because all my life I had been in a tropical climate.  I remember feeling as if my ears would break off and my fingers felt like there were being poked by a million needles.  Despite the cold, I found love here in Utah and it changed everything.  I didn't care how cold it would get, because I had a girlfriend.  
I married my eternal companion in the Salt Lake Temple.  It was the happiest day of my life to know that I would be with someone that I would love forever.  My mom couldn't come to my wedding, but my dad was able to join us and celebrate that special occasion.  Two years later, we welcomed our first new addition to our little family. It was a baby girl.  That same year unfortunately, my father passed.  In 2003, we had our second daughter.  Our third child, a son, was born eight years ago.  
I now work for Jordan Valley Water Conservation District to provide for my family.  I love my job.  I also do landscaping on the side after work and on the weekends.  I love my little family.