PRESS RELEASE:
On August 2 - August 16, 2009 a group of 9 individuals (mostly from Kingman, AZ) have been offered the chance to go to the Kingdom of Tonga for a mission trip.
"This will hopefully be a life changing experience for the people we come in contact with, as well as ourselves," said Dianne Ronnow, the group leader.
On this 14-day missions trip the group will be ministering to the people of Tonga through drama, music, street witnessing, school and home visits and basic medical supplies for handicapped people, as well as some needed construction work. The group will be working with the Pacific Partners Christian radio station and local Christian ministries in their efforts to reach out and spread the gospel to the Tongan people.
They are going in association with Calvary Chapel of Kingman, Arizona. Calvary Chape
l of Kingman has a long history and connection to Tonga. In 1991 Calvary Chapel of Kingman Arizona teamed with UCB Pacific Partners to start the first radio station in the Kingdom of Tonga, and Letio Faka-Kalisitiane 93FM came on air - the first local Christian station anywhere in the South Pacific Islands.
The first mission trip to go to Tonga from Kingman was in 1999, when they sent a team to build a new building for the radio station. Calvary Chapel has continued to send mission teams to help Pacific Partners and to keep ties with their Tongan brothers and sisters over the years.
Tonga has a population of less than 200,000 people spread over 163 islands. Tonga is the only surviving monarchy in the South Pacific and the only country in the region that was not colonized in the 1800's. Like all Pacific Islands, there was no written language before the first missionaries arrived (mid 1800's) yet Tongan people can trace their history back over 1000 years.
In Tonga, hardship and poverty are becoming daily concerns for many due to increasing needs for cash, emigration from the outer islands to urban areas and overseas, and crowded conditions in some urban areas. Based on an analysis of the 2001 Household Income and Expenditure Survey, about 23% of households were estimated to be living below the basic needs poverty line of $13 (US) per person per week.
The mission team will be assisting the radio station in all their efforts to help the Tongan people. They also plan on making new connections with the people in Tonga and learning more about their culture.
You can learn more about the Tonga mission trip, and even follow the group's progress on their website at
http://TongaMission.com.
For more information on Pacific Partners and the radio ministry in the South Pacific go to
http://www.pacificpartners.org
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