In Call It Courage, we can see what Mafatu comes to think of all the tasks that he did on Hikueru on page 56.  That is the second page of Chapter 4.  The answer is that Mafatu comes to be grateful for the fact that he had to do all those tasks.

Mafatu reflects on those tasks and thinks about how much he hated to do them.  He hated to make adzes and other things like nets, knives, and fishhooks.  But now that it is clear that his life depends upon his ability to make those things, he is very glad that he knows how to do it.  He thinks that all the time that he spent doing those things “were to stand him now in good stead.”  He goes on to think that “now he was grateful for the skill which was his.”

From these quotes, we can see that  Mafatu used to hate having to perform those tasks but has come to realize that it was a good thing that he did them.