Weeks 37-39 Nine months
Aloha Dear Friends and Family:
Half way mark hits tomorrow. We cannot believe h0w fast the time is flowing by. We are so enjoying our time in Hawaii serving in the mission office with great office couples and the wonderful junior missionaries. The work here continues to accelerate at a high rate. The goal for 2026 is to exceed last years numbers by 25% and so far we are meeting this goal. The first quarter ended with a record high number of baptisms, sweet new friends who feel drawn to the Savior and the restored gospel that brings peace and comfort to our spiritually starved souls. Like Peter who, in the middle of the storm, was lifted by Christ, we too find ourselves in middle of storms needing the reach of our Savior.
We love our district made up of language speakers including Tongan, Marshallese, Spanish and Pompeian. Each transfer (every six weeks) new missionaries come in and out which gives us an opportunity to meet more of the missionaries in the mission. With such a geographically unique mission, spread across six islands, it’s difficult to meet everyone. Most missions allow senior office couples to attend all the zone conferences held once a transfer, but because of the distances, we only attend our own zone conference which limits our reach. Consequently, we love up the missionaries in our area. We said good bye to a few great missionaries at our last district council, the weekly meeting where companionships share their successes and their challenges as well as teach each other. They do an amazing job of using scripture, church leader talks and Preach My Gospel (PMG) to teach each other. We look forward to these meetings each week.
Last Sunday evening we attended a BYU Men’s Chorus performance which was outstanding. Our son Parker also performed in this group back in 2006. The group has now grown to over 190 voices. A portion of the group (about 115) traveled here for a Hawaiian tour where they performed all over Oahu. We shook hands with many of them and of course, Michael met someone from his old high school, Olympus High School in Salt Lake City.
We enjoyed a fabulous hike last weekend, called the Wa’ahila Ridge Trail, a challenging hike running along one of the many ridges of the mountains on the Honolulu side. There are so many awesome outdoor things to see, and on P-days, it is not hard to find beautiful places to visit including many lovely beaches. Sunsets are beautiful and we’re blessed with multiple rainbows as well.
View from the east side of the ridge.
View from the west side of the ridge toward Honolulu
Look how much like a Pacific Northwest forest this resembles. These pine trees are called Cook Pines and, although not native, are used throughout the islands for construction and as windbreaks.
Makaha Beach Park on the upper windward side.
Looking east from our balcony. Low lying rainbow!
Sunday stroll in Ala Moana Beach Park
We love and miss you and pray God’s greatest gifts of peace and comfort be upon you and your families. Your examples of dedication to the Lord, your friendships, and your love continue to inspire us to keep serving with smiles on our faces. God is good and is always looking for ways to share His love with each one of us. May we work to be instruments in His hands as we share God’s goodness with all we meet.