Weeks 45-48

Aloha Friends and Family:

Greetings from Honolulu where summer has arrived.  The temperatures are now in the mid-80’s and humidity in the 70% range.  We experience occasional rain which creates magnificent and frequent rainbows.  The weather is wonderful and we’re not taking any day for granted.

We continue to serve in our role as vehicle coordinators and support our young missionaries.   The mission split took place three weeks ago .  We lost 19 vehicles to the Laie mission as they added two large zones from our mission to theirs.  You’d think this would mean fewer accidents and car needs but it still feels like we’re putting out fires each day like shipping a car from Maui to Oahu because they had an extra one there with the departure of two senior couples who are not being replaced, or discovering that one of our cars has the wrong VIN number on the registration and the title (a mistake likely made at the dealer when it was originally registered)–so fixing this involves a bunch of red tape and hoops to jump through. We’re still waiting on the Kia dealers to deliver our brand new Sportages to replace 66 of our vehicles which will be wonderful but a logistical challenge for us as we’re not there to receive them on the other islands.  The senior couples who serve there will be our best allies.  Hopefully by our next post we expect to have at least a few of them in place.

Zone conferences, district councils and temple trips with the young missionaries are highlights for us.   Each six weeks brings new missionaries to our zone and district.  We love getting to know these great young people who choose to serve often against difficult odds, either their families are not supportive and they are paying for their entire mission on their own or they’ve turned their lives to Christ after years living contrary to the church’s teachings.  We admire their decision to serve and see the magnificent way God works in their lives.  They speak and act in His name, sharing this beautiful message of hope and love to the good people here in Hawaii, while strengthening them spiritually, emotionally, socially and physically.

Michael’s sweet mother turned 95 and to surprise her for her birthday, we flew to Salt Lake City for a few days to participate in a family celebration as well as to visit with Michael’s 103 year old step-father who is living in an assisted living facility.  It was a wonderful weekend spent celebrating (and hiking) with family in Utah as well as with a young missionary from the Holladay UT area who just returned home from the Hawaii Honolulu mission and spoke in his church meeting.  We also met up with one of our senior couples, the Lelegrens, who were also able to attend.  A fun reunion.

We love and miss each of you and pray that you’ll be blessed with God’s peace, comfort and love.  He loves and nourishes each of us every day and if we’re looking for it, we can see how He shares this love with us in our daily lives.  We pinch ourselves often as we serve here in paradise.  It’s our privilege and honor to help this mission continue to thrive in the way it is doing.  Our leaders, the Andersens, are amazing people with great vision and stamina.  Please pray for them that they can complete their final year with the Lord’s power and direction.