Week 11/12

Missionary life in Honolulu continues to roll along………literally.  Vehicle coordinating is fun, and hard to predict.  It is not uncommon to walk into the mission office in the morning thinking that the day will be a light one and then the day erupts — a flat tire here, a dead battery there, a car fender scraped on a concrete pillar, a fuel credit card that stops working, an insurance adjustor with additional questions, or a body shop that needs an extension on a repair.  This all keeps us hopping, and what makes this all satisfyingly enjoyable is that we are always working with the young missionaries who are always very appreciative of our help and support.

Because we are working out of the mission office in downtown Honolulu we only work in person with the many missionaries who are located on the island of Oahu.  But we have a lot of phone contact with the missionaries on the other islands, and over time, as many of them will eventually get a transfer to an Oahu address, we will get to know them better as well.  We finally got a picture with Sister Atalya Taylor from Eagle who is serving nearby and sent it to her family.  She is loving her mission and is making a difference.

Part of what keeps us more in tune with the actual missionary work is that we are assigned to be a part of a missionary zone and district.  That means that we attend a zone conference and a weekly district council meeting and participate in discussions about the various friends whom the young missionaries are teaching.  Plus there is an emphasis on training so we get to act as “friends” as the missionaries role play how to teach a particular idea or principle.  Occasionally to keep the missionaries on their toes we will throw them a curve ball or just become a bit stubborn.  All in good fun and practice.  We are very impressed with their gospel knowledge and scripture awareness.

As our photos attest, we do make an effort to get out on our once-a-week preparation day and take in the Oahu sites.  This past week we hiked to a secluded lighthouse that has been in operation for well over a hundred years.  We also try to do a quick sample of the many beaches, many of which are state parks.

This Sunday we were the speakers at the Sacrament meeting of our local Auwaiolimu Ward, and I (Michael) have been called to be the Elders Quorum Instructor.   Between the Sacrament meeting talk and the Elders Quorum lesson they got a little too much Elder Mangum for the day.

And last but not least, this past week was Karen’s birthday.  The office staff ordered in a special lunch from The Cheesecake Factory, she took phone calls from all our kids/grandkids/friends and that evening I took Karen shopping at the local mall.  Better said, she went shopping and I occasionally nodded or shook my head if I liked or did not like a particular article of clothing or jewelry.  It was a nice break from that day’s hectic workload.

We love the work and enjoy serving as missionaries called to represent Jesus Christ and His Gospel.  Aloha to all.