Week 7/8 The Flow of the Mission

Aloha Family and Friends:

First of all, like many of you we are saddened by the passing of our dear prophet, President Russell M. Nelson, who passed away on Saturday at the age of 101.  He was a forward thinking leader whose work was to prepare our hearts and minds for the second coming of our Savior Jesus Christ through making peace, seeking miracles, receiving personal revelation and thinking celestial thoughts.  We all feel this terrible loss but feel so blessed by the life and legacy of President Nelson.

It’s been a great couple of weeks in Honolulu.  The weather is absolutely gorgeous, everyday–highs in the mid 80s and lows in the mid 70s. It doesn’t vary much from day to day although we’re told that rainy season is coming.  We experienced some light rain showers this week while on a walk to the beach (about 2 miles) and were blessed with a beautiful rainbow.

A highlight was attending the Laie temple with our zone.  It’s such a lovely temple that features the beauties of the Hawaiian islands.  It was a privilege to attend.  We took the long way home and traveled around the north shore near the famous surf beaches and waterfalls like Banzai Pipeline (Ehukai Beach), Sunset Beach, and Waimea Bay.  We’ll be back to explore more of the beauty there.

Transfers (moving missionaries from one area to another; happens every six weeks) is coming this next week.  Our mission will gain 18 new missionaries net (22 arriving, 4 leaving).  As vehicle coordinators we’re scrambling to locate all the available cars on all the islands.  Cars in body shops, cars not being used, even the mission president’s wife’s car which she doesn’t use that often will now be added to our fleet of over 90 cars for our missionaries.  All to move the work along.  Baptisms are up, media referrals are increasing and the morale of the mission is very high.  The expectations are high and we’ve been impressed with the level of commitment on the part of these missionaries.  They are working hard and are very focused.  It doesn’t mean we don’t have fun.  The social media leaders in the mission created a fun campaign this past transfer called AlohaLympics with a sports theme to encourage increased effort.

Michael and I drove the short distance to Punchbowl National Cemetery which is the resting place for those who perished in the Pacific battles including WWII, Korean and Vietnam wars.  It’s a magnificent setting and memorial to those who gave so much to protect our freedoms.  The views of the city are stunning.

We attended a fun downtown Honolulu Floral Parade which highlighted the culture and Aloha spirit complete with bands, horses, beautiful floral floats, princesses and of course, the mayor.

The beaches continue to draw us in most weekends when we have time to visit.  We love swimming in the ocean; it’s very therapeutic and relaxing.  We’ll head to the North Shore for bigger waves along with hikes to waterfalls in the coming weeks.

Much to my surprise, my first cousin David Jones and his wife, Kim, came to our Auwaiolimu ward to visit.  David and Kim live in the Thousand Oaks area in Southern California and I hadn’t seen him in a couple of years.  How fun!

  Until next time, we love you and are so grateful for this marvelous experience to be in this beautiful place hopefully helping to move the missionary work along.  We know it is God’s work, to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ to those who are seeking for a better life of connection and love.