Weeks 15/16
Dear friends and family–Aloha! We continue to love our mission service as we support the young missionaries in their work of love. They are diligent, faithful, resilient and have amazingly deep testimonies of our Savior Jesus Christ. We attended another fabulous zone conference last week, a combined meeting with three zones. Our Mission leaders, the Andersens, shared their love and expectations for the mission which continues to do very well. Nearly 500 beautiful souls accepted the gospel of Jesus Christ and were baptized in the mission this year which is wonderful. I was asked to do the lunch for this zone conference (80 people), so with lots of help, we created a lovely Thanksgiving feast (thanks to Costco and lots of crock pots). It was perfect and greatly appreciated.
On our P-day last week we explored the Hoʻomaluhia Botanical Gardens in Kaneohe, a beautiful 400 acre preserve with paths, lakes and campsites. It was very peaceful; a much needed break after a heavy week of missionary transfers and car challenges. Yesterday’s P-day we drove up to Laie and attended the temple. We found much peace and spiritual uplift within those walls, and of course the grounds are immaculately maintained. Then we took some time to see a pretty beach located just a few hundred yards from the temple, appropriately named Temple Beach.
We really enjoy our weekly district councils made up of four to five companionships who come together to share their successes and challenges as well as teach each other. These missionaries are so great. Michael and I are the designated role players and offer them opportunities to practice their teaching skills. We have fun with that. Each week we recite the Mission Purpose. It drives everything we do in the mission. We wanted a picture before the transfer was over so this was our attempt. Love these missionaries!
It doesn’t really feel like the holidays here with temperatures consistently in the 70’s and 80’s but Hawaiians still love and honor the holidays. On one of Michael’s recent walks he came across these home decorations–the bigger, the better. We are both singing in the dual stake Christmas concert on December 14th at the Tabernacle so we’ve been thinking a great deal about Christmas and the birth of our Savior for the past two months since we started practices. We love our Savior and continue to express our love for all He has done for us. I heard a woman in our ward say “Christ wears the scars so that we won’t have to” which fills me with so much gratitude for Him.
The holiday season is such a lovely time of year to express our gratitude, to share our love with our neighbors. We love YOU and continue to appreciate your love and support.