Weeks 27-31

Aloha Friends:

It’s been five weeks since we’ve posted; shame on us.  We’ve been super busy in the mission office preparing for arriving missionaries (Feb 3rd), transfers (Feb 4^th) and departing missionaries (Feb 5^th).  We feed them and hear about what motivated them to serve for the arriving missionaries and miracle moments of growth for the departing missionaries.  This is a pic of five of the seven departing sisters who we treated to Panda the day before they left (adorable–each one).

We make sure there are vehicles for each area as the areas might change from transfer to transfer.  We shipped a car over to the Big Island for a new senior couple to use.  The commerce that goes between the islands is extensive.  And getting things here from the mainland is impressive.  We can order on Amazon and receive deliveries two to three days later.  On the other hand, there are some supply chain problems with car parts so unfortunately we’re waiting weeks for them to arrive.

We love participating in our zone conferences (there are usually about 5 other zone conferences which take place all around the islands which we don’t attend).  We usually help with the food as well as help with role playing in zone training.  At our last zone conference the Assistants to the President (APs, junior missionaries who are the top leaders in the mission) offered a wonderful training.  They asked us to imagine that Jesus Christ was standing with us in our teaching.  How would we react?  Would it change anything for us?  Missionaries replied that they would feel more confidence and would preach with more love and care like Jesus exemplified.  They challenged each companionship to be more proactive in asking their friends to be baptized, either with a specific date or conditionally—sometime in the future as their testimonies grow.  The response to this challenge has been remarkable.  The number of friends who have committed to be baptized jumped dramatically in the past two weeks.  The gospel of Jesus Christ is so beautiful and brings us so much peace and hope for our future.

For Christmas our children gifted us a fun Hawaiian Cooking Class.  We attended with 8 other individuals at Linda’s home located near Diamond Head overlooking the ocean.  Linda is an adventurous entrepreneur who has been involved with catering, owning and operating food establishments for the last 40 years.  She was so much fun and shared her extensive knowledge of the history of Hawaiian food.  We made Coconut Kahuku Shrimp, three types of poke, Masubi and Mochi rice cakes–all very traditional Hawaiian fare.  We loved it and may go back for another class.

Our good friends from Eagle, the Heinlens, celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary on Oahu at the Marriott Resort in Ko’olina a couple of weeks ago and invited us to join them for dinner.  We felt honored to spend time with these cute friends.  Happy Anniversary Pat and Jerry!  And we went to lunch with a new missionary couple, the Snyders, who are serving the Spanish population on Maui.  They are amazing missionaries and we enjoyed getting to know them better.

We loved spending time with my brother Chris and his wife Mary.  They came to Honolulu (from Holladay UT) last weekend for a few days before flying to Maui where Mary’s family has a home in Hana.  They have been visiting Hawaii for the past 35 years on a regular basis and know so much about Hawaiian culture.  Mary’s mother grew up on Oahu so Mary is kind of part Hawaiian.  We’ll take a quick trip to see them in Hana next weekend.

The weather has been very cool, stormy and rainy for the past three weeks.  We had a power outage right before our church meeting was to start so we said prayers, sang a hymn, partook of the sacrament. closed the meeting and went home.  Winds were up to 35 mph and flash flooding was common around all the islands.  Our missionaries stayed safe and cars were unscathed.  We’re so grateful that in our six months here that no missionary has been hurt in a vehicle accident.  We know the Lord is looking out for them.  We may have turned a corner with more seasonably warm temperatures these past few days.

For fun our district got together to play some tennis.  A few of the missionaries had played in high school so were quite skilled players while others were just learning so it was a fun morning activity along with a beautiful sunrise.  I continue to play a couple times a week with some sweet friends I’ve met and Michael works out at the Planet Fitness nearby so we’re staying fit and strong!!

The office staff get together on occasions for holidays, dinners and events.  Last Friday we all attended the Univ of Hawaii vs BYU volleyball game.  UH is ranked #3 and BYU is ranked #6.  It was super exciting even though the Cougars didn’t win.  Oahu loves their volleyball–no wonder UH claims the highest attendance in the NCAA.

We love you all and continue to give thanks for our friendships and loving relationships back home.  Thus far, our mission has been very rewarding, has strengthened our testimonies of our Savior Jesus Christ and his true and living gospel on this earth.  We are grateful to play a small role in helping our junior missionaries share the gospel by supporting and encouraging their efforts.  If you’re ever on the island please reach out and we’ll grab a bite to eat!