Living at the Point

Sunday July 10, 2022.   

Email #40. 

Aloha Everyone!  

 

Monday, we celebrated the 4^th of July in the evening by having dinner with some other senior missionary couples.  The PCC had a big celebration with booths and games and food areas set up on the parking lot of the marketplace.  We didn’t attend however because I had to work.   Most senior missionaries had that day off.  At night, we watched the fireworks from the PCC on “the point” –just across the street. We had a great view, but they were far away. The fireworks only lasted 12 minutes but it was a nice show.  It was especially nice being able to watch them with the view of the ocean down below.   And—only taking 60 seconds to walk to our front door when the show was finished. 

 

We attended our monthly devotional on Tuesday evening.  Senior missionaries shared tender mercies that they have experienced here on their mission.  It was a great evening, and I could feel the spirit. One example of the type of thing that was shared:  Sister Crippin shared how she walked past a married student apartment and saw a young mother inside—the door was open.  She then went back and offered her van to the mother because they were moving to a different apartment.  The young mother had just had the thought a minute before that she wish she had a van to move all her stuff to the new place because she didn’t know how she would carry all the boxes and her baby.  The resounding message of the night-- God is in the details of our lives!

 

On Wednesday, a senior missionary was in our store and was playing a $2,000.00 ukulele from our “dream wall” and while putting it back on the hook (way up high—the area we would normally use a ladder), he missed the hook and it fell to the floor—breaking a brace inside and putting a gouge and scratches on the bottom of it.  The assistant manager didn’t know what to do or how to act but what she didn’t expect was there was no remorse from the missionary.  No apology or asking how he could make it right. I have been thinking about this experience a lot this week.  When we do something “wrong”, how do we react?  How do we feel?  Do we immediately want to make it right with God and have a repentant heart?  Or do we take no responsibility and pass blame to someone or something else?  This missionary may not have known the value of the ukulele.  But to me—that makes no difference.  You try to make things right regardless.  Four other ukuleles fell to the floor that same day.  None of those were expensive.  None of those broke but all the employees had the same reaction—we immediately looked at each other with wide eyes and a little on edge. 

 

I have decided to be involved with a program of helping students improve their English language skills.  This will just be for the next eight weeks, and I will meet with my student twice a week.  The main purpose of this program is to give the student someone to talk to, to practice speaking English.  I met with Ebby for the first time on Thursday.  She is from Indonesia and she and her husband mostly speak their native language at home, so she wants this opportunity to improve her English.  We had a nice conversation, and she does pretty well. The plan is that we will meet on Sundays after our church (Scott and her husband will also come) and Thursday mornings. However, she cancelled this morning so we will see what happens. 

 

We had the best Mangos of our lives this week!  Maybe the best fruit ever.  It was sooo good. Our landlords have a family farm where they have about 60 mango trees.  We were the beneficiaries this week.  They were fresh and juicy and wonderful.  We were taught how to cut a mango and it has made a huge difference in being able to get almost all the fruit off the pit. I can’t wait to show you all someday.   

 

 

Saturday

We went with four other missionary couples on a tour to the “Hawaiian plantation and villages.” It was a tour about a historic sugar plantation and how different cultures came to this location in Hawaii to raise and harvest sugar cane. The tour was supposed to last an hour and a half and ended up being three hours long.  Our tour guide was very knowledgeable but gave way, way, way, WAY too much detail and I thought it was rather boring at times.  Generally speaking—the men loved the tour and the women wanted to leave about halfway through.  

 

Here is Scott’s version of the tour:

 

The plantation is a representation of what life on one of the sugar cane plantations was like. Our guide was an incredible historian. Of course, he has been doing this for a long time, but he told us about the specific people, the dates and the politics of the times. He said he particularly enjoys giving his presentation to “Mormon” missionaries because they show a lot of interest. So, he must have liked us since his presentation took three hours instead of his normal 90 minutes. Fortunately, it wasn’t a problem for anyone. Hawaii was discovered by Captain James Cook in 1778 landing on Kauai, (first exposure to Europe). The sugar cane industry began as early as 1835 on Kauai and grew to include all the islands. It changed Hawaii from an isolated island nation in the middle of the Pacific to an international hub of hundreds of cultures and languages. There were eight major cultures and several minor cultural groups besides the local Hawaiians, who were hired to come to Hawaii and work in the cane fields. Thousands of workers from China, Japan, Okinawa, (a separate people at the time), Korea, Philippines, Puerto Rico, Portugal, etc. It developed in a big way in the mid 1850’s and went through the 1930’s. The biggest boom began in the early 1900’s. Plantation living was very difficult during the early years and became easier as they figured out how to live together as multi-cultures, different languages, foods, dress, gatherings, etc. Then Hawaii changed again due to WW II, then again due to more bases being built by the U.S. military, and then the advent of commercial air travel that brought tourism which has taken over the economy of Hawaii for the foreseeable future.

 

It's amazing to me that “the point” where we live can be such a serene, beautiful place, but at times-- a place of loud, noisy, obnoxious parties.  It is frustrating when people are partying there until the wee hours of the morning.  Scott and I got very little sleep a few nights ago when the partying went on and on and woke us up all night long.  But hardly anyone was there last night, and possibly my favorite experience of the whole week was when Scott and I went out there with camping chairs just as the sun was setting.  I took my Native American flute and ukulele.  We watched the waves come in and crash against the rocks. I played music and felt great love from my Heavenly Father.  Scott was right by my side reading and listening as I played and sang a little. (I wanted to also play the Native American Flute but because of the wind, it wouldn’t work).  I just LOVED that whole experience. I felt peaceful and happy and know that I will miss this place immensely when it’s time to come home. I’m so thankful to be here.  Thanks for your love and support!

 

Much love,

Sister Bleak, Mom, Grandma

 

How I have seen the hand of the Lord in my life this week:

*I got relieved of a burden that I wasn’t sure how to get out of.

*I felt the spirit during our devotional Tuesday night.

*We got to have S.W.  over for dinner and hear about the many miracles they have seen in their life lately.

*Scott was able to get his medical papers signed to continue to have a driver’s license. 

*I felt great love as I watched the waves of the ocean and played my ukulele.