The Visitor's Center
HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Jennie on Sunday! (OK, OK—and to me on Friday
)
Aloha Everyone!
This quote is by a 7-year-old: “Aloha is when there is a room with a million strangers and then they say ‘Aloha!’, and then they are not strangers anymore.”
I haven’t been teaching many lessons in our store lately. The two new missionaries have taken on that roll more exclusively than I had hoped. But I had an awesome experience teaching a lesson on Tuesday. That was the first lesson I had taught in 2 ½ weeks. It was for a couple from Maine. They didn’t have prior ukulele experience, but they were musical, and both knew a little about the guitar. They caught on quickly. At the end, we three sang the song together and then he wanted to video her, so it was just the two of us singing. I decided to take a chance and sing harmony on the song. We sounded good together and she was almost teary eyed at the end of the song. She kept saying that that was such an incredible experience. She said— “I just feel so happy! I’m not sure why, but I just feel happy.” She thanked me over and over for the experience. I really felt like the spirit was there in our little corner of the room, but I couldn’t mention it to her. She told me that I had a really kind heart and that she felt something. Our store was their first stop at the PCC and already they were loving the experience. I hope they can someday tie what they were feeling to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It reminded me of a talk I heard towards the beginning of our mission that the PCC is a soft introduction to the Gospel.
Wednesday was my last day working at the warehouse on Wednesday for nine weeks. The PCC will now be open on Wednesdays through most of August and so I will working be at our store five days a week. I am rather sad. I loved having a break in the middle of the week to do something different and to be able to sit down for part of the time. Hopefully that will resume in nine weeks. But since the students will have nine weeks without school, I plan to take some of I-works students on some excursions. They don’t have cars, so they never get to see anything on the island. A few days ago, I asked Pau and Micah (both from the Philippines) separately if they would be interested in going to Waimea Falls sometime in the next few weeks. Pau’s expression was priceless. You would have thought that I was giving her a new car. I have never seen someone’s face light up that much for something so small. The timing will be tricky with everyone’s various schedules, but somehow, I will make it work. I want these students to be able to experience some fun things while they are here.
Scott’s brother Steve has mentioned a few times to us that he has felt so badly for us that we haven’t been able to work with the full-time missionaries and (unsaid)-- have not had the kind of missionary experience they had on their two missions (inferring that our mission didn’t measure up). He mentioned that same thing again in a conversation last Sunday evening and I realized that he really has no clue what we are involved in on our mission (no one in Scott’s family gets the weekly email). Thus—I sent an email to him to explain what our mission is really like. What came out of the writing of that email was a deep sense (finally) that we really are making a difference here. Writing that email was more for me than it was for him, though at the time, I didn’t realize it. Putting it down on “paper” had a huge impact on me—one I can’t really explain. The words just flowed out of my mind and heart that night, and I felt such great love for the opportunity to serve here. I now realize that my job or assignment is in retail—the ukulele store. But that is not our “true work”. Our work is to help build testimonies in the Savior for all the students (and adults) we work with and meet. Hopefully they can feel God’s love through us. We are here to serve and help in whatever way we can. Our job was assigned. Our true work is voluntary—things we are doing on our own. I will include a copy of that email to Steve for those of you who want to read it.
We went to get dinner at the food trucks with another couple Saturday evening. When we got there, I realized that my wallet was not in my purse. We looked in the car, but it wasn’t there either. I knew that I had used it at Foodland that morning, so I assumed I had put it down to pay for the groceries and left it on the counter. I called them and totally expected to hear them say, “Yes, we have it right here. Come and get it.” But they didn’t have it. No one had turned it in to the lost and found. Now I had a knot in the pit of my stomach. I was so concerned about it, that I couldn’t enjoy the company or food. We went to Foodland again after dropping the Bartons off at their home. No sign of it. I dreaded needing to go home to call all of our credit card companies to put a hold on our cards etc. I kept praying that it would turn up somehow. I had been praying constantly since not finding it in my purse. Scott rounded the corner to pull into our parking spot and stopped the car. He told me to get out. I did and looked over and there it was on the concrete. I was SO relieved. I think it fell out of my purse when I went out to open the trunk of the car (I needed my purse for the car key inside). It was sitting in plain site on the driveway the whole time we were at dinner. Many cars pull into our driveway each evening to turn around. It is a small miracle that it was protected, and I am so very thankful!
How I have seen the hand of the Lord in my life this week:
*I witnessed the Spirit touch a woman while teaching a ukulele lesson.
*I was able to get a ride home from a late meeting when Scott had the car. I didn’t have to walk home after a long day.
*I was available to talk with a new employee that I had mentored at the Gateway buffet’. She will be coming to work at our store next week. I put her mind at ease with some things she was worried about.
*I felt inspired to write an email to Steve, but the writing did much more for me.
*I was able to find my wallet that had fallen out of my purse, and it was protected until we got home to retrieve it.
From Scott:
Today, Gayle and I had an assignment at the temple visitors center from 12:00 to 2:00. One young man came in and was interested in seeing things at the center. A friend of his told him he should come here. I introduced him to the sister missionaries who took him to see a film. When he was done, he didn’t want to leave yet. The sister missionaries came up to me and asked if I would take him through the “God’s Plan” presentation. (They are not permitted to go into a closed room with someone of the opposite sex.) I said, “Sure, I’ll be glad to take you through.” His name is Thomas Oakheart from Kansas City, Missouri. I began the video that moves from one vignette to another and another. One of them showed a father playing ball with his children. I asked him if he could remember that last time he played ball with his parents. He said he didn’t have any parents. We got through each of the vignettes and sat down in the last space that had a larger TV and comfortable benches. He said, “That was a tear-jerker.” From his earlier comment about no parents, I understood a bit about his comment – inferring, I don’t have a family. I learned he had a girlfriend, but she didn’t want to get serious with someone who was not a member of the Church. He said he didn’t want to get baptized for her but needed to consider it for himself. He was with parents until he was thirteen and left to be on his own. I’m supposing he might have been a foster child, but I didn’t get a clear answer on that topic. He roamed around for the next number of years on his own. He said he had been taught by the missionaries several times but never made the commitment to be baptized. I mentioned if he wanted answers about our church, he should really read the Book of Mormon this time that he had a copy in his hand from the sisters. I invited him to really read and pray about the truth of the things taught by the church that he had already been taught. God would answer him. I asked if I could offer a prayer with him right then and there. So I did. He seemed to have felt the spirit. I told him about my family and the great blessing they are in my life and that he could still have a family like mine and be sealed with them in the temple. But it takes covenants. I mentioned to him about the temple covenants we can make in the temple. He was very moved by the words we talked about. He said he’d traveled to many places around the world. Particularly to the Philippines. He met his girlfriend I think there. He showed me a picture of her as we were leaving the theater. After he left the visitors center, he continued walking up around the temple where he wanted to read some in the Book of Mormon at a place where he and his girlfriend had sat before and read. He seemed to be very fine young man who had just moved to Oahu in January since he was hired by a railroad company here. That’s what he did on the mainland. He named a number of positions he had experience in and landed the job here. We have invited him to come over for dinner this week, since he has no family or place to call home. We will certainly be praying for him to find his way to find the truth to find our Savior. I’ll keep this updated as things happen either way.
Dear Steve,
After hanging up the phone yesterday from your call to us, I realized that you really don’t know what I am doing on our mission. No one in the family really knows. Actually—no one has ever asked. Your comment about feeling bad that we don’t get to work with the young people made me think that I should explain to you more of what I/we really do.
My assignment is to work at the Ukulele Experience. It is a retail store that sells ukuleles inside the PCC—I’m pretty sure that you have been inside now I think about it. You came with Connie one time. Within that store, I teach 10–15-minute lessons on the ukulele. I probably average maybe only 2-3 a day. So that is NOT the focus of my work. The bigger picture is that I work with “I-work” students. This is a program that helps students get an education who otherwise would never be able to afford school. They come from all over the world, but mostly the Pacific Islands. They leave home and have to get used to a new culture, new language, new roommates, new education, new rules, new food, etc. To be able to come on this “scholarship” program, they have to commit to staying here for four years and not go home during that time. This is a huge commitment. Many have previously been on missions but most often, they served in their own country, so they are still getting used to things here. Right now, we have five of those students in our store plus one from the mainland. I get close to them and learn about them and try to help them with whatever they need. I treat them as a “grandparent” would and become their friend. They all call the seniors here “Auntie” and “Uncle”. One of the students invited Scott and I to her wedding next Tuesday because her parents can’t be there, and we are like her “family”. I am also involved with a program called “genuine gold” which is a mentoring program for I-work students who work at the Gateway buffet, because Gateway buffet’ doesn’t have any senior
missionaries there. I attend their prayer meetings and talk with them and get to know them, so they have someone to call if they need help. Scott and I helped with “new student orientation”. I think students from about 24 countries came that day. All these assignments are voluntary and above and beyond our normal “jobs”.
Scott and I have been assigned to a married student ward. It is made up of I-work students and
mainlanders. We have become close to several of these couples. We love the students in this ward. We also work at the visitor’s center on Sundays where we get to be with and work with the young sister missionaries. I have also been asked to work with some students one-on-one during July and August to help them with speaking English better. I have not committed to this yet. I need more details before I say yes. I believe when we go home and look back on our mission—this is what will be most important to us—having worked with these students. It will not be selling ukuleles or teaching lessons. Scott is not as involved in this as I am, but he still helps with it as well. This is a text I received from a student last Friday after giving him a “goodbye card” because he found a different job and won’t be working with me anymore: “Thank you so much for the beautiful card! It seriously means so much to me! You really have been a
mom away from home, it means a lot to me to have some to talk to, laugh with and to enjoy the
moments there at the Center! I’m thankful for you and your husband! You two are amazing and will always have a special place in my heart forever! We will definitely come see you all in Utah! We will have to plan something great! You both are amazing missionaries and really have taught me what it means to be a disciple of Christ.”
I only share that with you because I want you to know that we ARE working with the young people and I believe making a difference in their lives. There are things that have been hard here--like there are with every mission. But also, very rewarding things as well. We are thankful for all of the experiences we are having.
I hope this helps you understand what our missions really is. I am tired of people thinking that we aren’t serving a “real mission”. I stand for six hours a day in a very hot, humid store and it is physically demanding. On Wednesdays, I work at the receiving warehouse to check in product and count items. There is no AC in that building. I feel like I work as hard or harder than other missionaries serving other types of missions. But it is ALL service, which is what missions are about.
I love you dearly Steve. Thanks for always being interested in us and staying in touch. You are so good at that.
Much love,
Gayle
P.S. I also teach a ukulele class for the senior missionaries each Monday night. And we serve on an activities committee to plan activities for the senior missionaries. We are busy!
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