Thanksgiving
Aloha Everyone!
Today has been a wonderful day. After our church block, Scott and I went to the Visitor’s Center to see the decorated Christmas trees inside. It is such a beautiful display. Each stake on the Island of Oahu decorates a tree for the visitor’s center to be on display during the month of December. A few other organizations (like the PCC) are also invited to decorate a tree. I thought that the PCC tree was the most beautiful one on display (NO! I wasn’t involved in it). It had ornaments with the names of Christ on it. That was not unusual—many trees had that. It also had circular glass discs with pictures of Christ. And it was just put together so beautifully with the plumeria flower sprays and a light blue color throughout. But another favorite was a tree that represented missionary work. One woman hand painted “couples” from different countries around the world. There was mini- Books of Mormons in languages from all over the world as ornaments. Although it wasn’t the most beautiful, it had a wonderful message, and I’m sure took endless hours to put it all together. It felt like the beginning of the Christmas season today. Always a wonderful feeling.
I have become healthier and stronger as the week progressed this week. I took Monday and Tuesday and part of Wednesday off work, and I won’t lie—it was nice. It felt wonderful to not be in a rush to get anywhere or do anything. I am typically not a “napper” but I have taken and needed a nap almost every day this week. My energy is returning finally, but this round of covid really wiped me out.
We had a nice Thanksgiving dinner with all the other missionaries in our mission. Both the senior and the junior missionaries attended. We ate outside on the plaza behind the Gateway eating venue at the PCC. The space accommodated all 200 plus of us and in a separate section were Marriott Hotel guests who were invited to come and enjoy dinner. The meat (turkey and ham) was provided by a prominent family the community—the Ah You family. They have been feeding the homeless, missionaries and other needy groups of people Thanksgiving dinner for decades. One year they cooked 300 turkeys in imu pits (baking pits in the ground). They want to feed anyone who wouldn’t have a place to go for Thanksgiving. This tradition began in Samoa where this family is from. The ancestors also provided food for those who needed it. I love hearing of righteous traditions that have carried on for generations. Each tradition begins with an inspired idea that someone had the initiative and courage to carry out.
Thursday evening (after a good nap) the missionaries were invited to go to a program
done by another prominent family in the community. The name of the program was “Thanksgiving from Polynesia”. It was a tribute in song and dance to the early pioneer missionaries of the Pacific. The entertainment was fun, but the written part was very touching as we learned about missionaries in the 1850’s who went to the various Islands to preach the Gospel. I felt so honored and proud to be a member of this church and so thankful for those people who sacrificed so much to be missionaries. It was a wonderful day filled with feelings of love and thankfulness and joy. We have so many blessings. God is good.
Scott and I were invited to attend Ivan’s birthday celebration Friday evening. Ivan is a Filipino student who works at the store. We were the only “old people” invited, and we felt honored. He and I have become good friends. We had a lovely dinner of Filipino food. I loved trying all the dishes, Scott—not so much. The pork belly, which evidently takes three days to marinate was very fatty and neither of us cared much for it. We feel blessed to have these students in our lives. We learn from them and admire their good natures and hard work to achieve a goal. It was funny to hear each student as they walked up to the outdoor party comment on how cold it was that night. It was in the low 70’s but the wind was blowing, and they all had on hoodies and jackets, and they were truly cold. They don’t experience that kind of weather in the Philippines. The weather has FINALLY changed here lately, and it feels WONDERUFUL to me. It didn’t feel cold to me at the party.
One other change here in weather worth mentioning is the wind and the ocean waves. The waves at “The Point” where we live have been incredible this week. We have never seen anything like it since being here. I wish I could describe it adequately. The waves crash up against the “little Island” and the water sprays up maybe 100 feet. It is both beautiful and scary. The power of the waves is a bit frightening. “The point” has been a very popular place to come this week. Many come here and just sit for long periods of time to watch the scene.
Yesterday we attended a district activity where Sister Brown (senior missionary born and raised in Samoa) taught us how to make “fish on a pole” out of coconut tree leaves. She also does this for her assignment at the PCC. She arrives at work at 9:00 a.m. and prepares the leaves for this “craft activity” until the center opens at 12:30. She will prepare up to 1,000 a day for those guests who want to make one. I asked her if she ever got tired of doing this same thing day after day and she said “No! I never get tired of it”. Wow. She has such a good attitude. I can learn from her.
We have so much to be grateful for. We are blessed and we count each of you as some of our greatest blessings. Have a wonderful week!
Much love,
Sister Bleak, Mom, Grandma
How I have seen the hand of the Lord in my life this week:
*Emily called to see if I needed anything from Costco. I was so grateful!
*I felt love for President Eyring during the devotional as a prophet seer and revelator.
*I experienced feelings of love, joy, peace, and thankfulness for our many blessings.
*We have many dear “young people” friends. So thankful to be invited to Ivan’s birthday party.
*The thought came to me to help Sister Gonzales with putting together a packet of ukulele songs for her.
*I felt inspired during a prayer to help someone in a specific way.
Comments
Post a Comment