A Bleak Hawaii Mission

Sunday June 26, 2022.    Email #38.   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.”   It has been a good Sunday.  Just last night I was telling some missionary friends that our weekly service at the visitor’s center is very nice, but functional.  We mostly talk with members of the church, start the movies for the guests and use the “clicker” to keep track of how many guests walk through the doors. The spirit there is wonderful, and we are happy to serve there each Sunday.  However, we have never had a “missionary experience” as we were hoping to.  But today, Scott had an experience that makes all our time there worth it.  His story is at the end of this email.    I haven’t been teaching many lessons in our store l...

Sunday June 19, 2022    Email #38      HAPPY FATHER’S DAY!   Aloha Everyone!   Today I am grateful for covid.  I can’t believe I am saying that!  But without covid and the technology that came because of it, we would never have been able to attend Bryan and Jennie’s ward remotely to see Bryan sustained as bishop of their ward.  My heart hurt with not being able to be there in person.  But what a tremendous blessing now days to have another option. We loved listening to Bryan and Jennie bear their testimony.  We are also thankful that in Scott’s absence, Nathan was there to ordain him to the office of High Priest.  Both blessings—Nathan’s and the stake president’s were beautiful blessings.  We are thankful for all of you children for striving to live your lives in accordance with the Gospel.  We love you so much!   We missed our ward meeting today—Bryan’s meeting was the same time, so we attend...

Sunday June 12, 2022    Email #37 —HAPPY BIRTHDAY HENRY!  (Sorry that it’s a few days late!)   Aloha Everyone!   Tomorrow is “hump day”.  We have served half of our time here.  In some ways it has gone very fast and in other ways—it seems like we have been here a long time. Everyone says that the second half flies by.  We will see.  We continue to say goodbye to many single sisters as well as couples.  Each time, it is hard.  I look at all the new couples arriving and wonder how many we will be able to get to know and love.  Three new missionaries were assigned to our store and began their work on Monday.  It was a huge adjustment for me, and harder than I anticipated.  Partly because I was pretty much the one training them and I didn’t expect that.  I was trying to teach while opening up at the same time, and it took a lot more time.  Plus—one personality in the group was challenging for me in the begi...

Sunday June 5, 2022    Email #36   Aloha Everyone,   We were blessed to spend more time with Nathan and Stephanie and family this week.  They spent Monday at the PCC and we joined them in the evening after work and at the night show.  We got to spend Wednesday with them in Honolulu area visiting Pearl harbor and also the weekend in Ko’Olina at the Disney resort. I struggle to know how much to say about “vacationing” while on our mission because I don’t want you to get the impression that we play all the time here—we actually work really hard.  However—this week was especially fun spending time with them, and it truly felt like a vacation for a few days.  I won’t lie--It was great to have AC, a garbage disposal, a dishwasher and comfortable beds for three nights. But the best part was being with family and spending time together talking, laughing, playing games, eating, snorkeling, swimming, sharing spiritual experiences, talking about the Gos...

Sunday May 29, 2022    Email #35   Aloha Everyone,   The big news of the week and that we get to enjoy family again!  Nathan and Steph and family arrived Friday night.  We have had such a great time together so far and will continue to enjoy another week with them.  It has been especially special to have grandchildren visit this time—a first since we have been here.  They have all grown up in the past eight months especially William who is now almost as tall as Scott.  We spent some time at the visitor’s center today and during the vignette showing of “God’s Plan”, I became very emotional and felt the spirit so strongly.  I am so grateful for God’s plan and that we can be together as a family after this life.  We love each of you so much and can’t think of anyone we would rather be with. God’s plan of Happiness is a perfect plan and I’m thankful for it.     There is not a lot to say about work this week.  Th...

Sunday May 22, 2022    Email #34   Aloha Everyone!   Work was much better this week with getting the registers up and running.  The extra step I was taught to do by the other store manager last week really helped a lot and saved me tons of time this week.  I’m so grateful to have received that extra help.     Once a month we have a group senior missionary FHE.  This past Monday, it was a musical evening with a few performances and people talking about their favorite hymns and then we all sang that hymn together.  I had previously been asked to accompany to hymns.  I had fun playing but missed being able to sing with everyone.  It was a special evening and at times it sounded so great in the room—like we had angels with us.  My favorite part was when Elder Redder talked about the hymn “Praise to the Man” and what that hymn means to him.  We then sang it, and everyone stood up to honor Joseph Smith. It was an ...