Christmas...and More!

I didn't get around to making a post last week.  We were extremely busy at the temple this week and then Christmas came and went so here it is Sunday night again.
This is the first Christmas that I have REALLY been away from home and my family--ever!  After Larry and I got married we started sharing Christmas with our families doing an every other year thing if necessary.  Even then we would be able to be in Utah-or Nevada by the day after Christmas or the few days before Christmas.  This year was very different.  I was able to FaceTime with my family while they were all together for our traditional Christmas Breakfast so that was good.  At various times during the day I was able to talk with families individually.  Larry was able to talk to all of his kids that day also.
For dinner we kind of invited ourselves to Keith's house (his is bigger than our tiny apartment) for dinner and also invited the Fry's.  Larry prepared prime rib and I made a home made apple pie.  Debbie made funeral potatoes and the Fry's brought salad. We really enjoyed the meal and then played Tenzi afterwards.  We came home and watched a movie.  I didn't have as hard of a time as I thought I might being away from family.

This morning I thought about what I would post in my blog tonight and really had no idea other than report of Christmas but I need to talk about the busyness of the temple this week.  We were open Tuesday and Wednesday and were inundated with people either being married or sealed after having been married.  I love when the temple is so busy with living ordinances because we get to help quite a bit.  The temple was also busy because the temple will be closed for three weeks.  After being closed on Thursday and Friday, the temple was open again on Saturday and just like the other two days this week, we were very busy.  All sessions on Saturday were full which is really a great thing to see.  Now we have a break for three weeks.

Tonight we were invited to Keith's house for dinner since they had invited the sister missionaries to dinner.  What a choice experience that was.  Sister Latu and Sister Kurusawa are their names.  Sister Latu is from Salt Lake and Sister Kurusawa is from Japan.  We asked them a little about themselves and this is Sister Kurusawa's story.  She is 28 years old (looks like she is 19).  She was working in Japan and just felt she needed to do more with her life.  She moved to California and then to Utah (Provo), went to school to learn English and work.  She was called on her mission from there.  She hasn't seen her family for 4 years.  At one point when Larry was speaking to her in Japanese she shed a few tears.  We asked her if she was ok and she said she just got thinking that if it hadn't been for missionaries in Japan, she wouldn't be here on this mission.  She wouldn't have the gospel in her life and she is so thankful for it.  What a  special spirit she brought to this dinner.  I felt a little bad for her in that her English isn't really good yet (she has only been on her mission 3 months) so some of the conversation and jokes she didn't really understand.  We tried to help her understand as we went along.  Sister Latu is going to be leaving for home in January so it was fun to talk to her too.  We already knew her because she lived across from us a few months ago.

As we sat at the table with these sweet sisters, my thoughts went to my daughter, Michelle, who was far from home for a year and a half while serving our Heavenly Father.  What a sacrifice it is for these young people and what a strong testimony they have.  My prayer for them is that they always remember the feelings they have while serving and let the Holy Ghost continue to guide their lives when they return to life outside of the mission.  Our advice to them tonight was to attend the temple regularly and remember the covenants they have made, and when looking for an eternal companion make sure their values and goals are at least as high as theirs are.

For not having much to say tonight, I think I have gone on long enough.  Next week we are leaving for a week of island hopping--first to Kauai and then to Maui.  I'll report on that trip when I blog again.

Our Mission On The Downhill Side...

This week marks exactly the midway point of our mission.  I have learned so much to this point and am sure I will increase that learning and understanding of the temple by leaps and bounds in the next six month.  The time has gone by quickly and from what I hear, the rest will go by even faster.  I do know that after the first of the year when the temple opens after the scheduled maintenance break, we will be extremely busy re-certifying the ordinance workers and, as always, training new workers.  The last time we had to do this was right after we arrived and started in the temple.  I was so nervous because I didn't want to overlook anything but hadn't been adequately trained as to what to do.  I tend to like explicit instructions and there really wasn't much to go on.  Now I know what I am doing so it should go quite a bit easier.

Today we attended a missionary farewell for Eric Sims.  There is a family connection to Eric so we went to Millilani to attend.  Eric seems to be so prepared for his mission in Vancouver WA.  He has barely turned 18 and will graduate early from high school this week.  He is reporting to the MTC in January.  That is making the best of your time for sure.  His talk was very well done as he talked of the importance of his mission and the importance of our Savior Jesus Christ.
Pete, his father, gave a great talk as well.  It got me thinking about the things I need to be doing in order to live a life worthy of returning to my Heavenly Father and His Son at the end of my life.  He taught us that each of us should be doing four things as well as other things crafted by each individual in order to work towards eternal salvation.  These are: 1-Improve our daily prayer. 2- Improve our scripture reading and scripture study each day. 3- Improve our church attendance and preparation for taking the sacrament. 4- Improve in our temple attendance.
I feel like I really need to work on these things.  The only one I have under control right now is Temple attendance.  I spend over 30 hours/week in the temple.  I hope that when this mission is finished that I will continue to serve several hours in the temple whether as an ordinance worker or a patron.
I am re-committing myself to the other three items on this list.
Thanks Pete Sims for your encouragement in this regard.

Now to the weather and Christmas.  The weather is still 85ish and a little rain each day. Today was beautiful-a good beach day but it is Sunday so we didn't do that.  However, half the people on the island were at beaches all along the north shore today.  As I have said in other blogs, it will be strange to be in warmth on Christmas this year.  We are going to go to a mall tomorrow or next Saturday just to get a little of the materialistic part of the Christmas spirit.

PRIDE, HUMILITY and CHRISTMAS FIRESIDE

So this week has just flown right by.  We started working the afternoon shift in the temple this week.  We were fairly busy most of the week and then the real "busy" hit on Saturday.  Several weddings, sealings and people coming to the temple for the first time.  It is always so tender to see the emotions of those who have waited for this day and are so prepared to take the next step on their journey to eternal happiness.  I wish I could go into more detail about some of my experiences but the sacredness of what goes on there needs to stay that way. I love being able to be part of the weddings of the young people.  Watching the girls walk out the door in their wedding dresses with a very attentive new husband brings back so many memories of my own daughters doing the same thing on their special wedding days, and even my own temple wedding some 45 years ago.  In a few years I hope I will get to experience that with granddaughters and grandsons.

Today in Relief Society, the lesson was from the Teachings of the Presidents (Pres. Ezra Taft Benson) on pride and humility.  I came home and read the chapter more in depth and was touched by the things I read so, as much for my benefit as that of those that may read this, I will recap some of my favorite teachings.
"Pride is characterized by 'What do I want out of life?' rather than by 'What would God have me do with my life?' It is self-will as opposed to Gods will. "

"To the proud, the applause of the world rings in their ears; to the humble, the applause of heaven warms their hearts."

"The proud cannot accept the authority of God giving direction to their lives."

"Our enmity (hatred or hostility) towards God takes on many labels, such as rebellion, hard-heartedness, stiff-neckedness, unrepentant, puffed up, easily offended, and sign seekers.  The proud wish God would agree with them.  They aren't interested in changing their opinions to agree with God's."

"When pride has a hold on our hearts, we lose our independence of the world and deliver our freedoms to the bondage of men's judgment.  The world shouts louder than the whisperings of the holy Ghost.  The reasoning of men overrides the revelations of God, and the proud let go of the iron rod."

I loved this one. "Think how temple worked would increase if the time spent in this godly service were more important than the many prideful pursuits that complete for our time."
"The antidote for pride is humility-meekness, submissiveness. God will have a humble people.  Either we can choose to be humble or we can be compelled to be humble.  We can choose to humble ourselves by conquering enmity toward our brothers and sisters, esteeming them as ourselves, and lifting them as high or higher than we are."

Like I said, just some of the thoughts that made me do some reflection for myself and my actions. Maybe they will be ideas for a talk in the future.

Now, for the last part of this blog.  The visitors center has scheduled firesides for each Sunday evening this month.  Tonight a celtic group performed several Christmas songs for us.  It was such a nice program.  The room was standing room only.  This group is comprised of people from this community (one couple from our ward) and their talents were amazing.  We loved the songs of the season from British and Irish decent being played with a celtic twist.  I love Christmas and the activities that go on this time of year.  One other cool thing that happens at the visitors center is the decorating of several Christmas trees by various stakes throughout Oahu. The trees depict the birth of our Savior along with the traditions of the Hawaiians.  I hope to get pictures of them when it is not so crowded.  They would stand up against any tree I have seen at the Festival of the Trees.
Well, it is late so I'll close for tonight.

Christmas And Other Things...

Well, I am a few days late on this post.  I just remembered a few hours ago that I hadn't updated for the week so here goes.  Last week was Thanksgiving and what a different Thanksgiving it was.  First of all, we have warmth here as opposed to the cold weather that Utah has been having.  It rained most of the day but it really didn't matter.  We were invited to go to Tita's grill where the owners (our bishop and his family) cooked 3500 lbs of turkey and ham in an emu.  It was SO good.  Very tender and moist and the flavor was amazing!  So glad I was able to experience that this year. Those in attendance were the Sr. missionaries, those less fortunate and those who had actually stopped at Tita's to just get a good meal.  They had no idea that it would be such a big gathering but they got to eat for free.  The family also takes much of the food to other communities on the Island to feed the homeless there.  I can't even imagine the cost to that family (the Ah You's) for this service they provide.  I'm sure they have been and will be blessed for what they do.

For us, it was nice to have a day off from our service in the temple.  We had been getting up so early for the month of November to cover the morning shifts.  This month we have the afternoon/evening shift.  So far it has been great.  The afternoon is usually a little quiet but the evening sessions are more attended and there is more training to do so the time goes a little faster.  I really enjoy getting to know the workers and being able to interact with them in such a cool setting.

One of the things I have struggled with a little is that Christmas is so close now but I doesn't really feel like Christmas to me.  It is warm and we have had quite a bit of rain.  We don't live close to a bigger city that decorates the streets, parks, or many of the houses.  Just tonight I finally saw a couple Christmas trees in windows and a few houses with lights.  I don't have much of a Christmas tree either which is a "first" for for me.  That being said, last Sunday night we attended a musical fireside put on by the sister missionaries at the temple visitors center.  They shared Christmas music and sweet testimonies.  I am always in total awe of those cute sisters and the talent they have.  Several can play the piano for accompaniment, several sing beautifully both in group and individually.  All of them have a strong testimony of our Savior and the Book of Mormon as a testament of the life our Christ.  They were asked to bear testimony on the spur of the moment and said wonderful things from their hearts.
I think it is a great thing that these missionaries, under the direction of Elder Priday, do these firesides for the community.  I would suspect that most if not all those in attendance are members of the church so they aren't trying to convert anyone.  They just want us to know of their love for and appreciation of our God and His son, Jesus Christ.

In closing, we watched the news today before going to the temple.  There was a mass shooting in San Bernadino, CA where several people were killed.  My brain and my heart just can't understand how people can intentionally take the lives of innocent people. What a travesty at this time of year.  Because I went through the death of a loved one at this time of year 12 years ago, I am feeling so bad for those people who are faced with these losses this close to what should be a very happy time of year.  I want them to know, even though I will never meet them, that my thoughts and prayers are with them.

And finally, we have been here nearly 6 months now so the time is going so quickly.  I suspect the next 6 will go by just as fast.  I'll still keep up on this blog.

Rain, Rain, and more Rain

As you can tell from the title of this post, we have had a lot of rain here this week.  It is a nice warm rain but nevertheless, rain.  It really hasn't affected us though because we are generally in the temple and when we get home we just chill a bit.  It is typical Hawaii weather-rains then the sun comes up for a few minutes then it clouds over and rains some more.  It is really nice at night because it tends to put me to sleep.
We are still house sitting for Keith and Debbie so we hear a lot more noise from the street since they are right on the major road through town but the spaciousness of the house and the conveniences out weight the noise.

We were pretty busy in the temple this week despite the rain so that is always good. When it slows down the time seems to do the same.  Always better to be busy than idle-even in the temple. It is always interesting to me how many people come to the temple while here on vacation. We can usually tell since they have to be shown where to go so we talk to them and find out where they are from.  I love it when someone has ties to Utah.  We actually have a couple sisters working in the temple that are from Logan area.  It has been fun to visit with them about an area I am familiar with.

Today I was tempted to stay home from church due to a little stomach issue.  By 7:30 I felt fine so I went.  As always, I was so glad I did.  I don't know how this happens but each week the speakers and the lessons seem to speak to my soul--like the messages were just for me. Today was no different.
One of the speakers (a new couple in the ward) made the analogy of branding and how we need to be branded in the Savior and the things that we are supposed to do to be more Christ-like.  Of course service was brought out along with just persevering through adversity.  He gave an example that was very close to my heart right now.  He said he had a missionary companion whose father died while out on his mission (serving in Arizona).  He was given the option to go home and come back, go home and stay or just stay on his mission.  He thought about it a few minutes and replied "I'm going to stay here and be the best missionary I can be, and do it for my father."  Of course that brought tears to my eyes remembering Michelle's mission when her dad died.  He made the comment that God gives his toughest trials to his toughest children.

Our Relief Society lesson came from Elder Bednar's conference talk where he reverenced the memories of the three recently deceased apostles, Elder Packer, Elder Perry and Elder Scott.  The discussion centered around the wisdom, knowledge, experience and testimony of each of those wonderful men and what we can learn from those men of God even though they are aging.  Then the challenge to us was to think of how one of the past General Authorities have impacted our life.  I guess I would have to say President Hinckley because of his love of temples and temple work. While he was Prophet of the church, temples began to dot the earth. With his vision, we have even more now. Also, I think of him as a very positive person and always with a smile and a great story to remind us of a principle of the gospel that we should be perfecting.

And finally, as usual at this time of year, my thoughts are a little heavy.  It was 12 years ago this week that Carl unexpectedly died due to a fall from our roof, just days after our 33rd wedding anniversary.  I don't think the sting from death of a loved one ever goes away but with time we can be healed and life can be good again. That is where I am at now.  I have the faith and knowledge that we will be together again in the eternities if I live up to my covenants and stay strong in my belief in Heavenly Father and his teachings. In the past 12 years I have also been able to do a great deal of traveling, have learned how to take care of things around my home by myself, have welcomed 12 new grandchildren into the family and two sons-in-law as well. Each of these people have brightened my life and I am so grateful for them as well as my children and those already in the family when Carl died.  I have also remarried, something I didn't see myself doing, but Larry has brought great joy to me over the past eight years and I am so grateful for that.  He is in large measure responsible for my being on this mission today.  I don't know that I would have had the courage to go by myself as a single sister.

It seems that each week my blogs get longer and longer.  They are nearly at the definition of an epistle so I had better quit for this week.

Standing Strong In The Face of Opposition

This weeks blog gives you more of the same things we have experienced so far while serving our mission.  I'm pretty sure that because we spend our time in the temple that it may seem a little mundane to the outside reader but let me assure you it is anything but mundane to me.  Every day brings different responsibilities, different personalities to work with and a different level of responsibility.  Today I would like to talk about some of that.

As we have served under a new presidency for the past two weeks we are learning more about each of them.  This week we were able to serve with President and Sister Nihipali.  They have had experience in a temple presidency while they served in the Kona, Hawaii temple until last year.  Their expertise will be of much value I am sure.  I have enjoyed being on their shift because they give us (Larry and I) the opportunity each day to be involved with the sealing process of couples.  These couples are taking the next step in eternal progression by being sealed (or married) to each other in the Holy House of the Lord.  It is fun to see their level of excitement and nervousness-both at the same time.  One day we were scheduled to be the temple escorts for a couple who were coming to the temple for the first time and then being sealed after their endowment session.  For some reason they decided not to come, at least that day.  I'm not sure if they will reschedule or not but it made me stop and think about what commitment level they have when the date has been planned and arranged for, family was invited to join in the joy of being there but for some reason they didn't follow through.  This gave me a little glimpse of what our Father feels when we disappoint Him.  I felt a disappointment that this wonderful couple and their two children were missing out on those temple blessings.  I'm sure that Heavenly Father felt that as well. Our Heavenly Father and His son Jesus Christ must feel that disappointment when we choose to alter our behavior in living up to our covenants that we have made with Him.  I have done a great deal of thinking and pondering on that topic lately and really hope and pray that I can always remember the importance of keeping my covenants.

Now just a little review from our sacrament meeting talk today.  I was quite impressed that both the sister RM and the high councilman talked about weathering the storms in our lives.  It is oh so important to have a firm foundation of the gospel of Jesus Christ as we go through temptations, trials, problems, illness or any other thing that could take us away from the gospel.  Wind storms will come and go but if we are steadfast and immovable we can survive.  The problems arise when we waver in our belief system and our testimony.  Satan is always trying to put a wedge anywhere he can get it and his job is easy when we aren't strong.  I think this has to do with commitment to attending the temple and being faithful no matter what comes in our path.  I, just like most people have had my own trials in life but I hope and pray that my foundation is cemented deep enough that I won't cave on the things I know to be right and true.
It was interesting to note that in all three meetings today, the message was much the same.  Stay strong, don't let go of the iron rod and look forward to the final goal-living with God and Christ as well as those loved ones who have passed on.

The thing I like about writing these blogs is that when I begin I usually don't even have a direction that I want to go. I like to let the spirit guide me in my thoughts.
Can't wait to see what next week brings.

Heavenly Father's Tender Mercies...

Man, I can't believe how the time seems to rush by.  We are soon completing our fifth month here.  It has been so great even with the extra hot and humid summer we had. This week has been so wonderful.  Some days have been overcast and a little cooler and breezy because of trade winds but that is a welcome relief.

We are house sitting for Keith and Debbie this month, as of today, while they are on the mainland.  They left last night and will be gone until mid December.  We moved some of our things in today-a few clothes, our food from the fridge and toiletries.  It should be good having a little more space, no, quite a bit more space.  We actually have two bathrooms, a big living room and a VCR and movies to watch on our down time.
It will be strange this year not having any family around for Thanksgiving and Christmas.  I thought we would have Keith and Debbie here but not so.  I did find out that all the senior missionaries from PCC and BYUH are invited to Thanksgiving dinner together at a place called Tita's Grill (owned by our bishop).  They provide dinner for homeless people so we get to help with that too. Should be fun.

Recently I started back up with the B of M 365 reading program.  This is an instagram site that has daily reading assignments to read the Book of Mormon in 365 days.  I started it early this year but got busy with my mission for a while and now I am back on course.  Today's reading was 3 Nephi and the question going along with that chapter was, "Why is it important for us to keep a journal?"  I have not been a very diligent journal keeper in the past and I keep promising myself to get better at it.  I feel that the blogs I write each week are a good start but I need to be better at it.  One of the conference talks this last October was titled "What lack I yet?"  That is one of many things I lack on my journey to perfection so I need to improve.  So, in keeping with that, I want to talk about my week in the temple.

I was a little nervous about having our scheduled changed to five days a week.  However, I think anything worth having in life is hard and I knew it would be hard to wake up at 5:00 a.m. or before and be at the temple by 6:00 every day.  After the first couple of days it got easier.  I won't say I wasn't tired during the day but I was able to do it day after day.  There were other concerns I had as well but due to the tender mercies of my Father in Heaven I had very little to worry about.  After leaving the temple each day I noticed that the pain that I experience occasionally with my back was almost non existent.  I didn't even take my normal ibuprofen.  Another tender mercy has been that the temple is busy.  I am not one to enjoy just standing around with nothing to do but we have been so busy that the time went by so very fast each day.  I love that.
And maybe the biggest tender mercy I was able to experience this week was a special spirit with me.  Our new temple president, President Kealoha, gave some very inspirational messages in our training/prayer meetings and mentioned time after time how close the spirits of those who are having their temple work done really are.  One particular day I was talking to a young girl who told me she was doing the work for her grandmother who happened to be a Queen in that culture.  I actually felt so strongly that her grandmother was indeed right there in the room with us.  I got tears in my eyes as I could feel the connection between this sweet girl and her grandmother.  I was so happy to have prepared myself that day to be able to receive that testimony of the work that we do in temples.  I hope I can be in a spiritual enough place each day to feel the love of our God as he prepares His sons and daughters to spend eternity in His presence.

Well, I know I have gone on and on so I'll close now since Larry and I are going to watch a movie, a luxury we have while house sitting since we don't have a VCR or movies in our apartment.

Have a great week everyone!

Mission Updates

Here it is November 1, 2015.  This marks four and a half months here in Laie, Hawaii and serving in the temple.  What a wonderful experience it has been to this point.  I am so humbled to be working with so many wonderful people who love the Lord and the gospel of Jesus Christ so much.  Not a day goes by that I don't hear from someone how wonderful it is to be working in the temple and most often they refer to it as God's Holy House.  It brings tears to my eyes to hear of their true devotion to our Heavenly Father.  This calling has really strengthened my testimony of how the work of the Lord is moving forth from all directions.  For a small temple and a small community the amount of temple work that is done is amazing from baptisms for the dead right up to having families sealed together for all eternity.

As I reported last week, we are now under the direction of a new temple presidency.  I believe I misspelled the name of one member of the presidency so here it is again.
President Kealoha, President Nihipali and President Taala.  Although I don't know President Nihipali at all, I have been in meetings with the others and they are wonderful men of God and their wives are equally wonderful.  We did find out about a few changes that will take place in our callings so I will explain those now.

In the past, there have been three couples used as trainers for the new ordinance workers.  We also were responsible for re-certifying all ordinance workers.  Thus our shifts were fewer per week.  We were working three days with an additional few hours for a meeting each week.  From now on there will only be two couples as trainers and they are the missionaries.  That means we will be covering more shifts.  We (Larry and I) will be working every morning (Tuesday-Friday) from 6 am-1 pm. The other couple (the Fry's) will be working 1 pm-8 pm.  Both couples will be working on Saturday with a little overlap time because Saturday is our busiest day with weddings and new patrons. We will trade shifts each month so that will be good.  Working the same shift for a month will bring continuity to our training procedures.  That is actually what we did for the first 3 months but the last month our shifts were all mixed up.

I'll be honest.  I don't have a problem working more because there isn't much to do on our time off but I am not really a morning person anymore and it is so hard to get up at 5:00 am and be out of the house by 5:45.  I come home exhausted and it is only 1 pm.  I don't know how to unwind and take naps so I am just tired all the time.  On our previous schedule we had a day in between to recoup. I am sure the Lord will help me with what I need to do.  I know the blessings of service way out weigh the getting up early issues.

The weather has been great this week.  We have had big waves on the North Shore of the island due to hurricanes out in the ocean so we have stopped a few times to take in the beauty of the ocean.  Wednesday we stopped to look at the waves at Sharks Cove and came upon a seal that was laying on the beach getting a little sun.  It is amazing to see so many sights that are not found in Utah.  The mountains here are so green and in great contrast with the blue of the ocean and the sky (most of the time).  I guess it just makes me more aware of all of God's creations and the immense beauty in them.

Tonight there is a fireside at BYUH and
Elder D.Todd Christopherson will be the speaker so we are going to go to that.  This week kicks off the 150th celebration of the church in Laie, HI so there will be things going on all week with a special performance by the youth next Saturday.  We will not be able to attend since we are taking Keith and Debbie to the airport for a month long vacation.  We will be house sitting for them while they are gone.
Well, I have rambled enough for this week.  I'll be back next week to blog again.

Sometimes Changes are a Little Hard...

Well, as I have written before, this is the last week that our current temple presidency will be in the temple as the presidency.  We have had some tender moments hearing from President Konekoa and his wife in various venues.  They spoke in Stake Conference on Sunday and oh, what a spiritual meeting that was.  Both of them spoke of the importance of temple attendance and the great blessing it can be and will be in our lives.  When I look at my own journey of temple attendance over the last 45 years (yes, it was nearly 45 years ago that I  attended the temple for the first time) I have such a different understanding of the plan of salvation.  I am so grateful for those people in my life who have added to my understanding of and love of the temple.
Yesterday (Monday, October 27) we were invited to a luau put on by the temple employees for the outgoing presidency and missionary/mentors.  It was wonderful to see how these people appreciate the presidency.  So much food to eat-mostly food peculiar to the Polynesian culture.  Some of it I have a hard time with but I was able to find things I really liked.  (I may have been better off calorie wise if I hadn't).  Again, President Konekoa and his wife offered a few words of wisdom but mostly just humble appreciation to those of us who make the temple run as Heavenly Father wants it to be. Today we had our final meeting with them after our shift in the temple.  President Konekoa is such a humble man and just wants everything to be run as smoothly as possible and in accordance with temple policy and purity.  I know that as we work with the upcoming presidency, President Kealoha, President Niopali and President Taala and their wonderful wives, I will learn much from them too, but that is what life is all about.  Learn as much as we can while on the earth that will help us in the eternities and our lives and families will be all the more blessed.
I will say that I am a little disappointed at one thing I was told today.  For the past four and a half months of our mission, we worked in the temple three days a week with an additional meeting on Tuesdays.  Today we were told that our schedules would change to five shifts each week.  Tuesday through Friday either morning (6 am to 1 pm) or afternoon (1 pm to 8 pm).  Saturedays we will be finished by 1:00 but I am just a little concerned about the back pain I experience when I have worked two days in a row.  I guess I will follow my own advice and just buck up and deal with it.

On another note, we have had a pleasant visit this week with my youngest daughter, Carlee and her family.  They were here one week and are ready to board a plane for Utah in just a couple hours.  We have had a great time at the beach, sightseeing and touring the Polynesian Cultural Center.  We have had several meals together, taken two hikes and a pleasant walk to Temple Beach from the front of the Laie Temple.  The tender mercy in this is that it has been beautiful weather for their visit.  We have had lots of rain the the past few weeks but while they were here there was little rain and only at night.  If there is one more thing I could have requested, it would have been to have the turtles walking on the shore.  We saw them just a few feet out in the water but the waves were so strong they couldn't make it to shore.

Oh how I love my family.  I love how they love and support each other in everything they do.  We have had our trials and problems and will continue to have them just like any other family, but we are always there for each other and willing to help.  It has been so heartwarming to me to see how they step up to the plate while I'm not there with them and help each other when there is a need.  I know their dad is so proud of who they have become as they have grown into adulthood and parenthood. The cousins all love each other so much and get along so well. Not sure what I did in the pre-existence to deserve them but I am one lucky mother.

Oh How Time Flies!

Wow!  I can't believe how fast time is going.  For the first month we were here I really thought one year would never pass.  I was having a hard time adjusting to the extreme heat and humidity of the Island.  Now, I see that with only eight months left, I need to make the most of the time we have here.
The weather has moderated somewhat now.  It is a little cooler at night and even though still a bit muggy when it rains, it is not 98 degrees with 100% humidity.  This past week it has rained quite a bit.  Here on the north shore of Oahu, there was quite a bit of flooding last Monday.  The big park area in front of BYUH became a like.  We walked over there a couple of nights and it was beautiful with the lights around the campus shining on it.  Many people in the village were using sand bags to keep water out of their homes.  It was something like 3" per hour and rained for six hours.  This week is supposed to be much better.  The good thing about the rain is that it is still warm so you don't mind being out in the rain.  Except for my hair.  I'm still not loving what my hair does in this climate.  I certainly should have planned a different style to live here.

The work at the temple is becoming so much easier for me.  Almost second nature.  The training is becoming so much easier since I know what I'm doing and have done it so much now that I don't need to think about what comes next.  There are only two more weeks left before the new Presidency takes over.  The current presidency, President Konekoa, President Pierce and President Bell and their wives wanted to work at least one week with each shift so that meant mixing up the missionary and mentor schedules as well.  This has been a little difficult in the continuity of training because we all train a bit differently and it takes a little bit of review time with each new ordinance worker.  All will work out but it has been interesting.
We are expecting some changes as the new presidency takes over but probably not for a couple months.

We were able to attend a fireside tonight in conjunction with the 150 year anniversary of Laie.  It is pretty interesting to me to note that really, most of the people on this part of the island are related back through the generations.  I guess it makes sense when the size of the community is so small and the Samoans, Tongans, Fijians, and others  came here mostly to build up the church and to be close to the temple.  Even today, Laie is probably 90% LDS whether active or not.

On another note, I have been pleasantly surprised to be able to meet someone nearly every week that has roots to Ogden.  Today in church we talked to some people who are from North Ogden (brother and sister Olsen) and knew of my family.  In talking we found out that my aunt Beaulah and uncle Ed are her aunt and uncle too.  Sister Olsen's mother was sister to Ed, my mother sister to Beaulah.  Such a small world out there. Several of the students I train in the temple have served their missions in the northern Utah missions.

Well, time to sign off for this week.

Conference Weekend, Quick Trip to Utah.

Well, here it is Thursday night and I haven't written my blog for this week.  I usually do this on Sunday evening but the weekend was kind of a blur right now.  We returned to Ogden/Salt Lake on Saturday morning so we could attend the wedding of my nephew Eric and Jamie Niel.  The events were very nice and the bride and groom looked wonderful.  It was nice to visit with my sister for a bit and my brother Mont and his wife while there.  My children also came to the reception so it was great to get to see them.
On Sunday we watched conference.  What a wonderful conference it was.  There wasn't one talk I didn't enjoy.  I was especially touched with President Monson and his testimony,  Near the end of his talk he started slumping a little.  We could tell he was getting pretty weak and the brethren right behind him were ready to jump up to help him if he fell over.  What a heart-felt testimony he delivered.  Such a valiant servant of God.
After conference the kids and grandchildren came over for one of their favorite meals-chicken and noodles.  This has been a family favorite with my own children and the spouses for years.  I know all the grandchildren love it too.  It was great getting to hear all of them trying to catch up on the week with each other.  I will be happy to have that part of our Sunday's back next June.  I love our time here in Hawaii but Sunday's tend to be a very long day because we are finished with church at 11:00 AM.

Our schedule at the temple is all mixed up this month due to it being the last month for the current presidency.  They wanted to serve one week with each shift so we have been moved around also.

This week Larry's granddaughter, Kaylee is here visiting her cousin so we have been able to see her a few times which has been very nice.  Later this month my daughter Carlee and her family will be coming over to visit us so that will be a good time as well.

I think I will close with this much tonight and promise to write more next week.

Keeping on.....

This week I am posting a little late.  To be honest I thought about my blog on Sunday afternoon but got busy reading and then had a meeting to attend and forgot until now.
The best thing about this week is that we won't be working Saturday.  Of course the temple is closed for General Conference.  I mentioned a meeting that we went to on Sunday.  It was the Annual Ordinance Workers devotional held at the stake center right across the street from us.  The temple presidency and their wives spoke as well as our temple recorder.  I really  was amazed and felt the spirit so strongly during the talks.  Each one spoke of different topics all relating to our service in the temple.  One of the comments made by Sister Bell was that we serve best when we are truly committed to keeping the covenants we have made with our Heavenly Father.  We were admonished by President Konekoa to not take our callings lightly.  Be obedient to the things that are required of us in serving in the temple.  Sister Pierce talked about how we can gain knowledge and understanding in those sacred moments that we have in the temple each time we serve.  The music in the devotional was outstanding.  The choir was made up for ordinance workers with only one practice before the meeting.  They did a wonderful job.  There was a duet also by the Kammerer's who sang "How Great Thou Art."  So moving!    I was so privileged to have been in the meeting that day.  What an uplifting end to a wonderful Sunday.

Our car has been fixed!  It only took three days so we thought that was great!  And the cost was not outrageous.  We had the mechanic replace other belts that may wear out as long as we were paying for labor anyway.

The weather has really moderated this week.  We have had quite a bit of rain but accompanied by some nice trade winds.  We have even slept without the air conditioner on for the last couple of nights.

We will be making a quick trip to Ogden this weekend to attend the wedding of my Nephew, Eric.  We will also be able to spend conference weekend there and have dinner with my children and grandchildren on Sunday.  Monday we will be returning to Hawaii to start another week at the temple.  We are down to only three more weeks with the current temple presidency so our schedules are mixed up quite a bit this month.  We will serve with each member  of the presidency for at least one week.  Glad we get this last little bit of time with them before we begin with the new presidency.

P-DAY TRIALS: Our Car Is Not Working

This week marks one quarter of our mission completed.  We arrived here on June 18 and today is September 21.  I would never have thought I would feel this comfortable in what I am doing so soon.  That is not to say that I would want to live here forever or that I don't struggle from time to time.  I still get pretty bored when we are not in the temple.  The apartment isn't big enough to do anything in or have a sewing project going.  We still find we need to go out and about most days-especially on our days off.  Today is Monday, our official P-day since the temple is closed.  I went on a 2.5 mile walk this morning.  About one mile into it, it started raining a little so I headed back towards home.  The rain stopped so I continued around the neighborhood, up the temple stairs and down again and to the trail up behind the temple that goes through an old cemetery.  It never did rain again but the humidity took over so I was dripping from that.  I exercised some more when I got back to the apartment since Larry was helping his brother with a project at his house.  I showered, got cleaned up and went to the grocery store.  That in itself is a trial for me because food is so expensive here and I know what those items cost in Utah.  $41 later with only two reusable bags full to show for it, I started home.  I had pulled out onto Kam highway and travled about two blocks and the car quit.  I pulled over as far off the highway as I could and tried to start the car again.  It would NOT start. I called Larry and he got a ride from a missionary across from us to where I was stranded.  Turned out that we had to have Keith come and tow it to his house.  Larry thinks it is the timing belt that is the problem.  Not sure what the cost will be for repairs but I'm sure it won't be cheap.  So as of now, we are borrowing Keith's truck.  Now I am wishing we had not sold our car at home but had it shipped here for our use.  Hopefully we can get it fixed in the next few days.  So grateful that Larry's brother was here to bail us out and that he knows people that can help us.  I'll report more on this next week.

I have mentioned before that a big reason for my being here was so the Lord can teach me in a different environment and with a changed heart.  Yesterday in church, the high councilman talked on Christlike attributes which we should all be seeking.  He used a seed as an acronym to things we can do.  I thought I would share it here so, if nothing else, I can remember it.
S= See others as God sees them.  Each person is precious in the sight of God and      should be treated as such.
E= Exemplary life.  We should be living each day, each moment as an example to others of how the Savior would want us to live.
E= Edify.  Edify those we come in contact with and even edify ourselves in our actions.
D=Depend on Him.  We know we can't "do" this life alone and would be foolish to think that. After all we can do, we  then need to hand over our problems to the Lord and have the faith that he can and will help us.  Humility seems to stand out to me in this part.
I was very impressed with his talk and felt the spirit tell me that I have a long way to go in becoming as the Savior know I can become.  Working at it day by day will bring me closer.

Again this week, I have been training ordinance workers in the temple.  I really do love that part of my responsibilities.  Saturday I had three new workers to train.  Two had been ordinance workers before so it was pretty easy to catch them up on what they needed.  The other one is a sweet return missionary (Sister Beaver) who served in Jacksonville, FL.  She has been home four weeks and was just SO excited to be learning to be an ordinance worker.  The young girls are so quick to pick up on the things they need to memorize.   I have also been training Sister Qi from mainland China.  She has taken to be and was there as a substitute on Saturday.  She told me she has been doing family history and has four names to bring to the temple to have their work done.  They are her grandparents on both sides.  She is so excited to do the work.  I inquired whether her parents were members and she told me yes but her father was afraid to go to church much because he works for the government in China and doesn't want them to know he is LDS.
I can see the hand of the Lord in my patriarchal blessing when it says that I will have opportunity to work in the temple and learn of those sacred ordinances and know that they are from God.  This knowledge gives us hope that we can and will return to our Heavenly Father at the appointed time.

Wow!  That is a lot for one day so it is time to close.

Better Late Than Never...

 Well, I knew it would happen.  I made a commitment a few weeks ago to make an entry on my blog each week and have been trying to do them on Sunday evenings.  This week we had a High Priests and wives meeting to attend and it was late when we got home.  The meeting was very good with great speakers and great messages.  Bro and Sis. Maeta from our ward here recently returned from a mission in Croatia so they spoke on the things that they were involved in on their mission.  They also talked to the need for senior missionaries all over the world.  It made me feel good that I am doing just that right now, however when I look at the busy schedules and variety of things that other missionary couples do I feel a little guilty that our temple mission seems so easy. Yes, we do serve in the temple at least 27 hours each week with another two hours performing proxy endowments but I know we could be doing more.  Maybe we will have the opportunity to serve another mission later and experience some of the other responsibilities we heard about.

The last speaker in the meeting talked about family history and our responsibility to find ancestors names to take to the temple to do their work.  That is where I felt a new zest for this mission.  Being able to help in any way with the temple work that needs to be done for those who have passed beyond the veil is essential to the work of the Lord.  We were admonished to search for our ancestors and were given help on how to do that.  I have decided that maybe that is why I am here in Hawaii serving.  Our neighbor and fellow temple missionaries (Judie Fry) is really into genealogy and has offered more than once to help me learn and do.  I have put it off because it seems daunting to me.  I now have committed to really try to learn.  As of today I have found three names that need their temple work done for them.  I need to cross check them but I think that little bit of success will be a great boost for me.  I'll keep you posted on my progress and success.

The weather has been very interesting this past week.  We have had a great deal of rain again with some flooding.  Trade winds came back this week but it is still hot and humid to me.  Everyone keeps telling me it will get better so I'll look forward to that.

Yesterday I hit a little bit of a milestone while here.  My neighbor, Judie, has asked me a few times if I would like to get away for a while on our Monday's off.  Yesterday we went into Millilani for a little shopping.  I drove by myself in this place that I'm not really familiar with.  It wasn't bad.  I think our next outing may be into Alo Moana mall in a month or two.

As far as the temple goes, we are going through some changes as far as mentors.  I have had the opportunity to train sister Oshiro as an ordinance worker and now she will be training others as a mentor. The temple presidency has had two mentor couples and the two missionary couples to do the training for the ordinance workers.  Both mentor couples were released last week with two new couples called.  Next month we will say goodbye to the temple presidency and welcome another.  Change is always hard but at the same time it will be good to get to know these new people.

Well, enough for now.  I just want to reiterate from other weeks posts, how much spirituality there is in this community and how much I enjoy listening to talks at church and family home evenings.  They are boosting my testimony of the truthfulness of this gospel.

September 6, 2015

Here we are at the beginning of another week.  Our service in the temple this week was great as usual.  The work by patrons was pretty slow most of the week, unfortunately.  It is interesting to run a temple endowment session with only three or four patrons.  Many of the weekday sessions are like that.  With that comes the problem of coordinators having to find temple workers to fill in for the prayer circle.  As I have reported in other posts, sometimes the shifts run on a skeleton crew so it can be difficult.  I (we) try to fill in where we can when we are not training workers.
Yesterday (Saturday) Larry and I were able to help with a couple of special occasions. It is wonderful to watch the looks of excitement and nervousness on these people who are coming to the temple for the first time.

This week, I want to do something a little different than other weeks.  Today as I sat in Sacrament meeting, during the sacrament, I decided to ponder all the blessings in my life and things I am grateful for.  I want to share those in this blog.  I plan to look back on these often just to remind myself how blessed I am.

• I was born to wonderful parents who loved me and were interested in the things that took place in my life.
• I grew up in a free country never really wanting for anything.  We were poor at times but I didn't know it.
• I had good friends throughout my childhood even though they were not all of my faith.
• I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
• I am blessed to have a testimony of my Savior and that He knows me loves me. 
• I was privileged to find a wonderful man and marry him for time and Eternity in Logan temple (Carl Bruce).
• We were blessed with five beautiful and healthy children whom we love so much.
• I have been blessed with great health throughout my life.  I have the normal aches and pains but that is part of the aging process
• I had the privilege of education.  I have a bachelors and a masters degree that helped me both in the home and in my career.
• I spent over 15 years in the school system teaching junior high students.  I loved that I could make a difference in the lives of those teens.  Some days were harder than others but I loved the things I taught and loved the interaction with other teachers and students.
• I have had trails and deep sorrow in my life and am even grateful for those because they helped me figure out who I really am and what I am capable of.  Heavenly Father is always trying to let us know what our potential is if we will just rise to the occasion.  
• I have 14 beautiful grandchildren that are the light of my life.
• I have been blessed in the last seven years to marry again after the tragic loss of my eternal companion.  Larry is so good to me and for me.  
• I am blessed to have good neighbors and friends who have been by my side through tough times.
• I am blessed at the present time to be serving a mission for my Heavenly Father in the Laie, Hawaii Temple.  It is interesting that I said "serving" my Heavenly Father because I am gaining way more from serving than Heavenly Father is getting in return, I'm afraid.
• I've had the blessing of being able to travel to a great many places across the world and have the means to do more of that in the future.

I know I could go on for a long time listing blessings but these were the ones that stood out as I pondered today.

Closing this blog for this week.

Time Is Going So Fast--Can't Believe We Are Going Into September

Well, we are entering our third month here on our mission in Hawaii.  It is still ridiculously humid due to the storms and hurricanes out in the ocean.  For some reason the trade winds are not blowing as usual.  We have had a few hurricane warnings but by the time they got to the islands they have fizzled out.  We are currently on watch for hurricane Ignacio which is supposed to hit here early this week.  It has been a category 4 until today but has been downgraded to a cat 3 but the latest update tonight is that it will miss the island.  That is great news for us.  Now if we can just get the winds to blow a bit.

Now on to the events of the week.  We always have a meeting on Tuesdays with the other temple missionaries and the mentors (two local couples who were called to do the same thing as the missionaries) and the temple president and the matron.  We received our new schedules for the month of September and I was a little disappointed that we are going to be on the same schedule as August.  That is Wednesday mornings, Thursday afternoon-evening and all day on Saturday.  I love the people we work with on those shifts but the irregularity of the hours is a little hard on me.  I tend to not sleep as well and loose sleep because of such early mornings.  Oh well, I suppose if that is the worst of my problems on this mission then I am doing great.  I just have to have a few days to adjust my thinking.

As I said last week, I am getting more and more comfortable with my role as a trainer for ordinance workers and I really like working with the new sisters, especially the students that come to work in the temple.  Now that most of our re-certifying is done for most shifts, I have been able to visit with sisters a little bit and it is fascinating to learn of their lives.  I have had a couple of compliments this week that have touched my heart.  One of the coordinators told me this week that she just loved me.  She loved the way I trained and how calm and patient I am with them.  I also got somewhat the same message from another ordinance worker who told President Pierce and his wife how much they loved what I was doing and how I was training.  That really means a great deal to me because I felt so intimidated when I first got here.  Most of these sisters have had a great deal more experience in temple work than I have.  I know my Heavenly Father helps me every time I step inside the temple to be able to do His work as He would if her were here in the flesh.

This week President Uchtdorf of the First Presidency was in Laie to dedicate an addition to the PCC called the Hukilau Market Place.  He was scheduled to come to the temple Saturday at 2:30 so we waited around after our shift to hopefully meet him.  He did come for a very brief visit and we were privileged to shake his hand and introduce ourselves.  He had had a very long day in our extreme heat and humidity so I'm sure he just wanted to get to a cool place and relax for a while.

As I said last week, some of the most tender and important things I am learning while on this mission have nothing to do with the temple.  Tonight we went to a missionary musical fireside put on by the sister missionaries serving in the Visitors center here. They are so talented and have such sweet testimonies.  I was SO impressed.  I am in awe how many of these girls are from countries across the world.  I mentioned in another post about some of the sisters serving in the temple being from other countries.  Tonight we heard testimonies from Hong Kong, Mainland China, Cambodia, Japan, Philippines, USA, Mexico, and some from other islands in the pacific.  How the church is growing in all parts of the world.  I am just amazed at the strength and testimonies they have coming from places that I assumed the gospel was just getting a good start.  These young sisters are much better equipped and have much stronger testimonies than I ever did at that age, and maybe even at my age.  At any rate, they can express themselves better than I could have.  I learn so much from others. Tonights message from them was about Jesus Christ and how he knows us, loves us and died for us.  But how he lives in each one of us today if we will just invite him.  Their closing song was I Know That My Redeemer Lives.

And so I would like to close this post by telling you (whoever reads this blog) that I know my Redeemer Lives today and has brought His gospel to the earth through the Prophet Joseph Smith.  I love my savior Jesus Christ and hope I can honor Him by serving Him all the days of my life.

PS,
I received some very sad news today that my good Friend Leah Fisher's son, Bart Cragun passed away.  He has been battling a horrible form of cancer for about three + years now but it finally took him.  I feel so bad for his mother and siblings and especially for his sweet wife and two little boys.

We Are Never Too Old to Gain Knowledge...

This week's update is brought to you by more seasonably high temperatures and not much wind to cool things off.  It has been so warm and muggy here that when we walk from an air conditioned building to the outside, our glasses fog right up.  I have never been in conditions like this.  We just start laughing as we leave the temple because we cannot see until we remove glasses.  Even the locals say this is not normal.  I am not sure if we brought this strange phenomenon with us or not.  I have been known to go on vacation and have the weather different than we expected. i.e. rain and cold in Alaska in July, rain on camping trips etc.  the island of Oahu has been threatened with at least three hurricanes in the last week and a half but so far none have really materialized. There have been some heavy rains and winds on other islands but we have been spared. There is a hurricane brewing in the ocean with some tendency still to hit the island.  We'll know more tomorrow.  We have prepared ourselves with lots of water, sandwich makings incase of power failure, a lantern and flashlights.  Not really sure what else we can do.  We don't have much room for any kind of food storage but I figured we can live on sandwiches and granola bars for a few days if we had too.  Locals have told us that the power can be out up to three weeks depending on strength of the storms.

On a lighter note--we have had a pretty productive week.  In our temple work (since that is what we were called to do here) we are finally getting comfortable in knowing what we are supposed to be doing.  I have been training new ordinance workers on nearly every shift.  On Thursday night I had four BYUH students who are training to be ordinance workers.  I really enjoy working with them.  I guess it is reminiscent of my "teaching" days.  They are bright and have a real desire to serve so they learn fast.  Most of them have served missions and it is fun to see where they are from and where they served.  Presently I am training a young sisters from China, Korea, Australia, Oklahoma, and Utah.  I also have a few older sisters who are locals and one delightful sister from Idaho.  She actually has some commonalities to my past.  She lives in Blackfoot, ID and knows my cousins and my uncle (deceased) who live(d) there.  She lost her husband about a year and a half ago and had a son on a mission.  She just sent her last son on a mission and has put herself on this "mission" to do some healing.  She works at the PCC and at the temple.  What strength she has.  She always has a smile and it is quite infectious.  She will only be here a couple months but will probably return.

I learn so much by serving with the sweet sisters in the temple.  I have learned that everyone of these people have had trials in their lives.  Some heavier than others but the thing that I take from their attitude is that they love the gospel of Jesus Christ and know that trials are for our own growth and development in the big scheme of life.  They love their Savior Jesus Christ and especially love serving in His Holy House.  My testimony has been strengthened so my by working with them.  Part of my job is to re-certify the workers who have been there for a while so as I work with them I find out a little of their personal lives.  Each worker in the temple has been so welcoming to us as temple missionaries and tell us how much we are needed here.

All things I learn do not come from service in the temple.  Today in Relief Society the lesson came from a conference talk by Bonnie Oscarson on the Family Proclamation. The instructor talked of how much the family means to the locals.  Here the children refer to all adult women as "auntie", which links everyone as one big family.  Even when people aren't genetically linked they call one another cousin or uncle.  Especially in the church community.  I have been very impressed with the the love that these people have for their neighbors, friends, community and any people that come into the community.

This week I have had a chance to use my sewing skills and help Debbie make valences for their windows.  I actually found the fabric that they ended up buying and then making them.  Keith built window boxes and I made the valences to wrap onto them.  I enjoyed being of service to them and am glad I had the skills to do it.  Debbie doesn't sew much so they were very appreciative of my help.  While I was doing that Larry refinished our kitchen table.  It had never actually been finished so he stained and varnished it.  It looks so nice.  Tomorrow we are going to work on painting the frame around our kitchen window.  We have already made this apartment better than when we got her so we will just keep going.  We need to have some projects to do on our time off.
I guess that is enough of our week for now.  Can't wait to see what things I learn this week as we serve our Heavenly Father on this mission.

Week Eight...

Another week has passed.  We have now been out on our mission two full months.  In some ways it seems like forever since I have been at home in Ogden and sometimes it seems like we just left.  First a report on the weather.  It is still pretty warm and muggy outside.  We spend most of our time inside so it hasn't been to bad but on our days off it would be nice to go on a hike or be out in the beauties of this state but when you are in it you sweat pretty bad so we stay in.  We try and walk in the mornings or evenings and even at that my scalp just drips-and I usually don't sweat much.  Last week we spent Monday with Keith and Debbie helping them look for fabric for valences.  I will be helping make them tomorrow.  I am always a little uncomfortable doing things like that for people incase they don't turn out like they want them.  Hopefully it will work out ok.

Tuesday afternoon we have meetings in the temple and then we worked Wednesday morning, Thursday afternoon and Saturday morning and afternoon.  It was a pretty good week in the temple.  I have been training a few of the college students who work in the temple as ordinance workers.  I really enjoy the interaction with them and teaching them how to perform the ordinances to the expectations of our Father in Heaven.  It is interesting because some of the students are from other countries.  They have been on missions for the church and are now attending BYUH.  I am training a young girl from Korea who served her mission in Korea.  She had a brother on a mission at the same time also serving in Korea.  Her two brothers attend school at BYU in Provo and she is here.  I am also working with a young girl from Mainland China who served her mission in Australia.  Sometimes there is a bit of a language barrier in teaching them the ordinances. They do not understand all the English words so I have to explain them.  Interesting that my patriarchal blessing tells me that I will be instrumental in teaching people from other lands and even though I am not teaching them the gospel per se, I am teaching them while here in Hawaii.

As I was talking to a mother of a young man who received his endowment this week, she mentioned that he would be fourth of her children to be on a mission at the same time!  I was in awe at that.  I have met some wonderful, spiritual, devoted sisters dedicated to the work of our Heavenly Father in His holy house.  One sweet sister (Kindra Bingham) has come from Idaho sort of on a "healing" retreat.  She has taken it upon herself to work in the temple as often and she can, but as an ordinance worker and as a patron.  She lost her husband last year and just sent her last son on a mission.  She just needed to come here to serve and heal.  She has been such a blessing to some of the coordinators.  She also serves in the PCC when not in the temple.  What an example of Christ centered service she is to me.

I talked to one young sister who is studying to be a high school English teacher and her mom is a home economics teacher.  She was so excited when I told her that I had been an English teacher.

Our neighbors and fellow temple missionaries, Judie and John Fry, invited us over for root beer floats tonight so I took cookies and we had a fun night of just talking.  We seem to get along very well and they are happy we are here serving in the temple with them.

More News From our Laie Temple MIssion--August 9, 2015

Well, it is Sunday and time to post another blog.  I am hoping I can stay diligent in writing each week so the blogs will become a journal to us as well as informational to those who may read it.  We have been here nearly two months now which means we only have ten months left.  Time is passing so fast.

This week we started what is called the "swing shift" rotation in the temple.  That means we work Wednesday mornings until 1 pm, Thursday afternoon until 8 pm and Saturday from 4:45 until 2 pm.  That shift makes for a very long day.  This past Saturday we were busy the whole time we were there.  We did some training of new ordinance workers for the first hour then were busy with escorting couples there for their sealing's, both newly weds and those who had been married prior coming to the temple.  It was special for me because I had never been that involved before.  The time went very fast but we were exhausted when we got home.  On that shift we get up at 3:45 a.m.

On our days off we made a couple trips to cities on the island where we could shop a little; Costco, Lowes, an outlet mall as well as doing a little sight seeing.  There is a nice place for ocean watching called Laie Point.  We have been there a couple times this week because the waves have been a good deal stronger than most days.  This was due to the hurricane/tropical storm that we were supposed to get this week.  The storm actually went north which is good for us.  We got a little rain and some winds and but the ocean waves were pretty strong.  Fun to watch.

Some of the things that I have learned since coming to Hawaii
1.  If you want to go anywhere, plan on it taking most of the day.  Anything you need is probably on the other side of the island.  We have a grocery store and a drug store and several places to eat fast food.
2.  The cost of gas is about the same as it is in Utah-maybe a penny or two less.  This really surprised me since I know Hawaii used to be about $1 per gallon.
3. Costco prices are about the same here as on the mainland and the coupons each month are the same.
4. The food we buy in the grocery store is quite a bit more.  For instance, we pay $4.99 for a gallon of milk and that is the sale price.  Lettuce is at least $1.99/lb.  Bananas are over $1.99/lb.  Walmart sells them for .37 ea. but Costco is $1.99/3 lbs.-just like in Utah.
We try and buy most things at Costco but really don't have room in our apartment for large quantities of anything.
5.  I also miss my large freezer and my fruit room.  If we have a couple ice cube trays and a carton of ice cream and some hamburger and chicken in there-it is full.

I am grateful for the opportunity we have of serving in the Holy House of the Lord almost every day.  Each day that we are there we learn something new, and isn't that what our Heavenly Father expects all of us to do in our daily lives?  We were put on this earth to be life long leaners, both secular and spiritual.  After all is said and done, at the end of our life we can only take our knowledge with us.  I hope and pray that I will take that opportunity each and every day to learn those things my Father in Heaven wants me to learn.

Six Weeks And Holding...

Yes, we have been here in Laie for just over six weeks now.  I am a little more acclimated to the temperature and humidity here but part of that is that the nights have been a little cooler because of the trade winds.  This week there is a hurricane-downgraded-to-a-tropical-storm coming through so we area getting prepared for that. Could be extensive power outages and heavy rains and some wind.  Hopefully it won't be to bad.

The work in the temple has been going much better.  At first I felt so intimidated because I was not really sure what my duties were.  I have become more familiar with the procedures and policies of this temple and I am a little more sure of myself when it comes to the sacred ordinances that I help to perform when called upon to do so.
This week we will work under President and Sister Bell of the temple presidency.  They are the only ones that we have not had a chance to work with so that should be good.  We also change our schedule to Wednesday morning, Thursday afternoon and Saturday morning/afternoon.  Beginning at 4:45 in the morning.  Not so sure I will love that shift since it is an hour earlier than other days and we stay until at least 1:00 in the afternoon.  They say that is the busiest day of the week with more weddings so the time should pass quickly.

I would like to write about the FHE meeting that we were privileged to attend this week.  We actually attend them each Monday night for the senior missionaries serving at the PCC, BYUH and the temple.  So far they have been good and informational.  Tonight's was exceptional.   The senior missionary couple over the Visitors Center and the sweet sister missionaries were the speakers and music for this meeting.  I was so impressed with the talent and spirit that these sisters have.  Brother and Sister Priday started the meeting with a short video about the beginning of the saints and the building of the temple here in Laie.  We were then blessed with testimonies from a few of the sister missionaries.  They come from many different countries (Cambodia, Hong Kong, Mainland China, United States) and varying circumstances.  What testimonies these sweet girls have and were so appreciative of the help that the senior missionaries offer through example and testimony.  Each of them helped increase my testimony of my Savior and His gospel on the earth in this dispensation.  I was impressed with one sister from Bountiful, Utah who played a beautiful piano piece (I think it is called Jesus the Christ).  Before playing it she bore her testimony and asked us to think of our own conversion story as she played.

These were my thoughts:
I have been a member of the church all of my life, had wonderful teachers along the way, faithful parents who were involved in their church callings.  After I was married, I too had numerous church callings from primary worker, pianist, young women leader, Sunday School teacher, relief society presidency and teacher.  Each of these have added to my testimony of the truthfulness of the gospel and a love for my savior Jesus Christ and my Heavenly Father.  All of the trials I have experienced in my life have also added to and helped shape my belief system.  To anyone who happens to read this blog, I want you to know how much I love my Savior, Jesus Christ and how grateful I am for His sacrifice for me.  I know that He knows each of us and the trials and triumphs we have in our lives.  I am so grateful for, and have a testimony of Joseph Smith and his spiritual preparedness, dedication, commitment and love of Christ as he brought this gospel to the earth again, under the direction of God, His son Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost.  As hard as it was to leave my children and grandchildren behind, I am grateful to be serving this mission on the beautiful hallowed grounds of Gods holy temple at this time in my life.
I am grateful for the knowledge of eternal families and pray that each member of my family will live according to the principles of the gospel so that we can all be together after this mortal life with other members of our family and many wonderful friends.

Now, on to another week in the temple.  Have a great week!

The Temple Is Such A Restful Place

Well, it is time for my weekly post.  Another week has ended so I will try and recap some of our activities.

This week we were working in the temple Tuesday and Thursday morning from 5:45-1:00 and Friday from 1:00-8:00.  Every Tuesday we have a meeting with the Temple President and Matron having to do with procedures that may need to be looked at or changed and things we could do better while on our shifts.  As with my report last week, we spent a great deal of our time re-certifying the ordinance workers.  Most shift coordinators are very easy to work with and willing to do anything they can to adjust schedules so their sisters/brethren can meet with us for a few minutes.  One of the issues that this temple has with nearly all shifts is that of Ordinance Workers not being dedicated to their weekly commitment of serving in the temple.  Some sisters get substitutes but by enlarge, they just don't show up.  The brethren have the same problem.  Some shifts can be short five or six workers, and where there are only 10 or 11 on a shift that really hurts.  Many times I (and I know Larry is the same) would get called on to help with the ordinances  in a pinch.  I don't mind doing it and helping out.  It makes the time go faster for sure.

In this temple they have a cafeteria but the only menu items available are soup and bread--both made by BYUH and sent over each day.  If they have left over bread on any day, the workers are allowed to buy it for $1.50 which we did this week.  I have never tried their soup since it doesn't really look all that great most of the time.

On to our days off.  Our apartment is so small that we just can't sit around all day and read or watch TV so we find places to go.  Larry had a hard time convincing me that we needed to do something each day because it likely entails an extensive drive.  I think I have mentioned that Costco and Walmart are about an hour away.  We have a few eating establishments here on the north shore but most are again, 45 minutes-1 1/2 hours away just because of traffic and slow speeds.
Monday Keith and Larry installed screen doors on our apartment and our neighbors, the Fry's.  Wednesday we went went to the temple as patrons.  I love doing that too.  Love the peaceful feeling and the special time I have to communicate with my Heavenly Father in His Holy house and to quietly reflect on those loved ones who have left this mortal world for whatever their responsibilities are on the other side of the veil.
Later that day we drove into Costco, one day we went into Honolulu (in fact we did that two days) to the mall and just some general sight seeing.  At least the grocery store is close to us but for variety we still go to others on the island.

What I do know is that I am so grateful I get to serve in the temple.  I think it would be hard to live on the island forever.  I am used to things being almost at my fingertips and they are not here.

I am so grateful for my belief in God and His Son Jesus Christ and for the atonement. Also for the principles we know to be right and true with His gospel. What a blessing that knowledge is and I pray every day that each of my children will stay faithful to their covenants with Heavenly Father so that we can be an eternal family after we leave this life.

Have a great week!

Feeling A Bit Overwhelmed Still...

This week has been a good week.  We, of course, have Monday's off since the temple is closed that day.  We try and get our apartment cleaned and run errands, usually a trip to Costco or Walmart, or both and do our laundry on that day.  Keith (President Pierce) called us and told us that Tuesday morning would be a very busy day at the temple since it had been closed for two weeks.  Our shift this week was the early morning (5:45 am-1:00 pm) shift so that meant we would be busy as well.  

Our typical job in the temple involves re-certifying the ordinance workers and training the newly called ordinance workers.  Tuesday I had two new sisters to train.  I was able to get them started with their memorization before I began my assignment as an escort for a new patron.  Larry had much the same kind of beginning to the day since he was the escort for the new male patron.  When we serve as escorts, we get to assist the patron as they prepare to receive their ordinances.  This is something I had never done before so it was a fun thing to do.  

Each shift starts out with a preparation/prayer meeting so at the 11:00 hour, Larry and I were in charge of this meeting since President Pierce and his wife were involved with another couple coming to be married.  Again, a new experience for both of us.
Unfortunately there was no time on that shift to re-certify any of the ordinance workers.  I loved being busy.  The time went fast and my back didn't hurt.

Wednesday was another day off for us so we attended the temple for a session then found things to take up our time that day too.
Thursday and Friday were early morning temple days again.  These two days were a bit more calm.  We were able to do several re-certifications those days as well as help out in any of the areas we could.  Unfortunately, my back started hurting pretty bad by Friday.  Not sure what is the problem with my back but the exercises don't seem to be helping much. 

Friday night we went to Subway to eat since we were tired and didn't want to cook.  
Saturday we decided to go in to Honolulu to Ala Moana Mall and sight see on Tantalus Drive.  This drive is a very steep and winding road where lots of expensive houses are-overlooking the ocean and Honolulu.  The views are so impressive of this sprawling city on the banks of the ocean.

I am pleased to say that I am getting more familiar with my assignment here on my mission. 

The people here are so loving and welcoming to us and Larry knows many of them or their families since he lived here for a few years so that makes it much easier for him.

We walk around the community, along the beach or on the walking path several times each week which helps to keep us exercising to some degree while we are here.  This week we did at least three of those walks.

As I serve this mission I hope to grow closer to my Father In Heaven as I study the life of the Savior and ultimately the Father.  Those things we learn in the temple are a testimony of the creation of this earth and the principles we are to learn while on this earth.  Our faithfulness to the ordinances and covenants we make on this earth will help us in our ultimate goal of living with our eternal families and Heavenly Father when we leave mortality.

Last Week Of Vacation

July 12, 2015
So Tuesday we start back to work in the Laie, Hawaii Temple.  Since we were only here one week before the temple closed for cleaning/maintenance we really didn't get a feel for what we are supposed to do as far as training goes.  Starting Tuesday I think we will be in for some wonderful experiences.
As far as our experiences this past week...
We did some shopping on a couple of different occasions.  Remember, it is quite a drive to get to any kind of store other than a grocery store and a Longs Drug.  On Tuesday Larry and Keith went to the temple to do some carpentry work, putting door frames up in the laundry room.  That took them most of the day so I just hung out around the apartment.  Did some reading and studying for the talks that we gave in church.  Oh, yes.  Last Sunday the bishop asked us to speak in church so that required a bit of reading, studying and preparing this week.  We used a lot of the ideas we used in our farewell talks in Ogden so it was pretty easy. Other days this week we have done some island sightseeing i.e. Old Light House hike, blow hole, walks on the beach etc.
We have been out to eat a couple times this week.  I haven't been reporting where we have gone but I think I will start that today.
We ate at Kahuku Grill on Tuesday and North Shore Taco on Saturday night.  On Friday morning we went with Keith and Debbie into "town" to pick up their car so we went to Denny's for breakfast.   Eating out is pretty expensive over here--in fact, eating at home is expensive too.  I have found it interesting that food at Costco is about the same price here as it is in Utah but food in the grocery store is somewhat more.  Maybe just on the North Shore since there is nothing else around.
Last night as we were returning from our Costco run we got a flat tire.  Seems it was a blow out caused by driving on a low tire.  Tomorrow we get to go get a new tire.
Well, next week I should have more to report on after being in the temple all week.
Signing off for this week.

Hot and Muggy--Ready To Get Back To Work

It is Sunday so I need to update our blog post.  I would like to say that it has been an uplifting and productive week but since the Temple is closed there really is not much to do here.  We have made a couple trips into other towns with Keith and Debbie and just by ourselves to get groceries, etc.  We were in dire need of a broom so Walmart helped us out with that.  We have taken walks nearly every day but that still doesn't fill up the hours in the day.  We have also done lots of reading.  We are studying the Doctrine and Covenants together so that has been a good thing.  We also have individual reading we are doing.  I am currently reading The Savior's Final Week by Andrew C. Skinner.  The book is fascinating and gives so much insight into what Jesus Christ endured in Gethsemane.  I'm not to far into it but I am loving it and gaining a greater love for my Savior.

Yesterday was July 4th but unlike Ogden, there were no parades to attend.  The fireworks last night were held at Turtle Bay but with lots and lots of people attending, we decided to stay home and not get caught in the traffic.  During the day we went to Keith's house to be of some service during their yard sale.  They will be moving back to the mainland when their assignment in the Temple Presidency is over (end of October) so they are selling "stuff" and getting ready to put the house on the market.  It was so hot and muggy, I didn't envy them one bit having to put everything out and then pack everything back up when they were finished.  Hopefully we were of some help to them.

Today, being Fast Sunday, we will attend our first "Break the Fast" pot luck dinner with other Sr. Missionaries in the area to be held at PCC.  It should be fun to meet with and visit with others over here serving either at the PCC or BYUH.  Would have been so fun if our neighbors, the Reeds, could have served their mission here too.   On Monday evenings they hold FHE for the Sr. Missionaries as well.  We plan to attend those from time to time also.

This week Larry will be helping Keith do some carpentry work in the temple.  We had heard that we would be asked to help clean the temple but so far we haven't been asked.  Hopefully that will happen this week

One other thing to mention is that this upcoming week is our ward campout.  Having never participated in something like this before I will report on that next week with my entry. The ward members go to Hukilau Beach (a five minute walk from home) and camp, eat, have activities etc. Also, we have been asked to speak in church next week too so this week may be a little more full than last week.

So I close for now until next week.

WEEK ONE: TEMPLE AND RAIN

We have been here in Hawaii now for just over a week.  We worked at the Laie Temple Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday from 1:00 until 8:00pm.  We were trained for a couple hours on Tuesday and then set out on our own.  We were both able to do some training of new Ordinance Workers which was just a little intimidating since we are just learning our way around the temple ourselves.  By Friday we felt a little more at ease.  The temple is now closed for their two week maintenance schedule so we will have some time to reflect on our responsibilities.
We have tried to get out and walk each day for our exercise.  We have to go either early in the morning or just before sunset because with the humidity, it is quite hot. Monday morning we walked for about a mile and a half before we were caught in a rain shower.  Having no choice but to continue, we kept walking to our two mile mark and turned around.  The rain stopped about half mile from home.  Yes, I was quite a sight.  Looked like I had taken a dip in the ocean.  One thing I have learned is that it rains a little every day here.  It may be a downpour for 10 minutes--then it is finished.  It is raining now, even as I am writing this post.
We are so close to everything in the community so we can walk to BYU HI, the grocery store, PCC, Church, Temple etc. However, if we want a Walmart, a mall or Costco we drive for an hour or more depending on traffic.
We found out last night that we can volunteer to work at the PCC for a couple hours each week or two weeks and get free admission.  I think we will do that just to use our extra time wisely.
Oh, one other fun? little fact.  Geckos are all over.  Today I went to the kitchen to get some water and-you guessed it-there was a tiny one scurrying across the cupboard. Now I am NOT fond of having crawly things in my house but Larry said they eat the bugs-which could be a cockroach or something.  I just hope I don't see it again.  So really there are three of us living in the tiny apartment now.  Maybe more.
One of the things I am learning while being here is the humility of the people.  They don't feel a need to try and outdo their neighbors when it comes to material things.
They are happy with what they have.  Some of their houses are very small and in need of attention but as long as they have family they are happy.
So much for this week.  Hopefully I can stay dedicated enough to update my posts each week.

First Day On The Job

After yesterday's long flight from Salt Lake City to Honolulu we were greeted at the airport by Sister Konekoa, matron of the Laie Temple.  They had arranged to pick us up and have a driver take our luggage to our apartment.  After we got the bags put into the truck and it was on its way, President Konekoa and his wife took us to lunch at a place called Zippy's.  Pretty good food and great company as we chatted and got to know each other a little bit.  Then they brought us to our apartment where we were greeted by the neighbors and other missionary couple, the Fry's (Judy).  The oriented us as to where things were in the apartment, garage, ward building etc.
We unpacked our luggage and started making a list of things we would need to pick up at the grocery store and Walmart to begin our 12 months in Hawaii.

Even though we were both very tired, our internal time clocks were still on Utah time. We didn't get nearly enough sleep.  Hopefully tonight will be better.

We took a couple hours this morning to make a trip to Walmart (nearly an hour away) to get some supplies and stopped at Foodland to finish our shopping list.

We met with President and Sister Konekoa this afternoon to be set apart and receive some orientation.  Then brother and sister Robertson took us independently on a tour of the temple and taught some procedures that we need to know.  Tomorrow we will have two more hours of training from the Robertson's.  Next week we will be on our regular schedules of three days a week.
All in all, a very good day.

Our Temple Group

These wonderful people are our friends in temple training.  Learned so much from each of these good brothers and sisters. I hope
they all have a wonderful mission.

TOMORROW WE FLY...

June 17, 2015
Well, I mentioned that we would be in the Salt Lake Temple for training before our mission begins.  When we first got our call I was a little disappointed that we wouldn't get to experience the MTC.  I needn't have worried at all about that.  Our experience has been so very spiritual.  We have met several wonderful people and felt of their testimonies and love of the gospel and temple work.  We met as a group at the Joseph Smith Building in Salt Lake City on Monday morning. Brother and Sister Hicken. in charge of logistics of the temple department, met all of us and took us to the temple where training began. So helpful to all of us in finding our way around, making it where we needed to be and on time. There were a total of 15 couples and five single sisters that have been assigned to temples literally all over the world. Hong Kong, Peru, Philippines (both temples), London, Washington, D.C., Argentina, Samoa and of course Hawaii.  As we introduced ourselves we were humbled by the trials that some of these people were leaving as far as very ill children and grandchildren, a flooded home just three days before leaving, family events and yet they were willing to drop things in their lives to serve the Lord.  One sister said her daughter is waiting for her mission call  and won't even be there when the daughter leaves for her mission.

Our trainers were Brother Richard and Sister Kathleen Walker.  She is the oldest daughter of President Hinckley.  What a treat to be in their presence.  They have served as Temple President in Madrid, Spain; MTC President in Preston, England; and
Temple President in Salt Lake city.  They also served as Mission President in Washington, DC.  How privileged we were to glean from their wealth of experience.

So we were not disappointed in the content of our training.  Some of the things on the agenda were a great review of things we have learned previously like proper administration of ordinances but most things were given with a new or more in depth outlook to things we have been doing for years in the temple.  One very important message was the importance for members of the church doing their family genealogy and finding names to complete ordinances for. The work will mean so much more if we are bringing our ancestors into our eternal families.

Today we were able to take a "walk-about" around the Salt Lake Temple.  Such an historical building.  We started in the basement where the workings of the temple are, went in to the Baptistry (how beautiful that room is).  Then we climbed the beautiful spiral staircase to the fifth floor (yes, 104 stairs!) We went in the room that James E. Talmage used when he was commissioned by the church to write Jesus The Christ.  We were able to spend some time in the Solemn Assembly room and even listen to fun stories about President Hinckley told by his daughter.  They were so awesome to answer any question we could think of to ask them about temples, ordinances, procedures and the like.

So happy to be able to serve my Heavenly Father in this capacity as a temple missionary.  Stay tuned for more experiences, feelings and adventures as we begin in Laie, Hawaii tomorrow.