Week 20 Report

Another transfer week successfully completed. This was our biggest transfer to date - 21 arriving and 19 departing. We've been here long enough to know many of the missionaries, so I was a little sad seeing some of them leave this time. The departing ones I talked to were also sad...anxious to see their families, of course, but sad to be leaving the mission. It is said that the American missionaries have the most anxiety the first 3 months as they are adjusting, but the foreign missionaries have the most anxiety the last 3 months. Some really DON'T want to go home, especially those from third world countries. We have many from the pacific islands that feel that way. The really positive thing is that Sister Itoga, our office service missionary, works with many of these missionaries to help them study, take tests, and get admitted to BYUH. That is a game changer for their lives.

The beautiful faces of our July arriving missionaries! I see their photos for months as I work with their files and I can name every one.

The new missionaries arrived on Monday. Tuesday I emailed 3 photos to each missionary's family - this one, solo photo of each missionary, and one with them and President and Sister Bekker. I order 2 prints of each missionary, trim them, and make cards for two transfer boards - one in the office and one in the mission home.  That and all the usual correspondence and reports kept me pretty busy. The departing missionaries have some pretty nice departing activities. After being in Hawaii for 18 months or 2 years they finally get to do some fun things. Wednesday they go to the swap meet, attend a temple session with the Bekkers, and go to the PCC for a few hours where they eat at the Island Buffet and see the night show. Thursday they have a testimony meeting, visit Pearl Harbor, pack, weigh suitcases, and fly out about 9:00 pm. 

Devon spent another long day moving elders out of an apartment. Theirs flooded about a week ago. The repairs will take too long, so they decided to close the apartment. The elders have been staying with another set of elders in a 2 bedroom pad. They would like to stay there, but that's not the best situation. No decision is made yet. Since they are living with other elders, most of their furniture and kitchen things had to be moved to storage. 

We have had a 2 transfer missionary for the past three months. He is a sweet young man from Hawaii with some learning disabilities - reading is difficult for him. But what he lacks in educational skills he more than makes up for in spirituality, obedience, and hard work. The purpose of the 2 transfer mission is to see if he could be successful on a mission. Well, Wednesday his family, companion, mission office staff, President and Sister Bekker, and a few other missionaries gathered in the office while he opened his official mission call. What a sweet moment as he was overcome with joy at being called by a prophet of God to serve a mission. He will be going to the Arizona Scottsdale Mission. He reports to the MTC on August 17th. There is not another happier missionary in the world!

Our antique washing machine bit the dust this week and, as luck would have it, our landlord is on the mainland. We had a repairman come check it out and he confirmed what we already suspected - it's toast! The landlord has another old one he is planning to have a repairman check out. If it's useable we'll get that one. If not, he promised a new one. Is it bad for me to hope the old one is past using? Mainly I just hope we get something soon. We went to the laundromat - no fun - where each load of washing cost $4.00! For 25 cents you get 3 minutes of drying time. So we did a little drying, but brought it home to finish.

Saturday morning I went to the swap meet with three other senior sisters - what fun...especially since we left our husbands home! I bought two cute, cheap dresses to wear at the office and did some Christmas shopping for grandkids. That evening was the annual Manoa Ward Luau. What a party! The whole ward and then some were there. Everything was amazing - food, decorations, entertainment. The whole evening was filled with aloha. We loved it!

The evening started with a beautiful Hawaiian chant from this member.

Dinner clockwise from top left: rice with chicken curry, kalua pork, some kind of rice thing (delicious), salmon salsa (not so great), chicken, long noodles with chicken, and salad. Top right corner is coconut custard - delicious.

Primary children singing a Hawaiian song in Hawaiian.

Tahitian dance. They were really good.

84 year-old Sister DuPont singing a Hawaiian song - beautiful!

Another island dance.

Stick dance.

Relief Society sisters. They each made their own head dress and they were beautiful!

Hurricane season just started here and so every evening the weather talks about brewing storms in the pacific. Currently there is much worry about hurricane Darby. It hit the big island yesterday as a severe tropical storm bringing rain, high winds, and flooding. Maui is next in it's path and then  it should visit Oahu early tomorrow morning. We have stocked up (as instructed) and are waiting to see if it arrives, or fizzles out. A couple of older gentlemen we talked to in the elevator of our building  just shook their heads saying nothing much ever happens. We'll see and I'll report next week.

It has been another wonderful week in paradise. Tons of work - tons of things accomplished - tons of wonderful experiences with wonderful people. My CT results came back - no evidence of recurrent or metastatic disease - good news! Our amazing children finished moving our things from storage to our new house. They have been wonderful taking care of things for us at home. We truly are blessed on every front, and we are so grateful! I have no doubt that our loving Heavenly Father is at our side. I feel Him! I love Him! When it is my time to meet Him again, it will be wonderful!