Kona July 22 - 29

Kona July 22 – 29

Sunday evening and it has been a good week!

We have enjoyed another week in the Kona Temple!  Today is our three-month anniversary of the beginning of our mission to the Kona Temple.  Time has really flown by and it’s getting hard to remember when we were in Boise and not in Hawaii.  The new Senior Missionary Couple will begin their training tomorrow in the Provo temple then travel to Hawaii, arriving in Kona Friday August 3.  We remember with great fondness Elder and Sister Hammond’s instructions for the days we were in the Provo Temple for our training.  We look forward to meeting and help train this new couple.

Out of respect for privacy, we’ve tried not to include the full names of the individuals that we have met and included in our blog.

We attended our first baptism on Saturday afternoon.  This was a very spiritual and uplifting opportunity for us and we were grateful for the invitation to attend.  Kawika is 8 years old and had asked his father to baptize in the Hawaiian language.  Kaipo, his father, asked me to witness the baptism and I was honored to do so.  While Kaipo performed the ordinance, I followed the Hawaiian translation to insure it was performed correctly (it was).  The program was very family oriented and spiritual.  I’m sure our Heavenly Father was very pleased with Kawika’s decision to be baptized.  After the program, and in accordance with Hawaiian tradition, we had plenty of food in the courtyard of the church. Sometime, I’ll have to take a couple of pictures of our Stake Center so you can see the unique design and functionality of the building.  There was also a wedding reception at the same time and we almost didn’t know there were two major activities going on at the same time in the building.

I had mentioned before about giving a Hawaiian translation of the Book of Mormon to a Hawaiian brother, ordinance worker at the temple.  He has been diligently reading as I’ve reported before.  This Saturday, he brought a hand drawn pedigree chart of his family line that includes Kamehameha the great king who united the Hawaiian Islands and also Jonathan Napela, who assisted George Q. Cannon in translating the Book of Mormon “Ka Puke i Molemona” into the Hawaiian language.  He was struggling to follow references to the scriptures because in 1855, when the translation was completed, the Chapter and Verse headings were much different than today’s marking. I helped him to see how to accomplish this task that took me about three years to complete.

I’m struck by the irony that I was able to use my limited Hawaiian language skills to assist a descendant of Kamehameha and Jonathan Napela, and in witnessing the baptism of one of God’s children.  Truly the Lord utilizes everyone to fulfill His purposes.

Today, we attended choir practice and Sacrament meeting in our ward then we were picked by the Second Counselor in the Temple Presidency and his wife, for the 45 minute trip to Waimea to attend the Sunday meetings of the Waimea First Ward.  It was great to recognize and meet the saints in Waimea that we have come to know and love through their temple service. 

The Waimea chapel is an amazing combination of a very high, open-beam ceiling reminiscent of early 1900’s architecture with very modern, brushed nickel lighting fixtures in the ceiling.  This was a most pleasing look and the acoustics were exceptional. We would have like to have taken a picture to share with you.

The President and Assistant to the Matron spoke to the combined young men and young women of the ward about Patriarchal Blessings and Self Worth.  Once again we were taught correct principles of the Gospel in a very effective and in the case of the President, a most unique way.  This is a story for another day, but I can assure you, those young people will not soon forget the principles that were taught and the tender mercies revealed in the meeting.

Finally, last Sunday evening we took a short walk around our apartment in the Kona Coffee Villas and we took some pictures to share with you.

Much Love and Aloha from Paradise!

  

Coffee Tree                                                     Avacado Tree                         Macadamia Nuts and Blossoms

                                                       Fresh Avacado picked off the tree

Kona July 16 - 22

 

Our Beautiful Orchid Aisle Leading to the Entrance of the Kona Hawaii Temple

Aloha na hoaloha  maua a ‘Ohana! (Greetings to our friends and family!)

I’m including some pictures I took this week of the Orchid Aisle at the entry to the Temple.  These Orchids were newly planted, replacing perfectly good looking Orchids that needed some time in the shade to rejuvenate and refresh before being rotated back to the Orchid Aisle.  Some local members take care of this project as a service to the temple they love.

This past week was almost a ‘vacation’ as we were able to serve an almost normal schedule of split shifts between the morning and evening sessions. We also had the opportunity to meet many visitors coming to the temple to serve in the House of the Lord.  They came from as far away as Switzerland (a grandson of President Kimball), and as nearby as neighboring islands.  I’m surprised by how many visitors come from Arizona and, more specifically, from Mesa.  As former residents of Scottsdale Arizona, we understand the desire to flee the scorching heat of the Valley of the Sun in July for the moderation of Kona with daily temperatures ranging from about 86 – 89 every day.  TV weather forecasts are really boring here!

Another ‘small world’ experience this week…A few years ago, while serving at the recommend desk in the Boise Temple, a couple came to the desk and presented their recommends.  After scanning, I commented that their last name meant “many women or many wives” in Hawaiian.  The sister was surprised and asked, “How do you know that?”  When I responded that I had been trying to learn the Hawaiian language and of our love for Hawaii, she asked “if we had ever been to Moloka’i?”  I told her that we had not been there but hoped to go sometime.  She said, “Let us know when you go and I will tell my parents, who live there, and they will meet you at the airport, provide lodging in their home and take you all over the island to see the sights!”

Several weeks ago, I had made arrangements for several saints from Moloka’i to visit the temple and serve as Ordinance Workers and attend sessions.  This week, we’ve had the pleasure of working with these wonderful people and we got well acquainted with the sister and her husband who had made the arrangements with me.  OK, you’ve guessed the rest of the story!  I asked this sister if she might know of a couple living on Moloka’i that had a daughter living in Nampa, Idaho.  Turns out she and her husband were the parents!

We were blessed to have the Full-time Elders for dinner last Wednesday evening. There had been a transfer and the ‘new’ Elder was from Pocatello, Idaho…of course!  We treated them to an “Elwood Sunday dinner” even though it was the middle of the week.  Sirloin Roast beef, mashed potatoes (thanks Ore-Ida), gravy, green beans and tossed salad.  Carolyn baked a raspberry cheesecake for dessert.  There were no leftovers!!

We have to get back to reading The Book of Mormon (Hawaiian Translation).  When we were serving the long days without a break, it was too easy to set the alarm and crawl into bed to get some rest for the next day.  The Hawaiian brother that I gave a copy of the Hawaiian translation to has been faithfully reading and is nearly into Third Nephi.  He promised to be finished by this coming Saturday and I can tell this has been a very spiritual experience for him as it has been for us.

One of our ward members that sits next to me in choir and that I mentioned before as having borne his testimony partly in Hawaiian, also has a copy of the Hawaiian translation.  Last week, in preparation to baptize his son in the Hawaiian language, asked and we looked up the baptismal prayer in my book …Third Nephi Chapter 11 Verse 25…

”Ua loaa ia’u ka mana I haawiia mai e Iesu Kristo, ke bapetizo aku nei au ia oe iloko o ka inoa o ka Makua, a o ke keiki, a o ka Uhana Hemolele. Amene.”

This week, he brought his Book of Mormon to church and wanted to find that scripture so he could memorize the prayer.  His translation was the same as my copy with the 1855 Chapter (Mokuna) and Verse numbering so the reference was off by about 20 pages.  I had marked my translation for the current Chapter and Verses and we quickly turned to the verse so he could mark his copy.  He has invited us to attend the baptism next Saturday and we are excited to attend.  We feel a close kinship to this family for several reasons. I’m beginning to understand my compulsion to read the Book of Mormon in Hawaiian more each day.

On the technology side, the Temple President very often asks for some attendance analysis or a list of workers, or scheduled ward visits, etc.  I spend most of my day on the computer and Carolyn has figured out most of the new Temple Schedule Program and the Ordinance Recording System.  After some frustration with the touch-pad on our Laptop here at home, we finally acquired a wireless mouse that has made this process much faster.  To top the week off, Motorola upgraded our new Droid Razr phones to the new “Ice Cream Sandwich” operating system…happy new learning curve!!  Now what kind of name is “Ice Cream Sandwich’” for a smart phone operating system?  Maybe we need ‘smart users!”

Yesterday, we received a letter with notes from many members of the Fourth Ward!  Carolyn read it to me as we traveled into Kona Town and it was so heart-warming and uplifting to hear their notes to us.  We miss our Home Ward and all our family and friends there but we are happy here serving where the Lord has called us.  Mahalo nui loa ward members!

Much love and Aloha (and some Smart-Phone confusion) from Paradise!!

Kona July 9 - 15

Kona July 9-15

Aloha from the Orchid Isle!

I’ve been meaning to take some pictures from the Temple’s “Orchid Aisle” to show you the beautiful walkway leading to the temple.  It’s called the “Orchid Aisle” due to all the beautiful varieties of Orchids that are planted alongside the walkway.  The maintenance of these Orchids is done by local members who tend them and replace them when their blooming period ends.  This is one of the most often photographed places on the temple grounds.

The Temple Presidency recently began offering Youth Service Projects for wards attending the temple for youth baptisms.  These projects include the cleaning and repainting of the concrete decorative walls surrounding the temple and the benches that are placed around the walkways.  Youth participating in Temple Service Projects gain a more personal relationship and ownership with the temple and is proving to be a faith-building experience for these young men and women.

We have reached a milestone, of sorts, in our temple service.  This past week marked the end of the Ward Temple Appointments from the Maui saints.  As I have mentioned before, when these wards come to Kona, they serve all day long.  Our regular schedule includes four sessions per day except for Wednesday, when there are only two.  This provides a break of a couple of hours during the day when we can return home to eat and rest.  Since the other missionary couple assigned to the Kona Temple will not be here until the first week of August, we have been serving double shifts on our regular temple schedule and often up to 17 hours straight during these ward appointments. Members of the Presidency have served right there with us and sometimes even longer.  The Second Counselor and his wife were there 19 straight hours last week.  No one complains and we are sustained by the spirit of the work and the association with our brothers and sisters in the Gospel.  Serving as full-time Missionaries in the Kona Hawaii Temple a vacation…not a chance…it is so much more rewarding!

I’m now beginning the process or rescheduling a new round of Temple Appointment for the Maui Stake that will begin in late September through the end of the year.  This time though, there will be two missionary couples to share in the blessings!

Another milestone was achieved today!  Carolyn and I were asked to speak in our Ward’s Sacrament meeting.  The topics…Temple Service and Senior Couple Missionaries!  As these were nearly the same topics we were assigned for our home Ward “Farewell” the preparation for my subject about senior couple missionaries was built upon my earlier remarks.  Carolyn had to start from scratch because, for some reason, we could not find her talk from April on the computer.  Oh well, that’s behind us now so we should be able to relax for a while.  Although, we have been invited by one of the Counselors to accompany them to one of the Waimea Wards in the northern part of the island next Sunday, so perhaps our relaxation might be short-lived!

 Ancient Hawaiians had many sayings that reflected their spiritual beliefs and attitude towards life.  I found one that I thought would, perhaps, bring a smile –

“‘A’a  i ka hula, waiho ka hilahila i ka hale.” “When one wants to dance the hula, bashfulness should be left at home.”  I’ll leave the interpretation of that up to you!

Na ‘ala hele a pau I ka Hala La’a!  All roads lead to the temple!

Much love and aloha to all!

                                                            A perfect end to P-Day!

Kona July 2 - 8

Kona July 2-8

Aloha!

Late today because we had a wonderful one hour SKYPE call with half our family! I can remember when video calls were in the realm of science fiction, but now,  thanks to technology developed as a result of our now abandoned space program, this is a common practice.  We can even SKYPE from the beach with our new Droid Razrs!

This has been a quiet week at the temple.  I guess that is a bit misleading because it’s always quiet in the temple but we returned to our normal temple schedule without a week-long visit from the saints in Maui.  We were able to serve both shifts this week, morning and evening, with a couple of hours break in between.  Even though we are there 12 – 13 hours each day, that mid-day break makes it much less taxing physically.  Spiritually, a temple mission is unsurpassed!

The temple was open for two sessions on the Fourth of July, which seemed a little unusual because in Boise, the temple was always closed on the Fourth.  There was a local parade but parking was a nightmare so we went to one of our favorite restaurants for dinner.  New owners’ and the food was not as good as it used to be so maybe off the list!

Our Stake Center is next door to the temple and they have been constructing a pavilion on the back of the property.  The contractor had poured a concrete pad with columns to support the roof.  While constructing something in Hawaii seems to take forever (not much has happened on this project since we arrived in May) the location seemed a perfect place to watch the firework display over Kailua Bay.  We enjoyed the peace of the temple grounds while we waited for dark.

 About a half hour before the start time, a number of cars began filtering into the stake center parking lot.  Our Bishop and a large number of his family arrived and set up a table for food and brought chairs out from the church to watch the fireworks.  We joined them with our beach chairs and were treated to a great Fourth of July celebration with our perfect view.  For a perspective, if the site of the pavilion were a home building site, it would easily sell for the high six-figures.  The view is spectacular.

This year marks our fiftieth anniversary of viewing fireworks together!  It was considerably more spectacular than our first one together outside the ball park in Idaho Falls sitting on the trunk of my ’56 Chevy!  What a beautiful life we have had together!!

Hawaiian culture often requires naming children with a first name and one, two or even three, middle names.  We had a young man come to the temple this week for his first time.  Carolyn had an interesting time entering his second middle name.  It was 34 characters long…Kekaunamakakaho’omaupopopikeolamauloa…which literally means “The discerning eyes ever fixed on Eternal Life.”  This is a beautiful tradition and these names are very important to the family.  Our children are perhaps fortunate that we didn’t serve this mission before they were born.

Tomorrow is our Preparation Day and we will probably visit our favorite beach to enjoy the opportunity to sit under a palm tree to read with the gentle ocean winds, soft warm sand and a good book. 

Rejuvenated, we will return to the temple to be blessed with a visit from the Pukalani Ward in Maui.  Another exciting week of service in the most beautiful, spiritual and greatest mission on earth! E maka’ala mai I ka hana no ke Akua I ka Hale La’a! (Be vigilant in the work of God in the Temple)

Me ka Aloha pumehana ‘Ohana a na Hoaloha! Love and Aloha to all!

Kona June 25 - July 1

Kona June 25 – July 1

Aloha!

It’s July already!  How the time has flown by.  We were just discussing on the way home from the temple yesterday that entering the MTC two months ago seems like years, but only two months! Auwe!

We completed another busy week of service in the House of the Lord. Some days over sixteen hours long with members of the Presidency serving right there with us.  In fact, June was the busiest month in the history of our beautiful temple.

This last week, we had the opportunity to meet and serve with another Tongan Ward from Maui, the last until October.  I feel the need to learn a little Tongan but I’m having a little trouble getting the cadence of the language through my mind to my mouth.  One of the counselors in the Presidency gave me a book about how to learn Tongan and I copied a couple of phrases.  My computer lacks a proper type font for Hawaiian as well as Tongan so some of the Diacritical marks don’t print correctly but a few comparisons will give you the point…

                English                                  Hawaiian                              Tongan

                Hello                                      Aloha                                    Malo e lelei

                How are you?                    Pehea ‘oe?                         Fefe Hake?
                Thanks very much!          Mahalo nui loa!                 Malo ‘aupito!

Well, you get the picture!

I must tell you about one Brother who I worked with to schedule his Ward’s appointment. He doesn’t use Email so it was more difficult to schedule all their sessions than usual.  I first received a FAX from him via his brother outlining their schedule needs.  After reviewing and determining we could meet most of their needs, I tried to call to confirm the few changes.  No answer, so I left a voice mail. After a couple of weeks, I received another FAX with changes to his original schedule.  Called him back and finally got him on the phone…from his voice, I painted a picture of the man that later proved to be fairly accurate when I met him in person.

He was a little shorter than I expected for a Tongan but was still several inches taller than me.  He had a neck size that I would judge to be in excess of 20 inches and his hands dwarfed my own. He was large but powerful and when he spoke, everyone listened. 

Okay, the voice!  I finally characterized it this way…if a giant Alaskan Kodiak bear with a cold could talk…you’ve heard this wonderful brother speak!

A couple of weeks ago, one of the Counselors asked me to meet with him and a couple from our ward in the President’s office.  I was able to provide some procedural counsel to an issue and was able to assure them about their concerns.  That next weekend, this brother sat next to me in Choir practice and I was amazed at his beautiful baritone voice.  I later complimented him on his voice and asked if he had received professional training.  He said no and that he could not read music either.  I was shocked! 

Today I sat next to him and while I was having trouble finding the right pitch for a couple of hymns we are practicing, this brother had the melody pegged and was fully capable of drowning out the rest of the men in the choir.  Okay, there are only four of us but he has a beautiful voice.

Later when the meeting was turned over for testimonies, this brother was the first to the podium to bear his testimony. Another word picture is in order…mid-thirties, long curly hair, goatee, sun glasses on top of his head!  He bore one of the most beautiful and heartfelt testimonies I ever been privileged to hear.

When the mail came to the temple last Tuesday, we received a package from a couple who used to live on the Hilo side of the Island. Inside, were five Book of Mormon in Hawaiian and a note stating that they had moved to the mainland and had discovered these books when unpacking.  They asked that we use them in the Temple or provide a good home for them. Since they are not bound in white we could not place them in the Temple but we put a copy in the President’s office and I have one on my desk.

Saturday, I helped serve at the recommend desk so the brother serving there could take a break.  He is a very kindly Hawaiian whose name means “Good.”  When he returned, he asked me how I was progressing with reading the Book of Mormon in Hawaiian. I replied that I had completed it once and was nearing the end of 2 Nephi on my second reading.  He said he didn’t know there was a Hawaiian translation before he heard about me reading it.  He said he had a Hawaiian Bible that he had read before.  A few minutes later he came to the office and asked me to order a couple of copies of the Book of Mormon in Hawaiian for him.  I explained where he could order from the church website and gave him the URL address.  My bride later suggested I give him one of the books we had received earlier.  I followed her excellent counsel and gave him a copy.  He was so touched about how these folks on the mainland had sent these to the temple; he had tears in his eyes and promised to read it.  I promised to give him the name of the couple and their address so he could write and thank them.

 Spiritual experiences like these abound in the Temple all the time and we are so blessed to be able to share a few of them with you.  We love the blessings of temple service and look forward to many more in the months to come.  Love and Aloha from Paradise!

                                Why groceries are expensive in Kona...View from parkilng lot at KTA Store!