Kona April 15 - 21

Kona April 15 – 21

Newest Orchid

 

Aloha ‘Auinala  Kakou!

It is sobering to be keying the next to the last entry on our Mission Aloha Blog!  We met our replacement Missionary couple on Friday and after a few hours introducing them to the Kona Hawaii Temple; we took them to our apartment and welcomed them to their new home.  This last week of the maintenance closing of the temple gave us a little time to finish cleaning and packing the apartment in preparation for our move to our timeshare condo in Kailua.

Elder and Sister Cox were great to meet and to get to know. We’re sure they will fit right into the spirit and joy of temple service.  Monday morning will begin their week of training for the best Mission in the church.  We all say that but it’s true!

The very first thing we missed from the apartment was the cooler temperatures we have enjoyed for the last year.  We are now within a couple of hundred yards of the ocean and the temperature is well into the upper 80’s.  I’m sure will acclimate to the heat by the time we leave for home a week from tomorrow then we will start the process back to much cooler temperatures.  Oh well, it’s all good!

Monday, we were invited to a genuine luau in Hawi hosted by a former Temple President and his dear wife.  They have been hosting luaus for nearly 37 years for tourists, friends, corporate sponsored events on the Islands and on the mainland… nearly 650 luaus in total! Joining us were two Sister Missionaries serving in their Ward, the missionary couple serving in the temple with us, and another couple from Ogden who attend their ward and who live on the Big Island for three or four months each year.

Nani Missionary

 

As I mentioned last week, this was a ‘hands on’ luau which, as we found out, meant we participated in nearly everything associated with an authentic Hawaiian Luau from food preparation, loading the Imu (underground oven), husking coconuts, sampling the inside parts, making leis, learning the Hula, being taught the Conch shell ceremony, given the traditional Hawaiian welcome chant (‘Oli) in fluent Hawaiian, and of course, the eating part.  The menu was excellent with pork roast (not the whole pig), ginger chicken, purple sweet potatoes, and a Polynesian dish called Lua??? (consisting of spinach, onions, corned beef and coconut milk) all baked in the Imu.  Added to this were dishes of Lomi Lomi (raw Ahi tuna with finely chopped tomatoes, onions, salt all “cooked” in coconut milk overnight in the refrigerator), sticky rice, and fruit salad (pineapple, papaya, banana and mangos with scoops of vanilla ice cream melted into the fruit).  Oh, did I mention the Pineapple Upside-down for dessert!

Scrape 'da Coconut

 

After we were appropriately ‘stuffed’ with good food, we were all assembled into the living room for two beautiful songs from our hosts accompanied by the ‘ukulele!  After 7 hours of festivities including great food, hula, music and much aloha, we decided we loved these wonderful people and island traditions even more.

Tuesday was our turn to feed the full-time Elders serving in our ward area.  Our friend and former neighbor Mary Lou, joined us accompanied by her ever-present standard red poodle.  We noted that our first guests in our apartment were also the full-time Elders as well as the last.  A good beginning and end!

Thursday, we were invited to dinner at Auntie Dorothy’s home along with our dear friend Auntie Gracie and another young couple from our ward that were moving to Maui.  More great food covered the table, coconut shrimp, rice, teriyaki beef,  shrimp, vegetables (Brussels sprouts and mixed vegetables), a baked chicken dish, and noodles. Oh, did I mention the sweet sticky rice with fresh mangoes topped with a sweet coconut sauce!

We know what you’re thinking and you’re right!  Auwe!

Today, we spoke in our ‘home’ ward as the last of our assigned speaking tour on our mission.  Sister Elwood offered her uplifting talk based upon the Primary hymn, “I Love to See the Temple.  With a Youth speaker and a song by the older Primary girls, I was left with about 7 minutes to give a 20 minute talk.  Nothing unusual about that and not a problem (aole pilikia) since it’s usually easier to cut than to add.

Monday begins our final week of serving in the Kona Hawaii Temple!  This has been such a wonderful blessing in our lives. We will never forget the special spirit that we have enjoyed serving in the House of the Lord for the last year and for all of the very beautiful Saints we have met.  It is hardly possible that we are leaving for home so soon.  Seems like we just arrived!

Much love and Aloha from Paradise.

Ti Leaf Leis