Elder & Sister Mundell

Most of our fun and interesting things we did occurred at the end of the week.  Friday morning we had a breakfast to celebrate all of our seminary students from both 6 am classes who've completed another semester, but especially to honor our six graduating seniors who have worked so hard over the past four years to finally be called seminary graduates.  All of the parents and the bishops were also invited, so there were about 40 people there altogether.  We had a lot of fun and good food - crepes, fried rice, bacon, cinnamon rolls, and extras! TASI KIA'I Friday night we hosted a social gathering for the senior missionary couples on Oahu at a clubhouse where we live in Kaneohe.  About 30 of us showed up, and we had a great time mingling together with good food and good friends.  We feel it's important to do things together occasionally - to share some war stories serving and working with the saints and the young missionaries - so we try to get together as a group...

It's always a special day when we remember and honor our dear mothers. We helped several of the older single sisters attend a Mother's Day social in the Waimanalo ward that was really nice and a lot of fun, and we made dozens of chocolate chip cookies yesterday that were handed out to the sisters in both wards today as a way of showing how much we love and appreciate them. One thing all of us have in common is a mother! One of the sweetest things we can do for them is make Mother's Day a special day. We were honored to be recognized by the staff and patients at the Windward Mental Health facility this week for service we gave there for more than 18 months.  We made several good friends along the way, and we hope that our efforts made a difference in their lives. One of the many posters we helped the clients at Windward Health create as therapy. We try to attend the temple every week, usually on Wednesday morning. We feel so blessed to have a House of God so close we can wor...

Sister Mundell is on a rescue mission in Utah this weekend for one of her children.  We feel like now is a good time to take a step back and share some of our recent photos in lieu of a detailed description of this week's events and activities. These are boxes containing more than 30 blankets that we're sending out to a non-profit group called My Very Own Blanket - that they will distribute to foster children around the country.  The YSA branch and the Kailua Ward assisted us in this effort. Elder Mundell learned how to make sourdough bread from his son who was visiting us from Japan.  It turned out great! We taught a lesson about unity in seminary this week from Doctrine and Covenants section 38: 24 - 27 -- "Be one, and if ye are not one ye are not mine".   We showed them this wall from inside the Waimanalo chapel as an example of what the Lord means to be one.  All of the stones are different.  Different sizes, shapes, and colors - just like us....

We were on grandparent duty all week.  Dan's son Korey and his wife Metta (who are stationed in Japan) had a week-long training at Hickam AFB for new commanders, and the whole family came to visit Hawaii for the first time.  We offered to let their three young children - Ian (9), Scott (7) and Paige (4) - stay at our apartment while they were at the lodging quarters on base.  We've had small children living here before, but it was always with their parents, so this was a new mission experience for us.    Sugar cookie decorating for Easter It's a challenge keeping three active youngsters busy and entertained enough so they aren't fighting with each other in a small apartment like ours.  The only solution was to get them out of the house doing fun and interesting things that they all enjoyed.  That meant we spent a lot of time at the beach.  They loved splashing in the water and playing in the wet sand.  One of our greatest accomplishments in t...

  We love this unique opportunity to be full-time missionaries, and to have so many experiences each week that teach us the importance of loving others, showing them kindness and respect, and serving God by serving others.  We feel great blessings of peace and joy as we invite people to come unto Christ, to hear his voice, and to follow him.  The added bonus is we get to do all this in a wonderful island paradise!   Sister Mundell embracing the Hawaiian culture - cuckoo for coconuts. One thing we try to do with our seminary class is to teach them to love and serve others.  This week we made cute Easter bunnies out of paper plates, filled them with candy and other goodies, and then gave them to the seminary students in the freshman and sophomore class.  They were surprised and happy to be the recipient of a small simple act of love and kindness.  The most special thing for us is to see these acts of kindness reciprocated towards us.  One of ou...

The missionaries in our zone have been focused on greater unity lately, especially for each companionship, and Sister Mundell was asked to utilize some of her background in recreation therapy by sharing some team-building activities with them on their preparation day.  We sat in a large circle and everyone was asked to describe something about themselves using a word that started with the first letter of their last name.  Then each of us picked a random item from around the house out of a paper bag and used it to illustrate a positive trait or quality about it that we saw in the person sitting next to us.  The missionaries really learned a lot about themselves in the next activity.  They were separated in groups of elders and sisters and given the task of everyone (including half of them who were blindfolded) making it across the gymnasium floor of "hot lava" with only a few pieces of paper they could use as stepping stones.  The elders were very creative and wo...