Anticipation

    We've had many people ask us questions like "what is it like to be senior missionaries?" or "what do you do as a senior couple?" Today we'd like to help you understand our day-to-day experiences a little better. Every day we are focused on what we can do to serve our Heavenly Father, to follow Jesus Christ, and to find ways to bless and serve God's children. An important part of each morning is to review our appointment calendar together and make plans by scheduling out our day. Some days are very busy, this past Friday we were gone from our apartment from 7:30 am until 9:30 pm without a break. Other days we don't have much to do, so it's important for us to find additional missionary opportunities by making some calls to various non-profit groups and try to reach out to them again, reminding them of our desire to serve as volunteers in their relief organizations. We make sure to exercise, eat a good diet and get enough rest so we can remain healthy on our mission. Dan is a morning person who loves to walk, so he wakes up before 5:30 am and walks for over 90 minutes, which is about 6 miles for him. Cathy prefers to get up around the time he gets back, go walking for an hour or so and then exercise in the community pool for 90 minutes, provided we don't have other commitments in the morning. 

    We attend two wards on Sundays, but Thursdays and Fridays are proving to be our busiest days. On Thursday, we have a mission-wide meeting over Zoom at 10, but at the same time we are meeting and making friends with several homeless individuals at a detox center in Honolulu, so Dan participates on the Zoom call and joins the group discussion later. After lunch we return to the detox center for group activities, then head to the port of Honolulu to help sort and process donated items at a huge warehouse for the victims of the Maui wildfires in August. Then we drive back to the other side of the island and play volleyball with a group of less active young sisters the proselyting elders are working with. On Friday we leave at 7:30 to serve breakfast at a nearby community center to senior citizens, who are called Kupuna. We love serving there, but have to hurry off before it's over to make it in time to our volunteering at the Pantry in Honolulu from 9 am until 2 pm. They have lots of donated snacks like donuts and fruit pies they need to dispose of, so we load up the trunk and then hand them out to the people we share a bible lesson with at a halfway house from 4:30 to 5:30. This Friday we met a group of elders at a McDonald's and we gave them most of it. Lots of smiling, happy young faces that afternoon in the parking lot! There was also a memorial service at 6 pm for Sister Kitashima of the mission presidency, and we realized that with downtown traffic it would be impossible to make it there on time, so we drove home and participated remotely via a live stream broadcast of the service. We love to be totally exhausted at the end of the day, because it means we are doing our best and trying to follow Jesus by serving others with all of our heart, mind and strength. 

    We really enjoyed the opportunity to watch general conference this weekend. The morning sessions start at 6 am, so that took some getting used to. We loved the opening talk by Elder Bednar. He commended the millions of Saints who serve faithfully and unpretentiously without acknowledgement or praise; including those who choose to sit with those who are alone at church, the inspired translators and interpreters around the world, nursery leaders and primary teachers who love and instruct the children each Sunday. The last talk on Saturday by Elder Rasband also touched us deeply. He spoke about the need for more senior couples around the world in every mission in many different assignments, and pleaded with our seasoned veterans who've had a lifetime of church service to accept the call to serve as senior missionaries. Elder Gong stressed the need for wholesome church-sponsored activities, which really struck a chord with Sister Mundell. We will follow the living prophet's counsel in our lives to "Think Celestial".

    We feel like our efforts so far after two months in the mission field are really starting to take off. We are finally starting to meet with groups and individuals and have gospel conversations with them where they can feel the spirit. There will be many more opportunities to come in the near future. The best way to describe what we're feeling is taking a long, slow climb up the first incline of a roller coaster. Along the way you see everything all around you much better, and the anticipation for what is to come builds with each clackety-clack along the way. Then as you reach the crest, you get the thrill of seeing what's ahead of you and the fun begins. We love serving our Heavenly Father and his son Jesus Christ as missionaries in Hawaii. God bless you all! We love and appreciate you!