Elder & Sister Mundell

At this special time of year, we wanted to express our gratitude for all of the blessings our Heavenly Father gives us.  Elder Mundell: I am grateful for my family; parents who loved and taught me, sisters who have been there to support me, Marquita who was a rock of faith with unbelievable talents and abilities, Cathy who brings love and joy into my life, children who were easy to raise and continue to bless my life by the choices they make; for the Savior Jesus Christ; for his perfect example of love and kindness to all, and his infinite atonement for me, and for all of us; for a testimony of the restoration of the Church of Jesus Christ in these latter days; for the prophet Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon. I am thankful for each day that I am allowed to live, thankful for the opportunity to be a missionary and share my testimony with the people I meet, either by words or through my actions, and to know deep inside that I am doing what I should be doing at this time of my lif...

The thanksgiving holiday has always been such a special weekend for us to spend time with family, friends and loved ones. In Florida, we would invite neighbors and single ward members who would otherwise be spending the holiday alone to share our thanksgiving dinner. But as missionaries, this year we wanted to find ways to serve others and help make their thanksgiving a little nicer and happier for them. So we volunteered at Ko'olau Clubhouse, which is affiliated with Clubhouse International, and helps people with mental illness lead productive, happy lives. We played several games of thanksgiving bingo with them, which was a lot of fun, and spent most of our time just sitting with individuals, talking with them, and letting them share some of their life story with us. We also did some singing and shared a traditional thanksgiving meal with them. In the afternoon we volunteered at Hui Mahi'ai Aina, which is a homeless camp in Waimanalo, to help cook and serve thanksgiving dinne...

The word for family in the Hawaiian language is OHANA. The Thanksgiving holiday we celebrate this week is special, not because of food but because of FAMILY, and being grateful for the many blessings each of us enjoy each day by being part of a family. We encourage all of our friends and family to cultivate an attitude of gratitude, spend quality time with their family, and make Ohana a priority in your busy lives. Our family was blessed in several ways this past week. Our daughter Chloe and her husband Russell welcomed a baby boy into their family, Levi Kenneth Cheney, on November 9th. Sister Mundell got permission from the mission president to fly back to Colorado Springs and spend some time with the new parents and her precious grandson. This meant putting some of her missionary activities on hold for a week, but for important events like this, family comes first. She left her companion a detailed list of the places to be and the things we were supposed to do each day she was away, ...

There are many different ways senior couples can serve; some are in the mission office as secretaries, or over things like health, housing, finances and vehicles. Others offer service or humanitarian aid, serve as physicians or dentists in developing nations, or are called to family history centers, temples and visitor centers. On Oahu, we have dozens of couples who serve at the Polynesian Cultural Center in a variety of ways, both in front of the tourists and behind the scenes. And we have several couples who have base access who are called as military relations missionaries for the service men and women. But the vast majority of senior couples are MLS, which means Member and Leader Support. This is the official description of what we do: "Member and Leader Support missionaries share and teach the gospel of Jesus Christ, reactivate and minister to returning members, retain new converts, strengthen young single adults, and support local leaders. They may also provide a great and l...

     We really didn't know what to expect when we arrived in Hawaii almost three months ago. We are so happy to be here, serving God in such a beautiful place. We feel overwhelmed by the kindness, generosity and love of the Hawaiian people. And we are trying the best we can to reciprocate the love we feel from those we meet. What we are finding as we talk to people, both members and non-members of the church, is that they just need a friend. So that's basically all we are trying to do - make friends by being friendly, kind and compassionate with everyone. Which of course is what Jesus Christ would do. Following the example of Christ brings us joy each day, and we feel like the time and effort we are putting into this mission is being returned a hundred-fold back to us in blessings and God's tender mercies.     We have been participating in what the Kaneohe stake calls the "green arrow marathon". Birth, marriage and death records from the Hawaiian Islands have be...