Elder & Sister Mundell

Today marks five months serving in the mission field. We went to the beach on Christmas Day, and had a very relaxing and enjoyable holiday there. We weren't extremely busy this week, with Christmas on Monday and a lot of our usual activities suspended because of the holidays. So we wanted to take a step back and take another look at some of the important and special things that happened to us and our family during the past year in 2023 as we anticipate the start of another year tomorrow. About this time last year we'd already made the decision to serve a mission together, and we were in the process of filling out the lengthy missionary application and making doctor appointments needed to pass the physical and dental exams. And then in March we opened an email from the First Presidency informing us we were assigned to the Hawaii Honolulu Mission as Member Leader Support missionaries. It's hard to describe the excitement we felt then, and believe it or not, we still feel that...

We wish all of you a merry Christmas, wherever you may be, please know that we love and care for you. We know that, in addition to our children and siblings we write to on this blog, many other friends and loved ones are reading these weekly updates on Facebook about our wonderful mission activities as well. We hope and pray your lives are filled with happiness, and you have a joyous Christmas holiday season with friends and family. We wanted to do something special this Christmas, so we bought nearly 200 tins of Christmas cookies at Longs Drug Store, pasted an appropriate message on the back, and handed them out after church services on Sunday. Love to share the Joy of Christmas! The month of December provides multiple opportunities for us to serve our fellow man and extend them a helping hand of love, kindness, fellowship and compassion. We are blessed as full-time missionaries to have time available to devote our full attention and resources towards the things that we feel can make ...

We're trying to do our best to spread the good news of Jesus Christ, and to "Light the World" during this Christmas season when hearts turn toward the Savior and there's a greater desire to love one another and give more than tangible gifts through acts of service and charity. We volunteered to assist with the "Giving Machine" at the Windward Mall, which is only a couple of blocks from our apartment. The Giving Machine is a large vending machine that, instead in dispensing snacks and soda, gives people the opportunity to donate to a variety of charities and causes based here in Hawaii, including Project Vision, Aloha Harvest, US Vets, Catholic Charities, and the Hui Mahi'ai Aina shelter in Waimanalo we've mentioned several times before. There are many different things people can "buy" to donate, such as school supplies, clothing, bedding and various amounts of food, even including a goat and chickens! Sister Mundell proved to be a natural s...

During this time of the year, we are seeing lots of RED -- red lights, red bulbs, red tinsel and red decorated Christmas shirts.  We love seeing all of the things in red which reminds us of our Savior Jesus Christ and how he died for us.  With this red--we just got approval to head up a Stake Blood Drive in Waimanalo.  We will be doing one in March of 2024 and September of 2024.  Their is a real need for blood donations in Hawaii. Every 3 seconds, someone in the state needs blood. Moreover, the state is shy 200 pints of blood each day. We are just excited that we can help bring this cause to our Ward Building. We had the opportunity to see more RED this week as the Senior Missionaries gathered for a Christmas Conference on Monday, attended the temple with the other senior couples on Tuesday, and participated in a Christmas zone conference for Oahu and Kauai on Thursday. The best thing about it was being able to meet the other senior couples and exchange personal expe...

It's a fact of missionary life that the young elders and sisters you work closely with come and go, as their assignments within the mission change or they return home at the conclusion of their mission. The one constant for us since we arrived has been Elder Tela Mulitalo from West Valley, Utah. He has been serving in the Waimanalo ward with us, and had three different companions during that time. But this week we learned he was being transferred to the big island of Hawaii, and we were sad to see him go. It was as if part of our own mission was leaving with him. Elder Mulitalo was an excellent missionary, someone his parants and siblings can be very proud of. He was exceptional not because he was able to baptize dozens of converts, but because of the influence he had with the youth in the ward, both members and non-members. They admired and trusted him because of his gentle efforts to bring them closer to Christ, and onto the covenant path. We often give advice and counsel to the ...