Kindness

Disappointment is part of life, especially for the proselytizing missionaries. In the two wards we are assigned to, there hasn't been a convert baptism in the five months we've been here. But success on a mission is not measured by convert baptisms, it's by extending invitations for people to make covenants with God that bind themselves to the Savior Jesus Christ, and it's through those invitations we allow our friends to exercise their own free agency and make choices about the direction they want for their their life and eternal destiny. We have been disappointed with the lack of progress for us to do bible study and service activities at state-run facilities. But this first week of January marks a pivotal turning point in our mission. We will soon be extremely busy ... adding two hours of group activities at the youth correctional facility, and another hour at a mental health clinic on Mondays and Tuesdays. And on top of that, we will be teaching early morning seminary each day, with in-person classes on Mon, Wed and Fri, and online classes Tue and Thu. All we want is to make a real difference in people's lives, and we are finally getting a chance to see just how far we can stretch ourselves and grow in serving the Lord. 

We were surprised at a 70th birthday celebration for Auntie Blanche, who is the driving force behind the homeless shelter in Waimanalo, when one of the organizers asked Elder Mundell if he could offer a blessing to Blanche and her family. Fine, no problem. The first pastor gave a lengthy and fiery rendition. Dan immediately realized couldn't "compete" with something like that, and neither did he want to, so he thanked everyone, offered a few words, then asked God to bless them. We're not sure if that helped the "image" of the LDS church in the eyes of the nearly two hundred party-goers, but at least it was humble and sincere. 

Sister Mundell is an absolutely wonderful woman. Being kind and thoughtful is second nature to her. We were hosting a bingo game at a halfway house we visit every Friday. She noticed that one of the men was struggling to find the pictures on his board as each was called out. The man confessed that he couldn't see very well, so Cathy offered him her reading glasses. When we left the man tried to hand the glasses them back to her, but without hesitation Sister Mundell said he could keep them. He was able to see again! At that moment Elder Mundell realized that if he (or almost anyone else) were in her shoes, he would've taken the glasses back. These are the little daily lessons on life that we are learning on our mission. It's not about how much you know, it's about how much you care!






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