Happy Birthday

Today marks an important milestone in the life of Sister Mundell, it's her 60th birthday, and unlike some people she doesn't mind letting them know that she's turning the big 6-0. She makes quite an impression upon people when they first meet her, and those who get to know her well absolutely love and adore her! She has such a big heart, she's kind, generous and thoughtful. She loves her family, especially the kids she raised She loves talking to people, and is always trying to help them. Being a missionary is the right thing for her to be doing right now because she truly loves serving others. Happy Birthday Cathy!

Looking good and feeling fine!

One extra special benefit we're discovering from serving is a greater understanding and appreciation of the Book of Mormon. We've read this sacred record of scripture many times before, but being seminary teachers and preparing for the weekly Come Follow Me class in the Waimanalo ward has made us dig deeper into the verses than before, liken the scriptures unto us and apply them into our own lives, We feel like we know and understand Nephi much better than we ever did before, because we can feel the words he wrote touch our souls and enlighten our minds to see what he saw, and feel what he felt. It is a joy and a blessing to not only read the Book of Mormon again, but to feast upon the scriptures by studying it and really pondering the verses that seem to jump out of the page and into our hearts.

On Thursday, the missionaries were shocked by the news in a mission-wide zoom call that our mission leaders, President and Sister Sloat, were being released and going home that evening, about 15 months early. Elder Bragg of the Area Presidency and his wife will replace them on a temporary basis for the next couple of weeks until new mission leaders are called. No explanation was given for their departure other than it was for personal reasons and we should respect their privacy. The Sloats weren't even there to say goodbye to the missionaries and wish them well. We hope that it isn't anything too serious, and we pray for them and their family. We regret that we never got the opportunity to get to know Pres. and Sis. Sloat very well, we felt the best thing we could do to help them focus on the young elders and sisters was to simply do our assignment faithfully and effectively, put our shoulder to the wheel, and stay out of sight by never causing any problems for the mission leadership. 

President Bart and Sister Ann Sloat with us in December 2023


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