Finding Faith

We hosted a breakfast very early in the morning at 5:30 for all of the seminary students, their parents, and bishops. We talked to a few of the sophomores who will be in our class next year, and hopefully they are excited to have Elder and Sister Mundell as their seminary teachers. The other teachers in our building decided that our Wednesday breakfast would be their last day together, and we were tempted to do the same, but we really wanted to give our students the opportunity to talk to us one on one in what we called an "exit interview" to help us know what they learned, what they liked best, and how we could improve the seminary class for them. So we decided to have class on Friday, and we were very blessed for making the effort to do a little bit more. What we learned is they all loved what we did, it was their favorite year of seminary, and they especially enjoyed doing hands-on activities and being creative with the doctrinal mastery scripture reviews. We were blown away by their honest open comments to us. They really don't say much in class, so talking to each one individually was a real eye-opening experience. Sister Mundell talked to them about their future goals and plans, and Elder Mundell encouraged the juniors we will have next year as seniors to make the most of it by becoming leaders at church and in school. We will miss the kids, but Cathy will enjoy being able to sleep in and start exercising at the pool again.

We had a large zone conference with all the missionaries on Oahu and Kauai. Elder Ojediron emphasized to the elders and sisters that their calling isn't that much different than being called as a general authority - you don't choose where you go, what language you speak, who you will serve with, you teach and bring people to Christ - and we should all act in accordance with the dignity associated with our sacred calling as representatives of the Savior Jesus Christ. We loved seeing all of the service missionaries and most of the senior couples sitting there in the congregation along with the young elders and sisters for the entire conference. It sends a strong message of unity and teamwork, regardless of what our particular missionary responsibility may be. 

We attended the baptism of Steve Heyer on Saturday. His testimony after being baptized was very powerful. He said he'd been searching for the truth most of his life, and it had taken him 18 months of lessons by the missionaries to reach this decision to be baptized. As with Fran who'd taken years of discussions before joining the church, these are the saints that become firm in the faith because their conversion has come with great effort and isn't just a passing fancy or whim. He'd been a high school football coach for 37 years, and his ability to teach and inspire young men will be a great blessing to the youth of the church in his ward as they prepare themselves to serve a mission. 

Oahu Senior missionaries. The Clawsons, Clarks, Johnsons, Whitings, Hintons,
Mitchells, Maulers, Parrys, Ricks, Mundells and Whitmans.

See if you find us, we're in the middle of this very large group of missionaries.