Getting Lei'd

May 20, 2024

We live on the eastern "windward" part of Oahu, which means the trade winds in this part of the Pacific, which blow from east to west, typically dump most of their rain on on the eastern towns as the moisture from the ocean winds is forced up and over the tall mountains at the center of the island. For this reason, the windward side is much greener (lush jungle vegetation) than the western "leeward" side. This past week was exceptionally wet. The Marine Corps base in Kaneohe recorded over 9 inches of rain, and we had flash flooding and road closures to deal with. It was so stormy on Monday that we just packed it in, and cancelled all of our usual appointments. It was a good thing because the single highway into and out of Kailua and Waimanalo was completely closed due to a landslide, and thousands of commuters were stuck in their cars for several hours waiting for the road to clear. We enjoy some rain, but this week it was a bit too much!

We had our stake conference today, and a new stake presidency was called to replace those who'd been serving for the past 8 years. The visiting general authority was Elder Ojediran, and he will be doing a mission tour with his wife this week, as well as the devotional at BYU Hawaii. There was one thing he said that really resonated with us. He reminded us that when you're driving a car you have to keep your foot on the accelerator or else it will slow down and eventually stop. Likening it to ourselves, we have to keep pressing forward, endure to the end and not let up. We can't reach a point where we retire from being active in the church and expect to remain right where we are, because the inevitable result is a loss of faith and testimony as our daily effort stops. The new stake president bore powerful testimony that the Spirit told him more than a week ago he would be called to lead the stake.

The spirit has also been working overtime on Sister Mundell lately. She had a unmistakable impression from the other side of the veil that her uncle Dick Schofield wanted his two sons, Richard Jr. and Morgan, sealed to him and his wife. She asked for and received permission from Heidi, who was Morgan's only child, which was a welcome relief. However, we also needed to obtain permission from the Salt Lake Headquarters of Family Search. They told us it would be months before it could be granted because of a backlog due to a lack of staff. But Uncle Dick was persistent, and miracles happened for us. We were able to go to the temple on Wednesday and Friday and get all of their ordinances completed. Doing the work for these family members was such a memorable event. Tears of joy overwhelmed Cathy, and she could feel their joy from beyond the veil. God does bless those who truly strive to do what's right in their lives. We are a constant recipient of that wonderful blessing.

We had our seminary graduation tonight, and like most big events in the Hawaiian islands, they really went all out to make it a special and memorable experience for the graduates. It takes a lot of effort on their part to get up early in the morning for four years and participate when there are so many other things they'd rather be doing, so we reward and commend the students for their faith and diligence. It's a tradition to give the graduates a lei and a kiss on the cheek as a symbol of our love for them, so we made some money leis stuffed with candy for the four seniors in our class, and four more for the graduates in the wards we are assigned to. It was such a beautiful night. We are so proud of them!