Be Prepared

We learned an important lesson about preparation this week. In our weekly duties as full time missionaries, we meet and interact with dozens of people. We never know how these interactions will turn out as each individual we meet has unique challenges going on in their lives that affect their level of interest and engagement in our message of hope and salvation through the gospel of Jesus Christ. So it's important for us to always be prepared for each circumstance and be ready to answer whatever questions someone may have for us.

We were serving at a specialized drug treatment detox facility for addicts trying to turn their life around. They are only there for about a week before moving on to another rehab program, so we usually only see them one time on Thursday. One of the men shared with us a few of the positive experiences he'd had with members of the church on the Navajo reservation, and asked us for a copy of the Book of Mormon. We were surprised and disappointed to discover that we didn't have any in the car, only some pamphlets and lesson manuals. So we promised to return in a day or two. This motivated Elder Mundell to repent and always have Books of Mormon on hand if we wanted to be "witnesses of God at all times and in all places". 

He prefers to hand out a copies that have been marked and have a testimony in the front because he knows they will be more likely to receive a witness of it by reading highlighted verses and chapters first -- rather than starting at the beginning and reading all the way through. So he decided to make his own list of the most meaningful verses for someone who's reading it for the first time, and highlight those during his spare time. Now we will have several copies on hand ready to give out in the future. He also felt inspired by the Holy Ghost that this would be a great and lasting gift -- a legacy for our seminary students as well -- giving each one of them a personalized copy of the Book of Mormon with his favorite scriptures already marked in it, a starting point for their lifetime journey of discovery in the Book of Mormon, and help them deepen their conversion to Christ and his restored gospel.

We are seeing amazing things happening in our seminary class. We've had two parents reach out to us this week that told us how much their child enjoys having us as teachers, and the positive growth, energy and enthusiasm they've seen in them this year. Most of our seniors didn't do the online lessons last year, which is about 40% of what they're expected to complete. So we decided to give them another option. We started making worksheets that they can choose to complete during the week instead of going online. It's a little extra work for us, but it's worth it! You can't imagine how thrilled we are to see a girl that didn't do any online work last year turning in those worksheets to us each week! 

A highlight this week for Sister Mundell was learning how to make leis. Sister Breyondi Bond of the Waimanalo ward taught the Relief Society sisters the art of making head leis they call lei po'o, and everyone had a wonderful time learning together. The most important thing about making leis is how one uses their energy to make the lei.  Therefore, if you have a positive energy the lei will reflect that.  Your energy flows right into your creation!

Sister Mundell made her own lei po'o with the help of Sister Breyondi Bond