deja vu

It was a week of contrasts for us. On Labor Day we went to the youth correctional facility and played a Jeopardy game with them, followed by sugar cookie decorating at each module. The game had categories on Summer, Hawaii, Hawaiian food, Polynesia, and Anything Goes. It was interesting to observe how different each group responded to the activity. The boys were very competitive and didn't work as well together to answer the questions, and the girls even invited staff members to join their teams. It can be difficult for us to communicate effectively with the young men, but the girls really enjoy our visits with them each week.

Later that evening we attended a potluck social event in Honolulu for the senior couples hosted by Elder and Sister Clawson. We brought homemade potato salad and fried rice. The activity was called the "Not So Newlywed Game" from the old 1970s TV show we grew up with. Since we were one of the couples recently married, we ended up being asked to participate. We didn't match many of our responses trying to predict what our partner would say and finished in last place, but it was a lot of fun. Cathy knows how to make people laugh, that's for sure. We enjoy every opportunity we have to do things with the other senior missionaries, we rarely interact with them otherwise.

We had a seminary lesson about the testimony of Christ, shared a video of the witnesses of Him from the apostles, and invited our kids to share their own testimonies ... awkward silence. Finally one brave soul gave her testimony. We know it's hard for them to get up and open their hearts to their peers but we can feel the goodness of their souls. More about peer pressure in the next paragraph. It's a joy for us to serve the youth, all we are trying to do is reach the one, and change the trajectory of his or her future for the better. We had the chance to move to a different apartment in Waimanalo that is much closer for us to serve our two wards, but ultimately we decided it would be too hard for us to fulfill our seminary calling three times a week if we moved, so another couple in our mission, Doug and Susan Clark, are going to take it instead. 

Finally, more heartbreaking news this week as several of our proselyting missionaries were sent home early, including the two elders assigned to the wards where we serve. We grieve for these elders and their families. We mourn for the choices they made. They succumbed to peer pressure and failed to leave their old pre-mission life behind. But we are hopeful that serious consequences will bring about a mighty change of heart and a determination to repent and return to the mission field with a deeper commitment and conviction than before. Our mission president addressed this head-on at our weekly zoom meeting. He described what he called secretive destructive practices intended to weaken others'commitment to follow Christ, to break their spirits through acts of willful disobedience. He reminded us that what happened isn't punishment, it's about giving each missionary the opportunity to make the Savior's atonement effective in their life by returning home and getting a second chance to come to Christ again through sincere repentance.