Greetings on a very sultry Sunday afternoon on the Island of Oahu out in the middle of the Pacific. We’re swapping shifts today with Elder and Sister Swinton, the Visitors’ Center Directors, so we’re home this afternoon until about 3:30pm. This is a Fast Sunday and all the senior missionaries here in Laie get together at the Polynesian Cultural Center (which is closed on Sundays) at the Kuai luau venue for a pot luck “break the fast” dinner. Since Elder and Sister Swinton are assigned the Sunday evening shift at the Visitors’ Center, they don’t get to go to Break the Fast unless someone swaps shifts with them. We decided to do that this month.
According to a couple of locals, the real start of Summer here in Hawaii is July 1st when the higher humidity settles in and hangs on for several months and when people literally pray for the trade winds to moderate the temperatures. We have fairly mild winds today, but it is much better than no winds at all! The temperatures aren’t very high, mid to upper 80’s, but the humidity is pegged and low, grey clouds hang onto the mountains. Your glasses fog up when going from inside to outside and vice versa. You never feel “dry” outside. It’s actually quite delightful! It gets even more so when I stop to think about leaving here next February and landing in Pocatello….
We’ve had a nice, varied visitor week this past week. The Europeans are starting to come in larger number and in tour groups rather than individually. The mainland Chinese continue unabated. We are definitely busy both at the Visitors’ Center and over at the Polynesian Cultural Center. The biggest issue this week is a flu bug that’s moving through (pun intended) the sister missionaries. They don’t enjoy it (no surprise there) and it puts our staffing into difficult situations. We’re hoping this little mini epidemic finishes it’s rounds Real Soon Now.
The Laie Temple is closed for summer maintenance and cleaning last week and this coming week. It closes every year about this time, disappointing quite a few Utah visitors who didn’t check the website before getting dressed in Sunday Best and finding the doors to the temple locked! We are the beneficiaries, though, when they come into the Visitors’ Center and spend an hour or so with us. We all try hard to turn that disappointment into a more positive experience.
The missionary work resulting from the Visitors’ Center is holding pretty steady. Quite a few visitors from mainland China ask to have more information. We can’t do any actual proselytizing in China, so we take their information and send it to Salt Lake. We have the names and information of some of the Branch Presidents of the branches on mainland China and give that to them. Many other visitors fill out the guest card with their contact information and ask for the missionaries to follow up with them. The sister missionary who got the card does the follow up, and if the guest is still interested, arranges for the local missionaries to visit. We’re sending between 150 and 160 qualified referrals to local missionaries each week. So far we haven’t sent any to Fresno or Portland (that we know of), but we’re hoping that’ll happen!
We’ve learned that the senior couple who will replace us have received their mission call and have talked with the Visitors’ Center director. We haven’t talked with them, yet, and probably won’t until the date gets a lot closer. It feels strange to know that we’re going to be replaced! The date will be here before we know it.
We’re both doing well and, so far, we’ve avoided the flu issues that the sister missionaries are having. I had a heart echocardiogram last Wednesday and the cardiologist is pleased with the findings. That’s definitely goodness! Since I started writing this letter we’ve had two rain showers come through. They are very short lived, but put down an incredible amount of water as they go past. It’s a good day to be under a roof.
So, with that I’ll sign off until next week!
Love,
father/father-in-law/brother/brother-in-law/grandpa/uncle/son/missionary/friend
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