In Biblical times, the Hebrew / Aramaic phrase “forty days and forty nights” could be the actual time measurement or it could be their idiom meaning “a really long time”. And, it isn’t always clear from the text whether the actual time period is meant or the idiom is meant. Most scholars believe, for instance, that Jesus’ sojourn in the desert following his baptism was not specifically “forty days and forty nights” but instead, a really long time which could mean anything from a week or so to a month or so.
So what does that have to do with us? Well, we now have less than forty days and forty nights on our mission assignment in Hawaii. We literally have fewer than forty days, and we figuratively have less than a “really long time”. In fact, if I’ve counted correctly, we’re down to 36 days remaining. And that doesn’t seem like very much time at all. You see, it feels like we just got here!
Today was our Preparation Day. We finally got most of the Christmas cards mailed. We did some Christmas shopping in Kaneohe at the Windward Mall and a couple of stores across the street. Then this evening we gathered with all of the Visitors’ Center missionaries, both sister missionaries and senior couples, to take the Polynesian Cultural Center Christmas Canoe Tour.
The normal ticket price for the canoe tour is $5.00 or an empty Pepsi product (such as a can of Mountain Dew or such). Pepsi is underwriting the event which is a nighttime canoe ride along the canal through the PCC with beautiful Christmas lighting, live scenes, and live music. Progressive scenes open as the canoe makes it way up the canal and comes back to the starting point. Phone cameras cannot do any kind of justice to the beautiful lights and the dimly lit scenes with shepherds, sheep, goats, wise men, and the live Nativity. The music was inspiring and the entire canoe (we had 35 people on our canoe) was reverently quiet as the story of that first Christmas unfolded during the ride.
This has been a Christmas tradition at the PCC for many years and thousands of people from all over Hawaii make time to come to the PCC to take the tour. The guests from the rest of the world probably didn’t know about this capability before they arrived, but definitely took advantage while they were at the PCC. The long lines kept the tour going boat after boat until well after nine pm each evening. Tonight wrapped up the event for this year. We were so very blessed to be able to take the tour as a group.
The Visitors’ Center is closed on Christmas each year. All of the sister missionaries have the opportunity during Christmas Eve or Christmas Day to make a Skype call to their family and spend about 45 minutes online with them. Nina and I will spend the day after Church on Christmas at the Center providing technical support (and emotional support) to the sisters as they have that opportunity to interact with their families. It’s a lot of fun for us and a very good thing for the sister missionaries and, in particular, for their mothers!