Finding Bits of Paradise, Even When It's Not a Vacation
 

Since this is what many seem to think we do over here, I thought I'd humor you. I had to go back to November pictures to find this. We really don't get to the beach very often.

Still, we are having some fun. We go to the temple every week, which we love. We had dinner with some friends last week, and will be having dinner with another group this week. We have our monthly devotional and our district meeting this week, too, which are usually really interesting. And our evening of answering questions for guests at the Center ("Ask Me" duty) is tomorrow.

Last week we helped out with a screening of a movie the Center has produced that will be making the rounds on the Mainland, starting next week with a screening in Orem, Utah. If you want to see if it's coming near you and find out how to get tickets, sign up for updates here.

https://www.sharingalohathemovie.com/ 

Another fun thing is making connections. There is a student photographer in my office named Joseph. Joseph overheard part of a conversation a few days ago in which he thought we were talking about Indonesia, where he is from. We weren't actually, but that led to some questions and answers, which then led to our discovering that he knew our dear friends the Tuckers when they were missionaries in his country several years ago. 

The connections are  pretty amazing sometimes. At the MTC, we learned that the Frys in our district had known our friends Dave and Mary Spear for years. When we arrived in La'ie, we were assigned mentors, the Taylors, who were friends of Julie and Gary Lundstrom. We have also met Gilbert Laulusa's sister; young missionary Sister Turley from Marana Stake (who was in our branch when we arrived, and now we touch base fairly regularly); the Crotts from Marana Stake who just showed up at the Center one night, looking for Sister Turley; Sandy Holmes, our supervisor from our Employment Center mission; Sister Hamblin, serving here in the same department I am, who is a friend of our friend and neighbor Robyn Hunt; and the list goes on.

And people will just stop us on the street to talk to us--usually members but not always, either local or here on vacation who know they can talk to missionaries. One yesterday wondered if we knew some people serving over here, because she taught one of their daughters (and we do know them). Then there are the people who come over in the Center when we are answering questions. Since we stand under a flag that says "Ask Me," they think they'll be clever with their requests. Several times now someone has asked something like, "In 25 words or less, can you tell me the meaning of life?" They are pretty shocked when we can. (My last answer was "service and love." The Spirit joined the conversation, and the man walked away grateful.) We do enjoy that kind of thing.

And then there are the times when we need bolstering. I had had a particularly bad day recently, and we were scheduled for "Ask Me" duty. Then came the rain--like cloudburst rain. I was struggling to be positive. But then, as we sheltered with other people, one couple who is nearing retirement age enthusiastically asked a lot of questions about what it was like to be on a mission, then told us how valuable our service was (several times). About the time they left, another person came up and told us about how his father had struggled at first on his senior mission with situations very similar to what I had just experienced, and how he had called his son for encouragement a few times. The father ended up learning what he needed to, and truly enjoying his mission. Now don't tell me that these people weren't sent to interact with us in that moment. I didn't see any halos, but I'm sure they were there.

I recently completed my 10th painting since we got here. Ridiculously prolific, don't you think?  It's a good unwinding activity, and there is plenty of scenery to paint. 

Some of our district members have talked me into teaching them to paint something for our meeting in June, so now we're scouting out scenes they might like to do.

Dennis is carving some, but he quickly realized he needed to build some tools and jigs to make his process easier. (I love it when that engineering brain kicks in to high gear.) I think he has most of what he needs now, so hopefully this coming Saturday will be a fruitful day for him.

We had a medical emergency back home with my mother last week, but she has come through it all pretty well and things seem to be normalizing (whatever that is with a 92-year-old). Blessings be heaped upon my brother and my mother's caregiver Renee for being the anchors in that storm. Dennis gave me a blessing here, in which Father was very clear about what my role should be. I'm so grateful for that access to direction in our lives. 

I guess the message this month is that we have a pretty defined routine as far as our assignments go, but there are enough variations to make it fun and interesting. And through all the ups and downs we feel the hand of the Lord upon us every day. It's a really special blessing for us, and we are very thankful for the opportunity to experience this.