October 27, 2024

How has a month gone by? Sorry if anyone was greatly anticipating our next post!

One thing I wanted to be sure to include in the blog history is… 

The Rock 

I’m not talking about Dwayne Johnson (though he has roots at the Polynesian Cultural Center and visited here just before we came—Google it).

 I’m talking about this one. It’s tucked away in the nonpublic area of the Center, and workers visit it frequently.

 When life or work or a calling just seems hard and you don’t feel like you’re getting anywhere, this can be a source of strength. Here’s what the plaque says [editing some for length and for specificity to the Center]:

 

Pushing Against the Rock

There was a man who was asleep one night in his cabin, when suddenly his room filled with light and the Savior appeared. The Lord told the man He had an important work for him to do and showed him a large rock in front of his cabin. The Lord explained that the man was to push against the rock with all of his might. This the man did, day after day. For many years he toiled from sun up to sun down, his shoulders set squarely against the cold, massive surface of the unmoving rock, pushing with all his might.  Each night the man returned to his cabin sore and worn out, feeling that his whole day had been spent in vain.

 

Seeing that the man was showing signs of discouragement, Satan decided to enter the picture, place negative thoughts into the man’s mind. “You have been pushing against that rock for a long time and it hasn’t budged! Why kill yourself over this? You are never going to move it!” … Satan discouraged and disheartened the man until he began to think, “Why kill myself over this? I’ll just put in my time, giving just the minimum effort and that will be good enough.” This he planned to do until he decided to … take his troubled thoughts to the Lord. “Lord,” he said, “I have labored long and hard in your service, putting all my strength into doing that which you have asked of me. Yet even after all this time, I have not even budged that rock half a millimeter. What am I doing wrong? Why am I failing?”

 

To this the Lord responded compassionately. “My friend, when long ago I asked you to serve and you accepted, I told you that your task was to push against the rock with all your strength, which you have done. Never once did I mention to you that I expected you to move it. Your task was to push…. But now you come to me …, thinking that you have failed. But it that really so? Look at yourself. Your arms are thick and muscled, your back powerful, your hands are strong and calloused from constant pressure, and your legs have become massive and hard. Through opposition you have grown much and your abilities now far surpass that which you used to have…..

 

“Your calling was to be obedient, to push, to exercise your faith and trust in my wisdom. This you have done…and now, my friend, I will move the rock.”

 

It is not always given to us to know what kind of difference we can make in people’s lives while we are here. Ours is simply to be obedient and push, doing we very best we can in every task, no matter how unimportant it may seem or how difficult the task might appear.

 

…we are not here by chance. Our loving Heavenly Father has led and guided you to be here… at this particular time. Then He inspires His children from all over the world to come to this… small island…to be with YOU…to learn from YOU… to be touched by YOU… and to feel of YOUR spirit….

 

“Therefore, dearly beloved brethren, let us cheerfully do all things that lie in our power; and then may we stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the salvation of God, and for His arm to be revealed.”

(D&C 123: 17)

 

We push against the rock to show dedication.

We push against the rock to exhibit obedience.

We push against the rock to prove that we are willing.

We push against the rock to demonstrate our love for the Lord and His children.

 

I don’t get over to the rock very often, but I and some of my coworkers keep smaller rocks on our desks as reminders. We often don’t know why the Lord asks us to do things. Faith is doing them anyway, and knowing that the time will come when we will understand why.

 September 22. 2024

Lots of Work, and Lots of Blessings

                All of the senior missionaries after a devotional with Elder Peter M. Johnson and Sister Johnson 

                (sitting, center of front row, wearing leis). We are 3 rows back, right behind them, also wearing leis.

Life is busy here. I know some people think we're just hanging out in paradise, but there's much more to it than that. Both of us have responsibilities that take up a minimum of 30 hours per week. We also serve 3 evenings per month helping guests find their way around for an hour or two. Then there are district meetings and devotionals. We're pretty much back to a 40-hour week.

Shopping for basics is an all-day thing most of the time, since there are very limited stores where we live. We have to drive an hour each way (in good traffic) and hit as many stores as we can while we're in that area. Last week it was a ten-hour trip. We've got that down to once a month, I think, as we now have our "pad" pretty functional and have laid in some supplies.

Here, car washing is a necessity if you want your car to have any chance of surviving the constant salt spray. And we are adapting to other ways the salt air and humidity affect life. Those things take up a lot of the time we have left.

After our Saturday to-do list was finished yesterday, we did make it down to the beach for a while--maybe the 4th time we've been down since we arrived. That is a wonderful reminder of where we are. We are hoping that we will have a little more down time now that we are "settled," and we are consciously making plans to include a few "just for fun" things when we can.

BUT, lest you think this is completely grueling, let me mention the differences between this and what we did when we were working. (For me, this applies more to the time I worked for companies, not to my time in the temple.) Here, we work for The Boss--our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He guides us through our assignments. We feel His Spirit and receive inspiration regularly. This place in which we work is a vehicle He has designed to bring people together, to let them be uplifted and feel included. He knows what must happen to support that objective, and we feel Him leading to do our parts in that work. And as I used to say when I did work at the temple, the benefits are out of this world!!

We get to work with hundreds of people who have consecrated their time and talents to this work. Think about the spirit that surrounds those people! We get to hear some pretty amazing talks, in person. The one shown above was Elder Johnson's visit when he spoke at our devotional. This past week, Elder John H. Groberg--SOOOO beloved here, even to this day--was the speaker at the BYU-H devotional, and we were all invited. His talk is already on YouTube. It's called "Heartfelt Helping" and it's amazing. What you won't see on the video is what happened after the closing prayer. The students stood and started singing "God Be with You" in Tongan. Then we all sang it in English, then they finished with a reprise in Tongan. There wasn't a dry eye. Oh--and be sure to check out the AMAZING handmade lei he is wearing. Only the very elect are presented with such things.

 And we are meeting other amazing people. We both work with students from many places. And as part of my work, I go out interview some of them. They represent different cultures from around the Pacific, but all are based on the concept of 'Ohana (family). They are genuinely loving and giving to the core. That's pretty nice to be around, too. 

So all in all, there ARE aspects of paradise (and Paradise) that peek through the work each day. It is so far an amazing, growing experience. 

Recent Events

 This is Iosepa (E-o-sep-ah), a massive, hand-carved outrigger canoe that has made several long Pacific voyages. We had a district activity in which we got to hear a lot about it from one of its captains. We've also had the privilege to meet one of the master carvers who contributed greatly to its creation. (Dennis plans to spend more time with him soon, along with another carver who came out with us. He lives near us.)

Iosepa Captain Mark Ellis, in red, Dennis in the middle on the right. 

There were about 20 of us up on the deck.

They have regular activities planned for us here, which is good, because we don't see a lot of the other missionaries as we go about our daily routines.--just a handful. That seems to be widening as time goes on.

We are also getting to know our coworkers. One Debbi works with enjoys the 2 "aunties" she works with so much that she invited us over for dinner so we could meet her husband. We went, and "Sister A" brought her roommate. We had a great time. And her husband is quite a chef, so the food was amazing.

Meanwhile, Hurricane Hone (Ho-nay) breezed by. We got some decent wind and rain, but nothing scary. The southern tip of Hawaii took the brunt of the storm, but we are far from them.

This week we are scheduled to start helping out with guests. At opening and around luau/night show times we take turns helping them find their way around. That's when we get to wear the lovely costumes. Husbands and wives have to match. I was told that the "traditional" muumuu was created by early missionaries who had no patterns from which to sew Western dresses for the natives, so they used a book illustration of Old Mother Hubbard. I CAN believe it, but I think I'll research it before I really DO believe it. These are our "loaners." We have custom-made duds that are blue. Don't know which we'll wear first. 

                       

August 18, 2024

Two weeks on the island. We’re still getting our apartment (called here, a “pad”) set up to be our home for the next 18 months. It’s coming along. We still need to get some things for storage and computer function, as well as art stations. Dennis is working on the front porch at this point. Debbi has done very little painting, but used the table provided for office function for that bit, so it’s limited. We can’t have both set up at the same time.

 We’re also learning our “jobs.” In MIS, Dennis has a current project of helping other missionaries get their specified Cultural Center email accounts functioning on their phones. (We all now have our Church emails, our mission emails, and our PCC emails—on top of our personal accounts.) He’s also finding that the young guys in his office need help doing some of the standard stuff (like decommissioning computers) that he’s done for years. On the other side, he’s learning some of the more recent developments from them.

 Debbi is assigned to the Marketing Department, with the current assignment to take over the employee/volunteer newsletter and help with other copy as requested. The newsletter is basically a resurrection of an old format, so there is a lot of work to do.

We’re finding our departments consist of cores of FT employees who are leading tons of PT student employees and a few missionaries. That’s how it works here. As amazing a venue as the Polynesian Cultural Center is, it exists to support the students (who are mostly from these island nations) to work to pay for their educations at BYU Hawaii. They work, and we work to enhance what they can earn in their limited hours. We also try to help them feel a sense of family that they may be missing, as many of them can’t afford to go home for visits. Consequently, while they can talk to their families, they may not see them for 4 to 6 years!

 Fortunately, the entire spirit of the islands is “Ohana.” Everyone is family. They treat everyone with respect and kindness. We’re loving that aspect of this adventure and hoping that it becomes second nature to us, too. 

How Can I Find Peace?

 Our MTC group

It has definitely been a busy week! We arrived in Provo Saturday and took up residence at the Missionary Training Center. The week was full of instruction, discussion, and practice of the principles that will help us relate to the people we will be serving. We met people from all over the world who are going to places new to them. We’re all excited about our assignments and grateful for new friendships.

In one of the seminars, we discussed the challenges of being away from home for an extended period of time. The presenters were a husband and wife who are both counselors. They have worked with many missionaries, young and older, so they knew their stuff. One thing the woman said really hit home with me:

When peace is gone, something in your head is inaccurate.

As we’ve talked about it, we agree that this could also be worded, “If you are unsettled, your head and your heart are not in harmony.”

For me, the heart is the true me, seeking to be heard, and influenced only by the Spirit of Truth. The head is what the world tells me I ought to be or do. It can be confusing, to say the least.

I have been reflecting on times when I have felt anxious, and this concept certainly seems to have been true in many instances. To spare you a novel, I’m going to oversimplify application of this principle to my experience. It has been true that only when I could bring myself around (read as “allowed the Spirit’s voice to be heard, trusted, and acted upon”) that I felt a return of wholeness, stability, and peace. Of course sometimes that took a long time to accomplish—growth is not on a timetable, and some situations are irritants for the long term. But ultimately, the disharmony within has been overcome.

Isn’t that part of being mortal? We are here to learn. To become the best we can become. But when we allow ourselves to be persuaded away from the truth we feel in our hearts, we can lose our ways for a time. That is when anxiety, depression, and their negative companions creep in.

So, since the heart is where my inner truth lies, it follows that any uneasiness would be caused by something in my head that is not accurate. Whether that is a lie I’ve been persuaded to believe about who I am or what I can accomplish, or about the people and communities that surround me, the problem lies in my head, not in reality. Moral of the story: I need to be very careful about making sure my head doesn’t lose sight of who I am in my heart.

Have you experienced this in your life? We'd love to hear about it. You can leave a message here or send an email.

Now we're preparing to leave the MTC. Next stop, Oahu!

 Refining....

A few people have let us know that they are having trouble signing into the blog. We had this set as a private/closed group, and apparently that's an issue for people with certain types of email addresses. For that reason--and the fact that more have requested access than we can cover with a closed group, this is now TECHNICALLY public. We'd still like to keep this as private as we can, so please don't share it on FB or anything like that. But now hopefully everyone can get in. If you know of someone close who isn't in yet and wants to follow along, you many invite that person. On "public" setting, we can't invite any more. Send them to debbithewriter.blogspot.com. 

Also, please understand that since this is a google application, the only people who can leave comments are those who are signed in with gmail accounts. That doesn't mean you have to open a gmail account if you don't want to. You could still contact us through regular email. (I won't publish those addresses here, just in case "public" grows into more than we would like. They are available through various means to the people we know.) 

We're down to our final week of preparation--we leave Saturday for the MTC in Provo. 

Ward Luau Activity for Youth, May 2024

The Countdown Continues....

We are T-minus 11 days until this adventure really...oh, it's too obvious...blasts off. A few of you received the first post. Many more are now being invited to join. If you are able to access this, please comment so we will know. If you do not want to continue receiving it (no hurt feelings, I promise), please also let us know that.

Note: If there are multiple people in your household who want to read this, you may have to share. Apparently there is a limit on how many people I can include and keep this a closed group. I'll work on that.

Off now to practice throwing a shaka.

(Shaka: A hand sign that originated in Hawaii and is often associated with surf culture. It's made by extending the thumb and little finger while curling the three middle fingers. For emphasis, the hand can be quickly turned back and forth with the knuckles facing out. The shaka can be presented with the front or back of the hand, and the wrist can be rotated back and forth. While it can mean "hang loose," it can also mean "hello," "goodbye," "thank you," "things are great," "take it easy," and "aloha." "Aloha" has its own set of meanings, encompassing the essence of peace, love, compassion, and respect.)

Statue of Hamana Kalili, the father of the shaka. By Leroy Transfield. It stands at the Polynesian Cultural Center, Laie, Hawaii.

 Hey, friends and family!

As we get ready to depart for our mission in Hawaii, we're trying to figure out the best way to keep in touch with everyone. Cousin John suggested a blog, so I'm trying this out--resurrecting my old writing blog to see if people can get to it and view pics and all that. I'll throw a few pics up here to see how that works. 

If you can find and read this and see the images, please comment so I'll know it's working. 

(This is a closed group. Only those invited will be able to access it.)

A Kauai chicken I painted last year.

Before the mission call.