Rough Re-entry

Coming home from a mission is always challenging. There is much to do to put things in order such as  unpacking and putting everything away, housecleaning, home and yard maintenance and repair, getting hooked up to TV, Internet and phone, etc. etc. etc.  However, this mission re-entry involved a few more challenges!

Pole Creek  and Bald Mountain Fires

 As we communicated with our kids through late August and into early September, they told us of the dry conditions and fires and smoke in the area.  As it neared our time to complete this mission and return home, we began hearing reports of the wildfire being very near to our home in Elk Ridge.  This Pole Creek Fire began early in September from lightning and quickly grew to destroy thousands of acres of forrest. By the time firefighters began to actually fight the fire, it was out of control. As September progressed, the fire continued to burn at an alarming rate with only a small percent containment. September 12th the fire was enough of a threat that Elk Ridge City was put on Pre-evacuation notice. Tricia was in contact with the mayor, and he told her that if the Mandatory Evacuation order was given; residents would have 5 hours to pack and leave. By the next day, the fire had grown to the point that Mandatory Evacuation was announced and due to the high winds and dry conditions, the community was given only1 hour to comply.

With fires burning in 3 of 4 directions around our home; our kids, grand kids, neighbors and even members of the Salem Hills High School football team began to frantically pack, box and haul our most treasured possessions out of the house and into a trailer to be taken to a safe location. While still in Hawaii, we were on Facetime with Tricia as she went room to room in our home, asking us what we would like saved.  She said the chances of our home burning that night were great and we braced ourselves for that to happen.  Somehow, Hal and I both felt at peace about whatever would happen.  We knew that we would be okay.  No matter the consequence, we would still have our family and all which was of most importance. We truly appreciated all those who had worked furiously to pack some of our belongings and evacuate them for us.

As night fell on Elk Ridge, Tricia sent us the photo above with our home circled.  She told us that fire trucks and firemen were posted at each home on Haley's Lookout, where we live, and on High Sierra Drive, where Evan and Kelly live to do their best to protect the homes.

Lots of hauntingly beautiful photos were taken of the Payson Temple with the backdrop of the fires that were burning just over the mountain. Payson was put on Pre-Evacuation notice but fortunately they did not have to evacuate.

 Community Meetings were held in the Salem Hills High School gym to keep evacuated residents up to date on the fires and containment.
There were many acts of kindness shown those evacuated - homes were opened in Salem and other communities for those evacuees that had no family nearby.  The Red Cross came to help but left after 3 days because the people in the area were taking care of those in need.  A special fast was called for by the Stake Presidents of Elk Ridge, Salem, Woodland Hills, Payson and other stakes in the area. Over a thousand Hot Shot firemen came to fight the fires and relieve the 600 firefighters from the area.  They commented that they had never seen such a raging fire with high winds NOT move toward homes as they observed with these fires. One of the firemen remarked, "I don't know what you people are doing to control these blazes, but keep doing it!"  There were many miracles and NO homes were lost!
Tricia was in charge of the Elk Ridge volunteers that monitored the entrance to the community and patrolled at night to be sure no homes were looted or vandalized. She was busy organizing this and getting meals donated for the firemen and delivering the food to them.

We arrived home September 19th during the evacuation and we stayed with Allison and Jon for two nights. Allison was watching Conrad and and Hailey's kids while they were in Ecuador with Evan and Kelly at a flower show and visiting the flower farms.
During the evacuation Allison & Jon hosted 14 of our grand kids and Tricia and James for one night after Evan & Kelly and Conrad & Hailey left.  Allison said the kids didn't get a lot of sleep - it was COUSIN FEST!  We appreciated Allison and Jon's hospitality.

We came home on Thursday and finally on Saturday the evacuation order was lifted and we were able to go home!  However, the gas line to our street had been damaged when it was shut down so we had no hot water or gas for our cook top but we were still happy to be in our home and even happier that it had not burned!!  Sunday our Stake met for 1 hour followed by a lunch that was prepared for us by a Payson Stake.
Finally on Tuesday, the gas company was able to fix the problems and we were able to take a warm shower and cook again!! You don't appreciate some of the conveniences of life until you don't have them. 

Small fires still burned even after we were allowed back into our community.

There were even more deer than usual - they had fled the fire and were everywhere.  There were even sightings of mountain lions that had come down to safety.

A few days after we moved in, the weather cooled and it began to rain which helped to put the fires out.  We even had snow in the mountains!

 It took us several days to unpack and put everything away that had been evacuated and to get our home cleaned and back in order.  

Our Homecoming

At 7:00 AM on Sunday morning (October 14th) Hal and I reported to the High Council.  Our Sacrament Meeting was at 9:00 AM and we then reported our mission there.  After our block of meetings, we went home with our family and guests and enjoyed lunch together. We had Hawaiian Haystacks, fresh fruit, Hawaiian sweet rolls and cookies and macadamia nut candies for dessert.

 Hal and I had set up and decorated the tables the day before.

 Hal's friend Jim Cook and his wife Louise, Paul and Hal in one of his Hawaiian shirts.

 Allison and Jon (wearing one of his Hawaiian ties)

 Lillian, Sareya and Tricia 

 Hailey, Conrad and London

 Mike, Karma, Scott and Cynthia

 We enjoyed  the opportunity to spend some time with Hal's family

 Wayne, Ann and Cody

 Dixie and Roy

James, Hailey and Conrad

We spent the afternoon with our family and later that evening Pam and Roger stopped by on their way home from Alpine where they had been watching Mindy and Jeff's kids.  We had a nice visit with them, but I forgot to take a picture.

It was a great day and a nice end to our mission!

ALOHA!

Our fond farewells!

Now that we are home, this is an emotional post to write.  I am reflecting back on all of the amazing people that we met and served with
in Hawaii.

Missions truly are about people and working in the temple, we were blessed to feel the influence of people from both sides of the veil. As I look back over the final weeks of our mission, I can remember many of those special people and events that touched our hearts.

Brother and Sister Kualii served on the Tuesday shift.  They were both so good to us.  Hal really enjoyed working with Brother Kualii and helped him gain confidence in officiating; they formed a special bond because Hal reached out to him with praise and love.

The Matsuis also worked the Tuesday shift and they were another wonderful couple that we became close to. Sister Matsui was always so kind and loving - she was a joy to serve with!  Brother Matsui replaced Hal as the Tuesday shift coordinator and they worked together well.

The Kualiis and the Matsuis took us to lunch one Tuesday after our shift.  It was  a special opportunity to spend time with these wonderful people!

The Kualiis gave us this beautiful photo/painting that their son had made -  it shows a view of the Waipio Valley - this is one of our favorite overlooks on the island.  We were deeply touched that they would give us such a lovely gift which came with a sweet note expressing their love for us.

The Matsuis gave Hal about 60 Hawaiian ties.  He has shared them with his sons, sons-in-law and grandsons so far.  They each have a set of 6 aloha ties. He plans to continue to share them with other family and friends.
 

Brother and Sister Staples served  at the temple on Saturdays with us.  They invited us to come to their home again (we had gone previously last winter) to attend their ward and then come to their beautiful home for dinner after the meetings.  We enjoyed a delicious meal together and their company and friendship.

"Kona Kay" invited us to come for a second time to share the evening with the Single Adult group that she hosts each month for dinner.  These are widows and widowers that enjoy coming together for a social. Once again we enjoyed the meal and then shared a message with the group.  Kay is so friendly, cute and enthusiastic as she leads everyone in singing together and the activities that she has planned for the evening.

Brother and Sister Blackburn attend every Tuesday as patrons and then also come to serve as ordinance workers every Friday. We came to love and appreciate them. Sister Blackburn has such a sweet and gentle way about her that you just have to love her!  Brother Blackburn is always so positive and has a smile for everyone.

Evening with the Heinzens

President and Sister Heinzen invited us and Elder and Sister Walker to speak at a fireside for their ward at their home.  Before the fireside the missionary couples were invited to come for dinner. Sister Heinzen had prepared a delicious meal of pulled pork, salads, fresh fruit, rice, veggies and rolls.  President Heinzen had made these cute cup containers from coconuts for each of the missionaries.  When we arrived, the table was beautifully set for dinner and at each of our place settings, we found these cups!

After dinner the guests for the fireside began to arrive. After a welcome and opening prayer, first Shannon then Michael spoke.  They were followed by me and then Hal was the last speaker.  We each shared a little about ourselves and told of some of our spiritual and mission experiences.  It was a pleasant evening and after the fireside, dessert and other snacks were served and we had a chance to visit with those who had come.

 The group that attended the fireside.

We had this photo taken with Brother and Sister Watson who serve as ordinance workers on the Friday shift and had come to the fireside. We have made so many friends on this mission!

Luau at Veloria's

President and Sister Veloria served with us on the Thursday shift.  We call him President because he has served as Stake President of the Hilo Stake and as Kona Temple President with Sister Veloria as Matron.  He currently serves as a Temple Sealer and Sister Veloria is an Ordinance Worker.
 This special couple invited us to a special Luau at their home - just for the missionaries.  In past years, they ran a small business putting on these Luaus for tourists and others that wanted to experience a small group, hands on, authentic, Hawaiian Luau. After doing this many, many times; they were pros at it!

When we arrived at their home (about 3:30 pm), President Veloria (now in his eighties) directed the men to gather and prepare banana leaves for the imu.

The fire had already been prepared and the rocks were very hot.

Dirt and then the banana leaves were placed over the hot rocks and then the food (which Sister Veloria had prepared and carefully wrapped in heavy tin foil) was placed on the banana leaves and covered with wet gunny sacks.

Finally everything was covered with a layer of dirt to hold the heat and steam in while the food cooked.

While our dinner steamed away in the imu, President Veloria directed the activities to teach us about Hawaiian culture.  One of his cute grandsons was his helper!

He also appointed Michael to help and gave him "the big kahuna" stick.  Michael then asked Shannon to assist him.

He then began cracking open coconuts using the tools and methods as directed by President Veloria.

Hal also helped with this process.

Once the coconuts were opened, the sweet white flesh was grated and used in the preparation of some of the food we would later eat.

Shannon grating a coconut

Then President Veloria asked Hal and I to get some green coconuts from a nearby tree.

Hal hooked them and brought them down and I collected them.

President Veloria then showed Michael how to open these coconuts so that we all could taste the coconut water.

It was actually very good!

President Veloria loves the soft center of the coconut - it is his favorite part!

Our next experience was with Sister Veloria.  She taught us how to make wreaths that can be worn or used for decoration.  She had collected ferns and flowers earlier in the day from their very large yard .

She demonstrated how to place the flowers and attach them to the fern with light string.  It was fun to see how everyone put their wreaths together with their own color combination of flowers and flair!

Even most of the men created wreaths.

It took some time for beginners to figure out how to work the flowers into the ferns.  Let's just say that I was not the quickest wreath maker in the group!!

After the wreaths were made, we all posed for a picture.  Elder and Sister Zabriski were in Maui and not able to attend.  The couples on
 the right are: Elder and Sister Severe (our replacements) and Brother and Sister Petersen, who had served as temple missionaries a few years before, and were visiting Hawaii, and invited to join with us. The sister next to Sister Veloria was a friend of the Velorias.
I didn't get a picture, but our next activity was learning to do the hula!  Sister Veloria had been one of the original dancers at the Polynesian Cultural Center during her college years there  - so of course she knew how to hula!  Even at an age over 80, she still dances gracefully and was a great teacher.  She taught both the men and the women to hula to "The Hukilau Song".  This was very familiar to me from my childhood years and from watching my mom hula to this song as well as many other beautiful Hawaiian songs.  It was fun to watch Sister Veloria and to learn this dance!  It brought back sweet and tender memories.  Of course we all sang along, with President Veloria playing the Ukulele, to make the music for the dance!
After our hula lesson and performance, it was time to take the food out of the imu and prepare for dinner.

The men removed the dirt, gunny sacks and pushed away what was left of the banana leaves and retrieved the food. Everything smelled wonderful!!

The food was taken into the house to be prepared for the buffet.
The men were then given large conch shells and taught how to blow them for the Hawaiian ceremony at sunset.  The men first faced north and blew the shells, then south, then east and finally west.

You can see President Veloria coaching them on how to do this ceremony properly. Sister Veloria chanted the Hawaiian words that accompany the blowing of the shells.

After this we gathered in the kitchen for a prayer on the food and then came the feast.  Sister Veloria had prepared pork, ginger chicken, Hawaiian sweet potatoes, and a dish made with greens, coconut milk and other seasonings - all these dishes were cooked in the imu.

We also had salmon lomi lomi and ahi lomi lomi, as well as rice, fresh fruit salad and pineapple upside down cake and a delicious coconut pudding for dessert.  The Velorias provided the whole meal and wouldn't let us bring anything! This food was truly delicious - far better than any commercial luau food we had ever eaten!!  The Velorias are pros at putting together a wonderful luau experience!!

After dinner they sang Hawaiian songs to us and we joined in on some of them.  Once again, it was all familiar and brought back sweet memories of growing up!!  I love Hawaiian music and both President and Sister Veloria had lovely voices and could play the ukulele well!!

Sister Veloria gave me this beautiful Hawaiian quilt top and pillow top which she had made for me.  She told me that this was a quilt which I should use with my family for picnics, outings and any family event. She also told me what each of the Hawaiian flowers and colors represented!  I wish I had written it all down because now I can't remember. She is such a kind and generous person -  so gracious and loving.  I will always remember her! The Hawaiian people are truly special people!

Another person that I love is Sylvie - my upstairs neighbor!  She is so cute and friendly!  Her husband passed away this past December and she and her 16 year old son are both still grieving and struggling.  I have tried to reach out to her and share the gospel with her - we have had some good discussions.  She has come to Relief Society Activities with me and she had agreed to have the missionary lessons just before we left to go home.  She is struggling to keep her business (doing upholstery) going without her husband.  She works long, difficult hours. Since coming home, I have been in contact with her through phone messaging and emails.  Elder and Sister Zabriski have promised to follow up with her to have the lessons!  How I hope and pray that she will accept the gospel!!

Our Awesome Temple Presidency

Not too long before we came home, President and Sister Okura hosted a dinner/farewell party for us and the Walkers.  It was great to be together and share memories of our time serving in the Kona Temple.

Seated at the table are Brother and Sister Silliman, who are now serving an unofficial mission in the Kona Temple.  They serve 5 days a week and do everything the missionaries do - they will serve for 18 months.  We were just getting acquainted with them and they are wonderful people!  Also at the table is Sister Hee.

Hal at the party!

We had these pictures taken (President Hee had an awesome camera and knew how to take great photos!)

The couples we served with

Elder and Sister Walker and Elder and Sister Zabriski

We were so blessed to serve with these wonderful couples!  We all got along  well together and enjoyed each other's company whether serving in the temple, going on outings, going to dinner together, helping each other or playing games together on Sunday evenings. We have many happy memories of our times shared with these good people that we have come to love so much.

Our mission was not always easy - missions never are, but it was SO worth it!  I am very grateful to have had the privilege of serving in the Kona Hawaii Temple.  Temple work is like no other work and is wonderful and beautiful in so many ways!!
We had many sacred and special experiences, learned so much, and we made many, many forever friends!!!
The words to the beautiful words and melody of the Hawaiian song  - Aloha 'Oe, which was sung to us and to all those leaving the islands, comes to my mind.

Aloha 'Oe, Farewell to you,
The Charming one who dwells in the shaded bowers,
One fond embrace,
'Ere I now depart,
Until we meet again!

ALOHA