The first week.

REPORT : F.B.I. (FROM. BIG. ISLAND) June 10, 2012 It is still Sunday evening here. Tomorrow is one week since we left Utah for our mission field. What a week it has been. My mind has been flying, trying to get everything in order here in our "home away from home". I certainly could not have done it without my companion! Elder Rapier is a trooper and such a hard worker. We make a list and add to it as we think of things we need to do and buy. I'd say we are doing well, all things considered. (all things being that we are 65 and 67 years old). You may have heard that we were called to the Hawaii Honolulu mission. It should be named the Kohala Coast Paradise Mission. This is where heaven meets the earth! Our hearts have been very full this week as we have adjusted to our new surroundings. So full, in fact, that our eyes leak very often, if you know what I mean. We have met some of God's finest people here. Most of the people in our ward were born here and have lived here all of their lives. They are intertwined by history, marriage and fellowship in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. When you meet someone new or see them at church or out and about, they pull you close and kiss you on the cheek. So many have already told us "I love you". We were each given a lei when we arrived at the airport. Today, Brother Alfonso Mitchell, a former Bishop in this ward, was waiting at church with a lei for us to welcome us to the ward. He had picked the flowers in his garden and his wife had made the lei. We were introduced in Sacrament meeting. Then again in Relief Society and High Priest Group. So many have said that they have missed having senior missionaries in the ward (the previous couple left at the end of May) and have been praying for our safe arrival. We arrived on Tuesday and the dinner appointments began on Wednesday evening at the home of our Ward Mission Leader Matthew and his wife, the Relief Society President, Roz. Their last name is Kupuka'a. (Say Coopooka'ah.) They served us a hearty pasta soup, bread and dessert. No wonder this is called "the 40 lb. mission." The next night, we dined with the Sanchez family. Four generations live in their home. The grandmother is in a hospital bed in the back of the house, being tended by her daughter, Gwen - known as Tita. One of their daughters, husband and two children live there also. The little children are called Mohonri and Liahona. Their mom is expecting their third child in a month. Again, a feast and we were sent home with food! As if we hadn't eaten too much already at dinner! The head of that family is James Sanchez, the former Bishop of this ward. He is a gentle giant. We dropped by there last night with a plate of brownies, to find them cooking a huge batch of poi. They were tending the tarot roots, which would take about 4 hours to cook. On the third evening, a dear sister, Udell and her son Rick welcomed us into their home. Udell is a widow and her son Rick is single. He is the ward Elder's Quorum president. Love and hospitality are shown by feeding you too much delicious food. We wouldn't want to hurt anyone's feelings, would we?? We were invited to attend a funeral yesterday. An elderly man, whose son had taken care of him on the mainland, had passed away. The family had brought him home for the funeral and burial. Pedro was a Filipino, with four sons and one daughter. All the children, spouses and most of the 31 grandchildren and some of the 34 great grandchildren were there. It was so interesting to see how the ward and the friends and family handled the day. The ward provides refreshments for the viewing, which lasted three hours. The family comes for the first hour and then friends and neighbors come for the next two hours. They come and visit with the family, pay their respects and then are served refreshments in another room. Also, there is entertainment. The viewing is in the overflow and cultural hall. They had one set of entertainment from 9 - 10. Then, our new friends, Matt and Roz entertained from 10-11. They are very accomplished and well known entertainers in this area. Matt plays Hawaiian guitar and sings, Roz plays ukele and sings harmony and they have an electric guitarist. They sing soft Hawaiian music. Matt and Roz also sang during the funeral. The choir sang "Aloha Oe" (oi) as the pall bearers carried the casket out. After the burial, the family returned for a slide show and Filipino food prepared by the family. When we arrived on Tuesday, the ward mission leader took us to the chapel to meet the youth and some of the ward leadership. Just as we do on the mainland, the youth were preparing their 5 gallon buckets for the Trek. They left Wednesday morning and came back on Saturday. They made their own handcarts and wore pioneer clothing. Just as we do, they represented a pioneer who had come across in the handcarts, or in some cases an early church member in their family. Today in church, they and all the leaders wore their pioneer clothing to church and the youth - all 4 girls and 3 boys, bore strong testimony about their experiences. Each of them told us the name of the pioneer they were walking for, one of their best experiences and bore their testimony. Imagine the shock we felt when one of the boys said he was walking for James Godson Bleak! That is Elder Rapier's great-great grandfather! We took pictures of this young man and a short video of Elder Rapier talking to him. We filled the young boy in on some of the details of James's life. James almost died on the crossing, both feet were frost bitten and his wife had to pull him in the handcart. After they were rescued, the Bleak family (pronounced Blake) settled in Ogden. Four years later, Brigham called James and his family to move to St. George aka "The Cotton Mission". He helped finish the St. George and became the first temple recorder there. Later, he was private secretary to Brigham Young during the president's winter stays in St. George. Elizabeth Moore Bleak, James's wife, was the first telegraph operator in Southern Utah and sent the confidential information to the Quorum of the Twelve in Salt Lake City. James lived to be 87 years old. All in all, quite a week! We also visited a lot of the members to get to know them. Everyone insists that we take something home with us. We received fruit picked from their trees, candy bars and flowers. Our home is fragrant today from our leis and from gardenias picked in our yard. We have papaya trees in the back yard and a lychee nut tree. We tasted that delicacy for the first time today and we are hooked. There are grow boxes on the side of the house, so we will buy some tomatoes squash plants when we are in Kona on Tuesday. Everything is three times as expensive as it is for the same item at Wal-Mart in Kona, so we keep that list going! Sorry this post is so long, but I am trying to catch up and give you an idea what our life is like. This will also serve as a journal of sorts. Tomorrow is King Kamehemehe Day. King Kamemehe is from the Kohala Coast. There is a full size statue of him in the park. Tomorrow there will be a ceremony when his statue will be draped with long leis to honor him. Then there will be a parade with lei covered horses and floats. After the parade, there are food booths in the park, where we will have lunch. Tomorrow is Preparation Day and we plan to spend a few hours at the beach. Tuesday, the missionary work begins in earnest. We are getting a good idea of who's who and where to begin. Is this a wonderful church or what?? No matter where you are in the world, you can feel at home because you have a brother or sister to welcome you. In the next post, I will add some pictures to bring you up to date. Elder Rapier and I sure do love all of you, our dear friends and family. I hope every week flies by as fast this week has done. We know our kids are coming to see us. Some of you have expressed a desire to come over. If so, please let us know a date. We are staying busy doing the Lord's work, but can take a day per week, plus perhaps Sunday to spend time with you. Thank you for your prayers. God Bless you. Our love always. xx Elder and Sister Rapier.