VC Visitor gets Baptized

You may recall my posting on January 29th about Leah and Rob Clendenning from Canada.  Leah was a member but Rob was not.  As they wrapped up their VC January visit Rob was invited to be baptized - even that day (in the Pacific Ocean).  He responded that he probably should get baptized but wasn't quite ready to say yes. 

Later that week he called and said he was ready and wanted to be baptized that night.  I arranged the baptism, drove over to Ko Olina and interviewed him, filled out the papers, and then suggested he actually wait until he returns home so their children could be present.  Since then he has taken his time and studied a number of books.  We've become "e-mail pals" as we shared scriptures, answered gospel questions, etc.

So you can appreciate how happy both of us were to receive his e-mail saying his baptism date was set, and asking for a letter from me that his wife could read at the baptism.  He was baptized this week!  Now we're looking forward to a visit from them a year from now so they can be sealed in the South Jordan Temple!

November 21st:  Received this picture and the following note:

My testimony has been growing steadily but not rapidly as I still try to figure out the balance between work and the everyday versus our eternal roles and perspectives. Nonetheless, we are so much stronger as a family and individuals with the ever present blessings of the Gospel.

Check out the Rainbow

This picture of the Laie HI Temple was taken a couple of weeks ago by Bruce Bean, the superintendent overseeing the remodeling of the temple..

Sister Tripp's Birthday

The Tripp's treated everyone for ice cream and cake on her birthday.  Fun time.

Turtle Bay Music

Hungry for good music we bought tickets to a piano and guitar duo performing at the Turtle Bay Resort.  The music, performed by husband and wife Jeff and Lisa Linsky, was more improvisational and more jazz than we like, even though Jeff, the guitarist was an outstanding guitar player.

Speaking Trip to Hilo

The Hilo Stake on the Big Island invited us to speak at it's annual High Priests' meeting and dinner on "The Joy of Missionary Service" so on Saturday afternoon we caught a 3 pm flight, arriving in Hilo around 4:00 pm.

Donna included in her remarks a card made by Marin we received a few days ago.  Everyone loved the card as Donna tied it into our mission.

In preparing for this assignment Don e-mailed the missionaries who were in our MTC "class" and asked them what their concerns had been for serving a mission.  Most responses focused on "what to do with our home" and "will our family be cared for."  We especially liked the answer from Elder and Sister Powell serving in the mission office in Santiago, Dominican Republic.  They said their answer about their family came as "...an apostolic promise from Elder Bednar...that if we would take care of His children in the Dominican Republic, He would take care of ours at home.  We have decided that He is a much better caretaker of our children than we could ever be of His children, even if we worked all day every day."

Our talks were well received and we both felt the Spirit guiding our message.  Many flocked to the stand afterwards to thank us.  Sister Lowe sought us both out during the night and said she had never wanted to go on a mission but during our talks it was revealed to her that she and her husband should go, and that they should sell their house at a certain time, visit their daughter for three months, and then begin serving.  After the meeting as she shared her thoughts with her husband he said that he had received the same exact inspiration.

We spent the night with President and Sister Bauer and caught a 1:20 pm plane back Sunday (after waiting from 9 am at the airport for a delayed plane).  We had just two hours to serve at the VC before leaving for a Temple Open House committee meeting in Mililani.  Needless to say, by the time we got home at 10 pm we were both exhausted.  Here we are with President and Sister Bauer.

New Missionary Couple Coming to VC

While attending the Hilo Stake HP dinner/meeting (see accompanying blog) we met Elder and Sister Keith Crouch who are now serving on the Big Island but are being transferred to Laie in a few weeks and will serve part-time at the VC and part-time proselyting.

We learned that Elder Crouch was baptized in the Ramona Branch in 1968 when about 18 years old.  (Most of you know that Ramona is in the foothills beyond Escondido, CA.)  Elder Crouch remembered many of the members there,(Don McGoffin, the Tippitts family, others,) and especially remembered President Wallace Gray, president of the Palomar Stake.  He sure loves President Gray who helped send him on a mission.  When I was a stake missionary we covered the Ramona Branch and held a number of meetings in the Tippitt's "castle" home.  There were several daughters in the family who were our ages (when we were teenagers) and who would come to Escondido and participate in some of our youth activities.

It was in 1968 that I was called to be President Gray's second counselor in the stake presidency, but Elder Crouch and I could not make a connection as we talked about the "good ol' days."

Willkommen Sie im Besucherzentrum

Today I met two tourists from Germany, Anneliese Philipp (age 70+) and her daughter.  They came to the VC looking for the "Cultural Center" meaning the Polynesian Cultural Center.

 Anneliese spoke little English but her daughter spoke English very well.  We started with the Christus narration in German, beginning a wonderful ninety minute visit which also included our Laie history video, God's Plan for His Family, a visit to our temple corner, learning about the Book of Mormon (I handed her the German copy), and ended with listening to President Uchtdorf's testimony.  They both asked very insightful questions and we developed a bond of friendship and a mutual love for the Savior.  As they left Anneliese said she would like a Book of Mormon which I first planned on having delivered to her in Germany, but later decided to give one to her out of our supply room.  I also gave the daughter a copy in English.  They asked if they could take my picture with Anneliese and so we traded pictures.  Here's a picture of the two of them taken outside of the VC.

The German greeting up above says, "Welcome to the Visitors' Center."  Today I experienced the Lord's "Welcome" extended to two lovely daughters of God and was reminded once again that The Spirit is not limited by language - His language is universal and the invitation to Come Unto Christ is to ALL of God's children.

An Evening at the PCC

We served at the Polynesian Cultural Center tonight and greeted 311 guests at the Ambassador Restaurant.  Photo crew took our picture and gave a copy to us.  Here we are in all our glory.

And, just before we began taking tickets at the Ambassador, we visited with our stake president from South Jordan, President David Tate and his incredible family.  They are here, enjoying a week's well-deserved vacation.

Doug and Michelle Friends Visit VC

We were happy to see Scott Driggs and his family at the VC last week.  They bought a home around 2000 from McArthur Homes in Park Village (West Jordan) and were neighbors of Doug and Michelle, and have stayed close friends with them ever since.  They now live in South Jordan.

South Carolina Nurse-to-Be wants to know more

Donna greeted two ladies who came to the VC today and played for them the Christus message (a wonderful 90 second message using the Savior's own words from the scriptures).  Afterwards she brought them to our large theatre to see our 5-minute Laie history video.  Before showing the video I gave a brief intro about when the first missionaries came to Hawaii (1850), followed by the translation of the Book of Mormon into Hawaiian by George Q. Cannon and Jonathan Napela which lead to over 4,000 Hawaiians being baptized.

After the video one of the ladies wanted to see the first edition Hawaiian Book of Mormon.  How could the Book of Mormon help them, she asked, if they could not read?  What makes your church different from other Christian religions?  Her questions led to our Prophet's corner and a discussion about Priesthood authority, restoration, and prophets.  This was followed by more exhibits and discussions.  We ended up in God's Plan for His Family.  She then told me that she had come to the VC because the day before they had been to the PCC and had been so impressed by the young people she met there...they were happy, clean, with a refreshing conviction of the gospel...that she wanted to learn more about our beliefs.  She said that she had felt that same feeling during her entire visit in the VC and that seeing "God's Plan" was the capstone of her emotions.  I want to know more about your beliefs, she told me, because of what she had experienced over these two days.

A couple of years ago she felt prompted by God to quit her job and go back to school to become a hospice nurse.  So she followed the prompting and is now half way through her nursing college courses. Who knows, she said, perhaps her vacation to Hawaii (taken on a last-minute whim) was another prompting so she could come to the PCC and VC and learn about the Church.  The missionaries will deliver her a Book of Mormon and share the gospel message when she returns to South Carolina from her vacation.

Air Conditioner Technician finds more to check out than the cooler

The VC has had a history of problems with the air conditioning system.  As a result a service rep has visited us a number of times.  Today when he came to the VC he said that he had been at BYU-H and several young men shared with him info about the Church and told him he should come to the VC to learn more.   Donna was able to answer his questions, provide him with some pass-along cards and the Joseph Smith pamphlet and invite him to learn more.  He was rushed but was visibly impressed by what he had learned (and felt) and is coming back when he has more time.  [Nice job, BYU-H guys in sharing your testimonies!]