VC guest from Cozumel

I met the nicest man today from Mexico.  A retired computer tech, he now lives in Cozumel.  He gave up his dress shirts, ties, and suits for a pair of shorts and sandals.  Yes, and he had a pony tail.  Tony and I hit it off and he liked what he felt in the VC.  When I asked if he would like a Book of Mormon and he said yes, I said I'd have two missionaries bring it to him in Cozumel.  He said that would be great, and he promised to read it BEFORE they visited him....he said he'd find a copy over the internet somehow.  So, Donna just happened to find a spare copy for him to take with him.  Never judge a book by it's cover.

Quick Trip to Waikoloa Shores

Tom and Dorothy Heers, our missionary friends staying in our 2-bedroom condo for the past 18 months, finished their mission on Monday, so we got permission to fly to the Big Island to check them out of the condo and prepare it for our new tenant, Joanne Kitzul, a nurse at the Waimea Hospital.  Joanne has leased it for one year.

We also used the trip to meet our new tenant in the one-bedroom condo who moved in a couple of months ago.  His name is Nabel Ahmed and he is the Director of Restaurants at the Hilton Hotel.  He hosted us, and the Heers, for a delightful Chinese lunch at the Hilton.

We needed to pack and store some of our personal belongings, make a couple of repairs, and help the Heers get rid of some of their stuff.  Overall, we worked all day Monday and finished up Tuesday morning in time to catch a mid-day flight back to Oahu to fill our evening assignment at the VC.

Language Training

Two of our missionaries are from Japan who have not quite mastered the English language and so we have been asked to conduct language classes for them.  We met Friday for the first session.  Here's a picture of Sister Nishigaka and her companion Sister Watanabe (#1), and Sister Watanabe (#2) and her companion Sister Stringer.  We met at 8:00 am in our living room.  Our text books are "Preach My Gospel" and the Book of Mormon.  We are reviewing the study-scriptures from PMG, helping them both learn the meaning of the words and the meaning of the scripture.  We meet again next Tuesday (if they think it is worthwhile) and in the meantime they, with the help of their companion, will study 30 minutes a day using the same method.

Courtney Visit

One of our favorite granddaughters, Courtney Cook, has spent several days with us.  She's been busy cutting sister missionary's hair, three dates with Shane, a trip with us to the PCC and with Kody, her brother.  She also managed to spend a few days at the beach.

1990 SLC Temple Square Missionary

We were caught by surprise when a couple walked into the VC, looked at Don, and the wife said, "President McArthur!  You were my mission president when I served on Temple Square."  It was Brittany Piotrowsky (now Birk) who served in 1990-91.  She is married to Jeff Birk, who was in the LDS Movie, "Home Teachers" and played the HT with the bow tie.  They now live in Orem, Utah.

Create in me a Clean Heart

Today Donna, with a little help from Don, taught the Gospel Doctrine class.  The lesson was titled "Create in me a Clean Heart."  We used Jeffrey R. Holland's last General Conference talk, "Place No More for the Enemy of my Soul" for part of the lesson.  Good lesson about David, Bath-sheba and Uriah and David losing his exaltation.

We all need to be on guard and never let inappropriate thoughts or conduct slip through a crack in the door.

Member-Missionary Work is the Best!

This morning a church member brought a friend and his wife and young son to the VC before going to the Polynesian Cultural Center for the afternoon and evening.  I learned the two friends are in the military.  For some reason my tour of the VC was unlike any other --- we started in our temple corner, then saw "God's Plan for Families", followed by the Book of Mormon exhibit and our interactive kiosks.  We ended up in the Prophet's corner listening to President Monson's testimony of the Book of Mormon.  We had spent an hour together and when we were done Bryan, Glenda and son, Ezra, all expressed in interest in receiving a copy of the Book of Mormon and having missionaries visit them.