This is our last week; our service mission on Maui has come to an end. We take with us the memories, the feelings, and the relationships that will last forever.
Simulated campfire – Real testimonies
Sister Hardman and I conducted a youth activity last week where our youth gathered under the stars (actually, under the unlit wide-open space of the meetinghouse cultural hall) around a simulated campfire to watch the 2026 Lehi Handcart Trek Video, of which they were a part. Many then bore their testimonies. Of the video and trek, Brother Andrew Joaquin of our bishopric said, “What an amazing presentation and wonderful spiritual insights from the entire stake. It was such a pleasure to participate, and I’m sure I speak for everyone when I say that our lives have been forever changed by this incredible opportunity. Our prayer is that the youth will carry these memories with them for years to come and draw ever closer to Jesus Christ through this remarkable journey…” (Text to the K1 Bishopric and Hardman’s, Jun. 14, 2026)
Testimony meeting
Sunday morning, as we arrived at church to give our farewell sacrament meeting talks, our phones started buzzing with amazing news from Virginia. Our daughter Emma posted the play-by-play of giving birth to twins, Edith and Malcom. It was a great joy to hear, especially that Mom and babies were doing well. They apparently came quickly. “BAM!” she wrote, “2 babies. Much pain. Crazy time…Both babies doing good in the NICU and [I’m] ready for a giant nap.” Posts of love and support poured in from family members in Alaska, California, Utah, Virginia, and of course Maui. We are grateful.
Last visit to Iao Valley
With hearts now distracted, we stood at the pulpit and gave our prepared talks.
Sister Hardman spoke of her ancestor Halvor Halvorson, a ship captain in Norway who left a written legacy of faith for his posterity. Joan said, “When I read his words, I don’t just hear a father saying goodbye. I hear a man whose faith had quietly grown over many years. His trust in the Lord didn’t begin during his final illness. It had become part of who he was long before then.
That reminds me of Esther. She didn’t know as a young orphan girl what the Lord was preparing her for. She simply kept choosing what was right. She listened to Mordecai. She showed humility. She exercised wisdom and patience. She found favor because of the kind of person she was becoming.”
“When Mordecai asked her to risk her life to save her people, she answered with one of the greatest expressions of faith in scripture: “If I perish, I perish.” She couldn’t see the end of the story. She simply trusted the Lord enough to take the next faithful step. I have often wondered if that’s how the Lord prepares all of us. Most of the time we don’t know why we’re experiencing certain things. We simply keep trying to follow Him. Then later, we begin to see His hand…”
Joan spoke of her mother, then continued, “Looking back now, it is easy to see the Lord’s hand. But my mother (and my ancestors) couldn’t see the whole picture while living it. They simply trusted Him one step at a time. Because they did, our family has been blessed in ways she could never have imagined. Like Mordecai asked Esther, I sometimes feel as though my ancestors are asking me, “Who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”
Joan concluded with reflection on our mission. “Many times we left…[addiction recovery support] meetings asking, ‘Why us?’ Why were we invited to witness such sacred moments?… We have also come to love the youth of this ward… They have given us great hope…As we prepare to leave, our hearts are full of gratitude. Like Esther, we rarely know beforehand why the Lord places us where He does. Like our ancestors, we move forward one faith-filled step at a time. Then one day we look back and realize that the Lord was preparing us all along…’for such a time as this.”
We stood at the pulpit and sang a song by Sally DeFord, “For Such a Time as This.”
In my talk I also spoke of ancestors with ‘Esther-like’ journeys. I spoke of meaningful stories with character arcs and how such ‘hero’s journeys’ apply to others such as Nephi, Alma, Peter, and Joseph Smith as well as to each of us. “As we move forward making choices toward good goals, the author of our story allows, or may choose to upset or even rock our world, shift our perspective, and change our view. At first we might think, ‘But Father, didn’t you want me to do this good thing?’ and he might answer, ‘Yes, but that goal was but a step so I could show you what is beyond and better…’ These progressions, this arc,…will eventually lead us to the best, most glorious…state.”
I concluded our sentiments using the words of George Q. Cannon who served in this very place one hundred and seventy-five years ago. “My joy has been full upon these lands…I have, and do feel that I enjoy a glorious privilege in being permitted to hold this priesthood and being the bearer of a message that angels delight to bear, the renewal of the covenant and the tidings of salvation to fallen man…it fills me with wonder at the condescension of the Lord to me in permitting me to come forth in this generation and partake of these things…” (George Q. Cannon, Hawaiian Missions, 1850-1854, pg. 175-176)
“Similarly, Sister Hardman and I also proclaim that notwithstanding our faults we have been blessed with joy for the blessing of having the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ in our lives, to bear the “message that angels delight to bear” with “tidings of salvation to fallen man.” It has been sacred to walk with Jesus by walking into the rooms of recovery exploring his power to bless the addicted and to feel nothing but his compassion and love. It has been sacred to walk with him into the rooms of Sunday School exploring with precious youth how to follow Him. It has been sacred to walk with him by helping our youth experience a Handcart Trek with all its learning experiences. And my dear brothers and sisters [of the Kahului 1st Ward], it has been sacred to walk into your lives and to be humbled by your faith and genuine kindness.”
Aloha Oi
After the sacrament meeting was over, ward members sang ‘Aloha Oi.’ Then we were embraced one-by-one with lei’s, love and Aloha. We will forever love them as family, as Ohana.
AncestorClips 