Tag Archives: maui

Week 15 – July 14 – Jesus Christ walks these halls

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Stopped into Walmart this week; we don’t remember why. Perhaps it was to meet a fellow missionary from another faith, Aleka (see photo), A sweet lady who motioned us to sit with her so she could spread the word about God. We had a delightful conversation and wished her well in pointing people to Christ. We attended the multi-stake Pioneer Day chili cookoff and pioneer exhibits activity. We’re getting to know more members and guests including these delightful sister missionaries (see photo). On Sunday we spoke in the Wailuku Ward about Jesus Christ as our Advocate, and sang My Shepherd Will Supply My Need. It always feels wonderful to sing about the Savior while connecting worshipful eyes with others through music. On Monday with other volunteers we served at the Maui Food Bank (see photos) filling 900 boxes for distribution across three islands. Later that day we conducted our weekly Addiction Recovery Program (ARP) support meeting. It has been a fulfilling week with study and service. For the rest of this letter may I again make comparisons with ancient times, earlier latter-days missionaries, and our experiences today?

It is painful to learn of the difficulties and setbacks of God’s children. Nevertheless, when we have the courage to trust Him and repent and to keep doing his will amidst opposition, then darkness and pain is turned into light and joy. In the Book of Mormon, Enos said, “my guilt was swept away.” (Enos 1:6) Alma the younger exclaimed, “I could remember my pains no more; yea, I was harrowed up by the memory of my sins no more. And oh, what joy, and what marvelous light I did behold; yea, my soul was filled with joy as exceeding as was my pain…” (Alma 36:19-21)

In our service in Gods kingdom in the latter-days, there are also difficulties and spiritual setbacks. Yet, when we trust Him and go forward centered in Christ, joy emerges. In 1852 here on Maui, a year and a half into their missionary labors, Elder George Q. Cannon and his companions had experienced much trial, opposition, and setbacks; nevertheless, his trust in God was inspiring. Finally, after a year, his first hopeful contact Jonathan Napela accepted baptism and they began translating the Book of Mormon. Hundreds had already been baptized and following one of the first church conferences near ‘Iao Valley, Wailuku (walking distance from our apartment), an amazing miracle was performed causing Elder Cannon to compare his feelings with the prior year, and tried to express his gratitude and joy.

“A person that they had been called upon to baptize, had been crawling for five years not able to walk upright; she was believing and three of them went to pray with her that she might be restored—afterwards they commanded her in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ to arise and walk—she immediately stood up and walked and they afterwards baptized her—those who saw her were astonished at it & several came into the Church at the same time. They seemed to be filled with the spirit while dilating upon it and upon the marvelous power of the Lord as manifested in the Church in these days. I was so full that language was too faint to attempt to describe my feelings, I could not talk; this was felt by Brother Uaua also. When I compared my present feelings with the feelings experienced by me this time last year in this place, and I looked at the progress of the work and the power of my Father that accompanied it; I felt that the goodness of the Lord was adorable and past describing. This day has been one of my feast days, a day that gives the soul food for reflection for some time and is not with its reminiscences easily erased from the memory.” (The Journals of George Q. Cannon, Hawaiian Mission, 1850-1854, pg. 172)

In our 2025 Addiction Recovery Program mission on Maui, we are meeting people who are or were in bondage to addiction. Like Elder Cannon, there are situations that seem bleak, painful and without hope. But just having them show up at their first recovery support meeting is an amazing miracle. As Sister Hardman and I strive to put our trust in God and keep our view centered in the Atonement of Jesus Christ we see our new friends in a much more loving and hopeful light. We are granted and motivated by the pre-joy that Jesus felt as expressed by the apostle Paul, “who for the joy that was set before [Christ] endured the cross…” (Hebrews 12:2) We have every confidence that our friends are loved. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life…” (John 3:16-17) We feel His love for our friends.

At the end of our ARP meeting this week I prayed in my heart to know what the Lord would have me say in my testimony. Step 5 is the topic of Confession. I bore testimony of the Atonement of Jesus Christ, emphasizing trusting God with our confession and trusting our Savior with the ability to help and give us power to overcome. I noted that even in our youthful perhaps small mistakes we need to turn to the Savior less our small sins turn into patterns toward larger behavioral mistakes and then to addictions to try to cover our pain. I spoke of my parents who were probably embarrassed when I got into childhood mischief but noted their love and confidence in helping me. I testified that God is a loving Heavenly Father who doesn’t feel shame but gives us love and opportunities to learn and grow and repent. Like spiritually connecting through music in sacrament meeting, spiritually connecting through these words of love and testimony during the ARP meeting witnessed to us that Gods love was present. As we have heard addicts say about their recovery even while in prison, “Jesus Christ walks these halls.”

Week 14 – July 7 – Practice what we preach

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(Personal! But okay to share)

“A miracle happens each time you walk through that door.” Words like these came from my mouth as we started this week’s Addiction Recovery Program (ARP) support group meeting. I continued sincerely, “The Savior takes from our hearts and minds any criticism or judgement. In fact this is evidence that this is his work and he is with us all.” Looking into their eyes I spoke the truth, “We feel nothing but love, compassion, and gratitude that you are here.” Each pair of eyes in the room looked back with love and trust. And so we began another confidential and safe, “Healing through the Savior” meeting.

As prescribed by church materials, Sister Hardman and I conduct the meeting, welcome guests, set some expectations and then all who wish take turns reading from the guide book. We first read the title of each of the 12 Steps of recovery, then we continue taking turns reading the study material for one of the 12 steps. After that, our facilitator, a person who is in recovery, guides the ‘sharing’ portion of the meeting where each is given an opportunity to share about their recovery. These are often very inspiring, especially as they bear testimony of the Saviors power and role in their success. As the service missionaries, we conclude with “our testimony of the Church, of the ARP, and of the Savior and His Atonement.”

In order to do this, that is bear personal testimony of the ARP and the Savior’s Atonement in our lives, Sister Hardman and I have been studying the 12 steps during our personal time, individually and together. This was our fourth session so we were on Step 4. In the first three steps we honestly admit our inability to overcome some things on our own, that we need the power of God to restore us to spiritual health, and that we need to turn our will and lives to the care of God and Jesus Christ. These are very powerful principles to build our faith and step us forward. In Step 4 we perform a searching and fearless moral inventory of our lives, past and present to help us start our recovery from a position of truth, knowing what has occurred in our lives bringing us to where we are today. As an example, I applied it to some character traits I really want and need to improve, behaviors that cause me to be less than I know I want to be, or reactions that impede success in my cherished relationships.  I chose pride, specifically impatience, taking offense and being judgmental as the character weakness of focus.

I first wanted to understand better how the twelve steps relate to each other so as any good engineer might do, I summarized them on a mind map or diagram (see picture), while reading scripture references for each. With the big picture in mind I then dove into Step 4 praying and writing, looking for situations or events in my life that may have contributed to learning bad behavioral habits and how they might be triggered presently. It was difficult and sometimes painful but like Nephi who exclaimed, “O wretched man that I am! Yea, my heart sorroweth because of my flesh… I am encompassed about, because of the temptations and the sins which do so easily beset me…” I pressed on with, “I know in whom I have trusted. My God hath been my support; he hath led be through mine afflictions…” (2 Nephi 4:17-19)

I considered events from early in my life to later, from home, family, school, church, and other social interactions. Sure enough, I stuck with the prayerful process and some events and habits and patterns emerged (which I won’t relate here). I considered fears that may have invited unhealthy defense behaviors, and false beliefs that may have contributed to those fears and found a number of things I can focus on, including spiritual things to remove barriers to recovery. As I understand it, the purpose of all this is to move forward with more thorough repentance (Steps 5-9), accountability, personal revelation, continue to seek and receive the Lord’s power, and serve or help others do the same (Steps 10-12.) I’ve experience enough so far to be very confident that in time I too can be ‘Healed through the Savior’ of my persistent weaknesses as I implement those principles and commandments and covenants that will enable his power in my life, the power of Christ. This process is showing us more specifically how to Come unto Him, and to listen to latter-day prophets. For example, President Nelson has encouraged us to study the Atonement of Jesus Christ regularly. This counsel now resonates with power in my heart.

“I’m in this process with you,” I said at the end of this week’s ARP support meeting. I was able to bear testimony that the process points us to the Savior including specifics from his life, example, teachings, commandments and promises. “For me, the process pointed me to studying more deeply and regularly the Atonement of Christ and his grace. The lack of more understand has contributed to fears resulting in impatience with others, mis-judgement, and my taking offense. “I know we can be guided to receive his power, specific power to help us overcome or recover.” Our meeting ended as it started, feeling nothing but love, compassion, and gratitude for everyone present, and the Gospel of Jesus Christ that gives such hope.

Independence Day – This past week, to celebrate Independence Day we enjoyed a concert at the ‘Shops at Wailea,’ a fun Hawaiian group called Nuff Sedd (genre: Reggae). We then went to a highly popular (think island traffic jam) July 4th off-shore fireworks celebration at the beach of the Grand Wailea. The fireworks shot from a barge surrounded by observing sailing vessels were fantastic, and the reflection out over the ocean was really cool.

Week 13 – June 30, – Trust in God

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Each day this past week we took time to prepare for upcoming assignments, and to care for ourselves spiritually, physically, and emotionally. We exercise, write and sing about the beauties of life (song: Life Surrounds), walk on beaches or piers, wade through the Iao Stream, admire God’s hand in the infinitely varying sunsets above the ocean, and meandering turtles below. On one evening while reading on the beach, a large seal parted the waves, crawled up the beach and drew a large crowd. The look in his eyes was, “It’s been a long journey. I’m tired. Leave me alone.” On another occasion Joan found a sleeping turtle on a small beach with a rock on the center of his shell. It is illegal to touch a turtle, but Joan felt compassion, tiptoed through the sand, and removed the rock. Then received a wink from the turtle that seemed to say, “Thank you.”

We prepared and practice a sacred hymn in a sacred place. We prepared an overview and testimony of the addiction recovery program which we then presented three times on Sunday (5th Sunday combined adult meetings) rushing to three different meetinghouses, on three different parts of the island. Our presentation included a tender review of Alma 7:11-12, a scripture that President Dallin H. Oaks said, “is the single clearest of all the scriptures on this essential power of the Atonement…” (Oaks, Strengthened by the Atonement of Jesus Christ, Oct. 2015) During the presentation we set a spiritual tone by singing the duet we had prepared, “My Shepherd Will Supply My Need,” (new Hymn 1014) while accompanying ourselves with violin and guitar. These were special moments for us and judging by expressions and spirit, special for the members. We reviewed church online resources with them, bore testimony of the power of the Savior to assist us in our needs, and with love invited them to invite others who could benefit from the program.

During this week’s support meeting several new people came. We focused on Step-3, “Decide to turn our wills and our lives over to the care of God, The Eternal Father, and His Son, Jesus Christ.” The basic principle is to Trust in God. The spirit was there, and we did our best conducting the meeting, discussing the principles, and bearing testimony at the end. However, as is too common for me (an addiction of pride), I doubted my effectiveness, wondering what I could’ve done differently or conveyed better for these beautiful, humble people. (I noticed that I was in need of the very principle we were teaching, that is: Trust in God).

As noted previously, Joan and I are reading, “The Journals of George Q. Cannon, Hawaiian Mission, 1850-1854). In 1851 Elder Cannon set out from Lahaina to live among the Hawaiian people in order to help him learn the language and convey the Gospel more effectively. Similarly, Joan and I occasionally set out to learn local history (we went to the Wailuku museum this week) and we read about Elder Cannon’s experiences with the people so that we might understand their culture and be more effective sharing the Savior’s message and healing power. On one occasion after struggling to preach in their language, in anxiousness Cannon wrote, “I felt very much depressed after this meeting, it seems a hard business to explain things. When will I be so that I can do justice to the principles of which I am the bearer?” On another occasion, speaking of his prayer to the Lord for help obtaining the language he said, “If I did not know that he would order everything for the best, I should be tempted to be discouraged.” (pg. 89) About the time of his first convert baptisms he wrote, “I have not felt the spirit of the Lord more… than I did this afternoon, and the people felt it… I had been enabled by his spirit to explain some things to the people few as they were that I had been sent to teach…” (pg. 95)

At our addiction support meeting the subject was Trust in God, and so having done our best to prepare and trust in him to execute the evening as he and his inspired resources prescribed, like Elder Cannon I should have had trust that “he would order everything for the best” that our best preparations and his process would work in the lives of those specific children of God who attended. Instead, I came home not feeling rest, but burden, the burden of self-doubt and self-criticism, whereas I should’ve taken his yoke upon me, not just words, but with full trust so that I might feel of his rest (Matthew 11:28-30) and not be burdened by the pride that was driving my unrest, the pride of wondering what I could’ve done differently or how I could’ve executed it differently (I notice the word “I” too much in the last sentence; pride). Sister Hardman and I made our best efforts. We studied, we prayed, we prepared. And in the session, we loved, we read, we discussed, and we carried out the class. And judging by the faces present many were touched and many felt sincere and good feelings. We have confidence that many are feeling more power in Christ. We take to the Lord our best offering, and He makes something beautiful.