Hi family! How has your week been? Mine has been wonderful and the work is going great. I had an awesome experience in the Visitors Center this week. The Hawaii Temple Visitors Center is different than any other VC mission in the world. First off, we get to wear awesome muumuus and slippers which is fantastic! Secondly, we get to give Tram Tours from the Polynesian Cultural Center to the Temple. Its a great opportunity to meet people from all over the world and to share the history of Laie with them, including the importance of the temple and forever families. The tour consists of 3 parts....we drive them around the BYU-H campus, through the residential area, and then to the Temple VC. That takes about 10 minutes. While at the VC, we show them a short presentation about the history of the area and then give them about 10 minutes to walk around and learn more about the church. It's amazing how many lives can change in a matter of 10 minutes!!
So I was blessed to meet a family from New York on the tram tour this week. As we were walking around the Visitors Center together, I was asking them about their family. Come to find out, their grandfather had just died the day before and they were all really sad because they weren't at home with him or with the rest of their family. I asked them if I could share something with them and promised that it would bring peace and comfort to them at this difficult time. They were more than willing to listen as I showed them a picture of the Hawaii Temple Sealing Room and told them that through the blessings of the temple, they can be with their grandfather again. They agreed to meet with the missionaries to learn more about eternal families. On the comment card, the mom of the family wrote "Thank you Sister Stringer, thank you for loving us enough to share this message. It brought so much peace to our family." Miracles happen each and everyday and I'm so grateful to be a part of it. That family had no idea why they were coming to the temple that day, and yet God knew that they needed the message of the gospel at this time and provided a way for them to find peace. I know that families can be together forever and every day I am able to tell people how grateful I am that my parents were willing to make sacrifices so that they could be sealed in the temple. What a blessing it has been in my life!
You know, it's hard being in a Visitors Center because you say hello and goodbye to people so quickly without knowing what becomes of them. I always imagine the best case scenarios as they walk out of the doors and back into the world, with the firm hope that one day I will see them again and that they will have found the true happiness that comes from living the gospel of Jesus Christ. I don't really see the fruits of my labors, but I have faith that the Lord is preparing a way for them to receive the gospel and all of the blessings that come with it.
Summer is in full swing...the sky is blue, the sun is bright, and life is good. I love Hawaii :)
Much love and Aloha,
Sister Stringer
