Our two year assignment on the island of Oʻahu is rapidly coming to a close and we will soon be returning to our home in Utah. I have never liked saying goodbye. I easily become emotional. I’ve grown to love the people, the missionaries we work with, the students we serve, and the guests we teach in the park. Laie has become our home. We’ve adapted to the climate. I love walking on the beach across the highway from our apartment. It’s a simple life in which we don’t have big decisions to make. Our days are uncomplicated, there is little drama, and we enjoy a tranquility that permeates every aspect of our time and space.

While here, we have come to appreciate the Hawaiian greeting of Aloha, which is more than a casual hello or goodbye. I hear the word used a lot, especially at the Polynesian Cultural Center where the students are constantly greeting guests. It was a difficult word to include in my vocabulary regularly. It wasn’t a part of my culture and I felt awkward calling it out to others in passing. With time however, I have developed a love for the people here and I better understand the meaning of the expression. It’s true that Aloha can be shared casually in passing, but it can also represent a much deeper and richer expression. Aloha can mean that you recognize and respect another individual, that you show compassion and love for them. A literal translation of the word into English is alo, meaning in the presence of, and ha, the divine breath. Ha is not the breath that comes from the lungs, but is the breath that emanates from the soul, or from the spirit. In a very traditional way, the greeting was expressed by pressing foreheads together, and nose to nose, breathing in deeply. You inhale the divine breath of the other person. It is a beautiful expression.

I feel the spirit of aloha at this time not just in the sense of parting with island acquaintances, although I’ve made many dear friends while we have been here. I’m able to recognize that I have changed in my time in Hawaii. I’m going home different than when I arrived. I can say “aloha” to that old self. I had hoped that I would find closure to my lifetime career while serving at the PCC. I did not find closure, and I am okay with that. I can bid aloha to that dimension of my life and walk away with compassion and respect and no ill feelings. Aloha is also used as a greeting of coming. We look forward to once again reuniting with family and friends. It is not likely that we go back and pick up where we left off in life before the mission. If we have changed, then it would be a shame to simply revert to an old life or old self. We plan to move on. We are not sure what we will do next. We’ve talked about many options. We are confident the Lord has further plans in store for us, and we will see what unfolds upon our return.

While walking on the beach earlier this week I came upon a Japanese glass fishing float. This is the second one I’ve found here. They are significant because they were in use from the 1920’s until the 1940’s, and then replaced by wood or cork, and then eventually plastic. This glass float has been riding the currents of the vast Pacific Ocean for over 80 years, going round and round and around before finally washing up on the beach where I would find it. This float has been on its journey perhaps 20 years longer than I’ve been on my mortal walk. No doubt it has bumped into objects along the way and weathered many a storm without breaking. That is something I can truly appreciate and admire. I’ll take it home with me and it will have a place of honor on a shelf in my living room. My favorite souvenirs of our time in Hawaii are the things the island and the sea gifted us. In addition to the glass floats, I have a beautiful piece of coral, also found on the beach, a random piece of driftwood, a handful of Kukui nuts, and of course many, many photographs.

So, with both happy and sad hearts, we bid aloha to the people, things, and life we leave behind and greet with aloha the people, things and life that lie in our path as we move forward. A final expression of our hearts is: God be with you till we meet again, Alohaʻoe.