Third time’s the charm

I don't know how I got to this article tonight but it involves a mission to Guatemala and then a mission to the Anaheim Spanish Speaking mission.  I truly believe the Lord directed me to it.

Third time’s the charm

Thursday, 22 January 2009

graphic by Kathleen Majdali “Dear Elder Kaimikaua, you are hereby called to serve as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. You are assigned to labor in the…” was Trevor Kaimikaua’s third time reading a mission call. The former freshman at BYU-Hawaii who is from Makakilo got his first mission call in 2006, another in 2007, and now in 2008, he has received a third mission call. In 2006, Kaimikaua received his mission call to serve in the Guatemala City North Mission and was to report to the Guatemala MTC on Nov. 22. Excited by the call, his parents called friends and family to gather together to share in their sons’ special. “I was excited for him and his parents because he’s an only child and the only grandson on his father’s side,” said Leiha Enos, cousin of Elder Kaimikaua from Makakilo. Before heading to the Guatemala MTC, family, friends, and ward members gathered together at the Honolulu airport to see Elder Kaimikaua off on his mission. “I felt sad that he was leaving because he’s my only cousin on my mom’s side. I was sad that I wouldn’t see him for two years,” recalled Kalei Hoa Paceho. However, Sisylina Peterson, a close family-friend to the Kaimikauas’, recalled the moment when the phone rang with some surprising news about the new missionary. “My Aunty Chauna answered the phone. She stood there for a moment silent then hung up the phone. She turned to me and said that Trevor is flying in tomorrow morning,” said Peterson. After only one week on his mission, Elder Kaimikaua returned home. “I felt that I had to take care of some personal things before I could continue my mission,” said Elder Kaimikaua “My mission president asked if I wanted to do it in the MTC, but I felt like I should just return home and handle it.” Kevin Kaimikaua, his father, said, “I didn’t know what to think when I got a phone call from my son and his mission president saying he would be returning home. I love my son and support him in anything decision he makes.” In mid-2007, several months after returning home, Elder Kaimikaua re-submitted his mission papers. “I got my mission call about three weeks after I submitted it. I was called to the same mission, Guatemala City North Mission,” said Elder K. “This time I was to report to the MTC in Utah.” Elder Kaimikaua reported to the Provo MTC and stayed there for two months before heading to Guatemala. “The second time around, he was enjoying his mission and fell in love with the people. I could see in his letters that his testimony was growing each and every day,” said LeiAnn Kaimikaua, Elder Kaimikaua’s mother. Stevie Yates, one of Elder Kaimikaua’s friends, said, “On Mother’s Day he called my house because his whole family was there for a Mother’s Day dinner we put on. Everyone there got to talk to him.” But Yates added that on the Wednesday after Mother’s Day, Elder Kaimikaua’s father called saying Trevor would be coming home the next morning. “I was shocked by the news that he was coming home again,” said Howard Vinhasa, one of Kaimikaua’s cousin. “At least this time he was in the field for 11 months.” One of Elder K’s best friends, Jared Faumuina, explained what caused the missionary to return home a second time: “When on the mission, Elder Kaimikaua found a lump. He told his mission president about it and they went to the doctors to check things out. The results came back that it was a tumor, but the doctor didn’t know if it was cancerous or not.” So Elder Kaimikaua returned home in Summer 2008 due to medical reasons. “I was so mad that I had to go home,” he said. “I wish I could have done it up there, but my mission president wanted me to check things out at home with the support from family and friends.” “A couple of days later after seeing the doctor, I had surgery to remove the tumor. The doctor still had to find out if it was cancer,” he continued. “The doctor called me back in along with my parents. He told us it was cancer.” After finding out it was cancer, Kaimikaua’s family called their bishopric of their home ward. The second counselor, Sapena Faumuina, asked the ward family to do a 24-hour fast in Elder Kaimikaua’s behalf, four days before he was to start his chemotherapy. “I was touched when the room was full of not just ward members, but family members from all around the island and members from the stake. His friends were all there and all helped with the program in some way,” said Clarence Piena, his uncle. “The spirit was so strong after we closed the meeting.” Davin Kane, a distant family member said, “It was nice to see all those people there willing the give up three meals. That shows the love we all have for Trevor.” After an intense three months of chemotherapy, Elder Kaimikaua was expected to fully recover. “I wasn’t sure if I would be able to return on a mission, but my mission president always kept in touch through this whole ordeal,” said Elder Kaimikaua. After losing 20 pounds and his hair, his mother describes the changes she could see in her son: “I could see that he was gaining his appetite back and his hair was starting to grow back little by little.” She also added, “We weren’t sure what was in store in his future so he decided to apply to school [at BYU-Hawaii] just in case.” Elder Kaimikaua said, “I told myself when I was applying for school that whatever call came back to me first, I would do. So if I got accepted into school then I’ll go to school. But if I got my mission call first, and then I’d go back on a mission and finish my two years.” Kaimikaua added, “I got my mission call this past weekend and I leave in a week. I got called to serve in the Anaheim, California-Spanish speaking Mission. So I leave on Monday, Nov. 17. I’m going to serve for 13 months, the remainder of what’s left on my mission.”