Thursday, December 12, 2013

Welcome Home, Tom and Jackie Malm

Tom and Jackie Malm returned home to ice and snow in early December after 18 months as fulltime missionaries in the Laie Hawaii Temple Mission in Honolulu, Hawaii. Together in this heavenly assignment, they recertified ordinance workers every six months, trained new ones, and met weekly with the two other missionary couples and the temple president to make sure everything was being done correctly "and that we didn't get too casual," notes Sister Malm. "We were prepared in the MTC to do proselyting but the mission president felt our singular responsibility should be the temple."

Their 24/7 companionship, according to Brother Tom, strengthened their love for each other and the Lord, while giving them the opportunity to associate with church members from all over the world. "We were ready to come home, but we really miss the people who were so awesome and loving ... and smiled at us even when they didn't know us!"

Missionaries serving in northern California were the first assigned to preach in Polynesia in 1850. In February 1851, the first Hawaiian convert was baptized and by August of that same year, there were five congregations with 220 members. The first meetinghouse in the Hawaiian islands was built on the island of Maui in 1852. In 1854, the Church purchased land at Laie for a colony, sugar factory, and schools and where in 1919 the first Hawaiian temple was completed. In 1955, the College of Hawaii (now BYU—Hawaii) began classwork and in 1963, the Polynesian Cultural Center - now Hawaii's #1 tourist attraction with villages and exhibits representing the 8 cultures of the South Pacific - began bringing international attention to the Church. Currently there are more than 72,000 members in 135 wards and branches throughout the islands.

What are the Malm's doing now that they are home? Brother Tom is back to work full-time at PowerInk, the business he started 40 years ago (he'd like to sell it if anyone is interested). Together they also work in the temple on Thursday night, help people with family history and teach the ward temple preparation class. 

Welcome home, Brother Tom and Sister Jackie. You were missed!

No comments:

Post a Comment