The Spirit of Aloha

We walked back into the chapel to sit down for church and this nice woman came and put hand-made yarn leis around our necks (for me and Tina). She welcomed us to their ward and asked where we were from. The speaker was a girl who was moving that week from Kona to South Jordan, Utah. She sang a beautiful song and there was a good spirit there. At the end of the meeting, the person conducting invited everyone to sing "Aloha Oe" (it is this traditional Hawaiian farewell song--they have it pasted in at the back of their hymnal) to the sister that was moving that week. They had her stand up on the stand (the congregation stood also) as we sang this beautiful song. Members of the ward walked up and gave her flowers and leis and hugs goodbye. If you weren't sad to move before then you would be once they sang this song (as my sister-in-law says)! There was hardly a dry eye. There was the so-called "Spirit of Aloha" (as they call it in the islands). There was something very loving and accepting and gracious about the people there. I liked it.