As President Henry B. Eyring, Second Counselor in the First Presidency, and other leaders responded to questions from BYU Hawaii students, a theme began to emerge: Individuals must learn to hear and act on the voice of the Spirit.

During a question-and-answer devotional on November 22, President Eyring spoke to the college campus community and said that his experience on the campus in Laie, Hawaii, that day was “a sacred time and place” for him be.

President Eyring noted that at the beginning of the meeting, “a faithful prayer to Heavenly Father in the sacred name of Jesus Christ” included a request for the influence of the Holy Ghost. “Our hearts were filled as this prayer was answered for each of us,” he said.

President Eyring said that in the many years he has visited the campus during more than 50 years of full-time service at the Church, he has felt “that the people have lived here to qualify for this gift [of the Holy Ghost]. So it feels like an environment of sacred time and sacred places to me.”

President Eyring returned to the lay campus for the weekly devotional and answered specific questions along with BYU-Hawaii President John SK Kauwe III and Elder Clark G. Gilbert, a General Authority Seventy and Church Educational System officer to the diverse students of the BYU-Hawaii board, which includes students from dozens of countries, particularly from across the Pacific Rim.

Among other things, Church and campus leaders discussed issues related to receiving personal revelation, the stewardship of students after Church training, and the return of students to their homelands after graduation.

In a brief statement following the question-and-answer session, President Eyring promised the students that as they exercise faith and pray, “What shall I do?” they would be blessed with courage and confidence.

“Listen for an answer,” said President Eyring. “Then do as he asks you. He already knows and wants what is best for you. Trust him.”

Improving personal revelation

With their first “little baby” on the way, Luke Dela Cruz, a senior from San Diego, California, shared how he and his wife try to know what path to take next after graduation.

Dela Cruz quoted President Russell M. Nelson as saying, “Without the guiding, directing, comforting, and abiding influence of the Holy Ghost, spiritual survival will not be possible” (April 2018 General Conference).

He then asked, “What advice do you have for us on how to improve our prayers and receive personal revelation in the midst of life’s challenges?”

It is important to spend a lot of time and effort listening, President Kauwe said. “This world is so distracting and so noisy.” It will take some work to find the peace and quiet necessary to hear Him.

Elder Gilbert pointed out that the talk Dela Cruz was referring to was President Nelson’s first talk as President of the Church. When he first heard it, Elder Gilbert said he liked how the Prophet spent the first half of the talk introducing himself.

However, as he reread the talk, Elder Gilbert said, he realized that President Nelson is actually showing how in every step of his life—work, marriage, place of residence, good work, etc.—he put the decision before the Lord and sought revelation. “He has given us a leader,” said Elder Gilbert.

“Heavenly Father will give you a repeating pattern of revelation as you find that quiet place, go to Him, then listen and act as He tells you what to do,” he said.

President Eyring noted that in that address the Prophet taught that revelation is necessary for spiritual survival. “To me, he wouldn’t have used the word ‘survive’ if it was just about having a great career or family,” he said.

More than just making decisions about a job or where to live, there are challenges and dangers to be dealt with in life, such as what is true and what is not, or what is right and what is wrong. “And you must have the Holy Ghost,” President Eyring said.

administration of education

Foloi Sidow, a senior from Apia, Samoa, asked, “What would be one of your best pieces of advice for students graduating and returning to their home countries with their degrees?”

President Kauwe encouraged the students to develop their ability to hear the will of God. “And be ready to follow him.”

If that means a different plan, “that’s fine,” President Kauwe said. If that means some sacrifice is required, “that’s fine. I assure you and everyone else struggling with these decisions that as you follow the Spirit and do what God wants you to be, you will be happy and blessed.”

Elder Gilbert encouraged students to treat their education as a responsibility, not just a gift. “One of our university presidents once taught a famous saying: ‘We have all drunk from wells we did not dig, and we have warmed ourselves by fires we did not build.’ We have a responsibility to give back what we have received.”

Be prayerful, Elder Gilbert said, “what is the responsibility that I have for this education that I am receiving and how will I use it to help others and my family and the church and communities that I am returning to and in whom I will serve to be a blessing? ”

The Savior is trying to prepare the world and the kingdom for His Second Coming, President Eyring said, and everyone has a role to play in that work.

He challenged students to read their patriarchal blessings and then pray about them. “Go where you can build the kingdom of God and touch the lives of the people,” counseled President Eyring.

This can be in your home country. Maybe not. “Pray hard for it. My guess is that very often the Lord will say, “Yes, it’s where you came from. There is something you could do there, and it would be best for your family.” But this is how you pray: ‘Where can I go to be a part of what you are doing, which is preparing the kingdom of God for the day, worship where the Savior comes?’”

WAILUKU (HawaiiNewsNow) — Dozens of healthcare workers from Maui’s main hospital held signs in Kahului on Wednesday.

About 75 Maui Memorial Medical Center workers lined Kaahumanu Avenue near Puunene Avenue demanding better pay to cover Hawaii‘s living expenses.

China Kapuras is a case management specialist at the hospital and has worked there for 16 years.

She says it’s a tough job with pay that can’t keep up with Hawaii’s high cost of living.

“I wasn’t able to live comfortably on my own,” Kapuras said. “I always had to look for a roommate. It’s just hard, and I know friends who have it hard too.”

“I know a lot of other staff that have more than one job, I’m one of them,” said Josh Masslon, a registered intensive care unit nurse.

According to the United Nurses and Health Care Employees of Hawaii (UNHCEH), nurses in Hawaii earn the lowest salaries in the country when the cost of living is factored in.

UNHCEH is a branch of the United Nurses Associations of California/Union of Health Care Professionals (UNAC/UHCP).

Union officials are calling on hospital management to increase pay and benefits as part of ongoing contract negotiations.

“It’s about retaining staff and staying competitive with the mainland because Hawaii keeps losing people to the mainland and young people should be able to afford to live and make a living here,” Masslon said.

Maui health officials said Hawaii pays the second-highest salaries for health workers in the country, but acknowledged the high cost of living challenged the ability to hire and retain workers.

“These complex issues remain challenging, and it will require collaboration with colleagues across the healthcare industry and the state to identify ways to solve them,” he said Maui Health spokeswoman Tracy Dallarda.

Hospital workers said better pay will ensure better work-life balance, secure staffing and quality patient care.

“We have been very loyal and committed to this hospital, and we would like to be recognized,” Kapuras said.

“We just want you to hear our story,” Kapuras said.

Dallarda said this is not just a nationwide issue, but a well-documented nationwide challenge:

On July 18, 2022, Health and Human Services released a report on the headcount in government hospitals across the country. Hawaii’s hospitals have been ranked seventh in the country facing a critical staffing shortage, with expectations the shortages will continue. This is no surprise. Even before the pandemic, Hawaii had a significant shortage of medical professionals. The pandemic has only exacerbated this shortage. Additionally, Hawaii has the highest cost of living in the country.

The union has been negotiating with the hospital since July this year.

Contract negotiations will continue on Thursday.

Copyright 2022 Hawaii News Now. All rights reserved.

The East Washington men’s basketball continued in Honolulu, Hawaii at the Outrigger Rainbow Classic. On Sunday night (November 13), Eastern played host school Hawaii, but lost the game 71-51. The Eagles are now down 0-3 on the season while Hawaii improved to 2-0.

“One of the bright spots in this game is improving our rebound. Now we have to figure out how to move the ball, pick up shots and play together,” said the head coach David Riley said. “The guys need to figure out where their teammates are best and we’re not there yet. Hawaii are a good team and they took away our three-point shots. We need to build on our bright spots while minimizing what we’re not doing well. “

Hawaii scored 20 points from 16 Eastern turnovers. The Eagles forced eight turnovers and scored just five points on those chances.

Angelo Allegri and Cedric Feigling Each scored 10 points in the game, with Coward adding seven rebounds. Deon Stroud scored nine points in 4-of-9 shooting (44.5%) for the game.

Hawaii took the initiative in the first half with a 9-0 lead in the first three minutes. A pair of free throws out Angelo Allegri finished the run and gave Eastern its first points. The Rainbow Warriors continued to score good goals and extended their lead to 11 in the first half with 21:10. A pair of three hands off Ty Harper and Cedric Feigling would put the Eagles back in the game. Casey Jones would hit the ball home to reduce the lead to an 18-21 possession game. Hawaii countered with two made threes and extended their lead again.

At halftime, Eastern would trail 33-23 after shooting 7 of 22 (31.8%) off the floor in the first half. Hawaii shot 11 of 28 (39.3%) to maintain the lead.

Early in the second half, the Rainbow Warriors maintained their advantage and kept Eastern at bay. The Eagles threw the ball around to try to put Hawaii ahead. The shots came for Eastern, but Hawaii continued to score to keep the lead in double digits. The Rainbow Warriors held their lead until the end of the game, winning 71-51.

Eastern would shoot 38.8 percent in the game and 2-of-11 (18.2%) from three-point range. Hawaii would carry a 44.6 percent mark off the floor, which is 9 out of 23 (39.1%) out of three.

Important statistics
Eastern’s bench beat Hawaii’s 25-15. Cedric Feigling made the biggest contribution for the Eagles, shooting 3 of 6 (50%) from the floor and 3 of 4 (75%) from the free throw line. Coward set a new career high with 10 points.

In the game, Eastern had a 37-to-27 advantage in rebounds. The Eagles also had 10 offensive rebounds to Hawaii’s six. However, the Rainbow Warriors scored 10 points on second chance opportunities while Eastern scored eight.

The Eagles have had three players with six rebounds since Ethan Price, Deon Stroud and Casey Jones all were productive in pain.

Eight different Eagles scored at least three points in the game.

The Rainbow Warriors had four players in double figures, led by Kamaka Hepa’s game-high 17 points.

Next
Eastern Washington will conclude its time in the Outrigger Rainbow Classic tomorrow with its final game against Mississippi Valley State at 6:30 p.m. Pacific Time.

Hawaii‘s new first lady has an impressive resume and a backstory that would make a compelling memoir, but there’s nothing pretentious about her. She comes across as warm, sincere and “down to earth” as she describes herself.

Jaime Kanani Ushiroda Green is a mixed race (Hawaiian-Japanese-Chinese-Caucasian) and an Ivy League graduate of UH Richardson Law School. She has a bachelor’s degree in International Relations from Brown University, studied Latin, Japanese and French, focused on family law as an attorney and loved political work in child advocacy.

When she talks about her achievements, she talks about all the people who have helped her along the way.

“I really think it takes a village,” Green said. “This is the story of my life.”

She grew up in Kaneohe as the little sister of two much older brothers. She was 9 years old when her mother died of stomach cancer in 1987. She remembers that only about a year passed between the diagnosis and the end of her mother’s life.

“My mom kept saying she wasn’t well, but the doctor said it was an ulcer,” she said. Her mother tried chemotherapy, but when no other treatment options were available, she came home to die. Green still gets tears in her eyes when she talks about losing her mother. “She was the nicest, nicest person,” she said. “The kind of mom who would get up early to cook her famous chicken for a potluck. That kind of mother.”

Through her mother’s illness, she said, “My father was really good. He was totally there the whole time.”

But after the death of her mother, her father collapsed. He left the family and Green went to live with her mother’s sister, a single woman who made a modest living as a telephone operator at Hawaiian Tel.

She was admitted to Iolani School, her father’s alma mater, in the seventh grade, but her aunt could not afford the tuition. Her father’s former classmates heard about her situation and got together to raise money for her schooling. “I think they put on a benefit golf tournament for me,” she said. “They really took me on as a project.”

In high school, Iolani awarded her a Stone Scholarship, a full-time course package for students with strong academic achievements and significant financial needs.

With that support, she excelled in school, taking Latin and Japanese, and becoming a National Merit Scholar. In 1995 she graduated from Iolani and went to Brown University in Rhode Island. Scholarships led her to graduation in 1999. She then returned to Hawaii to attend the William S. Richardson School of Law at the University of Hawaii Manoa. She graduated in 2002 and passed the bar exam on the first attempt.

“I had to decide, ‘What am I going to use my law school for?'” Green recalled. She wasn’t drawn to the criminal defense or prosecution service, and didn’t want to use her studies to brood over contracts. The only area of ​​law she addressed was child advocacy. “No matter what happened, I knew I could always defend children’s rights,” she said.

She worked at a nonprofit called Project Visitation, which helps siblings who are placed in different foster homes stay connected. She worked for Oakland State Senator Suzanne Chun, who was chair of the Human Services Committee and did policy work for children and families. It was 2005 at the state Capitol when she met Josh Green, who was elected governor on Tuesday. At that time he was serving in the state House of Representatives.

They married in 2006 and daughter Maia was born in 2007. Their son Sam was born four years later. She stopped working after the first baby and focused on being a mother and partner in her husband’s projects and ambitions. She has also served on the boards of nonprofit recruitment agencies such as Pacific Gateway Center and Hale Kipa.

She doesn’t throw herself into the role of Hawaii’s first lady with a big predetermined to-do list. She’s more aware and observant than that. She talks about growing into the role and figuring out how to best use her skills and training to serve.

“We can shape the role of First Lady in any way we want, like Josh LG was. Everyone used to ask, ‘What does the Lieutenant Governor do anyway?’ He turned it upside down and made it what he wanted. He didn’t want to stand and wait for the governor to give him a project,” Green said.

“When people get to know us, they know that Josh wouldn’t have a favorite project for me. Whatever political issue I’m interested in, he’ll tell me, ‘Do it.’ … He really values ​​me as a partner. I’m the one he bounces ideas off of.”

She intends to be an active, dedicated First Lady. She hopes to open Washington Place up for more events and use her experience in children’s affairs and lobbying. She is eager to figure out the role and shape it to suit her strengths. The cocktail party conviviality and ‘show your face’ nature of the campaign was exhausting. She says she hasn’t been home to cook dinner in months.

That may not change now that the campaign is over, but she hopes it will ease off a bit. She describes herself as somewhat of an introvert, although she enjoys meeting people and hearing about their lives. “I can identify with people one-to-one. I’m not good at all at shallow talk. When I go to an event, I think, ‘Who do I know in this crowded room?’ I didn’t have to be in my comfort zone during the campaign because people want to talk to me.”

Josh Green is Jewish. Jaime Green grew up in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Her children were baptized in the LDS temple but attended a Jewish preschool. The family celebrates both Hanukkah and Christmas.

“The blending of religion and culture and living as a family with school-age kids—I think we as a family represent a lot of what Hawaii is today,” she says.