This is how the gospel of Jesus Christ reached my family

They were the children of immigrants who faced loss, discrimination, and hardship. But one choice changed generations, including me. In 1918, on a sugar cane plantation in Hawaii, a baby girl was born to Japanese immigrant parents. Her name was Teruko Tomioshi. But almost immediately, her life changed. Her father was sick with tuberculosis and was sent to a sanatorium on Maui. Her mother, unable to care for her, made a heartbreaking decision.

She gave her infant daughter to a Hawaiian family in Hawaii. This is called Hanai, a form of adoption. She was raised by the Wipa family and given a new name, Irene Ku Aloha Wipa. She wanted to learn hoola, but her father told her hoola won't feed you. So instead, he taught her to dig the earth, how to grow food, how to use herbs, and how to heal. Then at 19 years old, she met missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

She was Catholic, but she spoke fluent Hawaiian, so they asked her to translate for them. And as she helped teach others, she began to learn the gospel for herself, and eventually she chose to be baptized. Around that same time, another life was being shaped by hardship. a young boy, also the child of Japanese immigrants, named Masawu Uda. By the time he was just 12 years old, he was an orphan.

He grew up in a world that often saw him as the enemy, especially after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Masaw worked in construction, and he and his crew were sent in to help rebuild the base. But there was a problem. His entire crew was Japanese mis, second generation Japanese American. To others, they looked like the enemy. They were forced to wear black armbands. Even then, it wasn't enough.

At one point, Masau had a gun put to his face and was threatened to be killed. So, he did the only thing he could think of. He said he wasn't Japanese. He said he was Filipino. He married and built a life with Irene. Together, they built a family. Seven children raised in the gospel. For 15 years, Misau didn't join the church. He was Buddhist. He had visited other Christian churches before, but because of some of his habits, he didn't feel like he belonged until one simple moment.

One of his daughters, just 7 years old, asked him, "Daddy, why don't you come to church with us?" And soon after, he was baptized. And he didn't just join. He served as a state commissioner, a ward clerk, and a counselor in the bishop rick in Kyua. He even helped build the blue roof chapel there. and together their family was sealed in the LA Hawaii temple. Today, their grandchildren and great-grandchildren have served missions around the world, including in Japan and Hawaii.

And I am part of that legacy.