John Muaina, Vice President of Human Resources at the Polynesian Cultural Center, shared his experiences as a young student worker as well as an international recruiter and diplomat to encourage today's BYU-Hawaii students to be "no more strangers" in his March 11 devotional address in the Cannon Activities Center.
As a young just-called missionary Muaina recalled being struck by the well-known scripture in Ephesians 2:19, Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God.
"This particular verse of scripture so affected me that it became the main drive as I entered the mission field and eventually served as a pointer or beacon throughout my life. It has helped me to focus on my relationship with the Lord and my relationship with His people regardless of color, creed or national origin, and truly help me understand how I fit in the greater scheme of life," he said.
"Do you understand? Do you realize how a loving Father in Heaven has blessed us in this blessing? The great strifes of the world stem from the reality 'you are a stranger here.' How cold, how uncaring, how very lonely, all around us people yearn to be appreciated, to be recognized, to be validated, and not the least...to be loved," he continued.
Drawing on the story of the Samaritan woman who gave Jesus water at Jacob's well, Muaina stressed that the Savior set the "great example" of this principle. "He mingled with they who needed his fellowshipping regardless of their station or status in life. Might I give here a challenge to all of us to look around to see how many Jacob's wells have we encountered in our life and how many strangers could we have provided with spiritual substance."
Following his mission in Samoa, Muaina enrolled at BYU-Hawaii and began working at the PCC, where he met his wife. Like many young couples here, the Muainas "loved our experience at TVA [Temple View Apartments married student housing]. It embraced the true spirit of fellowship and being with the Saints. It would solidify my feelings about this BYUH campus of destiny and the Polynesian Cultural Center," he said.
Years later in his current position, Muaina told how he and a BYU-Hawaii admissions officer were anxious to complete their recruiting trip in the South Pacific as they arrived at their last appointment in Nandi, Fiji. He recalled when they found the chapel gates locked and no one there, they started to drive to the airport.
They soon passed a young woman and her elderly mother on the road, and stopping, ascertained she was their appointment. "When we returned to the chapel, to our amazement the gates were unlocked and the chapel doors opened," he said. The young woman apologized: "My mother and I have been walking for three days and nights to come to this appointment. I am the youngest of my siblings and my mother has always desired for me to attend university — not just any university, but Brigham Young University Hawaii to be with the Saints of the Church."
Weeping, she added they didn't have bus fare and slept on the side of the road so they wouldn't miss this appointment, as they had the year before. "We two found ourselves looking down on the floor of the chapel, holding back our tears, because we were complaining about our discomfort and wanting to go home, when we forgot the reason why we were on the Lord's errand," Muaina said.
More recently, he recalled meeting with high-level officials in China to help arrange for the visit of President Gordon B. Hinckley and his party after they participated in dedicating the Hong Kong Temple. Knowing the visit of a Christian faith would require special approval from Beijing, Muaina was surprised to find that one of the delegates in the meeting assured him through an interpreter "not to worry, 'that President Hinckley will feel as though he is coming home.'"
"I later told him how much I sincerely appreciated his assistance in this whole matter, because I was almost a total wreck," Muaina continued. "His response to me was, 'I want to thank BYU-Hawaii and the Polynesian Cultural Center for helping and taking care of my son while attending school here at Brigham Young University Hawaii [as part of the Asian Executive Management program], and this is my way of expressing my gratitude for the care done for my son. I feel as though we are family helping another family member,' or in my words, No More Strangers."
When President Hinckley and his group arrived, Muaina said, the reception was stunning and a large sign welcomed him as "president of the Polynesian Cultural Center."
He recalled "everyone on his table chuckled. A response from President Hinckley could be heard, 'Well, technically that is right!' No one embraces the fact that the world is a world family more than President Hinckley. I detected no more strangers, but fellow citizens with the Saints."
In closing, Muaina told the students, "You are not here by coincidence but were led here by the Spirit of the Lord. If you do not know or have not understood your role, take heed. And, to all of us who are in support roles to this great blessing, let's take our charge seriously, whether faculty, managers, supervisors or administrators. Every time I have a student come to my office, I look at her or him as a future leader or even my boss, so I have a serious role."
"I pray we as people will continue to be beacons to those who come to this great University and will feel as fellow citizens with the Saints."