When Jesus washed the feet of his disciples, he was modeling the role of a humble servant that he wanted his followers to adopt.
Local Jehovah’s Witnesses are following his example by forming "lua patrols" to clean public restrooms and restock supplies — just one way of giving a warm welcome to some 24,000 delegates expected to attend their international convention at the Hawai‘i Convention Center. ("Lua" is the Hawaiian word for "toilet.")
Half the delegates, many from Asia and South America, arrived earlier this week to attend the three-day program, which started Friday. The same program, including 51 speakers and an evening concert, will run next weekend. The free event is open to the public.
In addition, Hawaii Jehovah’s Witnesses are organizing six days of islandwide bus tours and programs at each "kingdom hall" on Oahu. In a full-on show of hospitality, local members of the faith are greeting delegates at airports, making yarn lei and gift baskets, and serving as concierges at five major hotels in Waikiki where most delegates will be staying.
Vincent Okumoto is a captain of one of four lua patrols, whose members will clean rest stops at Sandy Beach and Kualoa Ranch on bus tour days. The patrols will also provide music, hula and bottles of chilled water.
"We don’t want them to use the restroom when it’s all messed up. We’re going to make sure everything is clean, that there’s towels, and take care of the rubbish on the grounds," Okumoto said. He laughed, adding, "We want to make sure they enjoy their experience — even the lua!"
Okumoto continued, "It’s a humble job but I take pride in it. We take it as a privilege to do that for our friends, because they would do it for us. We’re encouraged to follow Jesus’ example; Jesus was willing to serve others in the community and to consider yourself a lesser one."
Some 80 volunteers have signed up to steam-clean various facilities on the night before each tour day, and even to have graffiti removed from some walls. Then, an hour or two before the tour buses arrive, teams will tackle another scrub-down, restock paper products and be ready to hold up a big welcome banner, said Okumoto, an elder at the JW Aina Haina congregation since the 1970s.
"It’s not hard to get volunteers; everyone wants to volunteer to help" in some way," he said. Okumoto and his wife, Mona, are also organizing tours and acting as tour guides.
"It’s a monumental task, but everybody is looking forward to it. We just love to do things for the friends. They’re coming from all over the world. They would do the same thing for us, no matter where you go" for a convention, said Okumoto, who has attended many over the last five decades.
"It’s an amazing thing, the international unity. We’re all united by a common bond; we serve the same God and follow Jesus and the Bible," he said.
Jennifer Anderson, part of a central Honolulu congregation, has pitched in by helping to make orange faux ilima lei and gift baskets, performing hula, greeting delegates at the hotels and leading bus tours with husband Eric.
"It’s super-exciting. We’ve been planning it for a year now. The night before the delegates arrived, I got up at 1:45 or 2 in the morning, I was so excited. I couldn’t believe it’s actually upon us now," Anderson said.
Each of the congregations on Oahu is scheduled to host 50 delegates at its kingdom hall for lunch, entertainment and a program. They’ll also fan out around the residential neighborhoods, passing out invitations to the convention, she said.
A Jehovah’s Witness for more than 30 years, Anderson said she enjoys opportunities to get to know delegates as friends, often by working with them in small groups. She’s also looking forward to the convention’s talks for lessons on how to improve as an individual and family member and mold a positive view of the future.
For a convention schedule, visit honoluluconvention2014.com.
