My wife, Barbara, and I had flown to Kailua Kona, Hawaii, for the dedication of the Kona Hawaii Temple in January of this year. My memory flooded with thoughts of my experience there in 1939-1941 as a young missionary. I was so excited to be able to participate in the dedication of the second temple in Hawaii.

The temple was to be dedicated the afternoon of Sunday, Jan. 23, and members had gathered from the islands to Kailua for this historic event. Thoughtfully, the stake and ward leaders had planned a big sacrament meeting that morning so that the members in the temple district could partake of the sacrament and listen to testimonies of leaders past and present before the temple dedication.

The air was full of electricity; excitement was in the faces of everyone as we gathered in the stake center for this special meeting. The chapel and cultural hall were filling fast. In what seemed to be a coincidence, someone my wife worked with in the Los Angeles Temple had saved seats for some who didn't come, so we sat in these choice seats in the chapel.

As I sat down, I quietly introduced myself to the couple next to me. They said they were Oliver and Lily Young from Pulehu, Maui. I told them that my twin brother, Frank, and I were assigned to the Ulapalakua District while we were on Maui 60 years ago. He replied, "There was an Elder Beebe who baptized me." I asked him what year. He replied, "In 1940, and I think his first name was Fred."

I said, "That's me!"

I was surprised, and my memory filled with the weeks Frank and I were visiting the saints, holding meetings and tracting in Pulehu and the surrounding villages. I remembered that we were asked by the branch leaders to baptize some children, one of whom was Oliver. Sure enough, I had baptized a young Oliver Young. My heart leaped for joy to see that he has been faithful all of these years and is now the patriarch for the Kahului Maui Stake.

Needless to say, sacrament meeting will always be special to me, as what appeared to be coincidence was really divine intervention to allow a young boy and his missionary baptizer to meet in such sacred circumstances 60 years later. — Fred G. Beebe, Anaheim (Calif.) 1st Ward

Another in a series of "Missionary Moments."

Illustration by John Clark.