LAHAINA, Hawaii — How can Nathalie Smith stay so positive after her home burned down? While she and her family reside in a single hotel room? When she doesn’t know when they’ll have their very own place again?
“Being surrounded by faith-filled friends and having faith ourselves has helped us be mindful and search for where we will see Heavenly Father within the things which might be happening,” she said.
Six months have passed since deadly and devastating fires hit the Hawaiian island of Maui on Aug. 8, 2023, destroying almost your entire town of Lahaina.
Only recently got here official identification of all 100 people who were confirmed dead, including five members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Tall, boarded fences were built to dam views of the neighborhoods, while barricades keep people from driving down the streets. Residents need to get a permit to go see where they once lived. Nonresidents needn’t apply.
Almost 80 members of the Lahaina 1st Ward and Lahaina 2nd Ward lost their homes. Though the Smiths’ home and most of their possessions were burned, they’ve felt God’s love for them as they’ve searched for it.
“We are overwhelmed with gratitude for other people being willing to be God’s hands,” Nathalie Smith said.
Her mother taught her as a toddler to at all times search for the nice, starting with the very air she breathes. She actively chooses gratitude and practices it along with her husband, Matt Smith; and their children Jacksen, 12, and Kai, 7.
Each night before family prayer, the Smiths speak of what they will consider to be glad about due to the hearth.
Matt Smith said that their gratitude has are available in layers. “At first we were grateful that we were alive. Then we were grateful for the kindness of strangers. And then we might go deeper. And we might find things along the way in which we were grateful for.”
Sitting outside on the hotel grounds, they listed a few of those blessings: Kind words and prayers on their behalf. A listening ear. Donations from friends and strangers near and much with basic necessities, clothing and toys. Kai lost his Lego sets in the hearth. “But now we’ve got far more,” he said, spreading his arms.
Jacksen thought his memory box burned in the hearth, but his dad happened to have it with him that day in his automotive on the opposite side of the island. Because of the hearth, Jacksen and Kai are each capable of go to the identical school along with a fee waiver.
Tourists have began coming back to the island, and now a ward only for visitors meets on Sundays at a unique time than the Lahaina 1st Ward. Jacksen is grateful for the chance to have the opportunity to pass the sacrament during each meeting times.
“Most of the time we’re really grateful,” Nathalie Smith said, “though today was hard.” She had just come from a gathering on Friday, Feb. 9, with government officials where answers and timelines were hard to get. Some estimate it might be years before anything can occur with the properties.
She said she has learned to carry space for each pain and gratitude at the identical time.
Matt Smith said staying busy observing needs and looking out to assist has blessed him, whether it’s listening to others or serving not directly. “What can I do?” he has asked.
‘The fire was meant to vary people’
While some residents have said reliving the day of the fires is simply too painful, others find healing in sharing their stories and hearing others’ stories. They wish to more fully understand what happened and make sense of it.
Etina Hingano — a member of the Lahaina 2nd (Tongan) Ward — has a big and caring clan, ward and community. When people couldn’t find her after the fires, they thought she was dead.
She believes she could have died. To escape the fireball, she went over the seawall. When a automotive exploded with the warmth, she fell backward into the water.
“I felt this sensation of such perfect, pure love,” she said, accompanied by a pull that she desired to go toward. But she considered her children and prayed out loud. Then a rope appeared, and he or she reached out and caught hold.
Every moment she prayed, telling God, “If you let me live, I promise I’ll change my life.”
From her spot within the water, fighting the strong tide, Hingano saw the winds change and seemingly pick up the hearth and switch it onto the historic town, burning her home as well.
As a historian with the Lahaina Restoration Foundation, she knows what Lahaina has been previously and has many hopes for what the town and its residents can change into.
“The fire was meant to vary people,” she said.
While Hingano has scars on her body from the embers, ashes and rocks, she recounts all of the miracles that day — and the miracles since.
She continues to be the identical, but she also feels different now. She is more patient, more focused on family and more susceptible to search for what others need by way of ministering. And she is more sensitive to the promptings of the Spirit.
“I see death in an entire different sense. I see family in a unique sense. I’m not afraid of death; I’m afraid of not being ready for it.”
As she watched her members of the family play together on the beach near the bungalow where they’ve been staying, she spoke about their efforts to search out more everlasting housing and jobs and the way they assist and support one another. Her brother stopped by, as did a niece and nephew. Her two young grandchildren ran to be picked up after which ran back to play with their dog.
“I’m thankful to be alive, but I’m also thankful that God showed me that I’m loved,” Hingano said.
‘You matter’
When Nathalie and Matt Smith were finally allowed to return to the stays of their burned home, volunteers from the religious organization Samaritan’s Purse were there to assist them sift through the ashes to see if anything might be found.
“We were searching through the stuff, it was a hot day, and so they were there just working, working, working,” Matt Smith remembered. “We were talking in regards to the Savior and the way He went through all the pieces so He could completely understand us.”
As they talked, he realized that the Savior never compared hardships or downplayed someone’s suffering.
Nathalie Smith desired to tell the volunteers to stop looking. It felt fruitless to her. But she heard a prompting: “You are value it, allow them to help.” Nevertheless, she went to the volunteers and told them it was OK to stop because nothing might be found or saved.
A volunteer turned to her and said, “We are here since you matter. We usually are not here to search out your stuff, we’re to indicate you that you simply matter.”
That became a pivotal transformation for her.
Tears filled her eyes as she realized, “If you search for it, you’ll be able to see God’s hands in all places. That’s how He is here, is thru other people.”
Nathalie Smith acknowledged that many individuals undergo trials on daily basis, but they shouldn’t have the exposure or attention that this hearth received — nor the outpouring of support.
“God is so good. We are so blessed, we’re so cared for,” she said.
Looking at his wife, Matt Smith added, “We usually are not alone.”
