In 1965, I was teaching at the Church College of Hawaii (now BYU-Hawaii), and my family and I were living in Laie. One Wednesday morning, the stake president called me to serve as bishop in the adjoining town of Hauula.
The next few weeks were quite difficult since I had to get acquainted with all of the members as well as learn the responsibilities of a bishop. This time was made easier by a very spiritual young full-time missionary, Elder Alan Tischner from Santaquin, Utah. His support and encouragement were very helpful for me, and the members really loved him.The next month when he left us, we bade him farewell by singing "Aloha Oe,' with tears shed by all.
As the years passed, we moved to Provo, Utah, where I taught at and retired from BYU. My wife and I began serving missions in South America, including our present mission in Buenos Aires where I was called to be the executive secretary to the area presidency and area adviser for family history.
A month and a half after I arrived in Buenos Aires, the area presidency asked me to go to Bahia Blanca, Argentina, to serve as acting mission president, since the president needed to leave for a time due to his wife's illness.
At the mission office in Bahia Blanca, we met a young missionary who had just been called as assistant to the president - Elder Tischner. My wife and I looked at each other and almost in unison said, "Elder Tischner!" Our next words were "Santaquin" and "Hawaii." His reply was, "My dad was raised in Santaquin, and he served a mission in Hawaii."
Young Elder Tate Tischner looks like the Elder Tischner we knew in Hawaii: same height, same blond hair, same broad happy smile, and the same radiant spirit.
As we told him of past memories of his father, tears came to the young man's eyes.
As I gave a typical Argentina abrazo (hug) to this young Elder Tischner, I felt the same sweet spirit that I felt the first time I met his father. Elder Tischner, like his father, was there to help me in my new calling.
