It is Grandpa's turn to do the weekly blog.  We had an unusual week, sad in some ways.  Our YSA branch (Sunset Beach) lost one of its members this week who was killed in a surfing accident.  I will share his photo and CNN picture below and tell you more about him. He was raised in California near where Geoffrey's friend Joe lived.  They went to the same schools.  He moved to Hawaii with his dad and lived in Haleiwa where he worked in a restaurant and ran a small surf shop.  He had just received the priesthood and was
 preparing to marry Taylor, another member in our branch.  They were nice kids and we enjoyed them. Here is a part of the CNN article about him. They have given up searching for his body.

Kirk Passmore, a business owner and restaurant manager, was last seen late Wednesday morning at a surfing spot known as Alligator Rock in Haleiwa.

Witnesses told the station that the experienced big-wave surfer fell off his board on the 20-foot swell and was hit by another wave. His partially damaged surfboard was found down the beach.

He started coming to Hawaii when he was 14 and was an experienced and expert surfer. He was not new to big wave surfing, having surfed most of the well-known big wave locations. 

Jamie Sterling, a surfer who saw Passmore wipe out, told KHNL, "He was seen swimming down with his feet up above the surface, and we think he broke his eardrum because what happens when you break your eardrum is you have complete loss of balance and you have vertigo."

Coast Guard crews, Ocean Safety lifeguards, the Honolulu Fire Department and fellow surfers searched for Passmore on Wednesday to no avail. The Coast Guard continued searching through the night, while other rescuers suspended their search until sunrise.

A helicopter, jet skis and a Coast Guard cutter were used in the search, KHNL reported.

Oahu's North Shore was under a high-surf warning, with waves reaching 25 to 35 feet, and some surfers questioned why Passmore wasn't wearing a flotation vest in the perilous conditions.

Ironically our YSA stake had a "Helping hands" project scheduled for Sunset Beach the Saturday after his death.  The surfing community said very nice things about our effort and about losing one of our members.  Our service was to clean and do work at the beach and at the Sunset Beach rec center where we will start holding Church on 1 December.  Amazing what a few hundred university students can do in a morning.  It was hard keeping up with them.  Here are Kaye and I in our "Helping Hands" vests.  You will note that it is winter here, which means rain and wind.  and then wind and rain.  Every day...but that makes for big waves and some are HUGE.   I am glad that Nick is not here, we would be worried sick. 

  While we were helping hands I learned more about surfing.  I saw this relatively normal person waxing his surfboard. So I asked him about it.  He learned that I was a skier and said they wax for the exact opposite reason than a skier does.  The wax they use is sticky and is put on the top of the board.  It gives their feet grip on the wet board.  He said some use pads, but he was a purest who preferred the wax.  He was waxing a short board because he does the smaller waves where you can do tricks and have "more fun."  He said that the big waves are not really fun, just scary.  I thought I am happy just to boogie board once in awhile.  Skiing is dangerous enough for me and I have a lift to carry me and don't have to paddle up the mountain. 

I am now finishing up the semester.  Just a few classes left.  I have learned so much about teaching a diverse student body.  I am busy with next semester's curriculum and will be better prepared for the diversity and need for increased structure.  Oh...of course, I have learned why so many teachers have "no phone zone" classrooms.  They are a real distraction.  I have learned you cannot just ask students to turn off their phones, it has to be a commandment.  I can do that.  

Mom has spent thousands of dollars this week ordering new kids books for the library.  She is being trusted more and more to be turned loose in the library.  She is so good at what she does that the full time people have given her a vote of full confidence.  That was a while in coming because they didn't know about this missionary sister who seemed to know so much about kids books. 

I had an infection at the back of my mouth at the gum line.  I had to take antibiotics for two weeks and that cleared it up.  The dentist said that it was possibly a problem that would need a gum specialist but he wanted to try and clear it up and if that worked then I would not worry about it.  It cleared up and I am fine.