We have had a quiet week after a busy one with Whitney, Andy and their family.  It was a real highlight but we are now back to our senior missionary routine. We are now back in the Sunset Beach YSA branch with our old friends.  It was a welcome move and are grateful for the transfer.  We arrived just in time to have our photo taken with the new sign.  Here it is right on the famous Sunset Beach drive.

Kaye Dennis Mike and BP member David with the sign

The branch has not changed much during our absence.  Several new members some gone on missions and marriage the normal transitions for a YSA branch. 
We prefer being in a small branch.  The YSA wards at BYUH are huge and rather impersonal.  They should be cut in size so that kids matter more.  I suppose that is why our branch has so many visitors each Sunday.  They are curious about what we do and like the personal attention. 

Indonesian Club Members

Here is another photo.  This one is of our club members. They are a great bunch of students.  They all have such stories to tell about their conversions or that of their parents.  They live in a country with so many challenges and a rather large population.  Of the millions of Indonesians there are only 6000 members of the Church, mostly in urban areas.  These kids come to BYUH on a program that allows them to work at the PCC and on campus to pay for their schooling.  They really make the most of this opportunity. 

Dennis' missionary prep class

This is a photo of my missionary prep class.  I have two of them and three D&C classes.  Mission prep is fun to teach because they all have a commitment to serve this year.  They are very focused and anxious to learn.  You will note that with the 18-year old change that most of the class are girls.  Most of the guys leave for their missions out of high school.  I would recommend a semester of school first away from home.  They need some time to mature and develop a sense of living on their own.  You will also note that this is a rather international class with students from different parts of the Church.  I even have a student from Germany. 

We are grateful for the opportunity to serve a mission and are having an adventure.  We still think of home (i.e. skiing and quilting) but there is lots to do and we are enjoying the experience.  After all, missions are all about service and returning a little for the many blessings we have received during our life.  It is grand to be a member of the Church! .

Family Fun. . . & some Sun too!

This has been the best week ever! Whitney, Andy, Nathan, Hailey, Parker, and Austin all arrived last Sunday afternoon and we spent the whole week playing and hanging out with them. We even had a minor miracle in that our prayers for some nice weather were answered and they were able to enjoy some warm, sunny days. They rented a house right across the street from Hukilau Beach and were only about five minutes away which made it very handy for all of us. 

These kids are true "water-babies" and wanted to be at the beach and in the water all the time. The afternoon we went to Waimea was beautiful and the kids - and Andy- were in the water two hours solid! Here are a couple of beach pictures.

 

Three turtles at Turtle Bay

Nate entertaining us with ukelele tunes

We went over to Haleiwa and had some shave ice from Matsumotos. Whitney had some again later in the week at a different spot, but they added a little extra protein to hers - a cockroach which she slurped right up! And we all know how Whitney feels about those nasty things. UGH! We also went to the beach park right in town and saw some big green sea turtles.

We all spent one day at the PCC visiting the various villages, having dinner at the Aloha luau, and managing to stay awake for the fire dancers in the night show. Here are the kids enjoying some delicious kahlua pig.

Austin not too sure about this thing

Parker hanging out with his new friend in New Zealand

We spent all day Wednesday down at Pearl Harbor, touring the submarine, going out to the Arizona Memorial, touring the 'Mighty Mo" where the Japanese surrendered, ending WWII, and the aviation museum. We all learned a lot. The kids were so good - and patient. Dennis was in heaven. Then we headed for a new beach. . .
On Friday we all went on a dolphin/snorkeling adventure. The day was cloudy and overcast and rained on our way back in to shore, but it was still a fun trip. We saw hundreds of Hawaiian Spinner dolphins, quite a few whales, a turtle or two, and lots of fish. Everyone did great on the open ocean snorkle (well, two men weren't feeling that great). Snorkeling in rolling waves is a little "upsetting" but even Austin was in the water with a mask and little flippers.
The week ended too soon, but before they left we all went to the Hukilau Cafe for breakfast. It was featured on the Food Network's show "Diners and Dives" and is something of a local hangout. Giant pancakes and 'loco moco' and SPAM.

They left and it rained off and on all day. Last night was a torrential downpour and today is grey and rainy. They took the sunshine with them. We are so glad they came and appreciate the effort it took to come visit. Just another reminder of how much we miss everyone and how grateful we are for your goodness and love.

The other thing that happened today is that we were transferred back to the YSA Sunset Beach branch. Starting next week we will be driving back over to Sunset for church with the YSA over there. We missed those kids and so it is all good!

It is my turn to write about our mission experiences.  The week was rain, rain, rain. We have been told that this is winter in Laie.  I prefer snow but will have to endure the rain.  But the good part of the rain is that things are very cool and much more comfortable.  The humidity is very high so everything has that damp feel and bath towels never really dry out. 

Mom has been busy with becoming a star in all she does.  The university librarian keeps giving her great assignments that she loves.  She is redoing the curriculum collection, having a great time with her storytelling and attending her New Testament class.  That has been a surprise new interest.  She is studying all the time and is full of comments that she has learned in class. 

Kaye at her Librarian Desk at BYUH

Here is Kaye at her desk in the library.  She is "weeding" the curriculum collection behind her and ordering replacement books.  She has a natural feel for this type of work. 

Story Telling Interns from TESOL

Here are the interns from the TESOL (Teaching English as a Second Language) They are learning to tell stories to kids to improve their teaching and English skills.  They are quite good and they really enjoy the experience. 
Next semester the program will grow because the Elementary Education majors will participate in the weekly storytelling experience.  It is an exciting thing for Mom.

Story telling kids and interns

Here are some of the kids that come to story
time and some of the interns who work with them.  Mom has to evaluate their performance (the interns) and report to their university teachers.  The kids come from the married students on campus.

We had the opportunity to attend the Lion King in Honolulu this week.  It started out great because BYUH has a great deal on Marriott rooms at Waikiki.  Then the receptionist saw we were from BYUH and she upgraded us to the 24th floor with a view of Diamondhead and the ocean that was terrific.  It was so nice to be in a clean hotel where everything worked.  We had supper at the Hula Grill on the beach and drove to the play.  That is where it became miserable.  So much traffic!  Bruno Mars was performing at the same place where they staged the Lion King.  One is an arena, for Mars and the other a playhouse for the Lion King.  The traffic, the parking, AWFUL!  As a result we missed the opening number, Circle of Life, but still were seated for the rest of the play.  I think the usher felt sorry for us over the parking mess that she took us down to empty seats three rows from the front.  What a view of the wonder costumes and stagecraft.  That was as interesting as the music and dance.  It is a remarkable production. 
The getaway was a good thing because I am into my first round of exams.  That is when good old Elder Wright becomes mean and unreasonable.  It is when the class really starts working because they typically have a C after this experience.  It is interesting to watch this happen.  I long for the days of institute when there were no tests and no grades and I could be a good guy all the time.  But it is fun to watch them struggle and actually learn something. 
Our life in the new student ward is going great.  We are now the Temple Prep and Mission Prep teachers.  We do one class for six weeks then do the next one for six weeks.  We have done the temple prep before and I am teaching mission prep at school so this will be pretty straightforward.  We are anxious to start and get to know more kids. 

Whitney and Andy arrive in one hour with their family.  We are looking forward to their visit.  we have booked off the last part of the week to do some things with them.  It will be a highlight.  
That is it for this week.  28 more to go.  :)))))

This has been a rather ordinary week - no whales to report - just typical work week. We drove down to Mililani on Friday and made a couple of sightseeing stops.

The above picture is at the royal Birthing Stones, where ancient royalty came to give birth to future rulers. When the woman went into labor she would go to the stones and in the presence of 36 male chiefs she would position herself on certain rocks and eventually give birth. Within minutes of birth the baby was taken away and the mother would not see the baby again until he/she was grown. This was done to protect the child from rival chiefs.

This is a picture of Dennis at the Pu'u o Mahuka Heiau. These are remnants of a Hawaiian temple located on the cliffs above Waimea Bay. We drove up Pupakea Road by Foodland and turned right. That's as good as the directions get. It is a beautiful view up here of all the bay and out to Ka'Ena Point, where the albatross come to nest.

This picture is also at the heiau looking out towards the Pacific. This was a place of human sacrifice. Many people were murdered here in order to appease the gods. Legend has it that three of Capt. Vancouver's crew were killed here and thrown off the cliff.

We went to two BYUH basketball games this week. They won the first one and scored over 100 points. They have a tradition here that when the team scores that many points and wins, everyone gets ice cream for free from the Seasider. It was like a giant block party outside the Canon Activities Center. Sadly, the game on Saturday night didn't have the same result but it was still fun to watch. They are a scrappy little team with boys from all over the world.

Like I said, a slow week. . .