The big news is that the hot and humid days have past!  Rain is here to cool things off.  The bad news is that the rain will be here until May.  But we will be back in the snow before then (December) with a whole other weather system to complain about.  But boy, was it hot.  90 degrees was the record in our cinderblock apartment, with no trade winds to cool us off.  We had big fans and they saved the day. 

Our week has been rather typical in most ways, but interesting a a few others.  My students were interviewing returned missionaries for their survey assignment.  Next week they will be practicing contacting complete strangers and starting up a conversation.  Some are nervous but soon develop skills in this area.  My D&C students just finished sections 88 and 93, the hardest to understand in the revelations.  Now they are on to the Missouri revelations that relate to the period of persecution. 

Kaye and Viti

We were hosts at the Ohana Luau this week.  One of the dancers is a member of our Branch.  Her name is Viti and she is a student at BYUH.  I know it is hard to tell which one is the Hawaiian dancer and which the hostess.  Poor Mom has that problem all the time now that she has a stylish mu mu.

Kaye and Hana

On Friday we drove to Aiea (suburb of Honolulu) to see Hana Akina, a member of our branch, who is a school librarian.  She just finished her master's degree in library science and wanted librarian Kaye to see her room.  This is her first year of being a librarian.  We arrived in the morning during a Scholastic Bookfair.  Mom remembers running hundreds of these, so was right at home.  There were kids everywhere buying their books and other treasures.  Here is a photo of Hana with Mom in the school library. 

Friday night we went to the women's volleyball game which was exciting.  They beat University of Hawaii (Hilo) in three straight games.  I have two students on the team so it was fun to talk with them.  One of them lives next door to us in TVA.  She is a newlywed, a bit nervous about living next door to her professor. 

Saturday we had an adventure with our Indonesian students.  The faculty advisor (Sister Mills) is married to the fellow in charge of the local scout camp.  She arranged for the group to go to the scout camp for a day of adventure.  They used the rifle and archery range and then had a great time in the camp pool.  They had a wonderful time.  The rifle range was fun because guns are illegal in their country.  They had never fired a gun before in their lives.

Indonesian Student Group at Gun Range

They had all these images from movies and so the range officer had to carefully instruct them so that they would not be foolish.  Here are some photos of them on the gun range.

Indonesian students on the firing line

While most of them had problems hitting the targets, they did improve with a few dozen shots.  Of course they were impressed when I hit the small target 8/10 times.  Even the range officer was impressed until he learned that I had grown up with a .22 hunting rabbits in the sagebrush and pheasants in the fields.  But it was fun to be amazing at something. 
The scout camp was located in a highland jungle on the North Shore.  It had parts that were developed with mess halls and cabins and sections for primitive camping.  The day we were there it was full of cub scouts from all over Oahu. In order to get to the gun and archery range we had to walk a trail through the jungle - a real jungle. The trail would excite any scout. I could only imagine if I had the 11- year old scouts here on a hike.


Saturday closed with Mom and her missionary friend, Peggy watching the women's session of conference on TV.  Students are encouraged to watch it at the Aloha center on campus while the boys are watching a re-broadcast of the priesthood session.  This happens Sunday evening and includes a soup and desert meal afterwards for all.  While we watch it live, we will be at those events also this weekend

Hau 'oli La Hanau (how-oh-lee lah hah-now-oo) !! I just finished talking with Sarah and today is her ninth birthday and so I wanted to begin by wishing her a very Happy Birthday! It sounds like she has had a great day, with lots of family love and support.

I didn't write last Sunday because there wasn't anything new to report or say. It had been a fairly typical week but today I have a couple of things to write about. Yippee!

Last Saturday we went with our friends Lynn and Peggy Rowell down to Hanauma Bay to go snorkeling. We had tried to go a few weeks ago but by the time we got there at 8:45 am, they had closed the park. Once the parking lot fills up, that is the end, so we ended up doing the "circle island tour" and drove up to Haleiwa where our friends had their first snorkeling experience. We were determined to not be turned away this week and so we left Laie at 6:30 am and were among the first to arrive. Dennis and I had not been there for many years and were surprised at the many improvements that have been made to the area. We had a fun morning with pretty good snorkeling. I even saw a few fish that I had not ever seen before. We had a good time. I hesitate to put in a couple of these pictures, for reasons which will be obvious but oh well, who cares?!

At the top of the hill leading down to Hanauma Bay

Searching for shade at Hanauma Bay

Talking to NM's on the beach

Give that woman a hat! And shirt. . .

Dinner after ticket-taking at the Island Buffet and a serenade

In front of temple

Our Springville neighbors, the Blonquists have a daughter, Maddie, serving a mission in Bermuda. Yvonne is putting together a 'Flat Stanley' type of book for her for Christmas and so we 'took' Maddie to the Laie Hawaii temple last week and also to the PCC. We hope she enjoyed her brief visit!






The big event of the week was last night. We attended our first Polynesian wedding reception! Mel and Masi were married in the morning at the temple and then the reception was in the evening at her home ward in Honolulu. Masi is Tongan and Mel is Samoan, so it was a full out party experience and we loved every minute of it. I think we were two out of seven Howlies there and there were around 500 people in attendance. They began the evening by introducing the wedding party and in they all walked. They gave a little bio on each bridesmaid and groomsman. There were eight bridesmaids and eight groomsmen so this took awhile. One bio was so funny. It was " so and so is 6ft.1 inch and weighs 230. He is a Red Raider forever." (That is the Kahuku football team). Then the bride and groom arrived and everyone stood and they go sit at a raised dais which has a Tongan mat underneath. There is no 'official' receiving line. Next, time for dinner - Poly style!

Where the bride and groom sit with the Maid of Honor and Best Man

Note second table of food

The food was very traditional - taro, tapioca root, fish, prawns with heads on, bananas cooked Samoan style (in a gelatinous coconut milk), beef, chicken, and this really awful stuff called 'squid luau.' Most of you know Dennis will eat anything, but even he cannot take this. But believe me, we were in the minority. Everyone was crazy over this nasty dish of grass, seaweed, onion, and squid all blenderized into some sloppy, green goop. But it was quite a spread!
After eating there was a program with dancing - Father/Daughter, Mother/Son, bridesmaids, groomsmen, children, mother, etc. I really enjoyed the traditional dances. They are beautiful to watch.I tried to get some pictures of Mel dancing. It was beautiful, but they were too far away. Then there was the cutting of the cakes, plural. At this point we left since it was getting late, but it was a great experience and I am so glad we were invited and able to attend.

Some of the cakes - there was also the brides cake, the grooms cake, and a general dessert cake

And a Church gym is still a church gym, worldwide!

Mr. and Mrs. Kauvaka

It is still stifling hot and humid here. We thought we could handle it better than last year but not so. 86 degrees with 86% humidity. Hopefully, the trade winds will return in another week. Our Church is once again on a reduced schedule. Since we can't get into the building for Branch Council, it is no problem. We just hold it in the parking lot. We call it "true tailgating."

And the Kingdom rolls forward! We love it!

We are back in school and are returning to the semester routine.  That is the good news...the September heat and humidity is the bad news.  But at least we are better prepared for it and it does not seem as bad as last year. 

This past week started with a Missionary BBQ on the beach.  It was Labor Day so we decided to roast hot dogs over a real fire.  I gathered the wood and built the fire...then we roasted hot dogs and made smores.  It was a BBQ to welcome the Carters and the Christensens to our group of religious education missionaries.  

Here is a photo of us with our friends from Langley BC, the Cardnos.  Never go to the Mexican restaurant in Haleiwa.  Not Cholos, that is great, but the other one by Pizza Bob's.   They are going home next week so we went to dinner with them. They are nice people and we will miss them. We had a nice evenig. It has been good to reconnect with them.

Wrights and Cardno at Sunset Beach

The big event of the week was the Sunset Beach Waiema Bay YSA activity.  It was HUGE!  We had sent invitations all over the island to YSA.  We knew it would be big, but there were almost 500 YSA in attendance.  That is in addition to the members of our branch and 50 non-members who came.  Here are some photos and comment. 

Leveling the Sand for the Slip and Slide

I did not know preparing a beach slip and slide was so much work.  You have to carefully select your sight and then level the sand like you do with cement.  Then you have to have a certain (slippery) kind of plastic, a gas pump and hoses to carry the water to the top of the slide.

It has to be raised a bit for proper drainage and leveled to keep the plastic from tearing.  We had problems with the plastic, the pump, and the hose.  So a 12:00 start became a 2:00 start, right on time for Hawaii.  The kids did not care. 

We had all the YSA come to a sign up tent where they signed an accident waiver.  The non members also indicated if they wanted more information about the Sunset YSA branch.  That gave the missionaries a good start  with some contact information.  We are hoping there are some good referrals.

Kaye and Dennis signing in 500 YSA

Big Kaisa says watch out below as he launches

We were blessed and had no accidents.  I was proud of the kids because there wore more modest bathing suits on the beach than ever before.  The stake president said we set a high water mark for the rest of the stake.  We were at the beach from 9:00 (preparing the slide) to 4:00 when everyone was there.  We met so many people from all over the island and visitors from other places who wanted to try the slide.  It was quite a hit for all ages. 

The Slip and Slide is almost done

The registration tent

The Sunset Beach Primary boys ready to slide

The Sunday after the event we went to the Community Center only to find that the worker assigned to open it for us had not shown up.  We had to make a decision and the President said, "backyard church" at the counselors home.  So off we all went to his backyard and set up church just like in pioneer times.  Here is a photo.

Back Yard church

At this meeting the Stake President was in attendance to change the EQ Presidency and had a great time in this setting.  He returned and challenged all the "normal" wards to step it up and gain the spirit like the Sunset Branch. Our branch is his "baby" and he is so pleased with the progress. 

The new EQP is Chris in the photo below.  The first EQP was Masi, a returned missionary and local parks worker.  He was a great president and helped get the quorum going.  But he is getting married and moving on to a new adventure. 

Masi, Chris and ElderWright

Chris is a wonderful new member of our Branch who became active a couple of months ago.  He is full of faith and is very good with helping others who are less active return to the Church.  Chris is a real Hawaiian cowboy who works for a ranch at Kahuku.  He likes having FHE for the Branch at his huge barn where they can Texas two step and swing dance.  The wonderful blessing of being in the branch is that we have seen so many less active kids return to the church and prepare for the temple.  Chris is now planning a trip to Missouri where his family lives so he can go to the temple with them.  What a great story.  We also have a baptism coming next week of a wonderful waitress that decided that she wanted the Church in her life.  Each Sunday there are less active kids and non-members in Church looking for a better life.  Living the North Shore beach life is great only for awhile.  It becomes old and senseless prompting kids to ask if there is more.  That is where the Branch comes in.  Probably this is the best part of our mission. 

Ah, the Doldrums. . .One year anniversary. . . Happy Birthday Stephen

This is the one year anniversary of serving here in Hawaii. We arrived on August 27, 2013 and after a few days at Ko'olina to rest up in preparation for our new adventure, began our mission on September 1. It has been a good experience for both of us. We have learned a lot about serving, appreciating other cultures, and even ourselves.

This time of year is the hottest on the islands. They have what the sailors used to call the doldrums where there is low pressure and virtually no trade winds. It is just plain hot and sticky. I was going to title this post "sticky buns" and not for the usual reasons we think. This weather usually lasts through September. I miss AC. We are both glad to go to work because the buildings are air-conditioned.

This week our car was finally repaired. It was on the Chevy recall list for a new ignition and this week the problem was solved. We are now 100% - at least for a used car.

Dennis with car all fixed

While the car was being fixed, a 30 minute job which took over three hours, the car dealership people dropped us off at Pearlridge Shopping Mall  where we did a little shopping and had lunch at the funniest restaurant I have been to. It was a little like Village Inn, but had a Swiss motif. The waitress' were all super old - great grandmother old and Japanese and Polynesian, all wearing these little Swiss Miss outfits. I really should have taken a picture.

On our way home we went to see The Giver and stopped at the Farmer's Market at the Kaneohe Mall. It is a huge Farmer's Market and covers most of the Mall. Here is a picture of it:

Kaye at the Farmer's Market

The term ended. Dad got all his grades turned in and the students who graduated all moved out of TVA. Here is a picture of what it looks like at the end of each term when students leave:

Disgusting!!!

Sunday the Relief Society was reorganized.  I really enjoyed working with these great sisters. They were diligent and faithful. They were a little sad at being released but are very happy for the new president. She kept one of the counselors as well as the secretary who hadn't been in too long. It will be fun to get acquainted with the new girls. I am looking forward to working with them as well. I don't actually do that much, just offer an occasional suggestion. Mostly, they decide what needs to be done and make it happen.

"Old" presidency" - Jackie DeMoss, Marvalyn Santeco, Hana Akina

Jackie just got engaged and is getting married in January. Marvalyn graduated last year and is teaching sixth grade in Hauula. Hana finished her Master's Degree last year and is a school librarian!

Marvalyn (outgoing president), Rebecca (new president) and Kaye

I have to stop standing by these cuties in pictures. I always look whiter than usual!

Aubrey Cameron, Becca, and Jackie - our new RS Presidency

We also have two new missionary couples who have arrived and are living in TVA. They are Elder and Sister Jess Christiansen from Hurricane, Utah and Elder and Sister Leonard Carter from Salt Lake. We all had a picnic for Labor Day at the beach. It gave us all a chance to get better acquainted. They will enjoy their time here. I guess dad and I are the next up to go home. The time has flown by in many ways. Of course, we still have three months to go!