What a day!  We said an emotional good bye to the Sunset Beach YSA branch.  At the end of a wonderful testimony meeting, they invited Kaye and me to the front for the traditional send off...singing Aloaha Oe and presenting us with leis.  All the kids lined up and gave us a hug...I could not help it, it felt so fulfilling to see the effects of our 16 months of work.  Reactivated kids, kids with mission calls, kids having taken out endowments...all there to thank us and wish us well.  I know this must read like one of Kayla's mission letters, but it was a wonderful experience with a confirming spirit that our work had been accepted and that our service was appreciated on both sides of the veil.  This is comforting, recognizing that there were days that we wondered if we were doing any good.

Mom has a party every day this coming week...people are saying goodbye to her and thanking her for all she has done.  She has been wonder woman in the library and in the school of education.  RelEd is having a Christmas luncheon and that will be my going away social.  While I have enjoyed my work in teaching, it has not brought the feeling of fulfillment that we felt today at the branch.  Students rarely say thank you.  Even missionary instructors are pretty much furniture in their lives.  But there is some sense of satisfaction knowing that you have provided an opportunity for them to learn more about their faith.

Here are some photos taken on campus and today at the branch "break the fast" meeting that is held after church.  We will press forward now in packing and getting ready for a new chapter in our lives.  This one has certainly been rewarding.

We love going to basketball games!  The team is undefeated and we will hate to miss the rest of the season.  This is a photo of the head cheerleader and her boyfriend, both of whom were students of mine.  She is from Trinadad and he is from Oregon.  They are a great couple and good students.

Mom runs a story time for little kids at the library.  The school of education sends their education majors to practice telling stories under Mom's direction.  It has been a great success.  These two students are from the Marshall Islands.  They are teachers in their country. They have a scholarship to come to BYUH for a year to finish their BEd degree.  They are a dedicated group of students.

This is mom with the branch presidents wives.  They have been a great support and part of mom's fan club.  They are all Kimberly's age so we forget that like Kim and Nick they are now running the Church.  Hardly a place for us seniors...

This is mom and me with Kaisa who is one of our favorites.  He was inactive for years and one day decided to return to the church.  It was a year ago Christmas when he made that decision.  He is now a temple worker.  It has been exciting to see this miracle happen.

This is Kahili.  She has been a favorite of mine.  Finally she started coming to the branch and is now the chorister.  She is a wonderful girl.

This a me with some of the guys.  We have such great priesthood holders in the branch.  The two on the right are students at BYUH and the other is regular army (officer) who just finished ranger school.  They make me feel really old some days and rather young other days.

This is a different group of guys.  They are all Japanese students at BYUH.  They are native Japanese who are returned missionaries.  They bring so much to the branch.  Diversity seems to be the future of the Church and will be its strength in this new century.  BYUH is planning on expanding the school so that more students like this can come.  They are such faithful, dedicated member students.

This is Viti and Nye, two of our favorite branch members.  Nye is the first on the left, a nursing student who just received her mission call to Chile.  We went through the temple with her.  Viti is younger and a student at BYUH.  She is a dancer at the PCC in the luaus. Great kids, representative of the girls in the branch.