A Lot of New Experiences: November 11 - 17, 2024

 

      The week almost always starts with Family Home Evening on Monday nights.  This week the ward reserved the Hub, the game room in the Aloha Center on BYU - H campus.  We have known about the Hub, but we have not experienced the game room yet.  I was excited to have the opportunity to see what the Hub was like,

     We had heard about the bowling alley in the Hub from the Neeleys.  When the Neeleys started their mission serving at the Aloha Center, one of their duties was to help run the Hub.  The bowling alley was not operational and needed repaired.  Elder Neeley found a technician that knew how to fix the bowling lanes and got it working again.  But the lane we bowled on kept messing up the setting up of the pins.  It didn't always set all the pins up.  It was an interesting way to bowl.  It improved our scores a lot.

     Besides bowling there were two pool tables that were a popular option with the students.

     Plus, a couple of ping pong tables (lower left-hand picture), air hockey (that we couldn't figure out how to make work), tabletop soccer (top right-hand picture), and a karaoke room (top left-hand picture), and lots of pizza (lower right-hand picture).  At first, I thought they had bought way too much pizza, but by the end of the night it was gone.  The karaoke singers in the picture, Clabelle and Laiza were both in the Church Music Festival broadcast. They have wonderfully beautiful voices.  Watch the broadcast and hear for yourself.

  

      On Tuesday we had security duty at the back of the Gateway terrace. Since we are in the back with no interaction with the guests, I was able to work on making my brother-in-law's lei for when they arrive next week.  It's a super easy lei to make with eyelash yarn, ribbon, and a fat straw.  Check back in next week's post to see the finished product.

    On our day off it was back to Hukilau Beach for a little beach time.  The Gammons, who are in our district, told us that they have seen turtles at the far north end of Hukilau.  We have gone there multiple times and have never seen a turtle.  They told us to go there in the early afternoon.  We decided to give it a try.  I wasn't very hopeful, but we actually spotted a couple of turtles swimming in the water not too far out from the shore.  The two right-hand pictures show a turtle (in the red circle). We followed along the beach for a while watching it swim and waiting for it to pop its head out of the water.  We also watched a kite surfer weave back and forth across the bay.  It was a good windy day for kite surfing.

      On Thursday we attended a farewell luncheon for Elder Mike and Sister Tamie Taylor.  Elder Taylor was the safety officer for the PCC.  He made sure all operations are safe and in compliance with federal laws and regulations.  Sister Taylor worked in the same building as the food warehouse, only upstairs in uniforms.  She and her crew issued all the uniforms to the student workers at the PCC and inventoried and checked in the returned uniforms when a student ends their employment.  Notice the numerous leis both Elder and Sister Taylor received from people who love and appreciate the work they have done.  Because Elder Taylor's safety work reaches over every department at the PCC, there were many people there to thank them and wish them well.

    On Friday we had to leave work a little early to go get our car inspected.  Our car was already overdue for a safety inspection, and we took the soonest appointment we could get which made us have to leave work an hour early to get down to Kaneohe Auto Care.  Elder Rappleye was a little worried that it might not pass because the check engine light is always on, but they didn't even say anything about it and our car is supposedly all legit now.

     Since we were halfway to Honolulu, we decided to continue on to town and get our grocery shopping done on the same trip.  Since we started later in the day than we normally do, we were driving back to Hau'ula in the dark with very little traffic.  The moon shining on the ocean surface was beautiful and calming.  It's one of the many beautiful scenes from our time in Hawaii I hope I never forget.

      Our YSA stake along with the other YSA stake had a service opportunity on Saturday morning to go help at the Kahuku Agricultural Farm located behind Kahuku High School.  A couple of Relief Society sisters, Jo Ya and Judith, wanted to go help but didn't have a ride to get there.  We offered to pick them up at 7:45 AM and we all went to help clean up the farm.  Jo Ya and Judith are in the lower left-hand picture.  Jo Ya is from Taiwan and is graduating in a few weeks when the semester ends.  Judith is a first-year student.  

  We did a lot of weeding and filling wheelbarrows like the one pictured many times.  We also found a lot of Hawaii size snails!

      It was fun to see Ethan, who used to be in our YSA ward, and get to know Jo Ya and Judith a little better.  It's been over a year since I've done any yard work, something that I do plenty of back in Utah.  The whole group is pictured in the upper left-hand picture above.

     Sunday night was a special devotional at the Cannon Activities Center for all BYU-H students, faculty, and senior missionaries.  Elder Dale G. Renlund and his wife spoke to us.  Elder Renlund spoke about "willingly and wholeheartedly taking upon us the name of Jesus Christ."  He shared five aspects of the process of taking on the name of Jesus Christ - identification (link our name with His as Christian), capability (receive God's power to change and become better), emulation (Christ becomes our role model to develop Christlike attributes), purpose (join the Savior in His work of ministering and sharing His gospel) and remembrance (worthily partaking of the sacrament each week helps us to remember Jesus Christ).  Elder Renlund's topic was very appropriate to us as missionaries since we bear Jesus Christ's name on the name badge that we wear every day.  We were grateful that Brent Cowley was thoughtful enough to save seats for us in the center lower section where we had a great view of the meeting.  If Brent hadn't saved us seats, we would have been in the rafters.  It was a great uplifting and spiritual way to end our week.

   

Birthday, Tonga Devotional and Foodfest: November 4 - 10, 2024

 

Check another thing off of Elder Rappleye's to do list.  The old tram pictured above has been sitting parked in the corner of the motor pool.  Elder Rappleye's boss has been wanting to get rid of it.  A few months ago, someone asked if they could buy it.  He wanted to use it as a team bus.  The PCC sold it to him for $5 and the buyer would have to tow it away at his cost.  Finally on Monday, the buyer came and got it.  It was bye, bye tram.

     In the last post I talked about how we did a presentation on how to find family names on Family Search.  Since it wasn't very well attended, they decided to do it again on Monday night for Family Home Evening.  So we tweaked our presentation up a little bit and did it again on Monday night.  I added talking about writing their own life stories and how important that is to do. There still weren't very many students there, but more than Saturday night.  Here's our little group enjoying refreshments after the program.  Let's see if I can name all of them in the picture, from left to right - Evelyn Heimanu, Temaeva Aumerand, Clabelle Jayme, J.C. Delos Reyes, Bishop Erdenebat, Michael Suhendro, the sister missionaries, I am missing his name, and Jackson Hanna.  Well, I got almost everyone's name.

     Tuesday was my birthday.  We had celebrated early by going to Mau at the end of September.  We knew my birthday would be a regular workday for us.  We have a prayer meeting in the mornings, so the crew sang "Happy Birthday" to me at prayer meeting.  I can name everyone in this picture, left to right - Byron (from Tahiti), Bryce (mainland), me, Kali (Laie) in the back, Jaz (Philippines), and Frank (Philippines).  Sister Sauve took the picture.  They are all a great bunch of warehouse workers and wonderful to work with.

    Here's a picture of me as I left for the day.  Lili, my boss, brought me a potted orchid plant, and Sister Sauve gave me a gift bag full of my favorite treats and lotion.

 

  I also got a beautiful handmade card from Sister Karen Fisher.  I wasn't expecting anything from anyone, so everything I received was a wonderful surprise.  It helped make the day special even though I had to work.

  About an hour after getting home from work, we headed back to the PCC to do an Ask Me shift at Hale Aloha.  Although we were technically "working" the background in the picture really makes it look like we are enjoying ourselves in an exotic paradise.  It really is idyllic.  No complaints here.

      It has been quite rainy and overcast here for over a week without much sunshine.  The one thing I was wishing for on my birthday was some time in the sun, but it was another rainy, overcast day.  On Wednesday, on our day off, I was determined to get some sun time.  We drove up to Turtle Bay resort and stopped there because it was sunny.  By the time we got settled on the beach, the clouds were already gathering.  I walked out to the end of the rocky point since I didn't do it the last time we were there.  By the time I returned to the sandy beach the rain was starting to come down.  So much for some sun time.

   

   The rain did clear up in time for us to go play pickleball like we do most Wednesday evenings.  Thankfully it's much more tolerable to play pickleball outside now that it's gotten cooler.

      We also had to get our 6 months left picture taken.

     On Thursday I got a message from Elder Rappleye's cousin, Cindie Blodgett, who lives in California.  Her daughter, Katie and husband were at the PCC that day.  It's too bad I got that message after my shift out at the Marketplace entrance where I was greeting guests getting off the tour buses.  I would have been out where I could have possibly found her and her husband.  I wasn't sure we would be able to meet up with her, but as it turned out when I contacted Katie, they were taking the tram tour over to the temple and visitor's center.  That gave us an easy meeting up place and just enough time to get out to where the tram drops people off after the tours.  We actually had never met Katie before so we had no idea what she looked like, but when Elder Rappleye saw Katie getting off the tram he knew it was her because she looked like her mom.  Another serendipitous moment to connect with family here in Hawaii.

  We invited the Tates, the new senior missionary couple in our district, to come do sealings at the temple with us on Friday night.   It turned out to be the first opportunity for them to go to the temple since arriving here, so we were able to help "show them the ropes" because the procedure to get to the sealing room is a little different at the Laie temple.  We were glad to have them along on our temple night.

     Afterwards, we went to Pounder's restaurant in the Hukilau Marketplace for cookie sundaes.  We sat out on the patio and visited while we enjoyed our delicious dessert.   

   

  Saturday morning was the Tongan Devotional.  We have attended all the island devotionals with Tonga being the last one.  Whatever devotionals they have before we go home with be our second time around.  I'm not sure which ones we will get to attend twice. The theme for the devotional was "Holo Pe Tu'u He Koe Ngalu 'E Fasi" - Stand Firm For the Waves will Break based on a Tongan proverb: encourage patience, and good things will come to you.  Also based on 1 Corinthians 15:58. 

 The program started with a flag raising ceremony and the Tongan student workers singing the Tongan national athem.

There were four student speakers and President Grace spoke as well.  Pictured right - President Grace (top left), David Fonua (top right), Tavi Lavaka (middle right), Melissa Piei (bottom right), and Dannisha Pili (bottom left).

  

   They had a Tongan choir sing a musical number in Tongan.

     After the program, they served us a nice "small" lunch.  They called it small by Tongan standards, but there were a lot of food options, and it was quite filling.

   

  The best part of the devotional was the entertainment afterwards.  The students all shared their singing and dancing talents.

    Alisi started it off with her solo dance.

Then it was the boy's turn to dance.  The fun thing about Tongan's is that they love to dance, and they do it with enthusiasm.  They love to have the audience get into it by whooping and hollering along with them while they perform.  It makes for a high energy, loud, and very fun performance.

Then the girls came on stage and got their turn to wow us with their dancing. While the boy's dance with a lot more energy, the girl's dance with slow graceful movements and always have beautiful smiles on their faces.

Last, but not least, both the boys and the girls performed together.  In their culture, it is traditional to give the performers money by going on stage and tucking money in their leis or collars or skirts as appreciation, kind of like a tip.

They certainly put on the best show of the year.

After the devotional, we did a quick trip to town for groceries.  We then headed to BYU-H for Foodfest.  All the clubs set up booths and sell food to earn money for costumes and props for next year's Cultural Night celebration.  There were all kinds of international foods from Indonesian to Korean, from Indian to Aotearoa, and many more choices.  Such a hard decision to make on what to try.  I was hoping to try the Tahitian chicken and rice, but twice we stopped by their booth, and they said it wasn't ready.  While we were walking around seeing what our options were and trying to decide, we meet the Cowleys.  The top left-hand picture shows us with the kids.

     We eventually settled on the Japanese dish, Nishoku Don, a pork, rice, and egg dish.  We also got Strawberry Ade from the Korean club and donuts from the Cook Islands booth.  Afterwards I heard from several people that the Thai ice cream was really good, but we missed out on that one.  I was disappointed to not be able to try the Tahitian dish as well especially since we won't get another chance because we won't be here for Foodfest next year. :(😞😞

From there, we went to the Sudweeks pad, another missionary couple to watch the BYU - Utah football game.  We had a good group of BYU fans there to watch the game.  Most of them didn't have much hope in BYU pulling out the win, but they were super excited when BYU won the game.

It was a great way to end our Saturday.

We are so grateful that we have the technological ability to tune into these cute grandchildren's Primary program on Sunday.  Good job Roki, Deklan, and Liliana!  We love you!  

Sunday night we had a district dinner at the Tate's pad.  The Tate's not only replaced the Neeley's in their BYU-H assignment, but also in our district and place of residence.  We were all able to get to know the Tates, and they also celebrated my birthday that I had on Tuesday. Elder Tate is at the end of the table. Sister Tate is not in the picture, but Sister Jackie Lee is standing, Elder Lee, Sister Gammon, and Elder Gammon are seated on the right side of the table.

 The words of the hymn "Improve the Shining Moments" states, "Time flies on wings of lightning we cannot call it back.  It comes, then passes forward along its onward track."  We have passed our year mark for our mission and time definitely seems to be flying by. Time changes with time: in youth, time marches on; in middle age, time flies; and in old age, time runs out.  The Prophet Joseph Smith in 1842 said that this is the day and time upon which prophets, priests, and kings in ages past have dwelt with peculiar delight; and have looked forward with joyful anticipation.  The future holds greater blessings for mankind than ever before, President James E. Faust said, the great challenge we face as we prepare for these future blessings is to be more spiritually enlightened.  President Russell M. Nelson has been encouraging us as a people to be more spiritually enlightened by his counsel to "Let God Prevail", "Hear Him", "Daily Repentance" and "Increase your capacity for revelation". May we all use what time we have to Come unto Christ and be perfected in Him (Moroni 10:32) 

Halloween in Laie, Hawaii: October 28 - November 3, 2024

            Over a month ago I realized I had lost my driver's license.  I looked everywhere in our apartment in hopes of finding it.  I even called a few of the regular places we shop.  Never found it.  So, then I started researching how to get a replacement driver's license, but everything I read said I would have to go to the DMV in person to get a new license.  Well, that was impossible!  I finally found a phone number that I could call that would let me actually talk to a real person.  He was very nice and told me he would send me a temporary license and email me the instructions on how to apply for a new license.  When I read the email he sent, I was not happy that it was quite complicated and a lot of work to get a replacement driver's license.  The worst part being I had to go get my eyes checked from an eye doctor.  I had just renewed my driver's license less than a year ago before we left on our mission.  I had passed the eye exam at the DMV and had my eye's checked in Utah by my eye doctor, but since it had been more than 6 months ago, I had to get another eye exam.  Getting any kind of doctor's appointment in Laie is a little inconvenient and also trying to work it into our work schedule is tricky.  I finally was able to see an eye doctor, who after two appointments filled out the form the DMV sent so I could send it in.  Step one done.  Next, I had to make an appointment for a zoom meeting with the DMV for an interview.  With the difference in time zones, I had very limited options available, but I was able to set up a 7AM meeting on Monday, October 28th.  Then I had to fill out the application form online and submit it.  After all that, I spent 10 minutes on a zoom meeting Monday morning before going to work to get approved for a new replacement driver's license.  Now I have to wait 4 - 6 weeks to receive it in the mail.  I definitely don't want to lose my driver's license again.

     Monday evening was Family Home Evening at the movies.  Here's our little group that watched the Halloween movie, Casper in the little theater on the BYU-H campus.  It has been a long time since I watch the movie Casper. 

   Halloween is a big deal here in Laie.  It was a regular workday at the PCC.  We got a wonderful surprise when Sister Su Jones popped into the warehouse.  Sister Jones was the other sister missionary in the office with me for the first 5 months of my mission.  She helped me a lot when I was first learning the ropes and struggling with all the things I had to learn to do.  She'd been there, done that, so she could totally relate.  She went home last April, and the office has never been the same.  She was back for a short visit.

     For Halloween evening, we went to hang out with the Cowleys.  We were going to miss seeing our grandkids all dressed up in their costumes, so the Cowley's kids are the closest to grandchildren we have here.  They live on Moana Street in Laie and they were doing a neighborhood potluck dinner before the trick or treating began.  We brought something to share (tuna casserole) and a few candy treats to pass out to the trick or treaters.  The top picture to the left is us sitting in front of the Cowley's house waiting for the treat or treaters to come.  Everyone sits in lawn chairs out by the curb to pass out candy, so the kids don't have to walk up to each door to get their treats.  The bottom picture is Elder Rappleye in front of the Bates's pad (another missionary couple who lives on Moana Street).

   The whole length of Moana Street gets blocked out so no cars can drive on the street, and everybody just walks up and down the street to trick or treat.  Some of the neighbors go all out with decorations and costumes.  The street gets packed with people.  You can see the bottom right picture shows some of the trick or treaters going down the street - and that picture was taken early in the evening.  It got much more crowded than the picture shows.  The treats we brought (150 pieces of candy) were gone in an hour.  After we ran out of candy, we strolled up and down the street and enjoyed the Halloween displays and greeting people we knew (mostly other senior missionaries).

     While we were there on Moana Street, we found out from other missionaries that at 9:30PM the student workers in the PCC's theater group put on a dance competition in the Pacific Theater that we should not miss.  So we left the trick or treating festivities around 7:30pm and went home until 9PM.  Elder Rappleye got a pretty good nap on the couch during that time!

     While we were waiting to get into the Halloween Dance competition we got our picture taken in the Marketplace in front of the Happy Halloween backdrop.

   We were told that last year the competition wasn't very crowded, so we were surprised to see so many people there.  By the time we got into the theater the bottom section was full.  The pictures show the bottom sections to the left and right of where we were sitting on the first row of the top section.

   The students that were performing were divided into three groups to compete against each other.  The theme of the dance competition was "Night Terrors".  Each group chose a theme within the category of "Night Terrors".  They each made costumes, props, and choreographed their presentation.

     The first group, pictured right, called their performance "Into the Deep".  It had an ocean theme with mermaids, sharks, pirates, and the titanic ship.  The props and costumes were amazing.  They did a good job.

     The second group had a doll theme and it was called "Dolls of Doom".  They had all kinds of dolls represented from a Chucky doll to Ken and Barbie.  The second counselor in our" YSA bishopric performed in this "dolls of doom group.  It was fun to watch.

     The last group called their performance "Shadows" and it had a zombie/nightmare theme.  It even included some fire when they torched a coffin!

   All three teams performed together at the beginning of the show (bottom pictures) and the top picture is the whole group waiting for the winner to be announced.

    And the winner is - "Into the Deep"! 

      That was where my vote would have been if I had a vote.  We didn't get home until 11PM - way past our usual bedtime.  Many of the students were staying after the show for a dance.  Ah, to be young and able to survive on very little sleep.

    We had to work the next day, and we were dragging from the late night out.

      On Friday night we attended the play, "You Can't Take It With You" at the McKay Auditorium, a BYU - Hawaii theatrical production.  We both knew Isa (in the bottom middle picture - last one leaning forward) who attends our YSA ward.  She was a maid and had no speaking lines, but her facial expressions were awesome.  I also knew Thanush (the man in the suit in the pictures).  I am teaching him piano.  His character was the IRS tax collector.  It was a small part, but he did a good job at being irate at Martin Vanderhof for not paying his taxes.

  Ever since Devin's family left to go home on October 22nd it has been rainy and never a good time to get some beach time in.  So, on Saturday we went to Pounder's beach to try and get a little beach time.  It was a little overcast, but we stayed for about an hour.  I took this picture of our legs to prove that Elder Rappleye is actually getting a little color on the legs. Not as much color as mine (that would never be possible), but after almost a year of beach time they are not ghostly white anymore and he actually has a tan line! 

     We were asked to do a presentation to our YSA Ward on Saturday night on how to use Family Search to find family names to take to the temple.  Our YSA ward is scheduled to do baptisms for the dead at the temple at the end of November and they are encouraging the students to bring family names to the temple.  We really don't know too much about how to find family names, so we had to do some cramming. Not very many students showed up.

    Sunday was time for the next munch and mingle (already?).  This month there was only one senior couple we sang Aloha 'Oe to, Elder Mike and Sister Tamie Taylor from Sandy, UT.  We got to know them well because they joined us most days for lunch out on the terrace.  Sister Taylor worked upstairs from me in uniforms and Elder Taylor was the safety officer (OSHA) for the PCC.  Poor Sister Taylor fell while walking on the beach a few weeks ago and broke her wrist and had to have surgery.  Not a fun way to end a mission.  When the Taylors leave the middle of November, we will have the longest tenure of all the senior missionaries that are part of the lunch bunch at the PCC.

A Serendipitous Meeting and a Marriage Proposal: October 21 - 27, 2024

         

 
   The last day of Devin's family's visit started early with sunrise on Laie Point.  We have been here in Laie for almost a year and have never gone to see the sunrise on Laie Point.  We have seen lots of beautiful sunrises from our apartment window, but it's much more enjoyable to watch out on the Point with family.

     You can see that sunrises are just as beautiful as sunsets here in Hawaii.

 

   We saved the best for the last day.  It was the Polynesian Cultural Center Day.   They came over a little early so Elder Rappleye could take them for a quick ride on a cart (the same kind he services and fixes all the time) through the islands of the PCC before it opened.  They got a sneak peak of what the PCC looked like before any of the guests arrived, and they could go all around the 42 acres of the PCC in a quick 10-minute ride.   I also gave them a quick tour of the food warehouse.

     You always want to start your experience at the PCC with the Huki show that's on the lagoon.  We were able to get really good seats to watch the Huki show.  The show gives the guests a great overview of all the islands in the Polynesian Cultural Center.

 

     After the Huki show we headed to the Aotearoa village to see the Māori show and do some fun hands-on activities. 

  

   Devin's kids loved all the activities in all of the different islands.  Here they are canoeing.  Since they all kayak, they are veterans at paddling.

     Some of the hands-on activities - fishing on the lagoon (left picture), spear throwing in the Tahiti village (top right picture), and poi twirling in the Aotearoa village.

    After enjoying as many of the island villages, activities, and shows we could in one afternoon at the PCC, Devin's family headed into the Gateway Buffet to eat dinner.  We eat there for free 3 or 4 times a month when we do Ask Me, so we didn't want to pay to eat there.  While they were eating dinner, we went and upgraded our HA show tickets and ate at one of the many food trunks in the Hukilau Marketplace.  We hooked up with Devin's family in time to see the HA show. Pictured on the left - everyone excitedly waiting for the show to begin despite being exhausted. Everyone loved the HA show, but Sunny ended up falling asleep before it was over.  We said our dreaded goodbyes after the show.  They had to get up very early to drive to the Honolulu airport and be there by 6AM in the morning.  They packed their Hawaiian vacation full of fun, memorable activities.  I'm sure they were dragging when they got home.  We hated to see them leave, but so glad they could come enjoy paradise.  The weather was perfect the whole time they were here.

       Tuesday it was back to our missionary service.

      On Wednesday, I went on a work field trip.  I'm never thrilled to spend my day off going to tour a warehouse, but that's what I did Wednesday morning.  Since I was going to be gone, Elder Rappleye decided to go to the motor pool and work to try to get caught up since he'd been gone a couple of days.

     I have toured a few warehouses since coming on my mission, but this warehouse was the most impressive one I've seen.  It was big, very clean and well organized.  Lance (in the bottom left picture), the warehouse manager, took us on the tour and explained how things work in their warehouse.

     I was impressed with their emphasis on safety (they haven't had an accident in close to 4 years).  Lance also showed us the board pictured to the left.  They use the concepts from Stephen R. Covey on creating trust among the employees which translates into good teamwork in order to achieve the high results they expect.  Very classy.

     Since the warehouse was so huge, they had some equipment to make things easier, like conveyor belts and rolling (slanted) shelves to help with keeping the inventory flowing FIFO (first in, first out).

      Although I wasn't very excited to go on this field trip, I learned a lot and it was interesting to see a very good well-run warehouse.

      The warehouse was located just south of the Costco we go to, so when the tour was finished, I just walked over to Costco instead of riding back to Laie with everyone.  Elder Rappleye drove down after working in the motor pool for a few hours and met me at Costco in time for lunch (gotta love those Costco food court lunches) and grocery shopping.  I was glad to be able to get both the field trip and grocery shopping done on the same day.

    The temple is finally back open.   We were able to go on Thursday night.  After we got done at the temple, we stopped by the visitor's center to pick up some mail.  Elder Nelson told us that we had just missed someone who had come in asking about us.  From what he told us about the people he talked to I figured out that it must of been Denice Dahle from South Jordan, Utah.  She attended my water aerobics classes and was one of my favorite water aerobics attendees. We figured that she was probably going to the HA show that night. Since we had to drive by the PCC on our way home, we decided to stop there and see if we could find her before they went into the night show - definitely a shot in the dark.  I didn't have any way to contact her, but I had Laura's number, a friend of Denice that also attended my water aerobics classes.  On our way over to the Marketplace, I texted Laura hoping that she would be still awake asking her if Denice was in Hawaii and if she could send her a message to meet me by the Pacific Theater before she went into the show.  Somehow it all worked and as we walked up to the entrance of the theater and started looking around for Denice and her husband, Bill (our accountant), she spotted us, and we were able to visit for a little bit and take a photo with them before the HA show started.  It's always so good to see people we know from back home, so if you are ever here in Laie or on Oahu, let us know and we'll try to connect somehow.  We were guided by the spirit, and it worked.  The picture above shows us with Bill and Denice Dahle.  It was the first time they have visited the Polynesian Cultural Center.  They gave it 5 stars and a thumbs up.

      Saturday morning was the monthly warehouse training meeting.  They gave out awards to the students that exhibited the spirit of Aloha and the 7 Cultural Beliefs of the Polynesian Cultural Center.  They honored two students for the month of September and two for the month of October.  Aurel and Rowan are in the top two pictures (arrow pointing to the honorees) and Ralph and Saturo are in the bottom two pictures. They received bed comforters as prizes - since Lili (the boss) said we were going into the winter months and getting colder.  I don't think I ever used a comforter on our bed all last winter - HaHa!

    We also had a Luau shift Saturday night.  I was doing security guard duty at the back exit of Hale Aloha and was able to witness one of the guests make a marriage proposal in front of all the attendees at the luau.  I don't know how often that happens at the luau, but it was a first for me.  She did accept and said yes!  You probably can't really see the blissful couple, but I circled them in the picture.  I couldn't abandon my post in order to get a better picture.

      On Sunday, we had the junior sister missionaries over for dinner.  We knew transfers were coming up in a couple of weeks and this might be the last time Sister Earl and/or Sister Mansaloon would be able to join us for dinner.  It is Sister Earl's last transfer before going home in December.  

     We love having the sister missionaries over for dinner.