HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME on my P-Day, less you think all I do is play!

Birthdays are always fun because you are another year older. (REALLY?)  I thought this would be a sad birthday away from my family but it turned out to be a nice one. Diane (roomie) and I went to a devotional in the PCC Hawaiian village early in the morning and it was like a birthday party. They sang the states national anthem in Hawaiian and had a flag raising ceremony.

First there was an invitation

Then they sang and raised the flag.

They had some very nice talks in the village. 

The feeling at the PCC is one of the spirit of God. There is such a feeling of reverence in everything the people do. They have such a great feeling of God and family, treating everyone like family and and treating others as you would like to be treated. It isn't just on Sunday but everyday of the week. If we see anyone on the street it is always "Aloha" sisters.

After the party they served a Hawaiian dish of cooked taro leaves (tasted like cooked spinach to me) rice and chicken. Then I visited:

                                      

New Zealand for Don and Dian                                                                  Tonga

The Settlement

           

              Fiji                                 Tahiti

                             

Samoa

and made some new friends one of which had passed on.

          

all in my new muumuu which is called "Aloha" wear. It was made especially for me and I will wear it when taking tickets for the evening luaus and other special occasions.

Diane and I left the islands for home and when I arrived there were presents awaiting:

This feather was from my favorite neighborhood rooster who kept me awake for the first two weeks that I was here. I think he cock a doodle doomed himself to death. I did not appreciate him at all. I think he has moved on to greener pastures. "no Angie, I did not kill the rooster!" 

After the excitement of presents my roomies took me to the play "INTO THE WOODS" that the BYUH students presented. It was an excellent production. I love the fairytales and how they intertwined with each other. 

When the play concluded it was off to another party. This time it was "Chinese New Year" to celebrate complete with two Chinese Dragons and a few fireworks.

         

All in all it was a pretty great day! I have the party roomies. They are like the energizer bunny. They just keep going and going.

I have found a place! Jan 26 2017!

This is my place. I am in the PCC facilities in purchasing. I think I am going to like what I am doing. Today, Thursday, is the first real day that I have been doing anything constructive and then I messed a couple of things up, (I wouldn't feel human if I didn't mess up a few times). Hopefully I will get the hang of it. I have used an Apple Computer for the last four years and today trying to go back to a PC with a different operating system was unsettling for me. It started coming back but I forgot to add a couple of attachments. (Do attachments really matter?) I guess some people think they need them so I did it over and everyone seemed happy. I work with some wonderful people. I will get their pictures on another day. 

At the office they start out the day with a small devotional. They read one chapter in the scriptures each day. Pua and Mici have been doing this for about 30 years and have been through the scriptures 7 times. I think that is amazing.

It has been quite the crazy week for me and for my roomies. From some with sickness, to locking keys in the car, to forgetting the keys and locking them in the house, to having a car and not having a car, then having a car again, to roommates loosing their phones, and to top it all off finding a rat in the washroom tonight (aghhhhh!)

We got him!!!!!
and many other happenings that the Lord has helped us through this week. Each incident has a story of its own. There have been many gracious people to help along the way. I know this will all come together and I will get in a routine and I also know that when that happens our roomies will go home and we will have to start again. Each new day is a surprise.

It has also been a busy week with many goings on, FHE, 2 temple days, etc. I didn't make it to everything. They keep us pretty busy for "old" people. Sunday evening Elder Hafen talked at a fireside at the temple visitors center. He talked of many miracles that have happened on some of the islands. He touched on three or four incidents of how faith had saved the lives of these people. I liked the one about the stake president, who was a tribal chief before he became a Mormon, who died and they wanted to have an LDS funeral but the tribe wanted a tribal funeral and how with God's help they managed to have two funerals and please everyone. It took some finagling to get all this in place and a wonderful woman (who was the recent chief's wife) to get the ball rolling. It was like Queen Esther in the bible. 

                  

The gentleman pictured above is Seamus Fitzgerald. He is from New Zealand. He worked his way up through the ranks of the PCC. He taught us about some of the cultural ways of the different Polynesian people and experiences they had working at the PCC. He is a very humble man and excellent teacher. I loved his accent. The PCC is just like Wellsville used to be, everyone is related in one way or another.

                                             

Cart training was very interesting on Wed. There are golf like carts everywhere on the PCC so we have to be trained on running them. Yes, I passed and can now run a cart if I get tired of walking.

Laie is a very special place and has a very different feeling about it. The people are all very kind and helpful to each other and almost everyone talks to you and wants to know about your life as you do theirs. I can't explain it, except it is like being in the temple only you are in a town. I am sure there are problems but I haven't seen them, yet. This was a sacred place to the Hawaiians even before the Christians came. It was blessed by Joseph F. Smith and he said that not just 1,000's, or 10's of thousands would come but that people would come by the millions to this place and on this barren land would be food and even water enough for everyone. There have been many millions who have passed through the PCC since 1963. I can't wait for you to come and enjoy the cultures of the pacific people.

Sunday in Laie

Jan 22, 2017
Church for the YSA 8th Ward (my ward) starts at 2:00 pm and it never changes year in and year out. It is good for the young adults because they can play all night and sleep all Sunday. Some of them attend two wards. They go with their friends earlier in the day and then back to the regular ward in the afternoon. It is very interesting in our ward.

   

 We meet in a big building next to another "regular church building".


We have 2 wards meet at the same time so there are eight wards or more in our building on Sunday and 3 or 4 wards in the regular church building next to us and then a church just down the from our home that has 3 or 4 wards. There may be more that I don't know about. The 8th ward has no marrieds (except for two missionary couples and 2 single sisters) and no children but many engaged couples. The young girls are very pretty and "young." Not fair to be around so many beautiful young women and many handsome young men of all cultures and nationalities of the world, and speaking many different languages. I am learning so much about the world and its different cultures. Many of them have only been in the church a short time and are so anxious to share their testimonies of the gospel.

Today we had an interesting talk and a story from a young man named Keoki-Leo ____?_____. He is a Samoan who works in the Samoan village on the PCC. He is here with the IWORK program and is probably in his 20's. The story he was telling us was about his father. His father was a bishop for 12 years and then a high councilman and a stake president, a very honorable man and loved by the members of his village and others in Samoa. The story takes place when Keoki was five years old. He had six other brothers and sisters. Keoki said that "the powers in their village" decided that they didn't want the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in their village anymore and started persecuting the saints. (Have we heard this story before?) The men went to Keoki's father and told him to stop preaching the gospel in that village. Keoki's father did not listen and stayed true to what he believed. Again the men came to Keoki's father and told him if he did not deny his faith he would be severely punished. Others told him to deny his faith but he would not listen and went on as usual. One day the men again came to Keoki's father and told him he had one more chance or he would be severely punished. Once again he said he would not deny his faith, so they tied him up and was going to torture and burn him at the stake. They dragged him to the middle of town, tied him to the stake and put wood all around him with solvent. They tried to start the fire but it wouldn't start at first. They tried again and the second time it started but out of a clear blue sky it started raining very very hard and doused the fire.
Keoki was walking home from school that day and he walked into the house and his mother was sobbing but didn't tell him what she was crying about. Later when he was older his father related the story to him. He said he was very proud of his father and told us how much he loved the Savior and the church. When the meeting came to a close our Bishop stood up and said that he had heard of this man when he was in New Zealand and again when he was in another country but until Keoki told his story today did not know that it was this young man's father. The meeting house was totally quiet as this young man related his father's story and I was stunned to think that this was only about 15-20 years ago that this could have happened. Satan tries to get his way but I didn't realize that this type of persecution still existed.

HIBISCUS DAY at the PCC

Friday Jan 20 was spent at the PCC learning what I was going to do in the purchasing department. I met with some wonderful people and hope to know more about what I am suppose to do as the days go on. I get to have a lunch hour and spent it walking around the village. I had a Dole Whip for lunch.  (Oh, my!) (I hope that doesn't continue!) These are some of the beautiful hibiscus that I saw as I walked around the square. I can't get enough of the beauty here.

I am able to walk most anywhere I need to be. The humidity doesn't do much for the hair. I think I really need to get a new style or a wig.

Down day in Hawaii

Thurs was another down day in Hawaii. It seems that everything is starting to come together and I am trying to get some type of routine going. I started the morning with a walk on the beach. It was gorgeous on the beach. The ocean has its own personality.

I decided that the top picture would be a perfect place to meditate and just enjoy the beauties God had given us. I wonder if that is what Nephi did, when he was in Bountiful, to receive direction from the Lord. By the look of the wear on the branches I am probably not the only one that likes this spot.

 

Instead of exfoliating my feet at home I let the sand on the beach do the work. It makes them feel so soft. I think the humidity is great on the skin. 

The afternoon of Jan 18 was spent at the Laie Temple and this is the view as I was exiting. The temple, flag, and ocean was in full view. Those of you that have been here know the feeling when you step out to this spectacular view with the ocean at the end. 

Arrived home after the temple and had a few calls. One was from Elder Woods telling me that I needed to report to work the next morning. I am assigned to purchasing at the PCC. I will work with Elder Griffiths, Pua and Missy. Further information pending.

Church farm in Laie

Tues Jan 17 I met with Bro Woods about where I would work at the PCC. He had to make a few calls and talk to a few people and nothing was decided that day. There were a few couples leaving the PCC and a few more coming. We had 4 more couples and one more sister missionary come on Sat. To me that is quite a few new missionaries but I guess it happens all the time and keeps Bro Woods and Bro Coleman very busy.
Wed (above) all the single sisters were invited to the church farm for lunch. This is a picture of the backyard looking toward the mountains. Everywhere I look in Hawaii is beautiful.
The picture below is of Sis Vinton. She and her husband run the farm and are very, very busy people. It was nice of her to share her beautiful home with us.

SIDE NOTES

Swimming pool at the Marriott in Laie. Come stay so we can go swimming.

Flowers and more flowers. You will probably be seeing more flowers. I love plants and flowers.

Monday Jan 16. MLK Day.

Monday was MLK day and so a holiday for the people in the office's. I still don't have my job (today I hope). so we started with an early morning walk on the beach. We happened upon this little guy. He was happy when we left him to his own business.

When we leave the beach and start for home this is our beautiful view. It is a most gorgeous sight. One of my favorite in Hawaii.


No! These are not my roomies but they are kinda cute. I still wouldn't want to meet them in my dreams. Main entrance to the PCC.


We visited a Macadamia nut farm and took a tour. This is our guide teaching us how to start a fire with two sticks and how to choose a ripe coconut.

Polly Beach and me at the "NUT" Farm. In the background you can see where shows like "Fantasy Island was filmed. The lagoon is where the "de plane, de plane, de plane" landed.
In the far background is where they filmed "Gilligan's Island" if you are old enough to remember that.

Sister Saturday in Haleʻiwa

Top photo is a picture of my three sister roomies, Polly Beach, Diane Dykman, and Cecily Nelson. What three wonderful ladies to room with. It was Saturday and we visited the historic Oahu town of
Haleʻiwa on Oahu's North Shore. We had a delicious shaved ice and then visited Giovanni's shrimp truck. It was delicious.

Poynesian Cultural Tour

Friday Jan 13, we took our tour of the Polynesian Cultural Center. I am at the entrance with Bro and Sister Aims and Bro and Sis Smith. We were all at the MTC, on our flight to Hawaii and all our training at the PCC together. What lovely people to be with. We had some good times together but we will split up and go to all our different jobs after today.

HOME SWEET HOME!

This is my new Hawaiian Home. Front view. It is nice and cozy.



My new car that will get me to where I want to go. It was a missionary car and the rims are scuffed up and a couple of dents in the doors. I am thankful to find it. The road around the island is only about 35 miles and hour so maybe I will be able to drive here.

Chickens and roosters are everywhere. These cute little chicks are free to run, run, run. They don't know how lucky they are.


I am so happy that Heavenly Father put beautiful flowers on the earth. Here there are beautiful flowers everywhere.