March 18, 2014

Lucky us our family arrived safely in the rain.  Mike, Tammy and kids arrived Saturday.  We met them at the car rental in Honolulu.  What fun to see them and get the hugs and smiles we have missed for so long.  We could tell they were excited to get started on their Hawaii fun.  Elle couldn't wait to get to the beach.  It was raining and we all wanted to get home and settled.  We drove all the way to Kahuku before we stopped for something to eat.  Elle was asking how much longer………Food is always good there.  We filled our tummy's with good food, attitudes changed and we were on our way home.   We helped settle them into George's house and how to find the secret  path to the beach.

                   Anna Jo with her favorite….a hamburger.  This was gone in less than 4 minutes!

                              Sam looks happy with his cowboy hamburger.   It quickly disappeared.

Sunday we still had a cloudy rainy day.  Weather changing and we prayed for good weather.  We all attended church.  The girls went to Relief Society with me and boys went to Priesthood meeting.  We skipped Sunday School lesson and drove to Temple Visitors Center.  We were greeted by the missionaries and the kids liked the hands on video's and information.  Also met friends and neighbors from St George.

Tremea Family

Sam and Anna Jo

Sam and Nona

We went back for Sacrament Meeting at the Heber J. Grant Building with the Student Ward.
Our Sunday Dinner was at George's house and Tammy used the china, with the background of the ocean.  Very nice.  The weather cleared up some so we drove to Turtle Bay and took some pictures of the grounds and ocean.  Michael was having pain in his neck and wasn't feeling well.
He struggled all week with neck and shoulder pain.   This picture is at Turtle Bay Cove.

 This was a great picture of everyone but Anna.  Pretty little Anna got caught by the wind…..but she was smiling.

The week flew by.  We now are reminiscing the good times with family.  Pictures tell it all.  We went from cloudy to beautiful sunny days and playing on the beach.  Monday the family was snorkeling and beach with dinner at the PCC.

Castle Beach

Castle Beach, best beach for body surfing and surfing

Anna after her surf lesson

Sam and Anna's surf instructor and Mike

Anna surfing and Tammy catching the wave

Beautiful sunny lazy day on the beach

Tuesday was a day at PCC,  dinner and the night show.  Wednesday paddle boarding, surfing and beach.  We worked that night and was to meet kids at Temple.  By the time we arrived the session was filled, Tammy was inside and Mike was sick.  First time we have ever been turned away at the temple.  A ward from Honolulu came and filled session just as we arrived. The temple was short workers that night and so we came home.   Thursday we went to Pearl Harbor in Walkers Van.  We stopped at the Pineapple Plantation and had ice cream.

Sam and Mom

Pearl Harbor Memorial

Dole Pineapple Ice cream 

Dole Pineapple Plantation

Sam climbing the palm tree

Elle climbing the palm tree

The week flew by and it was all too soon to take them back to the airport.   Lots of hugs and tears and goodbye.  Papa worked all week but I was able to spend more time with the kids.  We worked our evenings at the PCC too.  Time travels too fast.  We dropped them off at the airport where we had picked them up at the car rental and it was windy and starting to rain again.  We had a little week of tender mercies.  Good weather, good food, good times and good to be together.

We stopped at Costco and did our grocery shopping for the week and came home in the rain.  

Sunday was a busy day.  It was our Stake Conference.   Ron attended early Priesthood meeting and Conference started at 10:00 am.  We had two student speakers.  One from Mongolia who told us of her life and conversion to the Church.  She told how cold the winters are in Mongolia.  Their only activity was sledding.  Her father passed away when she was young, her mother had to work and left her brother, 8 years old to watch over her,  and her two younger brothers 2 and 3.  The brothers started a fire under their bed and burned the house down.  In 2002 they met missionaries and joined the church.   She has since kept a journal keeping her family stories.  She was encouraging everyone to start keeping a journal and writing down family stories and history.  The second speaker was a Tongan student.  He was brought up in a family that hated the church, so he too disliked the church.  He was always in trouble.  He went to an extended family party and met an Uncle who  was a bishop at the time and promised him if he changed his ways and joined the church, he would serve a mission, attend BYU-H and marry in the temple.  He told us he laughed, and thought this was funny.  Later he found he had no where to go in life, started to question his own friends and family.  He prayed, found his own testimony, joined the church, went on a mission, came back and attended BYU-H  and next month he will be married in the temple.   He told us how he'd found the gospel and true happiness.  

 Elder and Sister Snow from the Seventy were our guest speakers.   They talked about home teaching and it's importance in the Church.  Elder Snow stressed that our home teachers should seek to teach those families that really need help and not just the easy families.  Home Teaching is a Priesthood calling and in order to magnify that calling all of our families need to be taught.  Our young men in the ward have a hard time visiting all of their families, last month we reached 63% which is high in this stake.  We have 125 members in our ward so that means 59 members were missed.  Our goal is 100% but that seems unattainable, we need to keep trying to do better. 

Sister Snow talked about President Lorenzo Snow statement to  "Stick to the ship of Zion.    If boats come to the side, showing beautiful colors and making wonderful promises, do not get off the ship to go to the shore on any other boat; keep on the ship.  If you are badly used by any of those that are on the ship, who have not got the proper spirit, remember the ship itself is alright.  We should not allow our minds to become soured because of anything that the people on the ship may do to us; the ship is all right, and the officers are all right; and we will be right if we stick to the ship  President Lorenzo Snow said the ship will take you right into the land of glory."  

Papa and I want to tell our children and grandchildren how much we love them and to Stick to the ship of Zion.  Don't jump off nor listen to anyone who will pull you off the ship.  Watch out for those in the boat that want to jump ship. Help them to come back, but don't jump with them.  Stay in the protection and love of the gospel's boat and be safe.  You have wonderful parents to help you stay on board.  We don't want anyone to fall or jump overboard.   

We love you and know your boating experience.  Don't jump ship unless it's sinking!! Ha Ha.     

On Friday the PCC asked the Missionary couples to visit the hotels in Honolulu and talk to their concierges to determine if they are recommending the PCC as a site to visit for their hotel guests.  We were not to tell them that we were PCC Missionaries, but we acted as Hawaii travelers.  It was interesting because some of the concierges did not mention the PCC as a travel site, some of the reasons being, they are Mormon, they don't allow alcohol on the grounds and it takes all day. One said you had to row your own boat to each village.   Some of them said it was a must see when visiting Oahu.  The PCC management takes our information and visits each hotel and sells them on the benefits of the PCC and what it provides to the Hawaii tourist.  This is very important because if the attendance does not increase the Church will have to keep subsidizing the PCC to keep it solvent.  The PCC is the second largest referral system for the Church next to Temple Square in Salt Lake City.  The Church is very anxious to keep this wonderful organization going and to fulfill the prophesy of President David O. McKay.  We bought girl scout cookies from these cute little girls on our walk to the hotels.

Ron took me to Honolulu for a root canal.  That was an exciting day.  For the first time in three months I am starting to feel normal again.  I guess a bad tooth can make you feel awful for a long time.  Now I just have to have a permanent filling.   I hope the crown will be good until I get home.   This little experience cost $1, 229.00, and that's not counting the permanent filling.  Joys of staying healthy!

Have a good week, love you all.