June 10, 2014

Hawaii is still here, with blue skies, little rain clouds and beautiful beaches!  The past week has flown by.  We have been busy working and doing extra activities with the students and mission.

Saturday morning Fatai, my boss in seamstress invited us to their family baptism.  Her niece from the mainland, Sela Linley Tu'ulilo'ivailahi Feinga, was going to be baptized on the beach behind where we are living.  It was a beautiful morning.  It had just stopped raining and everything was bright, wet and clean.  They had a big tent set up in the yard and the meeting was under the tent.  Sela's Auntie and Grandmother spoke.  Her parents sang the Baptism song.  Bishop Fehi Niutupuvaha  conducted the meeting and Sela's Father baptised her.

Sela and her brothers and sister, little Fatai

Fatai with nephew Jonah

Mother and Father singing 

Grandmother Feinga telling her Testimony

After the baptism and confirmation, there was a breakfast and party for the kids.  Sela received beautiful lei's made by Grandmothers, Aunties and friends.  Fatai has never married and she loves her nieces and nephews as her own.  The five children are staying with Fatai and her Mother for the summer.  Actually it's a tradition as soon as the kids are out of school on the mainland they arrive at Grandma's home for the summer.  The beautiful spirit of testimonies, love of family, and the blessings the gospel brings was abundant today.  The Church is true, baptism is the first step along with receiving the Holy Ghost.  We are blessed to have the keys on earth to be baptized by immersion be blessed with the Holy Ghost to be our companion through out our life if we keep his commandments.

Sela's Auntie giving her a flowered leis

Fatai with her nieces

We were working at the PCC last week and I took some pictures when we were doing our "Walk About".  This is the Queen's Summer House.  I had not peeked inside until now.  The mats on the floor and hangings on the wall is hand painted.  It's beautiful.

Queen's Summer House

Inside the Queens House

Inside the Queens House

Just a few other pictures taken at the PCC in the evening.

Canoe Ride

White Hibiscus

Sister Cooper had a sty in her eye last week.  It was red, swollen and hurting.  Fatu took a coconut stick and broke it in small piece, pounded it flat on the table and then said some voodoo words while tapping her eye three times.  I couldn't believe Sister Cooper let her do it….talk about unclean stick, hands and the voodoo!  Well, Fatu said she had to do it another three times before we left that day. Next day she did it six times.  Amazingly it looked better over the weekend.  Monday we went to work and Fatu had a sty in her eye.  She said she had to finish Sister Cooper one more time with her treatment or the sty would stay in her eye.  Go figure that one, so Sister Cooper let her do it again. She is all better but we don't know how Fatu is.  She left last week for Samoa and won't be back for three weeks.  I hope she is doing OK.

Fatu and Sister Cooper

I made Fatu's niece a dress.  She was thrilled.  Baby is three months and weights 15 lbs.

We had a fun surprise last week.  The Houston Family came to the PCC.  We were so excited to see them.  They spent the afternoon at the Village and we saw them just before they went to the Ha Show.

We drove to the beach the other night to see the sunset on the North Shore.  It was a beautiful calm night.  The ocean is so calm now it's like we never saw how the big waves had crashed the shore in the last few months.  We watched the sun go down as the boy was fishing.

Sister Cooper and Sister Tremea

Below is our YSA 5th Ward Elders Quorum Presidency.  They are Chistian Lee, Secretary, Freddi Iki, President, Jesse Watson 1st Councilor, Jason Meha, 2nd Councilor and the big guy on the end is Elder Tremea.  These guys are all Polynesians and really enjoy being nice especially to me.  I love them all.

At our FHE on Monday night (6/9/2014) our Hawaiian Mission President talked to the Senior Missionaries serving at the PCC, BYUH and the Temple Visitors center.  He has a very busy job, probably a 24/7 type job.  It will be a year for him and his wife, Sister Warner on July 1st as our Mission President.  We saw him last year and you can tell he has aged, this job is taking its toll.  He told us some of the stories about his young missionaries and some of the things they do, like running over their companion in their car, over eating and getting sick, missing their mothers and wanting to go home.  He sees it all.  His goal he said is to provide an enjoyable experience for his missionaries and for them to build a solid foundation of the Gospel.   He said if they will but be obedient to the Mission rules they will have a great mission.

Elder and Sister Essley have served her for 18 months and are going home to Arizona.  He painted this picture of the Hawaii Temple and presented it to President Warner at our Family Home Evening. They are going to hang it at the Mission Office in Honolulu.

Have a good week, we love and miss you so much.  It's good to be busy because we don't have time to think so much about family and home.  We do love you and want you to be happy.

Love, Nona and Papa

PS...  Would be nice to hear from whoever is reading this.