October 14, 2014

Our days are passing by quickly now.  We have been very busy with our Student Ward and working.
We enjoyed Conference.  We were able to watch the second session at 10:00 am and the first session early on iPad.  Thus, we didn't have to leave home.   One of my favorite speakers was Elder Ballard, talking about the Old Ship Zion.  Remember rule number one is, stay in the boat kids!  I was so glad he explained how important it is to stay in the boat.  I hope you all get to reread his talk and think about it.

Maddie and partner

On Friday in Salt Lake City our granddaughter Maddie Barton and her partner played in the State Tennis tournament.   We got this picture with their smiles after they won their first two matches at State in the doubles competition.  This is a great accomplishment.   Unfortunately they lost their first set on Saturday and were eliminated.  We are very proud of Maddie and her partner for their hard work and dedication to their high school Deseret Hills in St George. Next year they will have a good shot at winning a State Championship.  Way to go Maddie, we love you.


Yesterday, was our P-day and we found a new Farmers Market near Hale'iwa near the old Sugar Mill.  We bought fresh fruits and veggies.  We are getting bananas from the PCC now.  They have been cutting racks down and distributing them to almost everyone walking out from work.  We have green, yellow and black ones.  All are ready to eat in a day or two.  We stopped at the Soap Factory at the old Sugar Mill too.  It was fun to see the soap process.   We came back and met BYU couples and went to see "Meet the Mormons".   We went to eat at North Shore Taco and laughed so hard at our mission stories.  That was our big night on the town in Laie.   What did you think of the show?

Thursday we went to Honolulu to see Doctor.  I had x-rays on tooth with root canal last spring. Everything looked good for his $1,200 bill!  We parked in the building parking lot and we expected the Dentist would pay for parking, boy were we wrong.  Since we did not have to pay for the visit he would not pay for the parking, great guy, cost us $12 to park.  We then drove to find the Royal Hawaiian Hotel.   We parked car at the Marriott Courtyard and walked down to to see the oldest Hotel in Hawaii, the Royal Hawaiian on Waikiki.  It was built in 1927.  It has a colorful history of famous people coming over on the Matson Shipping line and staying at the hotel for two or three months.   It's still a pink building and expensive rooms.

Mai Tai Cafe

We stopped outside at the pool Cafe and had a $27 hamburger and diet coke.  We were sitting on beach and had beautiful view.  I guess that made it all worth it.  We will remember the short time we spent checking out the famous Hotel and eating for a long time.

We were able to see Elder and Sister Mayfield and have dinner with them at the El Charro Mexican restaurant before driving to Costco and home on the North Shore.   It was already dark so we didn't see the big waves today.  It had been windy and high waves were predicted.   It is dark by 7:15 pm now so our days are getting shorter.

For our FHE tonight President Grace and his wife Valarie talked to us.  He is the President of the PPC. He is from New Zealand and is about 6'7 but is a very loving man.  He is also Stake President of the Student Married Stake. He told us that the PCC reports directly to the First Presidency of the Church, the only other church entity that reports that way is the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.  The PCC is a very strong recruiting source for new converts.  One of the directives of the PCC is to train BYUH students that come from poor circumstances how to work, they are paid which helps pay for their education.  After they graduate they will be able to go back to their own countries and be strong leaders in the Church.  Working at the PCC helps them get jobs in their country along with their education.  It is a very important opportunity for these young people.

The above picture is of the Hukilau Beach.  This is the place where the idea for the PPC got started.   A Hukilau is a Hawaii gathering party.  They put their boats in the water with their nets and go out about a 100 yards and start back in.  The fish are trapped and then the people on shore would gather up the fish and have a Hukilau party.  Many tourists started traveling to Laie to participate in the Hukilau and the Church saw it as an opportunity to present the cultures of the Polynesian Islands of Hawaii, Tonga, Samoa, Fiji,  Tahiti and New Zealand.  The PCC opened in 1963 with a Prophetic blessing from President McKay that millions of people would come to see this place and the culture presentation.  This blessing has come true and many millions have visited the PCC over the past 51 years.  It is expected that millions more will attend in next 50 years.

Love and miss you all,
Looking forward to seeing you soon.  Sending hugs and love,
Nona and Papa