Sunday, July 30, 2017

Laie Days

Rootz  Rockaz

BYU-Hawai Fiji Chapter students singing in Fijian
 July 29, 2017
Tonight my companions and I attended the Laie Days' talent show. The talent in this community is amazing and so professional.
L-Town Dance Squad

Sina Foley

Joe Ah Quin and Halau Hula 'OKekela singing and dancing "Laie"


Left-My companions and me at Laie Days' in the Cannon Center.
Front to back: Sister Bright(me), sister Salabye, Sister Currit, Sister Day.


Right: Sister Card and me

Last Day of Laie Days-Celebration of the Mormon Pioneers

This was the sunset tonight as I  left the Cannon Activities Center


July 30, 2017
Had another wonderful Sabbath. Our Sacrament meeting centered around Family History. A few things I was prompted to do as I listened to the speakers were:
·        Do family history research-you will find something important.
·        Write, write, write your stories
·        “Turn out” as Elder Bednar spoke about at the MTC. It will help you with the behaviors you want to change. As you turn out and think about others, the desires of your heart will come true. Rather than praying for gifts of the Spirit you want, dive into family research and Heavenly Father will open the path for you to receive the gifts you desire. Focus away from yourself and focus on others.
Sarina, from Mongolia spoke about her experience. She said it is easy to do. She started on familysearch.org and found over 100 names that she was baptized for on her birthday.
If we committed 1 hour per week to family history= it takes four weeks at this rate to find one name to take to the temple. One name per month= twelve names to take to the temple each year. This little bit can change into millions of people over a lifetime.
The invitation to do family history is out. A young college student was asked by her bishop to sacrifice one hour per week to do family research. She insisted that after her schoolwork and job and studies were complete, that she did not have any time left. The bishop asked her each week for four weeks if she had done anything on his challenge. Her answer was always, “No, I don’t have time.” The bishop then asked her what her hardest class was. Her answer was “math.” Although she studied and studied, she could not understand it. He then promised her that if she would do first, her research that hard things would become easy. She took the challenge and to her surprise, when she read her math studies, she understood it clearly.
In Malachi 4:5-6New King James Version (NKJV)
Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet
Before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.
And he will turn
The hearts of the fathers to the children,
And the hearts of the children to their fathers,
Lest I come and strike the earth with a curse.”
This scripture is sometimes only thought of as us turning our hearts to the fathers, but the first part suggests that as we do our family history, the door to ministering Angels will open to us as we open the door to them through family history. They will help us with hard things. They have much to offer us in wisdom and power. We can enable them to help and serve us in our work here.
Read Pres. Monson’s Conference address April 2012.

I was prepared to teach my Temple Preparation class, but Mandy, from Taiwan, came and since she has already had the lessons, I addressed some questions that she had to prepare her for her endowments. She will be leaving for a mission in November for a mission to Toronto, Canada, Mandarin speaking. She is a lovely young woman and she and her sister are the only members of the Church.
Sister Currit invited a young woman from her ward to share dinner with us as she is alone here. Her husband is in England waiting for his visa which could be, at least, 2 months.
Talked to Scott, David, Esther, Joseph, and Matthew and Dan on the phone today.

Tonight, Laie held a musical fireside at the Cannon Center. It was centered on Christ. The singing was amazing.

Sunday, June 11, 2017

I'm trying to review in my head all of the happenings for the week. As usual, it was a busy week. I need to do a daily tracking since my senior brain doesn't retain very well.
Monday- Worked hard in the office.
Family Home Evening- Professor Haigi Wesley from Fiji spoke on his life story. Father of two major sports celebrities: Tai Wesley-Played Basketball for USU, his brother who play football for BYU. 
Started on a little outfit for Tali Galeai  Pres. Grace's scretary
Tuesday-Jeremi Barber came to the PCC, but I didn't know he was there. We caught up to each other on Friday

Wednesday-Received a gift package from one of my bosses, Sonne Campbell. Worked 11 hours Orientation-Taught The standards and employee responsibilities part at 2:00, then taught Orientation class at night until 8:00.

Thursday-Kahuku Rugby- Pacific Rim Cup preliminaries. sister Kelson and I went to the 8:45 game which they lost by 2 points.
Jake's going away party at Sister Kelson's home.Finished the little Samoan Sulu and Shirt.

Friday- Kahuku Rugby- Pacific  Red Raiders won their game still Rim Cup preliminaries.Walk and assist assignment at the Luau- Jeremi and his wife, Hayley caught up with me and we had dinner at Pounders. I gave them tickets to the "Ha, the Breath of Life" show.
First night of Culture Night with all BYUH students. It went until mid-night.

Saturday-  Stayed home and sewed in the morning, spend some time buying groceries.  Attended the Rugby finals where Kahuku won the championship against a team from Danville, CA. (36/16)
My other boss,  Seamus Fitzgerald, was the coach. Dinner party at Jones'. Culture night 8:00-11:00 that night
Sunday-Usual, Sacramenrt meeting at 8:30 am, but many were there inspite of late night the night before. Watched Forever Strong  to get an idea of how  Rugby works.
Choir practice for our Muscial Fireside in 2 weeks.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              



I had the privilege of teaching the
Temple Preparation class in
Sunday School this year. These are
the girls who attended my class.
All have very strong testimonies
and are outstanding examples
to me.


Carolyn Budiana Khoe from Indonesia




Megan Carter from Pennsylvania-getting married


Seola and Sola Oh (came with her sister; returned missionary and graduating; an outstanding vocalist) from Korea
Seola is preparing for a mission.


Princess,  a returned missionary was our Relief Society President this year and someone who is not only beautiful on the outside, but on the inside, as well. Although she didn't attend my class, she became my good friend. Her sealing in June 14th and I hope to be able to attend it.
Princess Donato from the Phillipines
Getting married



Graduation Day at BYU-Hawaii

Leis for sale in the square.
This week was graduation at BYU-Hawaii. Many of the students in my ward are leaving, either because they are graduating or getting married or both. Most are returned missionaries and great examples of dedicated service to the Lord. I will miss them. I'm posting some pictures of some of the ones I will probably never see again. Happy-sad day.
Graduation June 8, 2017
Preparing for the graduates to come out of the Cannon Center



Families often will have a special tapa cloth made
to honor the graduating student from Tonga or Samoa.

Booths are set up everywhere along the streets and everyone Attending Graduation will give one to their special graduate.


This was especially nice. It is made to wear around the head and is called a Haku-a lei for the head.

This is the lady making the Haku-she teaches this art to the younger generation.




Monday, April 17, 2017

Forty pound mission



Saturday morning, I was happy to help the Easter Bunny at the nearby Gunstock Ranch. She needed  some adult volunteers to spread out the eggs she dropped off; about 10,000 eggs in all. Children from all over Oahu were invited and came.

The next part of the day, my roommates and I drove to Haleiwa to  get some Brazilian foods at the food truck. It was soooooooo good.
Feta Cheese and spinach Pastel




Later that night, I ate again.............




Damon, from Fiji, Sister Card, and Derek, from Hong Kong

Lots of food fit for honored guests!

Derek, Elder and Sister Card, and Damon

It seems that the love of food (and hospitality) are the most important ingredients as we serve as senior missionaries at the Polynesian Cultural Center. We can experience lots of ethnic foods, but mostly from food trucks around the island. Rare is the opportunity to have home-cooked ethnic food, but this weekend I was fortunate to get an invitation for two such rarities. On Saturday(yesterday) Damon, my young good friend who lives in my YSA ward and also works for BYU-H  Security invited me and few other Senior Missionaries to dinner. Damon loves to cook and share his delicious Indian/Fijian foods with others. He also shared his conversion story with us.
Growing up Hindu, he was taught to follow those teachings by his father. Damon's grandparents where brought to Fiji by the British to work in the sugar cane industry and so stayed in Fiji.  They continued their traditions in Fiji. I found out that Fiji is about 50% Eastern Indian. Most of them continue to practice traditional Hinduism. His mother is full Fijian, so Damon is 50 % Fijian and Indian.
His maternal grandmother is LDS and a convert and gave the Book of Mormon to his mom. She would read it secretly and taught many of its teaching to her children. Damon told us that he learned early that praying to the Hindu Gods " didn't do any good," so he began praying to Heavenly Father while pretending to pray to the Hindu Gods. :) His father would not allow them to join the Church, but after Damon's father passed away, Damon was baptized at 22, about four years ago. He served a mission the next year, and after serving his mission, he came to BYU-H.

Easter Sunday
Ping, Sister Bright, Lucy, and Meling in the Hale (Hawaiian for "dorm")

Today, Easter Sunday, I was invited to have Chinese food with Ping, who is from Mainland China. She invited three other girls, two: Chinese, one: Korean. We had tofu, fish, cabbage, asparagus, eggs and cucumber mixture, and, of course, rice. It was delicious and we had a lot of fun laughing and getting know each other. They each told me their conversion stories. The Chinese law is that if you learn to Gospel, but no one in your family is LDS, you must go to Hong Kong to be baptized. Two of the girls have family who are LDS, so they were able to be baptized in China. Meling told me that they can meet together as long as you follow the laws. Presently they meet in an apartment for church, but cannot meet with expats (foreigners).
The highlight of this mission is knowing and loving the students I have met. They are so strong and valiant and are such examples to me. I gain so much more from them than I give to them. They are great leaders already.

Sunday, April 9, 2017

April 8-9, 2017

Since I haven't taken the time to figure out how to best communicate with everyone, I'd like to try to catch you up on the highlights of my mission through this blog. This weekend my missionary mates went to the Mission Settlement Devotional program on Saturday morning at the PCC. As you can see by the pictures, there were lots of speakers and singers. The senior missionaries, for the most part, run the Mission Settlement. This is a building where they make handicrafts similar to what the missionaries who came from the mainland did early on.

Missionary Choir-A few Heavenly angels





Chinaman's Hat

Eric Workman-VP of Finance
President Grace-President and CEO of the PCC

After the devotional, I took two other sisters to the swapmeet.
The shore at the Kualoa Beach Park






We stopped at Mike's food truck on the way home for some to-die-for barbecue chicken.
Food trucks are big here and a very nice outside restaurants and the food is usually exceptional.
Sister Kelson and me.
Sister Bright (me) and Sister Hanrahan