Saturday

Wanted to quickly put this double rainbow Ramon took a picture of as we returned home yesterday in the rain....so beautiful here even in the rain and humidity.

Wednesday

Yesterday after our meetings we went to the airport and picked up Elder and Sister Leatham from our Edgemont 2nd ward.  They are here in Maui serving in Hana and had to leave their apartment for a few days  during carpet laying...so came to Oahu.  We enjoyed the day with them and then met up with Leslie King, also from our ward for dinner at the PCC.  So we had a friend take a picture of all of us after dinner, 5 missionaries all from the same ward serving here!  Gotta love it!

Today we head into a doctor for me.  It seems like every Wedesday is doctor day for these old missionaries!  After we will shop a bit and then meet up at the Geronio's for dinner.  I've already made potato salad and baked beans for dinner tonight.  Life is good.  I got a sweet letter from MY missionary yesterday.  He's such a valiant young man.  It's so fun having a "missionary" again!

Tuesday morning

Last night we had such a fun time at President Lee's house.  He has some friends who have a band and they are leaving for Utah today for the future.  He asked them to come play for us on his deck for FHE.  It was a beautiful kind of rainy night but this was such a treat.  Cassie, his wife had made a bunch of different varieties of cookies, she made tons of them and I contributed a couple a dozen of mine for the group to nibble on.  I took some pictures and hope they can show their beautiful home and the group having a good time.

Earlier in the day we had our Visitor's Center meeting and after training Elder Allen said he would play "Called to Serve" on the piano and we must sing enthusiastically!  We always sit in the back so this picture is from our view point, but it brought tears to my eyes as I hear these wonderful Sisters sing so valiantly!

Sunday September 22, 2019

A quick post of the last busy week...seems like it gets busier the closer we are to coming home.  It is great to be busy!   Monday night Family Home Evening...

 Playing balloon stomp game...

Chloe and Alora

Brother Zack Taylor

Tuesday we had lots of meetings and then went to 

Temple, here is a current picture of all of us at the VC

Wednesday we were at the Geronios again.  Great times with  great people...

Blue eating spaghetti 

                                                                         Nick Geronio and Nicki with birds

Monday morning

We went in early to our VTM meeting and then came home and I made a big batch of banana bread to take to some people.  Then I remembered about our wonderful baptism last night of Jacob.  We have been lucky to have two baptisms in our YSA Branch in two weeks.  Here is a picture of Jacob with the Elders and Sisters who taught him and also one of our two zone Leaders and Elder Soares who is in training as he just got here about two weeks ago.

                                        Missionaries with Jacob before the Baptism
                                Sister Choi, Sister Hensley, Zone leaders with Jacob

Elder Soares, Elder Potter and Elder Godfrey

Saturday September 14

Super busy week, just the way we like it!  Monday was VC meeting, then we took tickets at PCC and then ran over to our Senior FHE, to hear some Senior Missionary Couples talk about their missions, as they were giving their Aloha Oe, to us all.  Bitter sweet to say goodby to great people.

Then we ran to our favorite FHE with our YSA Branch.  We get more and more people each week.
I took a few pictures of this night which they played "adverb Action".

Alora, Jordan, Jared, Chloe, Jordan, Elder Potter

and Louie

Jordan, Louie, Jordan, Elder Potter

Elder Sanft

Telling how we can relate the game to the gospel or sharing our love of Jesus








Tuesday we had a district meeting in the morning, I made pineapple hand pies for the Elders (with milk) and then we ran into the eye doctor
for Ramon.  She said this was the worse he's had in years, so now the shot are monthly and he has to see an Optomologist to see if it just bad eye sight that can be corrected with glasses or if it is a result of the macular degeneration.  That appointment is next week.

We stopped at Sams on the way home and bought enough salad for 200 plus people for the Mission Tour on Wednesday.

Wednesday  we headed to the church early to set tables and get the water ready and salad in the fridge.  Then we headed over to the Visitor's Center to get a group picture with the Mission President and his wife and Elder and Sister Whiting from the Seventy.  We all met and got set up in the hot sun, we waited from 8 am on, all of us melting.  Finally there was a text saying they were delayed, finally got the picture taken at about 8:45.  We had a great meeting as meetings go, and I ducked out about half an hour early to set up food we had catered from BYU.  All went well.  Perfect amount of salad.

Waiting in hot sum

Luncheon

Came home and made an avocado salad to take to Geronio's that night, then after dinner at their place we had a missionary meeting at our place.

Thursday, we caught up on laundry and ironing and at 2:00 went into do a 5 hour shift at the Visitor's Center.  It wasn't that long as the Luker's came over at 7:00 to replace us.  We stopped at 7 Brothers and shared a Hamburger and fries and home.

Friday we went into have the hear aids checked at Trippler VA hospital and then I had am appointment for my computer.  I had lost all my files.  I was just sick about it.  The file folders were on the desktop but nothing was inside.  I had several people check my computer and everyone said I had lost everything.  I called apple support on the phone and they walked me through stuff but they too said I had lost everything.   My one last chance was the Apple Store.  I prayed and prayed and walked in and the first girl genius said it was gone, then a guy came by and he restored everything. I told him he was an answer to a prayer and a true genius!  I am so grateful, I had lost all talks, all copies of letters to my grandchildren, all recipes, all important things, I was just frantic.  Prayer does work and I testify to that daily.

Today we got up and went over to the church and I finished up my project of repairing the Hymn books and putting "Aloha Oe" lyrics inside each cover, both in Hawaiian and English.

Now we are watching the BYU football game, I'm actually slipping away to the beach .....

Sunday September 8, 2019

Today I woke up bright and early at 5:00 a.m. and thought... "Sam is sitting in Sacrament Meeting right now getting ready to give his Farewell talk before leaving on his mission."  Samuel is our first grandchild to serve a mission, #7 down the line of grandchildren.  I shed a tear and then couldn't sleep wondering about the meeting and so wishing I were there.  I finally got up and thought of the Sacrament Meeting minute by minute as the minutes passed by...the "ordination of the Sacrament  should be about over, I wonder if Michael Spencer (another young man leaving on his mission and sharing the meeting with Sam) will speak first or Sam.  I was hoping for Sam.  Then I wondered if Amelia was playing her piano solo yet.  I was hoping people were taking recordings for me and pictures after.  I wondered if Ryan had made it from California.  At 7:20 I texted 13 people and said it was time to send me pictures and reports.  They dwindled in all morning.    I was so sad to miss this day but knew he was doing what the Lord desired and what I desired too.

He did a great job speaking, a sweet friend in the ward Lorna Miller sent me three videos she made while in the meeting.  Thank goodness for hers as I couldn't get Isaacs to come up.  What a thoughtful thing to do for us.  I took a snap shot of the video she sent us...Sam is tiny.

Our Sam
Then I got a few pictures of the get-together at Doran's

house.  Ryan made it with Flora and all is well. (except we're

not there!)

A few hours after, we found out that sweet Carol Crist had passed away early that afternoon.  She is my son-in-law Tom's mother.  Carol is a great matriarch, she is loved by all and so talented, kind, and giving.  We all will miss her tremendously but she was suffering after a bad fall and in so much pain.
We love you Carol and know you'll keep watch over those you love from above, but how you'll be missed!

Then we had our usual church meetings today and then a really neat baptism of a young man who was meant to be baptized.  Mohammed.  He has grasped the gospel and will now be with us in our YSA ward.  He didn't have a tie so Elder Sanft donated his tie today for a great cause and I quickly make a candy lei for him.

Elder Potter and Mohammed

This next week is a very busy week with a Mission Tour,  I have to help with the food for lunch on Wednesday.  We get to serve in the Visitor's Center on Thursday plus all our other weekly meetings and duties.  Time is flying by...I'm getting in as much beach time as I can and constantly saying to my companion, "now what else did we want to do before leaving?"...hikes (no good legs), food (yes plenty of repeat places to go eat at), activities....lots, new beaches...still a couple we haven't been to, ukelele lessons (? not enough time), so we've done about all we wanted to do, such a wonderful place to be.  I've made 5 batches of mango butter and 3 batches of mango jam, all thanks to my generous neighbors.  My bucket list is almost complete.  We've another baptism next week and my lei making is getting put to use.  Time is flying by, less than 4 months left of our mission in paradise!

Friday

Last night we went with the couples from the Visitor's Center to the Magic of Polynesia show in Waikiki.  We had a "bento" box served us for dinner, it actually was quite filling and tasted good, and then a fun magic show for about an hour and a half.  Good times for all.

The Redders, us, the Lukers, and the Allens

Now today after an early meeting we are back home and I'm preparing food for a Sister in the Branch
who had surgery.  After this I'm hitting the beach, it's so hot here these days!

Tuesday musings

Saturday we got up early to go to a Tahitian Devotional at the PCC.  Every month one of the islands hosts a morning devotional.  This one was nice as usual.

Tahitian village

Sunday we had "Break the Fast"  with both the YSA Branch and our Senior couples.  We made sweet n sour meatballs for YSA and we had so many left over I took a crock pot over to the Senior one along with my ham and potato casserole.  It was a fun night with us old seniors visiting.

Monday morning we had a premiere at the PCC for the new show at the Aloha Luau.  They changed it to an all Hawaiian show not other islands included, like before.  Leslie had told me about this dress she worked on with hundreds of peacock feathers.  I wanted to see it and I took some pictures but they aren't very good.  But theses two dresses were replicas of the old Queens' dresses.

See the peacock "eyes"....

The dresses

Here is us Monday night at the couples FHE
playing a game Ryan sent us called SkyJo,
we really like it.  You can see Leslie in this
picture.  :)

Then we went over to our YSA one where they were playing Olympic games, more like "minute to win it" games! 

We always end by each person stating how this activity is likened to the Savior or the Gospel or we can say how much we love Jesus Christ.  It's a very reverent time.

                 

Alora and Chole Lee

This morning we had a Zone training meeting and then our District meeting.  We had checked apartments a couple of weeks ago and everyone did such a great job of cleaning we couldn't pick a winner so we gave every companionship a box of cold cereal and tangerines. The Elder's love us and we love them sooo much.  Such good guys.  I'm just realizing my very own Elder, Sam Sanft, our first grandchild to serve a mission leaves a week from today for the England MTC.  Makes me cry to think how wonderful this is.  But oh, how I'll miss this boy/man/Elder!  Tears as I type this.  And our Aisea went off to Chicago and then there's Derek and Alexa in UCLA...oh my, they grow up too fast, not to leave out Hannah married and Marisa at UVU!  Gee, it could get quite long in a year  or two!