Week 4 Report

Wow! This week has flown by! We are so busy in the office. We work 8 to 9 hour days and go home totally exhausted - mentally and physically. Thankfully we are really enjoying the work. The young elders and sisters drop in now and then and really brighten our days. We are fortunate to work with two other wonderful senior couples. They have been so patient and helpful in training us. We had dinner together on Easter and went out to dinner on Friday in Waikiki.

Reeders - from Colorado, Tufts, and Overduyns from Utah

Elder Reeder is in charge of cars for the whole mission. Sister Reeder is the mission nurse. Sister Overduyn is the main receptionist and has various secretarial and record keeping duties. Elder Overduyn is over finance. Right now the biggest challenge for us is keeping everything straight.

President Stephen R. Warner and his wife, Sister Elizabeth Warner, preside over the Hawaii Honolulu Mission. They are wonderful, friendly, loving people. It makes me sad to think that their assignment will be over in July, but we'll enjoy our association with them while we can. They are from Salt Lake City, so hopefully our paths will cross again. We've been to their lovely mission home twice - once to have dinner and get to meet them, and again for FHE and pot luck dinner with the senior couples on our side of the island. We don't see the senior missionaries serving at the Polynesian Cultural Center (PCC), Temple, and BYU Hawaii very often.

Tufts with Sister and President Warner

I needed a hair cut, but felt so uncertain about where to go. I was really missing my friend, Lynda, who cuts my hair. One evening as we drove by Great Clips I had an impression I should go there. So we parked and went in. After about a 30 minute wait Vicki, a Hawaiian woman about 40, cut my hair. She was so sweet and did such a great job. I'll definitely go back, and I think Devon will as well. 

The highlight of our week was an afternoon trip to Laie. We came to Hawaii with orders from our physicians for tests we need to have done and thought it would be a simple thing to just go get them done. Not so! Hawaii does not honor orders from physicians that are not licensed in Hawaii. There is an LDS physician here in Honolulu, but she is so busy that we opted to go see an LDS physician, Dr. Jason Hughes, in Kahuku - a small town close to the PCC and North Shore. What a great decision. He is a caring, smart, young physician that was more than happy to accommodate us. He will help us with whatever we need medically. All we have to do is call. 

While we were in the area we stopped at BYU Hawaii and the Laie Temple Visitor's Center to drop off a few things for the mission. We had dinner at Pounder's - a great restaurant at the PCC. We had a wonderful dinner that included "ulu mash" - a delicious combination of bread fruit and mashed potatoes - so yummy!!! 

On the way home we stopped at a shop along the highway that sells Hawaiian clothing and I bought 2 cute dresses. When we got ready to leave, our car was absolutely dead. Evening was coming on and we had an hour drive home, so it was a little worrisome. Devon went into the shop and asked the owner if he had jumper cables. He looked all over, but couldn't find any. While he was looking, a local church member pulled over and introduced herself as Sister Alo. She thought she had cables, but didn't, so she called her husband. He came over in 5 minutes and gave us a jump which immediately started the car. The shop owner was a sweet man from Palestine who has lived here for almost 40 years. He stayed with us and looked after us until we were on our way.

Elder Tufts, Brother Alo, and Fawwaz (our Hawaiian/Palestinian friend)

And so week 4 comes to a close. We will enjoy General Conference over BYUTV in our pad. As I look back I am filled with gratitude. The hand of the Lord is so evident in our lives. We are guided at every turn - whether we need help with the office, our medical needs, a dead battery, or even a hair cut. We are where we should be and where we want to be - and we get to do it together! How blessed are we?!