Week 13 Report

Our week started in a wonderful way - celebrating Memorial Day. In the evening we had the privilege of meeting a new elder at the airport. He went to the Provo MTC a couple of months ago, but was sent to the Vancouver Mission to serve while he waited for his visa. Well, he finally arrived Monday evening. It was a real treat for us to pick him up as Devon went to high school in Taber with his grandfather. He arrived safe and sound, but very tired after a long day of travel.

Elder Colton Ball

We were also blessed to pick up Sister DeLeon at the airport Wednesday afternoon. Most of our new missionaries come directly from the Provo MTC and are usually on the same Monday afternoon flight. But three of our new missionaries were visa waiters and so came on different flights directly from their temporary mission assignment - one in Canada and two in the Philippines. President Warner likes to meet all the missionaries at the airport, but he couldn't this week as it was transfer week and he was busy at either the mission home orienting the main new group, or at the temple with the departing group. One of the other senior couples picked up Elder Villanueva Wednesday evening.

Tuesday was the first day in our temporary office. Things were crazy busy, but for the most part we could find everything we needed to do our work. The temporary space actually is pretty comfortable except that the air conditioning only seem to run at freezing. We were all putting on sweaters trying to keep warm. I did the weekly Come and Go Report, and my part of the office orientation for the new arriving missionaries. We got 19 new missionaries and had 19 departing missionaries. The week of transfers is always my busiest week. Besides the Come and Go Report, I have to rotate the files (add in the arrivers and remove the departers and shred files), make email changes in Contacts in Outlook, order the photos of the new missionaries and make cards for the Transfer Board. Because it is the first of the month, the monthly mission newsletter needs to be created and distributed; print and distribute the new phone and organization rosters, oh...and get the weekly batch of birthday cards in the mail. Also it is time to request return home travel for the missionaries departing in September. I had to make a couple of calls to SLC to clarify passport renewal instructions for an elder, discuss special travel requests from a departing senior sister (this drives me crazy), and I have a missionary whose last name on his driver's license doesn't match the name in Global Visa Management. It's a big problem if his ticket home doesn't match his ID. That was my week in a nutshell!

Sister Whipple (on the left) departed this week. She and her companion, Sister Barber, were serving in Honolulu. We did their pad checks and got to see them quite often. They are great missionaries and ukulele players!

Devon and I enjoyed dinner out by ourselves on Friday. We went to a really nice Italian restaurant in the Ala Moana shopping center. We slept in on Saturday and in the afternoon went to the Waikiki Aquarium with Elder and Sister Reeder. We decided to take the bus. Traffic and parking is crazy in Waikiki and very expensive. As we are seniors, our bus ticket was only $1.00 each, each way. We made it with no problems so will probably be using the bus system again. 

The aquarium is quite small, but they did have some amazing things to see.

Jellyfish

More jellyfish. By the way, they have no heart or brain, but do have four stomachs.

Octopus

Pipefish

Lots of pretty fish, coral, and large clams

It was a great day. We came home, made a big pot of taco soup, and relaxed in our pad.

Sunday was wonderful. I accompanied in Primary and Relief Society again. Playing the piano is hard with my neuropathy. Sometimes I have a hard time knowing which keys my fingers are on because the feeling in my fingers is limited.  I have to look down at my hands frequently and it's distracting. and pretty strange! Sunday evening we drove to Laie for Break the Fast with the senior missionaries at BYUH and the PCC. It was a wonderful potluck dinner and great visiting. I'm surprised at how many people I know just by seeing their profile pictures as I keep track of their coming and going. After the dinner we went to a fireside at BYUH with Coach Sitake, Ty Detmer, another football coach and a couple of players from the BYU Provo team. It was excellent! I'm impressed with the coaching staff. They love football, but know it is not the most important thing in the world. They are most interested in developing quality young men, representing the Church well, and being devoted to family. Sounds like a win win to me.

I close this week feeling so grateful for all Heavenly Father has given me. I have had such a good life and serving here in Hawaii is just one of my many blessings. I'm ready and excited for a new week.