Week 16 Report

We had a pretty normal, smooth week in the mission office - nice! The commissary is finally organized and looks really good. We can finally find things in it. It will be much easier for Sister Overduyn to keep track of what we have and what needs to be ordered. The final count is 70 languages represented in our commissary. We don't use that many. I think they have accumulated over the years. The office windows will be washed inside and out on Tuesday and then the office will be ready for the arrival of our new president.

A landlord announced that he was raising the rent $400/month on one of our missionary pads. So Devon gave notice to cancel the lease and went looking for another pad. Fortunately he found one quickly. Devon has also been busy getting the new smoke/CO2 detectors installed in all 147 pads - monumental! 

We had two elders go home on an early release this week - one for medical issues, the other...??? Anyway, it causes major changes for companionships. I have a newfound respect for mission presidents. Someone once said that being a mission president is like going to scout camp for three years! I don't know a harder calling in the church. 

I wanted to add this photo of the Kauai Zone with President and Sister Warner, and the senior couple there. Notice the ties. The missionaries love to make matching ties.

Our Honolulu Stake had their spring concert on the weekend. It was amazing! They performed two hours of Broadway show tunes. There was a stake choir, stake orchestra, individual soloists, and dancing by the Honolulu Drill Team. I am amazed at the level of musical talent in Hawaii. Their next concert will the Christmas Concert in December. I decided to not participate this time. I felt I didn't have the extra time to put into practices. Maybe I'll decided to join the choir for the Christmas  Concert - we'll see.

Saturday we FINALLY made it to the beach. We found a beautiful small cove about 30 minutes from Honolulu. It's next to some pretty exclusive tourist spots and was very nice. I think the cove is man made...or at least man improved. The water was clear and fairly warm. Rocks had been placed as a breaker to keep waves to almost nothing. There was just a gentle in and out of the water - perfect for little ones and seniors.

After a struggle, we managed to get our fins and snorkels on and clumsily made it into the water. We paddled around for almost an hour watching the fish with our new snorkels and loving every minute. There weren't tons of fish, but enough to make it interesting. Some were really colorful. Others sort of plain. We plan to try out other beaches in our search for the best variety of fish.  

 Did we have fun...you better believe it!

Sunday we had visitors from the PCC. Four single senior sisters drove down to go to church in the Honolulu Tabernacle. One, Sister Nelson, is Devon's friend from high school. They loved the tabernacle. It was  also their first time at the mission office, so that was fun for them to see as well. We enjoyed seeing them.

I've been trying to play my ukulele more. I love it, and I think I'm improving. We are rested and ready for a very busy upcoming week - President Warner leaves, and President Bekker arrives. I'll have lots to report next week.