September Centipedes

 August was over before we knew it and now we are soaring through September.  This is the week of my birthday and two of my best birthday presents ever (my grandchildren Eliza's birthday is Sept. 5 and my grandson Isaac's birthday is Sept. 10).  We have been busy starting up institute and had our first day of class.  Our class had 30 students and Thursday night's class had 86 students.  That was pretty good for starters.  We will enjoy our group.  They are great young people!

We also held our Break the Fast potluck yesterday for the 120 or so senior missionaries.  It was good to rub shoulders with them and visit.  

We love teaching our Tongan Ward Sunday school class.  They are so respectful and have a wonderful sense of humor.  We have been here long enough that most of the time we are out and about, we will have someone we know give us a wave and shout a hello as they go by.  

Our house continues to be hot.  It does cool down to about 81 degrees at night inside but we keep our air conditioner going in our bedroom.  Apparently, a centipede thought he would also cool off and crawled into bed with Janice and gave her a bite on the arm last night.  I woke up with her searching her side of the bed with her ipad screen on so she wouldn't wake me up  - - wait a second, there is a centipede in our bed and she doesn't want to wake me up?  We

turned on the lights and found him.  Janice escorted him off of our bed on her pillow, shook him to the floor, and I dispatched him with my shoe.  Needless to say, we are thoroughly spraying the inside and outside of our bedroom.

We love the work here and feel sad that it is drawing to a close.  I have applied for an adjunct faculty position in the Education Department for Winter Semester so we can stay a little longer even if we are not missionaries.  Janice is getting stronger each day on her knee.  We hope to put that behind us soon so she doesn't have to worry about it so much.  For now, she will be worrying about centipedes. 😁

Flowers at our Apartment

Our garden of Eden with Pineapple, Papaya, etc.

Whirlwinds!

 This week has been a whirlwind of emotions and events.  Not only did we get to talk to the couple that is replacing us (The Chamberlains from Tokerville Utah) but also found out that we cannot extend our mission.  After making a few calls and meeting with the mission president we found out once a replacement has been called there is very little that can be done to extend.  Come to find out, we would have had to request an extension in June.  We missed the boat.  We didn’t want to make a fuss so started wrapping our heads around that and then had the thought, “We wonder if the Education department might be able to use our help here.”  So we contacted our good friend Jonathan Shute (our ITEP director from our last mission) and he referred us to Kurt Johnson, the director of the education department and they offered us a position teaching a course here and supervising a few student teachers for winter semester.  This allows us to stay through April even after we are released from our mission.  All we need to do is find an apartment (that is a HUGE challenge) and a car.  What a deal!  That will also give Janice the opportunity to get her other knee replaced here.

Today, we are passing out hundreds of flyers for the start of institute.  We start our classes again this week.  Please pray for us.  😁😁🤙

Devtional in the French Polynesian Village 

Such wonderful sky colors at sunset

Some of our seminary students Thursday afternoons

Sunsets are the best date night!

Grand Daughters!

 We are convinced that one of the sweetest gifts of this life is the gift of grand daughters.  We just finished two weeks of beautiful experiences with them.  We got permission to fly to Portland for Layla's baptism and confirmation.  It was wonderful!  The extra treat was that Josh, Krista, and Claire were there also from Edmonds to spend time with us too!  On the way back home, on our layover in Oakland, Rebecca, Eliza, Noah, and Henry picked us up and took us to picnic lunch at a park near the airport.  So in 3 days, we got to see all but two of our grandchildren.  We were embraced by the love of our family.

Layla in her baptism dress

Two days later, Eliza, Samantha, and Kaitlin came here to spend three glorious days with us.  We swam in the ocean (including Grandma), walked on the beach, saw Polynesian dancing, toured villages at the Polynesian Cultural Center, took a sunset cruise, went to the Temple, shopped at the swap meet and basked in the love, the giggles, and singing of the girls.  We love our family so much and cannot wait to see the rest of them soon.

Aloha Girls!

Tattoos in Tahiti

The Laie Temple

Cruise on a catamaran

Kaitlin 

Samantha and Eliza

Grand Daughters at Sunset

Cruising in Hawaii

Sunrise on Laie Point

  

We teach about 17 16-17 Year-Olds for Sunday School in our Tongan Ward.  Here is a picture of about 1/2 of them during our class.  It is the highlight of our week and we love them.

Full-Swing of Summer!

It does not seem long enough but public school has started again along with Seminary.  We have set up the program for the mentor students to work through the lessons they need to get credit.  We created a website for them to access all that at www.kahukuseminary.blogspot.com.   We will start meeting every Thursday after high school with them.

We taught our last institute class of the summer term this week.  We have had a strong little class of about 15 that have been coming every week.  We love our young people.

Paul Muti, Brother & Sister Meyers, etc.

We taught our Sunday School Class today.  We have between 11 and 17 attend our class.  They have accepted us now and we seem to be past the trial period of acting out to see how we will react.  They actually talk with us and laugh with us.  We love them!

Janice is continuing her recovery.  After a minor setback last week, she is back on the road to recovery.  I take her in twice a week to Waipio to the Kaiser Clinic there to get her "torture."  I have included a picture where I park to gather her up out the door there to take home after her session. She walks fairly well without her walker but for longer strolls it is good for her to have it with her.

We are in charge of the Close the Fast today for the senior missionaries in our mission.  I think we have well over 120 senior missionaries.  We have struck up some great friendships with them and it is so nice to have fellow missionaries that understand us and have similar situations.  We had a district activity the past Friday for the Ostergaards who are going home soon.  We will miss them.  They are very kind.

Ostergaards on the right.  Our district!

We have really missed the beach lately.  I went for a walk the other day and was relieved that we were not swimming that morning.  The beach was filled with these Portuguese man of war jellyfish.  They feel like a bee sting if you touch your bare skin to them.  I have been stung a couple times but have fairly tough hide (and ample body hair) that shields me.

We are so excited this coming week to get to go see our grand daughter's baptism in Oregon.  It will be a quick trip over and back but has given us a welcome respite from our isolation from our family.  We will stay with Benjamin's family but Josh is bringing his family down also at the same time.  It will be heaven to be there to love our grandchildren and hug our sons again.  We love them so!  It is a good thing that we feel like we are making a difference here.  If that were not the case, we would go back to our family in an instant.  At least we get to do things like this on a senior mission.  We just had to get it approved.  It even gets better the week after we get back!  Three of our grand daughters are going to come and stay with us for a few days.  Spoiling without the parents around!  A grandparent's dream come true.

Fishers of Men

 It struck me this week what a privilege it is to be able to serve a mission.  To be called of God by a prophet and given an assignment by an apostle of Jesus Christ.  You are set apart by a stake president who has been given keys to do so by a general authority sent by the Quorum of the Twelve and First Presidency.  You are given the apostolic assignment to go out into the world to minister in the name of Jesus Christ.  

With very few exceptions, most who have served an honorable mission and have pursued a successful life will confess to you that their service as a missionary was foundational to their success and happiness in their life after that.  I admit that my desire to gain an education, live a life of service, to work hard, and to be positive all sprouted and grew during my mission as a young man.  It is possibly one of the most important areas of training I received in my life.  I highly recommend it to any of my descendants either male or female.  In fact, I made it a point to seek my wife from a pool of young women who had served a mission.  Her preparation there has been a blessing to me and our children.  I have never had to doubt her loyalty nor her testimony that was tried in the furnace of her mission in Norway.

We find that fortunately, all of our children also served missions.  It has also served as a solid foundation for each of their ensuing successful lives.  I watched a father fishing with his son.  He took the time to show him how he baited the hook and prepared the line. While his son held the bell that would be attached to the pole to alert them of a hooked fish, he watched his father wade out into the water and cast. I hope that my grandchildren will look to their father's experience of being "fishers of men" and want to emulate their example.  A life of compassion and service to your family and to others is a key to happiness.  I highly recommend it.

It's Hard to Keep a Good Woman Down!

 As Janice recuperates, the work of our mission goes on.  We taught our Institute class and our Sunday School Class this week as well as passed out at least 100 invitations to attend Institute.  Janice is making a remarkable recovery and was encouraged at her doctor's visit that she could start swimming again in 2 weeks!  What a blessing.

Joe & Janice on their Friday night date

We drive in a couple of times a week to Waipio for physical therapy.  She really hates it but it is really helping.  She walks around our apartment quite a bit now without her walker or cane.  She uses those when she is out of the house for increased stability.  She isn't afraid to stroll over to the edge of the beach for a picnic however.

We witnessed a demonstration of faith this week in our Kahuku 3rd (Tongan) ward.  Last week, our young bishop, Bishop Kioa, challenged the families in the ward to get each young man in the ward a suit for church.  His premise was that they needed to start now to prepare to be missionaries and even start looking like missionaries at church.  He said that if there were people in the ward who did not have a young man that they should consider helping another family who did buy a suit. 

Today (just one week later), most of the young men who participated in blessing and passing the sacrament were wearing suits.  We know that it was a great sacrifice for some families who don't make a lot of money but they did it anyway.  Surely, their faith rivals that of the stripling warriors in the Book of Mormon whose mother's faith sustained them and protected them.  It says that they performed their duty in the army with exactness.  This is a hallmark of a faithful people!

We are still surrounded by great beauty here.  It has been a little stormy which has been a relief from the heat.  It is also the season for breadfruit and tropical flowers.  Here is a little sampling that I shot just yesterday.

Breadfruit on a tree next door

Gardenias in our yard.  They smell so sweet!

Plumeria flowers in our yard.

Hibiscus outside of our office.

Bird of paradise outside our office

I have used some of the recuperation time to paint while Janice is down.  I saw this scene on a postcard and thought I would try my hand at painting it.  

Better Late Than Never!

 The past week and a half have flown by because last week, Janice had knee replacement surgery on her right knee.  We are blessed to be in the right place at the right time for this to happen.  Our mission president, President Bassett encouraged us to have this surgery as soon as possible.  So, during our little holiday from institute, Janice went through with it.  She is completely off of the pain medication now and is getting around pretty good. 

The pain was fairly lively for the first few days but is subsiding.  She is doing so well because you can't keep a good woman down.  Yesterday, on the way home from physical therapy, we stopped at the beach to eat our lunch. She actually forgot to use her walker this morning and walked across the room to the kitchen sink before even realizing it.  She is one tough cookie!!!

I taught our Sunday School Class and our Institute Class by myself this week and I have to honestly admit that the lesson was less interesting without Janice's teaching.  We make a better team together than I do just on my own.  It is a shame that it has taken over 40 years for me to figure that out.  

Our lessons always end with a treat!

I am having the time of my life gardening here.  I am eating fresh tomatoes from my plants that I started from seed and my pineapple plants are really taking off.  I have always wanted to start a coconut tree from a coconut and have gotten my wish.  The Samoan family next door took pity on me and their girl brought me over a coconut that had just started sprouting.  Of course, Janice sent her home with a plate of cookies.

Our coconut trees and pineapple plants

The tomatoes are fresh and delicious!

Time and again, we feel so blessed to be in this wonderful place.  There is very little prejudice here and people are so kind and loving.  We are indeed fortunate to be among this happy people and we thank God for that fact every day!

Sadly, we could not attend our family reunion that happened in spite of our absence.  It brought great gratitude to our hearts to see our children and grandchildren get together and have a grand time.  We love that they love each other and we love them!