The Tradition Continues

 The Tradition Continues

|It was 54 years ago this fall that I came to BYUH, then known as Church College of Hawaii, with my sister Peggy and good friend Carole Strong Roberts and enjoyed the spirit of ALOHA. It was 27 years ago that Zoe Harker came with her 2 cousins Zoe Aki and Amber Stone to go to school and enjoyed this amazing place. So now Hazel Stone is here to continue doing many of the things that we did. The school has changed a lot and has expanded to almost 3500 students from 60 countries around the world. Many of the students use the "I Work" program where they can work mostly at the PCC, get educated here, and then return to their home country debt free to contribute in many ways to their culture, society and the growing worldwide Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Thus....ENTER TO LEARN - GO FORTH TO SERVE.

We had a great beach day at Waimea Bay where there was some good cliff jumping. Hazel and Zoe and Kyle saw a big turtle that they made friends with.....and Hazel may or may not have accidently touched a baby turtle. Next day we got some great pictures at the surf shop where Zoe got pictures 27 years earlier, did a little shopping and of course you have to have the famous Matsumoto's Hawaiian Shave Ice...delicious!!! We ate "snow puffies" from the Paalaa Kai Bakery, which was layered pastry with pudding inside and icing sugar on top for the snow. Seven Brothers is a great spot for hamburgers with  a few locations here and we heard there is one in Provo now.

Amidst all that we were excited to join a call where Innis Harker read his mission call to Nevada Mission, Henderson, very exciting Innis. What a great experience that will be which has the potential to change the whole course of your life. Innis I am so proud of your choice....we will be missionaries together...what a great thing that is!!

The Laie Mission was fortunate enough to have a visit from Elder and Sister Johnson, who at one time taught here, and it was a great experience. He also is a convert and basketball player which is how he met his wife.  He was in Raymond for stake conference a couple of years ago. He had a lot of fun perspectives and  told us that these are such exciting times. Within the next few months the missionary force in the church will hit 100,000. However the senior  missionary population is only at about 37% of what is needed. So I am doing some heavy recruiting...LOL Shelley Petersen is arriving in late October and so is Sharla Behan. Sharla and her husband were best friends with Bruce and I in Provo at BYU. They lived back east and we lost touch. Her husband died a few years back. I got her number from facebook and we have been chatting. After I got my call I told her to put in her papers and come here. She said she would NEVER request a spot but in her interview she mention she has a long lost friend at the PCC that inspired her to come. She put her papers in and a week later got her call to the PCC. She is arriving with Shelley. We are both really excited. Haven't seen her in 50 years....CRAZY.

                 Picture with the whole mission at the visitors center with Elder and Sister |Johnson

This is a picture of all the new, young and older missionaries, that arrived when I did. On the far right is Brother and sister Andersen from Lethbridge, that Bruce and I knew from another YSA bishopric from a few years ago. They work in the mission office.