Update

Us at the PCC

Us at the Luau
The "Bob-Sie Twins"
Bob in his "sulu" or "lava-lava" or in other words his skirt! Guess what's under the skirt!?
On Sunday, Sept. 7th we received callings to our ward. We are in the BYUH 20th ward, BYUH 3rd state. Pres. Orgil had us come to his office in the PCC office bldg. where he ask us to be mentors for that ward. I will work specifically with the R.S. ( of which there are two in our ward because there are about 90 sisters) and Bob will work with the Gospel Teaching and Training.

We actually started out our day by attending the home ward for where we live and it started at 9:00 a.m. After Sacrament mtg. and S.S. we went to Pres. Orgil’s office and received our callings and then he ask us to attend the meetings in the 20th ward which started at 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m We had a “Break the Fast” dinner with the couple missionaries at Elder and Sister Adams home at 5:00 p.m. It is a pot luck meal each month. I took sweet and sour carrots, which most people really liked. At 6:00 p.m. we had another meeting with the 20th ward to get organized with our councils for the students and then we had a fireside at 7:30 p.m. by Elder Holland. This was a broadcast, so Bob and I came home with total exhaustion, deciding we could read or view the broadcast at another time. It truly was a full day!

On Monday, the 8th we had work as usual, and then had our first training for working in the restaurants. We will be assigned one of the restaurants or one of the luau’s about once a week. We have to be there (dressed in our “look alike” Aloaha Wear) by 4:30 p.m. This means we have to leave work early and come home to change and get ready. At the luau’s or restaurants we are either assigned the entrance or exit where we take tickets, greet the guests, etc. It is rather easy and sort of fun…and after we can eat at one of the restaurants for that evening. (I think we may get tired of Hawaiian food...but for now we are enjoying it.) The Ambassador Restaurant always has prime rib, crab legs, fresh shrimp, and sushi, along with the rest of the buffet which is always salad bar, different types of chicken, other meats, lots of Hawaiian fruits, rice and potatoes, vegetables, regular rolls or taro rolls (the purple ones which we LOVE), juice, sodas, and lots of desserts. The cost of a ticket for this restaurant is $32.00 per person.

After this we had family home evening with the couples. The FHE was a presentation from the Mongolian students on campus. It was really a great meeting as the church has only been in that country for about 8 years. One of the girls that spoke was the first female in Mongolia to be baptized into the church. He father was the first male.

At 9:00 p.m. we had family home evening with our 20th ward (the single students). They had a short opening and then went outdoors to play some get acquainted games and we really enjoyed our interaction with them.

Tue. right after work Bob picked me up and told me we they were going to tear down an old building next to the motor pool. They had ask him to help if he could, so we drove over. It was a building 150 feet long and 30 feet wide, with steel beams and a tin roof. The steel posts holding the building up were almost rusted away, so it was deemed unsafe. When we arrived there were 3 men working, one on a fork lift lifting items from underneath the building and another on a bobcat helping him. They had finished getting things out and now the three men threw one nylon strap up over the beam and tied the end to the bobcat. They proceeded to move back like they were going to pull the building over. I said to Bob, “They will NEVER pull that down with that one little strap and that bobcat!” Well, they did!!!! And it only took one little tug! The entire thing came falling down. I could not believe it! After seeing it, I think they could have used “Bob’s convertible” instead of the bobcat and it would have come down! So then they spent the next 2 days clearing and stacking the usable supplies and giving a lot of the materials away to the employees (the maintenance workers that are Polynesian). These men here (the missionaries in the physical plant and maintenance) really work hard. Bob is one of the youngest of them and they all work like 20 year olds!

Bob also replaced an air conditioner in one of the offices, worked on an ice machine, and more work on the air conditioner in the IMAX during this past week.

Wed. was our 3rd anniversary and we went to “The Crouching Lion” for dinner after work. It is a fun restaurant we quite like about 10 miles down the road. It has a beautiful ocean view. Actually they had a shark attack at the beach there just this week. The man was in the hospital for a few days. There have been a few (5-6) shark attacks around this island during the past 2-3 weeks. They are saying it is very unusual and they don’t know the reason why this is happening.

On Friday the 12th after work we worked the Gateway Restaurant exit and then had dinner at the Ambassador.

We are settled into our new little home quite nicely. It is amazing how things deteriorate here with the ocean salt water and the humidity. Anything that is metal will rust, like door hinges, lamps, cars, etc. and anything wood gets ridden with termites and rots. So things just do not last long. It is very hard to keep things clean. We have to wash down our >car and the house windows often to keep the salt from etching them. Such a foreign life to me, from the dry climate of Utah.

Sat., the 13th we went to the “Tongan Devotional”. It was held at the PCC in the Tonga Village. Each village does one about every 3-4 months and tell about their culture and heritage. Students spoke and also VIP’s from Tonga and the PCC. They sang some of their Tongan songs and after they put on a BIG lulu and the Tongan club presented a dancing, singing, drum playing program. We really loved it, especially me as I work with many of the managers and students that did all of it. After the devotional we went with 4 other couple missionaries to Honolulu to see the movie “Emma”. That is quite a movie. I truly have gained a respect for her after reading some >of the books about her and then this movie…she was one strong woman and her reward will be waiting in heaven!

Today, the 14th, Sunday we spent from 8:30 to 4:30 p.m. in church and now have just come back from a walk on the beach. It is really beautiful and so relaxing. There has not even been a breeze today, so the humidity seems a little worse, and the temp a little hotter. We like it better when the winds blow, which they normally do. We do not suffer at night from the weather. Of course, everyone including us, keep all of the windows open and let the trade winds blow through…that way the temperature is perfect for sleeping. I have had to get used to a few different things, we have to really watch to control the ants…no crumbs, candy, salt, any kind of food can be out at night or you have ants by morning. So we keep everything uptight in plastic containers. Pretty simply, once you know the rules!

We are praying for all of you and hope you are well and happy. We miss you and seeing everyone. That is the one thing that makes it hard.

We are ready for another week. The missionaries are certainly a necessity to the PCC and the Polynesians really love us. We work hard, but enjoy it. We love you and pray for your successes.

Every one keep safe.

Love forever and always,

Elder and Sister Remund