{Update}

Update time from Hawaii. We are truly enjoying the tropical weather, in spite of some humid days. We were so prepared for two hurricane storms that were predicted, but by the time they reached our island they were blown out. So we didn’t even see a tropical storm from either of them. Actually we are grateful for that, but we both thought it would be nice to see how we would really do in a “real” tropical storm! They tell us that we still have time…hurricane season is still on!

Our service work here is so busy with each and every day bringing lots of work to do and lots of rewarding times. The time is going by very quickly for us. We only have 10 months left to serve. There is so much to be done and Bob just keeps getting more responsibilities and projects given to him to work on, besides his normal day to day air conditioning and refrigeration responsibilities.

Due to the economy, the Polynesian Cultural Center has truly felt the effects as most every one has. Without the work and help of the missionaries that serve here, it is pretty evident that the center probably would not be able to stay open and functional. The Polynesians are well aware of that and are so very grateful for our time and service, to say nothing of the many talents of the retired missionaries that come from all walks of life, bringing expertise in so many needed areas. It is truly a blessing for us to be here and we do appreciate their humility and love towards us.

Some of the missionaries that we have come to know so well are now starting to leave, as their release dates come up. It is hard for us to see them go. We truly are attached to many of them and have such great friendships. Of course, there are a few that we will be happy to see leave also…opps, did I just say that? Well, not everyone is perfect like us I guess!!!!!

We also have had many of the students from our BYUH 20th ward leave and either go home to work or off to the mainland for work. We have become attached to many of them also, and hate to have them leave us. Most of them we will probably never see again.

We hope all of you are surviving the economy crisis. It surely is having an effect on everyone so we know that our family at home is certainly going to feel it. We pray each day that you will be cared for and successful in your work. We are grateful for your help and sacrifice to make it possible so we can remain here to fulfill our mission. So many are helping with our home and yard, our personal mail, etc., and many are helping to care for my Mom as she is having some difficult health issues right now and is going to require a lot of care when she returns back home. It takes everyone to make it all happen and we love and appreciate all of you for what you do for us.

Some of the things that have been big over here lately:

The opening of the new night show, “Ha, Breath of Life” on Aug. 14, 2009. This has been 3 years in progress and an awfully lot of Bob’s time has been spent on getting the theater remodeled and reconstructed with special effects, new sound system, lighting, hanging new cat walks, painting, etc. One of his special projects was the “kite” as we wrote about in our last letter. It has been quite a big deal and has turned out superb! The picture below is from one of the posters used to advertise the new show and is a great picture of the kite.

The kite is very symbolic in the story line of this new show. It has taken a lot of work to get it all ready and working right. It had to be hung high in the theater so no one could see it until they were ready to fly it and then it had to be lowered down for them to fly and then go back up into its “hiding place” again. It is pretty impressive how it all works. Below is a picture of the winch that Bob had to build to make it work properly. Notice the head of the kite as it is brought into place, 100 feet above the stage floor.

We realize that it must seem that all we do is play and have fun, but really we do work very hard. But we also like to play hard…so we do whenever we get a chance!

We went with 8 other missionary couples to the Lualoa Ranch, just 15 miles south of us. It was a Sat. on our P-day and we did a couple of fun tours of the ranch. It is a beautiful ranch taking in about 4,000 acres. We took a “Jungle Expedition” in a 6 wheel drive, jeep type vehicle. It was similar to the Indiana Jones ride at Disney Land, but it lasted 30 minutes! We went over the jungle trials and into the back country, up the lush, remote Hakipu’u Valley to see the fantastic ocean and mountain views. The expedition went through isolated stream beds, powered up hills and tackled rough terrain going over many secluded spots that overlooked the dramatic windward coast line. It was so beautiful.

Our next ranch tour was called Movie Sites. We boarded a bus (old school buses that they had taken the windows out of, so it was open air) and went on a narrated tour across the Kualoa Ranch and into gorgeous Ka’a’awa Valley where many of Hollywood’s biggest blockbuster movies and television shows were filmed. Some of those are: Jurassic Park, 50 First Dates, a lot of Lost was filmed here, Pearl Harbor, the Wind Talkers, Mighty Joe, George of the Jungle, and Godzilla. This is only a few of the ones we saw, but notice below the footprint of Godzilla! There were about 6 footprints across this huge valley area…pretty fun to see all of it. During the filming they were 8 feet deep, but they had to fill them up after filming because the cows would fall into the hole at night! (They had a few bar-be-ques during this time!)

So it is now time again for the Haunted lagoon! Because of the economic depression, last year in Oct., the PCC was looking for additional means of bringing income to help maintain jobs and stability. There had never been a haunted house or such on the island of Ohau before, so the PCC decided to try out the idea with the expectation of perhaps attracting 3,000 to 4,000 extra visitors during the week that it was open. It turned out to be a huge success, attracting over 14,000 guests. Therefore, there has been work going on during this past year for a bigger and better Haunted Lagoon. This requires a lot of work and sacrifice from the missionaries, especially the men. They have a lot of talents that are needed to make it successful (and they have a lot of fun doing it!…and guess what, the labor is free! BONUS !!!!!)

So this year it is scheduled to run every M-W-F-S of Oct., and Mon thru Sat. the last week of October. It is going to be HUGE. Just take a look at three of the six characters that will be introduced into the lagoon to make it more exciting and fun.Sorry about the picture being blurry, but I was SCARED !!!!!!!!!!!!!

These “dudes” are pretty big and quite scary! They are on big carts with wheels. A person gets inside of them and there are levers that make the arms, hands, and mouth move. The eyes light up and flash. Things are just getting started as to the work that will go into setting up all of the Haunted Lagoon. So Kent, Janie, Jacie, Abby, and Isaak…get ready to get your pants scared off!!!! We are so excited to have you guys come to visit us in October and get to ride the canoe through the haunted lagoon! So, for us time is going fast !!! We only have 10 months left to serve and we have lots to accomplish before that time comes! We send our love to all of you and hope you are well and happy. So until next time…

Love to all forever and always,
Your missionaries from Hawaii,
Elder and Sister Remund
Grandpa and Grandma
Dad and Mom
Bob and Vickie