Another busy week and we are still loving Hawaii. Although we do get a little homesick when we hear about the things going on there with each of you. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, so they say…well, we are truly believers of that! We miss you so much and love to hear from you!
We know we send lot of long “stuff” for you to read, and you don’t have to read it if you don’t want to! But for those interested, here is more about our life and mission here:
Here are a few things from my journal this past few days…
September 15, 2008 Monday
Another beautiful day in the mission field of Honolulu, Hawaii! The weather is wonderful for me. I don’t even mind the humidity…it is always warm and wonderful!
We went to work today and Bob spent two hours looking for lily pads…(I had given him a “Where’s Waldo” challenge…to find the lily pads in the lagoon that were in bloom!) It took him 2-3 days and he found a couple of places, but not the one I was wanting him to find. Finally I had to show it to him. What a beautiful site, lily pads in bloom! I love it! Then he fixed a couple of drinking fountains in the islands. Later he fixed an ice machine in the cafeteria, went to lunch, and then helped to further clean up the building that was torn down last week.
This evening we went to FHE with the couples. Tonight’s program was a singing group from Laie, approximately 10 men and 10 woman. These Polynesian people have such musical talent…we love to hear them sing, and they do love to sing. They have such great rhythm also. Tonight’s program was a very spiritual program of songs written about the love of the Savior and His blessings for us. Several members of the choir bore their testimony about a particular subject, and then they would sing about it. They gave praise also to the Sr. missionaries that had lived and fulfilled their lives and now have come to bless and strengthen the lives of the Polynesians. They truly do love the couple missionaries.
At 9:00 p.m. we went to our student ward FHE. They are such fun kids, and so full of energy! WOW…we laugh with them and play games with them and learn about their lives and their goals. Many of them come from some pretty humble circumstances and are so grateful to be here getting an education!
Perhaps I will tell a little about the PCC. Hawaii, specifically Laie, was a place set aside by the Lord for His people to come for peace and serenity…even in the days of the warriors and chiefs of Hawaii. When Matthew Cowley came and then Pres. David O McKay, much of the land was dedicated for the temple and for the people to seek refuge from their difficult lives. Many miracles came about in preparation of this area for the church, and the people are very grateful for it and tell many stories of their heritage in this island and of the miracles that brought them here.
To put it in a short form, BYUH was organized so that the students of the Polynesian islands could come here and get an education and then return to their own islands and make a better life for themselves and for their families. During this time they also wanted to preserve their cultures (Tonga, Tahiti, New Zealand, Fuji, Samoa, the Hawaiian Islands, etc.). A few students started performing some of their native dances and songs down in Honolulu to entertain the tourists and to make some money for school and the idea was conceived to set up the Polynesian Cultural Center and help many students pay their way through school. Therefore, the idea has become such a miraculous tool for assisting students from the islands and is now beginning to pull in many of the Asian Rim and therefore including Japan, China, Mongolia, Siberia, etc. The PCC is the vehicle for many students to have jobs. I think there are about 700-800 jobs available for the students. Because of the economic crunch, all of Hawaii is suffering economically. Tourism has slacked off and it has affected the PCC greatly. They are having lots of cut backs and many of the full time people are losing their jobs or being ask to cut hours. This would appear that they would look at the missionaries as taking their jobs, because basically that is what we do. We fill in all of the slots that are left when jobs are cut. HOWEVER, these Polynesian people do NOT look at it like this. They love their culture and they want it preserved and they know that if it were not for the couple missionaries and the vocations and talents they bring to keep the PCC operating, it would have to close. They do not want that to happen. Therefore, we are loved and praised even more for what we do. It is amazing what the missionaries do. The couples from all walks of life giving of their time and expertise to help keep the PCC going and doing it in a better way. We are praised constantly for what we bring and offer to help them keep the PCC open. It is amazing how much they love and respect us! One sweet woman said tonight, “We have been through difficult times before and we can do it again. We know the Lord wants this place to remain open for our culture and for the students. We just have to find out how He wants it done.” They have so much faith that it will all work out.
Just FYI. It was taking about 1,960 guests daily to make ends meet here at the PCC. With the present slump, we only get those high counts on Fri. and Sat. (Numbers have been around 700-900). At least that has been since mid Aug. to now. The weekends bring 2,000-2,500. The church does not participate in donations to the PCC, it has to stand on its own. They are hoping that by Nov. the numbers will be back around 2,000 plus guests each day…then they hope to keep them up through the summer months of 2009.
Anyway, the missionaries here at the PCC really work hard. Lots of hours and lots of sacrifice…to help preserve the PCC and the students here. It is a privilege for us to be here and be a part of this program. In spite of the hard work and long hours, we love it. Everyone must, because no one goes home early!!!!!
More journal entry from 09-16-08 to 09-21-08
Today at the PCC there was a “graduation” for one of the missionary couples that is going home after 18 months. The Polynesians really put on a big affair and goodby party. It was fun so see and be a part of. The couple is the Christians from California. This is there 3rd mission and all of them to Hawaii. One to BYU, one to HRI, and this last one to the PCC.
Sunday was another busy day at church. We start at about 9:30 a.m. with meetings and then have our block meetings from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Then we often have firesides, ward family prayer, or other meetings after this. We love the kids. Most of them really have strong testimonies, many are return missionaries and strong leaders. They take full responsibility of the wards and really do a tremendous job.
I cooked a bread fruit! It is a well known fruit or vegetable (?) that grows abundantly in the tropics. We saw a lot of them in Tahiti and Bora Bora also, but we did not eat any that I remember! However, one of the managers from the Island Office brought several to work on Fri. and was going to cook some of them in the New Zealand island. He gave one to me and one to Sister Dewey and told us how to cook it. (Right then each person in the office had their own special way to cook and serve it and a lot of them were different!) Anyway, I brought it home and peeled it and took out the large seed in the middle. It is similar to the texture of a squash except it is a light yellow in color (green before the peeling is off) and the meat of it is soft. After it was peeled I cut it into pieces and boiled it until it was tender and then put it in a baking dish and covered it with coconut milk (I bought this from the store and the can said it has 9 grams of fat in 1/3 cup…no wonder it is good!). Then I put butter and brown sugar on it and baked it like we do our sweet potatoes at Thanksgiving time. It actually was very good and everyone liked it that tasted it (except Bob, but you have to remember that he does not like sweet potatoes, squash, etc.). So I am excited to report back to my friends at work tomorrow how successful we were! They will be excited about it! They love it when we will try some of their native foods and like it!
Sat. we cleaned house, did the wash and then took off with our friends the Nebekers for the west side of the island. He lived here for several years when he was in high school and knows a lot about Ohau. The west side is called the leaward side, meaning not much rain, and it was very different from where we live here on the windward side. However, we found some beautiful beaches over in Makaha where we sat on the beach and watched the surfers, the kids play and took in lots of sun! We also went to Haweala and had lunch at a great Mexican place called Chicos’s. It was very good and lots of fun. We discovered another really nice beach just west of Turtle Bay and quite hidden from the public…we can’t wait to show that to our family also! So we had a really fun relaxing day around the island. (end of journal entry)
We have had lots of comments about Grandpa’s lava lava! Some liked it, others were not so sure! Cindy said, “Oh my gosh, my brother has only been in Hawaii for 1 month and already he is wearing a skirt!” Lisa L said, “Tell Bob it takes a real man to wear a skirt!” A lot of the grandkids got a big kick out of it! Actually the men here don’t mind wearing them because they are so much cooler. They usually only wear them when they dress up. The missionaries only wear them when they dress up to work at the restaurant. A lot of the guys wear them to church, the young boys especially. They wear them with their white shirts and ties and sometimes even a sports coat. Some of the bishopric wear them sometimes also. It is very appropriate here. Many of the Polynesians and also the Asian boys wear them. I remember Summer telling me about them when she lived here in Hawaii last winter also.
Right now the season is such that when it rains it only last for 5-20 minutes. If it is hard you can wait it out inside or under a tree. When it rains hard it puts down buckets in just a few minutes! I have never seen rain like that, but it is so warm! The college walks and parking lots here are all built for this weather…they have large cement “gully’s” (I don’t know the best word) where the rain is channeled. All around campus they have them around the buildings and down the walkways. When it rains hard they fill up and run like a huge fast moving river…it is unbelievable to see it! Pres. Orgill told us that last Jan. and Feb. they had rain for 45 days (just off and on during the day but every day) and it rained a total of 46 inches! Jan. and Feb. are apparently the most rainy season here. Anyway, it is fun to see and we love it.
Another journal entry from Thursday – 09-25-08
Today Hawaii introduced me to two new critters! They were both at the PCC, THANK GOODNESS! I have heard of the centipedes here...well let me tell you they are HUGE! One was crawling across our floor in the hallway of our office today. Sister Jones yelled, "What is THAT?" It was about 7 inches long and about as big around as a 25 cent piece. It had tons of legs...I guess a hundred (hence the name centipede?) and it could move much faster than I would have though possible! She and I were there alone at the time and we had no idea what to do with it. So these two missionary sisters just got out the dust pan (Hawaiian dust pans are upright and have a broom handle on them...pretty nice...especially for picking up centipedes!). We let it crawl into that and then took it out into the garden as far from the office as we could go! We wanted to kill it but didn't know how to attempt that and when I ask Bob how to kill them he said they are very hard to kill as they roll and squirm, etc. He has seen a lot of them out in the buildings they are tearing down by the PCC farm where they grow the bananas, mangos, papayas, etc. He said the birds love them. We have these huge white birds (egrets?) and they are like a duck, sort of...but much more graceful and they are all over. These birds love to eat the cockroaches, centipedes, etc. that the men unearth with their Bob Cats and Fork Lifts they work with.
Anyway...a few hours later I was with Sister Dewy in the Theatre where the night show is held (keep in mind that everything here is outside...at least part of it is). I love that about Hawaii! But on one of the side walls, way up high, I saw a big spider and pointed it out to Sister Dewey. She said, "That is called a Cane Spider!" I had heard that they had them here, but had hoped I would not have to see one...I hope it is my last! It is exactly as it was described to me at first...between a Daddy-long-leg and a Tarantula. It was
bigger than a large Daddy-long-leg with it's legs spread out and it's body was larger than a daddy-long-leg body, but not as large as a tarantula. However, it's legs were bigger around and really hairy like a tarantula. However, the body was not as big as a tarantula. So do you get the picture? I hope I NEVER see one in my house! I ask some of my friends from the New Zealand village if they see them very often and they said they had never seen one, and they don't have them in New Zealand because it gets colder there with changing seasons...they only have them in the true tropics where the weather is always warm! So there you have it...the adventure of my life with the critters of Hawaii! How can I love this place so much when it is so full of creepy, crawly things? I don't know the answer to that...but I haven't wanted to come home yet, that's the good part of this story! (end of journal entry)
This week Bob has some action going on. They are building a platform to move a 30 foot palm tree from the farm into the big theatre. It will be planted in a planter on stage(part of the green area) so that they can climb it for the coconuts during the night show. He is still tearing down buildings, and he worked in the motor pool on a motor from one of the electric carts. He is working hard and sweating a lot! He does a little bit of everything for everyone! It hasn’t taken folks long over here to find out that he can and will do anything and everything. “Bob’s the man for whatever you need!” Bob said the other say, “I wish Bud was here and we could tear those buildings down twice as fast!” Another thing he said to me a couple of days ago was, “If anyone would have told me that I would come on a mission and work this hard, I would never have believed it!” I ask him if he was sorry we were here and he said, “Heavens NO! I love it!” So there you have it!
Hope this finds everyone doing well and loving life! Keep smiling, keep working hard, choose the right, and remember that we pray for each of you every day! The Lord will bless us all if we do as He asks us to!
Love from us,
Elder and Sister Remund
This picture shows them bringing in down the tunnel and onto the stage. Then they put the platform on 3 inch pipes and rolled it onto the stage. 
This is the hole they planted it in on stage. 
This shows the tree up and tied in place while they brought in dirt to put around the root base.
Now the tree is up and in place. It is 40 feet tall, the root base is 4 foot in diameter! It has about a two foot trunk at the base. They will not close down the theatre to do things…they work at night to get these things done. The tree was out in the PCC farm where they grow their pineapple, bananas, and coconuts and it was really big. I went out to watch when they took it out…it was amazing. It has been the talk of the center all week. The three missionaries and lots of Polynesian help were so excited to be a part of such a great project! They all have great ideas, and they DID accomplish what they set out to do!
