Who says Missionaries can't have fun

Our doorbell rang around 9:30 pm and we were "treated" with a Halloween visit by our sister missionaries from the VC.

Sometimes it is too easy...

A couple came with the PCC tour the other day but didn't follow the group into the theatre or to the back of the VC where the exhibits are.  Instead, they sat down on a sofa on the far side of the Christus lobby.  I was on the opposite side of the room and watched several pair of sister missionaries walk by them, with no effort to engage them in a conversation. 

As I walked toward them, the husband stood and approached me and asked "Do you have a Book of Mormon?"  I said yes and asked if he would like one.  He said he would...that he had always wanted to read one.  I offered to mail one to him or have one delivered to his home and learned that they would be in Hawaii for another three weeks and was hoping to be able to read it while here.

Bottom line: Donna found a copy and we gave it to him and we'll have missionaries call on him at home when he returns to answer his questions.  I also invited him to return and go through the temple.  He said he would.

Arnold lives in Groton, Connecticut...in Don Worthington's mission (Don and his wife are from our home ward (Country Park 4th), so I dropped him a note so we could join forces in helping Arnold and his wife in their study of the gospel.

Ron and Susan Ward

Yesterday (Saturday) we were surprised when Ron and Susan Ward walked into the Visitors' Center!  Susan is Dick Stone's daughter.  (Dick is my cousin and just a month older than I am. We grew up together...he lived in Compton and I lived in South Gate, CA...just a few miles apart.)

Ron and Susan live in Sandy Utah and Ron has a floor-covering business.  They are in Hawaii with Ron's parents and his six siblings and their spouses celebrating his parents' 60th wedding anniversary.  They all came to our ward this morning and then Donna and I went with them to the temple grounds and VC for picture taking.

Two in a Row!

I (Donna) was the only missionary available when a Filipino Mom and Dad and their three young children entered the VC.  They loved the Christus statue and narration and on their Comment card said, "I really like the lobby area with the big image of Jesus, just like being alive in front of you."   The children loved all the "hands-on" exhibits and the parents expressed  a desire to learn more about temples.  I'm sure they will attend the Open House.  When they finished their tour and filled in the Comment Card and checked the box asking for missionaries I was so happy.  Rey (the Dad) added this comment on the card, "I would like (to know more) and really appreciate the kindness (and) hospitality of the hostess."

One of the next guests to come in was a couple from the Netherlands.  After greeting them I took them to one of our theatres and started our five-minute history video of Laie.  By then Sister Clark from Provo, Utah was availabe and I turned them over to her.  When they finished their tour, they too, filled out the Comment card and asked to have missionaries visit them.

Our Visitors' Center goal is to reach 300 Referrals a month and we met the goal for the first time in September (302)!  In September 8,319 guests visited the VC.  (The 302 referrals includes those the Sisters get working in the Call Center.)

So seeing two families in a row want to know more about the gospel is a wonderful experience.

Ho'omaluhia Botanical Garden

We needed a few hours to "get away" and rejuvenate our bodies so we drove to Kaneohe (40 minutes south) and visited the Ho'omaluhia Botanical Garden.  We've never been there and was impressed with the 400 acres planted with rain forest trees and shrubs.  It was first created by the US Army Corps of Engineers for flood protection and includes a 32-acre lake.

Temple Open House Planning in full gear

The hours and hours of planning and preparation for our big orientation meeting with all ward volunteer coordinators came to fruition tonight with over 160 coming to the VC for our presentation.  Theirs is the big job of organizing 70 to 100 volunteers for each shift.  There will be three shifts per day: 7:30 - 12:00; 11:30 - 4:00; 3:30 to 8:30.  Each stake has two or three days to cover.  Our job is to coordinate all the ushers, tour guides and sister missionaries (about 50 per shift).  Yours truly took the lead in developing the PowerPoint presentation for the training, along with creating a number of Roster forms.  In addition to the VC sister missionaries helping introduce each tour group and helping in the reception tent, we are recruiting 45+ former sister missionaries who are now BYUH students to supplement the full-time sisters.  The pictures show some of the attendees and Dean Ellis, chairman of the Usher Committee.  Dean is married to Lisa Bahen, both from our generation in Escondido.  Dean also serves as a bishop of a student ward at BYUH.  He does a great job leading our committee.

Termite Tenting

We had an interesting couple of days preparing for the tenting of our apartment for termites.  First, all opened food products, including refrigerator stuff, needed to be double-bagged - this took about three hours.  Then we moved to a vacant apartment across the driveway and stayed away for about 36 hours.  Of course, we reversed the process, unbagging and putting away the food.  A bearable inconvenience.