Meet Elder Chiang

Meet Elder Chiang, a convert from Taiwan. He is a student worker
in my office and just got called to the Honolulu Mission. Due to some health
challenges, he will serve a few months there and if all goes well, will
be reassigned to another mission after going to the MTC.

Because of visa issues Jerry Chiang couldn't return home before he left for his mission.
Thanks to a generous donation from some dear friends and Bill's sister and husband, we took
Jerry shopping to get him outfitted.  My friend Karla was kind enough to give a second
opinion and hem up multiple pairs of pants. Jerry is so enthusiastic 
and outgoing and will make a great missionary.

For a P-Day we explored the area above Shark's Cove called Pupukea.
The ruins of an ancient heiau or temple sits atop one of the first mountains. 

The temple was huge with a 20 foot tower in the back. There were
several levels to the temple area.

Here is the view of Waimea Beach from the temple site. If you look
closely you can see a swimming competition in the ocean below.




Next up we hop on our bikes just adjacent to a Scout Camp
at the end of the road.

Our bike ride consisted of washed out roads,

steep switchbacks

dirt with lush tropical areas

and great views. I think we earned a stop at Ted's Bakery
for a chocolate croissant (me) and an eclair (Bill).

Group P-Day Hike

Yesterday on our P-Day we joined some other senior missionaries
for the Pu'u Ma'elieli Digging Trail Hike.

It was very wooded and lush with vegetation. Lots of
roots to hike over.

Here is the whole group on top of the pillbox.
The digging trail area was used by over 4,500 troops
during WWII for training exercises.

We were rewarded with a fine view of Kaneohe and Kailua.

We are always stunned by the beauty of this place.

A Second Graduation

Here is Venus from our student ward at her graduation. It was raining,
but that didn't dampen the spirit of the occasion. Her mom came from
Taiwan for the happy event.

This is Liahona and his wife who just graduated. You can see
that the Samoans go all out. Liahona worked in the
Career Center with me.

Here is another of our employees Young Che. She is Korean and these
are her cute parents. Keni Kelama, her supervisor is in the back with another
Korean employee named Park. Young Che is a hard worker and
quick study. She just got hired by FamilySearch in Salt Lake City
to do a 6 month internship. She is fluent in English and needs a place to stay.
If any friends or neighbors are willing to give her a room for a few months
it would be so helpful. 

While I have been busy with the students, Bill is nearly done with
his first round of faculty duplexes. They are very nice and cool
besides with the fans in the attic and windows throughout the home
designed to take full advantage of the prevailing trade winds for
ventilation. Few homes here are conditioned. Two down and 4 more
to open soon. Six more duplexes are in the planning stages. 

Memorial Day

Elder and Sister Dunham invited us to visit Punchbowl Cemetery
and then go to the lantern ceremony in Honolulu. 

There was a flag and a lei on each of the graves
 placed  there by scout troops.

 The Punch Bowl is in a beautiful location and is a military cemetery.

We then went to the lantern ceremony on Ala Moana Beach.  The
lanterns were free and people would write messages to their loved ones
on the sides before launching them in the ocean at dusk.

There were over 50,000 people there and thousands of lanterns were
launched. Boats out in the ocean eventually
picked them up.

It was a breathtaking sight. Here is the video.

We were surprised to get a text from our nephew Mark Owens
that he was speaking to some students in a few minutes at the
school. Fortunately, it was a few minutes walk for us. We were
pleased to listen to him talk to the students about his career and
show them some of his amazing photos. They were impressed.

Saturday we did our favorite 22 mile bike ride along the beach and stopped
by the Ocean Fest at Turtle Bay for an acaia bowl.

Out with the Old, in with the New (Well Sort of)

We bought a 2009 Toyota from a missionary that was leaving to use when we arrived.
A couple of months ago the check engine light  came on. The car seemed to be
running fine, but we took it into service and they suspected it was a transmission issue.
Well we decided to drive the car until it gave us problems as we didn't think it
prudent to put in another $4,000 into an old  car that we had paid $6,000 for. Well,
on the way home from work the other day the car started having problems. I couldn't go over
15 miles/hr on the  Kam Highway. On a prayer, I made it into our driveway.

Last Saturday, we purchased a 2013 Honda Fit (same white color as our old car).
We hope we can sell the car for $2-3,000 less than we paid for it in a year. That's
cheaper than a new transmission plus it came with a one year warranty.

Last week we had a former Disney top manager speak to us about bringing the
"Disney Magic" to the workplace. John Formica was entertaining and had some
great ideas. This is our office staff with he and his wife.

Last Friday night we were taking tickets at the PCC and a woman seemingly
wanted to take a picture in front of the large carved wooden doors. I was trying to
get out of the way when I realized through hand signals (no English spoken)
that she wanted a picture with me. I obliged and felt a little like a Disney
character after John Formica's training on "Disney Magic".

To top off the week, we had dinner with our neighbors Carolyn Cox and her family.
We went to a Thai restaurant named Opal Thai in Haleiwa. It was an experience.
The owner comes out and asks what you like and then decides what you are going to have.
He then proceeds to have the staff bring out dish after dish of yummy appetizers
and main dishes until you are so full you have to tell him to stop. It was great fun
and delicious and so fun to see our friends.
Reservations are recommended as it is a small place in a strip mall.

Our Newest Addition

Here is baby Scott Michael Garff. He was born on his great-grandfather Mark Garff's 110th birthday. 

After coming 4 weeks early and some scares with Catherine's pre-eclampsia we were glad he and mom
were able to come home over a week later.  Thanks to the great newborn and mama care at LDS Hospital. We
feel very blessed as things could have turned out very differently. Though Catherine had an emergency
C-section and baby came home on oxygen for a little while, all is well. 

Part of my job description is airport driver for office trips. Here is the gang off to
Korea on a career-connect trip. These 5 Korean students will have the opportunity to meet
with future possible employers and attend a business conference in Seoul.

We have been busy at work. Emma was our employee of the month. She certified in MBTI
with me and is very helpful in the office. I am glad she isn't going home for the summer.
Our director Mark presented her with the award.

Here is part of our office crew. We will miss the Noels who are returning to Utah
in a few weeks. It seems with 150 + senior missionaries there are always some coming and some going.

This was our Saturday morning activity. Bill is next to our dear Bishop Mahoni
and to of our sisters, Kelsy on the right is one of our Relief Society Presidents.
Bishop works at the PCC and does beautiful Maori artwork and wood carvings.

Here is our gatherings. This is mostly plastic waste, much
of it washing up from miles away.

Here is the crew at the end of our service day.

Running in to More Friends

Going to work at the PCC and day and who should I run into but
Shauna Delahunty who I used to work with? It is amazing how
many people we run into.

This last P-day we decided to ride from our house all the
way to Waimea Canyon, a 22 mile roundtrip. As we went along
the North Shore we saw some lots of snorkelers in Sharks Cove.

So after we got home we headed to the beach. The water was
like a bathtub and we saw turtles and lots of fish. One plus of
getting closer to summer is that the North Shore waters are
getting calmer.