Wednesday, February 17, 2010

First Pics of Hawaii

Our first morning there, we walked to Turtle Bay from our condo.  We explored on the beach, and were so excited!  We caught a ride back down to Waikiki with Nick the driver, and Steven Sharp Nelson and his wife Julie.  Steven had just performed the night before with Jon Schmidt at BYUH.  It was great to meet them.








While Jonny scuba dove, I went to the Hilton, ate lunch, relaxed at the beach...it was awesome.  I found this really cool Asian sculpture that made me giggle.



Here are Danica and Monica (their names rhyme.) They are such cutie-pies.  We ate at this restaurant, owned by a member of the church.  It was fun to meet new people there.

Some senior missionaries: the McArthurs and the Eubanks (yes, the weatherman!)

We also met the cutest young couples.  Shirrell and Kelly were so nice to me.  We chatted for a long time, laughing and being silly...as the pics show.


The Sunday night fireside was one of the most incredible experiences we've ever had.  Jonathan was such a great speaker, and had so many students and people coming to meet him afterward.  I was asked to introduce him, which made me so nervous.  However, the people at BYUH are so loving and accepting, that I immediately felt at home.  We were so blessed to meet the Orgills.  They are awesome.  I talk more about them in another post, below.  Geralyn was the sweetheart that thought to take some pictures for us.  We are so grateful for all the people who helped us feel so welcome.  It was simply wonderful.


In the pic below: (left to right) Geralyn, Kristi and David Lucero (our hosts), Alama Fonua, Von and Sherri Orgill, and us!

More Video of the PCC







Video of our Experience at the PCC






La'ie Temple, The Point and the PCC

 
On Sunday, after church, we toured the Temple grounds.  I was trying to hide from the paparazzi.

The gorgeous Maternity wall sculpture is a representation of the love (water) that pours from generation to generation.  I thought I'd throw in a profile shot to celebrate maternity.  :)
The fountains that flow down from the Maternity Sculpture...
Recognize this cool guy?  It's Mark Eubank, the meteorologist from Utah.  He and his wife serve in the visitor's center.  He was an awesome tour guide!  He showed us a great video of the history of La'ie. 


During our free time on Sunday, we strolled down to the point at Turtle Bay.  The waves were huge!!!  You cannot tell by the pic, but each wave was at least 15 feet.  Some people there said the waves had been up to 40 feet during a recent storm a couple of days prior.

Monday morning, I had some time to myself, so I drove to the Point across from BYU-H, and enjoyed the sunrise there.  Wow!!!  I even saw whales far off the shore.





Dara Ngeat, the fisherman I met on the Point.  He is a convert to the church, and free dives for octopus, which he uses as bait.  It was so fun to watch him.  His wife is expecting their first baby, a girl, very soon.  They are naming her Kayla.
Recently, Dara (Duh-rah), caught a 65 pound fish.  Nutty!!!
During Jonny's break, I brought him over to the Point to meet Dara and see the gorgeous views there.

Now comes one of our most treasured memories of all time!!!  The Polynesian Cultural Center.  Our experience was unlike anything we ever imagined.  We had met the Orgills (Von and Sherri) the night before at the fireside.  Von was the presiding Stake President at the fireside, so I got to sit by Sherri on the stand.  I also introduced Jonny before he spoke.  It was a wonderful experience.  They told us to meet them at the PCC the next day at noon for lunch, and they would show us around for the rest of the day.  Little did we know what was in store.  Boy oh boy!!


The Orgills graciously welcomed us, then ate lunch with us at a V.I.P. table.  Then, they explained that our day was all arranged for us.  We would be guided personally by Tevita, who has worked at the PCC for a long time.  We were overwhelmed and had a hard time accepting such an amazing gift.  The feelings we had are indescribable.  Who are we to be treated with such kindness and honor?  It was so wonderful.

New Zealand was such an amazing performance.  We were both very teary-eyed, and moved by the experience.  Tevita, just below, was our personal tour guide the whole day and night. He pushed me in a wheelchair, which I originally laughed about.  But I was sooooo grateful for that service by the end of the day!  He was incredible.  Tevita is from Tonga.  He's so funny and friendly.  We hope to keep in touch with him to see what great things happen in his life.

In Fiji, below, we both danced up on stage.  We had front row seats to every show we went to. 



In Samoa, this awesome guy told the funniest jokes, butchered a coconut in a few seconds with his bare hands, and entertained us!

In Tahiti, Jonny was called up to dance.  He was a nut!

Tonga was a blast!  Jonny was called up to play the drums and be silly.  I think he enjoyed himself quite a lot!!!  He was so crazy.  The performers were so funny too.  We loved it!


Tevita took us on a water tour through the PCC. It was gorgeous.  Pictures cannot describe the beauty there.

 

 

 

  
This is the gorgeous couple that play lead roles in "Ha" at the PCC.  What a beautiful show.  I was almost vocally sobbing.  I was so touched by the message of family, resurrection, new birth...and the many moving performances that the dancers did.  Whoa.
 

Needless to say: the people are ALL beautiful who work at the PCC.  We were shocked at their friendliness and sweetness!  We were in heaven!  We were the very first people at the Luau to be taken up to eat.  We sat right in the center and enjoyed the beautiful music, yummy food, and met some great people too.  It was such an amazing experience!!!!!  It all seemed like a dream.  We are shocked that it really happened.  We cannot wait to go back!