It's Painting Time!

Here's Dad doing his favorite thing. Yup! Painting! The renovation of Sister Kua's cottage is coming right along. They had better hurry because she is coming home in December and is she going to be surprised! Everything will be so different especially the color of the house and all her beloved plants have had to come out. That is all she asks about. They will grow back in no time though the way things grow here. I hope she will be ok when she sees what has been done. Ui and family have worked so hard. The cottage is at least 60 years old. I love these cottages. They are such a part of the history here. Nothing fancy. Just a living room, a small bathroom, with a small claw foot tub, small old fashioned kitchen with a tiny sink and 3 small bedrooms. I'll be sure to put a picture up of the finished project. Oh, and I had a little deja vu today. When we were looking at the windows Ui asked me if I knew about replacing glass panes. As I began looking up close I saw how the windows were held in place. I remember when I was young and we had broken windows we would go and buy new glass and bring it home and putty it back in place. I can remember rubbing that putty between my hands and making a thin "snake" out of it and putting it around the window and pushing it in place with my fingers and smoothing it out. Wall says that is called glazing and now you put it in with a putty knife so you get a nice smooth edge.

Ginger and Black Bean Manjou.

I was baking cookies just in case I needed to have some on hand for someone or something. I have found a new recipe for cookies using jello instant pudding. It makes them so soft and yummy. I saw Willy come home from work so I took some over to him. Pretty soon I hear "whooie, Fran" over he came and gave me a big bunch of ginger. They are beautiful. He is particularly proud of his pink ones. You have to cut all the foliage off and then put them in water.

Aren't they beautiful? I threw the leaves away. I should have kept a few and put them in with the flowers. If I was a real flower arranger of Hawaiian flowers I would have known that. Anyway they are beautiful on the table. I hope they last. What a lovely gift.

I forgot to mention that on Thursday when we came home in the evening Kaveyhi came over with some Black Bean Manjou. They are from the Lawai Bakery. We have heard we should go there for the pastries. Veyhi say no it will just cost you lots of money because they have so many yummy treats. Anyway, these little treats have the lightest, flakiest pastry with black bean filling. Mmmm so good. We never would have guessed. We love our neighbors.

We Love You Here!

Brother C. was so sweet today. We had a talk story meeting along with a little singing and strumming. He told us how much he enjoyed having us as full time senior missionaries here. He said he is going to talk to the powers that be and suggest they keep seniors here because they are long term and such an important part of the ward. We have made such a connection with him and Sis. C. they are a blessing in our lives. You know how it feels when you feel like you have known someone forever? The last few weeks Andrew's family has been working on shell lei's at our meeting table in his yard. We can hear the music, talking and laughter clear over here at our place. Guess what? We worried that we would have to discontinue our meetings but Andrew comes to get us and asks if we can go to the church to read. He loves reading with us. It is wonderful for us that he wants to have meetings with us. We really enjoy his friendship to. "Thank you, thank you", he says. "I like to be with you." His family speaks only Hawaiian at home so we wonder how much he really understands. He reads to us and we translate for him. He says he really likes our appointments every week at 14:30. That's 2:30 for you non military personnel. This week he said the Lord's Prayer in Hawaiian for the closing prayer. Beautiful.

A New Referral and Lois.

We sometimes get referrals on our phone. These referrals come from visitor center's and different places missionaries are. Today we were lucky and got 2. We found out that one was from the family of a man's fiance and the other is from a member of our ward. He didn't give us the referral but gave it to the missionaries at Temple Square when he was in SLC for conference. Go figure. We have contacted both and have made appointments. Cross your fingers. Ours are. Today was a great meeting with Lois. Things are going along so well. We are thrilled. Today we talked about the Holy Ghost (my part) and the Word of Wisdom (Dad). We usually have dinner first but today it wasn't quite done so I suggested lesson first and then dinner so we wouldn't keep them to long this evening. When I mentioned what we were going to talk about Lois said, "Oh no, I'm going to have to give up my coffee!" We all had a laugh over her expression. We talked about it and challenged her to give it up. That is her only problem and she wonders if she can do without it. We gave her some suggestions and told her we would check back on Sunday. I know she will do well. By the way, dinner was outstanding. Chicken enchiladas, salad and orange cheese cake. Yum! ... Happy 93rd Birthday Mom.

Oh What a Beautiful Sunrise!

I couldn't resist taking this beautiful picture this morning. We were headed out for our walk at about 6:15, I was a little slow today, and this is what we saw as we walked out our door. It was absolutely breath taking! Doesn't it remind you of the creation? Well, we watched it as the colors changed and turned lighter and the sun came up. How fantastic is that? We had District Meeting and it was about planning, using our planners and our time wisely. These elders are outstanding! Kind of like Our Boys !! They sure do a good job. I brought my absolutely delectable chocolate chip banana bread and we had a feast during and after our meeting. I love to take care of these "boys." We went to lunch a BK. The moa (chickens) didn't drive us inside this time like they did when the President was here. He couldn't get over it. We had to laugh at the expression on his face. On our way home our phone rang. It was the President and he asked me to put the phone on speaker so Wally could hear. I was so nervous I couldn't figure out how to do it. I asked him if I could call him back. I tried really hard to make it work and it still wouldn't. Anyway, he wanted to ask how we were doing and to make sure we knew how much he appreciated and loved us. He was concerned about how we were feeling and wanted to reassure us. What a great man. We are certainly lucky to have him as our leader and friend. We love Sister Dalton and feel the same way about her. Have I mentioned how blessed we are?

P-Day, Elizabeth and the Town Meeting.

We had a great p-day today. We were going to go to the beach and have some ice cream but other things came our way. At about 5:30 a.m. Bro. K called and asked Dad if he would come and give a blessing to a lady who was going in for cataract surgery this morning. We were already awake so it was a good start to the day. He loves to do things like that to help people of our ward. While he was with him, Bro. K asked if we would attend a town meeting tonight. It is about the Sugar Mill. It's going to be torn down but the towns people are worried about the asbestos, lead and other toxins being released into the air and settling ponds, where farmers are growing veggies and selling them at Farmer's Markets and mill canals that flow directly into the ocean when in rains. It is good for us to go in casual clothes and be a part of community and show interest in it he says. It was funny that while we were there people came up and said "hi" and recognized us as the people who walk all around the town at 6:00 in the morning. No secrets in Kekaha. Ya. Vince also called and asked if we could give another lesson to his mother, Elizabeth. She was so glad to have us come. She loves what we are teaching her and already has a testimony of a lot of things. We sure hope she will be well enough to be baptized. Oh, happy day!

Hilton's Baptism.

We had wonderful meetings today. We always love Fast Sunday. The spirit in our ward is unbelievable. We had some visitors from Highland, UT and also from Corona, CA. Most of them are working on the Base for a short period of time. We always visit with them and talk about home. It is fun to meet new people. Of course, the first question is " How did you get to come to Hawaii for your mission?" After meetings we went up to Kalaheo for a baptism. Hilton has been taking lessons for quite a while (2 years) and finally decided to take the plunge. Our Zone Leader taught him when he first came on his mission to Kauai. Hilton asked him to baptize him. It was great! An investigator gave the closing prayer and that really touched our hearts. Way to go Sisters! You Rock! You'll never guess~ We had a wonderful Hawaiian luncheon afterwards. Yumm. We sat with a nice couple, about our age, and their grandchildren. She is still teaching school. They know education so we had a great visit. We also had something else in common. They grew up in Kekaha. Small island.