Lusvardi Mission Reunion

In mid-October we flew to Salt Lake City for a mission reunion.  Fred Mensel was insistent that we stay with them.  That was warmly welcomed.  We so enjoyed our time with Fred and Jane.  It was wonderful to get to know Jane better.  Fred was the one I worked with in the paint shop.

Colleen and Allan Schmidt live in South Jordan so it wasn't a long drive for them.  She was everything Conservation and he was a master craftsman in the carpentry shop.

There were so many familiar faces of people I love!  There were also a lot of faces that were completely unfamiliar as they left prior to our arrival.  We served under the Lusvardis for only seven months.

Jane Mensel showed off her talents with others who perform some amazing music written by Gregg Draney and Philip Munoa.

So many young, beautiful faces.  I recognized many but cannot recall names as I didn't have much interaction with them. 

Larry and Jody Prettyman were some people that we enjoyed very much.  

So thankful for Mela Whiting for taking so many selfies with others so I could grab them off of her Facebook.  Here she is with Joyce and Tom Craner and Sharon Hayhurst.

This was supposed to be an outdoor event but I'm so glad it was cool and blustery and wet so we could be inside.  

Mela with Debbie Jensen.

Mary and Morgan Warner singing with the group.

Our dear Eloise and John Carlson.

We drove in the same time as Allan and Mary Howard and hugged tightly in the parking lot.  They were such a blessing to us as we rode with them to Hannibal each week.  When they went home, church was cancelled due to the beginning of the pandemic.  I loved painting with her although she was a lot slower than I.  Allan was the other half of the talent in the carpentry shop.  

Larry and Jody opened up their mission call while they sat at our table.  They will leave in early April to serve in Adam-Ondi-Ahman.  

Gloria and Rich Irion served as temple president and matron for the first few months of our service.  He is so funny.  I'm glad they were invited.  

Mark and Julianne Lusvardi put on a very specific event.  He was always very mindful of time.

Eloise with Linda Stapley and Pat Quirl.  Lovely ladies!

Sherry Robertson and Mela.

Maryjane Wadley lent her voice to some of the music performed.

Ian Baeten was there with his wife.  She was part of the Nauvoo Brass Band our first summer or maybe the summer before we arrived.  What a small world!

It wasn't nearly long enough to get to visit with everyone we wanted to.

One bonus of going to this reunion is that we were able to attend the homecoming of Doug and Jolene Bingham.  We, and the Carlsons surprised them and the tears they shed let us know how they loved us.  The Julanders and Kearls were also there.  There was no way to know that this would be the last time we would be blessed to see Doug as he passed just six weeks later.  We have lost three men whom we served with already.   

 

Thankfulness

 Thanksgiving 2021 is in the books.  I enjoyed having all of our family with us for at least part of the day.  Edwina joined us which made me happy.  We had a fabulous meal in which everyone brought something for all to enjoy.  We watched the dog show as tradition would dictate.  We played "I doubt it".  That is always a good time.  We crafted.  Cute little Christmas trees popped up all over the kitchen table.  Little hats were made by little hands.  Love was everywhere!

 But, sadness filled my heart as we found out that Doug Bingham, one of our dear, dear mission friends had a massive stroke a few days ago and passed on last evening.  He was so full of life and always had a twinkle in his eye.  My heart aches for his spunky Jolene.  I can't even imagine what she's dealing with.  They just bought a house and moved in only six days ago.  

 Still, even with that, there is so much to be thankful for.  I share an amazing family with my eternal sweetheart.  We have these children and children-in-law and grandchildren who fill our hearts to overflowing.  We have a warm, comfortable home with enough.  Enough to eat and wear and have.  

 We have amazing friends whom we met over the course of our 21 month mission who will be our forever friends.  Some were missionaries, some were employees of the FM group while others were people we met in the Hannibal branch.  Relationships are so valuable and I cherish them so much.  I have siblings whom I can't imagine life without.  

I have the gospel of Jesus Christ with the opportunities to serve.  Mostly I have the atonement of Jesus Christ in my life and a relationship with my Heavenly Father.  How I find peace and joy in those things. 

 Life is grand!  Some people don't get to have it long enough; some have it too long as they deal with dementia or other maladies.  But the plan is perfect.  We get to come to this beautiful earth and live our lives and create families and relationships.  "No man is a failure who has friends." - Clarence the angel.

Us

Dennis Allsop told us that there are three stages to retirement.

The go go years.

The slow go years.

and the no go years. 

This is the beginning of our go go years and this was our second adventure of the year but the first one that had to be planned our precisely with airline tickets and a place to rent and a car rental.

Plus all the things we wanted to go do and see. 

We enjoyed the swimming every day and sitting on the beach watching the waves. 

We enjoyed being the tourists. 

We sat outside most days and read our scriptures and watched the sun rise. 

I was careful to not spend too much time in the sun as I couldn't find my sunscreen.

We loved watching the waves!

The views were spectacular!

The food was delicious and everything was expensive!

I'm glad to have this guy by my side.

The flight was long but so worth the ride.  I look forward to our next adventure!

 

Surfers

After snorkeling we drove around and found some people surfing so we stopped to watch.  We found a lady with a super telephoto lens filming people in her surfing group. 

She told Pat to lift her surfboard to see how lightweight they are.

Lots of people waiting for the right wave.  There is an etiquette to surfing in not taking the same wave as someone else.  It causes possible collisions.

The surfing in the summer is done on the south shore. 

The north shore becomes the place to be in the winter months.

I would have liked to try it in my younger days.  Not so much anymore.  Still, it was fun to watch them catch a wave and see how long they could ride it.

Snorkeling

We went snorkeling at Shark's Cove.  We should've had some type of water shoe as there was a lot of rough stone on the bottom.  Not everywhere and it wasn't deep at all.

I've never done snorkeling before but the masks we had made it so easy.  I could never get used to breathing through my mouth with one on and this way I didn't have to.

We saw several different kinds of fish.  Not as big of a variety as I would have liked.  It was interesting as the water poured into the cove, it pushed you.  

I was also amazed with the buoyancy of the salt water.  In swimming, I didn't have to try to stay on top.  I just did.  Pat used the waterproof packet to take his phone underwater.  It worked!  The phone stayed dry and we got a few neat videos.  

 

Luau

The luau was delicious and entertaining.  There was a show going on the entire time we were there.  

Beautiful, graceful dancing was done throughout.

The Emcee was Aunty somebody who referred to all of the workers as her nephews and nieces.  Of course they really weren't.

After being seated we were each given a pina colada drink out of a pineapple.  It was delish!

The pig was roasted in the ground and these men carried it to the carvers.  We tried all kinds of foods.  I found that the desserts were not sweet.  I picked and chose what to try.  I didn't waste my tummy space on a salad that I could get anywhere.  It was a delightful evening.  A great way to cap off all of the things we experienced over the afternoon.  We finished with "Ha! A Breath of Life" show which ended about 8:45.  It was beautiful but I struggled to stay awake as it was 2am in my body.

 

Polynesian Cultural Center

The Polynesian Cultural Center was an amazing experience.  We had a guy working the information booth guide us through making a plan.  There is so much to see and take in that it is difficult to do unless you have a plan.  These photos aren't in any particular order.

This Tongan man is playing the nose flute.  He was really good but why with your nose?

The inside of a home in the Hawaiian village. 

The exterior of the block where the center is.  

Inside of the building of the Samoan village.  There was a presentation that was quite humorous. 

Inside of a King's home.

The Tongan presentation with three "volunteers."  Very fun to watch.

One of the first sights to see upon getting in the canoe ride up to the Hawaiian village. 

Another view of a King's home.

This boat was given by the people of New Zealand, the Mouris.  It is 40 feet long.

Another view from our "canoe".

The Hakai done by the New Zealanders. 

We were able to witness a Tahitian wedding.  

The bride and groom were dressed in such fancy ceremonial clothing and headdresses.  An interesting fact that rather than saying, "I do." the Tahitans say "no" in their language.  The question asked of them is, "Will you ever leave me?"

After they were married, all the married couples were able to stand up and face one another holding hands.  We were asked that same question and given the "no" answer in their language.  I was unprepared for the feelings that surged through me as I looked into my sweetheart's eyes and told him I would never leave him. I fell in love with him all over again.  It was a highlight of our day.

This man is from Fiji.  The international date line runs right through their largest island.

This Hawaiian dancer never gave us any other look on his face but this one.  Very stern!

Riding past Samoa in our canoe were these coconuts.  We learned about the palm tree and coconuts from the man below.

He is 54 and works at BYU-Hawaii.  He told us all about Samoan culture in a very funny way.  At the end, he climbed a palm tree and did a fire dance!  It was amazing to say the least. 

She is also from Fiji.  While there we played along with the music with by pounding some large sticks on the ground.  They were hollow with only one end open.

The boat is what the one in Moana is fashioned after.  

This Fijian man did some sort of dance for us.  The singers were very good.  Great harmonies!  Such a fun day.  We began at 12:45 and didn't stop until it was time to go to the luau.  We learned how to throw a spear properly and watched some wood carving.  We toured the first mission home.  It was an action packed day!