Hello Family Members,

First things first. Jared and Tania are here in Hawaii and it was sure nice to be able to see them. They landed in Honolulu just after midnight on Friday. On Saturday they made their way up to Laie and walked right into the Visitor Center. It was so great to see them and to get some hugs. It is true. Family is EVERYYTHING!

We miss you all. They will be here until Sunday and then they will fly back home. We are fortunate enough to have almost the whole week with them. Elder and Sister Swinton were kind enough to cover our shifts so we could be with them. It is such a gift and I am very grateful. We have pretty much the whole week planned out. Now to figure out how to make the time go slower !!!

James flew out on Wednesday and is now in the Missionary Training Center. Glad he made it safely there. The Missionary Training Center is a great place to be. I am looking forward to reading his letters. Along with Stevens.

I told Roland tonight that when I was home I thought I was doing a lot of things and keeping busy. Now that I am a missionary I am wondering just what did I do at home. We are so busy that it is hard to keep up as to what day it is. I would never have thought that I would be so busy. I love it !!! There is so much to love about a mission. First off we get to help others. We also have 25 sister missionaries that are so amazing. They are so kind and so fun to be with and they put in a lot of work each day. Such a great example they are. I get to meet some of the most amazing people. I spent a half hour talking with a young man. He was interested in the gospel and those talks are always nice. Each day brings new things. There is never a day that doesn’t have something different going on. I love our mission. Sunday are very busy. When people get out of church they often come over to the center and want to watch movies or to talk with family or friends. We normally end up with around 600 people or more on a Sundays. I have often wondered how many miles (yes miles) I walk in the visitor center. Perhaps one of these days I will need to keep track!

It is spring break in Utah for sure. Utah people rank #1 this week as the top tourist! Chinese is probably #2. Today I asked a young girl and her brother as to what was the fun part of Hawaii. They thought swimming was and then they said that they come every year to Hawaii. They were so cute chatting to me about their vacation. The children are just the best. We had a music fireside tonight at the visitor center and it was very good. Those that performed did an excellent job. The center was totally packed. The doors were open and people were sitting outside to listen to the music. It makes for a very nice evening. The current plan is to have something going on every other Sunday. One would be music and the other would be a presentation. It will be interesting to see how it all shapes up.

I continue to walk or ride my bike. Some weeks it is only maybe 3-4 times a week and then other weeks it is more. I have found two more buoys and that was actually yesterday. I found two small ones. One white and one orange. I had two buoy’s given to me and I have found 5 so far. I was not really thinking about finding them but once I found one other kept popping up. So I have a mini collection and in time I will get rid of some of them. I have also found some really pretty flowers and have posted a couple. I have been trying to get better at writing letters and also writing in my journal and making some phone calls to those who cannot call. Like Mom Smith. Actually in Mom Smith’s area if any of you have some time. She would love to have a letter and even a picture.

It is time for me to finish up things here at the house. I have to get the Birthday treats finished. We celebrate birthdays usually at the beginning of the month but this month it is tomorrow. So I am making brownies baked in the mini meatloaf pans and then there will be strawberries and whip cream to go on top of it all. This month we have 4 birthdays,

Sending my love to you all.
Much love
Mother.

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