We’ve made it through the first thirty hours in Hawaii! It has been an incredible day. And, as it comes to a close, I just have to say to everyone else, just suck it up. I get to do this every day for the next 23 months….

Just kidding, though (maybe).

The picture was taken earlier this evening just after dark. It’d been better if I’d taken it about a half-hour earlier, so stay tuned: better pictures to come. It is a beautiful sight. The Laie Temple is in the background and the lights on the temple are illuminating a bit of the sky. The fountains in the foreground look almost like fire! The visitor’s center is to the right and out of sight of this picture. The building to the left houses the Church’s Distribution Center and the Family History Library.

We were given the day to get settled, so we spent the early morning getting unpacked, trying to figure out where to put everything, and making a list of what we needed to buy. We met with the Laie Temple Visitor’s Center Director, Elder Priday and his wife at 10:15 for an orientation. They then drove us around the area to show us some of the places we’d need to know, such as shopping, drug stores, markets, and restaurants.

After that, Nina and I had lunch with good friends Richard Clark and his wife Corrine (I hope that’s how it’s spelled … if not, my apologies). Richard and I were colleagues a number of years ago in Japan and Colorado Springs. They were here for a wedding in their family at the Laie Temple and their schedule worked out that we could get together for a few minutes. They’re great people and it was just delightful to catch up with them on all that has gone on with their lives and families.

We spent an hour at the Visitor’s Center around 2:30 this afternoon for more orientation and then went shopping. Stuff is not cheap here in Hawaii! Most of what we bought today, however, were one-time purchases, such as a rice cooker, a Brita water filter, some pots and pans, and such. Some food items are very inexpensive, like fruit, and other things are pretty expensive, like milk. There are, however, two food stores in the area so we’ll soon figure out where to buy different items to make the best use of our money.

Then we were back at the Center from 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm to go through the closing process. There are two shifts at the Center. One goes from 9 am until 2:30 pm. The other goes from 2:30 pm until 8 pm when the Center closes. There is a short overlap at 2:30. Our schedule has us working the afternoon shift on Saturday, the morning shift on Sunday and Monday, the afternoon shift on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday. We have Thursdays off. Every six weeks the schedules flip and then we have Wednesdays off.

During our assigned shifts, Nina manages the front desk and kind of orchestrates what goes on inside of the Center. My job has to do with managing what goes on outside the Center and greeting people as they arrive. There are about 24 young sister missionaries that conduct the tours and do most of the interaction with the visitors. They are also assigned to be in the Center on either the morning or afternoon shifts, but not necessarily on the same schedule that Nina and I are on. That means that during the week we’ll work at one time or another with all of the sister missionaries.

And these sister missionaries are a diverse and delightful group. They come from (East) Germany, Korea, Japan, Hong Kong, Beijing, and the Philippines (and I’ve probably missed a couple of countries) as well as all across the United States. When they’re not on assignment at the Center, they do regular proselyting work in assigned areas. They are fun, excited, young, vivacious, and sweet. I’m so happy that I don’t have to keep up with them!

So, now I have all kinds of things new to write about. More tomorrow!

Life is glorious.