It looks like about half of the visitors to the Center are members of the Church. Lately we’ve had a number of groups from mainland China stop here. The tour companies like to bring people to the Visitors’ Center because we treat people very well, it’s such a beautiful place, and it’s free. The tours usually only stop for five or ten minutes before they’re on their way again. The sister missionaries and I try to meet these tour groups out by the fountains to offer to take their pictures and to invite them to come inside. The sister missionaries are excellent tour guides once people come into the Center, particularly if we have a missionary that speaks the visitor’s language. Today a group from China stopped and Sister Qiu (from Hong Kong) greeted them and they got so interested that they were in the Center for more than a half an hour while their tour guide cooled his heels….
When possible I like to meet up with members who are visiting. That was the case this afternoon with the couple that missed the session. They spent about 20 minutes with me as I gave them a brief tour of the exhibits in the Center and talked about the history of the Temple. We have a number of videos available to show in two theaters and two smaller teaching rooms. One video is an older film about the Laie area, the Temple, the university, and the Polynesian Cultural Center. This film is five minutes long and I invited them to see that video which they really enjoyed. As they left, the wife said to me, “Thanks for making this a wonderful afternoon!” Money can’t buy these kinds of feelings!
A film company is here making a new 30-minute video on Laie, the university, the Temple, and the PCC which is scheduled to be shown this coming October between sessions of General Conference. I’m really looking forward to seeing what they have put together. This place is worth more than a five-minute video!
Life is very comfortable.