When we submitted our missionary application form we indicated that we would go anywhere in the world … and then we were assigned to the Visitors’ Center in Hawaii. What I hadn’t realized or thought about when we received our mission call is that by being here the world would come to us. And so it has, more than 15,000 people in the month of May alone. Sunday evening as we tumbled finally into bed we both remarked about how much busier we are this year, both in sheer number of visitors at the Center as well as our own work schedule, than we were last year at this time.

One significant difference is the number of mainland Chinese visitors who are coming to the Visitors’ Center. Two hundred or more a day are arriving in tour bus loads of 25-30 people on average. We’ve never seen this before and seriously hope that it continues. Temple Square in Salt Lake City estimates that they get around 60,000 Chinese-speaking visitors a year. Based on April and May numbers here in Laie, if the trend continues we’ll receive between 20,000 and 25,000 Chinese-speaking visitors. From a staffing standpoint that means making sure we have at least one Chinese-speaking sister missionary on duty all the time and, if possible, two during the afternoon. The other day three bus-loads arrived all at the same time. I was taking a member family from Utah on a tour when the Chinese arrived. I explained what was happening to the Utah family and the mother told her 11-year-old son to go say hello to them.

It turns out that the boy along with two of his younger sisters are in a Chinese-immersion program at their school. He was in his third year where half the day is spent communicating in Chinese. He bounced right up front and immediately became a huge hit (see the picture above). They all crowded around him, peppering him with questions. He did very well, understood most of what was going on and responding in good Chinese. He’s now in at least 50 picture albums! I told his mother that the picture-taking would occur to make sure she was OK with it. She was … and she definitely saw the value in learning to speak Chinese!

Whichever direction we drive from Laie we drive along the seashore. Very often we pass people fishing. Usually they have several fishing poles set up along the shore, each with a little bell attached which will ring should anything take the bait. In the picture to the right one pole is visible in the front. Three more are along the shore, not quite visible. The same fisherman had two more poles behind me making a total six fishing poles. Meanwhile, he was sitting in a small tent drinking a cold one, playing a video game on his smart phone. Nina and I both wonder what fish they catch. I’m not a fisherman, but that seems to be a workable method. Actually, it got me thinking about going to the seashore and setting up my ham radio system while Nina scours the beach for all of her treasures.