A Wedding in HAWAII (no, not mine!)

What is it about swaying palm trees, soft ocean breezes, turquoise water, and soft sandy beaches that just screams out “Paradise!”

That feeling is never more pronounced than when you get on a plane leaving one of the most desolate places on earth (the Mojave Desert) and exit six hours later into unimaginable beauty and richness- Hawaii.

For us desert dwellers, the experience is essentially sensory overload. All this greenery, all this color. Air that is soft, warm, and moist. To go from 7% humidity to 90% in just a few hours is almost more than the human body can handle.

Another happy couple!

So what brought us to Hawaii in July you ask?

It was all due to the largess of my nephew Jamison, oldest son of my only brother (Joe Bill). He and his fiancée live in Vegas, but wanted a low-key wedding on a Hawaiian beach, after which they would continue on to Japan for their honeymoon. Of course he wanted his favorite uncle (me) to give the wedding talk, so he flew Shirley and me out to Oahu, as well as his parents. Joe & Rhonda.

Expensive? Maybe. But still less than hosting the 150 or so attendees at the usual Vegas Witness wedding. Attendance at the beach wedding? 14. 

The beach/jungle setting looked oddly familiar, and no wonder. “Jurassic Park” and the TV series “Lost” were both filmed in the vicinity, as well as a number of other shows.

So I hustled up and got legal to perform weddings in Hawaii. (Note to readers: If anyone out there is planning on getting married in Hawaii and you need someone to give the wedding talk, my schedule is open.)

Shirley at Diamond Head

Jamison & Jesse- Pre-Wedding

We arrived Saturday, July 25 after a 6 hour direct flight from Vegas on Hawaiian Air. 

(Hawaiians refer to Las Vegas as the “9th Island” because almost everyone has a relative who lives there, and it’s their favorite vacation destination.) 

Two hours later we were on Waikiki Beach and swimming in the warm Pacific. The 115 degree heat we left behind in Vegas was only a distant memory.

Sunday Shirley and I got up early and rode the bus out to Diamond Head where we climbed to the top and survey the magnificent views. Then we rested up for the 4 PM wedding which was taking place over on the windward side of Oahu, more rural and far less populated than Honolulu.

Everything went smooth with the wedding and the meal at Jill’s (Jamison’s wife) uncle’s house, which sat on a hill overlooking the ocean. No heat or air necessary- the ocean breezes blow all the time. I particularly admired the neighbor’s mango tree which was loaded with (sadly still green) mangos.

Rob, Joe, Jamison & Jesse

After that it was time to check into our beach bungalow in the small town of Waimanalo. The following week would prove to be incredibly fun, and was over all too soon.

I'll just let the pictures do the talking.

High Fivin' the Sumo Guy

                                                 Joe almost gets knocked over by the win at Pali lookout

La'ie Point

                                                    Waikiki & Diamond Head

Turtle at Turtle Beach, & snorkeling at Hanauma Bay

Kingdom Hall at Ka'a'awa

Kingdom Hall at Waimanalo

At the Shore Bird in Waikiki, you cook your own

Roll Tide!

Flowers, Flowers, everywhere....

Sunset on Waikiki

Over 105 Degrees for 23 Days Straight (That's what I'm talking about!)

Of course, it's not always 105 (40 C). Sometimes it's 110 (43 C) or 115 (46 C). Ah, but like they say, it's a "dry heat"- much like the heat you feel if you turn your blow dryer on high and shoot it straight into your face for a few minutes.
So yeah- the humidity is only 5%, but it's so dry you're afraid that any moment some spark from static electricity might catch you on fire.
That was June here in the Mojave Desert- 23 straight days of temperatures of at least 105 degrees (it was much hotter for many of the days).
Of course, most people work indoors where there's air-conditioning. In fact, in the data center where I work, it's a constant 68 all year long.
So the only time you really feel the heat is when you walk out to your car after work. Now if you have the misfortune of not having covered parking, you learn quickly to use your shirttail or some other insulating material to grab the door handle, because touching any metal surface will give you instant  third degree burns.
Then when you get home, you park in your 200 degree garage and sprint for the cool interior of your abode and perhaps pop open a cool one as you gaze out your window and admire your rock yard and the few plants tough enough to take the heat.
If you're like many Las Vegans and have a pool, then this is the perfect time.
Here's the anomaly:
Because it's so dry, when you get out of the pool it's actually sort of cold initially, because the water is evaporating off your body so fast. But once it's evaporated (fairly quickly), reality sets in and it's time to get back in the water.
But what about Field Service?

Me & my Vietnamese buddy Kevin inviting folks to the Regional

When it's time to pass out invitations to the regional convention, there's no other way than to get out and pound the pavement.
Wear a hat, use an umbrella, dress in light clothing, and carry water. And brothers- don't forget the tie. Seriously.
I guess I don't have to tell you that afternoon service is limited- at least for going door-to-door.
Hey- but at least we don't have to go out in the snow!

After Service, a nice reward at Super Burrito

Spring in the Desert means it's Memorial Season

Evan & I just before a well-deserved bagel break.

Springtime in the desert is the best time, and of course it’s Memorial Season as well.

Temperatures are in the 80’s and humidity is single digits.

Here in the Silverado Congregation, we have more than 100 territories, but a lot of our 120 publishers auxiliary pioneered (alongside our 14 regular pioneers) and we got all of the territories covered.

We enjoyed a special guest speaker, our former circuit overseer, Aurelius Ransom, who is now assigned to the US Branch with new responsibilities.

Unfortunately, we don’t enjoy the massive Memorial attendance that congregations in the “needgreater” countries experience, but we still had an attendance of 200 which is good for us.

It shows there’s still plenty of work to do in our territory.

Every Memorial, the Yellow Banks Rose in front of the house is in bloom.


 

Shirley & the sistahs doin' it for themselves.

It was great to have Br. Ransom as Memorial speaker.

Elder School in Vegas

After a year-long break for no particular reason, the blog is resuming. It’s so easy to just let life drift by and before you know it, years have passed. That tells me that before too long I’ll wake up one day and be heading off to the foreign field to serve where the need is greater. I just need a couple of more things to fall in line, but I see the goal right in front of me.

OK- so a year and half after Shirley’s heart-attack at the circuit assembly, she’s fully recovered and you’d never know it happened. So far those stents are holding and her heart’s pumping fine.

Manny & Jesse at Elder School

In February, Manny & I attended Elder School here in Las Vegas, which always gets the blood flowing. Hard to believe it’s been more than 5 years since I went to school in Patterson in 2009. Now the school travels from city to city and the 2 instructors (former circuit overseers) are permanently on the road.

There were about 30 brothers at the school and I’ve posted a few photos. There were many highlights, but the ones I’m most free to disclose have to do with food, which was lovingly prepared by various congregations.

These cool desks attach right to the seats and make it much easier to maneuver books & notes etc. They're used for Pioneer School as well.

Inside the Kingdom Hall before class

Can you believe it? Six (count 'em) SIX varieties meatloaf  on  Meatloaf Day.
                   Does it get any better than this?

                                    

I'm a salad guy, and we had some good ones.

More goodies

One day at break, we had this nice healthy shrimp & avocado dish.  Really tasty.

               

Dining table complete with table cloth.