Summer Solstice
Monday, June 16, 2025
Started out with our walk:
I realized this morning that the ocean and horizon are much the same each morning. The rocks and land masses stay the same. The sun moves back and forth in its position, but very slowly. It’s the timing and the clouds that make the Sunrise!
Then in my personal study today I came across a reference for this article from 1976. I really enjoyed it:
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/new-era/1976/08/spiritual-crocodiles?lang=eng
Then, I received a surprise phone call from Hutia! My neighbor from Provo, Utah. She is on island and wanted to meet for lunch. Why I didn’t take a picture of the two of us together at Tita’s Grill?! I don’t know!
It was great spending the Lunch Hour with her!!
Afternoon of student visits and check ins. . . and finished the day with Ukulele class. . . Almost. Got called out for a student in distress. Everyone is OK!
Tuesday, June 17, 2025
Sunrise (cloud formations)
It is Devotional Tuesday! With two in one day. . .and this is the final devotional for BYU-H until Fall Semester.
After this wonderful devotional we had meetings with Family Services from Honolulu that were on campus for the day.
Then I had to take a student down to Honolulu for an appointment. . . And treated them to dinner at Zippy’s
Whew . . . Made it back for the Mandatory Senior Missionary Monthly Devotional. This was a musical devotional and Aloha Oe’ for the Bassett’s.
Wednesday, June 18, 2025
A beautiful morning . . .
On campus all day with meetings in the office and around campus. Student visits and check in’s
Final Hope Squad Class for Spring Semester 2025
Great way to finish off the middle of the week!
Thursday, June 19, 2025
Campus is closed, no classes today! Honoring the Federal Holiday; Juneteenth
A welcomed day away from campus – chores around the pad –
Friday, June 20, 2025
Beautiful Morning Walk
Campus meetings and booth sitting with the Hope Squad greeting students headed to the library.
Sr. Sisters Brown Bag Lunch group met at Sister Burke’s amazing Pad:
It was a blessing to finish the day at the temple:
Saturday, June 21, 2025
It doesn’t feel as noticeable with the “longest daylight” of the year. Maybe being closer to the equator it is more even days and nights? Here’s to lots of daylight!
After finishing up the Pday errands, we drove up to Haleiwa for the Art Festival:
I go to meet an artist that I’ve been admiring his work, it was so fun to meet him, what a genuinely delightful person to talk to, and very talented. We are holding his “triptych” of Laie Point – Winward Oahu.
We hurried (through turtle traffic on the Kam Hwy) for our La’ie District 2 Dinner at the Turtle House.
It was a wonderful evening with our fellow missionaries . We say goodbye to Elder and Sister Greiner who have been serving for the last 23 months. He has been teaching religion and she has been in the theater department on BYU Hawaii campus.
Sunday, June 22, 2025
A wonderful day of rest! We attended church at 8am in our La’ie 6th Ward. We love our ward. We were able to visit with family members via Facebook and I had the time to put this newsletter together.
Today is Donut Hole Day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We finished this Sabbath Day at a Fireside for the Voyage of the Iosepa
It was a beautiful presentation about the end of the 2025 Voyage of the Iosepa.
This magnificent 57-foot double hulled canoe was commissioned and built in 2001 through a grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, under the direction of Sione Tuione Pulotu with assistance from master carver Kawika Eskaran. It is designed as a sailing classroom as part of BYU-Hawai‘i’s Hawaiian Studies program so that students can learn ancient navigational skills, connect to their Polynesian history and experience an adventure of a lifetime.
Volunteers from the community including BYU-Hawai‘i students participated in its construction, which took an amazingly quick 8 months. Kawika has shared that numerous miracles took place in the construction process. “Many times we were faced with an issue we did not know how to address. We would pray to our ancestors for guidance, we would have faith, and soon an answer would come. It would always come.”
“Unlike most other contemporary canoes which are built out of fiberglass with modern technology,” stated Von Orgill, former President of BYU-Hawaii, “the Iosepa is hand-carved out of dakua wood transported from Fiji. Iosepa’s spirit is very strong. It not only connects the Polynesian Cultural Center with BYU-Hawai‘i, but also unites the entire Hawaiian community and residents of La‘ie.”
The Iosepa sails approximately every two years, circling the Hawaiian Islands. Students are selected as crew members and are taught the ancient skills of navigation by the stars. They visit ports along the islands so that they can share the unique and powerful history of ancient navigation with Hawaiian communities. The crew is met with great ceremony. They receive “aloha” or “mana”, and they share “i’ ke”. And then, as a way to honor and bless others, the crew takes time to perform service to the community.
This powerful ship, housed in the “Halau Wa’o o Iosepa” (Canoe House of Learning), bridges not only those of Polynesian descent with their kapuna, or ancestors, through their voyages, it helps them to connect to the world by sharing its beauty and purpose to the visitors of the Polynesian Cultural Center.
President of the Polynesian Cultural Center, Alfred Grace said, “To us, Our canoe (boat) has the same meaning as the handcart does to you.”
What a beautiful way to end the week. . . Sail on
Love,
Elder and Sister Hudnall
