Ever since we arrived almost four months ago, a regular topic for announcements and discussions at Church in the Laie 3rd Ward was the Ward Camp. It’s happening this week. Most of the ward members pack up kit and caboodle and spend the week encamped on the shore a short way from town. We’ve been told that “in the old days” the whole community would camp for the entire summer down at the beach so that people could get to know each other and develop a sense of community. Now days, each of the wards here in town pick a week during the summer and off they go camping!
Nina and I stopped by there yesterday afternoon on our way back to town and visited with some of the folks for a bit. That’s probably the only time we’ll get over there as our Visitors’ Center schedule pretty much precludes any time there. We’re assigned to go to Zone Conference tomorrow morning so we’ll be on the afternoon shift at the Center. Saturday we’re working the morning shift but then are taking tickets at the Polynesian Cultural Center in the afternoon. The encampment started on Tuesday when we were working the afternoon shift. Yesterday was our Preparation Day and we pretty much had the day consumed with everything associated with getting “prepared”. Next year we’ll have to do a much better job of scheduling. It actually looks like they were having a lot of fun!
We stopped yesterday for a few minutes in a town west of Laie called Hale’iwa. The main purpose was to visit Roy Tabora’s art gallery. One of his paintings hangs on the north wall of the Visitor’s Center and it is an amazing seascape. Many visitors to the Center comment on the painting. He has a beautiful way of showcasing light and sea. Mr. Tabora is in the foreground in the picture and Nina is way in the background talking to the gallery manager. We’d like very much to take one of his pieces of art back home with us. Hale’iwa is definitely a tourist town and we had fun poking through a couple of shops and enjoying some ice cream before heading home to finish things up (I needed to finish ironing my shirts, for instance). We ended up being fully prepared.
Another successful Preparation Day is in the books!