A few years ago when I finally got back into Amateur Radio and regained my license, I met Glen Powell, the head of the local Amateur Radio Emergency Services club (he was at that time also a firefighter / battalion chief at the Pocatello Fire Department. He’s since been promoted to be in charge of code enforcement). Emergency preparedness has been an interest for many years and ham radio plays an important part. Since that time, Glen and his wife Joni have become delightful friends.

When Nina and I received our mission call to the Laie Hawaii Temple Visitors’ Center, Glen promised that he and Joni would pay us a visit. True to his word, they flew into Honolulu last Saturday and came up to Laie yesterday (Wednesday). We spent the day at the Polynesian Cultural Center and had a grand time.

We were able to spend time at five of the PCC Island: Tonga, Samoa, Aeotera (New Zealand), Tahiti, and Fiji. We watched the canoe pageant, went to the Hawaii Journey movie, ate dinner at Island Buffet, and closed out the day at the Night Show, Ha, The Breath of Life. Among all of that we visited, talked, laughed, and generally caught up on our lives over the past couple of years. You know when you’re spending time with good friends when conversations just flow as though we’ve been together the whole time. Thanks, Glen and Joni, for coming by and helping us have a truly refreshing Preparation Day! It was over way too quickly.

The other excitement going on right now is the biannual launch of the Iosepa. This is a double-hulled canoe built as a replica of the great canoes that the Polynesians used to sail across the huge expanses of the south Pacific Ocean. The canoe is stored at the Polynesian Cultural Center in between sailings. Besides being a tourist attraction, it is used to teach BYU-Hawaii students the navigation techniques used anciently to navigate by the stars, the sun, and the moon. Because it launches only every couple of years, getting it to the water and actually launched is quite a process. The picture to the left is the boat positioned at the top of the beach waiting to be dragged down to the water.

From that position, a large track-driven backhoe shoved the trailer carrying the Iosepa down to the water’s edge. Then a line was taken out to a pilot boat which pulled, helped along by a gazillion people, the boat into the water. The picture to the right is the Iosepa in the Hukilau Beach cove ready to sail as soon as the weather improves. It is very windy today with very high waves out beyond the coral reefs.

As I was walking around the beach early Wednesday morning, the day the Iosepa was to be put into the water, I saw an older woman pull up a chair and sit down with a drum. Every few minutes she’d beat out a rhythm on the drum and chant something in some Polynesian language. I took the picture to the left and continued my explorations. As I was leaving to go back home (to meet up with Glen and Joni), I walked past her and she beckoned my to come over. I did and asked her if she was there to bless the launch. That she was, she told me, but she needed a man to stand beside her. The beating of the drum was a call for a warrior to come and stand beside her. Unfortunately, I didn’t want to take the time. So, I’ll just keep a memory of being a symbolic representation of a warrior for a few fleeting moments.

Meanwhile, the Iosepa is planned to set sail tomorrow and the navigation training begins. Good Luck and Safe Voyages!

Ta ta for now!