Series of miracles.

Aloha! E komo mai!

• Brian aka Donk-dizzle: world’s best manager ever, early twenties, white guy who thinks he’s black
• Dwayne aka DK: professional model/ladykiller
• Tilawat aka Top: short, crazy Asian breaker who definitely had some tricks
• Kendahl aka KK: chill black girl with one big ghetto booty 
• Raquel aka Rochelle aka Roshanda: crazy black girl who wasn’t afraid to tell you what’s up but also very smart and sophisticated
• George: the weird one at work; late 20s ex-Army creeper - made all the girls uncomfortable
• Jasmine (cashier): the blondest black girl you’ll ever meet - I’ll share a story about her in a little
• Dalmone (cashier): funniest black girl ever, really nice and laughs really hard at all our jokes
• Marie: the guardshack’s sweetheart and man-magnet; the smart cheerleader that everyone wanted
• Me: probably the whitest-prepiest kid in the shack

Monday was kind of just for me. We drove to Liae on the other side of the island because I wanted to see the BYU campus and the temple. The campus was so tiny compared to BYU Provo. I think it’d be pretty to accurate to say that it was about the size of my middle school. It makes sense though; they only have 2,000 kids there and we have just over 30,000 at BYU Provo. It was great though and definitely a good experience. The temple was awesome. They had a visitors center and I got to talk to some sister missionaries like I did the previous week with Chandler. One of the sisters I met was actually good friends with my friend Aaron from BYU/Vegas so it was really cool to get to talk to her. When I left the sisters hooked me up with a Book of Mormon in Tagalog (the official Filipino language I’ll be speaking on my mission) and in Ilocano (the dialect my parents speak and the language that’s heard in my house) so that was really cool.

Afterwards we stopped at Waimea Valley to see the waterfalls but thought it was a rip off because we saw some pretty awesome waterfalls in Maui a few years back that we didn’t have to pay for so we dipped and went to spend some time at the Dole Plantation. My brother and I got these awesome bracelets with our Hawaiian names on them and then we got the best froyo ever - pineapple with fresh pineapple haha. Anyway, we headed back to the other side of the island and had dinner and a movie with baby Matt at their place and then went to bed for the night.

Tuesday we went to breakfast and then went shopping at Ala Moana mall. Alright so if you know me well, the mall and clothes for me are, well, a big part of my life haha. Growing up in Summerlin you gotta look good all the time because dressing down consists of wearing designer jeans and a hanes-T. Anyway, as I was walking around the mall I had absolutely no desire to buy clothes of any sort at all. I didn’t even want to look at them... and they had some great stores too! Weird right? Definitely not typical of me. I think its from hanging out with Addison so much. I just really don’t even care what I wear nowadays. I have no first impressions to make and everyone who knows me, knows me with trashy clothes and nice clothes so what’s the point? For the first time as long as I can remember, being at the mall was miserable. So what did I do? Go the book store and look at Men’s Fitness/health magazines because that actually interests me haha. 

Well not after too long we left and relaxed at the hotel for a bit and then headed to Paradise Cove for what was supposed to be the island’s best lu’au. Well, I’d say it was! It was really different. They had lots of activities and what not before the food was served which is definitely out of the blue. We made these sick crowns of banana tree leaves, had awesome Mai Tai drinks, got polynesian tribal tatoos, played some traditional games, got a hula lesson, and learned all about the culture. It was kind of like a mini-Polynesian Cultural Center for just Hawaii. I really enjoyed it and the view was gorgeous. We started dinner and had the show which had some awesome dancing and funny jokes. The view of the sunset over the ocean was tremendous, I couldn’t even explain to you. We were sitting to next to a kind of celebrity couple - the CEO of WWE and his wife haha. Anyway, after it was all over we left Paradise Cove and went back to Waikiki for the night.

Wednesday we picked up Matthew for the morning and went and spent some time playing at the beach. He was pretty tired though so he fell asleep not after long on my shoulder. Then we met up with an old-time family friend, Rante and his fiance at the BX. We knew Rante all the way back in the Oklahoma City days were I spent most of my younger years through elementary school. We had a clan of family that raised us all and he played a big part in, well, babysitting me and my brother haha. It was cool to be able to see him after almost ten years. Anyway, afterwards we went back to the hotel to get freshened up for our dinner Catamaran cruise that night with my Uncle Gener & Auntie Mariah, and Grandpa & Grandma. It was basically like a lu’au on the ocean. Jason got kind of seasick but I thought it was awesome. 

Thursday morning was an early morning. We got up around seven and went to Hanauma Bay to go snorkeling. I had never been snorkeling before and of course the whole wildlife thing isn’t really my scene. Truth be told, I’m terrified of anything that’s not human so being this close to fishes and wildlife was a bit of a step for me. Snorkeling itself was also a new experience for me. I thought it’d be pretty easy, I mean I swim so it should be easy right? No. Breathing was actually harder with the snorkel I thought! It was a lot of fun though. My brother and I went out really far, in fact all the way to the danger buoys which was a surprise and an accident. We saw some awesome fish!

I wasn’t paying attention when we first went out though and got us stuck in some coral though haha. Jason, like the retard he is, panicked when we got stuck, kicked harder and cut his knee on the coral haha. Of course, Matthew and his family joined us again because we just couldn’t get enough of that champ. Mom and dad went out and so did my aunt and uncle. By the time I went out for the second time the current had really picked up and was throwing us everywhere so we were done for the day because it was kicking up all the sand and we couldn’t see hardly anything. That night we met up with my Auntie Lani and Stan for dinner. My dad’s brother was married to her but passed away some-odd years ago but we, of course, still stay in touch because she’s family and my cousin Marlo was a big part of our lives growing up. She is in this amazing house at the top of one of the mountains in the island and you can basically see the whole island from it. She took us out to dinner at this kick-butt legit Chinese place and we caught up for the past few years that I’ve missed out on seeing her.

Friday we went to the windy Pali Lookout and then went kayaking again because my dad was so obsessed with it haha. Except this time, we got a double for my parents and my brother and I got singles. That was fun haha. We raced around Hickam Harbor and made it pretty far. My brother, of course, flipped his kayak over in the middle of the water and I had to help him back on haha. Afterwards we got ready and had dinner at my grandpa’s again. This really meant a lot to me because my grandpa and grandma put together a meal just for me and cooked all of my favorite foods. It really wasn’t a big deal to anyone else but to me it was. Small and simple things like that make a difference in my life and I couldn’t have been more happier or thankful for them. 

Saturday was quite a treat for me as well. If you’ve ever been to the Polynesian Cultural Center, you know what I’m talking about. Well, I had been joking around with my mom coming back to Hawaii and said that I wanted to go back there but she had other plans, reasonably, because every time we go to Hawaii we go there. But on Thursday when we had dinner with Auntie Lani and Stan, he mentioned that they had a new show there. So  my wish came true and my parents surprised me and my brother with full day tickets there including the lu’au and the new show entitled “Hā: Breath of Life.” We headed up the island back to Liae and spent the day there going to funny shows and trying lots of different polynesian things. 

The canoe ride is my favorite. They are so funny there! You just need to experience it. Ask me about some stories, I’d love to share them with you. Writing them here just won’t do it justice. The lu’au was well, a typical lu’au with a little bit of fresh rain to cool everyone off. The show was amazing. The concept was really neat and the organization was great. It was a story of a boy and the journey throughout his life to the different polynesian islands. Some parts of the show had a little bit of cheese on top but otherwise it was great. The show itself comes from the word “Aloha” which, as you know, in Hawaiian means hello, goodbye, and I love you. The word literally though, comes from two words “alo” and “ha”. Alo meaning life and ha meaning breath; so literally, “the breath of life.” The show, as my mom put it, is kind of like the whole circle of life, Lion King thing. It talks about how love brings forth a child and in a child is the breath of life and how that is passed along to the next generations and generations to come, through love. I’ve still yet to see a show better than that show (as far as polynesian dancing is concerned) so that can give you the kind of caliber it's on. 

Finally, Sunday, today, was goodbye day. We all had brunch at Zippy’s with basically or closest relatives here. It was a bit sad but still good. We had good conversation as of course Matthew kept us entertained. Then we migrated outside and goodbyes began. We took lots of pictures, everyone wished me good luck in the Philippines, and then we were off.

Needless to say my life has just been a miracle lately. I couldn’t ask for any better. Great family, great friends, and even more important, my mission is coming up. I really owe it all to BYU. The people there have given me such a good way to look out on life. I remember just not too long ago, Mat helping me struggle out of rough times and bringing me to the Church; when I thought the world was out to get me and each day was just a struggle of things against me. Now, I’m completely different. It’s all about what Bishop Grant taught us in his secret to life: be positive. 

Today our flight was supposed to leave at 2:30pm. As the plane went down to the runway, it stopped, and the pilot informed us that we’d have to switch aircraft because of a malfunction in the current one. Our flight would be delayed nearly two hours and I feel like everyone in the cabin wanted to cry, including me. But it didn’t take me long to snap out of that. I looked around and realized that I could make myself miserable like everyone else and make the next two hours the longest two hours of my life, or I could just look at it in a positive way. The pilot was doing his most important job: keeping us safe. How could I complain about that? Besides, they would have to deal with enough cranky people so I definitely didn’t need to add to that. So I looked at my brother and parents and said, “Hey everyone, let’s just be positive about this!” Of course everyone looked at me like I had lost my mind haha so I just put on a smile and unboarded the plane with a little bit of a jolly spunk to keep everyone’s spirits up. To my surprise I turned on a phone to a text from Adds which always makes me happy. Nothing like hearing from one of your best friends. And on top of that, I got a text from Kirt’s mom asking me for my address because Kirt’s been wanting to write me and none of my letters had been getting to him and I also got a call from one of the sister missionaries from temple square.

Aloha & Mahalo.