June 29, 2025

What Are We Doing?

Dennis' Makau Fish Hook on its stand.

I thought I might just update you on all the stuff that's been going on for the last couple of months that have kept me too busy to write. (Not really. I just couldn't hone in on anything profound, so I kept putting it off.)

Dennis

Dennis has spent his time at the PCC on special projects in IT, transferring large amounts of  data to new systems and automating account updates due to the high turn-over of student workers. He's been writing code to try to accomplish that, making slow, steady progress. In other words, he's in his element and loving it. 

On most weekends he gets to carve a bit.

Dennis' Makau and the stand. Note the detail.

Our next door neighbors work at the Visitors Center, and they asked him to make a bookstand for displaying the scriptures on their front desk. He just finished that this weekend.

Bookstand for Visitors Center.

Debbi

May is busy around here. One major factor is the annual fire knife competition that goes on for several days. Check it out at https://worldfireknife.com/ Most, if not all, of that footage was shot at the Polynesian Cultural Center. Some we saw in person. I love the drums that accompany the dance, but I wear earplugs.  I hope to leave here with my hearing intact!

Another glimpse into fire knife is a PBS documentary on one of the female champions (local here): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=orAH3XbhJF8.

Fire knife is part of "We Are Samoa," a month-long festival, if you will, in which all the schools in the area use the theater at the Center to put on end-of-year programs. Since so many here have Samoan roots, this is a big deal. There are many major productions.

This was also the time period when limited showings of the movie the Center produced started. It's been winning awards at festivals and is scheduled for some theaters soon. The movie is about the students at BYU-H, most of whom work at the Center to contribute to their tuition. Their stories and struggles are mind blowing and humbling. https://www.sharingalohathemovie.com/

I wasn't in the middle of all this, but I was on the fringes, writing/editing copy.

Right at the end of April, with the new semester at BYU-H, I started attending a class, but not as a student. I was there to learn about what all goes into preparing a double-hulled canoe and his crew for a one-month sail around the islands of Oahu, Molokai, and Maui. BYU-H owns and the Center houses Iosepa (said canoe) and I was writing about it. (https://blog.polynesia.com/voyaging-iosepa-2025) In the process, I got to know the students who would be part of the crew, and was asked to monitor and edit the copy they would be sending out daily from the voyage. That I did, adding to the fun for the month of June, and the posts are still coming in. If you use Instagram, you can check them out @iosepavoyagers.

The sail was May 22 through June 20. It was kind of exciting to follow along with them on their adventure. Though they had an itinerary, they had to change it a few times in the middle of the trip because of weather or other factors. Part of sailing is being able to adapt--big life lessons for the voyagers. I'm still writing about it--things to be published on the Center's blog page later, maybe. And of course I painted  a 16 x 20 portrait of the canoe.

"Iosepa" Painted in May 2025

Interestingly, one of our missionary friends wanted to buy it, so this one won't be coming home with us. 

Below is another one that has found new home.

Alex O'Brien moved, taking "Pretty Boy" with her.

Most of the paintings so far I still have, and their numbers are growing. But I am doing some things that are specifically for people here. As mentioned a couple of blogs ago, our district did talk me into teaching them to paint. We had a fun evening as each person expressed herself/himself on canvas (and I gave away my "samples.") And I added artistic piano benches to my list of skills. More pics later.