Archie Adventure Hawaii

Archie Adventure Oahu Hawaii: Part I

We walked off the plane in Honolulu, and a wave of humidity washed over us. It was a new environment that we had not been in before. We made our way outside of the airport and a breeze cooled us off. We had been considering this trip as a maybe the year prior. We did not really want to take it, but it was the plan, if the worst happened. While the heat was warming us from the cold winter, we drove to our rental on the southwest side of the island, in a city called Waianae. Along the shore of Waianae, we saw many makeshift tarp tents; there were many that were just getting by with the little that they had. It was a reminder that everyone has some type of trial in their lives, it doesn’t matter if it is great or small, we can’t determine who has it worst because any trial is a difficult moment at any time. It is not a comparison, and the loss of self-worth, family, or whatever, affects us in many ways that we cannot comprehend unless we are that person. We can sympathize; but we can also hope for a better future. And that was what this trip was about, hoping for better times ahead.

Early on in our trip we spotted a little red-headed bird. Upon using our friend, Google, we found out that the bird was a Red-crested Cardinal. Heidi had said they made her think of Archer, then finding out the name of the bird it was solidified, this is Archie’s animal. As Dr. Fuerch had explained to us the mascot for Stanford is a cardinal in a tree. It just reminded us of Archer and the time spent at Stanford with him.

Along with the many times we saw the red-crested cardinal we were excited about all the other animals we would be able to see. It wasn’t until our second week in Hawaii that we would spot our first sea turtle in the wild. We were kayaking in the bay when all of a sudden, a sea turtle popped its head up. It was very exciting to see something so unique that is not in Utah. Later on, we would have more moments of spotting sea turtles as we paddled boarded and kayaked the Anahulu river. These turtles reminded us how Archer’s temperament was. He was slow in progressing but always constant and content.

Snorkeling brought us to see a rainbow of fish flavors. It was both our first-time experiencing snorkeling and found it fun and enjoyable. We had other animal encounters at the Sea Life Park. They made it possible for us to pet a dolphin and swim with some reef sharks. We spotted many a crab, mongoose that we originally thought was a weird Hawaiian rat, and the chameleons definitely remained an unseen mystery.

As we were being reminded of Archer, we wanted to be able to feel close to him. We went to the Laie Temple. The temple brought us peace and hope for the future, that we could be with him again. The temple grounds at night were amazing. In the dark, lights lit the way like a runway towards the candle on the hill that is the temple. It was lit up for everyone to see. It was a good feeling that we could be so far away from home and still find a place of peace and comfort.

Another place of peace and comfort was the Waianae 1st ward. The spirit was so strong that on the first Sunday there both Heidi and I remarked we hadn’t felt it like that for a while. We pondered whether this had to do with our affinity for 1 pm church, but decided the humility and dedication of the members there also magnified it (their willingness to sing the hymns with gusto, even though some were off key, brought the spirit in even more). It was a joy to be able to connect easily with people that we barely knew and share in the love of our Savior while away from home. We liked the way they demonstrated zeal for life and the gospel, we are working towards gaining that zeal in our lives like the members of the Waianae 1st ward. Today it was confirmed, 9 am church is just not our thing. We’ll work at plodding through this year, happy that church times will change in January.

https://www.enduringinfaithandhope.com/post/oahu-hawaii-archie-adventure-part-2