Lei Ceremony

Sunday May 22, 2022   

Email #34 

Aloha Everyone!

 

Work was much better this week with getting the registers up and running.  The extra step I was taught to do by the other store manager last week really helped a lot and saved me tons of time this week.  I’m so grateful to have received that extra help.  

 

Once a month we have a group senior missionary FHE.  This past Monday, it was a musical evening with a few performances and people talking about their favorite hymns and then we all sang that hymn together.  I had previously been asked to accompany to hymns.  I had fun playing but missed being able to sing with everyone.  It was a special evening and at times it sounded so great in the room—like we had angels with us.  My favorite part was when Elder Redder talked about the hymn “Praise to the Man” and what that hymn means to him.  We then sang it, and everyone stood up to honor Joseph Smith. It was an emotional moment for me, and I felt the spirit very strongly. I wanted to also stand up but I had to keep playing the piano.  I know that Joseph Smith was the prophet of the restoration.  The spirit testified that to me again that evening.

 

There is a high school senior—Jarom--who used to work at the uke store with me. We became  good friends before he was transferred to work at another store at the PCC (where my friend Ilene Barton works).  He graduated high school Thursday and invited us to his “lei ceremony” in the evening.  I had never heard of that ceremony before. Scott and I (and the Bartons) went to honor him and to see what it was all about.  It was an amazing event.  Each graduate stood in the parking lot—a place designated according to their last name and people who want to honor the graduate brought a lei to put on them and to greet them.  We were the first ones there for Jarom.  By the time we left the parking lot, some of the students had so many leis on them, it was hard for them to see.  I can’t imagine what it was like at the very end of the night.  It was fun to see how decorated some of the students were AND how creative the leis were. It is a very fun tradition! There is such a strong sense of community and family here that I love.  

 

We had a senior missionary activity on Saturday.  Two of the Elders serving here had previously served in the military—each of them having served on submarines.  For those missionaries who wanted to attend—we went to Pearl Harbor and toured the submarine there.  We were supposed to have had a “private tour” by those two elders but the group was spread out so Scott and I didn’t get to hear either of them. The one thing I did get from the experience was a tremendous appreciation for those who serve our country and are willing to live in places like a submarine for months at a time to keep our country safe.  It was really eye opening to see the actual conditions a service man would have in lived in back then. 

 

I don’t have much to report on about our service at the visitor’s center.  Last week was very slow—hardly any traffic through it.  Today was busier and I was able to talk to a woman who lives here on the Island but she had never been on the temple grounds.  She and her mother (from California) listened to the narration at the Christus and I know that they were touched.  She said that she could feel something different in the room.  At that point someone else took over and explained about God’s spirit being there.  I wish I could have followed up with them, but I had to man the front area.  We were short handed today.  We are enjoying this experience and being able to testify occasionally. 

 

We are so very grateful to be here! Thanks for your prayers!  We love you all!

Much love,

Sister Bleak, mom, grandma

 

 

How I have seen the hand of the Lord in my life this week:

*I was able to get help from the right person to know what to do for the “register problem”.

*I felt the spirit as we sang “Praise to the Man” at FHE.  It was a powerful moment. 

*I was going to be late for work on Tuesday because the fruit/veggie bin was late getting here.  I was notified by Lilli (the floating supervisor) that she would be working at our store, and she picked up the key and opened the registers.  Huge tender mercy.

*I was prompted to go look at the shirts on a table at the warehouse.  I was told that they were part of someone else’s order. But they were actually a part of our order and needed to be put with the rest of the order to arrive at the store.  It would have been a big mess if I hadn’t of checked it out. 

*I was able to get help when I was locked out of the house without my phone, car keys, and needed to get ready for work

 

 

An experience Scott had with his work at the PCC.  Here is his journal entry:

 

 

Prior to this date I had a feeling, a very small feeling, that I should write an email to President Grace, who is the president of the PCC about the subject talked about below. So, on Monday, May 9, 2022, I composed the following email addressed to the president. But I didn’t send it as I wanted to have a spiritual confirmation before I sent it. I didn’t get an impression to send it, but I kept the email anyway. It is below. I didn’t do a final polishing of the letter that I would have done before I would have sent it. But here it is:

                                                                                                    

Dear President Grace,

 

I am grateful to be serving a mission here at the PCC in the Planning and Projects group. As an architect, I have been involved with assisting in the planning of some significant projects for the Church, including many temples in the Polynesian islands. I have been here for almost 8 months and desire to complete my mission having contributed to the PCC in a positive manner. I would like to offer my assistance in strengthening and clarifying the mission of the Center for the next fifty years in relation to its facilities. There are buildings and areas of the center that are under-utilized that could be repurposed requiring appropriate investigation as to their potential. I am glad to assist in this investigation and planning for future improvements and investment. Without leadership’s direction and involvement, it’s futile for the planning group to perform any meaningful investigation. Maintaining the status quo of the center is certainly one business option for the foreseeable future but maintaining the character and image of the center in the future is essential. I will certainly continue to assist architecturally in the maintenance of the current facilities. There remains a lot of untapped potential for the center yet to be explored without changing its character and mission. I love the culture of Polynesia and the Polynesian Cultural Center. The PCC is clearly a fantastic destination experience for all visitors to the center. I would like to strengthen this for the future.

 

Thank you for considering these comments. I know comments from senior missionaries are endless and are not invited nor welcomed and usually miss the mark. Perhaps I am also missing the mark. Certainly, we don’t know the history and the many things that have been tried over the years. I’m not here to change things, but to improve things where improvements are warranted under the direction of the PCC leadership. I want to support your effort to create a “world-class experience for the PCC patrons”, not just in food and entertainment, but also in the venues. However, my experience is in relation to buildings. I can help with these.

 

Sincerely and with my deepest respect,

Elder Scott Bleak

 

 

On Wednesday, May 18, 2022, this is the email I sent to Kelii, Jerome and Jarom of the planning group to report on our meeting:

 

Kelii and I met with Pres. Grace, president of the PCC, and with Jared Hester, the finance VP, in the President’s office to discuss the project to raise the flat roof of the Hale Ohana Luau building. We showed the SketchUp model images showing the base bid design and the possible add alternates. They reviewed the images of the existing and the proposed new patron views and weighed the improved sightlines against the cost to do the work. We discussed the pros and cons and decided that the net benefit of the better views was not worth … dollars. We will look into adding decorations and paint elements to this building as well as the Hale Aloha Luau venue as well as propose a new stage roof structure (no. 1 priority) to protect the performers during rain showers.

 

The conversation then moved to looking at existing office space utilization including the buildings that are empty and how they could be repurposed, especially the Welcome Center. Jarod suggested providing outdoor restaurant eating/sitting areas fenced off between the Gateway and the Welcome Center as well as inside the center area of the Welcome Center. Kelii suggested extending some of that to the front side of the Welcome Center. I suggested including a retail component in it a long with possible food trucks along the Marriott Hotel front walkway. These ideas were well received.

 

The conversation then moved into the idea of a master plan and visioning for future development to support the islands theming/branding. No new buildings would be proposed until the existing utilization is much higher, and a defined need is established. That said, the number of BYUH students is increasing, thereby possibly needing more jobs at the PCC. A master plan could facilitate this future need.

 

Great meeting,

Scott Bleak

 

I was very surprised by the development in the meeting and so I did not send my own personal email to the President. Kelii and I met with Eric Workman, who is the marketing VP, on the topic of reopening the Welcome Center a few weeks ago. The day after our meeting with the president and Jarod, Kelii and I met again with Eric on another matter and brought up our discussion about a master plan and the Welcome Center. He seemed very positive with the possibilities too. Now the weight of producing or at least starting a master plan is on me. This will be a lot of work. The trick will be to keep it moving in a positive direction that the three PCC leaders will agree with.