August Letter

 Dear Family & Friends, 

Hello. How are you? This month was great. We took a family trip to Hawaii this month which was amazing. It was such a cool place to visit and I'm so glad that we could go as a family before my mission. We went to the island of Oahu and stayed on the north shore. While we were there we visited the Dole Plantation on the island and got to see a lot of cool things there. It was so green and lush which was really cool to see. We got a lot of pineapple themed food there as well as fresh pineapple which was amazing.  

We went to the beach almost every day while we were there as well. The beaches there are incredible and were so fun. We did some cliff jumping at one of the beaches which was super fun. we brought boogie boards with us as well which were fun to use on the big waves. I tried to use a surf board on one of our trips to the beach but couldn't even stand up on the board. I got a nice tan as well being there for as long as we were. 

We visited Pearl Harbor there as well which was awesome. It's especially cool for me because now I've been to where the war in the pacific started, where the first atomic bomb was created and where the first atomic bomb used in war was dropped. I love going to historical sites because I find history very interesting so I'm glad that we got to go while we were in Hawaii. We got to take a ferry out to the USS Arizona memorial out on the water and learn more about the ship out there. It's crazy that the Arizona has been sitting underwater for the past 80 plus years. 

We went ziplining in Hawaii as well. It was super fun and I had a great time. Our guides with us on the zipline were awesome and did a great job. It was cool to go ziplining in such a lush green place as well. We went on 3 different lines that got progressively longer each line. The last line had two different lines so two people could race each other so I raced Brandon on the last line. He ended up winning our race.  

We went to a luau on Oahu as well which was probably the coolest part of our trip. It was awesome to learn more about Polynesian history, tradition and cooking at the Luau and the cast for our Luau did an incredible job. I got to learn how to crack a coconut there as well. They are a lot more tough than I thought they were and I didn't know that they had an outer husk on them that you have to peel off. The way I learned was to bash the coconut on a stick and then pry the husk off.

It rained a lot of the days we were there which would explain why the island is so green. We saw some awesome rainbows there because of all the rain. I love island rain as well because it's so light almost like mist a lot of the time. The place that we stayed at was awesome too. It had a pickleball court in the backyard so we played some pickleball while we were there which was super fun. The room that I slept in had the nicest AC unit ever as well because my room was always ice cold whenever I went to bed which was awesome because I can't sleep in a hot room. We had the McCollough cousins over one of the nights for dinner as well and it was so cool to get to know them better. They live so far away I never really got to meet them but they are awesome and so fun to hang out with. 

I start my mission in October and I'm going to Indonesia. My mission covers the whole country so I'm excited to see where I end up in Indonesia. I'm working full time right now at a Ford dealership as a detailer. It's a great job and I work with some awesome people. I'm grateful for my job and the financial freedom that it offers me. I hope that you all have a great end of the summer. Bye.

Love, Eric James Barnhisel

July Letter

  Dear Family & Friends, 

Hello, how are you? This month was great. Brandon returned from his mission this month and it was so good to see him again and hear about his mission. We also took family pictures with him back so now we have updated ones. 

I'm pretty obsessed with Star Wars as well. I love everything Star Wars and got a nice replica lightsaber for my birthday. Kyle wanted one too so he bought one. One of the things I'm dreading is the fact that I wont be able to watch any Star Wars for two years while I'm on my mission. When I'm back though I'm going to make sure I watch all the Star Wars movies all over again. 

This is a picture of all of us after Brandon got released as a missionary. It was awesome to hear his report on his mission and to be there when he got released. 

We went to the Spanish Fork Rodeo with Brandon as well. It was awesome and I can't believe we have  lived down here for 4 years and this was the first time we had every gone to the Spanish Fork rodeo. The best part of the rodeo was seeing BMX riders doing crazy flips and tricks off a huge ramp. 

We took a big family trip to Bear Lake this month as well. We did some pretty awesome stuff there. We got wave runners two of the days we were there which are so fun. I want to buy a few when I'm back from my mission for sure. we also rented an inflatable tramp out on the water one of the days which was super fun. We tried to get Sam to jump off the tramp into the water but he still isn't super comfortable in the water yet so he did not. We met up with Aunt Jenny and her kids while we were there as well. We had fun doing watersports with them and spending time with them. Aunt Jen also rented a boat while we were there so I got to learn how to wake surf which was difficult at first but super fun when I got the hang of it. We also got some good sun while we were there as well. 

I received my mission call as well this month! I will be serving for the next 2 years in the Indonesia, Jakarta mission speaking Indonesian. I start the MTC on October 30th and leave for Indonesia on December 18th. My friends all came to watch we open my call as well which was awesome. I'm super grateful for them. I'm excited to go serve the lord and the people of Indonesia. Wish me all the best!

Only a few more letters before I head off to Indonesia. It's crazy how I have been writing these letters for 18 years and soon I'll write my last one here before starting to write mission letters. I hope that you all have a great end of summer and a cool start of fall. Bye.

Love, Eric James Barnhisel