Today we had a big regional (Hawaii state) conference for church, and one of the Twelve Apostles of the church, L. Tom Perry, came to speak. I really enjoy speakers who are comfortable expressing their personality along with sharing their messages, and boy, could you tell that he was glad to be in Hawaii and so happy to be sharing his message with us.

At the end of the meeting, all of the congregation stood up and sang Aloha Oe, led by the bearded man at the podium (who happens to be the grandfather of a friend of mine. This community is so small!), and there were more than a few teary eyes in the room.

There is an on going discussion of unity and improving the relationship between the school and the community, and the things said aren't always the most positive, but in situations like this, who is a student and who is community matters a lot less, and that is a very good thing.