January 15, 2006
Dear Family,
Let’s see, where were we…car alarms on the shmoneyboon, pick-up-sticks in California, pick up cars in Las Vegas, overweight luggage- Oh yes, we were on our way to Hawaii when Jonny became exhausted in the last letter. We were exhausted when we finally boarded Hawaiian airlines flight 37, and he was right- the plane ride to Honolulu was much cozier with someone to snuggle with on the way. I should start counting all of the comments we receive about our obvious newlywed tactics. I am not exactly sure what they are, but obviously we have quite a few of them because people comment on our cute “newlywedness.” Maybe a seedling in a bed of flowers can’t really tell that it’s a seedling until it’s old enough to watch younger seedlings grow up beside it. I guess we will understand our culture of newlywedness when we have sprouted a few more pretty petals. For now, I suppose that you can be entertained by the subconscious tactics of the Frandsen newlyweds as we tell the tales of the last few petals we have sprouted here in Hawaii.
Jonny and I are content claiming that we are still on our shmoneyboon, seeing as how we have sprouted our first roots in the land of Aloha. It has been fun to respond when people ask us where we went on our honeymoon. We took a trek all the way to California and then strait on through the ocean. Hawaii has been a wonderful place to make our first home. Having been here before I have loved introducing my husband to everything and everyone in Hawaii. One can not duplicate the feeling of driving home from the airport in a small rusty truck with a large happy Polynesian friend. We were very thankful for my friend Loui who picked us up from the airport with only one day’s notice. BYU Hawaii’s Coconut express shuttle’s fee was not quite in favor of a newlywed budget. But, Loui came to the rescue and he picked us and our heavy luggage up from the airport and treated the newlyweds to a cozy ride home and would not accept any money for gas as a gift. We were once again overwhelmed by the kindness of our good friends. Loui just laughed and said, “Well if you can stand a little rust leak from this old truck I would be happy to help you out whenever.”
It was so much fun to watch Jonny’s face as we drove out of Honolulu along side the sea carved mountains, through the sporadic misty storms, beside the blue water beaches all the way to lovely Laie. I couldn’t wait to go exploring with him. We reached the McMurtrey’s home (where our studio apartment is connected) and unpacked all of our things. The size of our apartment is perfect for our new, “seedling” relationship. It is actually a lot larger than I had expected, even though it is still quite a bit smaller than either of our bedrooms at home. The bathroom is a nice size, which is especially nice because it is also our kitchen. We actually have a tub, which comes in handy when we wash extra big dishes. Having a tub is a luxury that even Sherri and I did not enjoy. Jonny was especially excited for his Sunday morning Russian readings in the bathtub. It was even more fun to see Jonny’s expression when we took a trip to our personal Queen’s bathtub beach just about thirty paces away from our front door. Legend has it that the ancient Hawaiians built the three or four foot walls out in the waves to keep them from crashing onto the beach- creating a natural pool, or “bath tub.” The ancients did a great job. I definitely felt like a queen strolling along that Hawaiian shoreline with my prince charming.
It’s easy to feel like royalty in Hawaii. Jonny has turned to me so many times to comment on how incredibly nice everyone is here. I can’t help but agree. We took the bus to North Shore, and the first time we got on, we were mistaken about how much it costs to ride the bus. The driver let it slide. The second time we boarded the bus, we were under the impression that we could ride as far north as we wanted to on the same ticket. Once again, we were wrong, but our naïve navigational skills were so obvious that the bus driver once again took pity on us and let us ride all of the way to Haleawa on our same ticket. We loved binging on the famous avocado burgers and Motzimoto’s shaved ice while watching the wild waves crash in to Waimeha bay. Jonny can’t wait to go surfing. I think that Hawaiian culture is catching up with him. We visited the PCC just the other night to watch the big Polynesian boys play on stage. Many of them are my friends. They love their jobs in the night show. The cultural dances have definitely been altered for audience entertainment value, but we enjoyed glow in the dark Poi ball dances just as much as the next tourist.
Bishop McMurtrey and his wife are almost too nice to us. They have invited us over for Sunday dinner two weeks in a row. Even though we had made plans to cook our own meal, their invitation was very welcome. I was talking to my mother on the phone just this afternoon as she was finishing up dinner for the family. She hesitantly asked what we were having for lunch and I told her that we were making pancakes just to hold us over until we eat dinner with the McMurtreys. She laughed and said, “I’m so glad you miss us so much!” Of course nothing can compare to our family’s cooking, but bishop and his wife have gone out of their way to help us feel at home. One night we were running the fans, cooking plate, lights and the microwave at the same time. Ten seconds after we turned the microwave on, everything turned off. After a few moments of silent stupor, I flashed back to the good ole days when Amber, Kaitlyn and I would all be getting ready for school together at one end of the house…and all of the sudden everything would turn off. The fuse box didn’t stand a chance against three teenage girls. So, Jonny and I trekked outside by the light of our cell phones to locate the blown fuse. We didn’t find it, but Bishop McMurtrey was outside just a few moments later with a smile and his lantern. He chuckled about the fickle wiring in the home, showed us where to find the fuse box and then gave us his lantern to keep in our apartment. He reminded me that cell phone lights are insufficient when there is an occasional telephone pole crash on Kamehameha Highway. One whole side of the island goes dark. The McMurtreys have been a constant light to us and our home in Hawaii.
It has been so easy to feel the light and love of our Savior in our first couple of weeks. We have been so blessed to come across so many kind people who have really gone out of their way to help our roots grow in Hawaii. Brother Gold, a science professor who was also in the Bishopric when I served in the 20th ward, gave Jonny an awesome job working with him on some research to develop an enzyme that will fight against cancerous tumors. Jonny doubts that he is qualified for the work, but he is extremely excited for the experience. His salary is also one dollar higher per hour than any other campus job, including mine. I can not complain though. Dr. Compton invited me to work with him the International Cultural Studies department once again. He assigned me to write the ICS newsletter. I am very excited, especially because I have so many awesome professors to work with. It has been so much fun to introduce Jonny to all of the teachers whom I admire most. My culture conflict professor, Dr. Ford, had an amazing career working for the UN in Northern Ireland, Israel and a few other unstable countries. He has some crazy experiences that he weaves into our class discussions. Dr. Ford is going to be a great asset as I write my senior research. I love his class and look forward to the readings. He also worked with an NGO that uses sports therapy to help heal cultural conflicts. It is quite similar to the work I did with the Shropshire Music Foundation in Kosovo. In addition to all of this, Dr. Ford also writes a basketball column for ESPN. I think that is what impressed Jonny the most.
I have been very fortunate to be in a major with such incredible professors. I know that it is no coincidence that I ended up here. Our Father in Heaven really guides us to those people we need to be influenced by. Hopefully along the way we will be able to have the same positive effect on someone else’s life. I almost feel guilty for dragging Jonathan away from his schooling at BYU Provo for a semester, because I know that he has been making his way into the departments over there. It was a bitter sweet moment when he read the email from his biology professor, inviting him to work in her lab. We are sure that the invitation will still be open when we return; however, I still feel bad that Jonny hasn’t quite reached the same level of excitement about his classes that I have about mine. Jonny just laughs at me when I say that I drug him over here. I guess that being in paradise with the one you love is fulfilling enough to help you last through a semester with a few lackluster professors. Besides, Jonny always carries a happy song in his heart wherever he goes.
Jonny is going to be the new vocal star in the concert choir. It has been exciting for me to hear the reactions of those he meets in the choir. Everyone I know who has heard him sing comments on what an incredible voice he has. Just the other night I was invited to be the MC at the school’s opening social (which meant free dinner so we were very happy about the invitation). Last semester’s BYUH Idol was invited as one of the performers and as I was getting to know him a little bit better he asked, “Are you Jonny’s wife?” It kind of caught me off guard because that is the first time that someone here referred to me as Jonny’s wife. I loved it! I smiled and happily said, yes as he went on complimenting me on my choice of husband. It was wonderful! Jonny has loved getting to know the people here. I have loved introducing him. I love watching people’s reactions when I say, “…and this is my husband…” So many of my friends didn’t know that was the reason why I was away for a semester. They all love him. I never doubted it.
Something that always attracted me to Jonathan is his natural ability to relate to others and quickly make friends. Just the other night Sherri and I wanted to go running in the CAC- the big gym where all of the bball games are played. Jonny wasn’t about to run laps with us, but shooting a few hoops did sound appealing to him. So, we got there and started making the rounds while he played ball, but sooner or later some custodians started cleaning the backboards and then they lifted them in the air. We sent Jonny over to the old gym to see if there were any available courts there. Sherri left to go home and as soon as I was done running stairs I realized that I hadn’t seen my husband in a long time. I jogged over to the old gym and there he has, playing an intense game of Samoan basketball. I was so excited. It isn’t all that easy to nudge your way into that social sphere, but there he was, playing what he later said was the funniest game of basketball in his life. I loved watching him interact on the court with a lot of huge, happy Polynesian boys. I have never heard a funnier game of basketball in my life. They laugh at everything. We love it.
It has definitely taken a good sense of humor to navigate our way around the first few weeks as newlyweds in a small studio apartment in the Hawaiian Islands. Although our family is far away we have a growing family of friends at BYUH, not to mention the growing family of ants that we share our apartment with. Even though we both like to eat the same types of foods and wash in the same sink, they have not been the most welcome guests in our home. We hope they enjoy the poisonous food we left out for them yesterday after Sunday dinner.
It has sure been awesome to have my best friend with me in a place that has grown to be so dear to my heart. Attending our first Sacrament meeting in our married ward was a treat yesterday. The change from a singles ward was very welcome. Being in a Hawaiian married ward was even more welcome. We have so much to learn from so many good people who come from every corner of the world. Both Jonny and I have a great love for that atmosphere. Nothing makes us happier that to daydream together after church about our future. We have many goals and we feel so blessed to be planting the seeds of those dreams together in Hawaii.
Thank you all so much for your love and support. We love and miss you.

All our love, Jonathan and Melinda Frandsen…and the dying family of ants.