Sunday, July 15, 2012

Tourist Weekend


Lauren has now officially seen tourist Hawaii minus the luau (which will happen later this week). Yesterday we took it easy and drove the scenic route and went to the beach. Today we went to the swap meet and Pearl Harbor.  While at Pearl Harbor we went to the USS Missouri.  The battleship was very intriguing. I am very thankful that I will probably never have to live on a battleship...close quarters would be an understatement. Tomorrow she will see the “real” Hawaii and the Chuukese children that I love dearly.
My hat flew off right after this picture! Thankfully, I recovered it because I really like this hat!! 

Audio tour of Pearl Harbor


USS Missouri

on deck of the USS Missouri or the Mighty Mo

I really like this picture! I feel like a real photographer!
            Tonight I had to say my first round of goodbyes to all my friends at West Oahu Community Church. Seeing how the Lord is working in this new church encourages me to trust in the Lord in all situations. Relationships are forming in the community and the Lord is drawing people to the church. I consider it a privilege to worship the Lord with my brothers and sisters in Christ at this church.  I cannot wait to continue to receive updates about all that the Lord is doing in and through West Oahu Community Church.
            Pray that this last week of ministry before returning home will be fruitful and bring the Lord glory.
            Much love to all! 

Saturday, July 14, 2012

No traffic on Oahu, Wahoo!

For Lauren’s first day on the island, we had to celebrate by seeing all the sights.  We started at the Dole Pineapple Plantation, traveled to Haleiwa to shop at He>i,  swam under the waterfall at Waimea Valley, chowed down on Uncle Woody’s corn (my personal favorite!!! J) and other food truck delights,  photographed Laie Point, hiked Diamond Head,  climbed a tree in Kapiolani Park (and then swung from it’s vines), scarfed down dinner in Waikiki (climbing trees makes a girl hungry), and watched the fireworks at Waikiki beach. After all of the sightseeing, we came back to Waianae and played games for with some of the Chuukese. Needless to say, we are exhausted. One of the most amazing parts of the whole day is that we only experienced about five minutes of traffic the entire day. That is almost unheard of on Oahu. Here are some pictures documenting our day!


Lauren posing in the pineapple!

Right before swimming!

Notice I got two pieces!! I have waited a long time for this corn!

We're so corny!

Delicious first bite!

Laie Point

Laie Point

Almost to the top! I didn't get any people pictures at the top!

Diamond Head View

Swinging from the trees



Waikiki at night

Grand Finale to a wonderful day
Much love to all!

Thursday, July 12, 2012

Backyard Bible Club


The last two days of Backyard Bible Club have been good. The kids love to play the game where you stand in a circle and try and kick the ball through other people. The last one left wins. Today they made googles and decorated them with glitter glue.  These kids and I share a common love of glitter glue!  Yesterday, I taught the Bible Story. We talked about when Jesus healed the blind man. We discussed how we all have a need for Jesus to heal us from our sin.  Pray that the seeds that are being planted this summer will fall on fertile soil.  When thinking about last summer, and how much I struggled to get them participating in structured activities, I am amazed at how far these kids have come. I had a short activity planned right before the Bible Story where the kids drew a picture with their eyes closed to start them thinking about what it would be like to not be able to see. I wasn’t sure if I should even do the activity, fearing it might be a chaotic mess. They were AWESOME and ENGAGED!! I think the kids have come a long way, and I think that I have come a long way in my classroom management.  We are Works in Progress!  
 In less than 24 hours, Lauren arrives! I am so excited!
Hula hoop racing

Kiwo and Nene

Sporting her googles

Big Smile!
Much love to all!   

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Unexpected Blessings


This morning while preparing for the day, the Lord revealed to me an important truth that He wanted me to learn. A couple of years ago, God really worked on my heart about my long term plans. I was a really good planner… and my plans sounded godly… so they must be godly, right? Wrong! During that year, I learned that God doesn’t want my plans; He wants me to surrender to His plans.  Since then, I  am learning to walk day by day with the Lord and not focus on all of my plans. However, I am still a very good daily planner (I’m a teacher, so I have to be a good planner).  While brushing my teeth this morning, I mentally went through my schedule for the day. 
·      Prepare for Discipleship
·      Backyard Bible Club
·      Discipleship
·      Prepare for Backyard Bible Club
·      Go to sleep early (these up to 3 am nights are wearing me out)
As I went through my schedule, the Lord in His still small voice said,
“Kelly, I want your day.  Give me hour-by -hour and even minute–by- minute. When you are so caught up in your schedule, you might miss the blessings I have for you.”
Now I don’t think that schedules are bad, but the Lord has really shown me that the greatest blessings throughout the day are usually impromptu.

Here’s an account of impromptu or change of schedule events that led to a blessing. 
·      New kids from Satellite wanted to go to Backyard Bible Club. When I went to pick them up, the youngest (who I had never seen before) ran out and gave me a great big hug and proclaimed,
“ Auntie, this is the first time I’ve been to Bible study.”
When he got in the car, he didn’t even know how to buckle his seatbelt. His brother, sister, and him can’t wait to go back tomorrow.
·      Maile and all of her sisters stayed in Waianae for Bible study. Darla didn’t have enough seats, so I drove Maile and Kimwill home. Drake and Shawn rode with me to take them home. On the way to Maile’s new house, we notice that H1 is a parking lot on the other side of the road. Great, I’m thinking, so much for going to bed early. Upon arriving at their house, Maile’s mom invites us in to visit. After talking with her for a little while, all the sudden food is placed on the table and they are serving us dinner. I had my first Chuukese meal tonight! Thankfully, it was not fish with the scales, eyes, and tail still visible. It was chicken, spam, rice, and breadfruit.  What was so interesting about the Chuukese meal was how we ate it. A large plate of rice was placed in the center of the table and two bowls of chicken and broth were placed in between the 4 people eating.  All the sudden everyone starts picking up rice with their fingers and dipping it in the broth or eating it with chicken that they also pull apart with their fingers. I decided to dive in, so I ate an entire meal with my fingers.  The spam (uncooked) and the breadfruit came out later. Breadfruit has an interesting texture and flavor… I don’t know how to compare it.
·      Finally, on the car ride back to Waianae, Shawn starts talking to me about Pearl Harbor and asking all kinds of questions. Then he starts telling me about what he learned in his Social Studies class this year. It is rare to hear a Chuukese teenage boy engage in a conversation about what they enjoy learning in school. This is also the same boy that caused havoc all last summer. The Lord is really working in His life. He is respectful and starting to read His Bible. I am excited to see Him continue to grow in His relationship with the Lord, and I hope he also continues to like learning.

It is now 11:3o PM, and I am barely awake, but I am thankful that the Lord determines my steps.

In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.  Proverbs 16:9

Maile sweeping after we talked about serving.

Dori dust mopping after we talked about serving.

JD, Maile, and Lesleen lacing up their ice-skates.

Lesleen and Maile posing on ice.

Maile and JD

Making funny faces

I bought matching shirts for us on a whim. They really liked them, and I was thankful that I could always easily spot them on the ice.

Making an AMAZING bracelet. 

Playing a game

Do you remember Kimwill from last year? He came back to visit!  Look how he has grown!

The group! It was nearly impossible to get a good picture with all of them. 

This is J-BOY.  He was the little boy that I was telling you had never been to Bible Study before.  He is PRECIOUS!!
Much love to all!