Leaving Paradise

So after the better part of a week slaving away in this tropical paradise, we're headed back home in a few hours. It's been a productive and fun week. We're up an hour before sunrise to check out one final option for the trip. Everyone says that snorkeling in Hanauma Bay is amazing, but I'm not convinced yet. I want to make sure that it will be worth our time when we come in June. So we're sacrificing sleep time, getting up supe-/early, and snorkelig for our students. "Suffering to serve." That's the motto this week.

I'll let you know how it went.

P.S. - We actually did discover something last night that we definitely do not want to do. More on that later. Got to get my trunks ok and head to the bay in the now-dented Yellow jeep...

Micronesian Screeching Rats...

So we were taking a break from the grueling schedule we've been keeping all week and decided to stop and watch some surfers off Diamond Head. All of the sudden, peering over the wall in front of us was something that looked like a cross between a ferret, a prairie dog, and a big rat. We decided it must be one of the famed "Micronesian Rats" we've heard so much about.
We put a bit of maunna pua on the wall in hopes of luring one up so I could snap a photo, but they weren't having any of that.

We are certainly suffering for all of our students this week. This is all for you guys. We are not gettig any pleasure from any of this. (now Jeff can honestly say that about the Diamond Head hike) Seriously though - it's been a very productive week. We've figures out our ministry stuff, started planning a big event for all the Baptist churches on the island, and figured out most of our recreation. We even surveyed little Timmy at the Luau tonight to see what he's enjoyed the most while here in Hawaii (he said snorkeling)

So last night, we went to dinner. Our waitress told us that he had "every kind of soda" so Jeff ordered a Cherry Coke, to which she replied: "no Cherry Coke!" after some negotiations and an offer to attempt making one, he ordered a Diet Coke.

So my task now is to get packed and ready. Amazing how one backpack and a small duffel can make a hotel room hard to walk around in.
Packing, sleeping, then Snorkeling in the morning. Now we're only going for the students. We would never dream of getting any personal enjoyment from all this. ;--)

Have a great day and I'll see you Sunday!

Rob
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Breakfast in Bed

So we awoke in what I like to call "The Diamond Head Suite" since we have not only a view of the roof of the restaurant, but we can also see Diamond Head. Jeff served me breakfast in bed. Well, really he just threw my container of cereal at me then handed me the milk.
After a delicious breakfast of Apple Jacks, we headed out to hike Diamond Head. What a great hike! We not only hiked up some really cool volcanic rock trails, but ventures through some sweet tunnels and crawled through an old army bunker and out to the top of Diamond Head. The view from up there on the rim of a volcano was amazing.
The next time you see Jeff ask him how he enjoyed the hike.

We just got off the phone with Bob at the Association office. We talked about an Island-Wide outreach. He liked the idea. Very exciting! The trip is definitely taking shape in a great way. Keep us in prayer as we finalize things and finish planning.

On to Hanama Bay and a couple other things now. I mean, we have to figure out what other adventures await us on this beautiful island.
P.S.- I've heard they don't want you to poke the turtles. We'll see how that goes...

Black Sugar & Coconut

We met with Pastor John Vaughn this afternoon. This guy has his finger on the pulse of the community. He definitely has a heart for the people. We'll be ministering to children and families in a government run apartment complex. We'll be working with Samoan and Micronesian people. There's so much we can do. We met a few children in the complex. One boy (Orange shirt) doesn't even know his alphabet, but had the greatest personality. I can't wait to me back here actively doing hands-on ministry with these kids. It's going to be significant.
We'll also be doing a block party at the church and helping the Church reach out to the Philippino community around the church.
Kalihi Baptist Church is a blend of several different cultures. Very cool.
I'm really starting to get excited about this trip.

On the more interesting side: Jeff was videotaping and was told by a guy "Hey! That's my house! Stop taking pictures!"
Then there was the guy yelling "Hey you with the camera!" at me in Chinatown. The Pastor took us to get some Mannapua. He bought us each one. Sweet pork, coconut, and black sugar. We were going to split them. He even asked us "hey! We can eat those any time..." but me and Jeff were still so stuffed from the Kalua Pig we had for lunch (yes! It was amazing) we didn't want to eat them just yet. We ended up taking them. I'm pretty sure he wanted one, but we'll be enjoying it shortly. :--)

So it was a busy, but very productive day. Tomorrow, we'll me planning some of the more "fun" aspects of the trip. But for now: I'm definitely excited about what we're going to be doing.

And keep an eye out for the picture of the pastor. Dude has some serious chops!

Aloha for now,
Lopaki
(Hawaiian for Robbie)

Yama Mama!

So we toured the dorms at the University of Hawaii. They're super-nice. Definitely a potential place to stay. Caprice was our tour guide. She was really nice and we asked her where we should go for a good, authentic Hawaiian lunch. We definitely got it! She recommended the Pig at Yama's Fish Market. Man it was good! Not what I expected, but delicious! I'm pretty sure we were the only non-Hawaiian people there. Most of the menu items sounded scary. Only two tables, and they were outside.
We're not in the tourist district any more.

We'll be meeting with the Pastor of our partner church shortly. The trip has been very productive so far. It's shaping up quite nicely. It's going to be a sweet trip! Speaking of sweet, they had some interesting desserts inside. I think I'll go see what I can find...

The Real Hawaii

So yesterday, our first day here was certainly nice, so don't get me wrong. But... Waikiki, as nice as it is (and I certainly appreciate being close to the ocean), just wasn't the Hawaii I've always imagined. This morning however, we went to check out Hanama Bay. It's closed on Tuesday (important to know) so we went driving a little further and found what we've been looking for. Beautiful roads and volcanic ledges with lush green mountains right there. It was amazing. I feel like I've now seen the beauty of Hawaii.
I'm sure we'll see more, but we're headed in to meet with people at the U of H about possible accomodations. We're looking for nice, but not a resort.
More to come...

Toe Flossing and the Tower of Terror

So we've seem many sights in the few short hours we've been here so far. As we travelled along the beach, we saw a cute "older" couple who had apparently been enjoying a relaxing day at beautiful Waikiki Beach. As I noticed them, I noted that the wife was rubbing her husbands feet. How nice... Untilnshe moved on to step two: flossing between each of his toes with a towel as he sat back and relaxed. Now I'm not necessarily grossed out by feet in general as some are, but reallly? you're going to do that right there? We moved on quickly.

Next, we had to check out a few hotels. One was a bit snooty, one seemed annoyed that we might want to do business with them. The standout was definitely Tom Akegarasu. He was fun and super-happy to show us around his vintage 1970s hotel. The highlight of the tour was a run on the hotels own "Tower of Terror" elevator. I mean, I think these elevators drop faster than the Tower at DisneyLand.

All in all, a good day. I mean, how can it not be when you're in Hawaii?
Tomorrow will be a busy day. Lots to do. Beaches to see. Waves to ride. Beach naps to take... Just kidding! We'll definitely be all over the Island tomorrow trying to piece together all the details of our trip.

Already, we've got some great ideas. I really think this could turn out to be the best SWC tour yet. (and only half of that is because of where we'll be)

Aloha until tomorrow!
Lopaka
(my name in Hawaiian)