Family Time

In four days time I went from Kauai to Missouri.  It has been quite a change.  I left Tuesday morning from Kauai and flew to California to see my family.  On Thursday night my whole family piled in the car and started our road trip from California to Missouri.  We drove over 900 miles the first day in 14 hours.  We stopped in Santa Rosa new Mexico.  We ate dinner at a little home town bar and grill and then swam in the hotel pool to get all the wiggles out before continuing the journey the next day.  We got up on saturday at 4am to drive the last 700 miles to our final destination for the week, Cameron Missouri.  The last day, even though it was shorter distance wise, seemed twice as long as the day before.  We watched movies, took naps and tried to stay out of trouble on the way.  We made it in time for dinner with grandma and grandpa.  It was so good to see my grandparents! I don’t get to see them often so when I do it’s time that I treasure.   We will be here for a week before going to to Illinois for a couple of days to see My Aunt, Uncle and some cousins that I get to meet for the first time! After that it’s off to Minnesota! I’ll be staying with some friends that I met in Kauai, Liana and Annika.  It’s going to be so fun! I can’t wait, I’ll be in Minnesota for about three weeks before going back to California.  In California I’ll be going to a wedding and visiting friends before going back to Kauai to start another school semester.  The Lord has great plans for me, some of which I don’t know yet but I trust in the Lord that He has his best interest in mind and He will not let me down.  Following the Lords plan is always an adventure but is also a constant Joy! 

Fun Months

I can’t believe that the semester is over and it’s already June!  It feels like just last week that I arrived back here in Kauai.  I came back out here as an intern for the Bible College.  I was interning as the Assistant Dean of Women.  I loved it!  I was able to encourage, pray for and be friends with all the girls who came out.  I would not trade this past semester for anything.  Of course it did have its challenges, as do all things in life but Jesus was there for all of it.  I learned so much this semester!  As being a leader for the girls here I really had to rely on Jesus for everything that I needed.  God is so faithful to answer our prayer and give us what we need when we need it.  Thankfully I was not alone, my friend Miranda, who I met here in Kauai when I was a student last fall, came back with me also as an inter for the Assistant Dean of Women.  We are totally different people, the things that we do have in common are our love for Jesus and our love to be with and help others grow in Jesus.  With that  common bond we were able to work great with one another.  The Lord knew what He was doing when He called us both back here!  Back to the semester, in March we had a week of poring rain!  Here in Kapaa we got over 20  inches of rain in one week and up on the North Shore we got 50 inches of rain in the same amount of time.  It’s pretty safe to say that we got flooded.  Here are some pictures from that  week.

This is where we wash our dishes after each meal, it turned into a mud bath.

Only a few of the goats drown who lived here in this field. 

Looking beyond the cross at the mass of water that is usually not there.

This is the same Taro field, what it is supposed to look like and what it looked like after all the rain.

This is not a chocolate waterfall despite what it looks like

We all had to evacuate the campus.  Everyone went and stayed with families of the Church.  We had to cancel a lot of the classes that week because there was no way that we could have class in our classroom tent. One of  the students, Liana, also known as Nonn, family was in town that week.  So some others from KBC and myself were able to go down to Poipu and stay with them while the skies were open poring rain on our beautiful island.  Even though it was a crazy week, it was a great one! 

For Easter we had a sunrise service.  I had never been to a sunrise service before and to have my first one be in Kauai was unforgettable!  We sat out at the cross on our Church property and could see the sun come up and light up the sky and you could also see the ocean in the distance.  It was awesome!  At the end of the service it started to rain a little bit and then a beautiful rainbow stretched over the mountains.  After our sunrise service, the Church and a handful of the Bible college students put on a Easter play called The Fulfillment.  They worked so long and hard on it and it really payed off! It was fantastic!  It was the story of Jesus’ Death, the message came across very clearly.  When that was over, we had a Church potluck.  That was crazy and we ended up running out of food but it all worked out.  The Lord always provides.  We brought out the blow up water slide and had a great time of fellowship with one another despite the cold rainy weather we had.  

One thing that I learned last semester that I got to put into action this semester was seeing and understanding things from the other persons point of view.  I realized last semester that not everyone was brought up the way I was and not everyone thinks exactly like I do. Praise the  Lord for that.  I would not want a world full of people who think exactly like me.  With that I do need to realize that everyone is different and thinks in a different way then me.  I started praying to God that He would help me see things in a different light.  That I would be able to understand and relate more to others even if they go about something in a way that I would not have done.  That is ok.  God really gave that to me this semester.  Being able to understand others in that way was a continual prayer of mine and God was faithful to answer every time.  We serve a great God!  With this new understanding I was able to relate with so many of the girls.  I am generally not one to sit with someone and be able to completely sympathize and show great compassion to someone.  With the power of the Holy Spirit I was able to do that many time this semester!  It was really a neat thing for me to be able to experience.  I can’t wait for God to give me more opportunities like that to serve Him and help others grow and learn new things in their walk with God.  What a blessing it is to be serving a great God who never changes and is always faithful to his servants!  

Here are a few more pictures from the semester! 

MIRANDA! 

Crusin in Hanalei 

Judith, Miranda and Emily

Pickin up students from the airport, thats a surf board, not wings :/

Emily, Myself, and Miranda

Walkin down the beach on the North Shore 

Headed to the Beach! 

Emily! 

So Fun!  

First day of M1s! It rained on us most of the time we were working 

Time to skin the chicken

ME and NONN

Kauai Bound

I thought that I had updated my blog since October but I guess not.  So here it is.  I'm back in Kauai! It's been quite the journey getting here.  When I left Kauai to go back home for Christmas I was still not sure what the Lord had planned for me.  I was not sure if I was going to be coming back to Kauai or going to stay somewhere in California.  Because I didn't know what I was going to be doing yet it was hard to leave, I didn't know if I was saying buy or see you soon to Kauai and the people here.  It was so nice to see my family and friends when I went home.  I was still praying and seeking what the Lord had for me because I still didn't know.  I felt like the Lord wanted me back in Kauai but I didn't know exactly what that looked like yet.  After Christmas I got a full time interpreting job at a kindergarden.  After my second day working there I found out that I was going to be coming back to Kauai, and I was going to be coming back in 13 days.  I was offered an internship to help bridge the school and the Church more and also to be there for all of the girl students.  So I told my job I wouldn't be able to work much longer and they were gracious enough and were okay with it.  I booked a flight and came out to Kauai.  God is never in a rush, but when He calls you somewhere you better be ready.  I got here Thursday afternoon and by Thursday evening I was at a women's prayer retreat with the ladies of Calvary Chapel Kauai.  It was a good way to start off my time here.  I will be vary busy getting ready for all the students to come in about 10 days and am excited for them to get here.  I'm here in Kauai and totally feel Gods peace and know that this is where I am supposed to be right now.  I bought a one way ticket and am not sure when I will be going back to California.  I am here doing the Lords work and am so happy to be here.  I would greatly appreciate it if you would remember me in your prayers.  Here are some things that you could be praying for:
Figuring out exactly what are roles are here at the school
That there would be unity in the school especially with the girls
That I would be able to find a job or somehow support myself financially
That the Lord would provide me with a car because I don't have the means to buy one
That I would continue to grow my relationship with the Lord

Coconut Festival

The weeks are flying by so fast!  I cant believe that I am starting week 5 of classes.  This past weekend Kauai held a coconut festival right here in Kapaa.  A lot of the bible college students helped out at the church’s booth.  Sara and I helped out for the first 2 hours of the festival.  We presented the gospel on coconuts with the verse Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.  We started the conversations with people by asking them if they wanted to take a survey about the missionary history of kauai.  If they took the survey then they were entered into a drawing for a $100 gift card to wal mart or de-jevu.  At the end of the survey it asked them if they were concerned about their life after death.  Thats when we were able to tell them how they could be 100% sure they would go to heaven by explaining Romans 6:23 on the coconuts.  I was able to lead 4 people to Christ while I was there and able to pray for a hand full of people who were already christians.  It was really encouraging to be able to be used by God in this way.  Not everyone is receptive to what we have to say though.  I talked to one lady who was very closed off and did not want to hear anything I had to say.  We cant let the people who are closed off get to us.  It’s easy to let the few people who are rude and not wanting to listen get to us and then we believe that God cant use us anymore.  We can’t believe the lies that Satan feed us.   Satan is not very cleaver and uses the same simple lies over and over again because we believe them and he gets us every time with them.  As Christians we cannot just jump right into going out and seeing huge victories for christ before we have personal victories in Christ.  Elijah was a prophet of the Lord, but before he went out before king Ahab of Israel to prove his God is ruler over their god Baal, he did as the Lord commanded and hid himself to be ministered to by the Lord himself.  That is what we need to do as well.  Elijah was so obedient to the Lord.  The Lord commanded him to do something and he did it, as simple as that.  I believe that God is using this time while I’m in Hawaii to minister to me and for me to be submersed in his word constantly.  I am excited for this time here and I’m also looking forward for God to use me when he feels that I am ready to go out and prove that my God is the one true God.  I want to be like Elijah and do as the Lord commands for my life.  Elijah is just so COOL! :] 

an epic weekend

this weekend me and 15 other students went camping on the west side of kauai in pohihole.  this was real camping, we slept under the stars on the sand at the beach.  it was so fun! we left kapaa about 3:30 on friday afternoon and got there about 5pm.  in order for us to get down to where the beach is we have to drive down a dirt road about 5 miles thru the mountains.  it was so different from home to drive in the middle of mountains and then bam! there is a beautiful beach there! as soon as we got there we jumped out of the van and ran to the water.  we swam/surfed for a couple hours and watched the sun set. here are a few pictures that i took and dont do much justice but at least you can get the idea.

 this was the beautiful sun set that we sat on the beach and watched.  after it was dark we went up on the bluffs got our stuff and made a fire to roast some hot dogs and make some smores.  we all sat around sang some songs and enjoyed our time around the fire.  we eventually went to sleep on the sand under the stars.  i got up and was in the ocean by 7am.  i dont think i have ever been swimming in the ocean at early before.  the waves were so strong! it was fun until i thought i was going to never get back to the shore.  thankfully i made it in after getting pounded by a good amount of waves.  we packed up and left the beach at noon and started up the mountain to waimea.  we went up 4000ft to the top and looked over into the mountain.

This is a snipit of what we were able to see at the look outs. it was so amazingly beautiful! after we saw everything we went out for some fish tacos and headed back to the school campus.  one of the off campus students wanted to cook dinner for everyone so we all went over to his house soon after we got back.  today we slept in till about 7 and then got ready for church.  we are going to be helping at a coconut festival next week so we had a little training to prepare for that.  then it was on to homework! since we have had fun all weekend we decided to dedicate the afternoon and evening to getting homework done.  i am a little distracted by this blog but other than that i have been getting it done! :]  on that note i should go and finish up because i have class in the morning.

Pictures!

Since I have not posted to many pictures so far I thought I would share some with you! 

        
                                        This was the first beach we went to when we got here

 
                                      One of the first weekends we went to shipwercks beach

                  One morning as I was walking to class this is what I saw when I got to upper camp

                                       

                             These are some of the wonderful girls I have become friends with here

                                         This is Sleeping Giant...I will hike this before I leave

                                      These are the nice bathrooms at upper camp...be jealous

                                              This is Chelsea, also my tentie and bunk mate

                                                   Part of the view from upper camp

                                                               Me, Sara and Chelsea

                                   Once we fit 11 people in this mini van...not this time though!

                                                     Welcome to Calvary Chapel Kauai!

                    
                                                                  Me and Miranda!


      This is a little look as what I have been doing and what it looks like where I'm living right now.

I serve a great God!

Well I have been here in Kauai for 19 days now and it feels like I have been here a lot longer than that!  The days seem so long but the weeks go by fast! I have been a little tired because we have to be up by and ready by 7 everyday and sometimes I don't always get to bed on time.  It's so hot here that you almost can't take a nap in the day time.  It has been raining more and more so we have to keep the windows zipped up on our tents which makes it even more hot in the mornings.  Even if we could sleep in I don't think that we would be able to because it gets so hot as soon as the sun rises.  Other than it being really hot here I am still enjoying every minute of being here.  I am still in awe that this is my home till December.  How can you not love it here when you can go to the beach and still enjoy your time there at 5 in the evening?  Today I had my 1 Corinthians class and my 1 and 2 Kings class. As I said earlier I have been more tired than normal so I was happy when I accomplished staying awake in both of my classes today. After my classes me and a few friends went down to the beach and swam for about an hour.  When it was starting to get cold we decided to come to The Coffee Bean and get some homework done (and update my blog :]).  It's so awesome to be able to study the bible especially the old testament and see how God still loved his people and was always faithful to them even though they messed up over and over again.  When I was in my Kings class today it was cool to see that God was still fulfilling his promises that he said he would.  God is always faithful time and time again.  King David was called a man after Gods own heart.  David was in no means perfect, he messed up a lot and big time yet he always came back to the Lord.  When he was king God told him to ask for anything and God would give it to him.  Do you know what he asked for?  He asked to know God better and to be close to him.  How many of us would ask that as our first and only request?  That was not the first thing that came to my mind.  It is in human nature to ask for selfish things of God, but not David.  When God asked the same question to Solomon when he was king he asked for great wisdom.  That too is a great thing but king Solomon did not do as well as king when compared to his father David.  I wonder how the kingdom would have gone if king Solomon would have asked for the same thing as his father.  I do not mean to say that what Solomon asked for was wrong or bad in any way because great wisdom from the Lord is indeed a great thing.  But just think and ponder for a moment how or if it would have been different.  David is defiantly someone in the bible I look up to.  That is such a humbling thing to ask for in my opinion.  I really like the old testament and enjoy reading about the people who were worthy of making it into the bible.  When I think about my life sometimes I wonder if what I have done and will do would be worthy of being in the bible if it was not written yet.  God is showing me some really cool things and I am reminded time and time again what a great God we serve!