ALOHA MY FRIENDS!

This is funny! One day Eunice & Michelle accidentally matched & then a few days later, Eunice & I matched. Couldn't resist sharing it with you!

This past week has been a tough one for sure. Our speaker for the 5 days (Doug Richardson) took many of us (read "me") out of our comfort zones and made us face some things about ourselves we may not have wanted to either see or re-visit. The good news is that it strengthened us not only as individuals, but as a team. We are going to have to rely on each other when we go on the Outreach portion of our schooling, and the more aware we are of our unique qualities, the better we will function and the safer we will be. Apparently the upcoming week is going to be even more challenging, so I will appreciate your prayers for us to have strength, wisdom, and discernment for all that we are going to learn. We also had much discussion on hearing the voice of God, and that was quite insightful.

I have been remiss in not mentioning the support I am getting/have gotten from so many. Thank you to those of you praying for me; I know that your support has helped tremendously during these past 4 weeks, as there have really been no adjustment issues for me. I appreciate your continued prayers over the next 4 months. Also, I want to publicly thank those of you who have helped financially; your unexpected and very much appreciated generosity has made a difference.

A few people have expressed a desire to do mission work in some way; we know that there are 'senders' and 'goers'. I believe there are also 'doers' in the mission field. I wanted to let you know that there is an opportunity help out without the potential discomfort of going to an underdeveloped country. This campus is run almost entirely on volunteers, whether it's students doing their work duties (minimum of 2 hours each per day) or "Mission Builders" or short-term volunteers. in Kona, YWAM is always looking for Mission Builders. These dedicated volunteers do everything from office work to maintenance to groundskeeping. All that is required is that you pay your way here, and your room and board is free. You may come for anywhere from 30 days to 3 months. The Mission Builders I've talked to really enjoy what they're doing, come back year after year, and find that it's a great opportunity to get involved!

If you have any interest, there is more information on the YWAM website - just copy this link into your browser:

http://www.uofnkona.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=182&Itemid=313

As I write this (Friday), we are experiencing a tropical storm. Thunder, lightening, and pouring (almost deafening) rain. In our residence courtyard, it is ankle deep and we have to put out sandbags and tables on their sides to deflect the water from entering the buildings! Those who live here keep telling us that this is not normal weather for this time of the year (hmmm). We have had some sort of rain almost every day; either through the night or for an hour in the middle of the day. In some cases, like today, it rains for several hours. Fortunately though, we do see a lot of sunshine too, and the temperature varies only be a few degrees.

Now I am writing on a different day (Sunday) and can tell you about my Saturday. We had a "class outing". Forty of us loaded into 3 vans and one car and went on a bit of an outing. It felt like we had been given a day pass from our intense confinement on campus, but we knew wherever we went He would be with us. Our final destination was to the active volcano on this island, with stops to "Green Sands Beach" and South Point (which is the southernmost point on this island - actually the southernmost point of the United States). It was a great day of further bonding as a group; however, we had a near tragedy with one of our Koreans jumping off a cliff into the ocean and having major difficulty getting back out. It's a long story, but she thought she was going to die and if there hadn't been two fishermen who were trained lifeguards who just happened to be there, we all shudder to think of how it would have turned out. She was roughed up by the waves and the lava rocks in the blow hole she ended up in, but came out of it feeling loved and embraced by all of us. Here are a couple of photos:

On the left is Anna (not the Korean) who was the first to jump from the cliff. We estimate the distance to the water at 40-50 ft.

On the right is the blow hole. Notice the people at the top to get a feel for how far from water to safety.

And this is Green Sands Beach - yes the sand is GREEN! It was a 3-mile walk over lava rock and against winds that stopped you mid-step (shades of Le Mistral in France!) We only had time to stay for 30 minutes, and then hike 3 miles back (but those winds were behind us and sped up our walk!).

Finally, we arrived at the active volcano here on the island (but hasn't had any lava flow since March). We walked through a lava tube (like a round cave) and through what I would call a rain forest, but others call nature. It's a unique and beautiful part of Hawaii. We stayed long enough so we could see the glow at dusk. It's not visible during the day........

Thanks for checking in on me!

HUGS!

J