ALOHA!

This is the view from the pier looking back towards the area where YWAM UofN is. No, the huge white building that looks like a cruise ship is not us..we are to the far left and adjacent to the white condos that angle up the hill (near the far left edge of the photo).

We see a lot of rainbows here on this island!

May 1! It's tough for me to believe that I've been here since April 7 in some ways and yet it feels like I've been through a lifetime of discovery and spiritual growth.

I've been asked about the learning and speakers up to this point. If this doesn't excite you much, just skip to the next section. ;-)

CLASS:

- We have worship/intercession at the beginning (8:00) - Mondays the whole campus gets together for worship for an hour, but the other mornings we do it in our own classes

- There is a speaker lecture in the morning

- In the afternoon, there is either "small group" where we discuss a subject, or Outreach Prep, or Lecture Application

- From 3-5 is work duty (I'll tell you about mine below)

- Thursday evenings we have "Community Meeting" for the campus, which involves worship and a speaker

HOMEWORK/INDIVIDUAL WORK:

- We have a predetermined outline for weekly journalling, including meditation verses, reflection on speakers, observations about our week (including satisfying time/challenging time/self-assessment), prayer times, goals for the week etc that is handed in on Mondays for review by our small group leader

- We read 1 to 5 books of the New Testament each week, and must write a 3 or 4 sentence summary of each chapter (by the way, this is a great way to put the teachings into your own words and attain knowledge about what each chapter is about)

- We have a book to read, and do a book report on (Is That Really You, God? by Loren Cunningham)

- And of course we each have our own personal Bible readings and devotions that are part of our daily life.

SPEAKERS (it is hard to cover all that was spoken about - this is only a few items from each):

- Week 1 was Andy Byrd - one of the Kona YWAM Leaders. He spoke on God's Love, and on Revival & Reformation

- Week 2 was Bill Payne - He's an international teacher and author. He spoke on Truth, and on The Character of God

I had mentioned the above two of these speakers in my last two posts.

- Week 3 (last week) was Loren & Darlene Cunningham (the founders of YWAM 50 years ago) and David Hamilton (is on the leadership of YWAM) - It is virtually impossible to even attempt to cover what this powerhouse team shared, but some of the topics were Discipleship, the Grace Ticket, Relinquishing Your Rights, Cost to Follow Jesus, The Opposite Spirit. (I could go on and on, but I think you get the idea).

Loren

Darlene

WORK DUTIES

Most work duties are from 3:00 to 5:00, however, I have been assigned Hospitality for our class and for our speakers, so my duty is 7:00-8:00am and 3:00-4:00pm, with some other duties outside of those time frames. I make coffee, tea, prepare cold water/lemonade and snack for the class. I also have the privilege of making a fresh bouquet for the class whenever the old one needs refreshing. Actually, to the right is one I created (the campus is filled with so many choices). As well, I do a Welcome Basket with refreshments and goodies for our guest speakers' rooms, ensure their room is clean and prepared for them, including flowers (I'm becoming a florist!!) and sometimes even do their laundry.

This past week, my work duties were less than normal, as Loren, Darlene & David spoke to 5 classes at once, so I chose to volunteer at the Organic Farm on campus and shovelling dirt and picking rocks, of which there are a ton (this island is all volcanic rock). Now that was a work duty!

It's been a good week again, no doubt about it. Although I had a tough time on Thursday when the topic was Relinquishing Your Rights. That's about laying down everything that is important to you and putting God TOTALLY and unconditionally first. However, the environment here is one that helps you get through any of those roadblocks to move forward. There is such love and acceptance here.

WEEKENDS!

Well, we sure don't take time out of what we are all here to do, which is pursue our relationship with Christ. However, we don't have classes but it is time to do our homework. Friday night I slipped over to one of the stores to look for some clothing appropriate for our Outreach in Asia (can't wear shorts, so wanted to get a couple of skirts). Very frugal though. Found one for $5.99 - figured that fit into my missionary budget - haha!

I believe I mentioned that many do their laundry on the weekend, and this is another thing I do very differently than at home. All colours, whites, darks get thrown in together as there is minimal time to get your laundry done and each load costs money. As well, there are outdoor clotheslines. There is a dryer, but again, many of us choose the clotheslines to preserve money as well as prevent shrinkage.

Saturday night, one of our class members made Thai food for us. He did a great job of providing us with some creative and tasty food - red curry chicken and eggplant. Here's Tom who made the meal and Felecia, one of our classmates.

Each of us helped in some way, and I was asked to do table set-up and decorating. Well, my sweet friend Bev would be so very proud of me - she has taught me well! We don't have much to work with here, but this is what the tables ended up looking like:

Today, one of my New Zealand classmates, Dianne, and I went to the Mokauikaua Church, Hawaii's original church. It was founded in 1820 and the building was built in 1836. I didn't take my camera (I was going for service, not as a tourist), but it is a beautiful old building and a great service.

Oh, and how did I forget! One third of our class went to our class leaders' home Tuesday night (the other 2/3 go on two other nights) for dessert. They have been gifted with staying in a friend's beautiful home for the entire year, except for 6 weeks when he comes to Hawaii. It's a Japanese garden effect inside and out, right on a very private cove. Here's a photo of those of us who were there in their little outdoor gazebo:

OK, well a few of us are going to the beach for 2 about hours, so I must run! This is my first beach day since I got here, where all I'm going for is to lay and soak the rays. Have an awesome day! I know I will!