QUICK UPDATE WITH SOME EXCITING NEWS!

My granddaughter Nisha had a 6 lb baby girl at 7:32 pm on Monday, June 27.

Introducing "Annabelle Jeannie" (isn't she SWEET!!!)

So now our daughter Shawna is a Grandmother and I'm a Great-Grandmother!

LEAVING KONA FOR CAMBODIA

Well, I'd like to say our team was travelling to Cambodia on this ship, but that is not the case. This is just a photo of the cruise ship that arrives here every Wednesday and the passengers disembark and shop in Kona for the day. After 2 1/2 months here, I feel like I'm a "local" and they are the visitors to "my island". Funny how our perspective changes in such a short time.

As mentioned in my last update, we fly from Kona on June 29 at 6:15 am, which means leaving the campus at 4:00am. There are 26 of us flying together (including 4 children) - I'm going to leave it to your imagination as to the logistics of all of us being ready to go by 4:00am. We have had to pack up all of the clothing and supplies that we use here in Kona (it will be stored here while we are gone) and then pack our gear for 2 months in Cambodia. There are several restrictions on what we can wear there, some of which are: high necklines (for modesty especially when you bend over), sleeves on all shirts (long enough that when you lift your arm you cannot see your underarm), skirts/capris that are below the knee (no shorts), nothing tight-fitting or see-through. So although it will be even hotter in Cambodia than it is in Hawaii, we will wear more clothing.

As I write this entry, I am sitting outside in my sleeveless tank top and shorts enjoying the 28 degree sunshine and have just checked the weather in Cambodia where it is 31 degrees and raining (and apparently WILL rain every day for at least 2 hours). None of this is a complaint, by the way, I just thought you'd be interested in some of the conditions. I have no point of reference for our accommodations when we get there. All I know is that it is called a "guest house" and that there will be two of us to each room (which is less than the 4 roommates I've had for the past 2 1/2 months). I don't know what my internet access will be like there. I hope to do a post from Phnom Penh, which is where we land on June 30 and stay for a few days of orientation before the team splits into 2 groups and my group heads north to Kompong Thom.

We are looking forward to immersing ourselves in the Cambodian culture and being a light of hope. As a result of the genocide that took place in the late 70's, 80% of the population is under the age of 30 and 50% of them are children. There is such a lack of older generation wisdom that, because the average age of my class is 48, we will be an attraction to them on the sheer basis of our age. We often think of orphanages as a place to do mission work, and Cambodia is a COUNTRY of young adult orphans. Our team is prepared to do whatever will provide the most help to them, ready to be spontaneous to the needs we see there.

This past week, our speaker was Gord Whyte who spoke on the Holy Spirit, giving me a new appreciation and understanding of the power of first inviting and then being filled with the Spirit. As well, he did some healing and deliverance within our group. This is one of those topics best left for one-on-one discussions when I am home. It was a pretty amazing week, in many ways!

David came to Kona for a week (his first time in Hawaii). He stayed in the "GO Centre", which is where our speakers and guests stay. We had some time on the weekend to see a little bit of the island, went to a Luau and I got to eat off campus a few times (thanks David!). He had his first Hawaiian "shave ice" - see photo to the right.

As well, he took me out for my birthday and sat in on some of my classes.

We had our "Love Feast" last weekend, which was a banquet put on by our school leaders for the class, and the food was prepared by a local chef who donates his time. Some of the class did skits, songs and recitations.

Here is a photo of the Korean's skit (it surprised all of us to see our two Korean men in dresses - we never would have imagined them doing that!!)

The campus is clearing out every day as teams depart for their Outreach, and by July 3, all students will be gone.

Last night, we had the special treat of watching the Performing Arts class do their show, which they will be doing on Outreach in Japan and Korea. It was absolutely breathtaking to see the talent of these young people! Tonight is the premiere of the Media Arts mini-clips. There are 17 short movies of a variety of topics (I'll know more after I've seen it). For both classes, it is such a great opportunity to affirm them for all of their hard work and preparation over the last almost 3 months.

This is a really cool video one of our speakers showed about a fellow (Matt) who decided he wanted to dance around the world in many nations. Enjoy!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWUrj22pRD0

I must run; I will post when I can, but I don't think it will be as regular as I have been doing. I will do my best though!

Thank you again for your love and support! Until next time!

Blessings, love & hugs!

June

Hello my friends!

No time for a post this week, but will do one on Saturday June 25th.

Things are hectic; Outreach to Cambodia is fast approaching (we fly 6:15am June 29th).

Until Then!

June

THIS IS A REALLY QUICK UPDATE!

I've been quite restricted to being on the campus this week (partially due to our schedule and partially due to my own needs). We learned a lot about church planting and some very practical methods to use in our upcoming Outreach. As well, I was on a 3-day self-imposed fast and consumed only water. It gave me an opportunity to re-focus and concentrate in a different way on what I am here to do.

Our Cambodia teams were announced, and I am going to Kompong Thom with 10 other people: 3 couples, 1 man, 1 teenager (daughter of one of the couples), and 2 other women. We now begin the process of team-building and assigning duties/responsibilities to each of us. At this point, I know for sure that I am responsible for the finances for the group, but there will be other duties assigned this week. We will also learn soon exactly what we will be doing there, but so far, we do know that we will be working a 6-day week with a very tight schedule, potentially taking over the Sunday services at one of the churches. As well, our accommodations will be in a "guest house", which is directly beside a brothel. We've been warned not to go out alone while we're there, so we will also be developing a buddy system.

Today, one of my roommates left for her Outreach, so we were saddened to say good-bye to our sweet Michelle (South Korean). I am going to miss her greatly - she was like a little sister to me. There are now only 4 of us in the room (can't believe that I actually said "only 4"). I still find it amazing that I adjusted so easily to living with 4 other women in one very small room.

The photo on the right is Michelle giving a friendly piggyback ride to the daughter of one of my classmates. We were on an outing and it had started to rain.

As mentioned, this is a short post - I still have a lot of homework to do! Thank you for your continued prayers.

To Know Who I Am & Whose I Am....

Whew! How's that for giving you food for thought? It was a phrase used by our speaker this week that really captures what the 3-month DTS training I am taking is all about. He has been a missionary for over 25 years and I cannot reveal his name or mission location for his safety and for those he is associated with (he had some pretty amazing stories). He gave us much to think about regarding considerations we must have while in another nation, most especially that we honour their culture and that we not impose ours on them by wrongly thinking we have ALL the answers for their lives. I do have a new appreciation and insight for how to respectfully approach new multi-cultural situations. As we countdown to our departure on June 29, this aspect of our training will be ramping up. Although we will be short-term missionaries, we have the potential for making a long-term impression on the lives of those we meet and form relationships with. Funny - that sounds a lot like how we should live our life every day, no matter where we are.

As I've mentioned previously, I do not try to make this a forum for training you or covering all that my teachings here are about. So I try to give you a little overview and will keep the really intense dialogue for when we are next together. Many of you just want to know how and what I'm doing, so the next bit is more newsy/chatty.

Friday, all of the ladies from our class went to a garden park for some bonding time. Here are some photo's. Enjoy!

"The CDTS Girls"

(You won't find me, as I took the photo)

Did you know that bananas flowered? I sure didn't! (photo on left)

What garden is complete without a gazebo?

The photo on the right is an "infinity" pool - you can see the ocean just above it in the distance. The palm trees are on the garden grounds, but just beyond them is the town of Kona in the distant right.

The photo directly below gives you an idea of how high up we were in altitude, which hopefully gives you a perspective of the effect of the pool.

KOKUA - my new favourite word!

Saturday was one of the high spots of my week here in Kona. Acknowledging that Outreach does not just need to happen thousands of miles away, but also locally - sometimes right next door - many of us volunteered for the 70.3 mile (113.1 km) Iron Man Half-Marathon. WHAT A RUSH (oops, no pun intended)!

The "kokua" (which is a Hawaiian word: extending loving, sacrificial help to others for their benefit, not for personal gain) crew I was on was responsible for the athlete's transition from bicycle to running, which meant removing their helmets, socks, cycling shoes and changing into new socks, running shoes, and applying sunscreen (it is 28 degrees Celsius here, after all). But FIRST, we had to locate the bag containing their gear which early in the morning, we had put in numerical order (based on the athlete's identification number).

SORTING GEAR BAGS AT 8:00am

So picture this: about 1500 people who have just 'au'aukai (swum) for 1.2 miles (1.9 kms), then paikikala (cycled) 56 miles (90 kms) getting off their bike, allowing someone (that crew consisted of a whole bunch of young US Marines) to take it and park it for them and feeling almost frantic to locate their gear and change before proceeding to holo holo (run) for 13.1 miles (21 kms). And they came in waves, sometimes 5 at a time, sometimes 25 or more, and of course, they are not arriving in numerical order. Callers are yelling numbers out, pointing them in our general direction, we're digging for their bag with arm raised calling out the number again. I could say more, but the bottom line is that it was totally a blast!

Bike Racks:

BEFORE........

AFTER........

I don't have any photo's of the race or athletes - I was a little too busy to pull out my camera.

Thanks for stopping by.......

Until next time!

Love & Hugs, June