Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Extended Stay

I have had the opportunity to extend my stay here in Kona by three weeks. I had considered doing this earlier but when i saw how much it would cost to change my ticket I dismissed the idea. A few days before i was schedualed to leave a friend of mine told me that they would give me enough air-miles to go home if i wished to stay longer. At first i began thinking that i was actually ready to go home and that i didnt really need to stay longer because i had fulfilled my commitment of 3months and was feeling a little worn down. At the weekly night meeting for the whole campus God really showed me how staying would give me a chance to talk to some of my friends who don't seem to have a personal relationship with Him. I saw that if i didn't use this time to tell them about how much Jesus wants to be a part of their lives, that they might go back to their countries and be unchanged, lost, alone. I had the perfect opportunity to speak with one of my friends as we walked from the campus back to Hale Ola (our housing). God has really put him on my heart and i didn't know what to tell him so i just shared my testimony. I told him how i had always considered myself a Christan even though i didn't know what it was to know God on a personal level. Im hoping to expand more in the short time i have left. Please pray for him and the others i have met that they will come to know Christ as their savior. Those that could really use this prayer are Lucas-from Switzerland, Kimbo-from Korea, and Benjamin-from Germany. They are so close!

God is SO good! i have been continually blessed to be here in this place. Thank you so much for your support and prayers I am proud to call you my brothers and sisters. As far as what i do from here goes, I'm really still in limbo. I still have no idea if i will receive financial aid for UCSC because my parents have been unable to find some paperwork that got lost in their moving boxes. So its possible that i will be there this fall and if not then... well we'll see what Gods got in store either way. Yep yep... that's about it for now.

Thursday, June 26, 2008

Finishing Up


(Pictures by Benjamin Blass)

To think almost three months is up blows my mind. My time here has been exactly what I needed to recover from LA and the 2 months of down time i had before I arrived here. God is so good. I find it hard to imagine living here for long due to the fact that you always are having to say goodbyes to great friends. Philippe, my swiss roommate left last night and it was hard to see him go. People filter in and out of here so frequently its almost madness for you brain to handle it. There are no people left from when i first arrived, but a few remain who showed up a few weeks after myself. Its sad to see so many of these wonderful people head back to their countries but also exciting to see who else you'll meet and knowing in your heart that if you travel to any of these countries they'd welcome you as a brother in a second.

I have had the privilege of experiencing many wonderful things on this island. I had one of the best surf days I could have asked for a week ago. Me and my friend Quintin went out to Lymans and found only one surfer out in the water with perfect 4-6ft beginner waves... I don't think you realize the profoundness of this. Lymans is always, and i mean ALWAYS packed. Usually there are a minimum of 15 people out there. It was amazing. The guy out there left shortly too, so it was just me and Q, with perfect waves, longboards, and an excellent sunset. It was also the first time I didn't get cold cause i had a rashguard so pretty much the best day ever. If only ever day was like that I'd perfect surfing in no time.

This last weekend I went camping for the first time to a beauitful place called Pololu Valley with some of the mission builders. It was such a fantastic memory building trip. There were 10 of us 8 guys 2 girls. One girl is a model from Finland who had never done any sort of hiking in her life. She came wearing fake nails and a miniskirt! Ha ha oh man that was funny. We hiked over into the next valley and found the original trail had been washed out so more than half the way down into this valley was using ropes to get down because it was so steep. Fortunately Silvia (our model) loved every second of it. Once we got down into the valley the trail seemed only to go back up the other side and not down to the beach we had seen so we treked down a stream till we got to our private beach. It was so sweet. Our own small private "booey beach" for all you who know what i mean. We scouted the area found the best place to make camp then just enjoyed the rest of the day. That night we made our fire a ways off from our sleeping location and when the rains started we hustled back to our camp to find one tent blow across the creek (still dry thankfully) and the tarp we'd found ripped and shredded. Ha ha o how i love stuff like that. My tent of course was perfectly fine where id left it. With the wind ripping through our camp and the rain pouring we made best we could and called it a night. The next morning we had to have one of the rental cars back before 10 and still had to hike out and drive back 2 hours. So we split into 2 groups and my group raced back to return the car in time. Overall another excellent adventure.







Another journey I got to go on was to Southpoint which has some excellent cliff/ cave jumping spots and and Greensands beach which we discovered was the perfect body surfing beach.





As far as trying to figure out what i do next and where I'll go from here I've left doors open for the time being but don't know where exactly the Lord will lead me. I accepted UCSC's invitation to join them in the fall but am not sure that'll actually come about. There have been many difficulties meeting deadlines for financial aid and such so I don't know if I'll have the funds necessary to attend. Its not a dead end yet and God could totally open wide the doors no matter the situation, I just don't have a feeling of clarity at this time. There are a few other options that have come to my attention so I am praying about those things as well. Thinking about returning to the mainland soon makes me sad that I will be leaving all this behind. That thought has been put in the back of my mind so as not to think of it. I just don't want to get caught up in the mundane, ordinary, money oriented lifestyle again. Trying to hear what God is saying to me has been difficult. Am I supposed to be involved with hands on missions, or be part of the home church to send others out? I think its the first of the two but have mixed opinions and thoughts.

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Down down down

Its once again time to do an update. Last week had a few wonderful surprises; on Thursday Don (the head of construction and husband of Angie the missions builder coordinator) told us it was time for a beach day. What a glorious reward mid week. All the construction and maintenance workers packed into a some cars and we were off to mile 88. It was pretty much the best thrusday I’ve had. Mile 88 has a magical hill that you can skate down, so me and my boys hopped out at the top and made the smooth decent down with no problems. We spent that morning just soaking in the sun, tossing a frissbee, and doing back flips off the jumping rock. I was very impressed to see Don and Shim who are older guys show off their style. It was beautiful. Not having tried back flips since a painful experience back in jr. high I thought it was high time that I got over that fear. So me and Kimbo were out there for some time perfecting this falling dance. What a great time. The next day was a work day that also came to a close a little earlier than normal when Shim told us we had a soccor match against all the grounds workers. Ha ha nothing like call it quits two hours early and then a great game of “football”. Our team having dominated the others with our Sweden and Korean skills on the field. I felt bad almost, the key word being almost, that we worked them so bad.

So the weekend was up and running and it being the last weekend with my Swedish friends we had to make the most of it. We got up early Sat morning and went for a little surf session that was so so good. One of the guys had found this place that no one else is usually at and so it was me two sweds, a korean, and a Utahian. Such a good time. The first swell in weeks. So good to be out there with all the coral and rocks ha ha. It was pretty ridiculous when Kimbo my korean kept finding big rocks he could stand up on right where we were surfing. Sketchy! But thankfully no one got hurt that day. Sunday. Oh Sunday. Yeah. I thought it would be a repeat Thursday at mile 88 but it turned out a little bit different than expected. We once again proceeded to bomb the hill but I was riding a little short board so I couldn’t go nearly as fast as everyone else. The two vans that we came in passed me shortly latter cause I just couldn’t get going. So being in the back of the pack I said its time to step it up. The last and most dramatic part has a nice little speed bump at the bottom. I had been hitting the speed bumps before that a little faster and faster so I thought ok it flattens out and I don’t want to loose my speed by slowing down for the speed bump. I can do this! O how foolish a thought. When I hit the speed bump I was flying through the air seconds later. I managed to take the brunt of the fall with my hands and then did a summer salt- flip manuvure. I immediately jumped back to my feet being in shock and angry with myself and told the cars that had stopped that I was fine and needed no aid. I kinda scrapped a lot of skin off my side somehow though and it really began to sink in. I made it down to the beach and found everyone bumed that none of them had seen me do my super roll. Nothing like salt water and cuts. I couldn’t let the whole day be ruined by a fall in the morning and managed to catch some good waves on the boogie board. Ha ha o yes.

The Worst of it

That night me and the Sweds and a couple other guys went out to pizza. I cant say I’ve ever been with an entire group of guys who all order their own medium and large pizzas. The waitress was a little overwhelmed. I guess that’s what they do in Finland and Sweden though. I am amazed how they all packed it in. So much pizza sheesh. So yeah after we paid our $150 bill we called it a night.
Today was an extremely frustrating day at dry walling. Somehow all our brains just weren’t top notch and we kept cutting pieces the wrong size and would have to redo the piece like 3 times! Ugh so annoying. Yeah and then Daniel and Markus weren’t there cause they fly out tomorrow morning so it was just kinda a sad lame day. I get back from work and see that Erik finally took his first spill on the skateboard. His legs all narly and sick sick sick. So yeah that’s fun to find out. Such a bummer right the day before he leaves he has to crash. Yeah and you think its over with right, WRONG! Ha ha so this evening they go to bomb the hill one last time and the worst thing that could go wrong does. He eats it again! The amazing thing about this time is that its on video. Oh gosh it had to hurt. He is just booking it going the fastest they’ve gone before and then the next thing you see is him flying hitting the ground then back on his feet. UHHHHH! Ouch ouch ouch! Two times in one day is just stupid. He is so banged up its like he is wearing a road rash suit. So bad. *Sigh… What are the chances 2 times and the last day he possibly could do it.


Team Sweden

So yeah my Sweds all leave tomorrow and that is a sad sad thing. They will be greatly missed by all here and they absence will be hard to fill. Im glad that I still have great friends here but its tough that half of them are leaving. I want and need to go to Sweden sometime. Alright I think that’s a good little update/story telling for you all. Please keep me in your prayers that I will not grow weary of drywall and that God will give me direction as to what I do next. The time to tell the UC’s what my decision is seems to be approaching rapidly and I have no clue where or what I should do. Even not going back to school and getting involved in full time missions seems to be a possibility. So yeah just pray that I listen for what God wants and not what I want and that I will be obedient.



Saturday, April 26, 2008

Hawaiian Hills




Although I am a bit distraught about the fact that i left my precious board back in LA I am thankful that I am still semi-able to partake in the joy of it all. The Swedes found the perfect, and i mean PERFECT, hill to bomb right next to our house. So sweet. They really wanted someone to photograph them as they made there way down. I jumped at the chance, having both a love for the sport and for the request. Philippe it turns out is also a wonderful boarder and had bought one that day. So with my Swiss and Swedes I followed for a while on a bicycle but they were all towed up by moped. I stopped after a while not knowing how much further they expected me to ride. After a while Samuel come down on the moped and i ditched the bike and was soon zipping up the hill to the drop point. Once we met up with the guys it was on. What a magnificent time! Holding on to Samuel while trying to get good shots was quite the task. I felt much like a paparazzi as i did the balancing act of staying on a moped while trying to shoot behind me. Such a magnifico time. I think I need to do it again but in the back of a truck so I can have more control of the camera and get some great shots instead of some good shots. I have three weeks left with my Swedes and am quite sad about that fact but I must enjoy the time while it lasts.

Daniel & Markus Showing their skills


L to R Philippe, Daniel, Markus, Erik
"The boys"

Saturday, April 19, 2008

One Down

First Order of Business

A couple things you guys should know:
1. I put my cell phone on hold while I am here cause its an expense i don't need. If you want or need to call me you can reach me at (808) 326-2179. *Be aware of the 3 hour time difference!
2. They need people badly to work on the new building and they are planning to have 3 more up by the end of this year so if you have a break or need a break and want to volunteer your time get over here! Talk to me more or check out the missions builder program. Also even if your not the construction type you could help do other stuff so people who are working kitchen and such could be freed up to help construction. Think about it, free food, rent, your in Hawaii... yeah you have to work but its totally worth it.

I can't believe I've already been here for more than a week. The internet has been down for almost a week now and so that has made communicating a little difficult. I started working construction on monday and soon discovered we'd be doing a lot a lot of dry walling. Fun stuff. We also have to do fire walls (double thickness) on many sections of the building. It's been crazy cause all the piping and conduate is already installed so cutting pieces around all that has been quite the task. I live in a hostel like home that is perfect for a short stay. I am loving the diversity that I am completely surrounded in here. It is so cool to hear about how things are so different outside the US. I am getting closer to the group of Swedish guys here at Hale Ola (our apartment complex). I've also had so good chats with my Swiss roomie. Let me tell you everything in Switzer sounds top notch crazy clean and nice. It blows my mind to how low the US dollar is compared to other places. I thought 4/gal was a lot for gas but over in Sweden they are paying 12/gal! That is just sick. I've been thinking how rad it would be to go visit my sweds but thinking about how everything is 2 to 3 times as expensive makes that a hard idea to bring about.


My House: Pics wouldn't work will upload latter

Last Saturday when i went surfing i not only got extremely tired and a foot full of vana but i also got a horrible sunburn. I couldn't sleep for several nights it was bad. I didn't use any sunscreen cause no one had any. Such a stupid thing to do. Now I am peeling like a snake its so gross. I think I might have got fried again today even though i had someone put 50spf on me. I cant wait till burning is no longer a problem. Sheesh what are you gonna do though right? Having been to Maui before coming here i had a little idea what the climate was like and the terain but something i never experienced over there was vog. Vog is nasty volcanic ash that creates a fog like substance that has covered the island every day I've been here. There are a few hours it clears out usually in the mornings but it consistently rolls back in when i get off work. Kinda lame but I cant complain when its a comfortable 80 degrees everyday, even with vog.


Above: My First Burn- check the line ha ha my new shorts were all up on me cause i was sitting on a board

We had a great Swedish boxing match between Kris and Daniel wonderful wonderful time ha ha we even set up a phone to be the announcing mic fun times ha ha...




(Above Erik announcing the fight, Below: Daniel and Kris dooking it out)

On this last Thursday night our service was so so good. The speaker really was just calling us to be a people who seek the Lords presence in everything. Really amazing night. God is so good. I feel so blessed to be able to be here. I feel a little disconnected from everyone but I know as time goes on I will be more comfortable and click better with people. I am the new guy once again. Sigh* ha ha thats the story of my life. Yeah its been good real good though. Pray that i will get direction with what and where i go from here. I am having second thoughts about going back to school but pray that I will just be listening for what the Lord is calling me to and I will be obedient in following that.

Saturday, April 12, 2008

First Impressions

Hawaii. my new tropical homeland. i thought this might be an easier way to keep everyone up to date on my current events. lets see... i have been so blessed already in just the few days ive been here. First off its pretty amazing that i made it over here. Two major Hawaiian airlines just up and closed shop for good the week before i was leaving. Not only did that cause major problems but the FAA shut down several airlines canceling over 900 flights the day i was taking off. Thanks be to our Lord i made it without a hitch.

Some reason the thought never crossed my mind that there would be people from all over the world here at the YWAM base. It seriously blew my mind to see the diversity of Gods people in this small place. My roommate, Philip, is from Switzerland and is such a kind hearted awesome guy. He is a elementary school teacher back in Switzer. Working with the Missions Builder program is a very cool opportunity. We serve mon-fri 8 hrs a day then have weekends off which consist of island explorations and of course, surfing. It was my first day on a board in 6 years, crazy. Its amazing how much of a workout surfing really is. Me and the Sweds (4 amazing guys from Sweden) hitched out to a local surf spot that was a blast. I only caught one good wave but hey i got plenty of time to catch some more. Unfortunately though on my way back onto the shore i stepped on something that caused some immediate pain. I looked and my food and saw it was full of little slivery black spines. Vana, I soon found out is all over the place and is not fun at all to get a foot full of. I was told peeing on it would help ease the pain and lower the swelling. The whole reason that i was going back to shore was to get some water cause i was totally dehydrated. I felt really sick at first (mainly from dehydration) but then after a while was able to do the deed. I must say peeing on yourself is awkward. The funny thing is that right when we got there one of the sweds was telling me how last week he had to pee on one of the girls cause she stepped on one too. Fun fun. Ha ha.

Yeah so i haven't really worked yet i start on Monday but i just feel so grateful to be here. The missions builders live in an apartment complex that is about a half mile away from the University of the Nations Campus (where we work, and eat). So everyday there are shuttles that run between the locations, you miss the van and your walking. Well I think this is enough for the evening I'll definitely keep you all posted with more as it comes about.

Peace