Shoots i was almost done with this post and I went back a page and it went *poof*. Besides that, this has been a pretty fun week. A blessed one for sure.
Ok story time. Saturday nights we do the out reach and hang out with some of the houseless people in China Town. It is always a fun experience hanging out and listening to the peoples stories. This past saturday we had a different experience that was awesome. Our team of 8 Rev Hi deligates is split up into two groups, 6 in Kauluwela and 2 of us in Waianae. I'm lovin' waianae by the way. The people there are very much family oriented and so giving, it is amazing to see that community and the people in it. Ok, well the group that goes to kauluwela usually spend some time hanging out in Aala park and talk to the houseless people out there. Some of the group got to know this one girl, about late twenties in age, and her group that she hangs with. They talk about how they are always interested in readin their bibles and hangin' out talking about God.
This past saturday as we did our usual walk through china town some of our group made a detour to hang out with this girl and their group. We headed up the street to the ARC and when she saw us she yelled out, "they Came!" "They came!" "I told you guys they would come.(she was speaking to the other guys)" "see?". Apparently some of our team told her we would come visit and she was surprised that they kept to their word. They invited us up the stairs to their corner and we all hung out. Three of us separated and went to the other side of the building because we noticed quit a few more guys hanging out there and we wanted to give them some food. (There is another story here about an interaction we had at this spot where a guy was telling us about conspiracies and another thinking I was God asking for my blessing. I kept trying to convince him I wasn't God but he was a bit drunk and new scattered english...A bit different to say the least). But, we finally returned to the group hanging out with the girl and her friends and as we went up the stairs we noticed they had bibles open and were reading them. As we sat down we realized we were joining a little biblestudy and it was awesome. Chicken skin all over. God is working in these peoples lives and as we prayed you could just sense God's spirit being there. This may sound crazy to some of you but it is something I can't deny.
That experience reminded me a lot of the Acts church. (we have talked a little about this in our rev hi discussions, you can read about it in Acts. It is pretty cool). That experience, helped me to see the whole idea that We, as the body of Christ, are the Church. We can't contain it inside a building, tent, or temple; we have been blessed by the sacrifice givin' to us by Jesus and His resurrection so that His spirit may be with us. "Where two or more gather in His name, there He is amongst them." I was stoked to see this with my own eyes because I know I have talked about it and "understood" it, but experiencing it opened my eyes to the reality that God really is with us where ever we go; even on the steps in front of an ARC building.
Church is awesome. I always anticipate and enjoy going to church at The Rock in Waianae. We set up tent on Pokai Bay, put the chairs, speakers, and piano up and we have "Church." It reminds me so much of the Church my parents had back in City heights as I was a kid. I have so many fond memories there and even some disturbing ones (We weren't in the safest of neighborhoods). But God was moving in that Church and I see the same thing in Waianae every Sunday and pretty much every day. We have had similar experiences as the Saturday night ARC one on the city bus going and coming from Waianae. It is really awesome. God is Good.
I have run out of things to say and am excited for our morning Jog, hmmm running in da rain. Thank you again for checking out this blog. I miss all of you on the mainland very much. Don't worry I miss you guys here on this island too but I will probably see you in a couple of days Lord willing...
Keep our team in your prayers as we have finally found out where we are all going. 5 of us to Kauai and the other three to Kona. Kauai here I come. I am so excited; ringing bells day by day by day by day.... Just Kidding. It will be fun. =)
Until Later
Aloha
Surf Report:
Shoots, Big swell hit hawaii's north shore this past week with 22 foot waves. That's probably like 27-33 foot sets in mainland measurements. Pretty big waves. Didn't really get to see it. Tried to today but it was dying out and tons of rain. It's crazy out here because if it is raining you can Still go out and surf, AND the waves still hold up. In San Diego if it rains, the water gets nasty (we are very close to TJ you know), the waves get blown out and the water is sludge. It is recommended to wait a couple of days before heading back in because of the nasty water, some serious infections sometimes happen. But Here, Psh surf whenever. If the water is rollin' people are out. Happy Day Unil Next Week
2 comments:
I was happy to read about your fond memories regarding your growing up days at the City Heights Corps. It's great to see how God used those experiences there to benefit you in the mission field now :-) Thank you for committing to being a "follower of Christ." Love you, M.
Saturday nights can last all night. But it is worth it. And it is dangerous. Feel free to visit your street friends during the week, too, instead of just during Saturdays, and you can even ask them about what they thought about Saturday, ask them about church. Do they know where church is? What do they think about it? There is more than one church to attend, too! They have options. But if they want to sit next to you then they better be at the right church. Yeah, they do not even have to go to church, but I recommend it, regardless! Do not be scared of not knowing everything, take a pen and paper, tell them that you will get back to them with their questions. I am sure you probably knew all of this, but I still wanted to say it because I know that I was scared of asking my friends questions. I was scared of asking them about church, about God, about life, or whatever. I mean, it never hurts to ask people questions, get an open debate about things because you never know what may happen because of it.
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