Waimea, Hawaii

…is hot and sticky.

Ugh.

We just finished our first day of VBS in Kawaihae. (Ka-why-huh-i) We had it outside in a park overlooking the harbor and the Pacific Ocean. If it had been clear we may have been able to see Maui. It rained throughout most of the day however we had canopies and tarps to save us and the kids that attended from drowning. We had music and videos and snacks and all the other typical VBS stuff. Well, mostly typical. During a song, while the kids were dancing around, a few beetles decided to crash the party and scamper across the mat beneath us. Immediately the song transformed into an all out beetle bash. It was great.

As for us, we are here and well. It gets harder and harder to breathe though. The humidity envelops your lungs and begins choking you the moment you stop moving. If the breeze is blowing slightly it seems ok. But the breeze is not very reliable and it leaves you alone for long periods of time so that you'd wish that you had a fan or something to move the air around.

However, I like it.

Hawaii is beautiful even if you can't see much of it. Every so often the fog breaks and you are reminded that the beauty was there all along. You just need to be patient and look for it.

But that is not the beauty I love. You can keep it (at least for a little while, I still like the sunset).

I am growing to love the beauty of the people that give up their time to feed us lunch in a park. I am growing to love the kids that realize they are beautiful enough to make a random group of Californians, Oregonians, Nevadans, and Hawaiians travel far away from home and family simply so they will have a chance to grow closer to the God that has a love for them that far exceeds any attempts at love that we could bring. I am growing to love the woman in the airport that wishes me well simply for taking the time to talk to her while waiting around a busy baggage claim.

This world is beautiful even if you can't see the beauty sometimes. Every so often the fog breaks and you are reminded that the beauty was there all along. You just need to be patient and look for it.

The kids doing crafts, Kawaihae, HI.

We are home now. We just returned from meeting the rest of the team (a total of 28 people)living in Kapa'au for the week. Now around me people are sleeping, or at least getting there. We have a somewhat long say ahead of us and a bigger group to work with. So, with that said… goodnight and aloha.

-Chris