tsunami watch?

Hi friends,

It's been over a month of life in Hawaii! It's absolutely incredible how fast time is going! On Friday morning last week, Pastor Craig and Mark Spencer took four of us out surfing at the Cove. I was struggling to get up this time, but got a rhythm going towards the end. I think I'm finally ready to take off the training wheels and start catching my own waves! I enjoy our time with Craig and Mark, soaking up their surfing knowledge, but also their wisdom about God and life.

My favorite part of the week is Friday evenings when the interns eat dinner together at the church. I look forward to just chilling and recapping our weeks. Friday afternoon I had a really solid coffee date with a woman that is on leadership team for Alpha with me. Her name is Sandi and she just has a lot going on in her life. Our conversation was totally spirit led and filled with some tears. God is so powerful. I love seeing Him at work so vividly in people's lives.

Saturday morning we drove up to the North Shore outside of Paia and checked out the surfing scene there. I definitely have surfer's stoke and it was cool just to watch and see some bigger waves and some surfers who live the surfing lifestyle. Then we got hungry and headed into Paia to eat at the Fish Market. I got the Mahi Burger and it was absolutely amazing. Mhhmm. I love seafood with my whole heart. We drove into town (Kahului) and hit up the mall for a little bit. It's open and breezy and it was relaxing to stroll through the stores and chill for awhile. We met up with some friends, drove through Wailuku and headed for Iao (Ee-ow) Valley. Iao Valley is probably one of my favorite things in Maui right now. We trekked through the jungle and passed guava you could just pick up and eat, or throw :) It reminded all of us of Jurassic Park. Ah, I loved it. Then Glenn led us to a spot where you could jump off rocks into the river. It was freezing! All of the girls were swirling around, struggling against the current while the boys were practically swan diving into the raging river--slight overstatement but once I clambered up onto the boulder and leaped into the water I felt invigorated! It was such an adventure climbing through the rocks and along a gorgeous river. I loved it. After our expedition at Iao, the four intern girls drove to the high school pastor's home to babysit their three kiddos- Brody, Brooklyn, and Braden. Between the four of us girls, it was a breeze! I feel like I hardly had to do anything! They are great kids.

Sunday I was so sleepy from all the events of the previous day. I was struggling to stay awake and hold normal conversations! God really spoke through Mike's sermon to my heart. It was on living an intentional and purpose driven life. Something that God has been gently placing as a priority in my life in my time here at HopeChapel so far. If ya'll get a chance to listen to Hope's sermons online, Mike's sermon was solid! He pulled a lot of Scripture from Ephesians 1. I came home after church and crashed for an hour nap. Chris and I went to Makena to play volleyball for the afternoon. I was so thankful to play some volleyball and wake up from my sleepy day. It was great. Then, the Pragnell's (Ben is the Young Adult Pastor) invited us over for a dessert/movie night. We watched Endless Summer II. It was pretty priceless. It follows Pat and Wingnut all over the world on their surfing adventures. I mean, who knew there was legit surfing in France? It was a great way to end the day!

Our first night of Alpha was last night. The dinner was incredible and I was able to meet a lot of new people! Our prayers were answered and we had over the amount of people we were expecting. God is so good. I sat with a woman who I had actually met before so we were able to talk and hopefully meet up outside of Alpha. Shibby. Thank you for all your prayers!

My quiet time is in Exodus right now, which I tend to brush off as story time, instead of viewing the stories as practical experiences to learn from. I was in Exodus 16 and I felt like I could seriously relate to the process of gathering only enough manna for the day. If they gathered too much in preparation for the next day, it would be gross and full of maggots. I feel like I get asked very frequently about what I'm doing after this year. Or what the future will look like. And I start to get flustered. But God promises our portion for the day.

"Moses said to them, "It is the bread the LORD has given you to eat. This is what the LORD has commanded: 'Each one is to gather as much as he needs."

God is calling each of us to live for today. Tomorrow worries about itself. He gives us what we need every day. And like what Mike was saying on Sunday, we should live intentional lives with what God gives us each day. Every morning His mercies are brand new! I challenge you to read Ephesians 1. It is packed with Truth. God's Truth!

Risa

(Oh and today there is a tsunami watch for Hawaii!)