baptism and oahu

The Presidents Day Baptism was pretty incredible! The interns were more efficient this time, in prepping and loading all of the stuff. We knew what we were doing this time, which made the morning fly by! One of my highlights was when we were moving stuff from the vans to the site, I looked out over the ocean in the early morning sunrise and witnessed a few whales jumping out of the water! They were jumping for joy for new life in Christ :) I was able to listen to the testimonies of those who were getting baptized and it was so powerful! After everyone had shared, the sound of the conch shell and the beat of the hawaiian drums beckoned us down to the water. We worshiped the Lord and the hula dancers praised him through dancing. It was wonderful. We then laid hands on the 31 people who were getting baptized and prayed over them. But my all time favorite thing about the baptism is when all the action happens. I am so honored and blessed to be the person who walks them out into the water to meet with the three pastors who do the actual baptizing. I was able to pray, talk, and celebrate with these brothers and sisters during this exciting and joyous moment in their lives. I absolutely love it! Then of course, afterwards there is food, and volleyball, and fellowship. And clean up was a breeze :) I was able to come home and have a restful afternoon after such a whirlwind of a weekend. This last picture is of me walking with Vanessa (fellow intern and cherished sister in Christ) into the water. Eddie Kim, an incredible man of God--whose house and children Alyssa and I are sitting this week, is on the right. What an amazing day!

"Jesus, undeterred, went right ahead and gave his charge: "God authorized and commanded me to commission you: Go out and train everyone you meet, far and near, in this way of life, marking them by baptism in the threefold name: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Then instruct them in the practice of all I have commanded you. I'll be with you as you do this, day after day after day, right up to the end of the age." Matthew 28:18-20 (Message)

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The work week flew by. My small group is still going through Acts. Then Thursday at work was a little rough, due to feeling under the weather and all of the baptism follow up that had to be done. Friday morning, Alyssa and I were whisked away to Oahu and island hopped our way over to Honolulu. It was very refreshing to be in a big city! Alyssa and I were able to meet up with Jeff (her boyfriend and the reason for our adventure over there) and explore Waikiki Beach on Friday. Alyssa and I spent some time on the beach soaking up some sun and reading our Bibles. It was much needed. We walked down to the Ala Moana Shopping Center, and enjoyed the sights and sounds of tourists and another side of Hawaii. Everything is very Asian influenced, with Japanese/Chinese on signs and such. Friday night we had girls night, and ate our take out dinner in our hotel room. It was such a blast :) I wouldn't have wanted to do this weekend with anyone else!

Saturday morning, we were straight up blessed by catching a ride with one of the baseball boy's parents:Nancy and Joe. The true blessing of our weekend. We were just going to rely on the bus system to get us out to the baseball field, but God provided more than we could ask or imagine. They provided so much love, food, and laughter this weekend. Oh, I just can't get over God's goodness and faithfulness in our lives! I managed to survive two double headers of baseball and I absolutely loved meeting Jeff and seeing Alyssa and him together warmed my heart. Another set of parents that was such a blessing to us was Sig and Lori. Sig was an adventure seeker/traveler when he was younger so we enjoyed chatting about our season in Maui and the travels he went on in his day. We were definitely well fed, with red vines, pretzels, sunflower seeds, and hawaiian style food in ABUNDANCE after the games. I love connecting with people and learning and loving. This weekend was full of new and exciting people and places. Just my style.

I really was able to take a step back and see the bigger picture this weekend. I am excited about my future, and what God has in store. I'm praying that he will gently loosen my fingers from grasping the things that only He should be holding onto.

My prayer, now that I'm back on Maui, and being flooded with all of the things I adore about my life right now, is that I will be here now. I am in a phase of the year that generally tends to be restless. He is so faithful. I am praying that I can trust the Lord first. Have faith first. Rely on Him first. Then He follows with His best.

Reese

*purity*

The Lord blessed me in a BIG way this weekend. I slept 3 hours on Friday night, after I finally came down from my high of writing a song with Steven, performing it during the offering, and then doing a set for afterglow with Steven. The intern girls and Jenny went to see Valentine's Day the movie. I LOVE my girls. I woke up at five, Leslie picked me up to go to Starbucks before our Rise garage sale that will hopefully be sending us to Lanai for a retreat in March. I got a coconut chai tea latte and it tasted like summer :) I helped set up the garage sale, then Whitney walked over (she lives next door) and told me I needed to be at the church by 730 to help load everything up for the junior hai purity retreat. YIKES. So we clamber into the Man-U-V and head to Hope. We prepared, prayed, kids arrived, and we headed out, the boys Upcountry to Uncle Pat's property and then the girls to conquer the road to Hana to Ka'enae. 20 girls total! We stopped at a gas station to air up my tire in the death star. It was almost completely flat. Then Jesse's van wouldn't start. Then Whitney's van wouldn't start. It was unreal. Satan totally didn't want us to go. So we prayed and got everything jumped, and aired up and good to go. The girls in my van were completely precious. We talked about boys, and how sick the surf was on the North Shore (one girl had her face pressed up against the window she wanted to surf so bad). The drive was spectacular. Winding roads, hugging the edges of majestic mountains with the ocean licking the shore next to us. It was a dream. Until one of my girls got sick and we had to assist her. ha! The retreat house was nestled in between palm and coconut trees. We left the windows open the whole time we were there and it rained when we fell asleep. The sessions were amazing. I mean, I expected to learn some things, but I am floored by the Lord at the things that come out of those girls. Whitney had me lead worship the whole weekend so I was able to connect with a few of the girls simply by taking them aside in our free time and singing together. I am so inadequate. I felt insecure around those girls, they are intimidating! But I can't imagine the depths of God's power and how he used all of us leaders there. Man. We went on a gorgeous hike to a little lake that's overflow from the ocean. I have pictures I hope to put up soon. That's when I had some solid conversations with a couple of the girls. They are so wise and curious and honest! God totally broke my heart for their hearts! And seeing Whitney lead them, and I was challenged by the other leaders: Jesse, Angela, and Alex. We prayed together and answered sex questions and hard things about boys, and relationships, and what it looks like to live set apart lives that are pure and holy. Basically, it was legit. And I adore those girls. And they are so uplifting and wonderful. I mean, they are struggling. But it was such a blessing to be used by the Lord in their lives.

I had the best quiet time ever this morning. I watched the sun rise on a stone wall overlooking the ocean. And read Hosea 6:3

"Let us acknowledge the LORD; let us press on to acknowledge him. As surely as the sun rises, he will appear; he will come to us like the winter rains, like the spring rains that water the earth."

I pray God's peace and hope would fill you up abundantly today. Oh how he loves us. He is everything. Righteous. Holy. Perfect. I am pressing on to acknowledge Him.

Reese

Also, I hunted, retrieved, and cracked open a real coconut for the first time this weekend :)

new directions

Hello!

I started my day off last Wednesday with a paddle boarding adventure with my "friendtor" (friend and mentor) Leslie. It was absolutely beautiful! We go at 7 in the morning typically, and it's just starting to be light outside, but when you are out on the water, the sun comes up over Haleakala and it is absolutely breath taking. I could start every day that way. Even if the waves are huge and hard to get past to get into the water :)

The littlest things about Maui are what really get me. The incredible views, intriguing sounds- geckos make the weirdest noises!- and all the lovely smells. From lovely flowery scents to the icky sewage smell that's been creepin' on Hope Chapel lately. Rise went on a hike last Saturday and there were some pretty amazing sights! I will never get used to mountains. I love them. And waterfalls.

I've been floored by the Lord lately. I'm so thankful that He alone is my light and salvation. Psalm 27:1. That He gives His grace freely. I don't have to earn it. There is nothing I can or can't do to change the way God loves me.

I have a fresh outlook on things. I'm five months into my internship. I'm still living in a dream. But aware that it's reality. Last night was our Prayer and Praise night. I went to help early and ended up getting asked to help the MOI group lead worship. MOI stands for Men Of Integrity. I was the only girl they could get to sing. All of the men joked with me being the only howlie. Ha

According to UrbanDictionary.com, Howlie is a term used by locals in the state of Hawaii (usually not with a scrap of Hawaiian ancestry, usually Fillipino or darker-skinned) to refer to white people who moved to the state/island from the mainland.

I absolutely loved every second of the worship. We were out in the courtyard, the breeze was gently blowing, and the sun was setting over the ocean. There were about 10 men, plus me, and all of them were playing some form of strings or drums. I LOVE hawaiian influenced worship. And it felt so good to worship the Lord. We all serve the same King. Great is HIS name in all the Earth.

God is good.

Risa