January is a month of lots of promotion and pushes for small groups! So I've been busy keeping up with connecting people and doing administrative work! I was able to serve Jason by aiding him in his small group dinner that he put on for all of Hope Chapel's small group leaders and it went really well! Almost 70 people came! It was good to touch base with all of them and assess our mission of outreach and growth. It's a lot of work! But I'm adoring it. We have started a leadership team for Rise that I am blessed to be a part of and the excitement of growth and equipping is definitely something I am enjoying being a part of. Rise is going on a hike this Saturday that I am looking forward to as well!
Alyssa and I are slowly continuing making our room homey. We put up a shelf on Monday (a day off!) and even though it seemed completely and unnecessarily complicated......we did it! I could just sing praises about Alyssa all day long, we have such fun together and I can't think of a better person to be serving our King with! :) And Christy and Jena were both gone to the Tweens Camp up in the mountains so we had a pretty quiet home for the weekend. Praise the Lord for the work He did with those Tweens over the weekend. Quite a few of them accepted Christ! Please pray for continued encouragement and ministry opps.
I discovered Tutti Frutti and love their coconut frozen yogurt with pineapple, papaya, and strawberries. It's so good!
We have a volunteer receptionist at Hope, named Shannon, and she is the most encouraging woman of God! Some of us intern girls were blessed to grab dinner and just chat with her about life. I'm looking forward to the next time we hang out with Shannon!
Something I've been connecting this past week is that what energizes us is a passion. I have been able to identify some of the things that energize me.... Singing/worship, connecting people, and sharing the gospel. I come away from those situations feeling completely amped with adrenaline and ready for more! So it's been a solid challenge to look at some of the things that I really pull energy from, recognizing that they are my passions, and then pursuing them more! This has been especially helpful in what I want to pursue for my future.
Here is a good word from 1st Samuel 12:20-25
"Do not be afraid," Samuel replied. "You have done all this evil; yet do not turn away from the LORD, but serve the LORD with all your heart. Do not turn away after useless idols. They can do you no good, nor can they rescue you, because they are useless. For the sake of his great name the LORD will not reject his people, because the LORD was pleased to make you his own. As for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD by failing to pray for you. And I will teach you the way that is good and right. But be sure to fear the LORD and serve him faithfully with all your heart; consider what great things he has done for you. Yet if you persist in doing evil, both you and your king will be swept away."
Risa
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Monday, January 4, 2010
hauoli makahiki hou! (happy new year!)
Hello all!
I am back from chilly Kansas and ready to jump back into Maui life. I apologize for taking so long to post. I hope everyone had a Happy Christmas! What a reminder to celebrate the birth of our King all year round!
I was so blessed by my time at home. I was able to see Katherine and Sally a few times, and they are both pregnant! So exciting, it's hard to believe the next time I see them they will have children! Kelly and Staci were able to come stay for a few days and we got to spend time uplifting and challenging each other. Those girls are such great friends and I love them so much! Graham bought a new puppy, Collins, so Cooper and I spent a lot of our time cuddling and playing with him and Graham's house. It was relaxing to come back and simply be with family and friends.
January will be very busy! There is lots of young adult activities that will be starting up. Jason is starting to prepare for our trip to Brazil in April so I am getting VERY excited about that! My parents got me Rosetta Stone:Portuguese so I will be starting on that this month. All of the interns will be back after this week and we will be fresh and ready for new adventures. When I was flying into Maui and they were announcing that the temperature was 77 degrees I just shook my head in wonder that I just left 9 degree weather! I am just so thankful for the life I have here and I could praise the Lord all day long for the work He is doing in my life and in the lives of others here (and back home)!
The sermon yesterday was a challenge to have our New Year's resolutions be to dig deeper into the Word of God. The Word will sustain you, satisfy you, fill you. It is our salvation, our growth. It applies perfectly to our lives. The Church grows when we are in the Word. My joy is in the Word of God. Remember the Promise.
"Kinohi ka Logou, me ke Akua ka Logou, a o ke Akua no ka Logou."
-In the Beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God (John 1:1)
In Him,
Risa Elena
I am back from chilly Kansas and ready to jump back into Maui life. I apologize for taking so long to post. I hope everyone had a Happy Christmas! What a reminder to celebrate the birth of our King all year round!
I was so blessed by my time at home. I was able to see Katherine and Sally a few times, and they are both pregnant! So exciting, it's hard to believe the next time I see them they will have children! Kelly and Staci were able to come stay for a few days and we got to spend time uplifting and challenging each other. Those girls are such great friends and I love them so much! Graham bought a new puppy, Collins, so Cooper and I spent a lot of our time cuddling and playing with him and Graham's house. It was relaxing to come back and simply be with family and friends.
January will be very busy! There is lots of young adult activities that will be starting up. Jason is starting to prepare for our trip to Brazil in April so I am getting VERY excited about that! My parents got me Rosetta Stone:Portuguese so I will be starting on that this month. All of the interns will be back after this week and we will be fresh and ready for new adventures. When I was flying into Maui and they were announcing that the temperature was 77 degrees I just shook my head in wonder that I just left 9 degree weather! I am just so thankful for the life I have here and I could praise the Lord all day long for the work He is doing in my life and in the lives of others here (and back home)!
The sermon yesterday was a challenge to have our New Year's resolutions be to dig deeper into the Word of God. The Word will sustain you, satisfy you, fill you. It is our salvation, our growth. It applies perfectly to our lives. The Church grows when we are in the Word. My joy is in the Word of God. Remember the Promise.
"Kinohi ka Logou, me ke Akua ka Logou, a o ke Akua no ka Logou."
-In the Beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God (John 1:1)
In Him,
Risa Elena
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
jaws
This is just a taste of Jaws. It was unreal how big those waves were! I guess they are created by storms in the north, up by Alaska. And once they hit warm waters it causes a swell. And surfers love it :) Pastor Craig picked all the interns up and we trekked out to catch a glimpse of these epic waves. This is the biggest they have been since the winter of 1969. So we were all pretty stoked to have the opportunity to be able to witness the epic waves.
"At famous breaks like Waimea Bay on Oahu and Jaws in Maui, the world's top big wave riders challenged the mammoth swell, spawned by an intense low pressure system which formed northwest of the Islands over the weekend."-Billabong rep.
We drove through an old pineapple field in order to get down to the cliff where spectators watch. As you can see from this next picture....it's a pretty big deal to watch. I loved running into people we knew and swapping stories about the wipe-outs we had seen. Basically, it was amazing.
Afterwards we piled into our van and went to eat breakfast at a local place in Paia. (Willie Nelson played
I met with my alpha table, then after that I walked over to the Kim's house. I was able to talk with Stephanie (a woman that I am meeting with) and we made dinner. She has two sons and a daughter. So I adored helping Sissy with her homework and goofing around with the boys. It was so relieving to step away from everything for a little while and just relax. Earlier, Leslie, Alyssa and I had been talking about how hard it is to explain to people that even though Maui is paradise, your car still breaks down and you still have to pay the bills. I love Maui, and it feels like home, but I'm really looking forward to a break for Christmas. I miss family and friends.
These next two weeks are jam packed with lots of holiday activities and life will be super busy. Please be praying for my focus to remain on the King and seek His kingdom first!
Risa.
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
blessed.
The greek word translated "blessed" in Matthew 5:4 beautifully expresses the essence of the blessed life.
"Biblically, one is pronounced blessed when God is present and involved in his life. The hand of God is at work directing all his affairs for a divine purpose, and thus, in a sense, such a person lived coram Deo, before the face of God."
Blessedness describes the condition of a person who reveres God, steeps her life in Him, and follows His ways. She doesn't just look to God in spiritual or religious matters. She looks to Him in every matter. He's not just the most important part of her life. He IS her life. The result of this divine invasion is that the life operates overall at optimum earth-satisfaction, joy, and purpose and without the crushing burdens of self-glory and sin. In other words, her life actually works.
-I took this idea from one of Beth Moore's studies. This is something I've been dwelling on a lot the past few days.
Mondays have turned into my favorite day of the week! I get to hang with Erin in Wailea, and we make coffee and talk and watch Gilmore Girls. She is so precious to me. Then the past couple weeks I've wandered to the ocean on my own for a couple hours. I'm starting to treasure that time. I get to pray and meditate and read my Bible. I tend to think my weekend is a break from the week, but in reality I end up doing more on the weekends than during the week! So Monday is a great day to rest and reflect on the past week and what is to come this week. I met Joy for smoothies/Starbucks around 1 and we had some great conversation. Joy works part time as a volunteer secretary at Hope so I have chatted with her a bit just during work when she is in but after yesterday I am hoping we can meet weekly! She is a sweet heart.
I served on the worship team on Sunday. It was a humbling but enjoyable experience! There is so much that goes into every service that I never even knew about. The team was absolutely full of amazing and talented singers and musicians so I had a blast learning from them and singing together.
Last night at Alpha we talk
ed about why we tell others about Christ. One of the questions our table discussed was what each person thought was the best way to share the gospel. If we wanted someone older, our age to tell us, or if we wanted it to be straight up, direct, or relationally shared through a testimony. I shared that I like things clear and precise, drawn out really simply (since I'm a blonde and all ha) and told them about the bridge illustration based off of Romans 6:23. It's an illustration I'm very familiar with since it's the tool we used for beach evangelism in Jax a couple summers ago. I briefly explained what it was and my table still seemed slightly confused so I just dove in and walked through the whole thing. I prayed before I started sharing, because I know that the members at my table (the picture) are seeking the Lord, but I am not sure if they have made that decision and accepted Jesus. So, at the end of it, I just prayed that it would be taken to heart and hopefully clarify or sharpen what they already knew. All of them thought it was a really awesome way to present the gospel and Jessie ended up keeping it. All in all, it went well!
Christmas season is here! And busy!
Love you all,
Risa

"Biblically, one is pronounced blessed when God is present and involved in his life. The hand of God is at work directing all his affairs for a divine purpose, and thus, in a sense, such a person lived coram Deo, before the face of God."
Blessedness describes the condition of a person who reveres God, steeps her life in Him, and follows His ways. She doesn't just look to God in spiritual or religious matters. She looks to Him in every matter. He's not just the most important part of her life. He IS her life. The result of this divine invasion is that the life operates overall at optimum earth-satisfaction, joy, and purpose and without the crushing burdens of self-glory and sin. In other words, her life actually works.
-I took this idea from one of Beth Moore's studies. This is something I've been dwelling on a lot the past few days.
Mondays have turned into my favorite day of the week! I get to hang with Erin in Wailea, and we make coffee and talk and watch Gilmore Girls. She is so precious to me. Then the past couple weeks I've wandered to the ocean on my own for a couple hours. I'm starting to treasure that time. I get to pray and meditate and read my Bible. I tend to think my weekend is a break from the week, but in reality I end up doing more on the weekends than during the week! So Monday is a great day to rest and reflect on the past week and what is to come this week. I met Joy for smoothies/Starbucks around 1 and we had some great conversation. Joy works part time as a volunteer secretary at Hope so I have chatted with her a bit just during work when she is in but after yesterday I am hoping we can meet weekly! She is a sweet heart.
I served on the worship team on Sunday. It was a humbling but enjoyable experience! There is so much that goes into every service that I never even knew about. The team was absolutely full of amazing and talented singers and musicians so I had a blast learning from them and singing together.
Last night at Alpha we talk
Christmas season is here! And busy!
Love you all,
Risa

Monday, November 23, 2009
lava tubing, laird hamilton, new moon, camp piiholo
Aloha,
Two weekends ago Rise put together an event at Uncle Pat's land Upcountry and it was a blast! Leslie picked up the intern girls and we grabbed Starbucks, and headed up to the mountains with the top down to eat lunch at a park. Leslie introduced us to cardboard sledding. It was so much fun! Some other church families joined us and we spent hours flying down a large hill on old cardboard :) After awhile we decided to head to Uncle Pat's and the adventures continued! We hiked down into a huge hole with trees where cowboys had thrown their coffee in the old days. It was quite a trek just to climb down to the entrance of the lava tube! Basically, you had to squeeze through a tiny entrance which led into a large, pitch black cave. About 20 of us clambered around in the lava rock cave until we reached the end. It would have been impossible without a flashlight. I was reminded of how God works in my life, only giving me enough light to get one step further. While I was struggling up and down sharp lava rock I felt like a dweeb and couldn't figure out why anyone would do something like this for fun. But once we crawled back out of the cave and the sun was setting over the ocean.....it was worth it. The bigger picture is ALWAYS worth it. We ate grilled salmon and steak for dinner and sang some worship songs around the fire. Then Uncle Pat drove us up in his old Bronco back up to the top of the hill and that was probably my favorite part of the day. Talk about Xtreme offroading!! Leslie, Alyssa, and I drove back, chilly from the cool air and sang praises to our King with our eyes on the stars. Best day ever.
Last Thursday, some of the interns drove to Paia to eat at the Flatbread Pizza place. So good! Towards the end of our meal, a man walks up to the table next to us and they are talking loudly about surfing and being boisterous and Jena goes, "Ohmy, that's Laird Hamilton! The pro surfer!" So we got all excited and watched him talking to his friends and I laughed to myself because it was my first famous person sighting! He is a legit surfer. After an eventful dinner, Jessie, Tiffany, and I decided it would be a necessity to see New Moon at the midnight showing. I have never been in a room with more screaming teenage girls! It was out of control! I really enjoyed my time with Jessie and Tiffany though, they are both nannies here and such sweethearts.
Saturday was our Alpha weekend away up at Camp Piiholo, nestled in between some tall trees. The theme of the day was about the Holy Spirit. God did some pretty cool things that day! I was so blessed to fellowship with everyone and we played volleyball and I got to lead evening worship. Pastor Craig shared his testimony and I really appreciated his openness and honesty about the work God has done in his life.
Please continue praying for me to radiate God's character in my time here. There are so many people seeking Truth here. God has been answering my prayers in BIG ways lately and I am feeling so thankful!! I am being stretched daily by trying new things and being challenged in new areas. God knows our needs.
1 Thess 5:23-25 is my prayer this week.
In Him,
Risa
Two weekends ago Rise put together an event at Uncle Pat's land Upcountry and it was a blast! Leslie picked up the intern girls and we grabbed Starbucks, and headed up to the mountains with the top down to eat lunch at a park. Leslie introduced us to cardboard sledding. It was so much fun! Some other church families joined us and we spent hours flying down a large hill on old cardboard :) After awhile we decided to head to Uncle Pat's and the adventures continued! We hiked down into a huge hole with trees where cowboys had thrown their coffee in the old days. It was quite a trek just to climb down to the entrance of the lava tube! Basically, you had to squeeze through a tiny entrance which led into a large, pitch black cave. About 20 of us clambered around in the lava rock cave until we reached the end. It would have been impossible without a flashlight. I was reminded of how God works in my life, only giving me enough light to get one step further. While I was struggling up and down sharp lava rock I felt like a dweeb and couldn't figure out why anyone would do something like this for fun. But once we crawled back out of the cave and the sun was setting over the ocean.....it was worth it. The bigger picture is ALWAYS worth it. We ate grilled salmon and steak for dinner and sang some worship songs around the fire. Then Uncle Pat drove us up in his old Bronco back up to the top of the hill and that was probably my favorite part of the day. Talk about Xtreme offroading!! Leslie, Alyssa, and I drove back, chilly from the cool air and sang praises to our King with our eyes on the stars. Best day ever.
Last Thursday, some of the interns drove to Paia to eat at the Flatbread Pizza place. So good! Towards the end of our meal, a man walks up to the table next to us and they are talking loudly about surfing and being boisterous and Jena goes, "Ohmy, that's Laird Hamilton! The pro surfer!" So we got all excited and watched him talking to his friends and I laughed to myself because it was my first famous person sighting! He is a legit surfer. After an eventful dinner, Jessie, Tiffany, and I decided it would be a necessity to see New Moon at the midnight showing. I have never been in a room with more screaming teenage girls! It was out of control! I really enjoyed my time with Jessie and Tiffany though, they are both nannies here and such sweethearts.
Saturday was our Alpha weekend away up at Camp Piiholo, nestled in between some tall trees. The theme of the day was about the Holy Spirit. God did some pretty cool things that day! I was so blessed to fellowship with everyone and we played volleyball and I got to lead evening worship. Pastor Craig shared his testimony and I really appreciated his openness and honesty about the work God has done in his life.
Please continue praying for me to radiate God's character in my time here. There are so many people seeking Truth here. God has been answering my prayers in BIG ways lately and I am feeling so thankful!! I am being stretched daily by trying new things and being challenged in new areas. God knows our needs.
1 Thess 5:23-25 is my prayer this week.
In Him,
Risa
Thursday, November 12, 2009
honolulu coffee in wailea
Hello friends,
This morning I met with Janna who is in charge of making sure the interns are set up with mentors. She was fantastic to talk with, very calm and wise. She took me to Honolulu Coffee Company at the Shops at Wailea. It is on my list of favorite coffee places now! Her and her husband have an art store called Dolphin Galleries and Janna was telling me that the King of Morocco had come to their store a couple months ago and bought a ton of paintings! We just chatted about life and she was so encouraging.
This weekend, Rise is going up to a lava tube Upcountry to hike and have a bonfire. I'm stoked! Good fellowship along with adventure will make for a rockin Saturday! Last Sunday, I was so blessed to connect with a freshman girl, Yashaira, who is attending Maui Community College. She was telling me she didn't really know what she was doing in college and how she felt like she was wasting time and money deciding what to do with her life. Just my type :) I am praying I will be able to stick with her and encourage her to seek the Lord in these big life decisions and that school is so great for some people but there are other options as well. She has lived on Big Island and Oahu and now she's on Maui so I loved listening to her stories. She came with us to Big Beach Sunday afternoon and met a lot of people. God is so good. He knows our needs.
This Sunday night is Hope Chapel's Prayer and Praise Night. They will have food, and Steven and I were asked to put a set of 10 to 11 songs together to perform in front of the congregation. I'm a little nervous, since this is a bigger event and I've only been singing for smaller things. But I am really excited to help out and be involved.
Christy's birthday was on Monday and it was a blast! A lot of people came for dessert at Outback, and we all came back and played games at our condo. On our day off yesterday for Veteran's Day, the interns were invited over to the Spencer's for breakfast again. They are such a blessing! Jori and Mark made us banana pancakes, sausage links, starfruit, and french pressed coffee. I covered my pancakes with coconut syrup and it was delicious :) Then some of the interns went and chilled at the beach. It was a perfect beach day!
I'm memorizing 2 Cor 10:3-5 for our bible study this week. It's quality.
All my love,
Risa
This morning I met with Janna who is in charge of making sure the interns are set up with mentors. She was fantastic to talk with, very calm and wise. She took me to Honolulu Coffee Company at the Shops at Wailea. It is on my list of favorite coffee places now! Her and her husband have an art store called Dolphin Galleries and Janna was telling me that the King of Morocco had come to their store a couple months ago and bought a ton of paintings! We just chatted about life and she was so encouraging.
This weekend, Rise is going up to a lava tube Upcountry to hike and have a bonfire. I'm stoked! Good fellowship along with adventure will make for a rockin Saturday! Last Sunday, I was so blessed to connect with a freshman girl, Yashaira, who is attending Maui Community College. She was telling me she didn't really know what she was doing in college and how she felt like she was wasting time and money deciding what to do with her life. Just my type :) I am praying I will be able to stick with her and encourage her to seek the Lord in these big life decisions and that school is so great for some people but there are other options as well. She has lived on Big Island and Oahu and now she's on Maui so I loved listening to her stories. She came with us to Big Beach Sunday afternoon and met a lot of people. God is so good. He knows our needs.
This Sunday night is Hope Chapel's Prayer and Praise Night. They will have food, and Steven and I were asked to put a set of 10 to 11 songs together to perform in front of the congregation. I'm a little nervous, since this is a bigger event and I've only been singing for smaller things. But I am really excited to help out and be involved.
Christy's birthday was on Monday and it was a blast! A lot of people came for dessert at Outback, and we all came back and played games at our condo. On our day off yesterday for Veteran's Day, the interns were invited over to the Spencer's for breakfast again. They are such a blessing! Jori and Mark made us banana pancakes, sausage links, starfruit, and french pressed coffee. I covered my pancakes with coconut syrup and it was delicious :) Then some of the interns went and chilled at the beach. It was a perfect beach day!
I'm memorizing 2 Cor 10:3-5 for our bible study this week. It's quality.
All my love,
Risa
Thursday, November 5, 2009
God knows.
Hey ya'll!
This week is a blur! We picked up our newest intern, Vanessa, from the airport on Tuesday. She's such a sweetheart! It feels complete now to have all of us here now.
Alpha is still going strong. I'm loving seeing the hand of God so clearly in people's lives. Two weeks ago we focused on prayer and practical ways to pray. At the end of our discussion time, we prayed together, and even though some of the guys didn't pray, they seemed comfortable about the whole situation. Two of the guys were in desperate needs of jobs. The next week we found out that both of them found jobs!! Praise God! He answers prayer. I was inspired to pray for specific things and see God bless me in that. It is so cool!
The girl interns started a bible study together. We are going through "When Godly People do Ungodly Things" by Beth Moore. It is such a great study! All of the girls were feeling like we need to be more intentional with each other and making sure we aren't too involved in our own ministries. These next 6 weeks are going to be filled with growth. I love those girls! The other morning we started a work out called Hip Hop Abs with Shaun T. It is intense! But filled with lots of laughs and good times.
God is really revealing to me my spiritual gifts. Hope is doing a series of classes called Get in the Game and it's all about discovering your spiritual gifts. My singing is something that God has really been pushing me to use. It seems foreign to me that singing could be a way of ministering to people. I've always viewed singing to God as something personal and for myself, like something between me and God. But after Steven and I sang at Friday night's service and the feedback people had for it was very eye opening to me. I never thought I could bless someone in that way. The fact that I am enjoying myself as much as someone listening to me is awesome. God knows.
Tonight, Erin, Jessie, and I are driving out to the Hyatt in Kaanapail Beach to eat a three course meal. We are going to dress up and have girls night. Erin is in culinary school so she always finds good deals (the whole night will only be 20 dollars!). I'm very thankful for these women and I'm looking forward to spending the evening with them and learn about what God has been doing in their lives.
Please pray for:
Smooth transition for Vanessa
Continued prayer for Alpha
These next two months will be incredibly busy for all the interns.
In Him,
Risa
This week is a blur! We picked up our newest intern, Vanessa, from the airport on Tuesday. She's such a sweetheart! It feels complete now to have all of us here now.
Alpha is still going strong. I'm loving seeing the hand of God so clearly in people's lives. Two weeks ago we focused on prayer and practical ways to pray. At the end of our discussion time, we prayed together, and even though some of the guys didn't pray, they seemed comfortable about the whole situation. Two of the guys were in desperate needs of jobs. The next week we found out that both of them found jobs!! Praise God! He answers prayer. I was inspired to pray for specific things and see God bless me in that. It is so cool!
The girl interns started a bible study together. We are going through "When Godly People do Ungodly Things" by Beth Moore. It is such a great study! All of the girls were feeling like we need to be more intentional with each other and making sure we aren't too involved in our own ministries. These next 6 weeks are going to be filled with growth. I love those girls! The other morning we started a work out called Hip Hop Abs with Shaun T. It is intense! But filled with lots of laughs and good times.
God is really revealing to me my spiritual gifts. Hope is doing a series of classes called Get in the Game and it's all about discovering your spiritual gifts. My singing is something that God has really been pushing me to use. It seems foreign to me that singing could be a way of ministering to people. I've always viewed singing to God as something personal and for myself, like something between me and God. But after Steven and I sang at Friday night's service and the feedback people had for it was very eye opening to me. I never thought I could bless someone in that way. The fact that I am enjoying myself as much as someone listening to me is awesome. God knows.
Tonight, Erin, Jessie, and I are driving out to the Hyatt in Kaanapail Beach to eat a three course meal. We are going to dress up and have girls night. Erin is in culinary school so she always finds good deals (the whole night will only be 20 dollars!). I'm very thankful for these women and I'm looking forward to spending the evening with them and learn about what God has been doing in their lives.
Please pray for:
Smooth transition for Vanessa
Continued prayer for Alpha
These next two months will be incredibly busy for all the interns.
In Him,
Risa
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)