*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

worship

Something really cool happened to me on Friday night.

But it deserves a prelude for the full effect :)

I grew up Catholic, and my idea of worshiping the Lord was through hymns. Well, I didn't know what it looked like. A group activity only done in church. Then, I started at Trinity Academy, and saw worship happen with lots of young people. Hands were raised, eyes were closed. But I was torn. I didn't want to lift my hands out of obligation or to do it because everyone else was. People who raised their hands were extreme christians who were showy, in my mind. So I quietly stood, simply singing the words and meditating on their meaning. A year and a half into college, I realized what it looked like to worship practically, and in every day life.

-Exalt the LORD our God and worship at his footstool; he is holy. -Ps 99:5
-Worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness; tremble before him, all the earth.- Ps 96:9
-Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.' "-Luke 4:8
-Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe- Hebrews 12:28
-God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth."- John 4:24

In college, I starting raising one hand, maybe, and never above my shoulders. Still missing that feeling, or I guess just thinking that I wasn't called to physically reach up to God. Then, I read Praise Habit, by David Crowder, and was challenged to live a life of praise in every single thing I did, not just with a guitar in a church or gathering.

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. -Romans 12:1 (the real kicker!!)

Finally, God has called me to Hawaii, and into singing with the praise and worship team. And I absolutely adore singing to my King. Harmonizing my praise and adoration up to His eager ears. Lately I've been catching myself standing on my tip toes during worship, wanting to be closer to Him. On Friday night, we were singing The Stand. The lyrics are something like this:

You stood before creation
Eternity within Your hand
You spoke the earth into motion
My soul now to stand

You stood before my failure
Carried the Cross for my shame
My sin weighed upon Your shoulders
My soul now to stand

So what can I say
What can I do
But offer this heart O God
Completely to You

So I'll walk upon salvation
Your Spirit alive in me
This life to declare Your promise
My soul now to stand

So I’ll stand
With arms high and heart abandoned
In awe of the One who gave it all

All this to say, that when the chorus came, My arms went straight up and I abandoned my fears, failures, shame, and stood in awe of the One who gave it all. He has been absolutely rocking my tiny world and I can barely find the words to express my heart (Romans 8:26). And when I was reading in Genesis 47, verse 31 stood out to me. I pray this for my future.

"...and Israel worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff."

busy-ness

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

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

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 there!) All of us downed large amounts of pancakes and bacon. After all the excitement died down, Alyssa, Leslie, and I got to go to the beach for a couple hours and unwind. It is such a blessing to have those girls in my life.

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.

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 talked 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