We had a nice surprise early this week. Ken Heeter, one of the co-founders of Cornerstone Advisors who retired last year, called up to say he and his wife were vacationing in Kona. They took us out to a nice dinner on Tuesday night. It was great to catch up with them and have a dinner that wasn't cafeteria food! Sam and Katie were babysat by Courtney, the 14-year old daughter of one of our group leaders. They love Courtney and she is really great with them. She took them on a nature hunt around campus. When we came back they had created a home for several geckos with one of our tupperware containers. Angie was thrilled with that!
As I mentioned before, I have a 2-hour work duty everyday that primarly entails maintaining the campus (cleaning), washing vans, and then driving the vans about once a week. Sam has been coming to work with me everyday and working hard alongside me. It has been great father-son bonding time.
We had one disappointment this week. The used car we purchased last week had a major break down. The car was an "as-is" purchase and the amount of miles on the car left it outside the Hawaiian Lemon Law rules which means the dealer has no legal obligation to help us out. Of course, we knew the risk of buying a temporary used car was that it might break down. We didn't anticipate that would happen in the first week though! That night we reflected on James 1:2-4...
Dear brothers and sisters, whenever trouble comes your way, let it be an opportunity for joy. For when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be strong in character and ready for anything.
So, we prayed about it and the next day I borrowed a friend's car and drove to the dealer to appeal to them. They agreed to take a look at the car and potentially repair it for us. So, I had the car towed back to the dealer on Friday. We should hear back early next week on the diagnosis and their proposed solution. Angie and I have had a peace about the situation and know it will all work out.
Sam's big news of the week is that he lost a second tooth. The tooth fairy has left him $1 for each tooth and he gets really excited about walking down to the campus vending machine and picking out a treat.On Friday night, the performing arts group put on a concert for the base that included Hawaiian dancing, hip-hop dancing, fire dancing, and lots of music. The kids loved it. Katie ran up close to the stage and was dancing with some of the other little girls as they watched the dancers on stage. At one point of the hip-hop number, Katie stopped and watched very closely. Then she started shaking her booty and getting her groove on in a major way. It was pretty hilarious. It is so cool for us to see them exposed to different cultures and cultural traditions and expressions.
We'll try to post more pictures later this weekend.
Ben, Angie, Sam, Katie, and Geicko the Gecko
