God's Promises

Aloha!

We have just wrapped up our fifth week here in Kona. It some ways it seems like that time has gone by in a snap and in other ways it seems like ages ago that we left Seattle. The last week or two have been good but also fairly intense. The "honeymoon" stage of our training seems to be over...the kids have been challenging, the teaching has been more rigorous, my chemical cockroach defenses seem to be weakening, and we are really missing everyone back home. However, it is really causing our family to grab onto each other, and the Lord, more tightly.

It is amazing how God will touch us in just the right way at just the right time. Angie had been worrying about our future recently...feeling anxious about the outreach trip, worried about finances, and wondering if we would ever make it back home. A friend referred her to the following scripture:

For I know the plans I have for you," says the LORD. "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. In those days when you pray, I will listen. If you look for me in earnest, you will find me when you seek me. I will be found by you," says the LORD. "I will end your captivity and restore your fortunes. I will gather you out of the nations where I sent you and bring you home again to your own land." Jeremiah 29:11-14

Obviously we are not in captivity here, but this bit of scripture has proven to be a great source of hope and joy for Angie and has been a confident reminder that God has a plan for our family and will be faithful to provide for us and bring us home at the right time. There have been many other ways that God has been speaking to us and maybe we will share some more in future blogs.

Our daily midweek schedule is pretty much nonstop with classes, meetings, and work duties from 7:00 am to 6:00 pm. Most evenings, we'll try to cool off with a quick dip in the small pool they have on campus and then hit the sack exhausted. Because of the busyness, it is easy to forget that we are in Hawaii and that the beach is just right down the street (I know most of you won't believe that). So, today we took a much needed family trip to the beach. We drove 40 miles north from Kona to Puako Beach. The drive is very interesting as the landscape is basically a desert of lava rock. The only real contrasts to the black lava are the constant "graffiti" messages that are spelled out in white coral chunks. It's fun to read all the messages.

We had an amazing time at the beach. We swam, snorkeled, and jumped off lava rocks all day. As I was snorkeling around some rocks, I found a huge sea turtle and swam with it underwater for about five minutes.

One of the story highlights of the day...while I was out climbing on some rocks, Sam swam up to Angie and casually handed her our car keys. Why did Sam have our car keys while swimming in the ocean? Angie asked him where he got them. Apparently, he had just happened to notice them buried in the sand in about 6 feet of water as he was swimming in the waves with his goggles on. I originally had the keys securely zipped in my board shorts, but evidently they had somehow worked themselves out. How he happened to see them in such a big beach, in that much water, with that much wave action, only points to God's faithfulness in even the little things.

After we had enough sun, we got in the car and drove with some friends we have met from Arkansas to the town of Waimea for some dinner. Waimea sits at the foot of the volcano Mauna Kea. It is only a 15 minute drive from the beach but goes up to about 3,000 feet elevation. It was crazy to go from 90 degree heat at the beach to a brisk 60 degrees at that elevation. As we were driving, we saw one of the most vivid rainbows we have ever seen. It was a great reminder of God's promises to us. After dinner we drove back down to a different beach called Hapuna Beach to watch the sunset.

Here we go into week six! We miss everyone very much. Aloha!

Your unfailing love, O LORD, is as vast as the heavens; your faithfulness reaches beyond the clouds. Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, your justice like the ocean depths. You care for people and animals alike, O LORD. How precious is your unfailing love, O God! All humanity finds shelter in the shadow of your wings. You feed them from the abundance of your own house, letting them drink from your rivers of delight. For you are the fountain of life, the light by which we see. Psalm 36:5-9