Last Week in Kona

We are in our final week in Kona and things are a whirlwind. All the students on the campus, including us, will be leaving over the next few days to travel on outreach to such places as Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, France, Papua New Guinea, the Salomon Islands, Fiji, and more.

A few days ago the Performing Arts group presented the performance they have been working on all quarter. This group is made up primarily of college students. The show they presented is based on the biblical story of the prodigal son and presents a message of hope and redemption through singing, dance, drama, and video. They will be taking the performance into public high schools throughout the Hawaiian islands and then the west coast of the mainland. It was amazing to see these guys presenting such a professional and passionate performance after just a few months of training. Sam and Katie loved it! (see a couple pictures below)

The weekend was pretty challenging with Sam and Katie. I think they are subconsciously sensing and anticipating that there is another major change approaching and are reacting to that with some tough behavior. As parents, Angie and I were actually becoming concerned and wondering whether it was wise for us to take them to a foreign country at this point. We did some serious praying and soul searching and got together with our leaders, Bobby and Jean Norment on Monday afternoon to share our concerns. They were so comforting, encouraging, and supportive and spent some time with our whole family out on the playground. After talking to them and some other trusted friends and after really praying about it, we felt convinced that we were to continue as a family. As you can tell from previous blog entries, we place a lot of importance on the bible in our family. As we were praying and seeking God regarding this matter, we came across the following verses:

Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD is the one who goes before you. He will be with you; he will neither fail you nor forsake you." (Deuteronomy 31:8)

and then...

"This is what the LORD Almighty says: Take heart and finish the task!" (Zechariah 8:9)

That was enough to seal the deal for us and put away any doubt that had crept in. Fiji, here we come! The kids have really rallied the last couple days and are behaving much better. A few weeks ago, Angie coined the phrase "Team Wicks" for our family to help encourage and remind the four of us to treat each other well and to build each other up as a team in this adventure of life. The kids have really grabbed onto that and I'm sure it will come into play in Fiji.

We just finished up our last day of classes today. We have been busy packing up our room. We are encouraged to pack light on our outreach, so anything that we are not bringing on the trip has to be dropped off at the campus storage by 1:30 on Wednesday. Then we have until Friday to finish packing and cleaning up our room to prepare for the next family or group of students who will be moving in next week. We have been busy shopping for all the last minute things we need to take on our trip such as power converters, snacks, gifts for the Fijian kids, and peanut butter (something that is hard to get in Fiji and that is a definite necessity for our kids, especially going into a country with unknown food).

We will load up the vans on Friday afternoon at about 5:30 pm to drive to the airport. Our first flight leaves at approximately 8:30 pm to Honolulu where we will have a couple hour layover. Then we leave Honolulu at approximately midnight and will arrive in Fiji at around 5 am on Sunday morning. Because of the time difference, we actually lose an entire day during the overnight flight. However, on our return, we'll gain an extra day.


A hip-hop number in the prodigal son performance














Katie's favorite, the Fan Dance














Ovation for the Performing Arts Group














Prayer and commissioning for all the outreach teams














Random shot of a friendly neighborhood Praying Mantis outside our room












Katie, Sam, and baby Ava at the market