Aloha everyone!
I would love to tell you more about my first weekend here on the big island! Everybody arrived on Thursday so we, as the new Kokua Crew, had a few days off before we started working on Monday. Welcome to my adventure!
FRIDAY - DAY ONE
On the first day we had a meeting and got all the information we needed to know! One of the first things I learned is that Kokua is a Hawaiian word that means helper. Processing all of the information was a lot to take in, but in the afternoon we had some time off. With that time, I went back to the airport because Amsterdam gave me the tracking code so I wanted to fill in a report of my missing backpack. Unfortunately, they still couldn't help me because they were saying that the tracking code belongs to someone else. After that I went for some turbo shopping at Walmart to get some basic necessities to get me through the first few days. Directly after that we went out for dinner at the YWAM campus.
We ended the evening with a special bonfire at a perfect location: The End of the World. On our way to this place I had to pee! Everybody who knows me, knows that I need to go to the toilet a lot and mostly when it's not an option to go. So we had to stop with two YWAM vans at the gas station. My bladder was so happy after! haha
When we arrived at the amazing cliff (End of the World) we enjoined taking in the stunning view. You could jump off of the cliff into the water but there was no ladder to climb out so you needed good climbing skills against the rocks. I want to do that another time!
YWAM created an awesome bonfire where we could sit around and listen to the stories of the previous crew. They are leaving on Monday after serving 6 weeks as kokua crew. I loved hearing all of their stories! I am looking forward to my time here and what God will do through it. When the testimonies were finished we were able to eat S'mores (an American treat to eat around a fire), which is a marshmallow, a piece of chocolate and then graham crackers on the outside to make a small sandwich. It was a lovely evening!
In the end, I needed to pee, yeah, again! i'm not a great outdoor pee kind of person. But the girls were cheering me on and supporting me to do it, which helped! I succeeded! Too much information? haha. I have to practice more often because a lot of nice places here don't have a toilet! So at the end of this trip I will be a pro outside pee-er! On the way back to the base we passed that gas station again and people made jokes like, "does anyone need to go to the toilet"? It was one of those typical Lizzy moments.
SATURDAY - DAY TWO
Whaaa! this day we went to Kua Bay, one of the greatest beaches in Kona! It was a lovely day to relax and chill at the beach. unfortunately, i wasn't able to swim. two days before my trip to hawai'i i had to remove some moles that could have been dangerous. because of the stitches, i'm not allowed to swim for two weeks. it was a little bit of a bummer, but that didn't take away the fun! All of the girls love taking photos of the beautiful places here in Hawai'i, so that is really nice! It's incredible how fast we are getting to know each other and how much closer we are already as a group of friends!
SUNDAY - DAY THREE
Kona has several local churches! On Sunday you can choose which church you'd like to visit. I chose to visit a church called Shorebreak church with a group of girls nearby the campus. My first expression was that it was a hip, fun and young church. You can check out their website for a better impression: http://www.shorebreakchurch.com/
The service was such a blessing. It was the first one I visited here on the island and the whole sermon was about the bible verses col 3:1-4. At first I couldn't believe it.. this is the exact bible verse my parents gave me as an encouragement for my whole year of travel. The pastor went through it word by word and taught us the original purpose of this verse from God and also how we could apply this in our daily lives. I felt so happy and blessed that God spoke so clearly to my heart and that He brought me to this church for that exact message! Of all the churches I could have chosen, He brought me to shorebreak to speak to me. God is good!
“Father God,
thank You for Your truth.
You are victorious.
I praise You because You give me the opportunity to overcome evil with good.
Thank You that you fight my battles.
Help me always remember that You are with me. Help me to show Christ’s light.
In Jesus’ name, Amen. ”
