Foiled again!!

So These two days in Hawai'i - simply amazing - of course there were obvious challenges such as only having a shirt, skirt, 1 pair of unerwear and sneakers - no toiletries - but nothing a book on the Chuukese alphabet won't help! All that was in my bookbag was some food, and books, journals etc...my other 2 bags (and Chris & Aj's) all went to Chuuk & sat there & waited for us until we arrived. so we had to improvise. We stopped at the discount store to pick up some necessities - and picutre Chris, AJ & myself wandering around the international flea market picking out boar shores long enough to cover my knees (keep in min ladies hips don't quite fit in males' shorts in quite the same way) and some sort of bathing suit tip to swim in. It was a sight to see! Not even so much the three of us trying to find these clothes that would appropriate to wear in Chuuk(so as not to waste $$ & clothes I couldn't wear for 2 years) - but the final product!!! Walking around Hawai'i in a tied up bikini top - knee length board shorts that didn't quite match exactly & pink flips - I looked like a clown! Simple living test #1!!! Our first extra day was spent sorting out the meal vouchers Continental gave us & napping. we were WIPED!! We set out the next day to leave Waikiki beach & venture towards teh more lush, less populated borders of the North shore. We took the city bus all the way up & met some very interesting & friendly local folk & got on an off as we pleased. You'll have to check out the pictures (when i'm able to get them up online) to have some idea of waht we saw as we steppe off the bus....and even the pics dont' do it justice. As soon as we stepped off - all i hear is "Shutup..." "No Freak'n Way" AJ & Chris both in disbelief of this paraise we had stumbled into. Before us was a mountain range - cliffs rape in sheers of salient green - almost fake. The panorama witnessed a duel of majesty as the towering height of the surreal cliffs challenged the vast expanse of tranquility buffere only by the eference of a sandy shoreline..... a battle paradoxically imperceptible to the nake eye. To see it wasnt' enoguh - to feel it was not enough - you had to breathe it in - let it sonsume, let it overwhelm - let it seep through your porous exterior and even that fell short.

My Lord was present in all we did - the wonder, the streaming rays of the setting sun, the wave that occupied us for hours and the creativity that turned 3 near adults into children on the verge of kindergarten. If yesterday was the only reason for our extended stay, it was reason enough....just to be in the company of such beautiful people - they continue to amaze me - just to watch the way they experience the world - they see it with such a beautifully different perspective - it's a boyish woner - it's an attention to minute details, it's a witness to the Christ in all forms of life that has challenge me beyond words. Even better is that they bring out the best in those they meet. Just watching them interact with each other - with the locals - I am so blessed to be in their company and I wish you coul meet them & see what I see.