Youth With a Mission (YWAM) - Check in day

Rather than post our journal every day I thought we would post once every few days. If you have a short attention span you can flip through the photos and get an idea how things are going. If you are at work and have nothing better to do and you have already checked all your Facebook friends you may want to read all of our musings.

We have taken lots of underwater photos. These are our best so far.

Ryan is doing great!

Our pool at White Sands Village. Ahh we miss it already!

Sunset over Magic Sands beach.

28th September (Monday)

Today we all woke up quite early at 6:30am. I guess we are slipping back into Vancouver time. Jen and I went for an early morning snorkel across the road. People spend thousands on huge aquariums. This is like being inside one. The coral is in great shape and the fish are beautiful. Jen said she saw a big one this morning but doesn’t know what kind it was. Maybe we should get a tropical fish guide book?

After a second snorkelling trip, with Jemma and Ryan this time, we popped over to the U of N campus to take a quick peek and pick up some bedding. We have pretty much everything we need except I need a decent pillow. It’s kinda scary that we will be on campus in just three days.

Our first impression of the U of N. Very nicely manicured grounds with YWAM people doing the maintenance while others pass out drinks and ice cream to the workers.

The Ohana court is very impressive.  A huge, brand new building with an enormous open area for eating and worship. Ralph at the welcome centre marked the ‘Boutique’ on a map. The boutique is the name of the on-site thrift exchange centre which consists a shipping container and a lean-to shelter on one side.

29th September

I don’t want to go to school! We have been on the YWAM campus twice now and I hate to say it but I’m really enjoying all the luxuries of condo living. It’s a constant 83F and about 80% humidity. We have been running the AC at night and have slept really well. We are still on Vancouver time; exhausted at 9:00pm and up at 5:30am. We love the luxury of walking across the road to one of the best beaches in Hawaii.

Starting Thursday we will have no AC, be busy with lectures, school work and acts of service 10hrs a day, no car and miles from a  beach. I should be more excited but I’m just being honest! We popped out to the marina this afternoon and found a hole in the wall bar/fishmarket called ‘Bite Me’. We had marlin fish tacos for $2.50 each! Seriously. They said that when a 800lb marlin is caught they will keep about 400lb of fish and try to use it up as quickly as possible. Happy to help!

Jen had heard from some locals about a beautiful beach nearby where sea turtles rest on the beach at night. It was a beautiful sunset. Ryan hurt his knee today boogie boarding.

1st October

We have arrived. We are registered, checked in and even eaten our first couple of meals. The apartment is VERY basic. Where do I start? There is minimal furniture. A coffee table and four chairs. Two single beds pushed together. No comfy chairs. The bathroom consists a shower and toilet. Our bathroom sink is the kitchen sink. The kids sleep up in the loft. If our apartment is 95F then their 'room' is 105F!

Our ID badges (Ryan doesn't have a card as he is under 12)

I don't want to sound like a complainer or inconsiderate but the apartment block is in very poor state of repair (Ithink it was built in the 60s). Half of one of the concrete steps is broken. A massive hazard. One of the wooden louvres on our window fell apart when Jenny touched it. Oh well. The good thing is we are still in Hawaii just a short drive from some amazing beaches. The people we have met so far are lovely. Bob and Carolyn are very sweet and eager to help any way they can. Thor and the other teacher from Foundations School sat with us and went over the program and some things coming up in the next few weeks. 

It's just so darned hot!! 

I had a shower - nearly slipped and broke my neck - and cooled off a bit but you heat up again in no time. Jen and I have experienced this in India and I know we will get acclimatized soon. No bugs to speak of - thank you Jesus for that! Ryan has a couple of bites on his ankles but so far we haven't seen or heard any dreaded mozzies. Ryan's knee is better today. He has been hobbling around the past couple days after getting a wake board jammed into his knee. It reminded us how Ryan was in a wheelchair last time we were in Hawaii after we were racing to get down the water slide and I accidentally sat on his foot all the way down. Oops.we found that you get priority service at the airport when one of your kids is in a wheelchair so every cloud does have a silver lining!

So what's on the program for the next few days? Tomorrow we have a 7:45am welcome meeting at the flagpoles. This is the official Hawaiian welcome ceremony. Not sure what that entails but will let ya know. After that the kids go off to Foundations school and we spend most of the day in orientation. Then it's the weekend and classes start on Monday. Wait a minute. What are we supposed to do for the weekend? Phone Enterprise and get our car (and mobility) back, go find a pool and some beaches.

I'm sitting in a pool of my own sweat writing this on the iPad listening to a Hawaiian singer named Iz (Isreal Kamakawiwoʻole) a 757lb folk singer who sadly passed away in 1997 aged only 37.

Jemma just came in and said that there are tons of mosquitos outside. Perfect!