Sunday, December 30, 2012

A Week Full of Christmas

Mission Trip Adventures Christmas Eve Eve

Waianae Baptist Church started out our week with a Christmas Eve Eve Candlelight Service on Sunday night.  They were joined by the Chuukese Mission and the Samoan Church.  Both of these churches hold their services at the Waianae Church each week, one on Sunday afternoon and the other on Sunday night.

Mission Trip Adventures Christmas Eve

On Christmas Eve we went with our friends, Jeff and Sharon on a whale watching luncheon cruise.  We barely made the boat after stopping at Lyon Coffee Company, the Princess Hotel in Waikiki to see the hugh gingerbread village and then Sam’s and Costco looking for Krispy Kreme donuts which we did not find.  Since there is no Krispy Kreme on Oahu you can only get them when they are flown over from Maui.  It’s funny how you don’t start craving something until you can’t have it.  On the cruise we did see parts of some whales, like the hump back and the tail, but never the whole whale.  The little boy in the top left picture was from Japan and had on a North Carolina Hanes t-shirt.  They did not speak much English but we think Ann got them to understand that we were from NC.  Lots of smiles anyway.  We then stopped at a famous shopping place, Hilo Hattie's with the big shirt and were given free shell leis.  We also sampled several different flavored macadamia nuts including Spam.  Then we went to New Hope Church to see their presentation of “A Christmas Carol da real story”.  It made us laugh and cry.  Afterwards we had dinner at Anna Miller’s Restaurant.

Mission Trip Adventures Christmas Day

We started out Christmas morning with a somewhat traditional breakfast of Cinnabon coffee cake, eggs and grits on our lanai.  John and Lorrie invited us out for Christmas lunch at the Hale Koa in Waikiki.  There we had a delicious buffet lunch with front row seats for the entertainment.  We enjoyed looking at the Christmas decorations including more gingerbread houses and a walk down Waikiki Beach.  It was a very enjoyable but very different Christmas Day.

Mission Trip Adventures 12

After Christmas it was back to work.  Billy and Ed put up a new light pole, cut branches off a tree, picked coconuts and made mulch with the chipper.  Ann and Fran cleaned cottages and the floor in Plantation Hale.  New guests came in on Wednesday so we all have been working to serve them.  Fran got her chance to ring the dinner bell.

Mission Trip Adventures Old to New

Fran and Ed headed back to NC on Friday.  We enjoyed working with them very much so it was sad to see them leave.  Their replacements came in on Friday night.  They are Mae and Chuck Copper from Spruce Pine, NC.  We have met them before on some Baptist Men trips.

Mission Trip Adventures Stand Up Paddleboard

On Saturday Ann talked Billy into stepping out of the box and doing something he never dreamed of doing.  Uncle George has a Christian ministry on the beach which includes free SUP lessons (also known as Stand Up Paddleboarding).  It was so much fun and really easy in the calm waters of Pokai Bay.  Bottom pictures-Billy shows the correct way to get off the board and Ann shows the other way.

From his Facebook page Bay of Dreams this is Uncle George’s mission statement:  My mission is to give all peoples a free chance to experience God's creation from a prospective that most people have never seen it from.  And in doing that giving each of them the quiet time they so badly need to free the mind so to better deal with the challenges of their world. And this becomes the start of some great friendships.

You can read more of his story here: http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/20168008/everyone-has-a-story-to-tell-uncle-george-and-bay-of-dreams-in-waianae

 

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