Waipio Valley on a Quad

Just a couple pictures from an ATV adventure in Waipio Valley. I know you might not believe it, but I went 4-wheeling, along with Johnny, my Aunt Jeanie, Uncle Mike, cousin Scott, and his girlfriend Allie. I pretty much think that if 4-wheeling was an olympic event, I'd be getting the gold medal at the next Olympic Games. Johnny would probably get gold for the men's division, but Uncle Mike would give him some fierce competition. We also swam in a frigidly cold waterfall. Seriously, don't mess with us.

Swing

So, tonight, John and I just took our first dance class together. There is a married couple on base, Rebecca and Gabriel, who are teaching a six-week Swing class. I'll admit, I am a little uncoordinated, but I had such a great time it didn't even matter. Something that was so unusual to me about the class: there were more guys there than girls! That's right...the ladies were totally outnumbered. I guess the class they teach on Monday night has the opposite problem...too many girls and not enough guys. For me, it's fun to have fewer girls because then there's more opporunities for me to dance and get good practice. Instead of Johnny and I dancing together the whole night, everyone in the class rotates so we develop as versatile dancers. Our teachers, Rebecca and Gabriel, are so great and very patient with us. I'll keep you posted on how our Swing-dancing-skills progress.
Goodnight everyone!
Love,
-j

back-to-school

Even though it's my second time around, I'm getting so much out of what's being taught...I feel like I'm a DTS student again. I'm learning so much from our speaker (who was actually a speaker during my DTS last year). David Bryan, who is teaching us about spiritual warfare, has been sharing radical testimonies with the class this week, and backing up what he says with truth from the Bible as well. It has been increasing my faith, but also challenging me to really take a second look at what I believe. Do I really believe that, with God, all things are possible? Really? ALL things? Can people with physical sickness, like cancer or diabetes, be healed in the name of Jesus? Can people be raised from the dead? Are unexplainable miracles happening today? Yep, with God all things are possible. It is so incredible. For so long, I have put my own limitations on God, without realizing it. My concept of God has been so small, and so minimizing. He is capable of all things. He is also loving. I want to keep me eyes open to see His miracles, but I also want to be a part of them. Think about that: God wants to give us a part in His miracles. That blows my mind! I hope those of you that actually read this little Blog are also presently being blown away by the unexplainable power and love that God has. Be blessed as you ponder these back-to-school thoughts I'm having!
Goodnight!

Mile 88

These are some photos from a beach day we had a couple weekends ago. It was such fun day, and one of our first opportunities to start getting to know our students. We discovered that a couple boys, Brad and Jake, have a hidden talent of spear-fishing for eels. Don't worry, we didn't eat Mr. Eel for dinner, though.

IronMan

These are just a few photos from IronMan!
We were on the Security team for the World Championship event in Kona, Hawaii. Our shift started at 4 in the morning, so we left campus at 3:30 am and walked to downtown Kona where the event would start at 6:45 am. Talk about early! There were hundreds of volunteers from YWAM, over 2,000 athletes competing, and thousands more spectators watching. It was unbelievable! I got to sit in the VIP area later in the day, so I was right at the finish line when the first place athlete, Chris McCormack from Australia, came through. Maybe someday I'll be an IronMan too!

Try NOT to have fun in Kona

It was one of those try-to-fit-in-as-much-fun-as-possible type of weekends.

1) We took our class of 42 students, plus 13 staff, and a few extra friends, to see the movie The Seeker on Friday night. The movie was directed by David Cunningham, who also directed the movie The Path to 9/11, (which stirred up a bit of controversy last year). His mom and dad, Loren and Darlene, are actually the founders of YWAM. David came to Kona and shared with us a little bit about his experience making this film. It seemed a little bit more special to go see the movie for its opening night after listening to the director speak about it firsthand. And I've never gone to the theaters with a group of 50 friends.

2) Our class took a trip on Saturday to one of my favorite Kona beaches. We like to call it Mile 88, but the locals refer to it as Kua Bay. It was a beautiful beach day. The boys played football in the soft sand, everyone swam in the ocean, we were constantly reapplying sunscreen, some people decided to snorkel in the salty sea, and some guys even speared an eel. After a full day of sun, we were ready to head home in our merry fleet of 15-passenger-vans. Of course, the day wasn't entirely flawless. As we were on our way back to campus, we realized we'd left two students behind. Uh, woops. But instead of making thm hitchhike home, we turned around and picked them up.

3) After the beach day, there was a Nations Party that night back at campus. We had so much fun learning dances from cultures all over the world. Johnny and I did some salsa dancing, we tried some crazy Brazilian steps, there was some hillarious break- dancing and hip hop (which was a riot because it was mostly white people, pretending like we had rhythm), I learned a traditional Finnish dance, and gave Greek dancing a try as well. Oh the fun you can have on a YWAM base in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

4) My lovely roommate, Joanna Mutch, from England, celebrated her birthday on Sunday. We went out for a yummy Thai food lunch, and then later in the evening we celebrated with an AMAZING dessert called Hualalai Pie. It has been a busy weekend! I am most definitely thankful, though, for the way God is teaching me things even in the midst of all the constant activity. I am learning about people from different countries and cultures, there are people pouring into my life and encouraging me in areas that I want to grow, and I am starting to get better at seeing the world with God's perspective.

Hope all of you out there are great, wherever you may be...
And may your coming week be blessed!

Arrival in Kona

The students are here!
On September 27, 2007 (a little less than two weeks ago), our students arrived in Kona, Hawaii. The U of N will be their home away from home for the next few months. It is an exciting time, but also really hectic. I have been go-go-go, but all of it is stuff I love doing. We are having class time, worship nights, aloha welcomes, etc... and we do all this because of the Lord's heart to celebrate the people of the world and live together as a community.
The school I am staffing is called the Community Transformations DTS. Our Outreach teams will leave for New York City, and Capetown, South Africa in mid December. It is such an amazing class to be a part of! I'll have to explain it more in depth later. But basically, all the staff time I put in here is like a full time job (and then some). Pray that I learn how to balance my time, and also pray that I will make connections with our students. I just want to love on them.
Miss you all!
Send me an email if you can!
*The top picture is of our classroom, We're a little bit packed, but that's a good thing. We have 42 students and 13 staff members, so it's real cozy in our classroom.
*The other picture I took at the Aloha Welcome in the Ohana Court. It was a night of hula dances, and a special display of all the nations represented in Kona this quarter.

Just a glimpse

Hey loyal readers of the jenni blog...
It is still kind of a secret that I've been updating this, so I'm really not sure who is looking. But I felt like writing a little something tonight, just to give you a tiny glimpse of what is going on at the YWAM Kona base. It is so exciting to be here as the quarter unfolds. The students all arrived last Thursday. They are from all over the world! Right now I am on staff with a DTS called "Community Transformations." There are 4 other DTS focuses going on at the same time, with their own groups of staff and students...but I'll admit that I am totally biased in thinking that ours is particularly special. Join me in praying that this group of staff and students will be marked by unity and humility. I am really looking forward to the things God wants to do in us and through us, and I am already seeing Him at work in my own heart.
Just so you know, my life in Hawaii isn't quite as glamorous as some of you may think (although there are spectacular benefits to living here!). Let it be known that I share a small room on campus with five other girls. Yes, that makes six of us in a room that I'd guess is about 12 ft. X 20 ft. Yikes-a-wee-wa. That sure is snug. But we are one happy ohana (that's the Hawaiian word for family). Their names are Jo (short for Joanna, she's from England), HaeJin, Anna (both from Korea), Myssi and Kelsey (both from the US). I definitely miss Lora Drive right about now, but this place is also really special...just in different ways.
Well, I could really keep writing for hours but I need to get to bed.
Blessings to you all!
Love,
j