Adventures

This is Me and Courtney at a little Chinese restaurant in Chinatown.
This is TJ, Joshua, Courtney, Hope, Sydney, and Brittany at the Pali Lookout. A beautiful view of the East coast of the island.
This is a picture of Joshua, Sydney and Sandie (our dog) in front of our house in Mililani, HI.
This is Amanda trying to show Courtney and I how to surf on land before we went in the water so that we could get the hang of it. It was so much fun, and I actually got up on the board. HOW EXCITING!
This is a picture of the "Birthing Stones." These stones is where many kings and queens of Hawaii were born.

Being in Hawaii for only one more week there are some things that I need to really soak in before I leave. This picture was taken one of the first weeks I was here on island. The waves were much bigger then and they would just come in and crash against the rocks. I have never experienced something like this until I came here. The expression "where the mountains meet the sea" is a reality here. The mountains are beautiful also and I will miss seeing green everywhere.
Another one of the beautiful things that I am going to miss is the rainbows. You hear about Hawaiian rainbows but you really can not understand how cool they really are until you see one for yourself. This picture does not do ANY justice to the beauty of this double rainbow. If you look slightly to the left of the dark rainbow you can see a hint of the other one beside it. I bet God really has fun making the rainbows here. I have seen some of the coolest kinds. On day I saw one that draped across the mountains. Like God just painted a rainbow on the mountains. Most of the rainbows I have seen have been so bright that they almost look neon, they are so dark. I will really miss the constant reminder that God ALWAYS keeps His promises. Even when we do not see how the situation is going to turn out He is always faithful. A quote that I have been hearing for several years now, I just heard it again recently at a time when I did not understand some things going is "God is always at work." I was really confused the other day and a friend told me that and it always takes me back to His promises.
"Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are Mine! When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and the rivers, they will not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched, nor will the flame burn you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel your Savior...Since you are precious in My sight, since you are honored and I love you, I will give other men in your place and other peoples in exchange for your life. Do not fear, for I am with you."
Others things I will miss is the trees. The trees are so unique and beautiful here. This is a picture of a Asian Pine. They grow everywhere and are really pretty. I never knew how fascinated in trees I was but I have really enjoyed seeing and learning all about the trees here. They are really cool! What I will miss most of all is the friends that I have made here. They have been a encouragement to me and have shown me God's love in so many ways. They will be missed greatly!
On a lighter note, this is a picture that I took at Bellows Air Force Base. It is a bicycle sort of thing. It seats 4 people. Two in the front and 2 in the back. This is the closest thing I have seen that makes me think of the Flinstones. Every person has peddles, and they all peddle along done the road. I think it is mostly just used for recreation but I thought this was so cool that I had to take a picture of it. Nikki, wouldn't this be a fun way to get to your reception after your wedding on? I would do it in my dress. Or the guys could peddle for us and we could just ride! What do you think?
Anyway, I hope everyone has a wonderful day! Love you all!!!

Last week, I took the kids to the beach with some friends of ours. This is Britney Olsen. She is a really cool high schooler that goes to church with us. Her brother TJ was also there. He is hiding behind the boogie board. Their mom, Holly works with Wilma as a doctor at the hospital. She and Wilma are really great friends. We will actually be moving in with their family next weekend because our things will be packed up to move to Texas. For those that do not already know. We sold our house!!! It sold a bit ago but I neglected to post about it, for some odd reason. Thank you for all your prayers for the sell of the house. They were definitely appreciated.
Joshua and Sydney think of Britney and TJ as older siblings. It was fun to get to know them better and also to get to go to the beach. I am trying to do as many activities with the kids before we leave. Our scheduled date to leave is June 25th. It is crazy to think I have been here in Hawaii for almost 4 months. It has gone by so fast and I will truly miss being here. What I will miss most is the friends and family I have gotten to know. My brothers and sisters in the Lord have taught me so much. May the Lord continue to bless His Church in the islands.
On Sunday, after church, I went to a party along with a bunch of other members of the church. It was so much fun getting to know some of the people that I had not already known and fellowshiping outside of church. Pictured here is Benjamin Akaka. He is a precious. Holding him and playing with him make me miss my nephew, Samuel. Be praying for Samuel, He went through a CT scan on Tuesday. Pray that the doctors would have wisdom with a accurate diagnosis for his developmental delays and that He would grant peace and understanding to our family.
At the party on Sunday, we ate good Korean food, played new games and just had a good time. Pictured here (from left to right) Me, Courtney, James, David, and Erin. James is Bethany's brother. I have written about her in previous post. He is here for the summer from John Brown University. The party was at David Chang's house. David is about to leave to go to Iraq. Please pray for him as he goes to serve our country and pray that he will be encouraged in the Lord while he is away. Erin is here for the summer as a nanny for a doctor at Trippler Hospital. She is from Connecticut and is actually attending Anderson University in South Carolina. I knew she was coming to Hawaii but was able to meet and get to know her a bit over the weekend.

I think about and pray for my friends and family in Anderson, SC all the time. Thank you for you support and your prayers as I continue to go where the Lord is leading me. Please continue to pray for the me as I move to Texas. For new friends, a church family, and for activities for the kids and me for the summer. Please let me know how I can be praying for you all. Blessings!

Ashley and I decided to take a trip to the Big Island of Hawai'i. This was a beautiful flight. When we were flying in, their was snow on top of the Mauna Kea, which is Hawaii's tallest volcano. After we landed we picked up our rental car and went straight to the Volcano (the active one). I HAVE NEVER SEEN SO MUCH LAVA IN ALL MY LIFE!!! We would drive for miles and miles and not see anything but lava rock. It was everywhere. It was amazing that is what these islands once were. This picture is kind of fuzzy but it was the best picture that I had of the lava tube we walked through. It was so cool. It was like a cave. It was a little chilly and damp in there. After we walked through it we wanted to go see where the actual lava is still flowing.
From there we drove about 20 or so miles through seas of Lava rock. It just had wiped out everything. As you can see in this picture, this was once a road that is now covered in lava. This eruption happened back in 2003. We were able to walk out and see the steam from where the lava was actually flowing. The rangers told us that you could not actually see the red/orange flow unless you hiked out after dark. Since it was mid morning we decided against that but...We saw a great display of how it works. It was really cool that God can take something so ugly like black, brownie looking, lava rock and turn it into paradise, but that is how He works.
It is exactly what He does with our lives. He takes everything ugly and sinful and makes them beautiful, all for His Glory! Like it says in 2 Corinthians 5:17 "Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come." He always shows us lessons with His creation. From the volcano, we started driving around the island. IT IS A BIG ISLAND. I guess hints the name "Big Island" We drove for what schemed like forever.
Along our drive we stopped to see the black sand beach. This was one of the coolest things about our trip. It feels just like regular sand but it is black. I just had to take my shoes off and run through the sand. We also saw some turtles sunbathing on the beach there.
We were really blessed to be able to spend the night with some of Bethany and Jakes friends that night. After making our way around the island we crashed at a family's house named, the Glenns. They were really sweet and we were thankful for a bed to sleep in after the long days journey.
As we traveled around the island we passed many really neat things. The "Parker Ranch" which is the largest land owner in the United States, was on our way through. Many beautiful waterfalls that I may insert into some later blogs. This picture is actually not too far from a waterfall. I thought this picture was better, with the palm trees by the ocean. This is how I pictured Hawaii before I came to live here and now I know it is just how it is pictured. I love living here and am going to miss it when I leave! I hope everyone has a great day! Love you all!!!

Last Friday night, the young adult group (which is usually just 3 of us) went to a Casting Crowns concert in Honolulu. It was so cool how many people showed up to the concert. I was so excited! I thought I would use this opportunity to introduce you to some of my friends. In this picture is Ereke, and Jake (on the top row). Lower is a guy named Josh and a guy named Greg that just came to the concert. Ereke is one of the interim pastors at the church that has been the leader of our young adult group. He is about to leave to go to Uganda for a month with the Trinity Church, for a mission trip. For those fulmuilar with missions to Uganda they will be working on with the same churches that Dr. Krabbendam goes to. Jake (the one with the beard) is Bethany's husband. Please pray for them as they are about to leave to go to Kenya for a month to do mission work. Both groups leave on Tuesday, June 13th.
Pictured here is Laura (on the right) and Amanda Cox. Laura has been the other faithful member of our young adult group. She has become a good friend of mind and a great encouragement in the Lord. Amanda is a fellow Southern girl. She and her husband Will are from Atlanta. She will actually be moving back to the Atlanta area in the next month because Will is leaving for Iraq on July 19th for a year. Please pray for their family as they are about to go through many changes.
To take a break from introductions, this is a picture of the final song that Casting Crowns performed. It is them singing "I am Yours" while some Hawaiian people did Hula on the sides. It was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. I have grown to LOVE hula. I think it is a beautiful language that you can see and understand. It is very hard to explain how pretty it was but I hope you get the gist.
In this picture we have Bethany, Emily, Courtney, Tina, and Ashley. We really had a great time cutting up and just fellowshiping with one-another. It reminded me of my high school days going to concerts with the youth group. Sometimes I really miss those days!
This is Ashley and me. Like Paul said in his letter to the Romans. "For I long to see you so that I may impart some spiritual gift to you that you may be strengthened; that is, that I may be encouraged together with you while among you, each of us by the other's faith, both yours and mine." This is how I have grown to see the church. We fellowship together so that we may be strengthened by each other's gifts. My prayer is that, even after I leave Hawaii that I would continue to be strengthened from the fellowship and encouragement that I have had here in Hawaii. Just like I have been from my Anderson family. Thank you for your prayers and encouragement. I greatly appreciate it. Please pray that as we prepare to move on June 25th that the transition would go smoothly and that God would prepare the hearts of the people I am going to come into contact with in Texas. Love you all!

Sorry it has been so long since my last post but I have had some technical difficulty with posting pictures. My former roommate came to visit me. We decided to spend our Memorial Day hiking a waterfall. Jake, Bethany, Rhonda, Ashley, and I all went up to Maunawili Falls. It was a beautiful hike 2.6 mile hike. It was kind of funny because we had a contest to see who would be able to guess how long the hike was and I guessed 2.6 miles. It was correct and Jake or Bethany did not believe that I was able to guess it. They had fun making fun of me for that. (I really guessed Bethany, Honest!) When we got to the bottom of the falls it was very crowded. Their were so many people that had the same idea to go hiking just like us. Their were people jumping off the waterfall from about 50 feet off the waterfall. It was so much fun watching all the people. If their was not that many people their we would have jumped but it was too crowded. Maybe next time!
After our hike Jake and Bethany took us to their favorite restaurant. It was Saimin(which is fancy Roman). This is a Japanese delicacy. I was not a fan of the restaurant but it was a fun experience to eat some local food. Pictured is Bethany in front of her favorite restaurant. After lunch we went kayaking on Hickim Harbor and was able to see a lot of cool trees and scenes.
Another day, we went on a hunt to find out where the TV show "Lost" is filmed. While on our treks to the "Lost" site, we saw some wind surfers in the water. It was so cool watching them. They make it look so easy. Maybe I can try it one day.
This is the actual beach that "Lost" is filmed on. It is really pretty and secluded. We ended up walking a few miles down the beach so that we could see as much as we could. Rob and Marie, this picture is for you and your love of the show. I hope you all enjoy! I will be posting more of my trip to the Big Island and more of Ashley's visit. Stay tuned!