Catching Up

I was trying to write in my journal every day but that fell apart last week. It's funny how when you skip one day, it soon turns into two, and then before you know it - it's been 10 DAYS! Anyway, even though my sense of continuity and consistency with journaling has kind of been tossed to the waves at the moment, things are still going well and it's just been so exciting to see all that God is doing in this place. Since I have no journal entries for pretty much all of last week, I'm just going to give a brief summary/highlight of what has been going on lately in the beautiful land of Kauai: 

DAY SIXTEEN - TWENTY FIVE

- The body of believers here at Calvary Chapel Kauai are amazing! So many people have gone out of their way to show us love and make us feel at home here, including letting us come over to their homes to hang out, do laundry, get internet, and eat a meal! 

- Cammy and I have been tree-climbing! We have some beautiful trees here in the camp, and Cammy has been leading the way, giving me more confidence and teaching me her tree-woman ways. It's so much fun! Not to mention we discovered a Mango Tree which has provided several delicious-if-a-bit-small snacks for us and fellow students. It's so satisfying to eat something you had to climb up and pick yourself! Not to mention it's FREE! (a desirable thing for college kids who are broke) 

- I made it through my first week as a TA for two classes! I've found that I enjoy it tremendously, and I know it takes a huge load off of the teacher. I'm also finding that it's really encouraging and interesting to read/grade the papers and quizzes of my fellow students. It's helping me gain better insight into a lot of things, and also get to know them better as people. I feel so blessed! It is challenging at times, but God is teaching me how to show grace and uphold a standard at the same time. It's been great. 

- On Thursday I took the bus into Lihue (bus fares are free until March 10th!) by myself and had a fun afternoon of walking around town and shopping. I got to meet this really cool hippie couple while waiting for the bus back to Kapaa, and I had a really fun conversation with them. Meeting new people has to be one of my favorite things in life! 

- Play rehearsals are now on-going for the Easter Play and I have a ton of lines to memorize! It's coming along slowly but surely, but I'm hoping to really crack down and memorize a lot of it soon. It feels so weird to be in a production again, but I know it will be good and I love the people who are also participating. 

DAY TWENTY-FIVE: 

Today I woke up feeling sick and spent a lot of the time in my favorite port-a-jon. However, it ended up being a good thing because I ended up hanging out in Alyx and Mary's tent (their's is the closest to the port-a-jon) and later I spent the whole afternoon hanging out with Alyx in town. She is such a joy and so much fun to be around; we had lunch at Olympic Cafe and then shopped around all the little stores. We got two job applications for Dejavu Surfwear, so we'll see what happens! I wouldn't mind getting a job to make some extra $$, but only if it's what God wants me to do. 

DAY TWENTY-SIX: 

RAIN RAIN RAIN! Thunder, wind, lightening! It's so beautiful and terrifying. It POURED all night and all morning - pretty much everything is wet and muddy. I even sat in the sunday service wet and muddy, but God is so faithful! The church members here still showed up for church even in this dreadful weather, and we had worship accompanied by rain and thunderclaps. At one point in the sermon the loudest thunderclap I have ever heard sounded at the most appropriate moment. It was great! 

Now I'm at this wonderful lady's condo with two of the girls from camp. So many people from the church invited us students to stay at their houses today because of the weather, and it's so nice to be somewhere dry and warm with food, internet, and showers. SO blessed! 

What to Say?

I thought it was funny that I was about to name this post "At a Loss for Words," but then I saw that that definitely is not the case! However, in some ways I honestly do feel at a loss for words - or at least, accurate words to describe what I'm feeling-, because this place, these people, and this experience is so different and so much more than I ever expected it would be. I definitely expected it to be awesome, and it is, but it's just gone far beyond that...and I am so thankful!

DAY NINE

Beautiful day today! Just the right combination of sun and cloud and adventure. I got to learn how to shoot the BB-guns that we have here in camp and had fun trying to pick off a few wild roosters. Roosters and chickens are EVERYWHERE! I also got to go to Hoopi falls this afternoon with some of the girls. It was a beautiful jungle walk and then tons of fun jumping off the falls and swimming around below.

DAY TEN

Last class day of the week! I had ACTS and CCS (Christian Community Service). I'm really looking forward to doing the community service outreach. It looks like we will be volunteering in a couple hospitals and also serving food at a homeless shelter. 

DAY ELEVEN

Today was REALLY fun! The church had its annual cleaning day, and we had over 100 people come and help out with various projects around the church. People were weeding, building fences, repairing tents, putting up lights, etc. It was such a blessing to see everyone working together for the same goal. It just goes to show that the body of Christ is made up of all types of people with many different abilities, and all of them are needed! I got to help out with putting up lights and also just moving around a lot of stuff. Also I had my first encounter with a CENTIPEDE while we were cleaning out our classroom! It wasn't as big as I thought it would be, but it was a disgusting creature! Leana whipped right into action and hacked it to pieces with a machete. 

1/3 of the centipede remains

We also visited Hanalei Bay today after the church cleaning! I got to jump off the pier several times and just enjoyed a wonderful swim in the beautiful ocean! Even saw a sea turtle heading out to sea! Hanalei Bay has to be one of the most beautiful spots in the world! I love it and can't wait to go back and possibly try to surf! 

DAY TWELVE

I was able to go to church for the first time today! It was so wonderful. There's so many nice people here, and it was just great. 

They also held auditions for the Easter Production that they're going to start having rehearsals for. It's called "Fulfillment" and looks like it will be a lot of fun. I'm pretty sure I'm going to get cast as the reporter named Jerry. There's way more girls than guys that auditioned, but I'm cool with playing whatever part they need me for. I guess I'll find out soon enough!

Also there was a Cultural Orientation Dinner tonight that the church hosted for us! They made us a huge buffet of Hawaiian food, taught us about their culture, and even performed a Hula dance and taught us some Hawaiian and Pidgin! It was a blast! However, I'm really not too keen on the Poi. Poi me no likey. 

DAY THIRTEEN

What a fun day! A bunch of us girls (lead by Leana) resolved that we want to work out more to be healthier, so today we broke into our first workouts. I started not-so-bright but early with Noell at 6am! She jogged into town and back while I rode a bike beside her. My knee has been bugging me lately so I'm trying not to put too much impact on it. 

1&2 Kings class was good, and I knocked out bathroom cleaning early at the church. Made Grilled Cheese Sandwiches and Tomato soup for dinner, and then us girls got together again and did "Thunder Thighs" in the children's tent (there's mats in there). We've since renamed the tent "House of Pain." It was a killer workout for all of us, but we shared so many laughs and a lot of sweat; it was worth it! And to top it all off, Nicole drove us to Heather's house and we all got to have hot showers! Praise the Lord! That was my first hot shower in two weeks. Not my first shower in two weeks, but my first hot one (just want to make that clear!) 

Enjoying a trip into town! I love these people!

DAY FOURTEEN

Happy Valentines Day! Haha...who really cares right? But today was a fun day, because I have my two favorite classes on tuesdays: Discipleship101 and Apologetics. Always such a great time of learning. 

ALSO I got to do my laundry today for the first time! It was both wonderful and terrible. Wonderful because now I have clean clothes, and terrible because I ended up walking all the way back to camp (at least two miles) on foot with a 15-20lb backpack and about 8 pounds of laundry. Suffice to say, I cried out to the Lord for strength. He supplied!

DAY FIFTEEN 

Just another chill day at Kauai Bible College. Literally, this morning it was chilly! We had our early morning prayer meeting at the church again (every Wednesday!). This time Sas taught us a cool prayer model for times when you just need a little direction on what/how to pray. It uses the acronym ACTS, and basically you start with "Adoration," then "Confession," then "Thanksgiving," and lastly "Supplication." It was really edifying to put it into practice and I enjoyed the opportunity to learn something different. 

So it begins...

So it's the first week of classes! So thankful to be here in the beautiful land of Kauai!

DAY FIVE

Well, I was very excited to go to church for the first time in Kauai today but unfortunately...I got SICK this morning just as the service was about to start! Huge bummer! I won't relay in detail all that befell me, but suffice to say that I spent pretty much the whole morning inside or laying outside the port-a-jon in girl's camp, and then I was transported to a staff member's house to lay on her bed while everyone watched the SuperBowl in the living room all afternoon. Fun times. But my favorite part of today was the end of the evening, when everyone was pretty much winding down and Heather's dad got out a guitar and starting singing worship songs. It was a really great time of togetherness and a wonderful reminder of God's goodness, even when all I'd had was a pretty crappy day! Thank you Jesus for your faithfulness and grace.   

DAY SIX

Praise be to the Lord, the worst of my illness has definitely passed and I was well enough to attend my first class (1&2 kings) today. I think it is going to be a really cool class; I definitely enjoyed it and am already pondering which subjects I will choose to write about in my two future papers. 

I also had my first M199's today. I was blessed to be able to clean all 4 of the church port-a-jons, the first half in sunny weather and the second half in pouring rain. Totally cool! And then I got to help cook dinner with Victoria and Emily: we made Chicken Fajitas and a small salad. It was tasty and I love the way this camp is set up. We have great people, great food, and a great God!

Also got to bandage up a tent-mate's leg after she got snagged with some barbed wire while working the land. I love Gabby - she's so much fun! 

DAY SEVEN

I try really hard not to let food consume too much of my thoughts, but the french toast and fruit we had for breakfast this morning was AMAZING! It was so good! 

All right, moving on....I was also able to spend some extra time in prayer today concerning a verse that I think is going to kind of be my "theme verse" for this semester. It was actually really cool how it came about because one of the pastor's here had mentioned the passage and it stood out to me, so I went and found it later. The passage is Proverbs 19:21, and it says, "There are many plans in a man’s heart, 

Nevertheless the Lord’s counsel—that will stand."

During my Bible reading and devotions this morning I found a card in the back of my book from one of my pastors back home, and he had written down Proverbs 16:9, which says "A man's heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps." 

Both these verses are really stating the same truth, and I feel like it really relates to the season of life that I'm in right now, because over the last year I've definitely been very preoccupied with planning and setting goals and figuring out what my future is supposed to look like....sometimes so much so that I haven't really considered if my plans are matching up with what God sees for my life. So...I really want to use this semester as a time of prayer and laying it all before the Lord, to see what his Counsel is on what my "plans" and hopes are for the future. I know that He has given me different gifts and abilities and passions, and I want to use them in the best that I possible can. I'm so excited!

And just for the record, I had Disicpleship101 class today (which was awesome!), Life of Christ class (which, unfortunately, I'm probably going to drop because it's ending up being waaaay to many tasks in one day), we cleaned out our tents, and then I had Apologetics class out of town - a 35 minute drive but so worth it! 

DAY EIGHT

Everyone got up a little earlier today to meet up at the big white tent (AKA the church) and have a time of worship, a short message on prayer, and then some super awesome prayer time using Psalm 145 as a guide. I am so thankful for this beautiful land and the time set aside to really focus on God and to build relationships with my fellow students. I am already seeing growth in friendships and spiritually. It's been raining on and off for the last few days. Very windy, but apparently that's the norm here. 

Good Morning Kauai! The sun isn't up yet, but the moon is still out!

Off the Grid

What to say? This place is beautiful! The property we live on is amazing, and it looks like we are going to have a fruitful, fun-filled and challenging semester! We are living off the grid, though. We don't have any electricity, hot water, or flushing toilets. Internet is sketchy at best, but it's better than nothing. I'll be trying to post on here about once a week, but no promises! Here's a recap of the last few days:

DAY ONE: 

It is such a surreal feeling being here in Kauai. It's crazy that in only a matter of hours we can transport from one place to another, and experience such a vast change of scenery and culture. 

It honestly felt like I was in Jurrassic Park tonight, riding in the bed of a pickup truck at sundown as we drive by the mysterious Buffalo Grass and trees. I can too easily imagine the raptors lurking  just behind the plants, and even though I know that's a little far-fetched, I have seen the numerous wild roosters, goats, and cats wandering around. I hear there's also a few boars on our property, but I haven't met them yet. This is definitely an interesting place. 

I'm excited for all the adventures that are sure to come. Today was spent unpacking, meeting fellow tent dwellers, and exploring the beautiful shoreline. I got a decent amount of sun and also got to take my first underwater shot of some "zebra" fish in the tide pools. I was rather pleased with the picture! 

DAY TWO: 

Well, I made it through the night! There were spiders and cochroaches in our tent, but since that seems to be the norm, I'm forcing myself to not be alarmed. As long as they're not in bed with me, we'll be able to co-exist. Plus... it's not like I really have much choice anyway. The bugs have won here. 

We all registered for classes today. I'm going to be taking: 

- 1&2 Kings

- Discipleship 101 (required for Kauai students) 

- Life of Christ

- Apologetics

- Church History

- Acts

- OT Chuck Tracks

As well as required Bible study and prayer meetings, Community Service, and Christian Ministry Practicum (M199). I'm still waiting to be assigned my task, but I'm guessing it's going to be TA (Teacher's Assistant), some type of landscaping, or cleaning the bathrooms. Maybe a bit of all three? I'm pretty much happy with anything, but I think I'd like to be a TA/Landscaper. They have 66 acres of beautiful overgrown property here and there's definitely lots of work to do for future developments. I'd love to be a part of it!

Aside from Orientation and Registration, today is a free day so I'm planning on snapping some more photos, journaling, and looking for a thrift store in town with Cammy. Then we're having a bonfire on the beach tonight! This place is amazing! 

DAY THREE: 

I enjoyed a pretty wonderful cold shower this morning. Yep. It's nice to be clean! Today we finished Orientation and got our M199 assignments. I'm going to be a TA for Acts class, clean the church bathrooms on Mondays, and help cook two meals a week. I'll be honest, I was hoping to be put on landscaping instead of kitchen, but I'm going to just be thankful and see what the Lord has in store! 

This afternoon Cammy and I went adventuring out on the church property, which was a lot of fun. We found the tree-house about a half mile out, which was a pretty scary climb but a nice little adventure. I ended up running face-first into a HUGE spider web halfway up the tree, which was alarming but I'm just glad I didn't let go and fall to my death (there's lots of rocks and a few goat skulls down there). But anyway, I had a really nice journal/prayer time while I was up there, and God has already answered one prayer since then! So excited for that! Talk about a fast reply! Cammy and I also continued on through the brush to find another huge cluster of trees with lots of spiders and cow poop. It was rather nasty, and I ended up getting tons of welts on my legs from the Buffalo grass and bugs....but it was worth it. 

Now I'm sitting in my tent listening to chuck tracks and the goats. I made one of my little flashlights into a head-lamp, because we have no electricity out here and it'd be too dark to get anything done without it. Tomorrow we should be able to have some internet access, so I'll be able to post all of what I've been writing! I miss everyone back home but I am having a blast here. I can't wait to start classes on Monday. 

DAY FOUR: 

I tried to sleep in today since it's Saturday, but just couldn't! It's too beautiful outside to stay inside the tent for too long! So far I haven't gotten a lot accomplished today. Just charging my electronics, finding some internet (I'm in a coffee shop right now posting all of this), and hoping to go chill at the beach. Tonight we got invited to go to a pastor's house in town for a dinner/welcome party. Everyone here is so friendly and I know it will be a great time!