Around Honolulu

Me and my little friend, Ella!  Her parents are staffing the SBS with me :)

3 Tables (North Shore, Oahu)

Krista, Jessica, Kesia, Jae In, and Jess making Chinese Dumplings... Soooo tasty!

Hetty and I at Manoa Falls

Ayumi, Celine, Milda, Hetty, Jonna, and myself - Hiking to Manoa Falls

Four Months in Manoa

Greetings from YWAM Honolulu deep in the heart of Manoa Valley, Oahu, Hawai'i!

I'm settling in and making this place home, and figured I had better write you all! I have two roommates, Jonna (Pronounced Yoh-nuh) from Finland, and Krista from Tennessee. These two girls are going to be staffing the SBS with me. The other staff for our school is made up of 4 married couples/families.

The DTS from YWAM Honolulu is preparing to leave for outreach this Thursday. They are headed out in four teams to China, Thailand, Cambodia, and India to preach the Gospel and serve in practical ways, from teaching English in China to ministering among prostitutes in India. They have been very welcoming and friendly despite our limited time with them.

And then there is our SBS, which starts ONE WEEK FROM TODAY. Oh man. I think that just registered in my mind. We have around 20 students coming. We had a few accepted students who weren't able to get their visas to the USA... but we trust that God has plans for them even in this unexpected (in our eyes at least) turn of events!

So as we look forward to the arrival of our students from around the world, we are busy preparing our classroom and dorms for them. And busy preparing to teach as well. Our school leader, Plamena really champions us. She wants us to teach as much as possible, to give input in decisions for the school, and to grow in our teaching and leadership gifts. It is really a blessing to have leadership that is so dedicated to serving and developing the staff working with them. We even have two full-time pastoral staff who will not have grading or teaching responsibilities, but will be there to care for the hearts of us staff and students. Such a blessing!

A few things to pray for:

• Our students who still need visas - for favor with their interviewers and the US government
• Our students who still need finances - that God would provide and give them creative ideas how to raise the needed funds
• Relationships among our staff team to be strong and healthy - we are still getting to know one another and most have never worked with one another before this school
• Pray for this SBS to be a school marked by joy and a passion to learn - both our staff and students

Akua ho'omaika'i oe

Jillian

Oahu bound... and the brake light saga!

I know, I know... it feels like I just got back and now I'm leaving again. To be honest, I haven't been super excited about Oahu. I've been pretty busy the past few weeks, so I really haven't had much time to think about it... but I fly over on Saturday and our "Staff Training" time for the Hawaiian Islands School of Biblical Studies will start on Monday. I suppose transitions always create mixed emotions, but I'm just trusting God that when my feet step off the plane in Oahu my heart will come along, too and not be left behind in Kona!

Now, about the brake lights... It all started 2 weekends ago when my little neighbor (Lucas) turned 6 and I went to his birthday party.

Little did I know my safety inspection sticker was expired... On my way home from the party I was pulled over. Thankfully, the officer was super chill and just told me to get it renewed otherwise I could get pulled over and get a $75 ticket. So on Monday I went to get the inspection done and the guy says, "Uh, your brake lights aren't working... get that fixed and I can pass you." I went home and called my dad, googled solutions, and checked fuses and a light bulb. It seemed the issue was the brake light switch. Unfortunately, last week I was swamped with serving in hospitality, starting early in the mornings and going all day, so I didn't have a chance to do anything with my car. I kept driving it and praying nobody would rear-end me (or pull me over.)

And now for my divergent/attention deficit rabbit trails...

Here's a few things I served last week:

Alaska Salmon with lemon & dill (this photo was taken before it went in the oven)

One of the snack stops for a progressive lunch... at a construction site... That's a door on two sawhorses and fresh fruit salad. Pretty nice for a condo under construction, right?

Aaanyway, on Sunday I got a ride to church with some others on the worship team and borrowed roomie's car for the evening Filipino service (my last week of teaching Sunday School, awww!!!) I was feeling pretty uncomfortable driving without the brake lights AND the expired safety, so I avoided it as much as possible. Come Monday I promptly bought a brake light switch and had my neighbor Andrew install it. *Side note: I seriously have the best downstairs neighbors!* But the brake lights still didn't work.

UGH.

Off to the mechanic. This morning I took the car in to a place Andrew recommended and the guy totally helped me out... The verdict? Some relay thing in the trunk (sorry, Dad... I forget what he called it!) It's been quite the stress... as my dad knows since I've been bugging him at work several times this past week! Anyway, it's just suuuuch a relief to have it taken care of. Even if it is only 3 days before I leave the island.

So, that's the brake light saga. I'm grateful to have come to the end of that story. Next, I suppose, will be the starter. But not too soon I hope. I'm thinking Mom & Dad need to come out here for a visit in August and Dad can help me with car stuff... and I'll take him diving in exchange! Sounds like a plan!

Next SBS starts April 2nd, 2012!

The Hawaiian Islands School of Biblical Studies will be starting in Honolulu on April 2nd and I'm gearing up to head over for staff training on March 10th.

We have 18 accepted students and many more still in process. These students are coming from all over the world - Switzerland, China, India, Ghana, USA, The Congo, Canada, New Zealand, Japan, Samoa, Nigeria, Korea, and Indonesia. Yeah, I guess you could say it's going to be a diverse mix! :)

I've mentioned before that this is my first time working with a traditional SBS (non-Chronological). I'm getting really excited about starting out in the New Testament, and while I still feel somewhat like its cheating or giving away the end of the story, I am excited that our students will get to study the Old Testament through the eyes of the New. Though I think I'm still biased towards the Chronological approach, I want to understand more why others choose to study and teach the Bible starting with the New.

My first books I will be teaching are Ephesians and Colossians. I'm looking forward to both, as they are some of my favorite letters written by Paul.

But, I still have about 3 weeks until I head to Honolulu, and in the meantime here are some things I have been and will be doing in Kona before I leave:

* Helping with student applications and visas

* Volunteering for Snorkel Day *Tomorrow!*

* Hospitality for a week of meetings being hosted in Kona for the U of N Advisory Board

* Worship team at my church, Central Kona Union Church

* Teaching Sunday School for Filipino Youth on Sunday nights

* Putting together lesson plans for the Filipino Sunday School for while I'm away

I also want to share an awesome blessing I had last week. My cousin Vikki was able to come and visit for a week and it was perfect timing because I have few pressing responsibilities at the moment. We were able to go all over the island (mostly beaches!) and I know had she come during a school, I would not have been able to spend as much time with her as I did. The photo in this post is of her and I at the Pololu Valley lookout. We decided to do a "tourist" day and drive to some pretty places, but upon seeing the trail, Vikki insisted we hike it in our cute clothes and flip flops. It was definitely worth it!

If you ever want to come for a visit like Vikki did, give me a call or shoot me an email! Even if I don't have the free time like I did for Vikki's visit, I can always point you in the right directions and give you some local advice!

- OR - If you're interested in volunteering in Hawaii, check out the Mission Builders program.

I think that's about it for now. Thanks for taking the time to read my updates!

Akua Ho'omaika'i Oe!

Jillian

2012 - so far, SO good!

My neighbors and roommates in Kona welcomed be back with a delicious BBQ!

... And Lucas and Isaac made signs. Melts my heart!

Aloha from my lanai in beautiful Kailua-Kona!

I’ve been back for about 10 days now and I’m starting to resettle into life here. Most of you know I will be staffing the “Hawaiian Islands” School of Biblical Studies (SBS) this year, starting in April. The school will study the New Testament in Honolulu for 4 months and then relocate to Kona for 5 months studying the Old Testament. This means I’m not fully settling in here in Kona because in about 6 weeks I will fly over to Honolulu for staff training at the YWAM Honolulu base in Manoa before the school begins on April 2^nd.

The leader of this SBS, Plamena, has already relocated to Honolulu with her husband Eric, which means I am the Kona representative for the school before it starts. I was able to meet with Plamena and Eric before they left and they were able to delegate some responsibilities to me and we were also able to share and hear one another’s hearts for the upcoming school. I am excited to be responding to emails from prospective students and also talking to a few locals who’ve shown interest. One student I’m particularly excited about is Kesia, the daughter of my former leaders and good friends, Ben and Ali!

As staff, we’ve already chosen books to teach for the New Testament and I am excited to teach two books back to back: Ephesians and Colossians. I’ve already started studying Ephesians! It’s a powerful book about identity, the grace of God, and living as believers. Colossians is also a powerful book - if Ephesians is about the identity of believers, Colossians is all about the identity of Christ! Since the historical background of these two letters is similar, I’ve been asked to teach them in two consecutive days. Pretty awesome!

I’ve also been wrapping up details from the outreach I led to Fiji and Samoa in 2011. I’ve debriefed with both SBS leaders and Pacific leaders. This has been very helpful and encouraging personally, but it also is helpful to all of us who have a heart to see Pacific Islanders equipped and released into world missions. The more we talk, process, and pray, the more strategies seem to appear.

In my free time I am volunteering with Deep & Beyond, a ministry my friend, Annamari pioneered that reaches out to people in the community through various outdoor adventures. One example is this Friday I will be in the water assisting “Snorkel Day” participants! I’m really excited to be able to help out with this ministry part-time as I see it bless the community of Kona, especially (but not limited to) those with disabilities.

Mom & Dad got me a waterproof camera for Christmas! I will definitely use it to get some good photos of snorkel day!

Oh, and I saw Darlene Cunningham at church on Sunday and after exchanging comments about my new hairstyle, she asked if I had any time this quarter to help with hospitality. I jumped at the opportunity and said I’m pretty available this quarter, let me know how I can help! So, I’m looking forward to being able to serve with Darlene as she serves and opens her home to people from all walks of life. For those of you who don’t know Darlene, she is the co-founder (with her husband Loren) of Youth With A Mission, the family/movement/organization that I have worked/served/lived with since 2003.

So... besides lounging on the beach, I have found quite a few things to fill my days. ;) I suppose that’s all for now, but please do keep in touch and pray for the upcoming SBS in April! Also, please let me know if there’s anything you need prayer for. I’m always available to pray!

Bridget, me, and Stephanie - roommate beach day!

Akua ho’omaika’i oe! (God bless you!)

Jillian

2011 Recap

2011 was a year of natural disasters, political uprisings, revolutions, and more headlines from around the world. Because of my line of work, many of these events occurring on distant shores hit close to home for me... Flooding and Cyclones in Queensland, Earthquakes in Christchurch, Political Revolution in the streets of Cairo & Alexandria, a Tsunami in Sendai Japan which also affected Kona... I have friends in all of these affected places. It was a year to really thank God for life and ask him to help us make the most the lives he's given each of us. In 2011, I took every opportunity to teach the Bible so I could grow in this area more. I also had many people from Washington come to visit. It was a year of challenges but a year of blessings. But, I'll be honest: I'm looking forward to 2012!!!

Here's a [brief] recap of my 2011 in Hawaii, Fiji, Samoa, and finishing the year here in Washington.

January

- Staffing 2nd quarter of Chronological School of Biblical Studies (2nd half of Old Testament)

- Angela & Ryan visit

February

- Taught Zephaniah in SBS

March

- Tsunami in Japan (Damages to property in Kona but no loss of life)

- Taught Esther

April

- Staffing 3rd quarter of Chronological SBS (New Testament)

- Started teaching Inductive Bible Study in the Asia Pacific Discipleship Training School (DTS)

- Started leading Bible Study for friends with Island Breeze

- Chans visit

- Loehrs visit

- Taught 1 & 2 Thessalonians

May

- Taught Colossians & Philemon

June

- Whites visit

- Chronological SBS Graduation

- Left for Outreach

July

- Led SBS Outreach Team to Fiji (Other 2 teams went to Brazil & China)

- Team taught the Bible in Churches, YWAM Base, Bible Study Groups, & Methodist Deaconess Training Centre

August

- Outreach Team in Samoa

- Team taught Inductive Bible Study Seminars in various churches and the Samoan Prison

September

- Stayed in Samoa after team left

- Taught for a week on Inductive Bible Study for the Samoa DTS

- Got Samoan Drivers License and Drove for YWAM Base

- Helped lead Worship & Intercession for YWAM Samoa

- Rugby World Cup began

October

- Drove for YWAM Samoa, visited families in Aleipata (where the 2009 Tsunami hit)

- Rugby World Cup finished - New Zealand All Blacks are the Champions!

- Taught Bible Study using Stories

- White Sunday (Children's Sunday - a national Holiday in Samoa)

November

- Visited YWAM Los Angeles & Tijuana (en route from Samoa to Washington)

- Came to Washington

- Friend, Jerry Tamanisau passed away

- Shared at Hockinson Community Church about ministry in the Islands

December

- Cousin, Gayle visited - she and I chopped our hair and donated it to Children with Hairloss

- Friend, Patrick McCleery passed away

- Dad went back to work after being laid off for 5 months

- Lots of quality time with friends and family

- Sat down to write a blog update for the end of the year...

Home Sweet Washington

Hey everyone. I realized I haven't written for a while. But, I'm going to keep this short. I'm back in Washington, where I will be until January 8th when I head back to Hawaii.

My 3 months in Samoa were definitely a learning experience and though it was challenging at times, I do miss my friends I made there and I do hope to return someday.

For now, I'm enjoying some time with family and also catching up with friends here and there. If you're in the area, I'd love to see you.

My next step will be back in Hawaii. In April I will be staffing another School of Biblical Studies. However, this one will not be Chronological, but will start with the New Testament and then move to the Old. Something different about this particular SBS is that four months will be spent in Honolulu studying the New Testament and then five months will be spent in Kona studying the Old Testament.

And since this week is Thanksgiving, might I add that I am so thankful to God for the life I have. For my family and friends, both on earth and in heaven; for the opportunities he's given me to live life all over the world; and for his amazing provision which never fails... but most of all I'm thankful for life and hope in Jesus. Kind of trumps the rest.

What are you thankful for this year?