As I have already posted, my Kauai scout trip was quite amazing.  Though it was planned (by man) last minute, God pre-drafted the itinerary and had me in the right places at the right times.  Not only was I blessed by the Christian contacts (namely Angela, Jimmy & Fam and The ABC youth group/leaders); but I was also blessed with the pursuit of my other contacts.

In Kapaa, on Tuesday afternoon, after having lunch with Jimmy, I was left to myself.  Kapaa is a little bit of a larger town (complete with known fast food places).  I scouted the streets in search of wifi knowing I had a lot of other work to do (and some additional contacts to make).  The “Old School” coffee shop had closed for the afternoon but I happened upon a burrito bar, Shaka Tacos, which advertised free wifi (and espresso).  It was here I had my first witnessing opportunity.  My mission scout trip, became the mission.  I had a great conversation with the Barista, he was from Spokane.  We chatted for several minutes, the conversation changed when it got a little too close to Jesus (he all of a sudden needed to get some stuff done in the back).  Pray for his heart.

 

On Wednesday, I had received directions to the Christian School where I was going to meet one of the pastors.  I see God at work in mis-direction.  I either received faulty directions or made a wrong turn, but I ended up in Hanalei, Kauai.  This town was hippie-central and honestly, a place I want to see a team come this summer (PRAY the Lord supplies a team to place here).  I decided to make a go of it and see if I might make some contact on my own.   There didn’t seem to be an evangelical church presence in Hanalei (checking the internet, asking a few contacts, etc.).  I made my way to a central court area where the wifi was free.  The young lady who had just served me my cup-o-joe

was now on her lunch break.  She and another gal sat down at my table in this courtyard.  One was talking about having not hear President Obamas inauguration speech.  I quickly brought it up on YouTube, offered my headphones, and in a weird way my mac became the conduit for a spiritual conversation which was about to take place.  Another local came by with his lunch and within a few minutes our political conversation became spiritual.  An hour later, and lunch breaks ending, I can safely say these three saw a different side of Christianity than they had recently.  The “Christian Cults” they claimed were replaced by “Thanks for the great conversation.”  Please pray for Allysia, Jessie and Jim.  Each had his/her own perception of Religion and Jesus; I pray that one day they will have the right perception and a growing Relationship!  Jim studies the Word (along with every other religion) so pray the Spirit does His work and helps him to see the Truth, and then perhaps he’ll share more with the gals as well.

 

 

I did hit the Starbucks in Kapaa, where I met Kian and Jen.  Jen was the Barista and Kian runs a ministry called U-Turn for Christ (a ministry of Calvary Chapel).  Its a blessing to meet Christians in the local communities.  We had a few moments of encouraging conversation.

Thank you Lord for the incredible ministry opportunities.  I am thankful for the direction and misdirection.  The planned and the unplanned meetings.  May this summer be much the same for the team(s) serving in Kauai!  Amen!

On Sunday night I received a phone call from a Christian Pastor in Hanalei, he’s looking forward to talking to me!  Praise the Lord!

Grace,
Brian

Caught a little time on the beach one afternoon and took in some other sites and sounds, here are some more pics. 

 

As I previously posted, by Hawaii scout trip was a great success.  It sure is nice being home, but if you have to be gone doing business, Hawaii is a great place to be.  For those who check the blog to get a report on the ministry side of things, this report will hopefully serve you well!  I sure appreciate you serving us well through your prayers!

Elisabeth and I have a family friend, Angela, who lives on Kauai.  She books vacation rentals (so if you are looking for a family vacation, we’ll give you a contact to make).  Angela was my one contact on the island of Kauai before we began planning this mission (which is one more contact than I have for a couple of the regions we’re doing).  When I told Angela about the scout trip she gave me the email of the guy (Jimmy) who leads the youth group at her church.  I emailed Jimmy and immediately knew I would click well with this guy (he sent a humorous reply with a few fun photos attached).  

 

Angela and Jimmy picked me up at the airport on Monday night and I was delivered to Jimmy’s place to pick up my sweet ride, the Bible Bus. I was able to briefly meet Jimmy’s family and then I followed Angela about 25 minutes north to Princeville to the Condo I was blessed with for my three nights.

 

On Tuesday morning Jimmy and I met at his church in Anahola.  I asked him to share about Anahola and about the ministry.  Jimmy is a REMAX agent to pay the bills (I can tell he really enjoys doing this as well, he’s a people person), but it was evident he is quite passionate about the students in his group and the community of Anahola.  In meeting Jimmy at his church I really thought he was going to be a help to me in giving me names of folks I could contact around the island.

 

 

However, after his sharing for about 10 minutes about Anahola, his students who attend Anahola Baptist Church (ABC) and his passions, I knew that Youthmark needed to partner with him/ABC!  So, essentially, with one team coming to Hawaii and with the one place confirmed, I could hit the beach the rest of the time and call it good.  But God had other plans (and really, I knew I would be doing more).

After I share my heart/vision and a time of prayer Jimmy and I toured around Anahola and then had a great lunch at a BBQ place in Kapaa. After lunch Jimmy went back to his real job and I hit the town of Kapaa in search of wi-fi and conversations.  This became the theme for the rest of my trip (Kauai Contacts Part 2 will follow later).

 

Later that night I had the honor of going to ABC youth group.  I think there were six students and then Jimmy, Daniel and Jen as leaders.  Daniel and Jen are 6 months into marriage and are leading the students on their Tuesday night Bible Study (studying Titus).  Jen led us in a couple songs on her Uke and then Daniel led the study before we broke into a guys discussion group and gals.  I was blessed to have been with this group.  They will team well with the team coming to Kauai.  Looking forward to sharing more, but here are some pics of Anahola and where ministry could take place…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pray for the ministry of ABC, for Jimmy, Daniel, Jen and the others working with these great teens in this very needy community (more on that later too)!

Grace,
Brian

Aloha from Kauai.  As some of you read this I will be stepping off an overnight flight from Lihue, Kauai in the beautiful state of Hawaii. I return to Seattle early Friday after I have been on Kauai since late Monday night doing my first scout trip for the Youthmark Mission Ventures.  I will post some more about this later today or over the weekend, but thought I’d give a couple highlights before my flight takes off.

Because I was using a BTT (bonus travel ticket) and airline miles for this trip my choice of “when to go” was very limited.  Seeing as how the actual mission trip to Kauai takes place July 24 to August 2, I thought I’d say “no” to Alaska Airlines first offer of mid-August for the scout trip!  They did tell me, “you can go in August… or on Monday.”  This was last Wednesday I believe (just 9 days ago).  So, with that, I talked to my very supportive wife then shot an email to my contact in Hawaii and said, I’m coming Monday!  He said, “sure, come, we’ll put you up, give you ground transportation and take care of some of your meals!”  So, off I went.

I’ll talk the ministry specifics and the contacts I made in my later post.  But, here is what Jimmy hooked me up with to drive!

 

I received a few funny looks when I pulled this baby into the LDS church lot.  For some reason they tried to add on to it?  Hmmm.  Sorry, cheap (but funny shot, I think).  Okay, no Mormon lot, but did get some great looks and started a few conversations because of this ride.

The condo, yes, a condo, they put me up in was very nice (thank you Pychas).  And Jimmy (my contact) and Angela (our family friend) both gifted me with groceries as well.  I think when all is said and done, I will have spent about $50 on this trip (I am filling up the gas on the way out, gas out here is still about $2.50).  

More on Hawaii to come (the true Ministry Post).

Grace,

Brian