A Heart of Worship

Pillow Clouds

2011-11-22T11:08:00.001-10:00

Not sure why, but but I was so drawn to this sight, that I had to take a quick pic of it.

A Time of Vision

2011-01-21T15:50:00.000-10:00

Tonight begins our Vision Conference here at our church, featuring guest speaker Pastor John Hagee. It's an exciting weekend for our church, because it's one of 3 weekends of the year when we get to see all of our church family return from our extensions all over the world.

There is great expectation that the worship, teaching and preaching this weekend will be life-changing. Not only in church-wide, but in my own personal life. I'm believing for a revival of the Spirit in my own walk!

91,940 Page Visits?!?

2011-01-14T15:50:00.000-10:00

Believe it or not, I have had 91,940 page visits to my blog since I started. Now, don't come running to get my autograph just yet... The only reason I have this many visits is because of a single blog posting I did WAAAYYY back in June of 2008. I guess a couple pictures (which aren't even mine, btw) seem to be popular in the online searches for pitbulls. The post was about my feelings about pit bulls and a the fear I have of them.

While my fear of these dogs and the stereotypical pitbull owner is what drove me to write that day, my mind was somewhat changed by the response I got from it. What I discovered was that while some lovers of pit bulls are idiots and are a main cause of the negativity associated with these dogs, there are those who genuinely care for their dogs and take responsible care in ownership of them. My favorite comment was very recently posted by "Pit Bull Owner"and shows what an intelligent pitbull owner should be like. Of course there were much more comments calling me ignorant, stupid, and many more names that I won't mention here.

Anyway, nothing insightful here, maybe just a little incite-ful :-) Feel free to comment!

Fear and Trembling...

2011-01-10T15:14:00.000-10:00

I was watching TV one day last month upstairs when I heard Wehilani crying for Pua in what sounded like a common fight with her older sister. You know, one of those cries that says "My sister won't let me play with her toys!" I figured since Pua was closer to them (and she was trying to sleep), she would take care of it. She was crying for her anyway, right?

But the yell never came, and the crying never stopped. So in order to get some peaceful Netflix watching done, I yelled at Tehani to stop making her sister cry.

"But, I didn't do anything!" she yelled back.

Instead of asking any questions I got up to investigate. But to my surprise I discovered that Wehilani was not even in her sister's room where I thought she would be. She was standing downstairs in the laundry room yelling from just inside the doorway. I figured she must have stepped on something and hurt her foot so I called to her to come to me as I came down the stairs. But she wouldn't budge. Not an inch.

When I got close enough to her, I saw the fear in her face as she pointed to the ground in front of her. My pace quickened a little as I thought for sure she was about to be bitten by a large centipede or a massive beast of an insect.

But then I saw what she was so petrified over. A dead cockroach. Legs up and all. I giggled to myself as I picked her up and carried her to the bottom step, out of "harm's" way. After I grabbed the bug with a piece of toilet paper and flushing it, Wehilani looked up at me in disgust and said "Uhcky! Taintoo Daddy..."

God brought this back to my memory this week as I had endured things this past Christmas season that I rather would have not had to go through. Often times I'm afraid of things in my life that seem menacing or too daunting to get past. But when God looks at them, he just has to laugh at what we see as a huge obstacle, is really nothing to be afraid of at all. I just have to be grateful when he takes care of them (and me) with such ease, yet such careful attention.

Broken...

2011-01-07T11:24:00.000-10:00

At the kitchen table this morning while I was sitting down to read my Bible, I noticed that our kitchen clock was not running. Now this $5 clock is no ordinary clock... this is a clock that happens to be one of the most important clocks in the house. This clock gets my kids to school on time in the morning... This clock is powerful enough to get me to leave my beautiful babies at lunch time to go back to work... A clock so holy that it gets us out the door to church, albeit sometimes 10 minutes late (ok, maybe it's not so powerful and holy)... But really it was in my best interest to get this clock working ASAP.

So I grabbed a spare AA battery and changed it the dead one out. I walked up to the place where the clock has dwelt since we've lived here, and thinking I had placed it on its hanger, I let it go. CRASH! It hit the floor with an unusually load noise, that was only amplified because it was 6am and no one else was awake but us adults. The previously installed battery went spinning across the floor, and the back-half of the clock came off and landed directly next to the working front-half.

After picking up all the pieces, and gathering myself from such a rude startle at such an early hour, I snapped it all back together. Hoping against all hope, I put the battery back inside, and Voila! The second hand started moving. Yeah! I hadn't broken it.

Now the fall from such that height had set the time forward by a half-an-hour so I wheeled that dial on the back motor forward 11 1/2 hours to get it to the correct time (Yes, I've learned not to set a clock backwards, especially one that's moving). Yet something was amiss. Only the minute hand was advancing, while the hour hand dangled like a pendulum along the lower face of the clock.

CRAP!! Another thing I gotta trudge down to Kahului to replace. Oh well. I guess I'll throw this thing away.

As I made my advance to the rubbish can, something stopped me. Could I fix it? But should I really spend part of my morning, when I should be in the middle of my devotion time to fix a $5 clock? Sure, why not...

So I sat down at the table and started pulling and popping things apart, and eventually I was able to reconnect the hour hand to the motor drive-axle.

It isn't often when I learn life lessons from an inanimate object like a clock, but I guess I learned this: How easy is it that I give up on things that can be fixed? Whether it's throwing away a toy that just need batteries replacing, or mending a relationship that has been tarnished by misunderstandings or misgivings? I definitely have a easier time ignoring the things that are broken in my life than I do trying to fix them. But as God reveals his heart for these things, I start to see that maybe they're worth the attention...

Naughty Geckos

2011-01-06T06:28:00.000-10:00

A few days ago I was in the living room playing piano, when my son walked in and yelled "A mouse!" Now, this is not a completely rare occasion to have a mouse in our house, as at one point we had them upstairs, downstairs, and living in our subwoofer. But when I turned around to look at him to see where he was pointing to, I noticed he was pointing at the wall, just below the ceiling! As I looked up to investigate where he was claiming this rodent with spidey-like skills was perched, I discovered that it was two geckos doin' the nasty! I had to do a double take, because from any distance more than 5 feet away, it really did look like a small mouse.

To my embarrassment, and probably something I shouldn't have done quite yet, I giggled and told Pono that the geckos were making babies. He was completely shocked.

"You mean like babies are coming out right now?"

"Well, um, not quite..."

I wasn't sure what to say at that point. I kinda left it at that, hopefully using it as a talking point when he asks the REAL question, and it's REALLY time to explain it.

How many times do we see things from a far that are not really as they seem? I tend to look at situations or circumstances from a distance and jump to conclusions pretty quickly. But when I get closer and look with a little bit more detail and care, I see that what I thought I saw, was really totally different. I've done this on a few occasions recently. I'm praying God will help me to look through His eyes first, and not my own.

Trees and Fruit...

2011-01-05T15:56:00.000-10:00

If you could be any kind of tree, what kind of tree would you be? Would you be a tall palm tree whose mere presence brings warm tropical feelings? Or would you be a huge Oak tree, whose strong and hardy wood can be used to build great ships or cathedrals. Or maybe an evergreen type tree, that never fully loses its foliage and protects those that dwell in it all year round? Or what about a fruiting tree (mango's my fave) that not only brings shade, but a delectable harvest annually.

My reading today brought me to Psalms 1 & 2, a simple yet deep introduction to the book of Psalms. More specifically what I'm writing about today is Psalm 1. Most people can quote the portion of verse 3 "like a tree planted by streams of water" easily. I've always had vivid visions of this verse, mainly because I used to spend my summers in the Colorado Rockies working for the Forest Service, surveying new hiking trails. We would often cross a few streams or gulches during our hikes, and enjoy the drop in temperature they provide at their banks.

The part of this verse that got me thinking this morning was "which yields fruit in season and whose leaf does not whither." What season do you have to be in to yield fruit? Our mango tree at our house seems to bear fruit at odd times of year. Unlike mango trees around our neighborhood and the rest of the island that bear fruit in July, it's never on schedule. In fact I noticed this morning that it is starting to bloom already. Plumeria trees flower seemingly year round. But then on the other end of the spectrum there are the trees that flower/fruit only one time in their entire life-time and then whither and die. So which one would be? Sometimes I feel like I'm supposed to be a tree that needs to fruit all year round. But there are times in our lives where we have to rest. We have to gather strength from the stream of living water we reside by. Yet we don't lose our foliage when we do so. The only way to do that is to walk righteous, and to dwell on His word, and meditate day and night on it.

21 Days of Fasting and Prayer

2011-01-04T11:54:00.000-10:00

Annually, our church does a time of communal fasting at the beginning of the year. Our Pastor did a great sermon on the purpose and the results of fasting, as seen in the text Joel 2:12-32. Some people go all out and do a complete liquid fast (anything put in a blender counts! :oD). Some people choose to sacrifice an item from their daily lives. Some choose a level somewhere in between.

I have chosen TV as the item we're fasting together as a family. This decision comes not so easy, as we just got a nice flat-screen TV for Christmas and a Blu-Ray DVD player that can stream Netflix, Amazon Video-on-Demand, and do laundry. Some might find this fast trivial, but TV is a HUGE distraction in our house, and from the time not spent in front of the TV last night, we achieved a lot and the house was a lot more peaceful. I know that there will be huge strides in our familial relationships because of this fast alone.

As far as a food fast, I'm still waffling... no pun intended. I can't decide if I'm on the "No-Breakfast" fast, or if I'm on the "No-meat-during-daylight" fast. I know that these are not biblical fasts, but they're the only ones I've been able to stick to so far!

Anyway, I hope to write daily what God is showing me during these next 20 days, and maybe encourage a few people along the way...

Restarting my Blog

2010-11-19T08:51:00.004-10:00

After receiving inspiration from my Sister-in-law and her new blog, I really want to start-up my blog that I used to weekly keep up with. I guess I just need a place to write again and get my creative juices flowing. So I'm changing my design, and my Blog title as well, just to start off fresh. I want to try and be of an encouragement here, and maybe even share some struggles I have. Being so involved in ministry is a lot of time commitment, and it pulls a lot of my energy and resources, but I hope to at least impart some wisdom, humor, and perhaps spark some sort of dialogue again in the blog. Here's to tryin'!

Just Hours Until Curtain/Russia Update

2008-12-19T13:43:00.002-10:00

Well, it's Friday afternoon, just hours before our first performance tonight. If you're not a KC'er or are not on the island of Maui, then I'll have you know that this is a big weekend. Our Christmas show is the biggest event of the year for our Music Ministry. Birthday of a King is easily one of our most popular shows.

This year we are all in it. Pono is one of the main school kids, Tehani is in the preshow in the little manger scene, and she is an animal. Above she is being sung "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" to by our friend Tish. Even Wehilani is taking part as the baby prince! Our fearless director has been working feverishly trying to tie up loose ends and making progress since he came back from his time away from us.

Most of you that read this are likely on the mainland so you don't know everything that has transpired in the last few weeks. I'll briefly summarize...

Our leading lady, Minister Melissa was diagnosed with a medical condition around the first of the month that required emergency surgery. This surgery knocked her completely out of commission, which meant that someone needed to take her place in the show. Not only the Maui show, but the Russia show as well. So now Pua is going to Russia with me and Pono! We're excited to have her with us. Even if she is barging in on our guy bonding time! Just kidding honey!!

Not only is Minister Melissa not going, but neither is Pastor Chris. That means I'm leading the team to Russia! Double Yikes!!! Please pray for us. We need traveling safety, and Pua and I need wisdom on how to combine the two casts (one of which speaks only Russian) to produce one great show. So as soon as we get done with this show. We have to get ready for our trip to Russia. We have a ton of stuff to do, and not a lot of time.

Thankfully my mom sent me some warm clothes to take with us. And baby Wehilani was very excited to have them to lay on!
----------------
Now playing: Chris Botti - First Noel
via FoxyTunes

Gettin' Ready for a Party!

2008-12-02T10:13:00.003-10:00

Well, not a REAL party, but we're getting ready for the busiest time of the year for the church. I apologize (to my one reader) that I haven't posted in a while. I've been super busy with the task of getting ready for our Christmas production, "Birthday of a King". It's taken quite a life of it's own now that I'm involved in 3 different performances. I'm helping out a lot with the Maui show, which has a cast of about 150 people, so I've been getting the set built (with lots of help, of course) and trying to arrange rehearsals and general background prep stuff.

We're also doing this show on Lanai, where I'll be playing the role that I'm doing in Russia. Lanai is gonna be tough because the cast hasn't really had a chance to do much rehearsing together, and the show is next weekend! Jesus help us!

Our Russia preparations are about to get under way as well, which one of the main things we have to do is record the audio for the ENTIRE show so when we get over there we can lip sync to it. The reason we have to do this is because the frequencies our mics run on here don't jive with what they have available. It's also going to be much easier to do.

With all the stuff that's going on, we've been doing all of it together as a family, so we get to spend a lot of time together. The schedule is hectic, but it's fun. Most of the time we all take it in stride...

But sometimes we just have to crash when and where we can!

Check out my mad Photoshop Skills!

2008-11-10T09:19:00.000-10:00

Check out my mad Photoshop skills! Without even having Photoshop!!! I used a free program called GIMP to do this.

"There is no charge for awesomeness...or attractiveness." - Kung Fu Panda

Glendon Cleo Pierce 1921-2008

2008-10-21T10:37:00.001-10:00

My Grandfather in Ellisville, Mississippi passed away on October 13, 2008. I was privileged to travel back to Mississippi to serve as a pallbearer in his funeral.

My Grandpa was a man of very few words, but had an extremely strong work ethic. Whenever we would visit my grandparents down south, my Grandfather would ALWAYS be gone from the house before we were even awake. He was a farmer by trade, raising chickens, cows, and vegetables in his prime. Eventually he retired from each as he got older, with the cows being the last to go when he turned 85.

He was an avid outdoorsman, always taking me and Lance fishing to the "Big Pond" to catch bream and perch. He tried to teach us how to clean them when we got back to the house, scaling, gutting and popping the heads off. But it never really suited us and he was always happy to take over.

In his later years he was diagnosed with both cancer and Alzheimer's and his health deteriorated to the point where he had to stay in the VA. We had one last visit with him last Thanksgiving, and even though he didn't recognize us, he was a delight to the kids and a joy to be around.

I will miss you Grandpa.

To Russia, With Love...

2008-09-24T09:01:00.014-10:00

Greetings from Maui! I just wanted to let all of you know of a wonderful opportunity my son and I have been given this Christmas season for a missions trip. Pono and I will be traveling to Perm, Russia to perform in one of our Productions called "Birthday of a King". Our team will be leaving on December 27th, 2008 and returning January 9th, 2009.

The place we will be visiting is a city in Western Russia called Perm. Perm is one of the larger cities in Russia and is a major hub of the Russian culture of dance, art, and music for the people in the Ural Mountain region. The city is almost as large area wise as Moscow and St. Petersburg, with over a million people living within city limits.

The production we will be performing tells the story of a little town that every year celebrates the Birthday of the King. The whole town gets dressed up, makes gifts, bakes cakes, and throws a grand party. But they don't know really who the King is, or why they are celebrating his Birthday. It's a colorful and allegorical retelling of the story of Christmas, and if you've never seen it, you're missing out! We will be doing the show here on Maui as well. So if you're here, come see it!

We are truly believing God to use us through this production to impact the people of Perm. Dance and drama are an incredible part of the Russian culture, and even though we cannot speak Russian, they will understand the language of art. But in order to do so, we need your help. First of all, please consider supporting me and Pono financially. Each member of the cast, must raise $3500 to be able to go. And since both Pono and I are going, that doubles what we need to raise in the Agawa family. We would appreciate any help you are able to give, no matter how great or small. Secondly, we want to ask you to please pray that God will use us and our team while we are in Russia. Without prayer, we cannot have the impact that we so desperately desire to have.

If you would like to donate and receive tax deductible contribution credit, you can mail a check made out to King's Cathedral to:

King's Cathderal
777 Mokulele Highway
Kahului, HI 96732
Attn: Pastor Chris Davis

DO NOT write anything in the memo line or on the check. To specify that it is to be used toward Pono's or my trip, please attach a note saying that it is for me or Pono. I can also send you a addressed stamped envelope that will have instructions to do so if needs be.

If you do not want donation credit, you can send it to me directly, or to our special PayPal account under email address BoK2Russia2009@gmail.com. Please email me for our address if you would like to send it via mail.

Thank you for considering supporting Pono and I in our first ministry opportunity together. I am excited to share in Pono's first international trip and can't wait to see the great things that God will accomplish through us both. God Bless!

Here's a clip of the production form 2 years ago. Pono (with dyed blonde hair) played the little prince!

Exciting Things to Come!!

2008-09-12T13:50:00.004-10:00

We are right at the beginning of one of our busiest times of the year. The first thing is our School of Worship is getting ready to start up for the Fall Semester in a little over 1 week. NOt only will I be taking classes, but surprisingly, I'll be teaching Theory I, which is basically just rhythms, notes and building chords. Most of the stuff I knew before taking the course last year, but stuff like the "Circle of Fifths" and chord building were brand new to me. I definitely need to bone up on my note reading as well!

Our School of Worship does an amazing job of preparing people for a ministry in music by training students in playing an instrument, singing, running sound, lights, directing productions, etc. Not only does it train you how to do it, it places you in the ministry to serve and apply what you've learned.

The next thing to look forward to is the County Fair at the beginning of October. The Fair around here is the big thing we in Maui look forward to. You know, carnival games, puking off rides, crowds, good music, and TONS of food.

Our addition to the food selection is Hawaiian Style Spareribs, Tempura Fried Ice Cream, Fried Cheese and Fried Zucchini. Nothing but the finest ingredients. I think even our zucchini is organic. Delicious AND nutritious! Most of the proceeds will go to the Music Ministry, or other ministries that sell presale tickets. Some of the profits will go towards something really exciting I will be involved in, but will tell you about at another time.

Our Youth Department (InterGeneration Ministries) will be doing a live show called "Hotter than Hell" that features many of our youth dancing and singing to past and present secular artists like Michael Jackson's Thriller, Usher, P.Diddy, Alicia Keys, and MANY more. It's a pretty awesome show that draws a great crowd for Halloween. And salvations come through it! The music ministry will be helping out in providing technical aspects of the show and some direction.

I know it's crazy to think about, but we are already getting preparing for our Christmas Production as well. This year we will be doing "Birthday of a King", which is an original production written by our very own Pastor Chris Davis. Birthday of a King is an allegorical story about the TRUE meaning of Christmas. Basically, everyone in the town is celebrating the birthday of the king, but the don't know why they do it or even who the king is. The story is then intertwined with the real story of the King and how He came to create the town and all of its creatures and save them from the Jester. I will be heavily involved in putting this one together, as well as playing one of the roles.

But for now, time to just focus on the weekend!!

Here's some recent pics of Wehilani. Only ones I could muster were on my phone.

Her hair sticks straight up after a bath!!

Wahhhh! I want my daddy!

I'm Such a Slacker!

2008-09-04T11:46:00.003-10:00

So sorry that I haven't posted any pictures or any updates on our lives in the last couple of weeks. We've just basically been hanging out at home until this past weekend when we had our annual Prophetic Conference at church. Our Prophetic Conference is a time where our church gathers from all over the world to Maui and get re-energized, and refilled with the vision of the house and God's Glory. It was a wonderful time to see Pastors and staff that have left to go start other extensions. This was my first Prophetic Conference on staff, and it really felt like a family reunion. The church was electric and God moved in every service.

We had a great prophecy spoken over us that made Tehani say in amazement "How did he know all that stuff about us?" It was pretty hilarious. It mostly spoke on the kids future and how they were going to be when they get older. He spoke out all of our characteristics to a tee. It was like he had been living with us for the last 2 years!

It was a busy weekend, as I was in charge of putting worship bands and all aspects of worship together for the weekend. We had a total of 9 services that we had to have worship for, and I led 2 of them. Try coming up with song lists for all those!

Now I'm back to work at the County, and I've got a big backlog of things I gotta do. But I'm blessed to still have a job, especially in these trying times. Praise God.

I'll leave you with some recent pictures:

Wehilani's Story

2008-08-20T08:17:00.012-10:00

It's been one whole week now since Wehilani was born (finally!) and we're all starting to adjust to having a little one around the house. Well, everyone except the dog and cat anyways.

Looking back at how everything with her birth transpired, it is easy to see how God's hand was upon us to perform His perfect will and timing. When it came down to it, it was the right month, the right week, the right day, and even the right hour for Wehilani to be born. In response to our frustration in waiting, one of our friends said it best when she said that " God is answering your prayers, just in a different way than expected," I should say so!

On Tuesday night, we were just settling down from the kids first day of school, finishing our nightly Olympics ritual. The kids laid down to sleep around 8:30 pm, and about an hour later, Pua and I headed for bed as well. Not more than 5 seconds after I had gotten dressed for bed, Pua called from the bathroom with an "Umm, Honey...". Ahh, two sweet words I had been waiting to hear for almost a month now had finally been uttered. It was great day for baby to be born, as my Dad happened to be here because of a death in the family. Believing that Pua was starting to leak amniotic fluid, we got redressed and headed to the hospital.

After checking in and getting situated, a wonderful nurse appeared and said that she had just started her shift and would be with us the entire night. This was a huge relief as we didn't want someone on the end of their shift, tired and hungry, only to have a shift change during an important or critical time. She was a young traveling nurse from Pennsylvania and was caring and compassionate.

Once Pua was hooked up to all the monitors, the doctor showed up to check her. Being patients of Maui Medical Group, like all large clinics, you just don't know who you're gonna get to deliver your baby. Pua had prayed for a specific doctor, and she's the one who was on call that night! However, we were quite puzzled when the doctor checked her, as she told us that Pua's numbers were FAR lower than the ones the doctor at the clinic had told us. The delivery doctor told us Pua was only slightly dialated to 2 or 3, and baby was at -3 position and her water had not broken yet. This meant that Pua really wasn't in labor and we could be sent home. The doctor gave Pua an hour to see if anything progressed. Dreading news that we had jumped the gun, we prayed. My dad was leaving in less than 24 hours, and if we had to go home. he would miss the birth. We asked God to intervene and help us deliver baby that night. When the doctor rechecked her, she had dialated to 4 cm and was MUCH further along than she had been. So the doctor made the decision to go ahead and break her water, which would accelerate contractions and would mean that we were having the baby that night!!! Prasie God. Labor progressed quickly, and the Wehilani was born just before 3:00 am.

There were many other instances of God's faithfulness like the anesthe-siologist making it to the hospital at the perfect time (they won't come unless it's within a certain window of dialation), and Pua not having a roommate for the majority of her stay at the hostpita. But the most amazing thing was that my dad got to see her. That was a major miracle.

Wehilani is very healthy, with no jaundice and is hungry as ever! We are blessed and we praise God for his provision.

Wehilani says BYE!

My "Heavenly Song"

2008-08-14T06:52:00.001-10:00

I know all you non-facebookers are wondering what's going on, so I thought I'd shoot you a quick message. Baby and Momma are doing wonderful. They're coming home this morning from the hospital. I've got to get ready to go actually, which is why this will be short. But stay tuned, as I have a lot to write about her birth, and how amazing it was. God was so faithful! I'll leave you with a little picture of my precious!

It's a Girl!!!

2008-08-13T03:26:00.005-10:00

Introducing.........Wehilani Keiko Pua'ala Agawa

born at 3:00 a.m. on 8/13/08
8 lbs 8 oz, 19 inches

Wehilani (pronounced Veh-hee-LAH-nee) means "Heavenly Song" or "Heavenly Adornment" in Hawaiian
Keiko (KAY-koh) means "Adored one" in Japanese
Pua'ala (Pooh-ah-AH-lah) means "fragrant flower" in Hawaiian.

It was an amazing birth, with God's hand and favor upon it. I will write more about it when I have the time.

2008-08-13T01:50:00.001-10:00

we are having the baby!

2008-08-13T00:48:00.001-10:00

we are having this baby tonight! more pics to follow

Keeping It Going

2008-08-11T09:20:00.005-10:00

Alas, yet another week has passed us by, and so has the stork. Still no baby. It's the running joke around here that the baby is hanging on for dear life with a list of demands.

We're trying to pass the time by keeping busy, which isn't too hard with our schedule. Pua had a final nesting push this week that culminated with what seemed like 15 loads of laundry on Saturday. We also got a free couch and entertainment center from a friend's mom and we set that up in our upstairs living room. The only room that lacks any semblance of organization in the house is my desk/office area.

Getting ready at 4 am for church yesterday (yes, you read that correctly 4 am), I had this outfit on.

Pua had other plans and made me change. I guess that early in the morning my sense of style goes right out the window. Revenge of the Nerdy Engineer kicks in at that hour.

Much better, yeah?

This weekend we went to see "Journey to the Center of the Earth" with the kids. For a PG movie it was really intense. Pua and I even jumped a couple of times. Tehani was so freaked out she climbed on me and buried her head in my neck and plugged her ears. I was so surprised at how scary it was. Here was the end result for the last 2 nights:

Pua just had what should hopefully be her final doctor's appointment. Again, I won't go into the gory details, but the Doctor did some things that should speed up the process and increase the contractions. She also said the bag was just about to burst. Could be any time now!!!

Olympic Opening Ceremonies

2008-08-08T14:07:00.004-10:00

Hope you got to watch it. Sounds great. I unfortunately will miss it cuz I will be at church and have no VCR or TiVo.

Here's a great quote I read in the Denver Post newspaper:

Under Zhang's direction, the cast began practicing two years ago. At one point, they trained for 48 straight hours.
"We trained until 3 in the morning and then we all fell asleep in the audience seats," said Fan Weipeng, 19, one of the 2,008 performing martial artists from the Shaolin Temple school. "When we woke up we continued so we trained for two days and nights."

And we think we have it rough during any one of our productions!!!! HA!! :oD

Darron

No News is Good News.....I Guess

2008-08-04T15:51:00.001-10:00

Well, another weekend has passed and our new arrival has yet to do so. I never thought I would be this on edge as I have been, since the last two were early and took me by surprise. I even begged (and succeeded) to get Pua to dance with me at our friends' wedding on Saturday, but with all the sweating we did, we still have nothing to show for.

Pua had another doctor's appointment today and they told her she was OVER half way there already. And "when it happens, get to the hospital quick or you may be delivering at home." Or in my truck, which would be really gross. I'd never get the smell out of my seats.

But really what else could I do if that happened? Would I really say "Honey, you need to jump out and climb in to the truck bed so I can hose 'er down later." If I did, I might be sleeping back there for the rest of the year.

This is highly unlikely to happen since we live about 30 seconds away from the hospital, but it makes for interesting blogging material!

My Wife is Amazing!!! (But still no baby...)

2008-07-30T11:06:00.002-10:00

I have an incredible wife. I am so blessed. Even though she is in the middle of laboring for her 3rd child, but she's carrying on like she's MUCH less than 38 weeks! She's a go-getter I tell you.

Today is Kaimipono's 8th birthday (Happy Birthday Buddy!!) and we had a little family party last night. Pua went holoholo (running errands) yesterday, did a little present shopping, and put the whole thing together, all while the blessed event draws nearer!! Today she's even taking Pono & his buddies that slept over to the beach. She said she's not going in the water though, because if her water breaks, she'd never know it!

I tell ya, she's strong. Everyone here has said, "Why isn't she at the hospital?" I tell them it's because she doesn't want to be yet. Her pregnancy has been absolutely incredible because of how healthy she's been overall. There has been no sign of preclampsia (high Blood Pressure) or ketonuria (pregnancy diabetes) the entire pregnancy.

Her contractions are getting stronger though, so it's definitely close. The doctor said when it goes, it'll go quick. That's what we're praying for.

She's been doing a great job of keeping her mind off of the baby coming by staying busy. But don't worry, she takes her naps too!

Still No Baby

2008-07-28T13:37:00.002-10:00

As of noon today, we are still waiting for some major event to happen that will send us to the hospital. Pua's doctor appointment this morning was encouraging as there was progress. I won't go into the details but if you can read these numbers...4, 80%, -2...then you know we're getting pretty close.

We did have a little bit of a "scare" this weekend with me leading worship for all 4 services on Sunday, and thinking that Pua was gonna need to go to the hospital. We had to come up with a back-up plan for Sunday night just-in-case. (Edit: That was a back-up plan for who would lead worship, not for who would be with Pua at the hospital. )

Thanks to all (two) of you who keep checking back on our blog to see how things are going with the baby. Hopefully I'll have more to post on in the next few days...

Pono's Ho'ike Part 1

2008-07-24T12:40:00.001-10:00

No Baby Yet...But It's Close!

2008-07-24T10:42:00.006-10:00

I know we said that our due date was August 17th, but both of us never actually held that as gospel. We never really knew the beginning date of the pregnancy and they were estimating the date off of the baby's measurements at the time of our last ultrasound.

Nonetheless, Pua is starting to have some good contractions now and is starting to progress. Her doctor on Monday said that she would schedule her weekly appointment for next week, but said she probably wouldn't make it that far. So that's exciting!

Once again, I've found a way to upload pictures and keep updates fresh for Facebook from my mobile phone, so if you haven't done so yet, JOIN FACEBOOK!! It's probably the only way you'll know we had the baby, unless we call you or you have good coconut wireless connections!!

Meanwhile, our bags our packed, and I think we have enough people to cover watching the kids in our absence. Pua also set up our new playpen as the crib in our room, so we're ready for our baby to come!

On a side note, the orchestra that we've started at church has now quadrupled in size since the first day, and we've got even some low brass!

Update on Pua.....2

2008-07-17T06:11:00.009-10:00

I guess I should have done this a little bit earlier since inquiring minds want to know...

The baby is due around August 17th, which happens to be 3 days away from our what will be our 9th Anniversary. At least that's the date they gave us when we had our first (and only) ultrasound. Pua, however, believes it could happen earlier.

We STILL do not know the gender of the baby (VOTE IN OUR POLL!!). We've been debating between the two of us to just wait until the blessed event to find out. I say "It'll be fun," and Pua says "No, I want baby clothes in colors other than yellow and green." Pua tried to sneak and find out what the baby was when she went in for an appointment by begging the doctor to do a backroom Ultrasound, but he/she was so modest that he/she put the placenta between his/her legs and hid from view. The doctor said that she MAY have saw something and gave us a 55% chance that it's one. I COULD HAVE DONE THAT!! Hope I don't have to pay for that one...

Here are some beautiful pics of my wife I took about a month ago. Isn't she beautiful!

Last weekend, Pua's coworkers threw her a surprise baby shower. Under the guise of being a birthday party, they picked her up and took her to the party. I had snuck out with the kids about 20 minutes before, claiming we were going to a movie. It would have been hard to explain why I was showering the kids and getting them all dressed up to go see WALL-e; so I shoved Tehani out the door in her dress before mommy could see her, and Pono and I wore junk t-shirts, then changed at the party.

Much to the chagrin of everyone that was there, the Agawas went on to sweep just about every baby shower game we played. Pono won the "Match the Baby Animals" game and the guess mommy's girth (ooh, don't tell her I said that) game. I won the "Famous Mothers", "Nursery Rhymes", and BOTH guess the number of skittles and M&M's in the baby bottles.

We were blessed by the gift they gave us, as it was exactly the stroller and color that Pua wanted! I know I've been out of the baby loop for a while now, but they have made some excellent strides in stroller technology. MY GOODNESS is this a cool stroller! Unlike those big hefty things we used to lug around, this one can be lifted up with one hand, and folds up smaller than the size of a golf bag!

This weekend we have another baby shower, but this time with all the family and our friends from church. Yay! More baby stuff!

While the Kids Are Away...

2008-07-16T10:18:00.005-10:00

While the kids are away, the parents must......do laundry?

That's right. Piles and PILES of laundry. I've never seen so much laundry in our house. I think we need to retrain our kids to use a bath towel more than one time. Even underwear can be used more than once if the conditions are right!! Just kidding...

We have been by ourselves for the first time in a long time, as the kids are now at Summer Camp on Lanai. There they will be playing all sorts of games, eating yummy camp "food", and spending time learning more about God. Hopefully they will have an encounter that will change them forever. Hopefully it will not be an encounter with ukus like the kids on Kauai did last week.

The two of them are so unbelievably different it amazes me. Pua was retelling me the scene of checking them in for camp. Pono was so eager to get on the boat and get to camp, he ran ahead, checked himself in and was hardly seen again. He went straight to his team and started bonding with his teammates.

Tehani on the other hand was much more emotional about the whole thing and was extremely disappointed at not getting on the team with her "best friends" and made sure EVERYONE knew about it. After mommy threatened to keep her home from camp, she went back, albeit reluctantly, to her team. The sight of Tehani in the corner with her arms crossed and lip out must have been classic.

Working two jobs and the general busyness of life has lessened my alone time with God, which has taxed me spiritually. So on Saturday my boss told me, get out of here by 1:00pm and go pray. One of the great benefits of working at a church. Could you imagine hearing that come out of a secular boss' mouth?

So I drove up Iao Valley, took off my slippers and found a nice dry rock in the middle of Iao Stream. It wasn't as secluded as I had hoped, but I couldn't hear nor see anyone that was walking around.

It was a nice time...

Holy Kilawatts Batman!

2008-07-07T13:53:00.005-10:00

While I was reading an article on the Honolulu Advertiser website today, it struck me at how crazy things have gotten here. From $4.63/gallon gas, $6-$7/gallon milk, and now $144/barrel of oil really makes living here expensive.

Not that I'm complaining. I really do enjoy living in Maui where I can go to the beach any time I feel like it (and when I have a spare couple of hours!).

The article also talks about all the ways to cut down on electricity, and I remembered back to something I saw on my bill this past month. The bar graph tracks your electricity usage over a year and I saw that from August 2007 we reduced our energy usage to 1/3 of what it was previously. We've done that by completely eleminating all of our A/C usage and by (attempting to) train the kids to turn off lights as they leave the room. We've opened up every window in the house and let the cool trades blow through and it's been quite nice.

I've also started to combat the rising prices of gas (like everyone else) by biking to my second job. I'm already biking the 4 blocks to the County, but now I'm biking all the way to church; a mostly downhill, but still sweaty 7-mile trip through side-streets and short-cuts. It's saved me $15 so far on gas, but I'm mostly doing it to get used to having only one car between me and Pua.

Overall we're doing okay for now. Just this new transition time is interesting and my added hours are helping me sleep A LOT better since I'm exhausted by about 9:00 p.m. Also my dad is just arrived from Colorado, so we'll get to visit with him while he's here and catch up. Well, back to work!

We're Moving In!

2008-07-01T09:04:00.001-10:00

One great thing about Pua staying home is that we're accomplishing a lot of things that we've been putting off...for about 2 years.

The biggest one is finally unpacking all of our stuff from our move to Colorado. Oddly enough, next week marks the 2nd year of our stuff being on the island in boxes. Obviously most of the stuff we haven't needed since we've been here. And sadly, some of it is going straight to the dump. Although, I may hold onto it and wait for some junk mail with pre-paid postage to come in the mail and mail it to THEM instead of taking up valuable space in our landfill.

We've found some important stuff that we've really missed, like some clothes, kids bedding, and my Colorado State mini-football helmet, and we've found some absolute junk like an empty dyson vacuum box that we can't believe was packed. Those dang movers actually wrapped up the dyson in packing paper, then packed the empty box inside another box by itself! Stupidity gone to seed!

Anyways, for the next couple days, our property will look like our garage just vomited all over our driveway as we attempt to finally move into our house!!

Fake Speed Bumps

2008-06-30T08:57:00.001-10:00

If there's one thing that gets me excited about my job in Engineering, it's new technologies or device applications that I can use here on Maui. As with anywhere else, here on Maui we have a REAL speeding problem. Ours is compounded with the fact that there is very little enforcement police-wise. Police presence is almost non-existent unless you are on a highway or in a tourist area. So on residential streets where I'm always having to install speed bumps, speeding is rampant. It's by God's grace more children haven't been killed.

When I saw this picture of some fake speed devices, I just had to laugh. That might actually work here. Maybe for a little while anyway. My supervisor told me about the other ones that look like fake potholes. Maybe you'll see these around Maui County sometime!

It's a New Season, It's a New Day!

2008-06-24T06:18:00.003-10:00

Sorry to those of you who have been checking my blog for the last week with no new news. There's actually a very good reason I haven't had the time to update you on what's been happening.

If you didn't already know, we're having a baby. And with that, we've made the decision for Pua to stay home for an indeterminate time to take care of our new addition. So in order to make up for the huge loss in Pua's salary as a manager in a hotel Lahaina, I had to obtain another source of income.

Ever since we've been here, we have been super involved with our church. Being faithful in the small stuff, God has been giving us more and more responsibility, and building us up in the eyes of the leadership of King's Cathedral. So much so that last week they offered me a part-time position to help out in the Music Ministry Department. God is faithful to provide!

So now I work about 70 hours a week, and have very little time for much else. I'm also trying to get used to this schedule, so I'm kinda tired. But, it's been a blessing to be doing what God has called me to do, and to be a part of the King's Cathedral staff, even just in this past week.

Pua's last day is this Friday, and she's super excited not to have to wake up early anymore to travel 2 hours a day for work. She's also going into nesting mode which means she and Tehani will be finally unpacking all of our boxes from our move 2 years ago! Our garage is full of junk we brought from Colorado, and about 98.5% of it hasn't been missed for the entire time we've been here.

Pono is currently in Kamehameha School's summer program, and he absolutely loves it. Mostly because he gets to ride a big yellow bus upcountry, but he's also learning Hawaiian culture and oli's (prayers).

I attached 2 pictures of Tehani, just cuz that's the only two I had access to. I also assume you're like me, who doesn't like to read anything unless there's a picture to go with it. That's probably why I don't read too much anymore!

Pit Bull Dog show turns into Pit Bull Owner Melee

2008-06-17T10:56:00.012-10:00

You just gotta read this story. I find it hilarious. With all the bad press that these dogs get nowadays, it was only a matter of time before the owners started getting it!

Here as well as around the country, there is a general fear of Pit Bulls. Now, I absolutely love dogs, and find them to be so much more fun, loyal, and charming than cats, But I have to admit, I am one of those people who get chills whenever I see a pit bull terrier coming around the corner, or walking down the beach.

There have been several stories here of pit bulls attacking a small dog, or a child on the beach, or an unsuspecting jogger. And in my hometown, they've created a complete ban on owning the breed, unless they are properly licensed and you have $10,000 in liability insurance.

I've heard many arguments over the years on how it's not the dog, but it's the owner that makes pit bulls vicious killers. I have to disagree. There is an aggressive nature about these dogs; an instinct in them that makes them attack for no reason. Not only that, but the ferocity in which they attack is unmatched. Sure, a chihuahua is uptight, and can bite you if you get too close. But a little nip on the hand is much less destructive than getting your face torn off.

Now this is just my own opinion, and at the risk of offending some (previous) pit bull owners I know are out there, I've said it. But you still love me right?! :o)

Edit: (10/6/08) Terrible news: An Waianae 2 month-old boy on Oahu was mauled and killed yesterday by the family dog, which just happened to be a pit-bull mix. This just goes to prove my point that these dogs are aggressive and just plain dangerous, ESPECIALLY if the owners are a bunch of idiots that keep the dog in a kennel or on a chain all day. The entire neighborhood was fearful of this dogs behavior. This is what the next-door neighbor said (from kitv.com):

Vidinha (the neighbor) said he expressed his concerns to the owner.

"He laughed. He thought it was funny," Vidinha said.

I'd hate to say it, but these senseless and preventable deaths will happen again, because there are stupid people with these potentially dangerous dogs. Even still, my prayers go out to the family of this baby boy.

Edit: (10/19/09) : It's really interesting to read all the comments that I've been getting on this blog post. I appreciate all the sensible people who post comments that are intelligently thought out and informative. I do respect owners who care for their dogs (and their breed) well enough to post their comments and views on the argument. It has changed my mind that many of the pit bull attacks are in-large part due to undisciplined and neglecting owners.

Many of the comments here say that if the dog is trained properly, it can be the sweetest animal ever. But what if it isn't? What happens then? You can say that this can be true for any dog, but I'd rather have a nip on the hand from a nasty Pomeranian, than my face ripped off by an untrained pit bull.

I still will always steer my kids away from a pit bull (or any dog looking like a pit bull) just because I do not know what could happen. It's always better to err on the side of caution than to have a child permanently scarred for life.

Edit (7/22/10) You Pit Bull owners are so blinded by your love for your dogs, you don't see the bigger picture. Everyone keeps saying real blame lies with the owner, and a trained or properly loved pit bull is of no more concern than a golden retriever. You try and make excuses on why a dog (or skunk?) will attack, but you talk out of both sides of your mouth when you do that.

THE BOTTOM LINE IS THAT IF A PIT BULL ATTACKS, PEOPLE OR ANIMALS GET HURT/MAIMED/KILLED.

I was just bit 2 days ago by a miniature schnauzer who was tied up on a dog run, next to its owner while I was offering the back of my hand to smell. But you know what? My hand is still in its place and is no worse for the wear. I would not offer my hand to a Pit Bull in the same situation. Why? Purely the factor of size and strength. It is not paranoia to do so, and it is not fear-mongering to keep my kids from doing the same.

(Edit 8/2/10) Just to be fair, here's a story from my home state about pit bulls actually saving a chihuahua from being carried off and eaten by a coyote. With all the bad press these dogs always get, I guess it's nice to hear about these types of incidents as well. And for all of you claiming the media is slanted against these dogs, stick this in your pipe! :o)

Chihuahua Attacked by Coyote, Saved by Pit Bulls

Y'all Want Fries With That?

2008-06-12T11:13:00.001-10:00

Numerous times, I've known something was amiss. I would drive up to the drive-thru box at some of the McDonald's around here, start ordering my food and then hear a familiar, yet misplaced accent coming back at me. While we have people from all walks of life here, it just didn't seem right.

Once I pulled up to the drive-thru window and could not find a pale-faced person anywhere within eye-shot. Could it be that my order taker was not in the restaurant? Could it be that the friendly voice on the other end was not even physically present within the state? Nah, McDonald's couldn't be that cheap and stupid to do that...or could they?

I just read an article here that confirms that I'm not completely crazy. Actually it confirms that they've been doing this for several months here. Now normally you probably would not be able to tell that McDonald's has pulled a fast one on ya. Unless you live in a place like Hawaii where Caucasians are decidedly the minority.

It hasn't affected me very much, if at all. But for the thousands of people who live here that speak the local dialect of pidgin or with an Ilocano accent, it apparently has. Understanding someone through a tin-box microphone with an engine running is hard enough. But to add in the phrasing and terminologies we use here it can be even more bothersome to accurately fill an order.

So hats off to you McDonald's for outsourcing one facet of the fast-food industry. Now if I could only get them to deliver...

Update on Pua

2008-06-04T08:56:00.002-10:00

Hi all! Just a quick update on what our family is up to nowadays.

Pua is doing fine in her pregnancy. Her stomach is getting larger, and her work uniform of surf shorts no longer fit. She's been having some rough nights here and there with the baby moving, or not being able to find a comfortable position, but otherwise she's doing great. Her last day of work is now June 27th

(Un)Fortunately, we still do not know the gender of the baby. When they had us do our ultrasound back in March, it was way too early to see anything. And since we live in Hawaii, where insurance does what they like, we are not currently scheduled to do another ultrasound. Which means, we may not find out until he/she pops out! I'm kind of partial to being surprised, but Pua is absolutely set on knowing ASAP.

The kids are now out of school and are being watched by Pono's Teacher from the past year. She's a great blessing. Pono will start going to Kamehameha Summer School Program on June 16th, and Tehani will still be at home. Once Pua stops working, it will be a great relief for us, as we will no longer have to juggle who is watching the kids when they are off from school.

I know I haven't been writing too much on what's been happening in our personal lives, mainly because I can't. But I'll have some more news about our situation in a few weeks. We are currently in a major transition period, and it is taking a great deal of faith and discipline for our finances to be maintained as we enter it.

God Bless!

Graduation Weekend

2008-06-02T15:49:00.001-10:00

This weekend we celebrated our cousin Jedidiah's graduation from Henry Perrine Baldwin High School (Baldwin, for short). It was a graduation unlike anything I had ever experienced. Although I had been to a graduation last year, when Tamar (Jed's sister) graduated from Kamehameha, it was MUCH different. I'm not really sure what it was. Last year, Kamehameha's ceremony was everything I expected it to be. A lot of hula dancing, some nice singing, and very well ordered and organized.

The ceremony at Baldwin was A LOT more celebratory, and the crowd was very large. Here in Hawaii, every class sings a "Senior Song"; a song that is picked out by the class and rehearsed and rehearsed until graduation night. Then they sing loud and proud for all their friends and family attending. It was really cool to see such camaraderie as they sang and did the motions all in sync.

Right after the ceremony there is a rush to the field to give graduates leis and hugs. It is not uncommon to see people stacked with so many leis that they cover everything but one's face! I remember having leis from my family at my graduation back in 1994 and I was the only one in my class to have them! It was nice to have people coming up and hugging me even though I had no clue who they were. They just wanted a sniff!

Immediately following our time at War Memorial, we all met at our church gym to start setting up for the party on Saturday night. We set up a stage, tables and 350 chairs for all the guests. We didn't leave the church until about 1:00 a.m.

On Saturday morning, the guys came back to the kitchen and started preparing all the food. It was fun to have all the guys cooking the meal for the night, as it is culturally accepted in our family that the guys cook all the food. Uncle Frank is the master at cooking for large groups, and he had us working! I mixed the Poke (raw fish, onions, and seaweed, & shoyu), the Lomi salmon (salted salmon, onions, tomatoes, & green onion), the squid luau (luau leaf, squid, & coconut milk), and the palasami or Lupulu (luau leaf, corned beef, & coconut milk). It was yummy!

Somehow, I got roped into MC'ing again and our church dance team, Christ KCulture performed.

The party was a great success and everyone had a great time. Our family really knows how to throw parties!

Ho'ike/Dance Exposition

2008-05-29T19:01:00.003-10:00

After 3 days of trying to upload this video, SUCCESS!! I'm sorry that halaus got left out of the video, as I was MC'ing during the performances. Honoka'a Chapel, West Maui, and our own halau were left off of the video.

Enjoy!

Jared Anderson on Maui

2008-05-28T07:31:00.000-10:00

Saturday's Ho'ike and Jared Anderson

2008-05-25T06:05:00.010-10:00

Yesterday was probably the biggest day for the conference, as the day was filled with activities and sessions from the very beginning. First thing was the GO breakfast, a time of fellowship and (of course) food, where Pastor Brian spoke. During this time, I was running around making sure all the rooms were ready for the first break-session of classes. These classes ranged from "How to build a successful Usher Ministry" to "Going from Musician to Minister".

After a General Session and one more session of Break-Out classes, all the halaus got together and performed for the Dance Exhibition/Ho'ike. Pua and I were the MC's for this, and we had a lot of fun doing so.

We had halaus from our Maui and Oahu Cathedrals, and our Lahaina, Kauai, Honoka'a extensions. We also had a halau from Grace Church and our own Hip-Hop Team "The Ordinance" perform.

Saturday night was the Jared Andserson concert. It was such a refreshing time of celebration and praise to have him here. We were truly blessed by his ministry.

Our band did an incredible job of playing his songs behind him. It really sounded like they were his own band and flowed with him freely. I've also got some nice video of his concert that I'll have to post later.

Edit: See the Jared Anderson Video and the Hoike Video

Donnie McClurkin Video

2008-05-23T16:22:00.001-10:00

Here's just some of what he did last night!

Donnie McClurkin

2008-05-22T23:05:00.005-10:00

All I have to say is WOW! Donnie McClurkin spoke and sang some songs tonight and it was POWERFUL!!!! I was blown away. When I think back on what he spoke on, I think, "The Bible!"

Seriously though, he taught on Genesis and the fall of man and how all dominion was given to man on earth. Then he talked about the life of Jesus from the miracle of the Immaculate Conception to the crucifixion and resurrection. He described them with details I had never thought of before.

I shot some great video of him singing that I'll have to post later on. But now it's time for bed as I have a huge headache.

Edit: Make sure and check out the video here!

Final Rehearsals

2008-05-22T07:30:00.007-10:00

Here's the stage picture I promised. Looks good huh? The orange and yellow people up there are our Hawaiian Choir getting ready for their final rehearsal.

Tom, the music ministry's utility man extraordinaire with Andrew, a recent Transform graduate and worship intern. Check out that board!!

Here's Aunty Melissa (Pastor Chris' wife) directing the Praise Choir in one of the songs we are singing at the conference.

Tonight's the big night! All choirs are singing tonight for Praise & Worship, and then Donnie McClurkin comes to sing and preach. Woohoo!

GO Worship Conference Tentative Schedule

2008-05-21T10:33:00.002-10:00

Here is a TENTATIVE schedule of this weekend's All the Nations GO Worship Conference:

Thursday:
5:30 p.m. Registration
7:00 p.m. Service - Donnie McClurkin

Friday:
8:30 a.m. Registration
9:00 a.m. Praise/Worship
9:30 a.m. General Session - Jared Anderson
10:30 a.m. General Session - Brady Boyd

5:30 p.m. Registration
7:00 p.m. Service - Brady Boyd
Late Night Cafe after service

Saturday:
7:30 a.m. Registration
8:00 a.m. GO Breakfast
9:30 a.m. Break-Out Session I
10:30 a.m. General Session - Pastor Marocco
11:30 a.m. Break-Out Session II
12:30 p.m. LUNCH
1:30 p.m. Cultural Dance Exhibition/Ho'ike

7:00 p.m. Concert/Service - Jared Anderson
Late Night Cafe

Sunday:
Regular Morning Services

6:00 p.m. Na Leo Ho'onani Recording

It's gonna be a packed weekend, and for those that are coming, you'll see me running around somewhere! Come say hi!

Finishing the Dance Floor

2008-05-21T05:54:00.005-10:00

More rehearsals last night, as the Lahaina Chapel Halau and Polynesian Praise rehearsed their dances. We also finished up the major task of topping the stage with hardboard. Last year, the dancers said that the dance stage was rough and had lots of staples in it. So I came up with the idea of topping everything with hardboard. It looks really nice and it bridges the joints between the stages. I think it serve them well.

We also stapled all the choir risers with black material. It looks REALLY sharp. Anthony and Cheryl did a lot of the work, and did a spectacular job. I'm amazed at how nice it looks. All I gotta say is that I'm sending Anthony all my Christmas presents to wrap this year! I'll post a picture of the final stage later, because I didn't get to take one when I left at 11:30 last night.

Last night was also the Donnie McClurkin Concert at our Oahu Cathedral. I heard it went really well. Can't wait to hear him on Thursday! Well, off to my paid job now! :-)

Hawaiian Choir/Hula Halau Rehearsal

2008-05-20T04:54:00.008-10:00

Yesterday the Hawaiian Choir (Na Leo Ho'onani) and the hula halaus of our Maui Cathedral got together and started to rehearse the recording songs we are doing this weekend. Everything sounds great and the dances are lookin' pretty good too.

Here's our super talented Tom, who can play pretty much any instrument well. I don't think he can play a didgeridoo, but I bet if he tried he could master it in a weekend.

Here are some of the guys from Polynesian Praise dancing to the Hawaiian version of Shout to the Lord.

Today we will be filling in all the holes around the stage extensions and dressing the stage with black material. All the choir risers will be covered with a black fabric and the extensions will be skirted with some tapa material. We're also hoping to add ti leaf foliage all around the stage.

Edit: See the final Hoike Video.

The Ingredients of a Successful Conference

2008-05-19T12:08:00.002-10:00

Well, the real work is about to begin, as we're in the final stages of preparation for the GO Worship Conference on Thursday. What an exciting time!

There are tons of people who are working behind the scenes, even as we speak. There's the guests that need to be flown in, picked up and housed. There's the food that needs to be bought for Saturday's gigantic food frenzy, that includes 4 different food areas with music (BBQ/Gospel, Hawaiian, Spanish & Filipino)

And of course there's all the performing halau's and worship teams that are rehearsing for all the evening sessions. We have halaus and dance troupes from all over the island and Oahu coming to dance in the Ho'oike/Dance Exposition on Saturday afternoon. It's gonna be amazing to see the entire stage filled up with dancers!

Today's tasks (that I know about) are rehearsals for the new recording by Na Leo Ho'onani, our Hoku Award-winning Hawaiian Choir. That's on Sunday night. I also need to get ready for all the people coming tomorrow to help out with dressing the stage. Right now it looks pretty bland. But by Wednesday, it should be looking fabulous!!

Set-Up Begins

2008-05-17T19:05:00.004-10:00

Today was the beginning of setting up for the GO Worship Conference. This pic is the initial stage setup. We did some lighting work, repositioning lights and replacing light bulbs. Then we brought in the wooden 4x8 stage risers to extend out the stage for all the hula halaus that are coming. We still have a lot to go, but it's a start.

The most disgusting event today was taking the risers from the outside storage container area. Stacked on top of them were about 30 boxes of joint-compound which weighed about 35 pounds each. When we started moving them, TONS of cockroaches came flooding out. We even saw an albino one. The bottom boxes had a nest of fire ants in them. It made for an eventful Saturday.

The rest of the week is gonna be a lot of work. Painting, skirting stages, stapling black fabric, and just plain getting ready for Thursday night's kickoff concert with Donnie McClurkin. Should be fun!

Tomorrow I lead worship for all AM services. So it's early to bed for me! G'night!

Praise Day 2008

2008-05-13T10:50:00.002-10:00

Last Friday was Praise Day at Pono & Tehani's school. Praise Day is just Kaahumanu Hou Christian School's version of the May Day (Lei Day) celebration held here in Hawaii.

Lei Day was started back in the late 1920's as a celebration of lei-making and giving and coincides with May Day (May 1st). Schools all over usually have a program where kids sing songs and dance hula. Pono & Tehani were part of their program at school. A video of them can be found here.

The above pics are of Pono & Tehani's outfits and of Pua giving them leis after the program.

Oh, the Sacrifices!

2008-05-08T10:41:00.003-10:00

School of Worship is almost over. Finals are next week in my Theory I, Keys I, Drums I, Guitar II, & Vocal I classes. My poor kids have had their share of long days at church because of me. Not only do they have to start school there at 8:00 a.m., but they have to wait for their dad to finish with his classes.

This picture was taken on a Tuesday, which is one of the roughest days for us (2nd only to Friday). I go into work at 7:00 so I can run to the church by 3:30. When I get there, the kids sit down on these benches and start their homework. When I came out from my last class, this was exactly how I found them. They finally couldn't take any more on this day, and passed out from exhaustion! Poor things.

All the Nations GO Worship Conference

2008-05-05T08:57:00.004-10:00

Even though I'm still not finished with my current task of directing the New Beginnings Musical, I'm already thinking about my next task in helping out with our GO Worship Conference coming Memorial Day weekend.

This year we've got some big headliners coming in Donnie McClurkin, Pastor Brady Boyd and Jared Andersen. Donnie McClurkin is an amazing gospel singer who has an incredible testimony of God's grace and mercy to overcome sexual abuse, family drug addiction, and a leukemia diagnosis and become one of Gospel Music's most celebrated and anointed singers. Donnie will be doing a concert on Thursday night only.

Pastor Brady Boyd and Jared Andersen both come from Colorado Springs, Colorado's New Life Church, a church that has seen it's fair share of troubled times. Brady Boyd, who will be speaking all day Friday, has taken the Senior Pastor position following the resignation of Ted Haggard. He has also dealt with the aftermath of the December 2007 shootings of two teenage girls by a suicidal gunman.

Jared Andersen is one of the members of the popular Desperation Band, a worship band that started out from a group of college students, wanting to touch the nations youth through music.

Sounds exciting huh? So far I'm in charge of all the "breakout sessions" that our GO Ministries are putting on. Just wanted to let you know what's coming down the pipe!

Tax Rebates & New Beginnings

2008-04-29T09:00:00.001-10:00

We received our big economic stimulus check today, directly deposited into our bank account. While I'm extremely grateful for it, I wonder how much good it will do our economy. Already we've seen a huge rise in the prices of food and goods, and most of this money will likely go towards bills or the like. I wish we could use it to buy that washer and dryer we need, or that new keyboard I've been wanting, but we just can't. Really, the money has already been spent, if you know what I mean.

We've been pretty busy the last week, and will continue to be because I am directing a kids musical at church. We're doing a play called "New Beginnings" that was written by some members at our church and is a retelling of the Good Samaritan story in the Bible. It should be fun, but it's a lot of work. We have less than 2 weeks from the performance and I'm scrambling to get all of the set, costumes and props finished before Mother's Day. I doubt I'll be able to blog here for the next few weeks because of this, but I'll try.

Until next time....

A Call to Facebook

2008-04-20T16:12:00.006-10:00

I'm really getting into this Facebook thing. Facebook is sort of a myspace-like social networking site, but it's a lot more private, and you don't get all kinds of wackos posting to your profile. It's much more secure, and a lot more powerful in finding lost friends, relatives or even enemies! Although you (typically) can't look at someone's profile unless you are added as one of their friends, it's gotten me back in touch with many friends I thought I had lost. I even got in touch with someone who I used to play soccer with back in elementary school!

I think the great thing about it is the tools it has to find friends. If you have their email address stored in your Gmail, hotmail, or even your outlook program, it will search through those and find the friends that have used those email addys to make facebook profiles. Then, once you start building friends, sometimes you find that they have friends that you know as well, and so on. NETWORKING!

So for those of you who don't have Facebook yet, or have been putting it off, NOW'S THE TIME!

Make What?

2008-04-17T09:36:00.001-10:00

I went to the bathroom on the second floor of the Kalana o' Maui Building a few days ago and saw this handmade sign.

I had to laugh, because I knew exactly who put it up when I read it. Da old Pordagee lady!

Translation: our head janitor, an older woman of Portuguese heritage.

This is a perfect example of Pidgin' English usage here in Hawaii. For those of you who don't know what Pidgin' English is, it's basically a mix of languages and sentence structures from all the cultures that existed here in Hawaii back in the plantation days. Most follow a Portuguese sentence structure, with adding pronunciations of english words/prhases from other various languages.

Some of my favorites are (with translations):

"No make lie dat!" (Don't be that way!)
"I like try" (May I have some of that please?)
"Akamai you!" (Wow! I'm impressed with how smart you are!)
"We goin' grind!" (We are going to eat some good food!)
"Hey, you get da kine?" (Excuse me, do you have some of that stuff? You should know what stuff I'm asking about, because we were just talking about it...)
"HO! Dis Broke da Mout!" (Wow, this is really delicious!)

And my favorite one I just learned:

"Gonna false crack yo face!" (umm, I'll let you figure that one out!)

One that defines island lifestyle and attitude is "If can, can. If no can, no can." Which basically means "If you're can do it, great! If not, that's okay too..."

A fun place to browse some of these and others is http://www.e-hawaii.com/fun/pidgin/default.asp

Good fun!

Marriott's Grip 'n Rip Classic

2008-04-13T06:13:00.009-10:00

Every year, the Marriott does some sort of fund raiser for a charity. Last year was a 10K walk for United Way. This year, Pua and her intern Robby did a Golf Tournament at Kaanapali Golf Course's Kai Course to raise money for the Children's Miracle Network and Kapiolani Medical Center.

The kids and I went to help out Pua with the event on Saturday. It was amazing what these two did. First of all, they worked the phones to get almost every single thing donated. From the soda and ice, all the way up to the grand prize. They even got a $1000 trip for four to Manele Bay for golf donated. I believe the only real cost they had was the golf course.

They had 25 teams who paid $125 per person to play the scramble format. Shotgun start was at 12:30, so we had all morning to run around the course setting up refreshment stations of soda, water, oranges and even beer (all donated).

Tehani rode around in my cart and we had a blast.

At certain holes, they had contests where if you get a hole in one, you get $10,000. Or if you pay $5 for a raffle ticket and you make it on the green, you get a nice prize. This team had their own contest going. Whoever didn't make it on the green had to wear a mu'umu'u until the next par 3. OUCH!

Here's me trying to catch a wink between running volunteers to the bathroom.

I had to take a picture of this guy. He actually works for Pua, doing Cultural teachings at the Marriott...

This is a team of construction workers who are working on the new tower at Maui Ocean Club...

Pua and her co-workers. The guy on the far right is Robby, who is Pua's intern at work. He helped organize and put the Grip 'n Rip Classic together. Great job guys!

At the end of the tournament, they had an after party for all the players and volunteers. They had a great dinner, a band called Highway 30 for entertainment, and even some lady that was doing acrobatics on a 15' high vertical rope. Overall it was a great event, and Pua did an amazing job.

Vog So Thick....

2008-04-09T07:32:00.005-10:00

Here on Maui, when the conditions are just right, you get what we call the VOG affect. Today, we've got absolutely no wind, and an active eruption going on the island of Hawaii. Most of the time when the Volcano is erupting on the Big Island, we have the Trade Winds that blow right through the Valley Isle and take all the VOG away. But for the past few days, we've had no trades whatsoever, and now we've got VOG build-up. :o) We can always see across the valley from our house to Haleakala crater (about 20-30 miles), but today, we can hardly see a mile! That's the VOG affect.

Edit: Many of you have been finding this page through a google search. Believe me, this RARELY happens here and is not too much to worry about. When it does, it can affect those with sensitive respiratory ailments or allergies. But for now, conditions are clear!! If you need up to date information, call the Hawaii Volcano Helpline at (866) 767-5044

Puker-ferry Back in Service!

2008-04-08T10:56:00.001-10:00

Well, now that we've lost two airlines in a week, the ferry decided to bump up their date of resuming operations, stepping over the cold, dead body of Aloha and ATA.

According to an article by the Maui News, the passengers who were "lucky" enough to ride the ferry on Monday on its first trip back in service, were lucky enough to be spending the entire ride looking at the bottom of a barf bag! Yahoo!

With the ferry already having a bad rep with the environmentally friendly, it won't take to long for the coconut wireless to spread the human side-effects of riding!

Me thinks this ferry thing won't be around very long...

First one, then another, then another!!

2008-04-03T09:06:00.001-10:00

Wow, what a crazy week. Two airlines with major service to Hawaii have ceased to exist overnight! First Aloha went out of business on Monday, and now ATA. This is unbelieveable! Two completely different companies whose facet of service to Hawaii were just as different, going belly up. Granted, the higher-ups most likely saw this coming from afar, but the workforce and even the astute traveler are in complete shock over this.

I really would hate to be an airline employee right now. I'd be shakin' in my boots, wondering if my airline was going to be next. What a mess.

Think about all any family that just arrived an that last flight on ATA, and hearing over the loudspeaker as they descend:

"Well ladies and gentlemen, this is your Captain speaking. I've just been informed that this is the last flight ATA will be flying. EVER. Good luck trying to get home. Now, make sure your seat belt is fastened, and sit back and enjoy the rest of your flight." Yikes.

I don't think I mentioned that last week, another relatively large business pulled out of Maui County. On Molokai (pop. (7,400), the largest company and property owner, Molokai Ranch pulled up its roots and laid off its entire workforce. They even shuttered a gas station and the island's only movie theater. Mostly because of a proposed and controversial luxury subdivision they wanted to develop on La'au Point in west Molokai received a lot of opposition and wasn't going to be approved. Oddly enough, Molokai Ranch's last day of operations is Saturday, April 5th.

So that really makes 3 major companies going out of business in Maui County within the period of 6 days. Can you say trouble in paradise? TIMES THREE!

Aloha Means Goodbye

2008-03-31T15:12:00.001-10:00

Today marks the last day of Aloha Airlines existence.

What a sad day for the entire State of Hawaii. 1,900 jobs lost in an instant. I know that every one of these families will be hugely impacted by such a pull out of a company where one day they have a job, and the next they don't. Especially when these workers are 99% blue-collar. Especially when other airlines aren't even hiring for their positions.

God Bless 'em.

Many people believe that go! Airlines was responsible for this, coming to Hawaii two years ago and cutting ticket prices by half and sometimes by 75%. Some say it was poor management and rising fuel costs. I say it could be both. Hawaiian Airlines still remains afloat only because of the result of their lawsuit against go! netting them $80 million dollars. Could they be next?

One thing that go! has in their favor is the fact that they are only a subsidiary of a Mainland carrier called Mesa Airlines. They can undercut prices and stay profitable because of their Mainland market.

But if they remain the only carrier in Hawaii, airfares would most likely return to their pre-go! fares, at $89 one-way. Hopefully the Superferry will survive long enough to be an option for us to take weekend trips to Oahu. Ah, the price of living in paradise!

Beach Day!

2008-03-29T16:57:00.002-10:00

We finally got a day off where we could take the family to the beach. It's been a long while since we've had a good family beach day, so the five of us loaded up in the truck and went for it.

We usually have Maile running around loose, but this time we had to leash her up. While we trust her completely, there was a boy in Paia that got bitten by a loose dog, and now the whole County is in an uproar about loose dogs on the beach. And when that happens, there are usually increased patrols for violators. And it's illegal to have an unleashed dog on the beach.

The one in Paia, as you'll read, was owned by a completely irresponsible idiot, who didn't even stay to take her lickins. She left before the cops could even cite her. Hope they catch her.

While I wish we could let Maile run free, I can definitely see how it could affect other people. So I've decided to keep her on a short leash. Oh well. Better safe than sorry, mom always said.

Now that the play is over, I got a haircut and shaved my beard. I think I look like a Marine! Only not as in shape...

Here I am trying to suck in the gut!

One side effect of me learning the piano, is that the kids have started to take an interest in the old ivories. Here's a pic of them gettin' their groove on.

Happy Easter

2008-03-24T13:00:00.004-10:00

Sorry that my wishes for a Happy Easter are delayed by a day, but I just couldn't get around to getting on yesterday to post. Anyway, we had a great Easter Weekend, filled with fun Egg Hunts, and finishing up our Production of "Indestructible Life" with the last of three perfomances last night. It was a pretty jam packed weekend.

Our Egg Hunts went quite smoothly, and we were blessed that we didn't go to the last one so we could rest before Friday night's perfomance.

Friday night went great, as first nights usually do at KC. Adrenaline was high, and
there were very few, if any, mistakes. Many people were saved. Saturday night had a lot of technical mistakes with mics not working correctly, lighting miscues and faults. I messed up some lines as well, and overall it was a let down.

Last night's performance was a home run all the way around. With the exception of one thing. You know how I told you that I had an average of 4 minutes to change between scenes? Well my quickest change is right after I get baptized and then come out to call the disciples to "Come, Follow Me." Well I was in such a hurry, that I neglected to fully dress myself and zip up my zipper. I had a wardrobe malfunction!

It probably wouldn't have been as bad if I had my white shirt outside of my pants, but it was tucked inside and was showed like a spotless lamb on a backdrop of khaki fields of grain!!! :-O It was pretty embarassing, but fun to laugh at. Can't wait to see those pictures!

Anyway, overall I was blessed to have been a part of this production, and I was challenged spiritually, emotionally, and physically throughout. I only hope that God was proud of the portrayal I had done of His Son. Praise Him!!

Attached are some pics from the play.

The first is during the calling of Matthew, the tax collector.

The second is the healing of the sick/dead little girl.

The third is playing tug-of-war with the kids during "Greater Things" song.

The fourth is the scene with Pua, who played the lady who anointed Jesus with oil and washed his feet with her hair.

The last pic is after the crucifixion.

I have a picture of myself hanging on the cross, but I just can't bring myself to post it. Too much gut!!!! Maybe later...

Rehearsals Begin

2008-03-18T05:54:00.001-10:00

Well, Easter week is here. Anticipation in our house is building for our church's production.

I'm seriously nervous about my role as Jesus. Not because I think I'm going to forget my lines or mess up on the stomp dance, or crack a note in a song (which I probably will do). No, it's that I don't want to mess up in my attempt to portray the Son of God.

I don't want my characteristics to come out and be interpreted as those of Jesus.

I know that He was a fully man, so he had humor, anger, sadness, etc. Normal human emotions. But since he was also fully God, he had no sin. And he had grace and mercy. The things I lack, especially when I'm tired and hungry, which I am right now...

Monday is usually the day when I get to catch up on sleep, but our very first of 3 dress rehearsals is tonight at 6. And these go until...well, just until. I also am going to be actually going through all six (that's right, 6!!) costume changes tonight. Here's a list of them:

1. Clothes to be baptized in
2. Clothes for "The Stomp"
3. Clothes for entrance into Jerusalem
4. Crucifixion clothes
5. Appearance robe
6. Ascension robe

Most scenes I have an average of 4 minutes to change. Yikes!

Oh, and I forgot to mention, we also have 5 big Easter Egg hunts the kids choir we lead has to perform at...

Pray for me...

The attached picture is of one of last weeks rehearsals. The ladies holding up the sheets are pretending to be water for one of the boat scenes.

Due Date

2008-03-11T07:36:00.002-10:00

We had our first ultrasound on Friday, and Pua is not as far along as we had originally thought she was. The measurements of the baby came out to 17 weeks, which puts the due date on August 17th. Right around our Anniversary! What a present that would be. I definitely would never forget either one of those!

The baby is also looking well, with everything checking out okay. Pua feels really run down and tired, sometimes even nauseous. It's the same way she felt when she was pregnant with Pono. That's why she thinks this one is probably a boy as well.

All else is well. Production rehearsals are starting to be full cast rehearsals, and it's fun to see it all come together. This is the first one I've really got to see from the very beginning stages where just the main actors are together.

School of Worship is also going great. I'm catching on to piano quickly, just need some more work with playing different rhythms. Seems like I play the same type of rhythm for every song, just a little bit slower or faster depending on the song. I've also started to pick up drums again. Drum set is a lot harder than playing on a single marching snare. I think I figured out why, too. When I you march, your feet keep a constant tempo. But on a set, your bass/kick will still keep tempo, but will be on different off beats and such. I could go into all kinds of basic music theory, but I won't bore you.

I'll try and post some scans of the ultrasound pics on this post later.

Bye for now!

Edit: here's the pics

BIG NEWS!

2008-03-04T12:07:00.002-10:00

Lots of things are keeping us busy these days. I'm enrolled in our church's School of Worship, in which I am taking 7 classes during the week. Currently, I'm taking Music Theory 1, Drums 1, Keys 1, Guitar 2, Leading Worship, Biblical Worship, and Production/Directing. I'm extremely busy, but I'm enjoying being back in the classroom.

I'm also in our Easter Production this year called Indestructible Life and am cast as Jesus. Please pray for me. I've got lots of lines, dances, and songs to memorize in the next few weeks. It's going to be a great show, and hopefully many will come to know Christ.

But on to the BIG news!

We have an announcement to make...

(Drumroll)

Ahem....
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WE ARE HAVING ANOTHER BABY!!!

"Wait," you say. "Didn't you guys say you were done?!?" Yep. We did say that. But God obviously had better plans for us..

But that's not the half of it...

Well actually it is the half of it, because Pua is already halfway through her pregnancy! The doctors estimate her to be about 20 weeks.

"What? How could you guys not know she was pregnant for 5 months?" Well, that's another story, but believe me...there is a good reason!

Anyways, we'll let you know how things are progressing, what the gender of the baby is, etc. That is, if I have time! :oD

Christmas Eve Party Video

2007-12-30T15:58:00.000-10:00

It's been a while since I posted anything here. A LOT has happened. I guess it's about time to reflect. We've gone through a soccer season, visited Colorado and Mississippi, been in a Church Production, and prepared for a Christmas Eve Party. And those are just the things I can remember off hand.

It's been a EXTREMELY busy time lately, as I have been filling in as worship leader at our church. Now that's not just a small little service every weekend, but is THREE Sunday AM services (starting at 6:00 a.m.), a Sunday night service and a mid-week service on Wednesday! It's been tiring, but I've learned a lot. I've even picked up a little bit of piano this week!

The kids are enjoying their time off from school, mostly playing their new Nintendo DS's that they got for Christmas from their Nana and Papa. Pua is busy with work as well, being gone from the house for 12 hours a day. She's taking the next couple of days off, though.

I leave you with a video of our Christmas Eve party that I made for my mother-in-law who is in Africa. Enjoy!

Busy Times

2007-09-04T11:15:00.001-10:00

Hello all,

We're experiencing some busy times right now, with soccer practices 3 days a week, games on the weekend, 3 church services plus practices for those, too...It's been tough to keep up. This week is one final push for the summer, as Dr. Rodney Howard-Browne comes in with his team to kick off the "Great Awakening Tour". They will be here starting tonight until Friday. When he was here in 1995, a powerful move of God erupted that started a great revival in our church. After this weekends Prophetic Conference, we're expecting even more this week! Should be fun.

Reward: Part of Hawaii Missing

2007-08-21T20:52:00.000-10:00

Part of Hawaii is MISSING! Someone either stole it or it ran away from home. Nah! Not really. But part of the Big Island is actually lost forever last week. As you can see by the photo, a large shelf of hardened lava slid to the bottom of the ocean either from the forces of Hurricane Flossie or from the earthquake right before it. Either way, it's gawn fur gud!

My wife said it was probably Hawaiian Homelands, but I doubt it had been deeded yet!

Hawaii Superferry Tour

2007-08-19T12:43:00.000-10:00

Here's a video of our tour on the Hawaii Superferry while it was in Maui. It was smaller than what I had thought it would be, but it was still nice. Supposedly can hold over 800 people as well as almost 300 cars and trucks.

Tahiti Fete 2007 Part 1

2007-08-16T12:49:00.002-10:00

Tahiti Fete 2007 Part 2

2007-08-16T12:49:00.001-10:00

The Calm Before the Storm

2007-08-14T06:30:00.000-10:00

It's a beautiful morning. The rest of today will likely be met with cloud cover and rain, but right now it's beautiful. There was a 5.3 magnitude earthquake off the Big Island last night, but we didn't know until the news said something about it.

Getting ready for school now. Gotta go...

Here Comes FLOSSIE!

2007-08-13T21:15:00.000-10:00

Well, here comes our first hurricane of the season. Hurricane Flossie. What kind of name is Flossie anyway? Swedish?

For some reason, I can't bring myself to get ready for this one. I think I know what the people down in Florida feel like now. They keep giving us warnings to watch out, but unless the eye of the hurricane is going to pass right over our house, what's the use in worrying?

Actually, I almost broke down and went and bought a generator at Costco yesterday, but decided I'll do it for the next one. Besides, I can just return it once the threat of blackout and losing all our frozen meats and ice cream passes, right?

The real reason I have no motivation to worry about the approaching storm is that both the kids are starting school tomorrow. Yipee! That's what my mother-in-law is saying, for sure. Pono has a new teacher for 2nd grade and Tehani gets one more year with Mrs. T. Both are SUPER excited. We can't get them to sleep. You'd think it was Christmas around here.

Soccer practice is starting up tomorrow as well which is something we've all been waiting for since, um, July 6th! But how in the world I'm going to be in two places at once for a half-hour, I'm clueless. Yep, still trying to figure out how Pono's gonna be at his practice at 5:00 when Tehani's doesn't end until 5:30. Wish I had a time machine.

Anyways, bring on the hurricane!

Suicidal Trombones

2007-08-10T06:50:00.000-10:00

Many people have already seen this, but if you haven't here it is:
Suicidal Trombones

Add to My Profile | More Videos

The reason why I'm posting this (I'm so proud) is that I was in CSU Marching Band Drumline when this was "invented" by a guy named Rob (we called them Trombone Suicides). I believe they first started doing this back in 1995 to our cadence called "Number 5" written by Glenn (brother of Mike, one of our snares). Glenn graduated the year before I got to CSU, but I played with Mike for 2 or 3 years.

Anyway, the trombones back then started doing it to our cadence (you can hear it being played) during one of the home games at Hughes Stadium. Eventually they got good enough so that our director had them doing it as part of the pregame show. It kind of ticked us off that they took our cadence and featured themselves with it, but oh well.

So if you ever see another high school, college or random group of trombones doing this, remember it all started at Colorado State University!

((Disclaimer: If Rob stole this from someone else before 1995, I claim ignorance!))

2007-08-07T18:39:00.001-10:00

Eating at da kitchen.

2007-08-07T18:37:00.001-10:00

Hawaiian plate.

FW:

2007-08-04T18:02:00.000-10:00

Feeding a Spider

2007-08-04T01:28:00.001-10:00

Kite Flying

2007-08-04T01:26:00.000-10:00

Postcards from....

2007-08-03T09:42:00.001-10:00

I've been getting several "SPAM" emails saying that I've received a postcard from a family member, friend, etc. When you click on the link to see the "postcard", you are directed to a site where you're supposed to download what looks like a video postcard.

If you've received this, DON'T DO IT! If you do, all your keystrokes will be logged and all your usernames and passwords will be stolen!

Usually when you receive a postcard from someone, it's usually attached in the email. If it's not, the link will take you directly to the postcard. As a rule of thumb, never dowload anything from someone you don't know, and NEVER run an *.exe file unless you are installing software!

Sam*son Concert Video

2007-07-28T18:38:00.000-10:00

Here's some short clips put together of the concert last week!

Thanks to Mariko for shooting it!

Touring with Sam*son

2007-07-25T00:16:00.000-10:00

Prayer prior to going on...

On Stage! Wooty Woot!

Sam*son with some fans afterwards...

More adoring fans! Hee hee!

2007-07-25T00:13:00.000-10:00

Hangin' with 7 Simple Pieces in the "Green Room"

Pua and Miss Miracle, Kamealoha

Sam*son, pondering on his pancakes and his next concert.

A Tale of Two Sisters. Boy can they SING!

SAMSON PLAYLIST.

2007-07-11T16:24:00.004-10:00

This is the Concert list for the summer's tour.

PLAYLIST ORDER
1. INTRO RASTA MON CHANT
2. Bon BON
3. AVAROOT
4. SHES STILL LOVING ME
5. OVER AND OVER
6. JERUSALEM(MATISYAHU)
7. REGGAE JAM
8. POLYNESIAN WOMAN
9. STRENGTH OF MY LIFE(P.O.D)
10. DEM RUNNIN
11. SHORES OF BABYLON
12. POLYNESIAN NATION
13. WHEREVER I GO
14. CHEERS
15. LET MY PEOPLE DANCE
16. MAKE A LEI

If you like SamSon's music, check him out at www.myspace.com/samsonlive

No Respect for the Aina

2007-06-27T21:06:00.000-10:00

This really makes me mad. I was looking around on MySpace and found this picture of a stupid tourist who thought he would be real macho and spear a tiny Puhi (eel).

Now I'm not some crazy environMENTAList tree-hugger, but it peeves me when something like this happens. I'm sure it happens a lot, and not just by tourists, too.

For one, this is a baby Puhi, probably not even a month old. Second, it was speared so he could say to his macho friends back home that he went spearfishing and killed an eel. Thanks a lot bud!

Am I blowing this out of proportion? It just makes me mad every time I look at it. I look at someone taking from our precious ocean for no purpose whatsoever.

Wow, I'm on a ranting roll this week!

New Fraud targets Military Spouses

2007-06-22T07:00:00.000-10:00

If the ethics and morals of people in America hasn't hit rock bottom yet, it has now!

There is a new scam out there that is targeting spouses of those serving in Iraq.

What this person is doing is posing as an American Red Cross member and calling the spouse to tell them that their loved one has been gravely injured in Iraq and has been flown to Germany. But in order for them to start treatment, they must verify their spouses Social Security Number and date of birth.

Can you believe that? Can you believe that someone would have such low scruples to prey upon a wife who is trying to raise her young children, all the while in the back of her mind worrying about the next ring of the phone? Unbelievable!

Some of the most successful scams out there today take advantage of a person's greed like the Nigerian Letter scam or fear of their accounts or money being lost like many phishing letters.

But to use a tactic like this is beyond anything I've ever heard of. People in our society have dropped to an all time low.

Facebook

2007-06-18T06:21:00.000-10:00

I just signed up for Facebook and created my profile. I always thought that in order to get on facebook you had to be a student at a high school or college. Maybe I'm mistaken, or just the last time I checked it was that restrictive.

Anyway, you don't have to be enrolled anywhere, but you do have to work to get your friends. And it's also a little more private. Not anyone can look at your profile. Only your friends and people in your "Network". A network is something you join, but you can only have one network at a time. And you can only change networks twice in 60 days.

It seems to be pretty neat. If you have time, try it out.

And if you already have one, add me as a friend!

Steppin' UP

2007-06-16T22:06:00.000-10:00

YIKES! 12 Hours and tickin'...

12 Hours until my first forray into worship leading for adults!

If you didn't already know, Pastor Chris Davis, our wonderful worship leader here (or Obi Wan as we like to call him) at Kings Cathedral left to go to our California and Seattle Extensions. And he left me to lead Praise & Worship at 3 of our services while he's gone! TRIPLE YIKES!!

Needless to say, I'm a little bit nervous. But Praise Jesus, He's got it under control. Even if I fall flat on my face, it will still be okay. But pray for me anyway! Tomorrow morning I only have to do 3rd service, which usually consists of 50% to 75% tourists, and sometimes the worship team and choir outnumber the congregation! NOT JOKING! But Praise God if even one person gets touched or healed or saved.

Sunday night is a little different story, though. This one is not as structured and ANYTHING can happen! I'm totally FROG'ing (Fully Relying On God) for that one!

Also starting this week is rehearsals for our play on July 4th called "American Daze". This one is an intense spoof on how crazy our society is these days, and how we have become so desensitized and defiled by it. This one's a must see if you're on island! I think I'm probably going to be cast in various roles. Come see!

Have you seen it yet?

2007-06-09T23:40:00.000-10:00

Just got done seeing Pirates of the Caribbean 3. Have you seen it yet?

It's gotten many mixed reviews, about how it takes so many turns and twists, and you just don't know who to root for. But I disagree.

I won't give away anything about the movie, so if you haven't seen it, read on.

I liked the way everyone had a purpose in mind, and stuck to that purpose. They all had an end to get to, and their means were different, but intertwined. MUCH better than the 2nd movie FOR SURE!

Anyway, if you haven't seen it, make sure you stay until the VERY end. I mean after the credits roll and are done. There is one final scene that is redeeming and sweet. You'll enjoy it.

If you've already seen it and missed it, TOUGH! :oD

Overdubbing begins.

2007-05-31T11:40:00.000-10:00

Now that we're done with the recording, overdubbing begins for all the vocalists. We're basically recording almost everything that wasn't recorded correctly. That's from the top down. We'll be doing this for the rest of this week, so pray for us!

More Worship Conference Pics

2007-05-31T11:38:00.001-10:00

Here's some more pics from the Conference. There were during the practice before the recording.

2007-05-31T11:34:00.000-10:00

Worship Conference

2007-05-29T11:23:00.000-10:00

The worship conference this weekend was incredible! The praise and worship was anointed and the dancing was awesome. Polynesian Praise and the halau from Oahu danced. If I wasn't on stage the whole time, I would have all kinds of video to post. But I don't. Just trust me on this one. It rivaled many shows at hotels on the island that people pay $50 for!

Holy Hog!

2007-05-29T09:27:00.001-10:00

Check out this porker! This 1,100 pound wild boar was bagged by 11 year old Jamison. Kalua pig anyone?

Preparing for the Worship Conference

2007-05-24T14:27:00.001-10:00

This week the worship team and choir of King's Cathedral have been preparing for our annual Worship Conference. I'm pretty excited because it's my first one and get to sing on a mic. We're also recording a CD out of this on Sunday, which is exciting to be a part of.Tonight is our final dress rehearsal before the conference starts on Friday. I don't think we've ever been busier as a family, but it's awesome to be part of something so huge that will have an impact on peoples lives for eternity. I'll try and post some videos later of our behind the scenes stuff.

The next superhero!

2007-05-19T11:26:00.001-10:00

This is from the imagination of Kaimipono:

This is Metal Guy. He has a weapon called "Master of Light" that comes out of his hands and destroys his enemies. He can jump really high and he has a protective field around his body. He has supernatural hearing and his kneepads doubles as a computer. When he presses a button on them, a holographic image pops out to show him where trouble is. Beware evil doers!

Getting into exercising

2007-05-17T19:02:00.001-10:00

Here's a view of me getting done with exercising. I'm starting to bike further and further each day. Today I biked all the way to the hospital and back. My legs are dead! But it feels good!

R.I.P. Jerry Falwell and the Atheist Debate

2007-05-16T16:30:00.002-10:00

Jerry Falwell died on Monday and the evangelical Christian community lost a great leader.

Looking at a website that I frequently visited, I saw many comments on how hated he was by the liberal community. Many "commentators" anonymously posted that they were glad to be rid of him and that he was currently "burning in hell". From these comments, it's apparent to me that he was passionate and unwavering about what the Bible says about todays society and was persecuted for it. It also makes me grieve at how bitter, angry and hateful people are who are for the anti-Christian worldview.

I also watched the first nationally televised Christian-Atheist Debate this past week. The side of Christ was given by Ray Comfort and Kirk Cameron of Way of the Master fame. The atheist side was presented by Brian Sapient and "Kelly" of the Rational Response Squad. If you want to watch clips of it go to the Nightline section of Abcnews.com

You can almost hear the seething anger underlying their arguments and see them fuming as they try to prove that God doesn't exist. The big kicker at the end of the debate was "Kelly's" answer to the question of what happens if you are wrong and God does exist?

Her answer? "I would rather go to hell, than to serve a egotistical, megalomaniacal tyrant!" WOW! That says it all, huh?

Save a Doorknob, Use a Dog!

2007-05-14T21:36:00.000-10:00

That's what we did to pull out Pono's front tooth! See for yourself!

Honu Fishing

2007-05-12T19:16:00.000-10:00

Went fishing today with my friend Jamal. Took this picture as he was reeling in a turtle. The honu out there were crazy! Everytime he would throw his bait out there, they would grab it. They even chased his line into shore! This particular time he brought it in all the way to shore and it bent the hook. Turtles sure do love squid!