A very long overdue update from Hawaii!

A very long overdue update from Hawaii!

I am watching my brothers two girls and it's nap time so I have a few minutes to type...

I had a long first class flight to Hawaii. When I got through customs at 1:30am  in Palau they informed me that you had to pay $50 cash to leave the country! Crazy that I had NO idea of this prior, yet praise the Lord the only cash that I had amounted to exactly $50! So I could leave!! :) it was an uneventful flight and i got to live the same day twice as I left Palau on Monday and got to Hawaii Sunday. The joys of crossing the international date line :)

I had a day on Oahu before I flew to join my mom and little sister in Molokai. It was cold and a different world than what I was used to. I also had to get used to driving on the different side of the car and a lot faster than what I had gotten used to. I spent most of my time driving around trying to figure out where I was going. The mountains were beautiful. 

We spent a week in Molokai and a week in Maui. On Molokai we stayed with a very nice family that has three girls. We got a car and covered the islands tourist spots in two days ;) one of the days we hiked 2.5 hours each way through the dense rainforest to a majestic waterfall! It was so much fun! We saw mango trees that were about 200feet tall. Monkey pod trees, Australian eucalyptus trees which are multicolored, and many many different kinds of flowers. The water under the waterfall was so cold that it took my breath away! Coming from a place where the water was bath temperature it was shockingly freezing!! And...side we didn't get good pictures the first time we swam across...we did it twice! And then when we started feeling things bite tour feet and scaling the slippery moss covered rock wasn't working, we swam as fast as we could back to the other side!

We also had a fun experience with a HUGE seal!

The flight was Maui was...well...um...SCARY!!! It was a 8 seater plane and I was literally flying up out of my seat!!! To say the least I was thrilled when we landed! I was a beautiful flight though. :)

break time...

Ok, now I'm watching my sisters daughter (same day) and she's going to sleep so I have a few more minutes to type...

Maui...oh the Lord has AMAZING timing!! When I was 15 there was a little girl whose family started attending church again. She attached to me and very quickly became "my little monkey." She would always sit on my lap during church and I carried her everywhere. I got her her first real Bible, studied with her for baptism and took her on my first drive as a licensed driver. As time went on our paths parted and she moved back to Maui. Long story short...the very day that we flew to Maui was the day she was getting married. So, after 8 years of lost contact...I was one of the very few that got to be there at "my little monkeys" wedding. I was able to spend some time with her before the wedding and give her a massage. I was so touched and amazed at how sincerely happy she was to have me there, you never know what an impact you have on people lives when they are children and how that impact can last.

We went on some AMAZING drives through the mountains in Maui, saw some HUGE waves, ate some wonderful coconut ( i quite enjoy them now!!!), Nalani learned how to snorkel, and then swim! (We got a boogy board and after teaching her how to use a mask and snorkel I took her out on the board to the reef so she could see the fish! Oh, was that ever an adventure!! :) ) I am so happy that I've gotten so comfortable in the ocean!! Thankfully I didn't see any sharks out there!! I was also able to speak three times at one of the churches there. It's such a blessing to serve the Lord and be a mouthpiece for Him, as unworthy as we feel at times.

The flight back to Oahu was treacherous again!!! It was the longest 45 minutes of my life!!! Not really, but it was horrible! We had a nice relaxing few days there before flying back to Michigan. We were able to see a couple dolphin shows at a hotel and enjoy some time on the beaches there.

I got back and had 2 days before leaving again for MI Camp-pitch and Camp-Meeting where I went to give massages for the women conference employees and attendees!! Enough time to sleep, sleep, sleep and do laundry just to pack up and leave again! And was I EVER busy!!! when I wasn't giving massages I was up helping at the greenhouse and farm, which was so much fun!

I prayed for the Lord to give me what I could handle...

Day 1...1 massage (which was nice since I was SO jet-lagged! )

Day 2...4 massages (I was dead tired and sore afterwards...bad sign)

Day 3...11 massages!!! (who knows how I survived)

Day 4...6 massages (the Lord had mercy on me) and I had to switch rooms in the middle of the day!! CRAZY

Day 5...5 massages (still recovering from the 11 ;)

then we had Sabbath

Day 7...8 massages

Day 8...11 massages (two of those were 1.5 hours each)

Day 9...10 massages

Day 10...9 massages (cut it off at 9 bc i didn't want to do anymore)

Day 11...9 massages

Day 12...4 massages (I blocked off my schedule for I wanted a break!!)

then we had Sabbath

Day 13...2 massages...we all were dead and done... ;)

I couldn't have done it without my parents and little sister who cooked for me and did ALL my laundry!!

My schedule this summer: CRAZY BUSY!!!

Palau - April 7-May 21

Hawaii - May 20- June 6

Massage - June 9-23

Lansing Speaking engagement - July 11-12

Hartland Campmeeting - July 23-28

G&T Wedding - August 1

ASi - Aug 7-10

Ministerial Retreat (massage) - Aug 11-14

New Hampshire - meetings and speaking - Aug 21-Sept 1

(with a few other things not confirmed yet!!)

I'll stop my rambling now...I've been Auntie Childcare services today :) Watched my brothers girls from 7:45-5:30 And my sisters daughter from 6:20-whenever my sister gets home from work...it's 10:02pm now...

Blessings,

~Laura

My trip to Palau ~ Part 1

Am I really here? I lay in my bed at night and can't believe that it's really real. After eight months of wondering if it will ever work out...I'm sitting here on my bed in Palau knowing that it was all the Lord that led me here. I don't ever forget when I wake up, as here it's 80 degrees and humid even at night and I left 2 feet of snow at home.

Life was a whirlwind before I came. We moved out of our home of 24 years the week before I came. I kept wondering when it would hit me that I was actually coming. Not even when I was sitting in the airport leaving Traverse City did it hit me...not even on the 13 hour plane trip to Tokyo, Japan...not until I stepped off of the plane into a country where I couldn't even understand the letters for the words, as they aren't letters, they are characters. Not until I hit Japan...then...it was real. After 7 hours in the United Airlines Star Club Lounge I was back in the plane on my way to Guam (first class.) Pastor Torres picked me up from the airport at 2am. My body totally unsure of whether I should be tired or hungry. 24 hours later and 13 hours ahead of home...my body didn't know which what was day and what was night. All I knew at that point was that my long skirt with long underwear under and long sleeved shirt, sweater and coat were a little too much for 80 degree weather that hit me like a wave when I walked out of the door of the plane into the tropical weather that would become what I experienced day and night for the next 5 weeks. Away went the socks, long sleeved shirt, I don't even know where my coat is.

I went to my apartment where I'd stay the "night," which was afternoon from where I came from. There was a cute little lizard that welcomed me at the door. After a restless and very short night I awoke and began my adventure of the day. I stayed at the Mission Apartment for missionaries. It was very nice and comfortable. Pastor Torres had a meeting in the morning and so I stayed around the Mission waiting for him to get done. I walked to a War Memorial, it had a beautiful overlook of the ocean, as I was reading about the battles fought there I was trying to imagine what it must have been like, nothing like the peaceful and tranquil view that it was to my eyes.

I wandered around and around...soaking in the sun that felt so good...not realized how what felt so good then would cause days of pain in just a short time.

Pastor T got done and drove me to where he was meeting up with someone to go run an errand. It's called ABC and it's a waterfront tour attraction. The owner is SDA and he didn't have room in his car for me, I offered to stay there and the next few hours were filled with kayaking, snorkeling and jet-skiing.  I could feel the burn coming...oh and there wasn't anything I could do. I even put on 110 SPF sunscreen, yes 110!! Yet, it was too late!

17 hours after I arrived...I left...I got into my larger than normal first class seat, put on my eye "covers" and was going to force myself to sleep. I hadn't been able to sleep almost at all on the flight to Japan nor Guam and I knew I needed to at least get some rest before getting to Palau. Praise the Lord I actually did sleep and was all awake and excited as my flight landed in Koror, Palau.

I'll stop there for now...next entry...my time here! :)

I praise the Lord for His leading and His timing. He knew when I needed to come here. I can so see His hand in me being here. Please continue to pray for me and my ministry here! :)

Recent pictures ~

My precious little niece Nyah :)

Two cameras are best for shooting a wedding :)