A NORMAL WEEKEND IN KONA

Okay, so let me stress - this is a WEEKEND. Our weeks are full. We have early mornings, scheduled meals, lectures, prayer sets, corporate ministry (prayer, worship, teachings), work duties, organised school trips and homework. We study hard, and have to be very disciplined with our time here, which is a very good thing, but can also be very exhausting. So on the weekends, sometimes we don't even leave the room.

A lot of the time though, we get off base and go explore the island via the kindness of strangers. Hitch-hiking and riding in the back of a truck are both legal here... seat belts are not... ;) Kua Bay is one of our main beaches to go to. The waves are big but generally soft, though once in a while a set will come in that can knock you around pretty well. There is a rock you can swim out to and jump or flip from, and you can usually see turtles hanging out around it.

This particular day we had a large group and thought we'd have to split up to get there, but a huge truck picked us all up at once, and it was such a blessing.

UPDATE

I have so many things I need to blog - the last of the Idaho series, the rest of my October America trip, and some other photo shoots, and now, HAWAII! So here is a quick update for everyone back home...

I've been here two weeks now, and I know that I am home. I don't ever want to leave. THIS is the life I've been searching for. I wanted to go to Bible College so that for a season of my life I didn't have to do or think or be about anything but my God, and now that life is about nothing else, I can't ever go back to the way it was. Maybe it's running away, maybe I'm feeling safe in my YWAM bubble, but I am home.

When I first arrived, it didn't feel that way though. Travel is frustrating, heavy luggage is frustrating, rental cars, taxis and hotels are frustrating, university registration and orientation processes are frustrating, jet lag is frustrating... you get it. I was frustrated. I was at breaking point, ready to cry at any moment, just wanting some sleep.

But as the days went on, things started to change. We settled in.

I have eight beautiful roommates, we share bunk beds, one bathroom, two toilets, two sinks, one mirror, and one shower, our room is so cluttered, the bathroom is full of bottles, and there is always sand all over the floor, but given the option of some of us moving to another room to even it out (we have the most people in one room), none of us wanted to leave. We are family, we're in this together. It's such a beautiful thing. My American sisters Brooke, Kenna, Ellie and Ann, my Canadian sisters Brianna and Jaz, my Swiss sister Michelle and my New Zealand sister Georgia - I love you all and am so privileged to hear all your alarms in the mornings, to squeeze in at the mirror every day, and to share this life so closely with you all.

Our class is 45 of the most amazing people I have ever met. We bonded from the very start and became family. We have been to the beach more times that I can count, hitch-hiked in the back of trucks (utes), swam with turtles, almost swam with manta rays (we will go again, and we will swim with dolphins), we walk almost every day downtown, getting frozen yoghurt or shave ice, or walking along the pier. We have laughed together, cried together, prayed together, sunburned together.

A typical day for us starts at 4:30 when the first alarm of the room goes off. A few of the girls have work duties in the kitchen for breakfast, so they get up, get ready and go before most of us want to open our eyes. Slowly, we each climb out of our beds and get ready. One in the shower, two in stalls, four at the mirror - we make it work. Once we're ready, we head to breakfast, eating at the outdoor tables. Every morning I have granola (museli) with yoghurt and coconut. Then it is time for class, which goes from 8-12, with a break in between. After lunch we have prayer on two days, work duties every day, or free time for those that work in the mornings. I work in the A/V department, recording our Thursday night and Monday morning meetings, and then archiving old footage during the week. After dinner we have prayer,  family fun nights or free time, which we normally spend together anyway. Friday nights we do community outreach, helping to clean up a park at the old Kona airport. Our weekends are pretty free - mostly spent at the beach.

We are so busy all the time, but I am really enjoying it. I had an hour of free time at one point this week and had no idea what to do with myself! But we have homework and books to read, so there is always something to do.

This week our outreach locations were announced, and I am afraid to say that I... am not allowed to say. I unfortunately cannot reveal my location, but if you would like to know, please get in contact with me and I can tell you then. While I am away I am not allowed to post pictures on any kind of social media either, so until September, there will be nothing about it on the blog, Instagram or Facebook.

We don't yet know the costs for outreach, but it will be around the $5000. If anyone is interested in supporting me, as I don't yet have the full amount, you can do so by going to https://apply.uofn.edu/OnlineAppDocs/OnlinePayment.cfm and filling out the form. The information you will need to know is that my birthday is the 7th of October 1988, and my school is the Awaken DTS, 2nd Quarter, April 2013. Any contribution will be greatly appreciated! Thank you so much! :)

IDAHO - PT 4 - THE ROSSER'S

One thing I'll remember forever is the people.

Yes, the mountains and forests make me ache so hard, like a homesickness because I can never have enough of them, and the places I've seen far exceeded every expectation I tried to have for their beauty.

But the people I met in America, who took me to those places so beautiful I still can't believe they exist, who paid my way, who opened their homes to me, fed me, clothed me, prayed with me, and loved me - they are more memorable to me.

Thankfully, while in Idaho, I got to photograph some of those beautiful people. Christina had to work on my last day in Hailey, so I hung out with her friends while they baked cookies and I made photos.

Bekah and Gabriel, who was born a week before I got there! :)

Benaiah, Justus, and Caleb in the background - guitar surfing! (They all had Angry Birds tattoos :))

When the cookies were ready to eat the boys snuggled on the couch with grandma :) Such a sweet moment.