Passing-Thought

2004 Hawaii Trip (day 2 & 3)

Day 2 - Saturday, May 15. (Cloudy. 75 degrees. 75% chance of rain)

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Saturday we got up early (IMG_6314) to prepare to attend Harlan's seminary graduation ceremony at the International College and Graduate School. It had begun raining early in the morning, and I lamented my choice to leave my rain-jacket behind on the mainland. Bill had told me it hardly ever rains for sustained periods. But it continued to rain the entire day (IMG_6316, IMG_6317), washing out hopes of seeing mountains and the beach.

The rain continued through the commencement ceremony (IMG_6322-IMG_6324). But it did not dampen the spirits of those attending and rejoicing in the Lord over those who were graduating. Harlan received an MDiv from President Jon Rawlings (IMG_6326). The president's personable daughter gave each a hug and indigenous crown (lay).

The reception time was a good opportunity to meet pastors and church leaders in the area. Perhaps a church in this area would like to hear about computer technology in the ministry of Wycliffe Bible Translators? I had the honor of speaking with Dr. Youngblood who himself is an OT translator for International Bible Society (NIV). Jon Rawlings showed me the seminary's library, small, but the largest in Hawaii, comparable to the campus library at Westminster in Dallas. He also helped me connect with Joe & Barbara Grimes, Wycliffe missionaries in Hawaii who are translating the Bible into Pidgin. I also had a nice talk with Mr. Rawlings's college-aged daughter who seemed friendly and interested in photography. Bill and I helped to clean up after the reception.

We hung out at Harlan's house until dinner time and decided to go out for Tai food at Chao Phya Thai. We wanted to share our entrees so we had to order foods without nuts (Bill is allergic to nuts, even coconut milk). I ordered one of my favorite curry dishes: panang chicken. We ate while a local Hawaiian sung Hawaiian love songs on his ukulele.

Day 3 - Sunday, May 16. (Partly Cloudy. 75 degrees. 25% chance of rain)

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On the third day, we arose again, early around 5 am (which is about 10am in Oklahoma). Bill began his morning antics, including trying to get me out of bed by poking me in the side. (He makes me a little jumpy in the morning.) He then proceeded to turn off the bathroom lights while I was trying to take a shower. I locked the door, but there happens to be another side door to the bathroom that I couldn't lock. I resolved to take my shower in the darkness. Now where did that bar of soap go?

His pattern of attack, spontaneous as it is, is somewhat predictable. While I was getting dressed, I heard him trying to sneak around to me through the side door to the bathroom. I quickly whipped around to the door and attacked him with an eagle claw maneuver, which eventuated into a 5-step exploding heart technique that I learned from Beatrice Kiddo on the movie Kill Bill (appropriately named) . Bill fell to the ground after five-steps.

We drove around the Island to Mililani and I saw the Hawaiian sunrise for the first time since my visit. We stopped briefly at the pastor's house to get a key to the school building where Trinity Central Oahu PCA church is meeting temporarily until they finish building their own. Bill and I helped set up for worship. Setup was no insignificant task. We had to fold up all the cafeteria tables, set up several rows of chairs, an entire sound system for the praise band, and a children's room. A woman offered me a Jumbo Jack for my labors (which I discovered is a Jack-in-the-Box hamburger. Yes, we have those on the mainland, but I never eat there.)

The worship service was edifying though it didn't follow the traditional order of worship that I've grown accustomed to (e.g. there was no call to worship or closing benediction. Is that okay in an Presbyterian church?). Harlan later told me that Hawaiian culture in general is not into following tradition. We sang contemporary praise songs and Pastor Pete delivered a five-point sermon on discipleship. It raised in my own mind the interesting paradox that salvation is both entirely free and yet costs you everything (while legalism is somewhere in between).

There were several Sunday School classes following the service, so I chose the survey of the poetry/wisdom books taught by Gerald. They were using Bruce Wilkinson's book on Talking Through the Bible. Gerald apologized for not making it through all the wisdom books. I personally felt like it would be more beneficial to slow down more! Of course if your goal is simply to give a brief overview and introduction to each of the books, that's all you need to do. But I don't feel like I learn much from Bible blitzkrieg.

Harlan, Dana, and I went to Zippy's for lunch with Harlan's niece Carissa (IMG_6327-IMG_6332). Zippy's is a Denny's or Chili's style restaurant with a variety of kinds of food to select. Their table-booths were sectioned off like cubicals, open to allow you to talk to the people in the booth next to you. I chose chili & frank over their exotic Pupu Platter.

On our way back home in the van, I got my first decent glimpses of the steep and rugged mountain sides in Hawaii (IMG_6334-IMG_6335).

Bill met me at the house to take me to Hickam AFB beach for the afternoon where we met Gerald (IMG_6336), his boys, and others from church. I finally had the opportunity to try out my underwater enclosure for my Canon Powershot A20 digital camera. Now, the enclosure had arrived in the mail by UPS the morning we were leaving for Hawaii; it was a miracle it arrived when it did! At the beach, the water was too dark for underwater visibility, but it was a brighter blue than I've ever seen.

Most of the boys dug trenches in the sand to channel water from a fountain. The youngest helped Gerald build a sand castle (IMG_6344, IMG_6376-IMG_6382). The guys played frisby (IMG_6393) and some kind of nerf torpedo/bomb thing (IMG_6360). Before we left, Bill helped Gerald's boys wash up (IMG_6402-IMG_6404) and gave them high & low fives (IMG_6405-IMG_6407).

Bill and I then rushed off for evening service to Honolulu Bible Church (Reformed Baptist) (IMG_6410). We made it in time for the pastor's sermon over Christ's critique of hypocritical teachers in Matthew 23. In conclusion Pastor Mather exhorted the congregation to pray for their pastors and the pulpits in Hawaii that they might not fall under the same criticism.

Afterwards, we went out for some decent Greek food in Honolulu. I told Bill that I have to constantly remind myself that I'm on a small rock in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, rather than in Seattle or some college town on the mainland.