Pre Hana Jitters

As midterms have come to a close...we are gearing up for Hana this weekend!  You can feel the excitement in the air as everyone is ready for a little getaway from classes and homework.  We're planning to leave at 4:00 am to drive up to Hana for a weekend of camping, meditating in the Word and exploring Maui!  There are only a few more assignments due before our retreat starts and students are busy studying away!  Hana is always a great time to put away distractions and to be refreshed in the Lord, especially because it marks the half-way point of the semester.  Some of the best memories are made in Hana and we know that God has great things planned for this trip!

Remember that night we slept in a parking lot...

The events of Thursday night and Friday morning:

• 9:30 pm we were informed that a 9.0 earthquake had hit Japan.  This meant that tsunami waves were expected to hit Maui around 3:00 am Friday morning.  We were all in a state of shock when we heard the news.  
• 10:30 pm the school met as a group and discussed "the plan" for evacuation.  
• 11:00 pm students were shuttled to our evacuation spot on higher ground...the parking lot of South Maui Choppers.  This parking lot is where we spent the 9 hours in anticipation of the tsunami.  The mood was relatively calm with the exception of a few tears as students contacted family, listened to music or watched the developing news. 
• 3:00 am as people calmed down the warning siren would go off every hour or so reminding everyone of the reason we were in a parking lot. 
• 4:00 am the first waves hit flooding up to 1/3 of a mile inland...coming up to the front lawn of Calvary Chapel South Maui.  Thankfully no damage was done to the church or to our condos, however some parts of Maui were hit harder than others such as Front Street in Lahaina and Kalama Park in Kihei. 
• 7:00 am we found out that we were not allowed to go back home just yet.  A big thank you to Ray and Cindy at South Maui Choppers for opening up their business to our school.  Also, thanks for providing a "We Survived the Tsunami 2011 Breakfast!" 
• 8:00 am students were given the ok to go back home to their condos.  Classes were cancelled for Friday and we were instructed not to go the beach for the day.  Now we can all say we've survived a tsunami and slept in a parking lot!

Please Pray for Japan!!

Pray!

Let's remember to pray for Lora, Coleen and Valerie as they travel to Nepal.  They will be there for two weeks caring for a family in need by giving medical care and helping them move.  God was so faithful in providing for this trip on such short notice so He has great things in store for these beautiful women!!
PRAY FOR:

• Pray for safety
• Physical and spiritual strength
• Raj's health
• Their families here

Snorkel-dippity-do-da-day

Last weekend we grabbed our snorkel gear and headed over to the West Side.  The morning started off at Black Rock Beach in Kaanapali.  There was jumping off Black Rock, swimming with turtles, basking in the sun, and eating sandwiches--literally!  The next stop was sunset at Honolua Bay with more snorkeling (keeping true to the snorkel-dippity-do-da-day name!) and exploring.  The night ended in Lahaina with dinner and shopping.  Thanks to our interns for planning a great day!

He is the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, 

and everything in them—He remains faithful forever.

Psalm 146:6