Here we are in Kona, Hawaii! It's New Year's Eve, and the sound of fireworks and firecrackers in the neighbourhood begins early. Last night after we arrived I was so exhausted I didn't hear any noise past 9:00 pm. Hope we can go to sleep soon tonight as well.
What a weird feeling to go from the extreme cold and abundant snowfall we've experienced in Red Deer, AB, Canada, to walking around in shorts and short shirtsleeves! Hats and sunscreen instead of double mitts and long underwear! A different kind of culture shock.
We were standing around last night with some people when all of a sudden a young girl catapulted herself into my arms to give me a big hug. After 30 seconds I remembered her name: Aline from Brazil whom we'd met last year at YWAM (Youth with a Mission), Lausanne, Switzerland. Also Eli from Texas. We had all worked in the kitchen together. This is one of the blessings of this organization--you tend to meet people again in different parts of the world. The other amazing blessing of the day was meeting someone who'd been in the same class as my brother, three years younger than I am. On staff here, she recognized me by my maiden name on my application form. Her mum was one of my Sunday School teachers in the town on Vancouver Island, B.C., where we both grew up. It's a small world, as they say.
During the first few transition days Terry and I will be working in the kitchen, and after a couple of weeks, he'll be on maintenance. I'll have a varied schedule of working on the grounds in the cool of the morning, then working in the "boutique" ( where departing students leave all the stuff they don't want ) and also at the main gate, where apparently I'll sit in an air-conditioned booth for a couple of hours and screen people who want to come onto the huge campus. A new influx of students will be arriving in a few days, and we all begin a new adventure. Happy New Year!
