Tuesday ... THE TEAM!

 

You have no idea how much pent up anticipation was boiling by this time. I was up and running around Tuesday morning, plotting and planning their arrival. Micah and Kate came up to be there when the team arrived and man was I amped. I was standing outside in the freezing fall weather waiting for them to turn down the road. It was like I hadn't seen them in years.. ;) Out role Charis, Chris, Brendon and Renee. As soon as the team got there we just hung out and relaxed for a bit before we hit the town. I walked the team around the town so they could get a better idea of the quiet little beach town I grew up in. After a bit we were off to my favorite coffee shop for a little run down of the week. Yay for Sleepy Monk Coffee + Waves of Grain Bakery + My Mom's tab. Thanks MOM! After a little coffee love it was back in the car and off to some fun view points. I took them to a place called God's Finger and a look out of the coast. 

I wanted this day to just be a relax moment for them to breathe in some coastal air and get to take a moment before the real week hit. Renee wasn't feeling super good so she was resting at the house as we trecked around the town. Charis was stoked getting to pick some real life blackberries :) 

and she even found a little garnder snake. She was tripping out because of course the islands of perfection don't have creepy crawlers like snakes.

 

She carried her little buddy around for a good hour it seemed. After feeling the fall air, sight seeing for a bit, scoping my Dad's work (and the air compressor) and just bonding as a team it was back to the house to prepare for the BBQ.  I wish I had photos of the BBQ but it was amazing. My parents went over the top with hospitality the whole week and for sure this was a kick off to greatness. I think around 30-40 people showed up to support the team. We had a chance to share about STN and what God is doing. It was pretty rad for me to have both my worlds collide and to share about it all, a load of the attending community are not Christians -- so to have a chance to share my passions, my ohana and my life with Christ with them was an amazing moment. I think we even hit home for  a few of the "old people" to come out and spend their vacation with us. 

It was so key having the team there to connect with my friends and family. To be able to share God in a tangible way and share how STN is simply one vehicle out of the many that allows us to reach the same goal - a committed life to Christ.

First day was a success and I couldn't be happier. My heart is full and ready for day 2.

PNW Tour 2011 (a little early)

Okay well I'm not sure if I should break it up in days or if I should just bombard with one big 'ol post. =) I'm thinking one big 'ol post. Because the week was that amazing.

Well I got to sneak a few days in before the team got there and not a second passed once I landed that I wasn't smiles from ear to ear. Mikaela took me to the airport and I was ready to roll. One flight later and I'm in Oregon. 

Kelli and Heather (roomies from college) came and picked me up. I love it. We live in three different places and we all still come together and it seems like no time has passed. The girls tricked me when they picked me up and instead of a nice lovely hug that I expected coming my direction they attacked me with an old joke from college. Gotta love it. From the airport we were off to the Tin Roof a great place in the NE area of Portland. Then we were off to the coast. We got to catch up over dinner and the great 2 hour ride home. We rolled into Cannon Beach pretty late and just slipped in the house and off to bed. Well I planned on slipping into bed. I walked into a house full of surprises. My sister flew in early ( I wasn't certain I was going to see her on the trip ) and brought her two munchkins with her. I haven't seen Ryder since he was born and Taylor was under the impression I lived in heaven. So I was glad to clear that up.

In the slightest! Heather -Loo came down with her Papa and sis. Holly just had a new born baby and I had yet to see my new little cousin and Heather .. it's been years since I have seen her. UHG so much love.

Us girls hit the beach for some fun photos and just some good 'ol time together. It was time to update our documented fun and this time we wanted to some "cute" ones according to Kelli. So with that we were all having a blast and from there is was back for some family time, a solid dinner and then the girls jetted off to their real life. 

Monday came and it was jammed packed with appointments, interviews, luncheons and simply errands. It seemed like it was the fastest day ever and maybe it was but then again... I was so amping for the team to come I could barely handle it. Monday night was just family loving and watching "Tangled" for the first time with Taylor. She kept saying " JuJu do you really like it? Really?" I loved it! She is being Rapunzel for Halloween and Ryder is Pascal (her little lizard sidekick).Too cute. I could barely handle the reality that I was home. My sister was there and I was just loving on my little babies like it was nothing new.

Well that is the first section of being BEYOND blessed in Oregon. Then Monday night comes and guess what is next. Tuesday :) And Tuesday = the team!

HOME!

20 years later and still the best of friends. Micah Ann -- man oh man have I missed you. It's been since December since I have seen Micah and that is by far the longest we have gone since we were 4. This woman makes me smile.

Classic Tay. Mom -" Guess what Tay we get to see JuJu tomorrow." Tay -" She's coming back from heaven?"

Oh man. I can't believe I got to see Kelli, Heather and Micah all at once. Too much love for one girl to handle.

HJK once again. Heather and Kelli picked me up from the airport and we went out to an amazing dinner and headed to the beach. We had a blast just catching up and a good little sleep over. It was so fun having them all to myself for the morning :) Beach walk and fun! i432.

Me and my Grampy

Me and my Grammy

O heather loo. I haven't seen my cousin in so long and it was such a fun surprise to walk into the house to this. First off my siste flew home and surprised me .. then my Grandparents ...then Heather.. I knew they would all be in town at some point this week but not all today and man was it fun.

Home so far = success.

24. oh boy

Yup I turned 24 this month too. Yikes. My birthday started on last Wednesday when for our extended quiet time we went to the beach + my favorite coffee shop. So much love! It was the perfect way to start the day and the beginning of some birthday fun. 

AND.... I had some visiters for the first time ever. Kaela and Becca made it to the island. They came on Thursday and we had a blast just catching up. They then came over on Friday (my real birthday) and celebrated at the beach with me and all my closest friends from STN.

A load of us went to Chuns (my favorite spot) to surf, cruise and just have fun. They all sang me happy birthday in the water and we just had a fun time as a family celebrating my birthday. I felt so blessed.

That morning I also woke up to a clean house, a lovely card and fruit from my roommates. Now I understand why my whole life my Mom always said all she wanted was a clean house. I get it now Mom!

At staff meeting they sang Happy Birhday and made me cupcakes and at bible study we all shared about our favorite birthday stories. Ah well 24 this shall be fun.

Kauai SLS Adventure.

This was an adventure trip all in it's own new level. It was the first trip I lead as the "directing leader" and man was it an epic learning experience. We hiked the Kalalau trail on the Napali coast of Kauai.

11 miles. 8 hours. 13 team members & an adventure we will never forget. This specific spot is called the balcony. 3 ft wide and deadly. It is pure red rock slip and is at a death flirting angle to the boiling ocean below. One slip and your done. You could only imagine how I felt being responsible for 13 lives crossing this little walk in the park. YIKES.

But once it is all over you get this. My body shook for about a good two miles after crossing that 15 minutes of hecticness. But trust me it was worth it. Man oh man was this hike constantly breath taking and the valley once you go done was even better.

So 11 miles in we were ready for camp. The team killed it. I was so impressed by their attitudes and it made my job as a leader cake. I had some guests leaders on the trip too that pretty much allowed me to breath. After a month of crazy planning man am I glad that this trip is over. Well sort of.

Each day we were in the valley we got to hike about 5 or 6 miles. We found orange groves, a community garden, scaled waterfalls, jumped in epic pools, slid down natural water slides, made friends with the hippies, loved on the locals, swam in the ocean, cave explored and so much more to tell. God just over blessed us with our days in the valley. The team lead like natural leaders and really put the leadership training to the trail. Parts of the hike were literally impossible without a team and it was a beautiful thing to see everyone fully being a servant leader.


On our way out, after an emotional wait and a crazy realization we were ready to hike out. And you know the truth couldn't be more well.. truthful. God is always on time. Our boat came and we were boated back just as planned.

This is me finally getting to the boat.  My 50lb bag wrapped in plastic and after a 15 min swim I was hoisted into safety. No more shark bait.

This is a small part of the team doing the swim out to our rescue. So fun. So many crazy stories and such an experience!



A little bit as of late.

I guess I'll start with  my birthday. Well October has just been straight up fun in the first place. Charis' older sister Carri came into town for a bit and it was SO much fun getting to know her and hang out with her baby boy Bauer for a bit. It was was some much needed family time while I've been away from mine far too long. 

As I flip through the images I have been either tagged in or posted up or taken with my phone I realize what a daunting job updating always is. But well there will be a few tid bits and this week I really want to keep it updated :) As for now...

This month my good friend and roommate Mikaela turned 21 this month and we had a blast! 

We went out on the town for dinner  and got all done up after hitting the East side for a few rays of sunshine. It was fun dressing up for once. We never go do that!

I was just thinking about our roommate night we had this month too... it has been a blast being around a bit more for the girls in the leadership school and we had so much fun making dinner together. I made my Mom's classic feta stuffed chicken and the girls were tripping out -- thinking that I never cooked. Ha.

I just remember that I haven't talked about the trip to Kauai and that deserves a post in itself. So with this little update -- I'm off to write a new one. Happy belated birthday to Mikae.

It's already September.

I don't know why I have fallen off the planet of blogging but all that I can really "blame" it on is that it is such a daunting task to attempt to update, I fall into the "I'm too busy" excuse. But in all reality, yes I'm busy - but I'm not too busy to share what God is doing in my life. That is just selfish :)

I cannot believe it is September already! I have been here over a year. I can't believe it. September 3rd 2010 I flew to Oahu not knowing what I was about to get myself into and one year later - I'm still here. A few of us from my initial internship crew celebrated our "one year" on September 3rd 2011 and it was amazing to just see what God has done in all of our lives this past year. Amazing.

I have been reading this book called, " Not A Fan" and wow has it put some things in perspective. It's a super good read and one that I would fully recommend to you all.  It has changed my mind on how I not only live but will live out my relationship with God. It has shown me that sometimes I truly act simply as a fan of Jesus and though there are moment of "I'm a follower" heart - it's the consistency I am craving.

 SLS "mini adventure". So if I have failed to communicate this. One of my responsibilities at Surfing The Nations is leading the Surfers Leadership School - and specifically I lead our adventures. This was our "mini adventure" the other week. On our adventures we put the training to the trail and push our adventurers to lead each other not only with using their knowledge from our previous teachings but also the servant leadership characteristics we see in Christ.

October 6th -11th I will be guiding this crew + a few other leaders through the Kalalau Trail in Kauai. I am beyond stoked with this but this trip does not go with the worries and anxiety of someone who wants it to go "perfectly". BUT I have fully come to the realization that I am not planing, guiding or putting this all together. God is fully doing it all because He is THAT amazing. (But your prayers are welcome!)

Last weekend I was invited to go to a retreat with 250+ other young adults. It was a powerful weekend and one that allowed me to be honest with a lot in my life. God is so good. The girls I got to meet in my cabin we so solid and the weekend was a fresh start to my week. Thanks New Hope for inviting Surfing The Nations to Oasis 2011.

 My other job at STN is directing the Waianae Surf Outreach on the west coast of the island. Each week we transport a crew of kids from a shelter near the tent city. We teach them surf skills, ocean safety and more importantly teach them about consistency, commitment, love and hope. Surfing is the vehicle to be able to share the gospel in the line up and simply live our lives and share our love with these kids that truly don't get it or know how to receive it.

So I am going to end this update here. With apology of allowing myself to become the "starving baker". The story of the starving baker is a simple concept. The baker only focuses on his business and customers and even though he is surrounded by food all day he grows weak, empty and fragile. He never takes the time to feed himself and thus become the starving baker. I have allowed this story to become mine and I am taking a stand and changing that. The Starving Baker is from a concept that I had the honor in teaching and it comes from Habitudes - a book that we in SLS go through (along side many others).

Much Love and Aloha. Thanks for continuing to pray for me and with me as I'm on this epic escapade. Please continue to pray for finances, wisdom, discernment and constant trust.