Norton Christian Church

We made it safely to Hawaii! It was a stunning drive through the mountains to our lodging. We are getting settled in, and are looking forward to a great night sleep and incredible day of ministry tomorrow! 

Several of us woke up early today to go to the beach to watch the sunrise. 

We are attending church this morning in Waimanalo. We are excited to worship and learn with the congregation this morning! 

Church service today was amazing. We learned about finding true peace in the storms of life. When you focus on Jesus, he will calm the storm inside you. After church we fellowshipped with the congregation and were treated to a delicious home made meal. 

After service and a delicious lunch, we took a short walk to a beautiful beach to cool off and refresh before the diaper drive this afternoon! It’s hard to believe we haven’t quite been here 24 hours yet. We have an incredible week of ministry ahead and are looking forward to all God has in store for us! 

This afternoon we are hosting a diaper drive at the church! We will take the diapers we collect today to a diaper bank to be distributed to families in need. 

Today we began some of the service projects at the church! This morning we are cleaning and washing walls to prepare them for painting. This space is used by both the church and a preschool and has been in need of some upkeep. 

Tonight we packed a picnic and had dinner on the beach. Afterward we worshiped, had a devotion, and talked about our day. It was incredible worshiping God with His beautiful creation all around us. Please continue to pray for us as we serve the church and community again tomorrow. 

This morning we are finishing our painting project at the church. We’ve made incredible progress. The team is working so hard and it looks amazing! Later this week we will be hosting a community dinner here, and able to unveil this to the congregation and community members. 

Pastor Annalise brought us local treats and snacks to try after lunch today! We had things like nori komaki, li hang gummy bears, Okinawa sweet potato with haypia & li hing lychee belts. 

Church members, and our new friends, came by to help us work today! We finished most of the painting and power washing this afternoon. The building looks so fresh and clean. We can’t wait for the community to see it! 

This morning we dropped off the diapers we collected at our diaper drive at the Aloha Diaper Bank. We learned a lot about the need for diapers for families in need in this community. 

We’re working hard this afternoon to clean the church, finish painting, set up tables and polish the pews so it’s ready for the community tomorrow! 

Serious bags (cornhole) tournaments have been taking place in the evenings when we have downtime. Team Simon Lawn Care is currently in the lead with Team Aloha not far behind. 

This morning we got up early and hiked Makapu’u Lighthouse trail! It was a mile up and a mile back down. It was worth every step. The views were amazing! 

After hiking all morning we stopped at a local Hawaiian cafe for lunch. It was delicious!

We’re all set up and ready for tonight’s community meal! Spending time with our new friends has been one of the best parts of this trip. 

Tonight we hosted a community meal. 125 people were fed! We had amazing food, crafts and activities for the kids, and were even given a hula & ukulele show afterward! 

We got up before the sun one last time to watch it rise over the ocean. The beauty is awe inspiring. 

This morning we are spending time at Pearl Harbor. There are museums, a movie and we are also taking a boat to the USS Arizona memorial. 

The trip is a wrap! We are heading home exhausted but incredibly grateful for the lifelong memories and friendships we have made. God is good.