On a journey...

After getting the rental car we filled a cooler box with ice and after getting a few supplies at Safeway we set off to the beach which was the activity for the day. It was a nice drive although I am realizing more and more that this is a volcanic island and so most of the scenery is black lava. On some stretches of road people have written different things with white stones and this is what they call “Hawaiian graffiti”. Our first stop was the Hilton Hotel. Not to stay there, but because you can visit the resort and enjoy lunch by the Dolphin pool. It was really lovely. The Hilton is on such a big property that you need to take a little boat to get around (a real boat in a sense, except it runs on rails in this little man-made river). It’s a beautiful place though, and the food at the little restaurant was simple, but nice (I had my first fish tacos ever made with fresh fish). Looking at the dolphins in this small pool area and observing people coming having paid lots to “play with the...

Yesterday was another lovely day. After a quick stop at Target to buy sunglasses (very important since the sun is really strong here!) as well as Pringles, animal crackers and water (snacks are also important) we walked down to the beach. It was another lovely beach, a little bit tricky to get to which probably explains the minimal number of tourists on it, but it was full of locals, especially children. There was a little lagoon where it was possible to swim and the beach was really nice. I went swimming and it was almost as if the water was thick... hopefully due to its saltiness, not because it was super-dirty. The beach was situated among some really spectacular houses and my friend explained that all beaches have public access here in Hawaii. Good idea if you ask me, or I am sure rich people would buy up all the beach areas leaving nothing for the locals and visitors like myself to enjoy the beautiful part of creation displayed on this island. After walking home from the beach I h...

Setting foot on Hawaiian soil. I arrived safely at Kona International Airport (not that I was traveling internationally, but that’s the name of the airport) Tuesday afternoon. As I stepped off the plane and walked down the staircase I was hit by the warm air. It was lovely. I walked across the runway and into the airport and immediately had associations to Brazil. It felt like Brazil, it kind of looked like Brazil, yet it wasn’t Brazil. Getting into the baggage reclaim area (which is really just the area at the front of the airport, it’s all non-covered really so it’s almost as if you’re outside the airport) I had to wait for a while for the luggage to appear on the conveyer belt. Plenty of time to grab a copy of (almost) all the tourist brochures in the little stand that said “welcome to Hawaii” or something like that. The interesting thing is that most of the information tells you about these wonderful adventures you can have here, yet they don’t tell you any prices. A bit inconvenie...

Tuesday 25 May 2010 Literally on a journey...to Hawaii...Aloha! So I’m sat here at KCI again (that’s short for the Kansas City Airport). It’s very strange to be traveling not to a familiar destination, but to somewhere new. I’m off to visit my good friend Elisabeth in Kona, Hawaii. Who would have thought? Sat here in the hustle and bustle of the airport my heart is excited and expectant. I am looking forward to a holiday (or vacation as they call it here), and of course to see my friends. But I’m also excited to have some time to seek the Lord. I know that sounds weird. I mean, my life and job is to pray, talk to Jesus, listen to Him. I spend over 50 hours a week in a prayer room…but there’s always a schedule. Never really an uninterrupted amount of time to just be. And listen. And not have to remember the next thing on the agenda. So here I am sat. Free WiFi lets me connect with the Prayer Room right here…which is also surreal…usually I’m there this time of the day (6 am). But today ...