Arriving in Asia

Standing at a free internet kiosk in Singapore. It's 9 am in San Francisco, and 1 am the next day in Singapore. Time is weird here. It's weird to have skipped a whole day in advance! The airport is just like I thought it would be; modern, clean and sparkling. And there are so many Asians here, East and South. I will probably check out the butterfly garden, seeing as I have a six hour layover. I might try to sleep some in the airport. We shall see.

JULY 23, 2009
My last 30 minutes on U. S. soil. Lots of brown and yellow people with smatterings of ochre. I'm going back to Asia. Praise the Lord! They let you check two bags in with Singapore Airlines. What a luxury. I have to say, Hawaiian and Singapore really know how to make you feel pampered. It's funny how the smallest things mean so much when you are frazzled and nervous and sometimes on the verge of panic! But I did get to my flight way early. Huge relief. It's exciting to be back on the road. I guess 2009 is a big year for travel for me!!!

Leaving this gorgeous place

My going away party on Saturday night was totally awesome.  We went to Buca di Beppo for dinner and then Donnie's for the after party.  They all affirmed me and then prayed for me.  It was a totally amazing high.  I've been getting really little sleep, but it's so worth it.  I guess my body is being trained to wake up at 6 am in India every day.  Leaving is actually an amazing experience here, because people totally love on you so much.  And guess what?  I got baptized yesterday!  It was pretty cool, and the perfect timing.  I did the Ala Moana dunk.  No doves landed on my head, but the clarity I felt since 5:30 in the morning and praying with God was pretty cool.  

In Kaua'i, it really hit me...I am am heading off to India, and the realization that I will no longer be able to swim at these beautiful Hawai'ian beaches is really tough.  I guess I kind of started taking it for granted here.  No more 5:30 swims with Donnie and Jamie on a whim, like we did this morning!  

Made it to Maui!

Flight with Robby was perfect! Well, it was a bit turbulent at the beginning with some low flying clouds and winds. It figures, the one cloudy day in a zillion is when I am flying in a cute little four seater! Go, upchuck! Well, I felt so much better afterward and got to enjoy the view. Oh my gosh, talk about incredible. We flew right over Molokai and got to see Kaho' olowe and Lanai in the distance. Perfect landing! I definitely prayed a lot!

They dropped me off in the next town (this dude at the airport let us borrow his Lexus....and yes, God is so good), a cute little beach town called Pa'ia. It is so quaint and beautiful, a lot like Haleiwa, on Oahu's North Shore. I was not sure what to do, since I was supposed to stay with Maria, and my phone was a mess, so I could not reach her. But I met a guy at the gas station where Robby and Keith dropped me off, and we went to swim a great waterfall. So perfect! On the way back we went to the YWAM Maui base in Haiku, and everyone knew her there! So we gave this guy Nick a ride down to Pa'ia, and he knew her and where she lived. We went to watch the sunset, and then Nick said it was cool for me to stay there per Maria and Brian. The stars were brilliant! It was a perfect, perfect first day in Maui.