Grandparents and Honolulu

One set of grandparents has now left us and another has arrived!  My (John's) parents Joan and Tom were with us for a wonderful week at Turtle Bay on the north shore of Oahu, and now Leigh's parents Myrtice and Paul are spending two weeks with us -- one week in Honolulu and one week on the Big Island of Hawaii.  Leigh's mother Myrtice grew up in Honolulu, and our time together allowed us to visit her growing up places, including the home where she lived until her mother died when she was 14.  A wonderful extra blessing was the opportunity to meet or reconnect with relatives -- some she had never met and others she had not seen for a long time.  This is part of our exploration of Leigh's cultural heritage.  Leigh's family goes back four generations in Hawaii through her mother.  Myrtice's grandfather immigrated to Hawaii from China with her great-grandfather.  They settled in Hawi on the Big Island.  Myrtice's mother moved to the island of Oahu, married in Honolulu, and Myrtice was born there.  What an amazing blessing to be here with her -- Leigh has wanted to make this trip with her mom and dad for a long time, and because of the sabbatical gift, we're here!  Praise God!

Both sets of grandparents together at the Honolulu airport as we picked up Leigh's mom and dad and my mom and dad left Oahu.

Sharing more delicious food together -- this time, Chinese meals!  For dim sum lovers, check out the spread in the picture directly above.  Beautiful!

Grandparent time.  Just above, Joy is hanging out with Po Po (grandma in Cantonese), as Po Po is mixing lomi lomi salmon with poi (made from taro) -- a Hawaiian traditional food -- one of her favorites.

Visiting relatives -- Myrtice's cousins.  Just above is Myrtice's childhood home and her cousins who live there.

A visit to the cemetery where Myrtice's mother (Leigh's grandmother) is buried, together with many other relatives.

Leigh and her mom discussing family roots (and Leigh feverishly taking notes!).

Spending time at Ala Moana Park (with beautiful banyan trees) and Ala Moana Beach.

A walk on Waikiki Beach at sunset.  Wow!

Our kids enjoyed swimming in the pool as well as the ocean!

Leigh and I got a chance to slip away to Hanauma Bay to go snorkeling!

At the top of a steep climb to the viewing area on Diamond Head!

Connecting with friends who live in Hawaii -- Myrtice's high school and college friends Dana and Russ, and Carol Ann -- and our friends Dwight and Mary we know through Seattle connections.  I was blessed to spend a few hours with Harrison Togia, who grew up at Peace Lutheran Church and is now completing a doctoral program at the University of Hawaii in a specialized field of geology and working on an amazing project that takes him to all the Hawaiian islands to make scientific measurements of shorelines -- an extremely important area of study with climate change a huge crisis facing islands everywhere.  Harrison feels so blessed to have this opportunity and is able to bring together his love of his Samoan cultural heritage (through his father), his gifts in geology, and his concern for climate justice and vulnerable people of the Pacific islands.  It's a calling from God for him!  (Sorry, no picture -- he and I were too busy talking for pictures.)

Worship at the first Christian church on Oahu, Kawaiaha'o Church, with traditional Hawaiian elements, including Hawaiian language, guitar, hula, and song in the worship service.  Here, the keiki (children) are sharing a song.

More shave ice!  It's everywhere!

Ok, the mixed plate metaphor for our sabbatical is so right!  I'll never get tired of this!  At a Hawaiian buffet in Honolulu -- it's like a potluck!

Before we left on sabbatical, Pat Ferguson from Peace gave us a beautiful card she created that shows each stage of our sabbatical journey.  Each morning, we remind our kids of the gift of time God has given us and show them where we are on our journey.  Here I'm showing that we're in Hawaii.  In a few weeks we'll be in the San Francisco Bay area.  Thanks Pat!