Where Are You Going? Hawaii!

March 7, 2019

Spring Break: the long awaited and much anticipated event that marks the halfway point of spring semester. When I think of spring break I think of sitting in the warm sun with my toes in the sand, sippin’ on an ice cold La Croix. Funny enough, I have never actually done any of these things during my previous three spring breaks here at Liberty. This spring break, however, will be different. 

It’ll be different because I will be kicking up my feet in a place accurately titled the “Aloha State”, but better known as Hawaii! For the last few months now, I have been scouring the Internet for an affordable flight. Thanks to Sky Scanner, a handy app that notified me about affordable tickets, I will be making the 12-hour journey from Washington D.C. to the beautiful Big Island this Friday.

This is not a typical vacation with a five-star resort, pool and endless buffet. This break I will actually be staying on a YWAM base where my sister has been living for the past few months. Youth With A Mission, or YWAM, is a global missions organization which focuses on serving Jesus throughout the world. My sister, Lauren, is currently enrolled in Discipleship Training School (DTS) at The University of Nations in Kona, HI. DTS is a six-month program where the first three months are spent learning and being discipled in your faith, and the following three months are spent living as a missionary in many different parts of the world. My sister left at the beginning of January for DTS and will be sent out to minister to the people of Germany and Wales at the end of March.

I remember when I first learned about this adventure that my sister was about to embark on. I couldn’t help but be jealous that she would get to learn about Jesus in one of the most beautiful places on Earth. For me, the times I have truly experienced God’s presence the most viscerally has been in beautiful parts of His creation, like looking out at the deep blue waters of Laguna Beach or standing on Sharp Top at sunrise. My sister has learned many things during her short time in Hawaii and I cannot wait to experience a bit of her journey with her this week.

There are a few things I plan on doing during my limited time in Hawaii when we venture out from the YWAM base. My first plan is happily eating myself into a poké and sushi-induced coma. Hawaii is known for their seafood, similarly to how I am known for my love of seafood. The problem is, being from the Midwest, my encounters with good seafood are few and far between. I plan to “strike while the iron is hot” and eat as much of Hawaii’s diverse and delicious cuisine as possible before I fly home on Thursday. Next on my list is Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. I, like many, have never witnessed the sheer power of a volcano firsthand and I have also never been to any of our nation’s national parks. This would be a lot of firsts for me, but I imagine I will feel a lot like Moana when she encounters the volcano monster Te Ka and defeats it with the power of song. Last on my list is something to satisfy my inner adrenaline junkie, a cliff-jump at a place appropriately named The End Of The World. I have been known to take risks and seek out fun and adventure in many forms, but this will probably be the most wild thing on my list of to-dos. 

The remainder of my week will be spent living the life of a typical YWAM student, from going to class to meeting with my sister’s outreach team to a weekly gathering with the entire school for a time of worship and prayer (much like Liberty’s Convocation). I cannot wait to see the beauty of God’s creation in Hawaii and also get to spend time with my amazing and Jesus-loving sister.

---