Highland Student Missions

We arrived safely in Kauai! We are very excited for our week and a half of serving this beautiful community!

What’s the first thing to do in Hawaii? Go to the ocean! We ate some dinner and got to enjoy a beautiful sunset over the water!

Something we have learned about Hawaii is that it is customary to refer to others as Uncle or Auntie as a sign of respect, similar to using Mr. and Mrs. We were able to practice this today as we got to help Uncle Paul and Auntie Sandy in their garden. 

When our gardening jobs were complete, Uncle Paul took us on a fruit-tasting adventure. We explored some of his land that has an abundance of fruit trees which we could just pick from.

Uncle Paul showed us many fruits we have never heard of or tried before like finger lime, milk apple, and tangelo. We marveled at all of these fruit trees and it felt like we were given a glimpse of what the Garden of Eden was like.

In the afternoon, we met up with Pastor Jaimie (in Hawaiian it’s pronounced hi-may) in order to help hand out flyers to promote a mental health seminar his church is having.

He shared a bit of his story with us and taught us how to go door to door, and then out into the community we went! It was such a blessing to be able to talk with some of the residents here in Kauai, hear a little bit of their stories, and pray for them. 

Today part of our crew spent the day cleaning up Auntie Linda's yard with Auntie Vergie's help and enjoying each others company on this beautiful day! 

Our team split into three groups today to work on different projects. One team went to help Uncle Leland, a spunky elderly man, clean his home. We got to talk with him as we cleaned and organized and learned a little bit about his life too!

The third group went to Kapa’a Church to power wash and paint the walls surrounding the church.  We worked together as a team and had a fun time working for the Lord in this way!

Today we got to enjoy the beautiful weather and water at the beach here in Hawaii. We are so thankful for the time to rest and have some fun and bond together.

We spent most of the day by the ocean, soaking up lots of sun! We also spent some time shopping, we went out for dinner, and got some delicious ice cream. After this day of fun and rest, we are ready to get back to work tomorrow!

Part of our team returned to Auntie Linda's today to surprise her with flowers that we planted in her flower garden! 

In the afternoon, we got to put on a gymnastics show for the kids at the school/church where we have been painting! It was a fun challenge for us and the kids were very excited.

There were many food options for dinner, including poi, which is a traditional Hawaiian food made from the taro root! We also learned the Hawaiian word for yummy- ono!

A group was able to go back to the garden on Friday. We got paired up with the school kids who also came and helped harvest fruits and vegetables for some orders!

In the afternoon, we headed to Pastor Jaimie’s house to deliver a chicken coop. It was a big job, but the boys powered through and got it done. We also enjoyed the company of Uncle Derek who even helped us catch the hens in the coop to relocate them safely to their new home!

Part of the team went to an elderly couple’s home to help out with some cleaning needs!

In the evening, we had a youth event with some of the youth from the Kapa’a church. We played volleyball, swam, and worshiped together. Alyssa, Caitlin, and Victor also shared their testimonies!

Víctor gave the sermon! His main point was to never give up on Jesus. He did a great job!

After church, we headed to the beach for a potluck with the church members! We spent most of the day there to relax and soak up the sunshine. We hung out, swam, and even saw a turtle and two seals! In the evening, we went out to some shops for snacks and souvenirs.

Today we got to see and explore some of God’s spectacular creations in Hawaii! We started off with the Maninimalahini Falls!

Monday morning, half of our team spent the morning at the Poi Factory with Auntie Michelle and her husband. We learned all about harvesting taro and the poi making process. We then got to enjoy a traditional Hawaiian meal with them!

The other half of the team went to Uncle Robert’s house to help with some yard work. The space we are in in the picture was a jungle of tall grass reaching above our heads!