And we’re live again!

Okay, so after a week or so of technical difficulties with my profile, it seems my account is restored. It’s a long story of lost posts and password dilemmas; one in which I don’t plan on retelling for the sake of my insanity. 

Well, if I’m not mistaken, the last post was during Fine Arts. Since then, a lot has happened. We finished Fine Arts out with a bang, and shortly afterwards, we got in our rental car and headed for our first stop in Charleston, South Carolina (by the way, quick praise report because the rental car company didn’t have a standard vehicle for us to use, so they upgraded us for free to a premium car, a Chrylser 300, which, yup, now I want one )

We got to Charleston 3 hours later and checked into our hotel I have lived in Charleston before, so it was a bit of a homecoming, I suppose. We met up with Jonathan and his family, who now call there home. For those who might remember, Jonathan attended our church for a few months while he was in transition to move. We got finally meet is family, and I’m glad to see someone I consider a brother once again. They are doing better than ever since God came into their lives, and their kids were a joy to be around with. Dominik and Ashlyn, we miss you guys! And you too Quincy! I especially enjoyed meeting his wife Kacy and visiting with their church, Faith Assembly of God in Summerville, that Sunday morning.

We left Charleston and started the long 6-hour drive up north to finally end up at my older sister’s house in Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Kourtney and Hosanna passed the time by, well, sleeping for 3/4 of it all, so it was pretty much just me, God and my iPod, getting through the entire Eastern seaboard. We stopped and spent the night in a hotel in Roanoke, Virginia, where my friend and up-and-coming music artist Leslie lives. We spent the day with her parents, who are Pastors at Oak Grove Assembly of God, and we had a lovely dinner at their house too. I’m still loving the brisket! We also got to finally eat at a Chik-Fil-A again, which I’ve been craving since we boarded the plane in Honolulu! It was good to hang out with Leslie and the gang, who are, in reality, some of the funniest people I’ve met. Kourtney and Hosanna also had fun making new friends. We also watched the Mummy together in the theatres, which was a good treat too! I’m glad we stopped; it was so much fun!

After a 3-hour drive from Roanoke, our next stop the next morning found us checking into our hotel on F Street in Washington, DC, about four blocks from 1600 Pennsylvania Ave – the White House. It was my third time in the Capitol, but Hosanna and Kourtney’s first. It was cool to see them enjoy seeing some monuments in real life for the first time, but the walk killed them almost! We toured, amongst others, the Smithsonian, the capitol building and the Lincoln Memorial, but not without stopping at the WWII Memorial pool to dip our feet and get relief from the sweltering ninety-four degree day that goverened our walk that day. Kourtney was a little disappointed the the National Mall wasn’t an actual shopping mall, but the parkway that held all the museums and offices We also were only able to get a rear entrance view of the White House due to some high-profile event taking place later that night. I enjoyed being back in a big city, but after a long day of walking, we ended up going to a nearby mall and doing what we’ve been doing for the majority of our stops – shopping! We headed over to Tyson’s Corner Center Mall, which HUGE by the way. It was a fun time and a nice stop.

The next morning at 9:30, we started the 8-state marathon on our way to my sister’s house in Cape Cod. Kourtney and Hosanna, like clockwork, slept for most of it. I went through all 8, though I think they only saw three of them With all the songs on my iPod, I never thought I’d get sick of them, but I sort of did. We stopped at a Chik-Fil-A for some reinforcement, where I also bought a gallon of sweet tea for the road! Thank you Tomas for getting me hooked on it

We drove past and through some cities of interest, like Baltimore and Philadelphia. It was a good ride, but boy was it long. We didn’t arrive until 5 that evening – yes, 7 hours later. It’s still funny to me how I can drive all that way and be fine, and yet nearly take out my own car going from Honolulu to Waipahu. Interesting

We got to Hyannis, and I finally got to see my nephew Jacob!!!!!! He is a cutie, and a crier too! I am so glad to be able to spend some time with him. I can’t wait until he gets older! It’s good to see my sis and brother-in-law again too. Hyannis is a small community on the south side of Cape Cod. It’s beautiful here, though muggy most of the time.

On Thursday, we went to Newport, Rhode Island to look around and tour the place. Kourtney was a bit disgusted, as in Charleston, by the lackluster beaches there. It was a nice town, nonetheless. We then headed off to Providence, the capitol of Rhode Island, to, yup, another mall! Why do we always end up shopping?!?!?!?!

Friday found us in Boston, touring around and shopping. Kourtney enjoyed it for the most part. Boston’s more of a historical attraction, with all it’s colonial and revolutionary contributions to this nation’s history. Hence why Kourtney and Hosanna, weren’t that much into it We shopped more, and ate! Mmmmm, chowder!

Saturday morning, Kourtney and I headed to New York City. I’ve been there before, but this was Kourtney’s first time. Due to traffic, we didn’t arrive there until 3 in the afternoon. We parked over at Staten Island, and took the ferry over to Manhattan. After walking around and taking a cab to Rockafeller Plaza, we stopped to eat at TGI Friday’s at Times Square, where we also took some prime photos of the famous intersection. It was cool too because we were there at dusk, when all the lights of the Square lit up the evening, making for some great opportunities for photos. We shopped some more – mostly at the M&M’s store After a long night which included waiting for a hour for the next ferry to go back to Staten Island, we headed home at 10 in the evening. We didn’t arrive back until 4 AM, but as tiring as the drive was, I’m glad God watched over us and kept us safe the whole time. I’m also thankful for the 24-hour drive through at McDonald’s for some sweet tea to hold me over!!!!!

The trip is almost at an end, but not without more things to do until Thursday! Until next time, ciao!

NFAF Day 2, Amazing Worship

Day 2 of the Convention is in the books, and what an exhausting, but amazing day! Praise Report: Kourtney and I woke up today at 6 AM – on our own! It looks like we’ve FINALLY acclimated to this time zone. Praise the Lord! It’s funny because Kourtney knocked out last night, and while he was sleeping, I silenced his cell phone, which has been the culprit of the late night talks and wake-ups. Funny how he didn’t wake up at all – hmm, I wonder

Kourtney will be working the 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament, so he left this morning with some other Chi Alpha Students to the courts about 4 miles out of town. He’s enjoying the fellowship amongst a new demographic of people he’s not used to, and he’s finding out slowly that he likes it. Though shy at first, he’s warmed up to this. Who knows – he may be going to Chi Alpha instead?!?! He’s actually befriended a guy named Stacey – go figure. Two guys named Kourtney and Stacey – it was divine intervention, according to Stacey They’re actually planning to go white-water rafting tomorrow with some other friends, so I’m excited for him! as much as I wanna share this experience with him and Hosanna, I would rather more that they fellowship and network with others, and maybe even hang out. I suspect I won’t see them until after services, but it’s a good thing. We’ll have more time to hang out after this is over, but you can only see these others for this week.

I worked the Human Video – Large Ensemble Room today, announcing performances and entertaining the crowd and such. Hosanna was in the same category, but in another room. This year, they assigned the Human Videos to large halls rather than conference rooms, so the corwds weren’t an issue, unlike last year. In fact, they were so large, the music didn’t really fill the space, but crowd control was easy.

Worship was amazing tonight. In the middle of the hour-and-a-half worship, the room drew still unprompted, and someone started to prophesize from high up in the rafters out loud to everyone in the quiet arena, then answered by someone else across the arena, followed by a roar of tongue-speaking believers. Only the Holy Spirit can do that! I’ve never, honestly, been so close to God in worship, seriously. I cried my eyes out to God, to release it all from me, and he delivered this amazing peace to me that freed me from all my insecurities. I’m so blessed right now, I can’t even follow this up with more words about it. I’m glad the Holy Spirit is a road show, and that He doesn’t just show up in one place. We had a state prayer session, and I prayed for Hawaii on behalf of the state. I am so excited for what God has in store for the youth of Hawaii, it’s nerve-racking. KJ-52, a rapper and licensed AG Minister, closed us out with an amazing song he wrote just for Fine Arts. It was one of the best services I’ve attended in my life. 

Thanks for the prayers, it’s amazing how it’s being answered. We walk a lot, so prayers of protection are cherished. Tomorrow will be another busy day, but I’m excited. We won’t have an evening service because everyone will be taking over the Carowinds Amusement Park, being closed out to only the Convention folks. You’ll find me with my funnel cake and ice cream, away from the rides

Ciao

Welcome to Fine Arts!

It’s Monday evening, and boy, was it an exhausting day! Day 1 of the National Youth Convention and Fine Arts Festival kicked off with the same bang as last year. I worked the Check-In booth again like last year, so my day consisted primarily of the same thing I’m doing now – typing. It still blows my mind how many churches in the AG are out there, and that’s not even all of them. Hosanna was my runner, gathering the student’s shirts and packets for my table, while Kourtney helped handle large church check-ins with massive amounts of students, calling for boxes of shirts and packets galore. We worked non-stop from 9 AM to 6 PM doing this, with a brief break for lunch. We were given more administrative privileges than last year, so we handled most registration problems on-site, but we had many churches join Nationals for the first time, so I found myself constantly going over procedures and rules, which I was happy to do, really.

I ran into a few frustrated parents, but quickly resolved them to ease the pain on both sides. I also met up with some of my best friends from last year and from college, so it was very nice to catch up. It’s funny sometimes to see the spectrum of people in this nation, from the eccentric to the conservative. Some you could tell where they were from, others – not so sure. I missed Princess today because we worked the same booth last year, so it was weird not having her around with Rachel, too. Some friends asked about them too, even for Noelle. It was great to see them all.

The first evening service headlined the amazing praise and worship team, the PlanetShakers, from Australia, and all I have to say was “wow!”. I’m always amazed how anointed this band is, and praise and worship was EXTREMELY refreshing for me. They introduced a new song they sang for the first time, so it was nice to hear the masses sing along. The Bobcat Arena was filled with His praises, and that in itself is powerful. The ambiance of the whole night was AMAZING! Simply powerful.

Tomorrow marks the first day of competition in Fine Arts. I’m excited for the students, whom I’ve had the brief pleasure of getting to know some of them. They are motivated towards the cause of Christ, which encourages me a lot. I’m stoked that they are heading this way in Ministry. I also can’t wait to see some of the presentations!

Sunday in Charlotte, Fine Arts preps

Today may have been Sunday, but it sure was a busy. Kourtney and I continued to struggle with the time zone change, waking up again at 3:45 AM for no reason at all, although it is an improvement from the 2:00 AM wake up from the night before, so I suppose “baby steps” is the name of the game with that one. We took the downtime to go workout, do some laundry, and Kourtney even found some time in the wee hours to take a dip in the pool.

I led the devotional this morning, talking about Job and how he remained blameless and pure before God; so much so that God named him particularly to Satan as a righteous man. Imagine if we all were like that. So ingrained in God’s will that he would tell Satan himself that our lives can’t be bought by no one else. Great inspiration, and I was glad we were able to fellowship on it and prepare ourselves spiritually for this week as well.

We checked into our new hotel, the Blake Hotel, shortly thereafter. It’s interesting how diverse these hotels around here are. The Blake is only four blocks from the Marriott, but it looked like it was in a completely different world altogether. This hotel has a very retro-modern look, complete with abstract lighting and mod furniture, very reminiscent of a modern 1970’s appeal. I felt like I was in an art show in the lobby. An art show in the Soho District in New York City or something of the sort. We lucked out and got rooms all to ourselves, so Hosanna has her own room, while Kourtney and I are sharing again. If you take a look at some of the photos, you can tell which is of the Blake rooms. We went from “ritzy” to “chic”. I am a bit used to it from doing a lot of traveling across the country, but Hosanna and Kourtney are feeling extra special because of it, which is what I hoped for

When we walked around to find lunch, we noticed that in true Southern fashion, nothing is open until late afternoon in North Carolina, presumably so church is not compromised. I forgot how the South caters to Sundays like that, so although we were hungry, we understood. We’ve been walking everywhere primarily because cabs aren’t readily available, and the only other option is the CATS (Charlotte Area Transit System), or their bus, or LYNX, their light rail – yes the same rail being fought over in Honolulu. By the way, from the public opinion about it and how it looks like its running, I’m even more for it. Our legs are numb at times, but the city of Charlotte is arguably the same size as Downtown Honolulu, so it’s not as if we’re trekking across distant lands. We eventually found a Dunkin Donuts down the road to cure our hunger, and soon it was time to go to the initial volunteers meeting.

We met a bunch of amazing young adult volunteers at the meeting, and got to fellowship with some of them. We stood out like sore thumbs amongst the crowd of volunteers, for obvious reasons. Many complimented us on our shirts, and, like I briefed Kourtney and Hosanna prior to it, many were inquisitive about our being from Hawai’i. I told them that the mere fact that they are from Hawai’i is a conversation piece itself, so a lot of their fellowship may surround it. I was glad to see them interact with different college kids, some even trying to encourage Kourtney to attend, which I liked I met up with familiar faces from last year’s convention in Indianapolis, and caught up on a  year’s worth of updates not already provided through the MySpace/Facebook domain. Most of them remember me from being with Princess, Rachel and Noelle, whom they missed, and made me miss them even more for not being able to be with us . Some even still remember how Rachel would boss me around last year – see, the truth prevails Rachel  I still miss them though. Kourtney volunteered to join the 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament Staff, which I was proud of. I’m glad he’s taking the initiative to branch out and make new friends. Since the Basketball events are being held out of, Hosanna and I won’t see him really until service starts in the evenings, but I’m glad he’s out and about. Today was busy prepping for this week, and the meeting/work-party hat started at 3 PM did not end until 9 PM. We ran around filling bags of essentials for the students, organizing their T-shirts around, and even setting up the rooms for Fine Arts – all 54 of them. I’ll be working the Onsite Check-In again, as Princess and I did last year, and Hosanna looks like she’ll just be running for the first day. We haven’t nailed down room assignments just yet for the rest of the week, but tomorrow’s meeting should take care of that. As we were working, hoards of other workers from colleges and businesses were setting up the exhibition hall with their respective booths. The Convoy of Hope Trailer arrived and dozens of AG workers came in and turned the Hall into a labor factory, which was interesting to see. 

After we were done, we headed back to Rock Bottom for dinner, and came back to the hotel afterwards. Here are some shots of around town from this morning. Some may be duplicates, I’m afraid. I was too tired to crop and edit and such. Well, I’m exhausted. It’s time to go to bed. Tomorrow will be a busy day, but I am excited for it. I can’t wait!

Billy Graham Library, Charlotte Day 2

This morning, we went to the Billy Graham Library. What an experience! Billy Graham, in his humble ways, led millions to Christ and really took the helm of that charge given to us by Christ 2,000 years ago – to go out and make disciples of all nations! The Billy Graham Library featured all of Graham’s life work in a museum format, and we even got to tour the house he grew up in! It was one of the best spiritual experiences I’ve had outside of church or formal services unintentionally, I suppose is how you say it. If you guys ever come to Charlotte, it is a must to visit! My favorite was just learning about how Graham used the Word to reach the world, no more. What an inspiration. Now I know even more why my elders talk much about him – he truly made an example of Christ for all to follow. The house was beautiful, and very much preserved from how Grandma Graham left it. the tour at the Barn/Library was about 90 minutes, and it was just a very nice presentation of Graham’s life work. It’s still boggles my mind how much of an inspiration he is to all to do the same for Christ. My favorite item of memorabilia I saw was the original IOU that Nixon gave him of 5 dollars, with his signature and a funny note on it. That and Graham’s first Bible. Here’s some photos, enjoy!

Good morning Charlotte, you’re beautiful

Okay, so Kourt and I have been up since 2:30 AM, victims of the monstrous time change. My body hates me every time I do this. We fell asleep at around 10:00 PM, but woke up to the sounds of drunkards in the hallway and an ambulance. Since then, we’ve stayed up to force our bodies to adjust. Apparently, our bodies just thought it was just a nap instead of nightly rest, so we’re up anyways, but boy, are we hungry. The nearest IHOP is blocks away, and we’re too tired to make the trek. The vending machines offer up the same sugar-filled junk as always, so we’re out of luck until later this morning. We’ve occupied our time with TV and internet, and reading our Word.

I read briefly over the Creation again; still one of the most mind-boggling things to me. Funny how no matter how much I read it, I never get bored from it. It was weird because as we flew, I sat window the whole time and saw the changing views from Hawai’i to North Carolina; from the vast Pacific to the rolling hills of Arkansas to the murky Mississippi weaving through Tennessee. It’s still amazing to me how God came up with all of it, and all so beautiful in it’s own nature. I stayed in the same country, yet saw worlds of change in the scenery. Isn’t God awesome in His creation?!?

Take time to look around and appreciate God’s creation. I know living in Hawai’i can sometimes make people like me get used to my awesome surroundings, but really look around and praise God for His awesome wonder. It is, in fact, truly amazing.

Welcome to Charlotte

Last night was the beginning of what is going to be a long but fun three weeks here on the East Coast. Needless to say I’m exhausted. We’ve been in the air since 9 o’clock last night Hawaii time, and we just arrived here in Charlotte not too long ago around 4 PM East Cost time. One of the guys from youth, Kourtney, and I are here to work at the National Youth Convention and Fine Arts Festival being held here next week. I went last year with friends in Indianapolis, but its Kourtney’s first time, so I’m excited that he gets to experience it for the first time. We’re heading off to bed soon. The hotel we’re at is really nice – very “ritzy”. I suppose the front desk personnel were taken away by us two local guys staying here, which is funny really now that I think about it. We had dinner at Rock Bottom, which we don’t have in Hawaii. Tomorrow and Sunday will be “Get used to the Time Zone” days before the convention starts. Also, my little sis flies in to join us tomorrow, so it will be a good time for all. I’ll see you guys tomorrow – its’ off to the sack!