An American Thanksgiving in the Philippines

Ma'am White decided she wanted to serve a traditional American Thanksgiving meal to our Filipino pastors and pastors wives.  This included turkeys that were raised on the campground.  Bro. J.R., one of the young men who is attending the ACTS Bible school also studied to be a chef, so he was given the task of preparing the turkeys.

After service on Wednesday night, we all gathered to partake.  We had all the usual side dishes and everything was delicious.

The dessert table also held lots of traditional goodness, including pumpkin pie!  Sis. Carrier made several yummy candies, including Oreo balls dipped in white chocolate.

Many of the couches and chairs in the Messner house recline.  These sweet ladies were having a blast trying them out!

Good food is a great way to get to know each other!

June 16th ~ Storytime (Photo a Day)

We have one of the cutest little storybooks in our house.  "The Napping House" by Audrey Wood, illustrated by Don Wood. We were first introduced to this story by our niece, Hannah.  I think she was about 3 when she "read" this story to us.

It starts out with a snoring granny "on a cozy bed in a napping house, where everyone is sleeping..."  Each page adds another sleeper - a dreaming child, a dozing dog, a snoozing cat, a slumbering mouse... on a cozy bed in a napping house, where everyone is sleeping...

The final addition is a flea... Can it be?  a wakeful flea...  a wakeful flea that wreaks havoc in the napping house...  waking each member up!

And finally granny breaks the bed...  in the napping house, where no one now is sleeping!

It's perfect for storytime and kids of all ages will love it!

What Happens "Over the Hill"

We got a little bit of rain Monday night/early Tuesday morning, so I decided yesterday morning would be a good time to ride the trail.  It's been really dry and sandy and tough to ride lately, a little rain makes a big difference.  Yesterday was the first day of my birthday month (you celebrate all month, don't you??), the month I will turn 50... some would say I'm going to be "over the hill."  Well this is what "over the hill" looks like in my world:

Up the hill, through puddles...

down the hill, through  more puddles!

I'll admit that I'm not what I thought I'd be at 50.  I'm much more active than I thought a 50 year old could be and I'm loving it!  Onward to the next hill!

Marriage Enrichment Retreat ~ Cha Ching!

There were so many good things talked about during our Marriage Retreat, but one example set the theme...

On Friday evening, Bro. Gleason talked about "Change in the Pocket."  Every time you do what you say you're going to do, you're putting change in your spouse's pocket.  When you do something special, for no reason - change in their pocket.  The goal is to fill their pockets - they should be running over with change.  Keep putting change in because sometimes you are going to forget - a birthday or an anniversary or some other special event. 

Marriages fall apart when you run out of change.

On Saturday morning we had a little exercise.  The men were given three words - delicious, exciting, and stunning - and were to compose up to three sentences about their wife using those words.  The ladies did the same using the words handsome, responsible, and sweet.  Bro. Gallimore then went around the room and had everyone read their sentences.  Some were funny, others were extremely sweet.  As the more creative ones were read, you could hear "cha ching!" across the room.  Change in their pockets!  Some even got double cha chings!

Honey can I get you something to drink?  Cha ching!
Here, babe, let me carry that for you... Cha ching!
You look so pretty/handsome!  Cha ching!

Of course it has to be done in sincerity.  We should all be able to tell the difference between sincerity and buttering up.

It was a fun time, but it is very true for all relationships.  Spouses, parents, siblings, church family.  We are all human and are going to say and do things that hurt others, but if we've spent more time putting change in the pockets of those we love, they are going to more easily forgive us our short comings.

Want to know what I wrote using handsome, responsible and sweet?  "I cannot be held responsible for my actions when my handsome husband whispers sweet nothings in my ear!"  Cha ching!!

Weekend Wrap Up

We had a really fun and busy weekend!   It started with Ladies Night Out on Friday night.  Seventeen ladies from New Life Pentecostal joined the fun at Auntie Pasto's in Kunia!

The portions were huge!  Les was happy to eat my leftovers on Saturday.

Sis. Acasio was the last one to get her food.  She asked for a discount and the manager gave everyone at our table 20% off!

While we were waiting for our food, Sis. Mac got a very special call - Facetime with Pastor McGriffin in the Philippines!

We also had a special guest join us.  Sis. Cyndy White is a missionary to the country of Jordan.  After our meal she shared some of her burden.  The country of Jordan is 88% Muslim and it is against the law to convert anyone, but there are many international workers in the country and they are exempt from that law.  They have a Filipino congregation, along with a Sri Lankan work.  She is also involved in outreach to shelters, prisons, and refugees.  She only has two weeks left on her deputation schedule before she returns "home."  We're praying that her budget will be full and running over! (Like her plate of lasagna!)

Saturday afternoon was Praise Team practice.  I have enjoyed so much being a part of this team.  They are willing to let me join in when we are in town and it is fun to sing without the pressure of playing or being in charge!  Bro. Ryan does such a great job.  He is extremely talented in playing and singing, but has the most humble spirit.  He is very sensitive to the moving of the Spirit in service.  He is also very patient with us!

Following practice was Church Ohana (Family) Prayer.  We learned that Bro. Justin was going to be deployed to the Philippines to help in the rescue efforts.  We also prayed for Sis. Remy's family - one of her uncles and two aunts lived in Tacloban, the area hit hardest by Typhoon Haiyan, and they have not heard from them since.  Please pray for those needs!

Sunday evening was another great service!  The faces of the new ones who have recently been baptized and filled with the Holy Ghost brings such joy.  Les filled in since Pastor McGriffin was still out of town.  He preached, "Dethroning God."  It is impossible to remove God from his heavenly throne, but we can dethrone Him from the thrones of our hearts.

I'm so glad to be part of God's family.  Worshiping, fellowshipping, singing, laughing, eating, and praying together - God's family is the finest!

Making Memories

I've been taking a lot of pictures lately and decided to try my hand at making collages to take up less space.

The past few weeks have been so busy!   We fly back home on Thursday after being gone for about a month.  Here's a little bit of what we've been doing lately...

The Hicks family is being transferred to Washington state.  They were so good to us when we first came to Hawaii.  Many times they gave us rides to and from church.  They loaned us their car for a week until we bought ours.  We could never repay their kindness, but we wanted to treat them to dinner before they moved on...

We went to a church picnic on the Fourth of July...

As is tradition, Les rode his bike to the picnic.  There was lots of good food, fun and fellowship...

Les and I spent some time on the North Shore...

We had lunch at Cholo's in Hale'iwa, followed by shave ice...

You need to see the size of that shave ice. We split the small - $2.75 with ice cream on the bottom.  We'd never tried ice cream in our shave ice.  It was SO good!

Sunday was full, I played the piano and led the music for the entire service.  I was SO nervous, but God moved and blessed our efforts!  Pastor McGriffin and several others are going to the Philippines in a few weeks, so I'll be filling in then.  This was a chance for me to get a little extra practice time with the praise team.  They did a great job when I sang a song we hadn't even practiced!!!

Sis. Hicks had an appointment today, so Robyn and Tyser spent a few hours with me.  This included lunch at McDonald's, exploring our condo, and some hair brushing...

And now I'm caught up!

Coming Soon!

We have had a busy few days!  I want to blog about it all, but laundry and housework are calling this morning.  Coming soon...

Hawaii District Family Camp:

Birthday Dinner for Pastor McGriffin's 60th Birthday:

Church Celebration for Pastor McGriffin:

And I still need to blog about last week's Bible Study, because Friday night's service at camp was along the same lines!

This Ain't Spin Class

Each Spring is the annual Georgia Boot Camp at Sky High Sanctuary.  This is put on by my brother-in-law, Lance, at his cabin in Ellijay, Georgia.  Les has attended each year.  It's a bunch of guys and their bicycles. And they love it!  During the 2012 camp, one of the riders (who was having a little trouble keeping up) said, "This ain't spin class."  That line stuck, and any difficult ride "ain't spin class."  At this year's camp, Lance order jerseys with this on the back:

Haleakala National Park is home to Maui's highest peak.  Haleakala means "house of the sun" in Hawaiian.  The road to the summit is long and winding in a car, and strenuous on a bicycle.  It is the longest, steepest paved road on the planet!

The Observatory on the top of Haleakala

We were up at 3:00 Sunday morning and on the road by 3:30.  It usually takes about an hour to get to Paia and Les wanted to be on the road by 5:00.  I drove the SAG (Support and Gear) vehicle.  We were in Paia by about 4:30 and Les was rolling by 4:45.

Our plan was to meet every hour or so to make sure Les had everything he needed.  Our first stop was in the town of Makawao.  The sun was slowly coming up and Les was pedaling along just fine.  Our next meeting place was on Crater Road, the beginning of many switchbacks!

We didn't have a location for our next meet up.  Les said, "Just find a place where you can pull over about 7 miles from here."  Fortunately, I found a lookout point.  It was pretty chilly (I think the highs on the mountain were in the 50s that day) so I spent time in the car, reading my Kindle and trying to stay warm.  But I did get out and take pictures of the view.

It was at this stop that I saw the first group of "downhillers."  Most go up in a van to see the sunrise from the summit, then ride bikes from the park entrance back down.

You can see a group of downhillers on the road

Here comes the lone uphiller!

Les also started seeing the downhillers and getting comments.  Most were, "You're going the wrong way" or "It's easier going this way!"  One guy said, "Now that's a real man!"  Yes, he is!  After meeting there, our next stop was the Visitor Center at 7,000 feet.

At the Visitor Center, we were only 11 miles from the summit but with another 3,000 feet of climbing to go!  We decided to meet one more time before the summit.  I parked at the Leleiwi Lookout and Les came rolling in about 40 minutes later.

One more segment to go!  Onward to the summit.  I smiled when I saw the "2 Miles to Summit" sign.  I was ready for a break from the many, many switchbacks!  There are signs on the road saying to watch for the Hawaiian Nene birds.  I didn't see any of them, but I did see two Chukar at the 10,000 foot sign.

I walked up to the observatory so I had a full view of the road when Les came pedaling in! 

Victory pose!

Us at the top.

The Queen of SAG.  I was wearing Les' vest and arm warmers.  He put those on just before he started the ride down.  Yes, he also rode down ~ he earned it!

He did it in 4 hours and 30 minutes.  When he rode it in 2005, it took about 5 hours.  Eight years older and he was faster this time!  The ride down took about an hour and 15 minutes.

10,026 feet of elevation gained in 35.38 miles in 4:30:46.
Total distance: 71.12 miles in 5:45:51
Average Speed:  12.3 mph
Fastest Speed:  41.2!!! (I had a tough time keeping up with him on the downhill!)
Average Heart Rate 144
Max HR 162

This definitely Ain't Spin Class, baby!