Well hello friends. It has been a while since i have updated this thing. For those of you who do not know, I was just in Sri Lanka for a month, and now i am in Bali for another month-both with surfing the nations. So I feel really out of touch with everyone. I guess that happens when you are in a fishing village for a month and can't really use the internet. But I want you all to know what Ive been up to. I've decided that hopefully in the next few days I will write more on here and give you lots of details about Arugam Bay, Sri Lanka. So this first blog started out as an email to my parents but then i decided i would fill everyone in...it's written really sloppily, but thats how i always write so i hope you do not mind. This first one is just about Arugam Bay and the set up of it.
So. Arugam Bay. It's a little fishing village. I really didn't realize that it was so small until we left. Arugam bay is on the east side of the island. we arrived in colombo and took a 10 hour ormore bus ride to the opposite side of the island, all on semi bumpy roads. Pottovil is a bigger town next to Arugam bay. We drive through Pottovil which is one main strip that has tailer stores-i don't know. where they make your clothes, little convenient stores that have laundry soap, crackers, water and fruit, fruit stands and restaurants. nothing is nice and new with air conditioning, everything is hole in the wall style stores. at the end of pottuvil is a new big bridge that was at the end of being built. It is the nicest thing we saw pretty much our whole drive..pretty much in all of sri lanka maybe haha. but arugam bay is on the other side. obviously arugam bay is a bay and the whole little town is shaped around the bay. we lived towards the middle/beginning of the bay (Surfing the nations has property there). the street is lined with lots of rotti stands, which is like sao bing yo tiou (for people from taiwan)-the outside bread type stuff...and i pretty much ate that for breakfast lunch and dinner. for breakfast it was two plain ones for 20 cents, lunch was maybe a vegetable or egg and vegetable rotti, and dinner was koti rotti which is rotti cut up with some veggies mixed in. so i really got my fill of carbs! so the street has lots of these little greasy hole in the wall rotti shops, probably at least 20 hotel/bungalos that have no people staying in them and little stores. i guess oprah has a hotel out there-Tri star, but no one was even staying in it. when we got there there were only a handful of tourists and 25 of us...ahha. but by the time we left the tourist season had picked up. At the end of the street (or where arugam bay kinda ends) is a buddha in a glass box that renee likes to call the buddha information center...take a left there and a 1 minute walk down a broken road and it opens up to the ocean. boats are lined everwhere with men who act as though they have never seen elbows and calves (It's a strict muslim community so we women were dressed in skirts below the knee and loose t-shirts the whole time...we were really longing for some freedom from frumpy clothes!)...then a little walk around the bay and you are at the point! there is only one surfing point in arugam bay so pretty much the five tourists that were there for a nice surf vacation were quite shocked the first morning we were there and 20 people crowded the point. so yeah...oh yeah. i can give you more details about the property (this would be so much easier if i could show you pictures right now, but i obviously can't!) the property. it is the first property off the street and then there is one property right behind us and then the beach. we have a front entrance that is a gate (kind of i guess) and then a side door..we only use the side door and the alley that it is off of has a nice view out to the ocean. so our property is half lined in bricks and then half fenced in by palm frawns.i think that is what they are called. its palm branches woven together to make pieces to make fences, roofs, shade, walls, everything. and the property is one piece of land. i'm not exactly sure how big it is. it's not big, but its not small. on the property is palm trees, a house- a cement house with two bedrooms, a (i don't even know what itis called) but its like a shadey area...a cement slab with a roof on top...so that is where all our meetings were and if anyone was on the property this is where they were sitting because it was too hot in the sun. then we have a well, which was my favorite part because i loved pulling the bucket up with the dirty water to flush our toilet or to water the plants. I could pretend that i had left this modernized world and was living the origional way..the property also has .a bathroom and a shower. the shower is super sick, its got the palm frawn wall setting and has trees in it and then a cement slab for where you can stand and shower. but we didn't shower there becasue the water is brown and dirty-something was wrong with the well...so they either gotta dig another well or wait for 3 months till the whole town gets clean water. our first two days there we used thed irty water but we decided it would probably be better to use our neighbors-aloha cabanas showers instead. then we had 7 tents set up around the property where we all slept. My bags were covered in sand by the time I left.
so that is the set up of A Bay. As for daily life. A regular day was wake up between 6:30 and 8 (my tent always woke up early because we were right next to the door and all the boys were always at dawn patrol-morning surf-and would wake up right when the sun came out) the first week i was there i ate at aloha cabanas every morning, milk tea and a jaffle (like a bananna panini) but then that became too expensive($3.00) . so i would have my quiet time with some milk tea, and then we would usually have a meeting around 9 or 10-have worship, testimony and a little bible study. the last week or so we were studying galations so we would read a chapter as a group and dig into it, and then by this time it is about noonish and the surfers would surf and us non surfers would hit the ocean and do a little body surfing or just getting refreshed by the water...then we started work on the property. i was on the alley team (we cleaned the alley and the name just stuck) and so we pretty much had no jobs because we werent painters or good with construction..so we would just go and chill with people in the community. One day a bunch of us girls bought ice cream for the Why Not family (i'll tell you more about them later). we got close with two families that lived right next door to eachother. the Ali family and the Why Not family. (the why not family had a restaurant that we ate at everynight called why not. cuz why wouldn't you eat there-great local prices and good food) the Ali family is the family that made me fall in love with Arugam Bay the most. there are 4 older girls, two boys and a 3 year old girl. By the time we left the three oldest girls were married and pregnant, and rodja is 18 and probably soon getting married. we'd go over and they would make us tea and we would just sit. not really talk because there's a big language barrier, but we would just kinda talk and laugh. they always fed us strange snacks...like berries that made our mouths extremely dry. they tasted like unripe bananas. the Ali family's dad, who we called papa is something big with at the mosque. A Moula (sp?) i think is what it is called. I don't really know what that means, but he was something important at the mosque. So his family was run by strict Muslim rules. This means that the women of the house were never allowed to leave the house except to cross the street to get water from their neighbor's well. This means they were really happy to have us over at any time of the day. The people of Arugam bay were so so welcoming and friendly (sometimes its hard to tell if its genuine or whether they just are wanting to be friends with stn so they can get money...) but the Alis are genuine friends, people with STN have known them for years. We couldn't really communicate that well with the girls. Rodja spoke a bit of english so it was always a challenge to know what was going on. On the day before we left we were supposed to go berry picking with the family in their garden but we told them we couldn't get there until 10:30 instead of 9:00..when we arrived the berry pickers were gone..the time change was lost in translation (this was one of our favorite phrases)...it was kinda okay though because it was going to be an hour walk in the blistering sun. While we were there Falilah, the 3rd daughter got married out of no where. she had a "boyfriend" that she married. we're not sure exactly how the ceremony was supposed to go or what exactly was going on but i was just so happy to be able to be apart of a muslim/sri lankan wedding. And then there was the Why Not family. We met them one day while we were sitting at the Ali's place and we saw some little kids peeping through a crack in the fence. Renee went over to talk with them...an hour or so later we were all sitting around like..where is renee?! we weren't sure if maybe she had left to go home because of a bad case of diahrea (this happens a lot here..people will just dissapear to the bathroom) or where she could have been...but we found out that she had been trapped next door by the 15 kids that live there. So since then we became friends with the little girls (they're about 15 and younger) and spent a lot of time at their place. One day Renee and i got to do laundry with them-not in a washing machine, but by hand...it made me happy.
So i've had enough of typing for today. I will continue tomorrow or some other day to tell you more about life in A Bay.
Thank you all for your prayers and support. We really felt them!
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Hello friends that check out my blog. Sorry I am not very good at updating this thing. I feel like everything I do is the same everyweek. I don't know what to write about. I'm brainstorming of what I should write to tell you. I don't have it yet. But for now I do have my support letter that I am just going to put on here that does give you a little more information about what I am doing. It doesn't really have the juicy details of everything though. sorry! Hope all is well with you!
Aloha friends and family,
For those of you who don’t know, I have moved to Hawaii and am planning on being here until December. I am working for an organization named Surfing the Nations. STN is a humanitarian/missions non-profit 501(c)(3) committed to impacting local and international communities by meeting needs and changing lives of those around us. Here are some of the ways we impact our local community in Honolulu, Oahu as well as the international community:
o Feeding the Hungry Programs
o Weekly Surfers Leadership Training
o Island Youth Program/At-Risk Youth
o Surf Contests
o Surf Camps
o Local & International humanitarian/outreach trips
I would like to share with you two things that are on my heart; the Feeding the Hungry Team and going to Sri Lanka. I would also like to share with you how you can be involved in what I am doing here in Oahu as well as what I will be doing in Sri Lanka.
The Feeding the Hungry team feeds more than 300 people a week with food we get from the Food Bank. I have been on the Feeding the Hungry team for the last two months and have just recently taken over the homeless out reach side of the team. This means I plan our Friday outreaches to the people who live under the freeway. Let me tell you a little bit about this community and how we are involved in it. There are many reasons someone would move under a freeway to live. Frank lives under the freeway because he was in a relationship and his girlfriend’s mom paid him to leave. After bouncing from one place to the next he found himself making a home under the freeway. Tiari, an 18 year old who is living with a 30 year old man just delivered a baby and is in the process of giving the baby to her brother. Bella is a 60 year old Nicaraguan prostitute who has made her home into a little girl’s dream home with decorations all over the trees. Skip has had two cars, two divorces and a golfing career but somehow now finds himself living in a broken van. Although they were once accepted by society and the world, they now live in what they call “the underworld”, a place where the only people that come, come to fix the broken fences, tell them they are dirty and leave. There are churches that deliver food, fix up their wounds and leave, but no one who comes to hang out, talk story and love on them. When we first started visiting the community, we handed out food bags to whoever we came in contact with, talked story for a little bit and then left. We want to do more than hand out food and ditch so now we have a picnic where people can eat fresh food. We have activities for them to do so they feel more comfortable hanging out and there is more of an inviting setting. Last week we brought beads and made rings and bracelets with some of the ladies. I am hoping that my team and I will come up with more ideas as to how we can show the people under the freeway that Christ loves them. I am praying for money to come in so we can buy more fun things to do with them like painting and tie dieing. The reason I go down there is to show them that God has not forgotten about them and that there are people in the world who care about them. By donating money or supplies you can also be apart of sharing Christ’s love with these people.
This summer I am going to Sri Lanka with Surfing the Nations. Sri Lanka is a war and tsunami torn island to the south west of India. (Although it is war torn, we will be in the south east part of the island which is not touched by war) It’s four main religions are Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam and Christianity. We will be there June 7-July 2. The main place we will be is Arugam Bay which is a small fisherman town. You can watch movies on www.youtube.com documenting STN’s past trips to learn more about our involvement in Arugam Bay. The cost will be $2,200 which will cover airfare, ground fees, food and spending money. While there we will do post tsunami relief, build relationships, continue to pioneer/build & establish STN’s Surf Center, teach English and evangelism.
Here is how you can help me. I came to Hawaii with the intentions of staying with STN for only 3 months to do an internship, but God had other plans for me; I am now staying 7 months longer than I had intended. My work out here is purely volunteer and therefore have no means of supporting myself. Staying here is a step of faith into God’s world by relying on Him to provide for my needs. There are three ways you can help me live by faith. You can support me financially, prayerfully and with your network.
Here are some ways you can support me financially:
o Write a check/money order to me.
o Write a check/money order to Surfing the Nations or Surfers Church ATTN: Whitney Willett (Tax deductible).
o Donate online @ www.surfingthenations.com (Tax deductible)
Ø Click Contributions -> Click Make a Donation online -> Fill out required information-> Purpose of gift: Whitney Willett
(The "deadline" for me to get my ticket is May 10-but hopefully they won't stick to it that closely seeing that that is only a few weeks away!)
Here is what you can pray for:
-That the characters of a leader would be growing in me (especially patience).
-That I would be learning to hear God’s voice so I follow Him and not my own desires.
-Sri Lanka trip: For safety and that I wouldn’t get frustrated by working in a big group
I need you to help network with me. Please pass the word or this actual letter on to others who might be interested in supporting me. Money is important, but your prayers are even more important. My being here is the result of praying parents and friends. Inside I have enclosed a return envelope if you desire to financially support me.
Thank you in advance for your support.
In Him,
Whitney Willett
Aloha friends and family,
For those of you who don’t know, I have moved to Hawaii and am planning on being here until December. I am working for an organization named Surfing the Nations. STN is a humanitarian/missions non-profit 501(c)(3) committed to impacting local and international communities by meeting needs and changing lives of those around us. Here are some of the ways we impact our local community in Honolulu, Oahu as well as the international community:
o Feeding the Hungry Programs
o Weekly Surfers Leadership Training
o Island Youth Program/At-Risk Youth
o Surf Contests
o Surf Camps
o Local & International humanitarian/outreach trips
I would like to share with you two things that are on my heart; the Feeding the Hungry Team and going to Sri Lanka. I would also like to share with you how you can be involved in what I am doing here in Oahu as well as what I will be doing in Sri Lanka.
The Feeding the Hungry team feeds more than 300 people a week with food we get from the Food Bank. I have been on the Feeding the Hungry team for the last two months and have just recently taken over the homeless out reach side of the team. This means I plan our Friday outreaches to the people who live under the freeway. Let me tell you a little bit about this community and how we are involved in it. There are many reasons someone would move under a freeway to live. Frank lives under the freeway because he was in a relationship and his girlfriend’s mom paid him to leave. After bouncing from one place to the next he found himself making a home under the freeway. Tiari, an 18 year old who is living with a 30 year old man just delivered a baby and is in the process of giving the baby to her brother. Bella is a 60 year old Nicaraguan prostitute who has made her home into a little girl’s dream home with decorations all over the trees. Skip has had two cars, two divorces and a golfing career but somehow now finds himself living in a broken van. Although they were once accepted by society and the world, they now live in what they call “the underworld”, a place where the only people that come, come to fix the broken fences, tell them they are dirty and leave. There are churches that deliver food, fix up their wounds and leave, but no one who comes to hang out, talk story and love on them. When we first started visiting the community, we handed out food bags to whoever we came in contact with, talked story for a little bit and then left. We want to do more than hand out food and ditch so now we have a picnic where people can eat fresh food. We have activities for them to do so they feel more comfortable hanging out and there is more of an inviting setting. Last week we brought beads and made rings and bracelets with some of the ladies. I am hoping that my team and I will come up with more ideas as to how we can show the people under the freeway that Christ loves them. I am praying for money to come in so we can buy more fun things to do with them like painting and tie dieing. The reason I go down there is to show them that God has not forgotten about them and that there are people in the world who care about them. By donating money or supplies you can also be apart of sharing Christ’s love with these people.
This summer I am going to Sri Lanka with Surfing the Nations. Sri Lanka is a war and tsunami torn island to the south west of India. (Although it is war torn, we will be in the south east part of the island which is not touched by war) It’s four main religions are Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam and Christianity. We will be there June 7-July 2. The main place we will be is Arugam Bay which is a small fisherman town. You can watch movies on www.youtube.com documenting STN’s past trips to learn more about our involvement in Arugam Bay. The cost will be $2,200 which will cover airfare, ground fees, food and spending money. While there we will do post tsunami relief, build relationships, continue to pioneer/build & establish STN’s Surf Center, teach English and evangelism.
Here is how you can help me. I came to Hawaii with the intentions of staying with STN for only 3 months to do an internship, but God had other plans for me; I am now staying 7 months longer than I had intended. My work out here is purely volunteer and therefore have no means of supporting myself. Staying here is a step of faith into God’s world by relying on Him to provide for my needs. There are three ways you can help me live by faith. You can support me financially, prayerfully and with your network.
Here are some ways you can support me financially:
o Write a check/money order to me.
o Write a check/money order to Surfing the Nations or Surfers Church ATTN: Whitney Willett (Tax deductible).
o Donate online @ www.surfingthenations.com (Tax deductible)
Ø Click Contributions -> Click Make a Donation online -> Fill out required information-> Purpose of gift: Whitney Willett
(The "deadline" for me to get my ticket is May 10-but hopefully they won't stick to it that closely seeing that that is only a few weeks away!)
Here is what you can pray for:
-That the characters of a leader would be growing in me (especially patience).
-That I would be learning to hear God’s voice so I follow Him and not my own desires.
-Sri Lanka trip: For safety and that I wouldn’t get frustrated by working in a big group
I need you to help network with me. Please pass the word or this actual letter on to others who might be interested in supporting me. Money is important, but your prayers are even more important. My being here is the result of praying parents and friends. Inside I have enclosed a return envelope if you desire to financially support me.
Thank you in advance for your support.
In Him,
Whitney Willett
Friday, February 29, 2008
Moloka'i and Honolulu outreaches
On Moloka’i there is a peninsula that is cut off from the rest of the island. It is surrounded by ocean and 2,000 ft high cliffs. To King Kamehameha V this was the perfect place to isolate those affected by the outburst of Hansen’s disease (leprosy) in 1865. The first patients were dumped off the side of the boat and would swim to shore. This place is called Kalaupapa and I got to make the 2 mile hike down to see this “colony”. (The first picture above is looking down at the peninsula from the starting point of the hike, the second is of looking at what we just hiked down)
At first I was like I don’t know, I feel like this is going against the Global Studies handbook. I would be going to a human zoo. But actually, it was a God given gift to me to be able to go. Its amazing how we got the opportunity to go. Christy (one of the leaders) saw park reservation instead of preservation and so she called the number and left a message. The guy was so confused when he got a message about 10 people visiting Moloka’i, but called back anyways. They talked and he informed Christy on how we could do some volunteer work down there if we wanted, instead of paying the fees for a tour.
We left at 8 in the morning and got to the bottom at about 9 and were ready to start our volunteering. We were assigned to working in a patient’s garden, Paul Harada who passed away two months earlier and painting a picnic area. Working in the garden was amazing. Paul loved working in his garden. He grew poinsettias so he could give them away to the other patients around Christmas. The National Park Preservation people aren’t sure what they want to do with the garden-I think they might keep it nice so that it can be one of the exhibitions of the park. But as I sat there pulling weeds out of the extremely dry land I couldn’t help but think of Paul looking down on us and smiling. (first picture is what i was looking at as i pulled weeds, the second picture is of the ground around paul's garage-it was full of little trinkets and things everywhere. it looked like an eye spy picture. I think i would have gotten a long well with him, i don't think he threw anything away)
At first I was like I don’t know, I feel like this is going against the Global Studies handbook. I would be going to a human zoo. But actually, it was a God given gift to me to be able to go. Its amazing how we got the opportunity to go. Christy (one of the leaders) saw park reservation instead of preservation and so she called the number and left a message. The guy was so confused when he got a message about 10 people visiting Moloka’i, but called back anyways. They talked and he informed Christy on how we could do some volunteer work down there if we wanted, instead of paying the fees for a tour.
We left at 8 in the morning and got to the bottom at about 9 and were ready to start our volunteering. We were assigned to working in a patient’s garden, Paul Harada who passed away two months earlier and painting a picnic area. Working in the garden was amazing. Paul loved working in his garden. He grew poinsettias so he could give them away to the other patients around Christmas. The National Park Preservation people aren’t sure what they want to do with the garden-I think they might keep it nice so that it can be one of the exhibitions of the park. But as I sat there pulling weeds out of the extremely dry land I couldn’t help but think of Paul looking down on us and smiling. (first picture is what i was looking at as i pulled weeds, the second picture is of the ground around paul's garage-it was full of little trinkets and things everywhere. it looked like an eye spy picture. I think i would have gotten a long well with him, i don't think he threw anything away)
We took a lunch break by the dock and got to jump into the water and go for a little swim which was quite nice. Then we went to the other side of the peninsula to paint. Below are the pictures of that side. The first one is the end of the drive to the pincnic area, and the second one is a look out to where the people were first kicked out of the boats and had to swim to shore and climb up to land. It was such a privelage and blessing to be able to paint the picnic area because we got to drive across the peninsula and see more of the land. We passed Father Damien's church and grave where his hand is burried (weird. i know). We got to see where the people burned sacrifices to the gods, where some people were burried and many churches. This place was the most beautiful place I have ever been. It has a heartbreaking history but yet is full of life. Everything is so simple. It hasn’t been invaded by tourists. Looking to the high cliffs to the ocean is the most beautiful view. Even the hour hike up 2,000 feet was beautiful. 
As for the rest of my time in Moloka’i; I think I painted almost everyday. I painted the skate park, at Kalaupapa, and one of the rooms in the church we were staying. Since we are Surfing the Nations, we went to the beach a few of the days we were there. I don’t surf, but I loved being at the beach because it is such a great place to have my quiet times.Moloka’i was like a vacation for me. Even though we were working a lot, it was all relaxed working. Didn’t have to deal with Filipino and Korean Aunties trying to cheat the system and get twice as much food as they are supposed to get from “Feeding the Hungry”. Didn’t have to sort through salvage food at the Food Bank, or d
o yard work around the house. It was a good time to learn more about God from the people I was around.
Now I am back in Honolulu on the Feeding the Hungry team which I hate and love. I think it is the hardest team. I don’t get to go to the beach and chill at UH like I did on College Team. I do get to give out loads of food in Kalihi every Thursday. Sometimes we go to Barber’s Point and give out food too. For our outreaches we go to the community that lives under the highway. There’s a neighborhood down there. People living in tents or tarps made into houses. We hand out bags of food and invite people to our other events and of course we pray for them.
1. a couple getting married at Once a Month Church in North Shore2. Vasiliy and Galina, a couple from Ukraine who have left everything to follow the Holy Spirit's leading. I met them at Feeding the Hungry
3. Freddie praying for someone before they get food at FtH
4. Willa and Atti-a grandma and her grandson who are from the Marshall Islands and come get food on thursdays
5. Do you want oreos or nutter butters?
6. Waikiki Outreach-we have a bbq at Waikiki every wednesday for the homeless.
Thank you to all you who pray for me. God is making me into a new person. Its kinda weird. I’m too lazy to read through this again, so you can get over the mistakes.
oh and i can't take credit for all the photos. the one at the skate park and 3,5,6 aren't mine. I think they're james's.
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Ohana, Aloha. So it’s been about two weeks since I have been here. It’s so weird. I feel like I have been here for so long and it was so long ago that I was in Azusa hanging out in parks and freezing my booty off in Denver. You all would be so proud of me because I don’t wear five thousand layers and I am always the only one who doesn’t think its cold-a change from always being the cold one.
I’m trying to think of what I should tell you but honestly I have no idea. I could tell you about how much sand I have in my dreads, or how much sun has been captured into my skin, or how hot the brazilian boys I met today were or how much I love riding in the back of trucks and how great Acai bowls are.
I’m trying to think of what I should tell you but honestly I have no idea. I could tell you about how much sand I have in my dreads, or how much sun has been captured into my skin, or how hot the brazilian boys I met today were or how much I love riding in the back of trucks and how great Acai bowls are.
I could tell yo u how much beauty lies on this island from the sight of storms rolling in to the people to the orchards, hibiscuses and plumerias.
But I think I should cut through the surface and tell you what is really going on in my heart (naturally). I don’t know how many of you really know where I was before I came here, but I was in this spot where I questioned God and life so much that I had a hard time loving God-I had a lot of moments where I didn’t even think God was real. So you can imagine coming to a place so spiritually based pretty difficult. Mmmm…welp it has been. It has been a soul and mind battle-I feel like this is kind of becoming a daily pattern for me. But it’s really hard to go against the grain and not believe in God. I see God’s presence in so many people’s lives. I am constantly hearing people’s testimonies and constantly hearing incredible stories of how God has provided for STN. Who or what is it that provides free ipods and watches to people every week, donates the exact amount of money to people who are in need of it, and gives away cars, tvs, food, clothes and money to homeless people? There are moments when I want to resist and say that it is just coincidence but I have come to realize that is just stupid.
I have a hard time being here because I don’t know why I am here. I am not really into the ministry that STN does, although I think they do great things, its just not really for me. I don’t know if I really agree with a lot of comments that are thrown around. I feel really guilty because I feel like I am on vacation. I don’t understand the use of talking to a homeless person for 30 minutes a week. It scares me and trips me out though because I know I am supposed to be here. Someone told me the other day that “People don’t just show up at STN, God brings people here”. They went on to say that it is because of the prayer of parents, of friends, of people here that makes people come. It weirds me out-WHY AM I HERE? I am used to doing things because it will prepare me for the future in one way or another, so it is kind of weird being here and not really understanding how this fits into my life that I like to think I have planned out. Its weird because if you would have talked to me one month ago I would have probably told you that God didn’t do things for people-I liked to think of life more as a flow of coincidences. I don’t think I can really believe that anymore, and it is really hard for me to admit.
One of the requirements to finish this internship I am in is to do an outreach with STN. STN is known for its outreaches to Bali, Sri Lanka and all these crazy places that hate Jesus. There are also outreaches to the different islands in Hawaii. There is one coming up in a few weeks to Molokai. When I first found out about this requirement I thought to myself-I am NOT going on a mission’s trip. I feel like that would be sinning against Global Studies. And plus I have begged for money from supporters for too long and have never written thank you notes :-S…uh sorry friends. Anyways. As I thought about it though I realized that I shouldn’t put the creator of this universe in a box. At first I told myself that I would not send out letters to people-if God wanted me to go then he would provide. But I realized that I should put a little effort in, so here I am adding this into my letter/blog. From what I hear Molokai is the island where all the lepers were sent. It is the type of island where t he people live off the land. There aren’t too many people that live there and is a very chill place. I obviously want to go for selfish reasons. It seems like a dream place for me-where western society hasn’t taken control. But I guess I don’t want to go if it is not what God wants for me. And I don’t know if I want to go anyways because I don’t really know what the point of me going is, except for a great traveling experience. I think what I am going to learn from being here is that I don’t always have to do things that fit into my life shaping plan-its okay to do things that I don’t know what the purpose of them is. And I need to stop placing times in my life where God can use me and not allowing every moment to be God’s. Oh yeah, while on Molokai we will be doing random service-STN has gone for the past I don’t know how many years, and has built a lot of friendships with the people there so we just show up and are put to work around the island. I think they started to build a skate park last time and so maybe we will work on that, but I don’t know. So in all honesty, I don’t know why I should go and I don’t even know the point of going, but I am sure that our creator does, and I am doing what I should. I am saying “I’m willing to go”. The trip is $300. So I am asking that if you really feel God or whatever it is that you feel, telling you to donate some money to me, please do, or don’t I guess. If you want to donate money you can do it a few ways. You can write a check out to Surfing the Nations and send it into
Surfing the Nations
P.O. Box 29393
Honolulu, Hawaii
96820
You can also send me a birthday present too :) haha. Just joking. Or you can make an online donation by going to http://www.surfingthenations.com/ and going to the contributions section which will send you to an information page about online contributions. Funny how that happens. But make sure for either way you send money that you write Whitney Willett on the memo line.
Sorry this got pretty long-I’m sure a lot of you didn’t even make it to the end of this, but if you did, thank you for caring enough about me to read my long blog :)
Oh yes. And for those of you who really care about me and pray for me I have a few prayer requests.
As I kind of mentioned I am having a hard time giving my whole life to the creator of this universe and father of Jesus. Pray that I will lay my pride aside and surrender my life.
My first prayer that I prayed for myself when I got here was that I would find someone who I could talk to and have real conversations with. It has gotten better but I just haven’t really found that person that I really connect with.
That I wouldn’t be swept up in the greatness of all this-I don’t want some spiritual high or anything, I want my feelings to be real and I don’t want to be brainwashed into believing whatever everyone around me is believing. (I hope that makes sense)
Mahalo and Aloha Ohana.
P.S. I thought of you Mzzz Betty while I was walking around UH’s campus-you went there for a while right? I hope so or else I just thought of you. : )
Thursday, January 17, 2008
been in hawaii for 2 days
So i started this as an email for my mom and dad and then of course i started to go into detail, i was going to email it to you all but that would have taken too long so i decided to make a blog..so if i forgot to delete something that has to do with my mom and dad..get over it :)
I'm kinda in the mood to not be very social...i just like thinking that i am away away not using my phone and staying away from the internet.... i barely have time to talk on the phone anyways because my days are filled with things to do. dad you mentioned something about probably not having a lot of quiet time. ohhhhh don't you worry i have probably at least one hour a day and probably more everyday. we wake up, have quiet time for an hour, worship or prayer as a group for an hour, teaching for an hour (thursdays we do testimonies), and then in the afternoon we do different kind of work..soooo its a little bit different than i thought it would be. its really a lot of prayer and it is kind of overwhelming for me but i'm just going with it. i've been here two days and i am already really comfortable, but i wish that i could get past this first week or two so i feel even more comfortable and don't have to stand around awkwardly or try to keep busy haha. its weird being here...on friday everyone leaves for china, so that is like 15 people that are leaving. there's about 55 people that are here right now-short term interns like myself and then more committed people as well. i am living in a house with probably 30 girls. there are two other houses within 3 minute walking distance that have the boys. there are probably 20 swedes that live here. all blonde hair blue eyed with the accents that i know you would love mom :) i hear things like yared (jared) and yulia (julia) are going to SHina (china) in two days. its funny. there are i think 8 girls in my room-4 bunk beds squished in there. i really actually don't know all the girls that are living in my room. i feel like i am back in taiwan with the green trees, beautiful smelling bushes and flowers everywhere with hills off in the distance. i love it because i have not been exposed to all the tourists here. i've only been in my neighborhood and then i walked around china town for a little bit this afternoon-but only like 5 blocks. its weird because i just got here and the two nights i have been here we have had going away parties for people. there were 18 people who graduated tonight from the internship that i am in. its kinda weird because everyone is so sentimental and i have no idea whats going on. I'm surrounded by all these people and i just want to jump into their lives and know everything about them but i am trying to be patient and not come off as a creepo. I could probably go on for a long time about my thoughts and critique on this place but, its just the second day so i think they are all judgements and i think i am probably wrong about a lot of them so i will just have to wait a little longer to say more of my thoughts and everything. ok. and for all you girls who think i am going to find ma man here...let me just tell you. these boys are very fine (you're supposed to read that wtih one of my accents) ok.
oh actually i have learned something cool about the history of hawaii since i have been here. i guess that when the first missionaries came over from new england, the ruler at the time decided to get rid of the religion they had been believing in and said that the new god they would praise would come in a black box and land on this rock on the big island...what do you know these missionaries came, got off their boat and stood on this rock-holding bibles in a little black box. and Hawaii used to be the most literate place in the world (like 100 years ago) and this is because the missionaries wrote down the language and everyone wanted to learn how to read and write so they could read the bible. They knew how to read sideways and upside down because everyone would crowd around the bible while everyone tried to read it.
anyways. i hope you all are enjoying whatever place of life you are in :)
dad can you email me to let me know of any contacts in hainan??
and my address is
p.o. box 29393
Honolulu, HI
96820
peace.
I'm kinda in the mood to not be very social...i just like thinking that i am away away not using my phone and staying away from the internet.... i barely have time to talk on the phone anyways because my days are filled with things to do. dad you mentioned something about probably not having a lot of quiet time. ohhhhh don't you worry i have probably at least one hour a day and probably more everyday. we wake up, have quiet time for an hour, worship or prayer as a group for an hour, teaching for an hour (thursdays we do testimonies), and then in the afternoon we do different kind of work..soooo its a little bit different than i thought it would be. its really a lot of prayer and it is kind of overwhelming for me but i'm just going with it. i've been here two days and i am already really comfortable, but i wish that i could get past this first week or two so i feel even more comfortable and don't have to stand around awkwardly or try to keep busy haha. its weird being here...on friday everyone leaves for china, so that is like 15 people that are leaving. there's about 55 people that are here right now-short term interns like myself and then more committed people as well. i am living in a house with probably 30 girls. there are two other houses within 3 minute walking distance that have the boys. there are probably 20 swedes that live here. all blonde hair blue eyed with the accents that i know you would love mom :) i hear things like yared (jared) and yulia (julia) are going to SHina (china) in two days. its funny. there are i think 8 girls in my room-4 bunk beds squished in there. i really actually don't know all the girls that are living in my room. i feel like i am back in taiwan with the green trees, beautiful smelling bushes and flowers everywhere with hills off in the distance. i love it because i have not been exposed to all the tourists here. i've only been in my neighborhood and then i walked around china town for a little bit this afternoon-but only like 5 blocks. its weird because i just got here and the two nights i have been here we have had going away parties for people. there were 18 people who graduated tonight from the internship that i am in. its kinda weird because everyone is so sentimental and i have no idea whats going on. I'm surrounded by all these people and i just want to jump into their lives and know everything about them but i am trying to be patient and not come off as a creepo. I could probably go on for a long time about my thoughts and critique on this place but, its just the second day so i think they are all judgements and i think i am probably wrong about a lot of them so i will just have to wait a little longer to say more of my thoughts and everything. ok. and for all you girls who think i am going to find ma man here...let me just tell you. these boys are very fine (you're supposed to read that wtih one of my accents) ok.
oh actually i have learned something cool about the history of hawaii since i have been here. i guess that when the first missionaries came over from new england, the ruler at the time decided to get rid of the religion they had been believing in and said that the new god they would praise would come in a black box and land on this rock on the big island...what do you know these missionaries came, got off their boat and stood on this rock-holding bibles in a little black box. and Hawaii used to be the most literate place in the world (like 100 years ago) and this is because the missionaries wrote down the language and everyone wanted to learn how to read and write so they could read the bible. They knew how to read sideways and upside down because everyone would crowd around the bible while everyone tried to read it.
anyways. i hope you all are enjoying whatever place of life you are in :)
dad can you email me to let me know of any contacts in hainan??
and my address is
p.o. box 29393
Honolulu, HI
96820
peace.
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