Done and Done

I am officially done with this blog. I'm really not good at updating it anyway =)

Mission Apartment Done and Done

We looked long and hard and it all payed off! Kami and I have finally got ourselves a place next year.

Top Ten List of My New Apartment
10. Approved Application
9. Living Room and Bedroom (as opposed to one room living)
8. Affordable
7. No Dorm Hours
6. On Grand Ave.
5. No Sodexho (we got ourselves a kitchen of our own)
4. Near Green Mill
3. No Community Bathroom
2. Off Street Parking
1. Best Roomate Ever

Summer Plans

"Be happy where you are at!" With so many exciting plans to look forward to for this summer it is sometimes easy for me to get preoccupied with the future and neglect the present. I trully love Hawaii and would not trade this internship for anything; however, no matter how happy I am here I certainly miss family, friends, home, the midwest, etc. As summer creeps closer and closer I get more and more excited. I am soo excited that I feel the need to post my summer plans.

May 22- Jamie and Morgan come to Hawaii

June 27- End of Internship

June 28- Visit Kami Jo in Naples, Florida

July 4- Return to Minnesota

July 5-12- Family Vacation

July 12- Begin work (Concordia Grounds Crew)

July 15- Abby Fink & Aaron Gehrke Wedding

July 20-23- Wisconsin Dells Trip with Jamie, Jeff & Morgan

July 30- Hoot Lake Triathlon, Fergus Falls

August 3-5- We Fest, Detroit Lakes

August 12- Jill Jennen's Wedding

August 26- State Fair/Valleyfair

September 9- Square Lake Triathlon, Stillwater

Now that I got that out of my system I can go on with my day!

It's God's Story

I have this friend, i will call him DJ. I met DJ three years ago and shortly after meeting him he insisted that I watch one of his basketball video tapes from when he was in junior high (which was 5 years ago). So I took him up on his offer and as I sat down to watch the movie I was expecting DJ to be the star point guard who saves his team. We are about five minutes into the game and I am still suprised that I have not seen DJ. DJ is sitting next to me giving me a play by play account of the game, for he knew the game inside and out. That is when DJ gets really excited and starts to point at the screen with a big smile stretched across his face and announces, "There I am!" You see DJ was not a starter, not the sixth man, not even the last player on the bench, he was the team manager. He was the proudest team manager an eighth grade basketball team could ever have. Now you need to understand that anyone who really knows DJ has seen this video, if not multiple times, and some can even join DJ in the play by play announcing.

Just last week I was reflecting on my friend's video and it reminded me of God's story. So many of us get caught up in our own story, where we are the star. We like to show and tell everyone our story, whether it be the star of the basketball team, homecoming queen, CEO of a company, or even just the fact that we sometimes have the inability to look beyond ourselves. We get so caught up in our own story where we are the star that we forget about our role in God's story. We don't realize that no matter how small the role is we can share the story with everyone. It is through our role in God's story that we have a place in a never ending story. We may not be the superhero of the story, but God has given us each gifts and talents for our role in sharing his wonderful story!

When It Rains, It Pours

"It always rains in paradise." Rain has plagued Hawaii over the past few weeks. There has been lots of flooding and just yesterday a dam on Kauai broke, taking at least one life. I have not been seriously affected by the flooding, but the rain has caused some minor inconveniences. Yesterday when I was done with my work in the office and ready to walk home I noticed that it was pouring. So, I went back to my office and patiently waited for the rain to let up and then grabbed my umbrella and did some puddle hopping back to my place.

Last summer when I was in Mexico for a mission trip we had just finished a days worth of work when the rain started pouring. At first everyone ran for cover, but it was seconds later that we were standing in the pouring rain, soaking up every drop we could. It is amazing what a blessing a simple rain storm could be in the dead heat of summer up in the mountains of Mexico.

Whether it is a cleansing rain or the flood gates opening we will all experience "rainstorms." Sometimes when it rains it will pour, yes even in paradise. God will take care of the rainstorms, so get out there and dance!!!

Pro Bowl Pics

Backstreet Boys Baby!
My Hawaiian Family

My Hawaiian Cruise!!!

So I just returned from a cruise. Now I know what you are thinking so I want to set the record straight right now. This was not the cruise that you see advertised on T.V. or through e-mail advertisements. I joined the seventh graders from Our Savior Lutheran School on a Science cruise to the island of Lana'i (I have now been on 3 of the Hawaiian Islands!) The boat itself was nothing impressive; however, every morning I woke up to see whales and dolphins, spent the days snorkeling, kayaking, tide pooling, hiking, oh yeah and disecting Squid! This trip is among the top perks of being an intern!!!

The Great Aloha Run

On Monday I completed my first ever organized run. The Great Aloha Run is a 8.15 mile run from the Aloha Tower to Aloha Stadium. Around 25,000 people participate in this race, including 5,000 military who run in formation! As I was running I could see people in front of me and behind me as far as the eye could see (and this was a four lane highway!) I had two goals entering into this race, both of which I accomplished! My first goal was to run the entire race and my second goal was to finish the race in under an hour and a half (I don't have the official time yet, but it will be around 85 minutes!)

I learned a lot of lessons through this experience and I would just like to highlight a few:

1. Training- If you are going to run a race it is important to run for training (the eliptical is not the same- trust me)

2. ipod- I get bored sitting for an hour and half let alone running for that long- an ipod is essential!

3. Pace- I found it very handy to pace myself with the Honolulu Fire Department =)

4. The After Math- Let's just say that it is two days later and it still takes me twice as long to walk somewhere, I use my arms to get in and out of chairs, and I thank God for hand railings (without them I would not be able to go up and down stairs). I have never been this sore in my entire life.

All in all, it was an awesome experience and I would do it again in a heartbeat!