Back in Kona

Yesterday morning I once again took the commuter bus right across the big island - a three hour trip from Hilo to Kona, where I'll be staying for the next ten days on the University of the Nations campus. Based on my previous experience of the bus's air conditioning (the trip from Kona to Hilo had been like travelling in a refrigerated van!) I was wrapped up like an eskimo: pyjama trousers on underneath my trousers, and a blanket ready to wrap around me during the journey. As it turned out, however, this driver was a bit more moderate; the air conditioning was at a reasonable level, so a jumper and scarf were the only protection needed. Once again, it was interested to watch the landscape change - from lush green jungle-like vegetation in the east to dry lava-scattered fields in the west. Soon I was back in Kona where a friend picked me up and drove me to my accommodation at the university. I'm in kind of a student dormitory - a four bedded room with three good friends that I've known from many years of KKI in Africa and Asia.

Our group had been arriving over the previous twenty four hours and was already nearly twenty in number by the time I arrived. After lunch, there was a two hour break before our first meeting began, and so someone suggested going down to the beach for a quick swim. After Wednesday's swimming with sea turtles, I wasn't expecting any "wildlife" this time, so it was a surprise suddenly to spot a large fish, the same bright turquoise colour of my swimsuit.  I didn't have googles or snorkel to see it more closely, but I guess it was the Hawaiian uhu, or blue parrotfish. Beautiful!

After our quick swim, we headed back to campus, where we met over dinner and were honoured with a  lei welcome (they put a garland of fresh flowers around your neck.)  Thursday night is community worship on the campus, so we joined about a thousand others for that in the semi-open Ohana gathering place. Then, as night was falling, we connected briefly again as a KKI leadership team to look at our schedule for the coming days. This morning, we'll be going on a little tour, visiting the places where KKI began and had their early experiences of children hearing God's voice, back in  1976. It's good to remember God's faithfulness to us in the past. Much of the coming three or four days, however, will be given to times of prayer and seeking God's heart for the future, and especially for the next few years that lie ahead.