The Robinsons in Maui

Home Again

2011-04-22T17:20:00.000-07:00

A relatively uneventful trip home - we actually arrived in Toronto about twenty minutes early and were whisked through customs. Because it was a small plane the last leg from JFK, New York, our baggage was off the plane quickly.
Our courier was on time and we were back in Stratford pronto. Our neighbours had the heat turned up, a few groceries in to tide us over until stores are open tomorrow, so things are good.

The only hitch in cominh home, was when I tried to confirm our return flight on Tuesday, the website showed our tickets as "Cancelled". Sure enough, American Airlines, in their wisdom cancelled our tickets back on Jan 22nd. When we were going to Maui we missed our connection in Chicago, and the agent there said we would probably miss our LA connection as well, and took it upon herself to book us a flight for LA to Maui, for the next day. When we in fact made the LA connection, and we didn't show up the next day to use the LA-Maui tickets, they cancelled our return tickets. They were able to straighten it out on Tuesday, but the seats were crappy, but at least we got home. And people say they "love to travel"?

The attached picture shows my last project - doing "bios" for all the volunteers for posting on a wall for the participants, etc to see and use. I must add I had lots of help on this. It was suggested by the COO from Atlanta, and it will be ongoing.

So ends another wonderful volunteer term in Maui.

Now to get some rest!

Last Saturday Breakfast for Term # 6

2011-04-16T16:51:00.000-07:00

This being our final Saturday, it only made sense to head down to Gannons for breakfast. We took two new first time volunteer couples, one from North Carolina and the other from Kitchener, Ontario. The couple from NC we find out, have actually been reading this blog for a while, since they stumbled upon it while researching the Haggai ministry. The Kitchener couple (AJ & Jody) are unique by their age, as you might detect from the picture. They were introduced to Haggai by an aunt who resides in Cambridge, who is also here & in the picture and is currently serving as the volunteer ladies supervisor. AJ, is taking over my duties as the "rotational guy" so I have got to know him a bit. Both he and Jody grew up in Fergus. When I introduced him to Dion,our dining room caterer, and asked if he noticed anything different in this new volunteer, Dion said "besides the hair". Good job I have thick skin, eh! Once again at breakfast we had a georgeous Maui morning weatherwise.

We stopped by the Grand Wailea Hotel on our way home today, for the newcomers to check out the lobby, etc. This hotel rents rooms for up to $1,200 per night, and is considered the granddaddy & #1 destination in all of Maui. Surprisingly, it and the Ritz Carleton, located near Kapalua, which also rents rooms in the same price range, are both in Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings. There may be a message in all this!

We only have two days of work left next week, and leave for home Thursday around noon. Our trip home takes us through Los Angeles and JFK in New York, which should be interesting.

It is getting to feel like it is time to go home.

Geckos

2011-04-09T23:46:00.000-07:00

Not sure how many are familiar with these little creatures, but I can assure you you get familiar with them around here.

Geckos are small to average sized lizards belonging to the family Gekkonidae, found in warm climates throughout the world. Geckos are unique among lizards in their vocalizations, making chirping sounds in social interactions with other geckos. Gekkonidae is the largest family of lizards, with an estimated 2,000 different species worldwide and many others likely yet to be discovered. The name stems from the Indonesian/Javanese word Tokek, inspired by the sound these animals make.

They are harmless, other than scaring you when they jump out of somewhere when you least expect them. This can be a railing you are holding as you go up or down outside stairs, or a pole you grab to clean the spa, etc. We are staying on the sixth floor of the building this term which means there is less human traffic, but it seems there is more gecko traffic. Two have found their way into our room, and while as I said, they are harmless, Marlene was not impressed. A couple of years ago we were going out to breakfast one morning with seven people in the van, and there was a gecko on the outside of the front windshield. It was hanging on for dear life as we started to move, and to get rid of it, I turned on the windshield wipers. Unfortunately, one of the windows was down and the gecko ended up in the car. You should have heard the screaming, and it wasn't coming from the gecko!

Our new session started this week, a ladies session, with 52 participants from about 19 countries. The Resident Coordinator is a lady from Indonesia, who with her husband, operates: 1)a home for unwed mothers; 2) an orphanage and; 3)a private school. When she talks it is always, "God does this and God did that". But a new line tthat I had never heard before was that she and her husband consider themselves spectators to all that God is doing in their lives. Amazing!

The other picture I have included is one of the employees here at Haggai with her pet parrot, "Iman". She had him here on the weekend - he doen't come to work with her.

Kula Lodge

2011-04-02T15:40:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday we made our annual trip "upcountry" to go to church at Waipuna Chapel. This church used to be a favourite spot, but it is a 30/45 drive and with lunch after, it can squeeze the time limit we are allowed for use of a Haggai van. As you can see from the picture, they are building a new entrance to the church building. It was nice to visit again, and as usual an excellent service. This is in part due to the music, which is more traditional than many of the churches here.
After church we stopped at the Kula Lodge for lunch and sat in their outside patio where they cook pizzas in an outdoor oven. The pizza was excellent, the view was georgous since Kula is about 2,500 feet above sea level, but about halfway through lunch the temperature started to drop and it was chilly. They say the temperature drops about 8 degrees fahrenheit for every 2,500 ft you go up, so a nice 82 degree day here at Haggai becomes a 74 degree day at Kula. When you get to the top of Mt. Haleackala, it is down 32 degees!
We enjoyed another wonderful convocation program on Thursday evening and are saying goodbye to the participants during this weekend. There really are some special fellows in this group who will do some great things for the Lord. I drew the early 4:00am departures this morning, so it will be a long day. The lady volunteers are welcoming the new lady participants for the new session which starts Monday.
We had another enjoyable breakfast this morning and as usual the weather, the view and the company were all splendid.
Time marches on, we are now less than three weeks until returning home. It is time to get organized and complete some unfinished projects.

Another Session Wraps Up

2011-03-26T16:54:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I helped welcome some guests from Nebraska, who will be visiting with us through to Convocation, which is next Thursday evening. You always get a fresh perspective of Haggai from new people, their reason for supporting the ministry and how they came to hear about it.
Our current sessions are into the final week and the participants have been a real joy to be around. They have many with gifts in music, we have a magician, two Catholic priests and an interesting fellow from Romania, who I have mentioned previously. Romania has a population of over twelve million, but approximately one in ten suffers from some form of addiction. This individual operates the national branch of an international organization that works with males, drug and alcohol addicts. I found it interesting that his organization doesn't want government assistance, because if they did, first would come cigarettes, then television and then girlfriends. So not everyone thinks that government has the answers to todays problems. His organization has a success ratio over 80 percent. This is the story of one participant. Each of the 48 has an interesting ministry back home.
Today was another breakfast at our favourite restaurant, and it was a beautiful morning. Tomorrow we will go "upcountry" for church to a place named Wiapuna.

More Visitors

2011-03-20T13:39:00.000-07:00

One of Marlene's nursing classmates and closest friend from Oakville, is visiting Maui with a friend of hers from Brampton. They are staying at the Hyatt Regency with people from Vancouver at Ka'anapali which is about an hour from us. They have a connection to the Hyatt through employment, so are getting a very good deal. So we rented a car yesterday and went touring the island. The highlight was to have been going up to the crater, Haleakala, but the weather up there was horrendous - cloudy, windy & wet. It was unfortunate for our guests, but it was interesting for us to see the peak in a different light, so to speak. We stopped for lunch "up-country" at an Italian restarant in Makawao and capped the day off with a wonderful dinner at the Hyatt in one of their dining areas. Forgot to get a picture until we were leaving, so that is why it is in the dark.
This morning we had a church service here at Haggai and it was very moving. Lots of music, a very moving personal testimony from a former Hindu from India and the message from one of our favourite faculty members from Brazil. I had picked up this faculty from the airport on Thursday night and he shared about recent happenings in his life and his message this morning was "The Best Is Yet To Come". When you think about it, no matter what stage of life we are in, he is so right!
I managed to get thru another birthday on Friday, but far too much attention to suit me. In a place like this, word gets around much too quickly.

Tsunami (Again)

2011-03-12T12:44:00.000-08:00

One of my posts from last year (Feb/10) told of a tsunami experience after the earthquake in Chile. Needless to say it was an experience we didn't need a second time. But as you probably know, the earthquake in Japan did cause a tsunami and it was about six feet tidal surge when it reached Maui. The damage here was light, but since it arrived at 3:20am, it was a tense night and there was preparations to make. There was evacuation for anyone three storeys or less at sea level. But our building is six storeys and we are two blocks from the beach, so no evacation was necesary for us.
The damage experienced here was only vegetation, some boats moored in various harbours, and flooding. I read in the local paper that the tidal surge made it 100 yards onshore in some areas, so there would be buildings that suffered flooding.
As a precaution we moved our all participants to the fifth floor at 2:30am and kept them there until 4:00am.
One of the participants from Romania, walked around the halls during our wait with his laptop using "skype" to introduce his family to all his classmates. Technology does have a way of making our world smaller.
My pictures with this post show some of the debris that the waters left behind, close to our Haggai building.
Marlene and I are on call today, which means we can't leave the building from 6:30am until 10:00pm tonight. We deal with any emergencies or things that can't wait until Monday morning. So it will be a short weekend.

Warren & Annabelles

2011-03-05T14:59:00.000-08:00

Last Saturday we did the well known nightclub by the above name. We only did the show but you can do dinner with it. Dinner for us was at "Bubba Gumps"!
Warren is a magician entertainer who inserts a great deal of comedy. In fact he had the place in stitches for a full 2 hours. The fact that he is a great magician was almost an aside. We went to this same place a few years ago, but Warren was out of town at the time, and they had a replacement. But the real Warren was much better and our whole group of seven volunteers really enjoyed his show.
Today Saturday, is very soggy and wet, quite unusual for this side of the island. However, a bit of rain can do wonders to clean things up, since we have a large bird population. Also, we are doing arrivals and departures so we need to stick close to Haggai anyway. This past week we celebrated Praise & Worship on Tuesday, Convocation on Thursday, and Communion on Friday (Marlene's highlight), so it was busy.
My pictures should be familiar to some of you since they are from Gannon's (at Wailea Golf & Country Club), the restaurant we do breakfast at quite regularly, but since it was raining there are no golfers. Our volunteer group includes a couple from Pensicola, Florida, the retired Pastor/Politician and wife from PEI, and a farmer and his wife from Prince Albert, Saskatchewan.

Visitors

2011-02-26T16:47:00.000-08:00

Marlene & I had some visitors yesterday – Uncle Mac & Aunt Phyllis Thompson - are on a 10 day Hawaiian cruise from Los Angeles (6 days are at sea) and the Feb 25th was their day on Maui. They dropped anchor at Lahaina around 8:00am, which is a 45 minute car drive, or a 1 ½ hour bus ride. Since it was a work day for us, we had arranged that they would jump on the Maui bus system and enjoy the scenery. Then I found out the bus schedule had changed and I sent the new schedule to them by snail mail. Then I found out what I sent was the wrong information, and I phoned and left a voicemail at their home with the correct info. Turns out they didn’t get either my letter or the voicemail before they left, but being the world travellers they are, they did just fine and arrived here shortly after lunch. We had a leisurely tour of the facility and a nice visit before driving them back to Lahaina for their 5:30 departure. It was a short visit, but pleasant all the same, particularly since Mac & Phyllis are the first visitors we have had since our first volunteer term in 2005 when Steph and Mike came for a short holiday.
Our participants are now into their final week of classes with Convocation this coming Thursday. This is the point when you start to see some anxiety over going home. After being away from family, careers, etc. for three weeks, this is understandable. One of the participants, a University professor from southern Mexico came up to us very proudly this week, to explain that he had found our blog on the internet. Apparently, when he “googles” Haggai, our blog appeared on the list of Haggai subjects. One of the volunteers here, a pastor from Saskatchewan who is on a three month sabbatical, also told us he had found our blog and used it to get a feel for what a volunteer term was all about.
This week was the end of the regional presentations which is always interesting. There presentations become more professional all the time with the aid of internet information and audio visual tools. However, it remains a mystery to me how countries like Russia and Brazil can be so wealthy in natural resources, education, etc. and yet provide it’s citizens with such poor social security programs. The only explanation for it that I ever get is “corruption”! And yet the “West” keeps sending aid in various forms.
Tonight, seven of us volunteers are going to a nightclub show, “Warren & Annabelles” in Lahaina. So it is a big social outing for us.
Marlene is back taking her sunset pictures.

Vog

2011-02-19T18:47:00.000-08:00

Even at this stage of life, I am still learning new words. For those not familiar, the above is the name of smog caused by volcanic ash. We are experiencing this now caused by activity over on the Big Island at the Kilauea Volcano. The eruption of Kīlauea Volcano that began in 1983 continues today with lava from the cone flowing through a tube system down about 11 km to the sea. The ash from the volcano is causing "vog" which is drifting over most of the state of Hawaii. Until the trade winds pick up from the northwest, expected by Wednesday, asthma suffers and others with breathing difficulties must stay inside as much as possible.
The Rotary meetings that I attend here are now held at "Mulligans" an Irish Pub & Restaurant at the Wailea Golf & Country Club. The restaurant is owned by an Irishman with a full Irish personality, and it will be interesting to see how he outdoes himself for our St Patrick's week meeting. Roya, the president of the Kihei-Wailea Rotary club is a young estate attorney. We have quite a few visitors each week and many of those are from western Canada, especially the Vancouver area. It is always a treat to see who I might meet from week to week.
We are into week # 5 and I am back on the "rotational" duties, which includes providing the water to several stations around the building. There is lots of variety on this position with other duties, so it is good.

Happy Volunteers

2011-02-12T18:53:00.001-08:00

Well at least most appear happy! And there are a couple of staff.
Each session of participants has a group phote taken, so while the equipment is setup, we use to get a group picture of our volunteers. I understand this is about as large as our group gets, and we have already said goodbye to four in the picture and we will say goodbye to another six this week, including the only other couple from Ontario.
We had a very interesting speaker at Rotary this week. Kalaupapa is the colony on the Hawaiian island of Molakai where patients with Hansen's disease (Leprosy) were taken early last century. The number of patients is dwindling (now under 20) and with it the risk of the knowledge of Kalaupapa. Our speaker's brother who passed in 2008 and his wife met and lived for more than 50 years in Kalaupapa. The speaker has taken it upon himself to share the story of Kalaupapa to keep its story alive. He shared a brief summary of its history and significance and that of the people who became victims of society's treatment of those with Hansen's disease among the Hawaiian people. He then told the sad story of Paul's diagnosis of having Hansen's disease at age 14, his being taken from his family on Kauai (another Hawaiian island), banished to Kalaupapa. He then told of his sister-in-law's diagnosis at age 11 on Maui where her family lived, and her banishment there as well. It was a very moving presentation.
We went out to breakfast this morning, a favourite Saturday morning pastime, to a restaurant that overlooks the ocean. Marlene thought we might get a whale sighting or two. Well, a mother whale and her calf put on a show quite close to shore. It was like she was training the calf to do jumps. While it was easy to watch, we didn't get any pictures, but it was very enjoyable with lots of "oohs & aahs".

Week # 2

2011-02-05T15:02:00.000-08:00

I'm not getting out to take many pictures! So I may have to recycle a few.
The weather is getting to 80/82 degrees highs and 68/70 lows. Quite nice, but the locals still complain about how cold it is in the morning?
We enjoyed a wonderful praise & worship evening last Tuesday and Convocation Thursday.We had many guests here for the convocation since one of the two sessions was sponsored by a generous couple from Western Canada.
So this weekend is changeover, existing classes leaving and new participants arriving.
We also welcomed new volunteers this week from Prince Edward Island, a first for us to work with volunteers from Atlantic Canada. He is a retired Pastor, former provincial politician & cabinet minister, so I will have something to talk with him about! Our volunteer numbers are quite high, but they will go down this month.
For the first time since our initial volunteer term, we will have friends and relatives visiting Maui while we are here. A good friend of Marlene's, an aunt and uncle of mine, and a Rotarian from Stratford and her husband. The latter two couples are stopping here on Hawaiian cruises. We look forward to showing and explaining Haggai to them.

Term # 6 Begins

2011-01-28T18:28:00.000-08:00

Our trip here had it's "ups & downs", in more ways than one!
We were 2 1/2 hours late getting out of Toronto for four different reasons (waiting for our plan to arrive, mechanical, a passenger pulled off because of a customs issue, and finally a computer malfunction). In the process we were all pulled off at one point, and it was cold that morning with us travelling light, and we had to walk a distance on the tarmac to the plane?. So even though I had allowed two hours for our connection in Chicago we missed our flight and had to re-schedule. But our luck changed in Los Angeles as our flight from Chicago to L.A. was 30 minutes early and we caught our Maui flight by the "skin of our teeth". In fact I think we were only on the ground in L.A. for all of ten minutes. The option would have been staying overnight so the rush was worth it! Naturally our baggage didn't quite make it, but it did arrive the next day and that wasn't too inconvenient since we had our carry-on with us. When you look back, travel mess ups are never so bad as it seems at the time, but again I can't for the life of me understand these people who say they "love air travel"!
Things here in Maui are wonderful. We currently have two classes of ladies and there are 62 in total. They come from 36 different countries, are in their third week of training, and will finish next week on Friday. We will welcome 50 men participants the same weekend, which will make it very busy.
We have quite a few volunteers we have worked with previously, plus about a third new ones. So it is always interesting meeting new volunteers as well as reacquainting with old. We have a younger couple from Germany, three from USA and the balance Canadian. This will change as time goes on.
The picture of the pool is taken from our balcony (lanai) and we are on the sixth floor. The picture of the two of us is taken in the lobby, one of my favourite activities, reading the local papers and watching the world go by!

Getaway Day

2010-04-30T13:50:00.001-07:00

So, today is packing day, and time to throw out all the stuff you thought was so important to keep two months ago. It is interesting what you collect over three months!

Last night, we went out for dinner, my birthday dinner no less, just six weeks late. We went to a place called the Waterfront, because naturally, it is on the water. While going out the door from Haggai, the volunteer co-ordinator mentioned that the restaurant has a "two for one" special. Sure enough they did, but only if you asked. Even when the bill came, you had to ask again, but with entres at $40, it was pretty easy to ask! It was easily the best fish dinner we have had for a long time, maybe ever - good service and a wonderful setting.

We leave at 6:00 tonight, get to Toronto around 4:00pm tomorrow. The travel is the most negative part of this whole experience, but I guess necesary.

Better go and get some of the goodbyes done.

Final Week

2010-04-24T18:17:00.000-07:00

We are into our final week and headed out for a final Saturday morning breakfast at my favourite hangout, the Seawatch (Gannon's). To my chagrin it was closed - they are using it to shoot a movie. Jennifer Aniston and Adam Sandler are here doing a high budget comedy, but they are off my list of favourites.

So we ended up at Fred's, which is cheap (buy one, get one free), but you don't get the view that you get at the Seawatch. To make matters worse, we had invited a new couple here from Manitoba who just arrived Thursday, to join us. So my big buildup of the view, relaxed service, etc went down the drain.

The other picture shown here is Marlene and I and one of our favourite activities, sitting in the lobby to read the two local newspapers after dinner. The Honolulu paper was recently purchased by a Canadian newspaper guy from Vancouver by the name of Black - not Conrad!

We only have three days of work left, since we don't work the day before we leave (Friday). The Canadian couple who oversee the volunteer program and manage the building, are finishing up their five year committment and they leave June 5th, so there is much anticipation of who will replace them.

Ice Cream Party

2010-04-17T17:51:00.000-07:00

One of the events when volunteers leave to go home, is to do something for the remaining volunteers. This week two couples from Saskatchewan left, and they treated us to an ice cream party around the pool after work. I have no idea what the grass skirt part was about, but if you want the ice cream, you go along. Parties like this are part of the reason that notwithstanding the physical work, very few leave having lost any weight.

Another change this week for me is that I lost my rotational duty and courier jobs. Our time is winding down, and I will spend part of my time doing work in the office until we leave. The joke always is that I must have really messed up, if I get sent to the office. Since I will be spending time with my old friend Nestor, I don't mind at all, but I did enjoy the courier (driving to the airport)assignment.

This is the first week of a new group of participants and it is always interesting to find out the backgrounds of these fellows. We always a good number of pastors, but the rest are as varied as there are occupations. Many call themselves businesspeople, but I never accept that explanation. While you don't want to appear noisy, businessman can mean anything, as can government worker. This week I met an interesting young fellow from Brazil, who works for a livestock tracibility company. We have a lawyer from India,a couple of University professors and the Resident Co-ordinator is a doctor (Pediatrition)from the Phillipines. A couple sessions back, we had a fellow who was going to be King of his tribe when he returned to Nigeria.

So we are into our final two weeks, and based on the warm weather that Ontario has experienced, my lawn will probably be needing me.

Busy Week

2010-04-10T18:39:00.001-07:00

Last Sunday, Easter Sunday, we went to Hope Chapel for their Easter service. Hope is an independent church started 28 years ago and the present Senior Pastor was one of the originals. They built a new complex about four years ago and the top picture shows the inside of the auditorium (and the Senior Pastor) and the second picture shows the courtyard last Sunday between the 1st and 2nd services. They have about 1/1,200 in attendance weekly. On a Friday night the crowd is quite young and the music is very loud. But they do pack them in and as you can see, the courtyard is a flurry of activity with food, refreshments and much visiting.

On Tuesday night we had Praise and Worship with our participants here at Haggai, and our chef, Dion, treated us to a barbecue dinner with mahi-mahi fish, fried shrimp and chicken. The sponsors for this session are here for the week, and are from Edmonton, so the evening had some Canadian flare, along with that of the 18 other countries represented by the participants.

Then on Thursday we had Convocation. The picture with Marlene and I shows Bernard, the Resident Co-ordinator for the current session. Bernard is a Baptist pastor from Kenya, and it is the 3rd time we have been here with him. He is a wonderful fellow, with a great sense of humour.

Today we went out to breakfast with some fellow volunteers to an old favourite hangout, the Tasty Crust. Afterwards, the guys left the women at Marlene's favourite store on the island, Ross'. We came home and left them to take the bus, so they could shop to their hearts content!

Wednesday Afternonn

2010-04-02T19:44:00.000-07:00

My normal Wednesday afternoon consists of Rotary, followed by picking up a copy of USA Today. This week, with it being the 5th Wednesday of the month, there was no Rotary.

But a "workbee" was organised by the volunteers, for an employee here at the Mid Pacific Centre, Richard. Richard is the laundry guy here, and he, his wife and kids just purchased their 1st home. Richard is loved by all because he is such a happy, wonderful to be around, type of person.

Of course with some Baptists, we had to have food, so we had our lunch at the new home.

As you can see from the pictures, we packed up our work equipment and cleaned and painted for the afternoon. It was really quite enjoyable, mostly because you knew it was totally appreciated by Richard's family.

Our current session is now into it's last week. Convocation will be held next Thursday and it will be our last for this term.

Time Marches On

2010-03-27T18:27:00.000-07:00

Another breakfast at our favourite golf course/restaurant hangout. Today we were with a couple from Kelowna, BC (first timers at Haggai) and a couple from Dallas, Oregon (fourth timers here, and 4th time we have worked with them). The weather as you can see and as usual was beautiful.

This week we had to replace our camera - the old one just wasn't cutting it. Batteries went dead quickly, poor quality and narrow range. So we are now Canon users!

Marlene spent one full day and two half days this week in our room with a very sore knee. She has to be very uncomfortable not to work and it was only when the Volunteer supervisor told her to stay off the knee, because she wouldn't listen to me.

I made trips to the airport every day this week, a couple of times with a delivery and a pickup. I am finding, if you like people watching, the airport is a great place to do it. The round trip is 24 miles, but if it is a pickup you have to deal with minor delays and waiting on luggage. I will never get the luggage figured out. One time it beats the passengers, the next time you can wait as much as 45 minutes!

Our session that is in progress is going smoothly, and this coming week will be the regional presentations when the participants report what is happening in their country. These are always informative and sometimes very enlightening as you get the individuals take on the situation. We have 17 countries represented.

What Are These People Looking At?

2010-03-20T17:49:00.000-07:00

A quiet week here. Our 29 participants arrived last weekend, and so far, I have picked up four faculty from the airport. We did manage to get two in one trip, which doesn't happen often.

The biggest benefit of volunteering here is meeting and getting to know the participants. We have 17 countries represented, so lots of different backgrounds.

We said goodbye to two volunteers on Wednesday and welcomed a new one last weekend. So our numbers are relatively the same.

We had the Mayor speaking at Rotary on Wednesday. She is a former school teacher and she is quite popular, at least as popular as a politician can be. She has some big challenges with the depressed tourism industry, which accounts for in excess of 75% of the local economy.

Marlene spent this morning at the local "Swap Meet" with two other volunteers. Surprise - surprise, eh!

The pictures show a bunch of our volunteers watching a sunset. As you can see, it is a pretty intense activity here. This was following a "Taco Tuesday" at a local restaurant - "Fred's"! Sorry, I don't have any pictures of the sunset!

Surfing Goat Dairy

2010-03-14T19:59:00.000-07:00

Today we went "upcountry" with friends from Manitoba, to a church we had not attended before, and after the service, we visited a dairy goat farm, one of only two in the state of Hawaii. The farm has about 200 goats in total, milk 80 daily, and use every drop in production of gourmet cheese. All the cheese is either sold locally to restaurants or high end delis, or shipped to buyers on the mainland who know the product. Owned and operated by German expatriates Thomas and Eva Kafsack, Surfing Goat Dairy is located on 42 acres with almost two-thirds dedicated as pasture. Of course there were some newborns today, all of which are bottle fed. We were told "tethered" young sell as pets for $200. Wish I could have arranged that when I was in the sheep business!

I noticed an article in the local paper this week about Hotel Occupancy and Rates for February. Rates in Maui were down 9% to $220 from a year ago, but occupancy was up 7.3% to 81%. This compares to statewide rates of $167, down 8.6% and occupancy of 76.5%, up 4% from a year ago. So the local economy has been hit by the recession, but is showing some signs of recovery.

We head into the second half of our term this week. We are welcoming 30 new participants this weekend from 17 different countries. There is one participant from Russia and I hope to get his views on the recent olympics!! The participant in the last session from Russia said he didn't follow sports at all. I have found most Russians extremely proud of their country, it's size, etc.
occupancy

End of Session

2010-03-06T10:46:00.000-08:00

Another session has been completed here with 29 new alumni. These fellows leave this weekend and we have the building to ourselves until next weekend when 30 new participants arrive. I took the last faculty member to the airport yesterday and had another "small world" experience. This fellow was from Antigua and mentioned that he had been to Honolulu in 1997. When I asked if it was a vacation or business, he told me he was attending a Jaycee World Congress. Marlene and I attended a Jayceee World Congress in Honolulu in 1971! He is Jaycee Senator #65000 (or there abouts) - I am #18,517. So another example that you have something in common with almost everyone if you have the chance to talk. This fellow from Antigua operates a leadership development company in the West Indies, and his subject here at Haggai was "Training".

One aside from last weeks Tsunami scare was my trip to the airport on Saturday morning. My pickup was a faculty member from Malaysia who is confined to a wheelchair. Because of the impending Tsunami, they wouldn't let him come down to the luggage claim area where I was waiting. I finally asked for a PA announcement, and the info desk lady asked the name. When I told her it was "Kim Kong Wong", she asked if I was pulling her leg. Then she asked what the last name was and I told her I thought it was "Kong". When I related this to one of the ladies on staff here, she said I should have replied - "I think it's Kong, but I might be Wong".

So next week should be quiet for me, at least, since my driving to pick up faculty won't start again until the weekend. There will be lots of cleaning etc, as we will do projects that we can't get at while guests are in residence.

I've included a picture of the current volunteer group - you'll note we have one thing in common - age!

Tsunami

2010-02-27T22:35:00.000-08:00

The anticipated tsunami in the Hawaiian islands never materialized - but we did go through an emergency preparation early today, which is strongly encouraged by local governments. Four hours before the scheduled arrival, the tsunami was projected at 6-8 feet, but that was on the other side of the island to where we are staying. We have six floors, plus a walkout basment, plus as you can see in the picture some mountains, so there was little human danger, just the risk of a huge clean-up. The highest the tsunami reached here was about 3.5 feet, from what I heard. I did get some excitment as I had an airport pick-up at 10:17am, 90 minutes before the projected tsunami arrival and the airport is on the other side of the island. My arrival was coming from Malaysia, through Honolulu, and rather than leave him at the airport, we decided to go ahead with the pick-up. The highways were virtually bare, except for gas stations and McDonalds which were lined up. There were some problems with the pick-up, but we eventually got back to Haggai, and sitting at the airport with a tsunami warning out was an interesting experience.

We are heading into the final week of a session which means a Praise & Worship night on Tuesday and a Convocation on Thursday, both highlights of a volunteer experience. I pick up the last of this sessions faculty (there are 14 total for each session including the Resident Coordinator)to-morrow night at the airport. Our participants start to get a bit anxious to get home at this time in the program. Another picture shows a followup activity to a soccer game in which all 29 participated.

Also this week, our volunteer supervisors are going to Haggai meetings in Pheonix, and will be gone for two weeks. So it will be an interesting time.

Our volunteer numbers are around 24, which is a good number, as it gives all of us plenty to do.

Seahouse - Napili

2010-02-20T16:58:00.000-08:00

I was assigned a new job this week - the Rotational guy - ie I do a bunch of rotating duties, the primary one being distilling the drinking water and making sure all water stations in the building are functioning. It's not completely new, since I did the same job two years ago. It is a good fit, as I can work my courier driving around the duties, if necesary.

We went for breakfast this morning to a restaurant on the west end of the island called The Seahouse. It was a georgous Maui morning, bright sunshine and while a bit of a drive, my passengers were entertained some of the way by whale activity. Whale sightings have been very common this year. In fact it is unusual in the mornings to not see sightings, or at least "spoutings". The restaurant looks out over a beautiful bay and you could see whale activity from the restaurant. We went with two couples, one from Manitoba, first time volunteers and one from Saskatchewan, here for the fifth time, like ourselves.

Our class of participants are quite entertaining - we have a Russian who is a Christian radio talk show host (he has done his show from here in his room twice) - three Catholic priests - an Indian who owns two pizza shops - and an assortment of others. The faculty all comment that this group is very responsive to their teaching.

Our speaker at Rotary this week talked on the education problem in Hawaii - 163 teaching days (compared to 200 in Canada, which some think is short) - no local schools boards, it all operates out of Honolulu, even though the cultures of the islands are quite dfferent - students falling behind graduates on the mainland in basic learning. The speaker believes the situation is getting to a discouraging level, with no solution in sight due to labour unions and turf wars.

Gannon's - Wailea

2010-02-13T17:10:00.000-08:00

Week # 2 is complete and some interesting experiences.

Today we went to a favourite hangout for breakfast, a restaurant now named Gannon's. For you dedicated followers, it used to be called the Seawatch. The views from this place are unbelievable. The weather was georgous, and it was very enjoyable. We went with two other Canadian volunteer couples, one from Saskatchewan and the other from British Columbia.

Thursday, I took two faculty members shopping, part of my courier duties. One of the faculty was from India, the other from Zimbabwe, and they were serious shoppers.

For those of you who think we are missing, the Olympics, worry not! The NBC network is carrying the Olympics and their coverage totals 835 hours, compared to their 2006 Olympics coverage of 419 hours. Needless to say, they are playing down the Canadian "Own the Podium" theme, or coversely using it to inspire their athletes.

Term # 5

2010-02-06T17:28:00.000-08:00

We have completed week # 1 and as usual, it has gone quickly.

Our trip here was relatively smooth, a small delay in Toronto for de-icing, but no problem in making connections in Minniapolis and Los Angeles. Our arrival in Maui was a few minutes late, but all baggage got here with us, and that is always a blessing, not that it doesn't show up eventually, just the inconvenience. Our room again looks out over the pool and on the fifth floor.

Then we received word last Saturday of Marlene's brother Karl's passing. This was not unexpected, but he is the first in both our families of losing a sibling. Marlene is thankful, that through a boating friend Pastor, Karl was at peace with the Lord when he died.

I have made three courier trips to the airport this week, but it gets busier next week as we have a new session starting on Tuesday, so the faculty will start arriving then. They stay around one week, then it is time to take them back to the airport. A drop off is much quicker than a pickup, since there is no waiting for delayed flights. Yesterday I had a first, a flight I was meeting from Dallas was 23 minutes late on the flight status report, but when I arrived at the airport, I found out they had picked up 15 minutes in flight and my passenger was waiting for me. He said the pilot told them it took a pile of fuel, but he did it for customer service??

We have been "out of session" this past week so no dining room meals. They start again this evening, so that is a plus.

We did some maintenance projects this week that can't be completed while participants are here. One of mine was to paint the workshop floor. If you can imagine a workshop that has about 100 different people using it each year. Can I throw out this - no - well maybe - check with ... - it is a nightmare. I thought the end result looked pretty good.

Marlene and I are "on duty" tomorrow from 6:30am until 10:00pm. We don't have work all day although there are some duties, but we must stay on premises. It is a long day, but this only happens once a month, and it is Super Bowl Sunday. So we are off to a 5:00pm mass at the local Catholic church this afternoon.

I made it out to Rotary on Wednesday and it was nice to see many old friends. I now have Kohola Mai status (returning whale) with the Kihei-Wailea Rotary Club!

Week # 11

2009-05-10T14:05:00.000-07:00

And then there was one!

Tomorrow starts our final week of work, and it is a short one - 2 1/2 days. Hardly worth getting our clothes dirty over. It will be busy though, as we have Praise & Worship on Tuesday and Convocation on Thursday evening. Both nights are highlights of a session and bring several guests to Haggai. Wednesday evening there is a special Rotary get together for a visting GSE team from Argentina.

Yesterday I took a helicopter ride with a fellow volunteer from BC. Marlene didn't want to go this year, but I wanted to see inside the Haleackala crater, without a three day hike to do so! My pictures didn't turn out as well as I'd hoped, but we did get a peek at the crater. The wind bunches up clouds, so you need to fly around the clouds, but you can't go over the fence line of the Haleackala National Forest, so it is a bit of a challenge to get a decent view. Overall, it was a wonderful trip and well worth the effort and money. I highly recommend.

We leave here Friday lunchtime, but because of the the time difference and connecting flight at Los Angeles, don't arrive in Toronto until 6:00 am Saturday. It has been another great experience, but it is time to go home - lawn to cut, flowerbeds to weed and family to reconnect with.

Week # 10

2009-05-03T13:30:00.000-07:00

And another breakfast - we do other things, but Saturday breakfast is a favourite. This group includes friends from St Catherines whom we have served with three times, a couple from Saskatchewan, and a lady whose husband served here 10 times, once for a full year. She has taken over most of my office duties.

The couple from Saskatchewan are missionaries to the Native people. This couple are on a sabbatical and using the time to serve here. We have a second couple on sabbatical, from Minnesota, where he is a professor at Northwestern College. So all volunteers are not old retired folks like us!

I picked up a new faculty member at the airport on Wednesday evening, who was travelling from Mecico City. There was some concern whether he would make his connection at the Los Angeles airport, because of where he was originating from, but he sailed right through, no questions asked. He lives in Puebla, about two hours from Mexico City and he naturally feels the swine flu situation is overblown. Hopefully, the worst is past.

With only one weekend left, it is always reflection time on what we didn't get to see or do. While I would have liked a trip to Lanai, a small nearby island, we have done pretty well otherwise. My to do list also included an individual study of the book of Isaiah, which is only part done, so a project for the plane ride home.

Week # 9

2009-04-26T17:30:00.001-07:00

Another week and only three more till we will be homebound.

The two pictures show some ladies doing pool exercises and a breakfast that Marlene prepared yesterday for some of our fellow volunteers.

I think she was showing off her B & B skills with the breakfast, she says she was advertising. Two of the couples are from Dallas, Oregon and the other from St Catherines, Ontario. All have been here before several times.

The ladies in the pool are all volunteers and it is the second left who you might recognize. I question how hard they are working during the day, if they have energy at quitting time to do exercises in the pool. The men are probably all in their rooms, exhausted!

Our speaker at Rotary on Wednesday told us about sea turtles! - two main kinds "hawksbill" and "green", they grow up to 250 pounds, up to three feet long (shell length), can hold their breath for up to three hours, and the hawksbill is an endangered species. That is why our speaker has a job, finding ways to promote population growth. Pretty interesting stuff, eh!

Other interesting news here is that mortgage foreclosures for March statewide are 523% ahead of a year ago. So if you were thinking of a real estate purchase in Hawiai, now might be the time.

No Rotary meeting next week, but on May 13th, a Group Study Exchange team from Argentina will be visiting, which I look forward to. Marlene and I are hosting a member of a GSE team from Brazil for two nights, at the end of May in Stratford.

Week # 8

2009-04-20T00:15:00.000-07:00

And then there were four!

Last Sunday evening we had an Easter dinner on the lanai patio, and as you can see the ladies wore their Easter bonnets. The men also wore hats, but not quite as creative. It was a very nice evening!

We were also out last Thursday for a very nice evening upcountry to a rural town. We went with a couple from Grand Rapids, Michigan - he is a fulltime volunteer and they have been here two years now. She is a teacher on leave, and he is retired, but they have decided to return as her leave will not be extended. This is the third time we have volunteered here with him.

We were out again to our favourite breakfast place yesterday, but with different volunteers, than previously.

Hard to imagine we are in our final four weeks. We have been receiving participants this weekend for the session which begins on Tuesday. I picked the Resident Coordinator up from the airport today - he is from Singapore. The RC coordinates the students/participants for the next five weeks, looks after any problems, and it is a big job. These participants come from so many varied backgrounds and cultures.

Our volunteer numbers are down and if two brand new men volunteers are excluded, we will only have five maintenance cleaners tomorrow. But there are more recruits on the way!

At Rotary on Wednesday we had a speaker talking on sustainability - he told us that because there is so little food grown on the island, if boats and planes stopped, we would only have a four day supply of food. That is pretty sobering, but I think a little bit stretched as well. This week the speaker will talk about the mating practices of sea turtles?

Week # 7

2009-04-11T19:56:00.000-07:00

The pictures are from our recent trip with the Thompsons from Stratford - to Maui's well known volcano crater - Haleackala, and which has a peak over 10,000' above sea level.

Yesterday, the volunteers were able to attend the communion service they hold here at Haggai for each participant's class before they head home. It is a Passover Meal communion, with the explanation of the 4 cups, and what each food represents in the Jewish tradition (about an hour) It was very moving!

Next week Marlene will be preparing breakfast for 3 people here from Head Office in Atlanta, all week. It is a bit intimidating, when everything is different from her own kitchen, even the altitude! Me thinks she fusses too much.

We went to a Good Friday church service last night at a local church - Hope Chapel. The music was more like a rock concert - not that I have a lot of rock concert experience! But the place was packed for two services by YOUNG people!

In fairness, they have a regular Friday night worship which I think they consider their weekly contemporary service for the younger population.

Week # 6

2009-04-05T14:04:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was another breakfast out, and we went back to a golf course (Wailea Golf Club) we had visited previously. But the weather was much nicer as you can see from the pictures. The golf fees for an 18 hole round of golf are $225, but their breakfast price in the restaurant is quite reasonable. The name of the restaurant is “Seawatch” and the pictures show the reason for the name. The two volunteer couples with us are from Oregon and Alabama. The Oregon couple are doing their 9th term here at Haggai, the Alabama couple their 1st. It was a very nice morning.
I had three airport runs yesterday, one delivery and two pickups. I was able to combine the two pickups as there was only an hour between. Schedules can change with delays, etc, but fortunately both were on time. My pickups were from Kenya and Uganda, so they both were arriving from long trips with 2 and 3 connections.
We also had a new volunteer couple arrive last night, and Marlene has volunteered us to “buddy” with them - make sure they find the dining room, find a church to go to, etc - so we look forward to this role. They are from Oliver, BC, just south of Kelowna.
We are now in the second half of our work term, so time is flying by. The current class is in their final week, and it is always busy with plans and preparation for convocation. Following that there will be a week without participants, and the following group will finish the same day we leave for home.

Our visit last Sunday with Rheo & Sally Thompson and their daughter Heather from Stratford was wonderful. We drove up to the Haleackla crater, had a nice lunch upcountry, gave them the manatory tour of Haggai, and toured some other areas. They had visited here on a cruise previously, so were familar with some of the island.

Week # 5

2009-03-28T15:24:00.000-07:00

We have had an interesting week. The weather has finally changed for the better, but the men (or most of us) had an outside job raking the soccer field which needs de-thatching once per year. Now that doesn't sound like much, but we did about fill a 20' x 8' x 6' dumpster with the rakings. The de-thatching needs to be done both ways and in total it took 2 1/2 days. I missed the 1/2 day due to my office job, so naturally I received some ribbing from fellow volunteers.

The speaker at Rotary this week talked about the 103 islands to the northwest of the main five Hawaiian islands. Frankly, I didn't know there were other islands. One of the 103 has four people who were granted a permit to live for a year, and a single female has set up a home on another, apparently through a strange set of circumstances. The remainder have no inhabitants.The speaker was going on how one island was 15 million years old and another was 12 million years old, so obviously he doesn't read the same Bible as I do, but it was nonetheless interesting to hear his story. He belongs to an organization which rows to these islands, to discover and research. A helicopter would be an easier mode of transportation to explore the islands, at least in my opinion.

We had a nice breakfast this morning at a local hangout, 2 for one if you're there before 9:00am. The picture shows the group we went with.

To-morrow we are renting a car and going touring. Rheo and Sally Thompson and their daughter from Statford are vacationing at Honolulu and we invited them to come to Maui for the day. To our delight they accepted, so we get a chance to play tourist/guide and probably see some new things ourselves.

Week # 4

2009-03-22T00:27:00.000-07:00

This week one of us had a birthday and we were treated to dinner by two daughters. They chose the restaurant, or gave a choice of two, they made a good choices and a place we went to we had not previously enjoyed. It was a nice treat.

I have started to do some courier driving which involves picking up and delivering people to the airport. These people are generally faculty who are coming here to teach. They are usually very interesting people, so the opportunity to chat for 20 minutes or so alone is a great opportunity. The airport is about 12 miles away, so not a cumbersome drive. Faculty usually stay about seven days. The drives are generally during the day, but they can be just about anytime. I will get to know the Maui airport well as late flights happen, but when you check the airline website, waiting times are reduced.

Our current session is heading into thier second week and while small, they seem like a great group. It is always fun to watch how the group develops.

Friday night was a pool dinner, and this picture shows Marlene, in blue, helping with setup. I was instructing from our lanai??

Week #3

2009-03-14T18:07:00.000-07:00

We went for breakfast this morning to the SeaWatch Restaurant in Wailea, the trendiest area of Maui. The restaurant is part of the Wailea Golf Club and green fees are $199. The restaurant was surprisingly reasonably priced for the area. If you are going to eat out, breakfast is definitely the meal to do it. Unfortunately, the weather could have been better, but the view was spectacular, and we were with two other couples who provided good company, one from Oregon and one from Winnipeg.
Afterwards, we stopped at the Shops of Wailea, also very trendy – “Gucci, Rolex, Tommy Bahama, etc”. Marlene ordered her outfit for Katrina’s wedding, so that item is off her to do list. She will miss the looking, with still nine weeks here to do it in!
On Wednesday I attended a social of the Kihei-Wailea Rotary Club, which is the Club I attend while here. Their weekly meeting was Thursday this week, so they could attend an Interact meeting at a school upcountry, so thus the social on their regular meeting day. I met a Rotarian on Wednesday who is a realtor/property manager who works in the Wailea area, and his numbers are mind boggling. In his property management business, he only does 30 day rentals, but his rates are from $9,000 to $35,000 per month. He thinks his $35m unit; at $1,250 per night is exceptional value. Why anyone who can afford property of this value would want some stranger sleeping in his bed is beyond me. On the other hand, maybe that is the only way they can afford it, by renting out when they don’t use. He did add that his occupancy rate is only 35-40%! (That's the occupancy, not the vacancy rate)
We are greeting new participants this weekend and it is a small class. Not only is funding tight, but getting participants to leave careers for four weeks to attend here, is also a challenge. We always look forward to meeting new participants from Asia, Africa, Latin and South America.

Week #2

2009-03-07T13:44:00.000-08:00

I know this won’t garner much support from you people in Ontario, but our weather here has stunk almost since we arrived – but when it warms up, we will be complaining about the heat. The temperature is to reach 80 this weekend, but that is as high as it’s been since we arrived.
We had Convocation this week and all the volunteers were invited – normally only half are invited since there usually two Convocations per month. With cutbacks, there is now only one class graduating each month. Besides challenges with funding, participants are hesitant to leave work for four weeks because of uncertain job scenario.

Convocation remains a very special night with a great meal and many happy faces from those graduating. The training is intensive – usually 8:00 am – 7:00 pm, and many nights there is group assignments. Since most participants are business leaders, many are not completely cut off from work, with laptops, blackberries, Skype, etc. We did have a corporate banker from Bulgaria who claimed he was completely disconnected, but he didn’t convince me. So 23 graduates join the over 74,000 HI alumni worldwide. Departures of participants and remaining faculty are this weekend and our new group don’t start arriving until next weekend. So we have a week with the building empty except for volunteers. The dining room is closed and we will have eating out, a family dinner, and scratch up what you can.

We have a devotion each week with one of the faculty and this week it was a lecturer from the United Arab Emerates. He talked about the situation in that part of the world
This is a quiet weekend activity wise – one of my goals for this term is a helicopter ride to the Haleakala Crater, so we priced it out. Because of the slowdown in tourism, activities like it are priced much lower. So there are some benefits from a weak economy.
Once again our time here is going quickly, is very rewarding ith the work and meeting new friends.

2009-02-28T17:04:00.000-08:00

Week # 1 has passed.
Our trip here had it's challenges, but we did arrive on our scheduled flight. Our tickets said Toronto - LA - Maui. In fact there was a stop in Denver and a plane change, even though the flight # stayed the same. We had a three hour delay in Toronto - waiting for paperwork confirming tire air pressure, then a valve wasn't opening before they could de-ice, then top up the fuel tank, so we missed our scheduled connection in Denver, but after being re-scheduled and a six minute run through the airport, we did get to LA in time to catch our scheduled flight from LA, and were only 15 minutes late arriving in Kahului, Maui. Our Haggai pickup was waiting for us, and while our luggage didn't arrive until the next morning, it was here by 7:30 am, so not a big inconveience. We have learned to bring necessities in our carry-on.
There are quite a few returning volunteers here, who we have worked with previously, so it is nice to see old friends.
We went on a trip last Saturday to a beach through lava fields, but it was too cool, for us at least, for sun bathing/swimming. In fact, it has been cool all week, and our pool is down around 65/67. Now I know we won't get too much sympathy from those of you in Ontario, but I do feel sorry for some who are only here for a short time, after a long trip.
I will be working three days in the office, and two days in maintenance - Marlene is fulltime housekeeping. I will get a chance to see a different side of Haggai - I will be assisting the Assistant to the VP-International training. My office job involves data input, working with spreadsheets, helping set up schedules, etc. So far it is very interesting and my first week sped by. The participant numbers have been cut back substantially because of funding challenges.
I did get out to Rotary on Wednesday and it was nice to see old faces there also. I took out a "temporary membership" with the Kihei-Wailea Club which they call "Kohola Mai" (returning whale!!)
We were out to breakfast this morning (Saturday) with some other volunteers, a couple from Winnipeg, (she is also a retired CIBC employee, but still works casual) and a volunteer from Indianna. All three were here last year as well.
So it is nice to be back, and we look forward to the next 11 weeks.

Final Post #3

2008-04-02T14:39:00.001-07:00

Another final post and again I started the last day by going to Rotary. This time it was Kihei Sunrise, and it was quite close by to the Institute. A very pleasant makeup, and a wholesome breakfast overlooking the ocean. Now it is time to get back to my home club and do catch up on my volunteer responsibilities.

We leave for the airport at 4:00pm local time but our flight is a real "milk run". We have stops in Kona (on the big island), Seattle and Minneapolis before arriving in Totonto at 4:15pm to-morrow (there is a six hour time difference). So it is a long trip. But we are looking forward to getting home and watching the snow melt, thankful that we have missed most of a very tough winter.

Saying goodbye here is not a favourite part of the experience.

Aloha

2008-04-01T20:23:00.000-07:00

Greetings to all

Just want to add my two cents worth! and mention a few highlights during our time here. Several weeks ago I was invited to sit in on a class, by one of the faculty members who was teaching about Servant Leadership. This rarely happens, so it was quite an honour! At one point during the class , he asked about my background, where I was born, educated, job opportunities, making the point that I was serving here at Haggai Institute by my own free will, & that no-one forced me to come here to serve others, so why am I doing what I do? Because I love the Lord! & was called to do what we are doing! And it has been a wonderful blessing to us!

A group of ladies have been doing a Beth Moore Bible Study on the book of Daniel, which started just after we arrived, and finished last week! I would highly recommend it to anyone!

Each Tuesday morning we have been priviledged to have a Faculty member, or one of the top staff members speak to us volunteers, and they have been very stimulating & rewarding times. These men & women have such high calibre qualifications, & degrees, & practical experience!

On Saturday we took a Helicopter tour of the island, & although I prefer both feet on the ground, it was a unique experience! There are 43,000 acres of sugarcane on Maui! I didn't think the island was that big! There is less & less pineapple being grown, & much of the plantation land is being developed into multi-million $ homes for Movie stars, etc.

As the sun sets on our third term of service here, I would like to leave you with a few photos. See you all soon!!

Mustang "Sally"

2008-03-30T21:01:00.000-07:00

Time is winding down quickly - so this weekend we rented a car to do some sightseeing. Unfortunately, my reservation for a "Sebring" covertible fell through and it was replaced with a Mustang.

As fate would have it, when we reached the summit of Haleakala (the mountain on Maui), we had a dead battery (one of the pictures is of the summit, 10,023 feet above sea level). We were lucky enough to get a boost, and make our way down, but when we stopped for lunch , the battery was dead again. So we contacted the rental agency to replace it, but we lost a couple of hours of sightseeing time. We did make it to a "lavender farm" while on our tour yesterday.

Today we went to an old Hawaiin church (founded in 1832) and did a tour of the north shore which is well known for surfing, both "boards" and "wind". We stopped for lunch in a town called Paia, at a place well known for it's fish. Seating is communal, ie if there are two places at a table, you take them. So you do get to meet others, since it is usually packed and today was no exception. The fish was wonderful.

Tomorrow is our last day of work and our farewell at coffee break. There is quite a turnover of volunteers this week.

Tonight at dinner we sat with participants from four different countries, and I sat beside a young fellow from India. He lives in Bangalore, which is the IT capital, and he works in the software industry. It was interesting to get his perspective on where the world is going in technology and who will be leading and who will be following and why! He was very well spoken.

A New Experience

2008-03-22T17:13:00.000-07:00

For this new experience, I can thank Bob Robinet from our church back home. He and Ruth Ann were here last year and he told me about the helicopter ride they took.

A fellow volunteer friend from Winnipeg who went para-sailing with us last year is here again and we decided to do the whole island tour. Another volunteer from Manitoba, Daphne, (and much younger) decided to join us, but of course Marlene wouldn't think of it.

So the three of us went ahead, picked a date, and bought our tickets for first thing today. Of course Marlene then decided to join us.

It was a beautiful morning weatherwise, although we did pass through some rain. The pilot took us out over the water to watch three whales frolicking, took us into areas to show us massive waterfalls, and gave an ongoing commentary as we flew along. Maui is a beautiful island, and seeing it by helicopter is much easier than hiking. We were given headphones and when he wasn't talking, there was background music so you couldn't hear the choppers. And it was all very smooth. I would recommend to everyone.

Mamma's Fish House

2008-03-21T23:43:00.001-07:00

We came here for Ralph's birthday dinner on Tuesday. What a beautiful setting, out in the middle of nowhere, right on the ocean, amongst the palm trees you see here, watching the waves roll in as we ate. The food was excellent, as well.

Our time here is quickly coming to an end, so we will do a few tourist things this weekend, and next. Today, Good Friday, was a work day for us, & we got off l hour earlier than usual. It is not a stat holiday in the US.

We wish you a most Blessed Easter Season. Remember, HE IS RISEN!!

"Warren & Annabelle's"

2008-03-14T18:44:00.000-07:00

We spent an evening last night at a nightclub in Lahaina, by the above name which is a "magic and humour" show. I am not much into magic, but I did enjoy the humour, particularly when it was without foul language, etc. The venue has been voted as Maui's top activity/show, for some time. In addition to the show there is food and drink beforehand, so it is a pleasant evening out. Two other couples went with us and getting to know other volunteers is always interesting.

Gas prices all over are rising, but I understand Maui is tops in the USA. The average national

price according to USA Today last weekend for regular was $3.27 per US gallon (which is 4/5 of a Canadian gallon, or 3.8 litres). As you can see by the attached picture, it is somewhat higher here. In fact Maui prices are $.20 higher than Honolulu, which I don't understand. The good news is that on a small island like Maui you can go quite a ways on $10 worth of gas.

We are welcoming approximately 50 new participants this weekend and saying goodbye to another group. Next weekend a second group arrives, so the building will be busy up until we leave on April 2nd.

We attended convocation on Thursday evening, a gala evening to windup a session.

And Then there Were Three

2008-03-07T19:44:00.000-08:00

Another week gone by- three to go!

We were on call yesterday from 6:30am - 10:00pm, and because one of our groups was leaving, there was plenty of duties, stripping rooms, getting luggage onto the shuttle, etc. So it was a busy and tiring day. We were not scheduled to do duty until next week, but one of our volunteers had to return to Manitoba for a family funeral, and we were asked to switch spots. Watching particpants leave after four weeks here is always interesting. Most have experienced real change, met new brothers in the Lord, and some are going home with a new purpose in their lives. There are always some humourous moments, and always the unexpected. This weekend we almost lost one - we said goodbye Friday night to a participant from Nigeria, found out early Saturday that after sitting on the plane for 90 minutes his flight was cancelled (mechanical problem that couldn't be fixed), he slept on a bench at the airport and couldn't reclaim his baggage. So he came back here for the day, laundered his clothes and slept, and left again last night. Fortunately he is a very outgoing and extroverted fellow, but obviously travel can be unnerving.

Today, 21 volunteers plus about 15 volunteers from Haggai went "whale watching". It was the same excursion to Molikini that Mike & Steph did when they visited us in 2005. The weather was partially overcast, so it was not too hot. I have added a few photos but while we must have spotted two dozen different whales, we didn't get any magnificent pictures or views. However, with good company, nice weather and a barbecue lunch it was a great outing.

Tasty Crust

2008-03-01T23:04:00.000-08:00

After an "upper end" breakfast last Saturday, we went to the locals favourite place for breakfast on the island, the "Tasty Crust" in Wailuku, today. I didn't get a picture from inside, just the outside one shown, but it is pretty ordinary. However, the locals flock there because of the food, especially their pancakes. Afterwards, we were dropped off at a Shopping Mall and took the bus back to Haggai. Marlene spent the most of the day in the volunteers kitchen, because she is doing coffee breaks next week.

We are now into March, our third and final month. In fact, we only have four more weeks plus a day of work, but who is counting. Our term so far has been somewhat uneventful - no earthquakes, serious sickness or other problems. We have guests arriving for Convocation next thursday, after which one group will leave. The following weekend will see a group leave and a new one arrive, which is a busy time.

I had another "small world" story unfold today. One of our participants here from Camaroon , does IT support for Wycliffe Bible Translators. Our church at home had a young missionary couple, Greg & Tracy McLean, home from Camaroon for the birth of their third child and wouldn't you know that the participant here and the McLeans know each other. Always amazes me how small the world really is. I kind of envy Greg because this young fellow was able to help me very quickly with a computer problem. I think everyone who owns a computer should have an IT support person. This young fellow left Camaroon with a three week old baby at home, another example of how much the participants value the Haggai training.

Napili Seahouse #2

2008-03-01T22:53:00.000-08:00

Attached are the pictures from the previous post! The couples with us were from Manitoba, Saskatewan and BC, so a good representation from across Canada.

Napili Seahouse

2008-02-23T17:29:00.000-08:00

We (four couples) went for breakfast today to the "Seahouse" which is in the Kapalua area, the west end of the island and about a one hour drive from where we stay. Kapalua is known for the golf course where they play the "Mercedes Benz Open", one of the first major golf tournaments of the year. The restaurant gets it's name as it sits right on the sea, and it was a beautiful morning with a couple of whales even putting on a show for us. This is the area where the Ritz Carlton hotel is located, one of the more exclusive on the island and we did a walk through after breakfast.

Hawaii held their Presidential caucus' last Tuesday and Barrack Obama out polled Hilary Clinton by 4/1! Hilary had sent Chelsea her daughter to campaign last weekend, but it didn't seem to have much impact. Obama sent a sister. One of the two State Senators had also endorsed Hilary. Obama was born here but hasn't lived in Hawaii for many years.

The couple who organize the volunteers are in Atlanta this week at the Haggai annual meeting and Marlene and I were asked to meet a new volunteer couple at the airport on Wednesday evening. Their flight was due in at 10:35, but was 45 minutes late so we had a wait at a very quiet airport. There was a young lady waiting with us and she was wearing an old Toronto Maple Leaf sweater. I told her it must be a hard year to be a "leaf" fan (another one) and we struck up a conversation. She was waiting for a friend on the same flight. She grew up in Woodstock, but now works in Alberta as an RCMP officer. She and her friend were just starting a two week vacation. So by the time we got our couple and their luggage and got back to Haggai, it was a late evening.

(Can't upload pictures so they will have to be shown later!)

Whale Day

2008-02-17T22:17:00.000-08:00

The "Pacific Whale Foundation" hosts an annual event each year and yesterday was the day. There was lots of advertising and we along with many others went to see what it was all about. There was educational displays, but most were targeted to school children. There was plenty of flea market displays with crafts to purchase, etc but the main reason for the event was to raise money for the foundation to carry out their normal activities. The appeal for the large turnout - the entertainment. Maui boasts the third place finisher in the most recent American Idol competition and she performed.

This is whale season here and there are many watching opportunities. We went on a boat excursion two years ago in December, but sightings are much more numerous at this time of year.

We were on duty today and we are welcoming a new session this weekend, so it was steady as arrivals don't always happen as planned. If you imagine 50/60 people travelling from various parts of the world heading to Maui, you know there are going to be missed flights, etc. So it is amazing that they all arrive, but they usually do. The five participants who I helped to their romms were from India, Malaysia, Papa New Guinea, Brazil and Kenya. I even found a fellow Rotarian, a veterinarian from Malaysia.

We have passed the halfway point of our stay, so once again time is going quickly. It is time to get plans made to make sure they happen before we leave. I received an email today saying that our church back home had to cancel services today because of an ice storm, so weatherwise it is too early to think about returning home.

Convocation

2008-02-09T18:55:00.000-08:00

We attended our first convocation on Thursday night and it was a gala affair. The valedictorian for one of the sessions (in picture with me) is a pediatrician from Tobago, and actually a former CIBC employee. She worked at the Bank in both Tobago and Toronto (while studying at the U of T). Another of our volunteers from Winnipeg (pictured with her husband), still works for the Bank as a part-time CSR, when she is not volunteering here. The husband is a retired teacher. So we had a CIBC reunion. The group picture is of some of the female volunteers. Our dining room food caterers really outdo themselves for the convocation nights. In fact I enjoy their offerings every night.

One of the sessions (29 participants) was sponsored by a Canadian couple who also happen to be former volunteers. This was the first time Canadians have sponsored a whole session, so that also was quite a celebration. The Canadian development officer was here for the event and he is from Stouffville, Ontario so Marlene and I had some help representing Ontario. His boss was also here from Atlanta, GA (a former NHL hockey player, who grew up in Leamington but married a USA lady while playing for the Los Angeles Kings).

Our weather has improved dramatically over the past two days and it is very nice around the pool and at the beach. We will soon be complaining about the heat. The foliage, etc is quite green because of the recent rainfall.

This weekend is changeover in that we are departing the ladies session that just ended and greeting a men's session which starts tomorrow. In addition there is a special "leadership session" for future faculty members. Another men's session will arrive next weekend. So it is a busy time for the housekeeping volunteers.

Month # 2

2008-01-31T18:53:00.000-08:00

Today is the start of month #2 of our three month term!

Of course the big topic of conversation has been weather. There was quite a snow cover on Mount Haleackala Tuesday, and in fact, the upper road to the peak was closed (I should have brought my skiis). I must apologize to our next door neighbour at home, Tom D. A little over a year ago he told me it had snowed in Maui and I didn't believe him). So I did get a picture Tom! Daily high temperatures have been 77/79 versus the normal 82/84. Our pool is down to 68/69, which seems quite cool. Thank goodness for the hottub. The HI development officer for Canada arrived from Toronto on Wednesday, and when he started talked about minus 29 in Ontario we stopped complaining about our cold weather for at least half an hour. I have been in the pool every day except one this past week, so it's not too bad.

Our first session of ladies classes for this year ended yesterday and we are saying goodbye to them today, to-morrow and Sunday. A new group of men start arriving next weekend. I was on duty tonight trying to get ten ladies on a shuttle to the airport at 7:00pm. When they are saying goodbye to 49 classmates, it is a real challenge to get them and their luggage on a shuttle. With men you put the luggage on, you count heads onto the bus and when you get your number, you tell the driver to leave. With the ladies, they get on, then they get off! Then one of their friends gets on for one last hug. The next group of seventeen ladies leave tomorrow morning at 4:30am - it should be a little more subdued at that hour then tonight. You must remember these ladies have been together for the past 25 days, and will probably never see each other again - so it is quite emotional. The picture only covers part of the class.

The other picture is the Vice-President - International Training and his wife (from India) and a participant from Sri Lanka.

"Bubba Gump's"

2008-01-27T14:23:00.000-08:00

We have a weekend off, and were able to sleep in yesterday morning, first time for 2 weeks, as we were on call last Saturday, and breakfast is served at 7am on Sundays, but I was awake early anyways. Did some errands, went for a quick swim, and a little sun. Then we drove over to Lahaina, with several other volunteers, for a lovely lunch at Bubba Gump's, while overlooking the water, and watching the boats come & go. Afterwards, we went to a nice shopping mall, I shopped, and Ralph explored the beach front. It was a great day.

This morning we went to King's Cathedral (penticostal) for worship, with another couple, and guess who was preaching today! None other than John Hagee, the TV evangelist! And was he fire & brimstone! We are to stop our pity parties, sucking our thumbs, now!

This afternoon was a quiet time for us, as Ralph spent the entire time doing the Stratford church's books (financial), and I am working on a bible study homework.

The weather continues to be very pleasant, cooling off each evening, it is "one blanket" temperatures, and great for working.

Hope all is well with you, and your loved ones. Blessings!

Rotational Duties

2008-01-17T17:27:00.000-08:00

My job to date this term is called "rotational duties". This involves several different tasks on different days, but my constant is supplying 21 water stations throughout the building.

Haggai previously purchased it's water, but a purification system was acquired in 2006, so we now purify our own water.

Water is very important because of temperatures, but also because of people coming here from all over the world. With upwards of 200 people in the facility, we go through a substantial amount of water. In fact last week, I filled 36 - 5 gallon bottles of water.

A couple of my other tasks are outside, which is a nice break from indoor duties. One is cleaning the signs, one of which is a brass "address" on the front of the building - so "brite boy" is my friend.

Marlene and I did "on call" yesterday from 6:30 am until 10:00pm and with 120 female participants, we were busy. When on call you respond to room problems, etc, etc. So today, other than being out to church, it is a rest day.

Marlene can report on her duties in a future post.

We haven't been out to take many pictures, so that can also be for a future post.

All in all, things are going well!

Calvary Chapel

2008-01-13T14:20:00.000-08:00

Today is Sunday and we went to church at "Calvary Chapel" which operates from a building formerly occupied by a nightclub/restaurant. Marlene has a "crush" on the young senior pastor (along with most of the other female volunteers here), so it is a favourite church to visit for us. The young pastor, who is also an excellent preacher, has been on the mainland writing a book for the last six weeks, and he was supposed to be back today. He was delayed so you can imagine Marlene's disappointment. Calvary is a non-denominational congregation and very casual. In fact it would be hard to find anyone on the island who wears a suit to church, including the pastors.

After church we went to a Christian bookstore to pick up a couple of items, but otherwise it is a football Sunday. The five hour time difference allows us to get the football out of the way well before dinner time which is 7:00pm. We are receiving participants again this weekend, so many volunteers are staying around the building.

The weather today is cooler, around 78/79 degrees, pleasant for many things, but few people around the pool. My daily trip to the hot tub was direct.

Rotary at Kihei-Wailea

2008-01-10T18:09:00.000-08:00

I went to Rotary yesterday at the same club I have attended the last two years. Besides doing make-ups, it is a great place to learn what is happening on the island since they have some very interesting speakers.

The Rotary meetings are held at the Diamond Resort, which is a "5 Star" Japanese owned hotel/spa complex about 10 minutes down the road in an area known as Wailea. Wailea is the most expensive hotel area of Maui, in fact the average room rate in August/2006 was $430. We haven't heard any current rates. The lunches are very good and reasonably priced since the owner is a Rotarian in Japan.

Yesterday's speaker was the Mayor of Maui County and that is her in the picture (besides Maui, the county includes the neighbouring islands of Molakai & Lanai). It was a kind of "State of the Union" speech, but she dealt with a couple of controversies and ended with a spirited question and answer session. I had a chance to speak with her after, but she showed little interest in Canada, probably because Canadians are statistically low spending tourists compared to mainlanders and the Japanese.

The other lady in the picture with me is the current Rotary President. It was nice to renew some old friendships and it was nice to see the club is growing. In fact there was over 70 people there yesterday, few of whom were visiting Rotarians from the mainland.

Tomorrow is the end of work week two, so time is flying already.

Haggai Improvements

2008-01-07T22:16:00.000-08:00

Each time we return to Maui, it is interesting to note the improvements that have been made around Haggai. Some are small, some more significant, some affect us, most don't.

I have mentioned in the past that the volunteers have the use of three vans which we can sign out, so long as we car pool, that is post a sheet where you are going, and take other volunteers who wish to join you. This is also a great way to get to know the other volunteers better. The vans in the past have all been Ford Winstars of varying ages. Well this year the oldest Winstar has been replaced by a spanking new Dodge Caravan. Now a move from Ford to Chrysler in my opinion is a significant improvement. The air conditioning on the replaced Winstar was referred to as 2-40 - that is put at least 2 windows down and drive at least 40 miles per hour.

The daily weather temperature highs here in January are in the 79/84 range and it is very pleasant for sleeping, walking, working, etc, but cool for swimming if it is cloudy. This is not whining - just letting you know that working in non air conditioned areas is much more pleasant at this time of year.

Marlene and I are on call today until 9:30pm and we are expecting new participant arrivals, so this will be short. As you can see we have not been out to take many pictures to date.

Term # 3 - Haggai Institute

2008-01-03T19:48:00.000-08:00

We arrived on Tuesday after a horrible trip.

Flight # 1 from Toronto to Minniapolis on Northwest was cancelled, but they rebooked us on an Air Canada flight, but first we had to transfer to Terminal #1 from Terminal #3. Then the Air Canada flight was delayed for about 90 minutes with de-icing, etc and we missed our connecting flight in Minniapolis to Maui. There were no further Northwest Maui flights from Minniapolis, so they rebooked us to Los Angeles where we could catch an American Air flight to Maui. But then we needed to change Terminals in Los Angeles and when it is a first visit??. It was quite bumpy the last leg which isn't Marlene's type of flying.

The long and short is we arrived here about two hours late after a long, long day of flying, rushing, waiting, bumping around, etc.

However, we are happy to be back here and there are many familiar faces. Today was our first day of work. We start greeting participants tomorrow for the first session of traing for 2008.

This post is short and no pictures. More to follow.

Final Post #2

2006-12-08T16:28:00.000-08:00

To-day is pack up day - say goodbyes - and off to the airport. We have a late flight (11:25pm) so we lose a night of sleep. We get to Toronto @ 3:45pm to-morrow!

Saying goodbyes is the biggest negative of a term at Haggai, but the arrivals and departures are a part of the process. The last session before Christmas wound up last night and 26 participants left at 4:45am this morning, so the facility is emptying.

I did another Rotary makeup this morning along with one of the Haggai participants from Brazil, who I think I had mentioned before. Ezequiel is an attorney back home. The club we visited is up the mountain going to the Haleackala volcano, so therefore the name " Maui Upcountry". Many people here live upcountry because temperatures can be 5/10 degrees fehrenhiet lower. Most livestock operations are located there.

So that's it for this time.

Honolulu

2006-12-04T18:19:00.000-08:00

Well we had quite a trip to the big city - at least for us people from quiet little Maui. We had thought Maui had become quite crowded and busy since our first trip here in 1971. A trip to Honolulu gives you a new appreciation for quiet little Maui.

We flew over Saturday morning and came home late yesterday afternoon. Besides the football game we went shopping at the Alla Moana SC (third largest in USA) , had a nice dinner at a Thai restaurant, and did a "Duck Tour" of the City and Pearl Harbour (remember Boston Katrina?).

The football game was good, but as you can see from the scoreboard, the wrong result for the locals. The game was a sellout and they are a noisey bunch of fans. Start time was delayed to 7:00pm for ESPN television coverage, so the fans had lots of opportunity to tailgate.

Our hotel was in Waikiki, on the 35th floor, but lots of tall buildings around us. Good view of the ocean and DiamondHead in the distance.

Pearl Harbour is interesting, but moreso for Americans.

So it was a good trip and we (I am) were glad we did it!

Off to Honolulu

2006-11-30T18:47:00.000-08:00

This Saturday we are off to Honolulu for two days, specifically to see Oregon State (the Beavers) play the University of Hawaii (the Warriors) in NCAA football. Attendance at games early in the year was bad, under 25,000, but the Hawaii team has really got a good offence, and last Saturday there was over 45,000 in attendance. So it should be a great experience. The reason it is a two day trip is because the games are played in the evening, we assume because of the heat, and the last flight back is 8:00pm. So we are interested to see what has changed in Honolulu since our last visit 35 years ago!

The picture is of the Rotary president and her husband where I do my makeups. He is the Governor-Elect for District 5000 (Hawaii) so they are a Rotary family.

The Homestretch

2006-11-26T16:19:00.000-08:00

We are now into the last two weeks before returning home. The weather continues to be lovely, low 80's, occasionally some clouds. It just does not feel like Christmas is a month away, because there is no seasonal change that is quite obvious. But in church today there was mention of the Advent Season starting next week, so it must be coming soon.

We attended an old (175 years) Hawaiin Church, right on the beach. It was refurbished recently, and is very plain but nicely done. And a baby was baptized, in the ocean, as part of the service.

We continue to enjoy the participants that are here, some have heart-breaking stories to tell of persecution in their homelands. Please pray for that to end!

Next weekend we are going to Honoloulou-NCAA football !

The two pictures are the participants doing their favourite afternoon break activity - soccer, and a picture of a "wind farm", twenty windmills which provide 9% of the island electrical power.

We hope & pray that all is well with you, would love to hear from you, & about what is happening at home. See you soon--Blessings!!

A Different Lunch

2006-11-23T22:21:00.000-08:00

One of Marlene's alltime favourite movies is Forest Gump, so the opportunity to eat at a Shrimp specialty restaurant named after him was just too much. The food was actually quite good, and the atmosphere was casual. This restaurant is in Lahainia which is about 45 minutes from Kihei.

The other picture is the electrical plant here on the island. It is operated with petroleum and produces 84% of the electricity used. Needless to say it got quite expensive when oil headed towards $80 a barrel.

Today is US Thanksgiving but it was a work day for us, although we were off at 2:00pm. Also we did get a turkey dinner with dressing and the works, so life could be worse.

A Quiet Weekend

2006-11-19T22:30:00.000-08:00

We were on duty yesterday and it was busy - lots of questions from participants, help with air conditioners, locked bathroom doors, how do I get into my email (it worked yesterday?), selling long distance call cards, etc. One of my fish ponds even flooded?

So today was a rest day after church - a walk down to sample the McDonalds $1 menu and watching the Grey Cup on the internet.

Tomorrow is the start of Regional presentations, which is always interesting and Thursday is US Thanksgiving.

The pictures are from Marlene in her never ending quest of the perfect sunset.

Small World .....

2006-11-15T19:25:00.000-08:00

Everyone has a small world story, and the older you get, the more you seem to add to them.

In Rotary, one of our International projects at the District level is the Group Study Exchange program. Teams of five individuals from different vocations are formed at the District level, and a five week exchange is made with a District from another country. In Stratford, we are part of District 6330, an international district in that some of our clubs are in Ontario and some in Michigan.

Last weekend, while assisting one of the participants from Brazil to his room, I noticed a Rotary emblem on a duffle bag from Fenton, MI. When I asked if he was a Rotarian he responded yes, but that he obtained the bag while a member of a GSE team that visited USA and Canada. When we narrowed it down, Idiscovered his exchange was with our District in 2002, and he had in fact stayed in Stratford for a few days. Well it turns out Marlene and I hosted one of his team members, (remember Fabio, Katrina? - I still remember the comment he made after you cooked him a nice dinner). Ezekiel is an Estate Attorney in southern Brazil.

Several of the participants who take the training here are Rotarians back home, which should come as no surprise to Rotary members since the strategy of Haggai is to "start at the top and train from within".

Disappointing news this past week here has been another shark attack, right here in Kehei, with the victim being a Canadian. He is making a remarkable recovery, and was able to attend a wedding on Monday, which was the reason he was here. There were two shark attacks last year while we were here.

We have had four couples leave and four arrive over the past couple of days - the revolving door never stops.

Back to the Koi - Part 2

2006-11-12T17:08:00.000-08:00

One of our volunteers who left yesterday had been looking after the fish ponds. So I am back crawling around with the Koi trying to keep the algae under control, and the water falls at proper levels. We have five ponds and three water falls. Two have Koi fish which originated in Japan I am told. The ponds and water falls are quite attractive but because we have so many tropical plants and trees, and because of the trade winds, keeping them clean is a challenge. But it is an outside job which starts at 6:30am and ends an hour early so there are advantages.

We have arrivals today and tomorrow for a new class, so it is a stay close to home day. With so many volunteers from western Canada, there was a lot of interest in the CFL western final, but were not happy with the outcome. You can download the broadcast from the CFL.ca website for a small fee.

Suffering for Jesus..........

2006-11-07T18:28:00.000-08:00

Thought I should post a few pictures of the highs & lows of this experience. Actually, cleaning bathrooms has not been the low of my job experience, but I didn't get a picture of that activity.

To explain the lower than "cleaning toilets" - when I had finished my assigned tasks a few days ago, I went to the supervisor looking for something to fill the rest of the day and he sent me to clean electrical rooms - there is one on each floor of each wing, so there is ten in total. Well these rooms need to be well ventilated, they draw air from hallways, are warm, and they are like dirt/dust collectors. I needed to sweep which stirred up the dust and even with the exterior fan operating, I was filthy when I was finished.

We, the men, joke here about cleaning washrooms - the men do the public washrooms and there are 12 of them. You get assigned a week at a time. I think the two pictures tell enough of the toilet experience.

The other two pictures are the high of each day - 15 minutes in the whirlpool followed by a refreshing swim. As one of the guys likes to say - "we get to enjoy all this for a few hours of work each day".

I didn't include any volunteers in bathing suits in the whirlpool/pool pictures to help your eyesight - most of us are seniors!

Yes, the highs and the lows of the Haggai experience!

A Pretty Saturday Morning Walk

2006-11-05T18:32:00.000-08:00

Seven of us went for a walk yesterday morning at 7:00am, with breakfast afterwards. The most expensive hotel area on Maui is Wailea, which is also where I go for Rotary meetings.

In a newspaper article a few weeks ago, for the whole Hawaiian islands, Wailea had the most expensive hotel rooms, with the average @ US$430 (and that was the month of August). One of the nicer hotels is the Fairmont (a Canadian chain) and our walk started from their lobby. The blue canopies, under which you can put two lounge chairs, rent for US$75 per day. It is a beautiful place, and the walkway runs right along the waterfront past several hotel properties.

In the group photo, the couple on the left are from St Catherines and the one in the middle are from Dallas, Oregon.

The bottom picture is for you Steph and Mike -if you don't recognize, it is Molokini where you went snorkelling.

Five Weeks.....(cont'd)

2006-11-03T18:50:00.000-08:00

These are pictures from last night, that I couldn't get blogger to upload.

The blond lady with Marlene is from Krygistan. She speak english better than me, and we all learned alot from her about many of the 15 independent countries which were formerly part of the USSR.

The lady with the headband is from Jordan. Her two siblings are both graduates of University of Michigan in Ann Arbour (go Blue!). Her perspective on the Middle East and it's challenges was interesting.

The final lady with Marlene is from Brazil. She is a Marketing Manager with a large company and very energetic in all she tackle.

Finally, the lady in the picture with me is a Rotarian from Cairo, Egypt. She is the Personal Assistant to the HM Consul at the British Embassy in Cairo. We are going to try and cook up a World Community Service project between our two Rotary Clubs.

Five Weeks.......

2006-11-02T18:12:00.000-08:00

As unbelievable as it seems, we go home five weeks tomorrow - seems we only arrived last week. The weeks do fly by.

Tonight was Convocation and tomorrow we start saying goodbyeto the graduates. Arrivals for the next class also start tomorrow. There is much happiness at convocation, but these graduates go home with a huge responsibility. Some come from countries where the official religion is Islam and they cannot evangelize openly. We from countries like Canada do not really appreciate how fortunate we are.

I am having difficulty uploading pictures, so I will cut this short and resume tomorrow.

A Weekend of Work (Half)

2006-10-28T19:50:00.000-07:00

The attached group photo shows some of the happy graduates from Thursday's Convocation. The group are Latin America and the Carribean.

This weekend we are on call again on Sunday. We have some duties to do, but as I've stated before, we need to stay on the premises from 6:30am until 10:00pm. During this time we get to help a few people leaving, with their luggage, both participants and guests. It is a great opportunity to catch up on football and reading. We did church yesterday afternoon at the local Catholic church.

With two concurrent ladies sessions, it is necesary to use the facilities to the fullest, as best we can. The attached photo show a men's washroom converted to a ladies facility. I thought it was pretty innovative.

We said goodbye to Dick & Eileen Radstake, a couple from Moorefield, Ontario. Dick & Eileen completed their fifth term here and they work together doing renovations to rooms and hallways. They are "Master" wallpapers'! Dick is very handy replacing bathroom fixtures, flooring, baseboards, etc. When they finish with a reno project, it looks like new. Inside carpet is contracted out, but otherwise the complete project is done by volunteers.

Half Way Point

2006-10-26T00:09:00.000-07:00

Today is our seventh Wednesday here (I know by my Rotary makeups), so we are halfway through our time here.

Speaking of Rotary, the Club I do makeups with had a joint meeting with their Interact Club today. For those not familiar with Interact, it is a High School Rotary Club, sponsored by a normal Rotary Club. The one we visited today is in a private school of 415 students from grade seven to twelve. One of the pictures shows some of their facilities. Needless to say, it is upper end. I have never been directly involved in Interact in my Rotary career, so it was quite enlightening. We had an Interact Club in Chatham at Steph and Carrie's school and I know at least Carrie was a member, maybe Steph too?

Last night was another "Pool Dinner" and "Praise Night". I won't bore you with a whole bunch of participant pictures, but once again the Africans really had the place rocking. These ladies had colourful dresses and the "law professor" from Nigeria was their leader. Our volunteer group did a choir number and you can see everyone was included, whether they could sing or not. Marlene is trying to imitate some participants with her headband?

The other picture is of our building taken from the street - our room is one floor from top (5th floor) and directly in the centre. Our door is in an "atrium" area, which has a roof which is usually open for ventalation purposes. We get a nice breeze, and have not used the air conditioning yet. Evenings are starting to get cooler with winter season coming on, and it is really quite pleasant.

ParaSailing

2006-10-22T19:29:00.000-07:00

A new experience!

As I mentioned, this is something I have wanted to do for some time. We did an earlybird, (8:00am) flight and the weather was perfect. We had a choice of 400' or 800', and since I wasn't sure we would do again, we took the 800'. The flight was 10 minutes, which was just about perfect. Now I didn't take a tape measure, but as you can see, the rope was certainly long enough for us. We took off from, and landed on the boat. The picture of us is the landing. There was seven of us on the boat and you have a choice of going single or tandem. All in all, I was very impressed with how they do it. I watched parasailing in Mexico and they spent alot of time messing with the rope and the parachute. Our guys had great equipment, were very courteous and had been doing it for several years. Would you believe they have done up to 84 flights in one day!

This is the final week for one of our groups. Next weekend about 55 of our 110 participants will leave. We have enjoyed Regional presentations this week and all have been very interesting. The perecution that some suffer in their home countries for their faith is quite amazing. Hearing from independent countries of the former USSR, is also very interesting. We have Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan in the group that is finishing. Learning about the Middle East is also very topical, and we have Bahrain, Egypt and Jordan represented. The second group will do their presentations this week, so the different perspectives from the same Regions, but different presenters will be entertaining and educational.

Life Goes On

2006-10-19T00:11:00.000-07:00

Already the news here is that the US federal government is not doing enough to aid earthquake damage. Most of the major damage is on the "Big Island", (Hawaii) but with elections loomimg this November, politicians are trying to leverage any situation available. Total damage reported thus far to public property is around $74 million. When you consider a similar 6.7 scale earthquake in 1993 in California caused $25 billion, it is comparitively small. Frankly, I am surprised we didn't have more damage to our building here, based on the "shake" I experienced in our 5th floor room. Engineers will probably come in to inspect the building, but there appears very little damage to my eyes.

I purchased tickets today to go "parasailing" this weekend. This is something I have wanted to do for years, but it took another of the volunteers to say "lets do it"! More surprising is that Marlene is also going. Will report more after the experience.

I was also able to get discounted airline tickets to go to Honolulu our last weekend here. The attraction there is an NCAA (college) football game. It will involve staying overnight since games don't start until 6:00pm (because of the heat), so we will be able to do some sightseeing as well. We were there in 1971, but I imagine there has been some changes in 35 years.

The attached pictures are two of Marlene's never ending attempt to photograph the perfect sunset.

Earthquake

2006-10-15T17:57:00.000-07:00

What an experience! And not one we wish to repeat again. We have certainly been protected by the Lord through this, no-one here at Haggai has been injured, but of coarse all are scared. I don't think there was any damage to the property, but some toilet bowls splashed onto the floor, a few TV's fell out of the shelving onto the floor, and many books on Dr. Aldo's shelves also landed on the floor, most of this on the upper floors, 5 & 6. I was in the dining room, and had just gotten my breakfast on my plate, when the noise like a big truck out on the street, was heard, and then things started to move, that should not be moving. Many ladies were already eating, a supervisor said everything was ok, and then the lights went out. So the biggest problem was no electricity, from 7.10 'til noon. It was then (no lights) that we vacated the building. Eventually we came back in to have breakfast (by candlelight ) as most of the dining room is quite dark.
Early this am, ( 3am) 5 carloads of ladies left the building to drive up the volcanoe to see the sunrise, at about 6am. However, it was very overcast, so they would not have seen anything. It is now 3.30pm, and I haven't heard that they are home yet. They did call to say they were ok at about 9:00am, but some roads are blocked by boulders.
This quake was 6.6 on the scale, centered off the Big Island, and they had a lot more damage, & still are without power, etc. The land phones were not working, but one lady had a cell that did work, so some of us quickly called home to say we were ok. God is soooo good! I am so amazed that we did not feel more (Ralph was still in our room,trying to cool off after his run, so I was anxious until I saw him outside). The library has a huge collection of everything that many participants have brought here as gifts, and only 3 items were on the floor, everything else standing exactly where it belongs.
It was really neat, as we gathered outside, that the ladies immediately began a time of prayer & praise, worshipping God, and I believe, comforted everyone by doing so. The ladies did such an amazing job of keeping everyone calm, to God be the glory!
One of the pictures shows how we set up for a poolside dinner, except the tableclothes aren't on yet, and if it is after dark, the torches are also lit.
Blessings to you all, stay safe, we love you!

Time Goes Quickly

2006-10-12T23:55:00.000-07:00

To-morrow is "Aloha Friday" and another week has passed. As I have said before, time does go quickly here.

Tonight I sat beside a young lady from Bangkok, Thailand. She was not disappointed about the recent coup by the military in her country. She has two degrees in Agriculture and works for the Thailand government as a consultant. She has travelled extensively to the UK and Europe on behalf of the government. She is a specialist in the sugar industry and when I told her that we grow sugar beets in Canada in a small way, but that they are processed in the USA, she was surprised we wouldn't have our own processing plants. Before working for the government, she spent 15 years planting churches throughout Thailand. She claimed they planted 685 in the 15 year period, but leadership is a major problem.

Yesterday at Rotary, we had a speaker telling us of the dangers of too much cell phone use. In the USA, kids use cell phones five times as much as their parents, an average of 68 minutes per day. Her message was that the incidence of brain cancer is growing quickly, much of it caused by cell phone use! If true, very scary.

Dr Aldo, the VP of training here, is leading the volunteers in a second bible study group. He is quite a Bible Scholar, and a very good teacher. Naturally, we studied the book of Haggai first, and now we are into Acts. Aldo always has a point you've never heard before.

The pictures are from our recent hike. We haven't been out since to get some new ones.

Waihee Ridge Hike

2006-10-08T23:08:00.000-07:00

Why would 14 otherwise normal people, take a very nice Saturday morning and head out to hike 5 miles up a ridge, in the heat of Hawaii. Thats what we did yesterday morning. And all 14 of us made it to the peak.

We were up at 6:30am to say goodbye to a volunteer couple returning to their home in Australia, so we were on our way to start the hike by 7:00am. We finished by 11:00am, so the heat could have been much worse had we been out later in the day. The strange part was that the coming down, was harder on the leg muscles, than going up?

The top picture shows the peak we were heading for and the "end of trail" sign confirms we arrived. Since Marlene and I are not experienced hikers, it was quite an expedition. When you have others with you who you know are older, you become a little more motivated.

The scenery on the island is something, particularly when you consider most of the vegetation is growing out of lava rock. When you climb a hill here, you are rarely out of sight of the ocean, which adds to the scenery.

We treated ourselves to brunch on the way home at a restaurant in the County capital, so that added to our trip. Since I was up at 4:45am, I did some horizontal exercises yesterday afternoon to help recover.

We are welcoming participants this weekend - always a pleasant time. One of the female particpants is a law professor from Nigeria - Steph our oldest daughter would enjoy meeting her.

Interesting Stage of Life

2006-10-03T20:30:00.000-07:00

I was thinking at our "Devotion Time" today what an interesting stage of life, most of us volunteers here, are at.

Most of us, although not all, are retired. We do have three younger volunteers, two young ladies, an American and a Canadian; and a young fellow from Australia. They are all taking a three month break from their careers to volunteer here. Of the remainder, we have three widowed ladies who are retired, and the rest are couples.

One of the hymns we sang included the words "how sweet to hold a new-born baby, and feel the pride and joy he gives". Since Marlene and I have experienced this in our family twice in the past year and a half, and look forward to doing so again next March, the words were meaningful.

My other thought was that most of us don't have jobs to worry about going back to. Some of us do some part-time work, but for most it is volunteer jobs, similar to what brought us here. And while we do work hard here, and take pride in our tasks, we also keep reminding each other not to get too serious.

So it is a wonderful stage of life - good health (I'm doing my 4 mile jog four days a week), very proud of my family, and as we say here at Haggai, the opportunity to "suffer for Jesus" in Maui.

On a negative note, we have had the "flu bug" going around for the past 7/10 days. Several volunteers and staff have been off work, but so far Marlene and I have escaped the sickness. It seems to be past but with sharing buffet serving cutlery, elevator buttons, etc, it is rather difficult to avoid catching whatever is going around.

The pictures are a couple more from the County Fair exhibits. Blogger won't upload anymore for me.

84th Annual Maui County Fair

2006-09-30T23:19:00.000-07:00

This weekend is Fair weekend and we went Thursday evening for a few hours. The County of Maui includes two outer islands, Molokai and Lanai, two smaller islands adjacent to Maui. The Fair is a big event, particularly for those born and raised here. Thursday night was parade night, and I assume the schoolkids who walked in the parade gained free admission. Being an evening parade, this would exlude time off school, so it would probably have excluded my old friend Hugh Wagner, as his motivation in participating in the parade was the half day off school?? In any event, there was lots to eat (several churchs, service clubs, and associations selling local favourites); many horicultural, fruit & vegetable, and craft exhibits; and of course an entertainment tent. The crowds were excellent from our perspective, and the whole thing looked very successful, at least for a first night.

Today, Saturday, we tried a new experience in taking the bus to Kalhui, the major shopping area close to the airport, Costco, Walmart, etc. Marlene wanted to check out the Swap Mart (aka "Flea Market"), and rather than sign out a vehicle, the bus seemed a good alternative. It is a good service and it will get you to several parts of the island. It could even come in handy getting to Rotary and at $1 per ride, the price is right.

We have two new couple today as volunteers, one a repeat and the other first timers, both both from the same hometown, Dallas, Oregon.

Our participants for the next session started arriving today, which means the Dining Room is open again with evening meals served. Having the Dining Room is really like going out to eat every evening, and very enjoyable.

Half Work Days Are Great

2006-09-27T20:06:00.000-07:00

Another Wednesday and even though we have much to get done this week, we only worked a half day today.

This week I was trained to lay a carpet on a lanai (balcony). Some of the carpets are original, about fifteen years, so needless to say, a new one can really spruce up a room. The problem is it is outside work, and it has been very warm and humid this week. With this training I will no doubt become the lanai carpet installer.

I went to Rotary today and Marlene went shopping with a group. I sat beside a lady who is the President and General Manager of the the "five star" resort where Rotary meets. She is also a Director (volunteer) of Hawaii Tourism. She told me they still want people here who spend more, but their advertising is aimed at population segments, moreso than countries. That was a relief to hear, because last year she was the speaker one day at Rotary and she gave statistics on what the spend was from various countries and Canada was at the bottom of the list.

The top picture is of Ed & Agnes Balzer who I referred to two blogs ago. Blogger ate the picture and did so again in my last post. (Three times lucky??) Ed is a retired teacher, volunteered at a Christian School in Budapest, Hungary for three years after retirement and then was interim pastor of a church in Alberta for five years. This is the third time Agnes and he have volunteered here at Haggai. They live in High River, Alberta.

The second picture is of Art Dickman and Marlene. Art lives in Victoria, BC and he is the new men's volunteer supervisor starting Friday. This is his eighth time here in Maui, and I worked with Art last year.

The final picture is of Gene & Sheila Anderson, the current men's supervisor, and his wife from near Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. They leave for home this weekend after a four months of volunteer service hereat Haggai.

A Work Weekend

2006-09-24T20:25:00.000-07:00

We did "on call duty" yesterday which involves being on the premises from 6:30am until 10:00pm. That pretty well includes the whole day. There are some work duties which must be done, but it is more of an inconvenience in not being able to plan something with the other volunteers. On the plus side, it is a great opport unity to catch up on college football, which I did. The volunteers organized a "Crazy Whist" card game in which we did get to participate. So it wasn't a bad day overall.

Today we went to church "upcountry", a small church about 3,000 ft up the mountain. Tonight the volunteers had a poolside barbecue (see picture) since the caterer is off because there is a one week break between classes.

Thursday night was convocation and the fellow in the picture with Marlene and me is Bernard, a Pastor from Narobi, Kenya who was a Resident Coordinator for the last class. He is also the Kenya Director of Africa Leadership & Reconciliation Ministries. He was here last year when we first met him, as a participant.

One of the other pictures is Dr Aldo Fontao, his wife and a participant. He is Vice President, Training & Development. Aldo is from Argentina, a cardiologist, a Pastor, Moderator of Presbyterian Church in Argentina, and has been here for the past six years. He is the fellow in the "yellow jeep" DVD that we have shown some of you.

This week we will do projects that can't be completed while there are participants here. Next Sunday we start welcoming the first 60 of a 120 female particpant double class. That will keep the place hopping for five weeks.

Half Day Wednesday

2006-09-20T18:38:00.000-07:00

Our second Wednesday and I did a Rotary make-up at the same Club I visited last year. Marlene joined a bunch of ladies going shopping - no surprise there, eh!

The speaker at Rotary spoke about the homeless situation both here on Maui and Hawaii in general. We have noticed some tents/makeshift lodging in our travels, but nothing to the extent the speaker outlined. The local Rotary Club is getting involved in the whole affordable housing issue for the island. It is a formidable undertaking because of the cost of housing here. Median price for a single family home is mid US$700m. So there is a wide descrepancy been the haves and have nots.

We had a Pool Dinner and Praise Night on Monday. Once again the Africans got the place rocking! The picture with the large number of people is the African participants. The Bible says you are to use your whole body to praise the Lord, and the Africans have certainly mastered this. Because there is a double class graduating, there are currently seventeen participants from the African continent. The size of the stage didn't allow them to get moving too far, but they sure sang and moved as much as possible. The other picture shows two particpants from Cambodia, one from Viet Nam and one from Thailand. Convocation is tomorrow night.

The couple on the beach are Ed & Agnes Balzer from High River, Alberta. Ed is a retired Teacher/School Administrator. Since retiring, Ed has served for three years at a Christian School in Budapest, Hungary; and five years as an interim Pastor at a church in Alberta. They are serving here at Haggai for a third time and they were here with us last year. Something else unique about this couple is that their son is pastor of their local church in High River. So the son has a standin when he needs pulpit supply.

(Well Blogger ate Ed & Agnes' picture so I will post separately?)

A Drive Around West Maui the Right Way

2006-09-17T08:04:00.000-07:00

Yesterday being Saturday, and since we are on weekend duty next Saturday, we decided to rent a car and tour West Maui with another volunteer couple. Marlene and I did this drive last year, but apparently did it wrong since we travelled counter clockwise around the island, and the guidebooks say it should be done clockwise?

Actually, after experiencing both, I would say the guidebooks are probably right. The scenery was beautiful and there are several quiet beaches along the way. The picture with the two boats are snorkelling tour operators. The picture with rocks in the background is known as a Blowhole. Waves from the ocean get trapped underneath and forces the waterthrough a hole in the rock, sometimes as high as 20 feet.

This coming week will be graduation for two classes (approx 110 particpants) and there will be a one week break before a class of ladies arrive. One week later a second class of ladies come in. Since rooms need to be deep cleaned, it will be a busy time. We also have a smaller class at present, for future faculty. This course is only for 10 days vs the 28 days for other classes.

Last week we enjoyed four nights of Regional presentations. These are very interesting as the presenters comment on political, economic, religious, culture aspects of their respetive countries. We even a bit of a heated exchange between participants from India and Pakistan over previous politcal differences.

We're Back - Haggai #2

2006-09-12T18:27:00.000-07:00

Well we are back in Maui - and this wonderful couple were at the airport to greet us with leis and hugs and greetings.
They are Valerie and Larry Hundeby from Elbow, Saskatchewan. They completed one year here last June. Larry is the Manager of Facilities and he is responsible for all Facilities staff and all volunteers. He reports directly to Head Office in Atlanta. Valerie is Volunteer Coordinator and Guest Services Manager. They were volunteers a few times, before becoming full time staff.

Our trip here went relatively smoothly, at least compared to last year. We did have a one hour delay in Toronto, but that was because of poor weather in Chicago, where we changed planes. We were only 25 minutes late here in Maui, and on a plane that held over 450, I think we were the first to grab our luggage and get out of the airport.

There are eight volunteers here who we met last year. There are three other couples from Ontario. The current classes of participants total close to 120, so the place is busy. They all graduate and leave the end of next week, so the ladies will be busy deep cleaning the rooms in preparation for the next sessions.

Today is an adjustment day and I think it is time to adjust by the pool. We are planning on two posts per week while we are here. I have beeb having trouble with picture downloading, so will need to get that under control.

Final Post

2005-12-21T20:42:00.000-08:00

We did go to see the lights at the "Ritz" last night, unfortunately viewing Christmas lights and trying to share by photo are two different things. I am attaching three just to try and share. The Ritz Carleton is a huge complex and they put up thousands of lights. It was quite a sight and we had eleven couples in our group so I'm sure the hotel staff were glad to see us crawling back in our vans to leave.

We all went out to dinner before, and the couple in the picture are Lyle and Gaylene Knutson, from Elbow, Saskachtewan. Lyle is the volunteer supervisor of the men. This is their 4th time here I believe and they are a wonderful couple.

Since this is my last post, I thought I would comment on what we expected here before, and what we found. My original post was Sept 16 on what we were doing.

The most important thing I have learned here, is that Haggai has a solid vision that they are following with a passion. This program was started in 1969 and to date they have trained over 56,000 individuals, at two locations (Singapore and Maui) with leadership skills which will help them to evangelize in their own countries. The current waiting list is between 7-8,000 men and women. These are people who have been recommended by past participants, faculty, etc and who have been screened by area representatives around the world. Some of the sessions the participants attend besides evangelism are communications, family, integrity, and motivation. The teachers or faculty come from non North American countries, since they are concerned the participants are not being Americanized. The cost per participant is US$9,600 of which the participant must pay $500. While it is not a large percentage, to some countries such as African nations, it is huge. Besides travel costs for participants and faculty, the expense includes the operation of this facility and the one in Singapore which is not owned (Singapore does not have a volunteer program either). The administrative operating expenses which includes the Head Office in Atlanta are covered by donations from the Board of Directors. Some sessions which includes up to 60 participants are sponsored by a single donor (US$546,000). So you can see they have some supporters who also believe very strongly in the program.

Our almost three months has been a wonderful opportunity. The only item on my to do list that I didn't get done was to attend an NCAA football game over at Honolulu. I couldn't find anyone to go with and there just doesn't seem to be much interest.

That's about it, since we leave for the airport in one hour!

Whale Watching

2005-12-20T18:06:00.000-08:00

We spent this morning on a motorized raft, chasing whales! Well not really chasing, more like trying to coerce them to come to us. We had several sightings, but spent most of our time with a mother and her newborn. Our guide seemed very knowledgable, and explained that if we kept close to the young one, the mother would not be further than 10/12 feet below water. An adult needs only surface every 45 minutes for breathing purposes. So we had lots of baby sightings and a few of the mother, but getting pictures is another matter. In any event it was a georgeous morning weatherwise and we were glad we took time to go. Thanks for the prod Steph!

Marlene received her Lene Green Cleening Machine award yesterday during our final day of work. We have a total of 796 hours of sweat labour and Marlene is very confused how I ended up with 3 hours more than her??

Tonight we are off to view Christmas lghts at the Ritz Carleton hotel. If time tomorrow I will post a few pictures.

Sugar Factory

2005-12-18T18:03:00.000-08:00

Well we finally did something yesterday I have wanted to do since we arrived. There is only one sugar factory left on the island, and across the road from it is a sugar museum. It is small, but it gives the history of sugar production on the island since inception.

Here at Haggai, we curse (figure of speech) the sugar cane growers because when they burn the cane in the fields, which they do just before harvest, some of the ash, which we call "Maui snow", floats all the way over here, about 10 miles away. It is very frustrating for the ladies to vacum a lanai (balconey) only to return 10 minutes later and see a bunch of black ash. And imagine the poor guy who does the pool.

In any event, sugar cane production dates back to the 1800's and anyone who thinks they work in poor conditions today should see the situation in those days. The museum also shows a 10 minute video of production today at the factory which is very mechanized. Most of the refining/packaging/etc however is done on the mainland.

We went "upcountry" this morning to a church we had visited once before. It is about 1500' above sea level and the change in temperature was quite noticeable. The pastor there is a communications specialist in his daytime job, and he is doing an Advent series, on "Rediscover Christmas". Today's topic was "How Santa Clawed His Way Into Christmas", and besides being quite well done, he put some humour in it!

Tomorrow is our last day of work, Tuesday we are going whale watching (are you happy now Steph?), and we leave for home just before midnight on Wednesday. So probably one more entry on the blog.

Makena Beach

2005-12-14T19:34:00.000-08:00

Another half day off (our last), so we spent the afternoon at the beach. It seemed particularly nice after reading the forecasted high & low Toronto temperatures in USA Today. We went with some other volunteers and the social time is always enjoyable.

The top picture shows Mount Haleakala from a distance. It really doesn't look over 10,000 ft high from this vantage point.

For anyone interested, I have not had any dead fish under my watch, at least not yet. I did go on the internet to check Koi prices. It seems the bigger ones, (12-14 inches) are around US$50 each from a breeder, but they don't sell well on eBay. Smaller Koi are much more reasonable.

We went on a tour of the larger hotel lobbies last night to view Christmas decorations. We visited three, the Marriott, Grand Wailea and the Fairmont. My pictures didn't turn out so you will have to accept my word that they don't spare any expense. I did ask at the front desk of the Marriott their "rack rate" and she reponded US$355. After Rotary today which meets at a Japanese owned resort, the Diamond, their rate is US$370 and they are about two blocks from the beach?? So I guess I should not concern myself how they afford Christmas decorations.

Trip to Kapalua

2005-12-11T21:21:00.000-08:00

We rented a car again yesterday and took a drive around the west end of the island. It is not a long drive, but there is a 20 mile stretch where the road is scarecly the width of a car and hugs the cliffs with no guardrail protection from the water below. Needless to say it was a "white knuckle" ride for my passenger! She claimed we went the wrong way, since had we went the other (clockwise), we would have at least been away from the cliff, whenever there was two lanes. There were many stops, backing up to let oncoming cars pass, and the like. But it was a georgous day after 10:00am weatherwise, and nice to see the scenery. A compact car was a definite advantage (Ford Focus, Car).

I had thought the area south of us, Wialea was the Gold coast of Maui, but hotel rooms at Kapalua START at US$300!

Another area we visited was the Iao Valley State Park and the Iao needle (see picture). This needle rises 2250' above sea level and is the result of thousands of years of water pressure eroding volcanic rock. Hawaiians call the structure Kukaemoky, after the phallus of the sea god Kanaloa. The area is considered sacred as royalty were buried here in the past.

A driving trip with Marlene would not be complete without a shopping stop, and we did this at Whaler's Village, a very trendy area on the way home.

"Keeper of the Koi"

2005-12-09T22:16:00.000-08:00

I receieved an opportunity to do a new job this week looking after the fish ponds and waterfalls here at Haggai. Since we are in our final two weeks, the chance to do something different is usually a good opportunity.

There are three fish ponds, five different areas of water and three waterfalls. Because of all the trees and foliage around the water, keeping them presentable is a challenge. Keeping the water levels in sync is also very important. The three fish ponds have a Japanese fish called "Koi". Thus the title "Keeper of the Koi" (these fish are supposedly very expensive - but I understand there is little demand and they are a variety of carp, so the expensive part could be a fish story??

The downside is I have to start work at 6:30am rather than 7:30, and you have to get right in the water to clean some of the debris, algae, and the like. After a couple of hours of this, my hands smell worse than they used to when we kept pigs. But as I tell my colleagues, this new experience will look good on my resume!

We are saying goodbye to partcipants this weekend, so the place is becoming very quiet. Some of the work projects that are now getting started are interesting. Jobs which cannot be completed when we have guests are the order of the day. One is "Spring cleaning" rooms. All furniture is removed, lanai (balcony) carpet is replaced if necessary, air conditioners are reconditioned, broadloom is shampooed, drapes are dry cleaned, and that's all before the ladies and housekeeping move in. Needless to say a room looks quite fresh when the process is completed.

Last night was convocation and our last opportunity to experience this event. Marlene and I had a nice chat with a fellow from India, who explaining to us, that because we have four daughters, and because I have a dimple in my chin, our third daughter will look after us in our old age?? Maybe I missed part of his explanation Amy, but you better get prepared anyway!

Another International Praise Night

2005-12-06T19:42:00.000-08:00

Another evening of listening to the participants praise god through singing and entertaining each other. These evenings are very lighthearted and preceded by a poolside dinner.

The picture with Marlene and me is with a participant from Panama. He is a very excitable chap, but he always has a ready smile. He tells us he can see the Panama canal from his house, and he does a lot of work evangelizing children.

Our table company for dinner was two Kenyans and two Tanzanians. One of the latter is a banker. It is always amazing how when you get into a conversation, you always have something in common. We told them one of our daughters and her husband had visited Africa. That only led to them putting real pressure on us to come and visit them in Africa, seeing as we are retired with lots of time on our hands. Marlene's only excuse was her fear of flying, but then she had to explain how she got to Maui.

The bottom picture is "Sus"! He is an employee here at Haggai, an assistant to the VP in charge. Sus makes sure everything works, from computers to projectors, etc. He was born and raised here and has never left. This makes him somewhat of a rarity, since only 16% of the population fits into this category.

Sightseeing - Haleakala & Hana Rd

2005-12-04T21:57:00.000-08:00

Dec. 3 -We left our residence at 4am, and drove for 2 hours, to the top of the Haleakala Volcano to watch the sunrise. It was a crystal clear night, the billions of stars shining brightly, no wind. Had about a 45 minute wait until the actual thing, but the colouring of the horizon was beautiful to watch as it slowly became lighter. We were above the 10,000 ft. level, with white fluffy clouds below us, just suspended in the air, not moving. Where is a Tim Horton's when you REALLY need one? Once it was daylight, we could see that the entire top of the crater was like a moonscape, very barren, bleak, desolate, uneven lava rock of some sort. But it was so beautiful in it's own way, we have such a magnificent creator to praise for His handiwork! We took a lot of pictures, but lots didn't turn out either! This area is now a national park.

After looking over the area, (by now we were all quite chilled) we drove back down to find some coffee to drink with our packed muffins and such. Once back to the bottom, we carried on in our rented car, and travelled the famous Hana Road, but because of where we were at the bottom of Haleakala, we approached Hana in the reverse of the usual route. Yes, the road does go both ways, but there is a very rough stretch of about 11 miles, so you can't go over 25 mph! And even when you reach the good paved road, it is very narrow in many places, with 615 hairpin turns, & over 50 one way bridges, spread over about 45 miles. And in many places, you are on the very edge of the cliff, I couldn't bear to look out the side window, just looking ahead. But the scenery was spectacular in many places, as this is a tropical rainforest, with many waterfalls, gorges, cliffs, all with dense folliage, 99 shades of green at least. And as this is an island, it is all coastline, with the blue water, whitecapped waves, sheer cliffs, black lava sand & rock in many places. In one area, there is a bamboo forest, with a 2 hr. hiking trail to, & through it, with several bridges spanning the deep gorges. (Think as in Elora Gorge) See the photo. As we continued driving towards home, we drove through several other areas of bamboo also, it really is unique to see it growing. I kept looking for the Panda Bears, but no luck!

It truly was a great day, admiring God's beautiful creation, in the bright sunshine all day, and even that is rather rare in the rainforest area! Praise God!
Blessings to you all!

Snorkelling at Aquarium

2005-12-04T18:29:00.000-08:00

We spent an afternoon off on Thursday, by going snorkelling with two other couples, to an area known as aquarium. It is in a very remote area of the island as the photo showing the road leading to it will attest. From the road, it was a 45 minute hike to a cove through a lava field. You can see it was very rough and Marlene was on all fours at some points, navigating her way through the lava rocks. The cove is an area where the lava had flowed directly from the crater right into the ocean. Surprisingly, the two other couples we were with, both had visited this location on previous visits to Maui, so why they would go back is a mystery to me. But we are not big snorkelling fans, so I'd better watch what I say. In fact I have only snorkelled two or three times in my life, the last time was probably when we visited Maui last, 34 years ago.

Once in the water, it was fun to view the fish, etc but this area had no colorful corrall or other scenery, just the dull colored lava rock. There was no beach to lay on and the rock was quite rough and evn sharp. I cut a finger and one of the others received a nasty scratch on his leg. You had to be very careful getting in the water and even while in the water.

On a more positive note, it was a nice opportunity to spend time with and meet two new couples, both of whom have served as volunteers here at Haggai previously. The one couple from Oregon have been here four times and the other from near Brandon, Manitoba have been here once. The other positive was coming home and sitting in the whirlpool by the pool and discussing our adventure with others.

Speaking of volunteers, the last of those arriving before Christmas are now here, and there will be 14 volunteers leaving before Christmas, the last of which will be us. So the revolving door of the volunteer family continues.

Laundry Day....

2005-11-29T19:10:00.000-08:00

Every day is laundry day around here, with 230 or so rooms, and 300 or so beds, but yesterday we really hit the jackpot! All of our 46 special VIP guests have gone now, & the participants rooms got a complete change, so you can see how it acumulated! And I thought I did a lot of laundry at home! Every sheet, pillowcase, placemat & tablecloth is ironed, folded in a certain way, & put on shelves. The guy resting on the bin of towels is Richard, & we would be lost without him--he is the Maitre'd of Housekeeping, does all the laundry(all we do is bring down the dirty stuff as we do rooms), & then we work at folding the clean stuff, and putting it away. But many hands make light work, and slowly we are getting through it. You can see the group of us hard at work in the accompanying photos! Three couples left today, so had yesterday off, and two new couples have just arrived, with 3 more coming this week, and we need all the help we have here.

It is hard to believe that it is December tomorrow, the Salvation Army Kettle Bell Ringers are out at the malls & grocery stores, but it just doesn't feel right! We will arrive home in 3 weeks tomorrow, the Lord willing, so our time is quickly coming to an end. We must get a little more sightseeing done befor then.

Our meals have been exceptionally good while all the guests were here, but I notice a real shortage of vegetables and fruit. When I see the prices in the grocery stores, I can understand why!

The weather here has been nice, rather humid, but it is cooling off, the pool also cooling, unfortunately. By the way, nearly all our work is done in areas without air conditioning, especially the laundry! Each room has its' own unit, but it is to be off when we leave the room, and if it is on in a room we are cleaning, we turn it off.
So many of the participants tell us over & over, how amazed they are when they see us do what we do, and how much they appreciate it, which makes our day!

Amy is back on American soil now, as of Sunday AM, she & Katrina are having a good visit in New York City for a few days, and tomorrow, Katrina will return to Kingston, and Amy will go to visit her boyfriend in Indiana, befor going west again.
The Canadian Post Office has a stamp with a nativity scene, but you must ask for it, for your Christmas cards, etc. Sales this year will determine if it will be done again next year,so please spread the word to your churches, and friends.

This is all for now, I pray that you and yours are well & safe--Blessings to you!

Sunday-Nov 27/05

2005-11-27T20:11:00.000-08:00

Grey Cup Day - but the Americans were not too excited about it!

We went to the high country today to church and visited a plantation after where we had lunch. It rained most of the day which is very unusual for this part of the island. In fact it started raining last night around eight o'clock and yesterday was our day to work/be on call. This happens about every six weeks and if there is an emergency you are expected to deal with it. Well one emergency is rain since you need to close the roof over the two atriums in the facility. By the time we found out it was raining, it was pouring and we got drenched getting the roof closed.

One of our perks is the use of four vehicles, three Ford vans and a Toyota truck with an extended cab. We can use these for shopping, sightseeing, church and other trips. The stipulation is that it is on a first comebasis, and you must post a sheet and extend an invitation for others to join you. I am not a big fan of Ford, but theyare better than walking. The two in the picture is older, but the third is realitively new and the truck is the newest, and probably the most dependable.

We had another convocation on Thursday and the picture of Marlene and me is from this evening. The valedictorian from this group was from Nigeria. He gave an excellent speech on behalf of his classmates. It is very hard to describe the quality of these participants. This fellow runs a Christian TV network in Nigeria which covers the African continent. For him to be chosen by his peers, gives some idea of the quality of the people coming out of Africa to be trained here.

I mentioned in a previous message about a former CIBC colleague and his wife being here for the Thanksgiving holiday. The couple in the picture are Henry and Eleonore Esau who now live in Winnipeg, where he grew up. Henry spent five years in Frankfurt, Germany, but otherwise the furthest east he came in his 38 years with the Bank was Thunder Bay. Henry is on the Board of Haggai in Canada.

We are starting week #9 of our stay to-morrow and we will say goodbye to nine volunteers this week, four couples and a single young lady. There will be four new couples arriving, then only departures9including us) up until Christmas. There will be about 10 couples remaing here over the Christmas break, and we understand the paint store will be getting plenty of business. There are two more weeks of classes, then a three week break until early January.

International Praise Night

2005-11-22T12:50:00.000-08:00

Another interesting night last night when each region presents a worship presentation, either in song, dance, or a combination. As usual, the Africans stole the show. They are the ones in the picture in the more colourful clothes. The evening started with a wonderful poolside dinner, especially when the caterer try to outdo their previous best.

Marlene and I lingered at dinner with two participants, one from Malaysia, the other from Jordan, both of them pastors. Their course will end this Thursday with convocation. I asked what was the highlight or surprise of the four weeks study here in Maui. Their answers were quite different, but I thought very revealing.

The pastor from Malaysia said he was surprised by the "vision" of the Haggai Institute. Notwithstanding all he had read and learned, he was really impressed by what the Haggai program is doing in the world to further evangelism.

The pastor from Jordan was equally surprised by how much his "perspective of the Christian community had widened", because of his exposure to participants from 34 different coutries. When you consider and think of his situation, pastoring a church in an Arab country, it sure makes sense. This fellow is very well spoken and he is also very defensive of the US involvement in Iraq. His position is one that is challenged by many of his classmates.

Dr Aldo, the VP of Program & Development had some witty comments to close out our evening. He complained that he believes the Africans only have four words in their songs, plus they are 7-11 music worshipers, seven songs which they repeat eleven times.

Sunday

2005-11-20T15:38:00.000-08:00

A quiet Sunday afternoon, maybe the quiet before the storm. We have many guests here, most of whom are staying for the big US Thanksgiving holiday. Some suggest it is a bigger holiday than Christmas. A sign at Walmart advertised that they will open at 5:00am this Friday. We also have a Convocation on Thursday, so it will be busy. No half day off this week. One of the people I met this week was Randy Menary, a former NHL hockey player who grew up in Leamington. He played for Detroit, Los Angeles and Atlanta. He works for Haggai now in Atlanta and he oversees fundraising. Since it costs Haggai US$9100 for each participant they train, Menary has a very important job.

We went to a church on the beach this morning and it was a different experience. Good message, but the music was not our type. That seems normalat many churches here, the worship team performs moreso than leads, and this morning it was "heavy metal".

The bottom picture was taken from our room. There certainly is lots of beauty in the scenery around the island. Having the camera with you to get it in picture is the challenge.

We are now into week eight, and it is time to start making a list of the things we want to do before leaving. We will rent a car at least once to see the parts of the island we haven't yet seen.

The Routine

2005-11-18T17:24:00.000-08:00

It has been a very busy week here, and will be so until after Thanksgiving , next weekend, as we will have a very full house, half of whom will be leaving, [participant, that is,] and most of the special guests. That will mean that we will have all those rooms to Deep Clean, [unless we have to Spring Clean them, which is even more detailed than normal]. Today, we are both on "PM On Call", until 10 pm. Tomorrow we have to do the Costco Run (we take film to be developed for the participants), instead of today, which we now do twice a week. Next week is my turn to do the Coffee Break preparations & clean up, and warm up whatever is available for lunch , for we volunteers ,and clean up again. So, after our poolside dinner this evening, or tomorrow, I need to do some baking. Not fun in a foreign kitchen with foreign flours, etc., but our budget doesn't allow us to buy everything.

Sometime soon, we will rent a car, and go up to the top of the volcano, about a 2 hr. drive. Ralph wants to see the sunrise up there, so that will mean getting up in the middle of the night. We are more than half-way through our time here, so must put our available days off to good use. Next week no-one gets the half day off, and we are on call again next Sat., 6am to 10 pm. The days and weeks just fly by!

Almost forgot, last night we and another couple went for a drive down the road to an area with a boardwalk by the ocean, and walked for some distance, by moonlight, torchlight, and footlights along the pathway, watching and listening to the waves come crashing in, and seeing the whitecaps on the dark water, 2 nights after fullmoon. The sky was very clear, and the moon was bright, and all the hotels and shops had lots of lights on, so all the beautiful palm trees were so clearly silhoueted [sp ?] outlined, t'was loverly!!!

It is so amazing to be here, and be a part in some small way, of The Great Commission! It is so effective, it is astounding that this wasn't done before in this manner! We hope you are all well, safe and warm, may God surround you with His love and peace!

Hawaiian Sunset

2005-11-16T20:39:00.000-08:00

Marlene has been looking for a perfect Hawaiian Sunset since we arrived and while not perfect, the attached pictures may be as close as we get. The whole process in these attached pictures took only about four minutes, and that will shorten by December 21st, when the sun reaches the southernmost part of its journey.

We took a drive to Lahainia today. It is a former whaling town on the west coast of the island. Marlene thinks there are unique shops there, Ralph thinks the shops in one town are the same as the next. Another volunteer couple from High River, Alberta (Joe Clark country, but not fans) went with us, so it was a nice afternoon, on our half day off.

I went to Rotary at lunch today and we had a speaker from Maui Economic Development. A startling statistic that she passed on was that only 16% of the population was born and raised here. No wonder I have been having trouble finding these people. One of thier goals is to retain their culture and with so few natives, it makes you wonder how successful they will be.

The facility here is very busy this week with visitors. Some 40 are expected including senior employees from Head Office in Atlanta, board members from various countries and major donors. There are two Canadian directors expected, one of whom I understand is a retired VP of CIBC.

One of the two classes in session is giving their regional presentations this week. They segregate the 50 participants into five regions of the world, and each as a group give kind of a "SWOT" analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) on their area of the world as it relates to evangelism opportunity. They discuss population, politics, religions, culture, hindrances, etc. While you only get the perspective of the participants that are here, there is a question and answer session at the end of the presentation and these can be very revealing. There is a participant here from Jordan, and he was questioned extensively about the situation in Iraq. On the other hand some of the discussion is very lighthearted, such as a participant from Nepal who explained that his country is squeezed by the two most populated countries (India and China), is very mountainous, but if you unfolded the mountains, Nepal would be four times bigger than the USA.

Convocation

2005-11-12T18:51:00.000-08:00

Thursday evening was graduation night for a class of 57 men from 34 different countries. It was our second experience of convocation, the initial was 60 ladies the first week we were here, but having helped to welcome the Thursday class, and watching the change in their attitudes and how they interchanged with each other, made this one much more meaningful. It is no secret that some come here with some misgivings/hesitancy. When they start to experience the benefits and the learning, you can see a change start to happen. Also, none or very few know or have even met each other. By the time they leave, they are "brothers" in Christ and there are bear hugs all around.

The fellow in the picture with me is Samuel, a banker, (Vice President of CitiBank), from India. He was voted valedictorian by his classmates. I told him bankers were not that popular in Canada, and I was very impressed thata banker would be voted valedictorian. He and I have had many interesting conversations about banking and also his work with the Salvation Army in his home city. He has a very dry sense of humour and he has been a pleasure to get to know.

The fellow in the centre of the picture with Marlene and I and the other couple, was the "Resident Coordinator" (RC) of the graduating class. The RC is kind of the "mother hen", responsible for the smooth sailing of the class. He deals with scheduling, side trips, coachs any difficulties and the like. This fellow, "Lovejoy", is an alumni of Haigai, and a real gem. He is from South Africa, grew up in Zibaubawe, lived in the USA for about 15 years, went back to South Africa to start a ministry and is now moving back to the states. The reason, as we understand it is that his kids are too American to live in South Africa as blacks.

The third picture is a choir the participants put togther during their time here, and I think recruitment was helped by the fact they had one of our volunteers, a very attractive 28 year old young lady from Oregon as their pianist.

We worked today (Saturday) which is very unusual, because we have a new class moving in today, tomorrow and Monday. Their classes start on Tuesday. This is the first time a class has come in the same weekend a class was moving out, while a second class is in session. There were 35 rooms to turn around, so the ladies were busy. We still had time for a visit to the pool so it wasn't too bad.

We are now six weeks into our 12 week stay which is hard to believe. It has been a wonderful experience to date and we both look forward to our remaining time.

International Night Entertainment

2005-11-09T20:14:00.000-08:00

To-morrow is the final day of classes for one of our group of participants and convocation will be in the evening. So we had an International evening Monday when each country or region struts their musical or entertainment talents, and it was all pretty reserved until along came the Africans. All they had for music was the Egyptian on his guitar , but that's all they needed. Besides being very colourful, they sure had a good time. The South Koreans brought in a very colourful group from a local church (see picture), but they couldn't match the Africans. It was a wonderful night to see the entertainment offerings of each group. It was also an education on the various cultures.

We had a very interesting discussion tonight with two fellows from Bangledesh. They couldn't believe we have a daughter living in Aphganistan. Why on earth would someone choose to go there, unless they were forced to. That's a very good question and neither of us had the answer, if there is one! The Christian population in Bangledesh is .02% of the population. Then along came a fellow from Pakistan and theChristian population there is all the way up to 2.0 %.

We have a new volunteer couple this week from Iowa and they will be here until February. There are three couples departing this week, two from Canada and one from USA. The couple in the picture are the Americans and they live in Mesa, Arizona. When not here, they live in a motorhome and volunteer with RVICS (Roving Volunteers in Christ's Service). This group is very similar to SOWERS in that they do building/repair projects at Christian camps and schools. They have been part of the volunteer renovation team here doing upgrades to all the rooms and hallways on one flooor of one wing. This group is headed up by the couple from Moorefield, Ontario, who are here for the fourth time.

Molokai

2005-11-06T13:19:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we took a day trip to an outer island, Molokai, which is a 1 1/2 to 2 hour ferry ride from Maui. We travelled with another volunteer couple from here at Haggai, they are from near Comox, on Vancouver Island. We all thought the boat trip was quite rough, especially in the open waters, but the ferry employees only gave it a 4.5/5 out of 10. We took a guided tour of the island which has a population of 7000 people.

The island is mostly known for a "lepers colony" which still has 15 to 20 patients. While they are now free to leave, they have decided to live out their lives in the colony on the island. A Belgian priest by the name of Father Damien is quite famous for his work here in the late 1800s and he was actually sainted by Pope John Paul in 1995. The colony is located on the Kalaupapa peninsula (see picture and plaque), which is a 1700 foot drop from the lookout point we stopped by. It looked very peaceful and the scenery was spectactular. Separate tours to the colony are available, but they are lengthy and we were busy with our island tour.

Molokai used to have a thriving pineapple industry, but Dole pulled out about 1990 and the local economy has been depressed ever since. Our guide told us the hourly salary at the time Dole left was $0.95 per hour, but they moved to Mexico and the Phillipines were they could get labour at $1 per day. I'm sure the company has a different slant to the story. The only two businesses we visited were a "macedamia nut farm" and a "coffee plantation". The nut farm was quite small (the tree in the picture grows the nuts), the owner and two part time employees. The packaging for coffee they sold at the cooffee plantation said it contained only10% Hawaiian coffee, the remainder came from South America??

The island is very laid back, two cars at an intersection are considered a traffic jam, and our guide seemed to know everyone. The beaches are of course beautiful, which seems like a given over here.

We left Haggai at 6:00 in the morning and arrived back at 6:00 in the evening, so it was a full day, but well worth the time and the expense.