4th week in Hilo

(The date I posted this is Sunday, March 20, not March 17.)

This has been more of a work week than usual. The senior pastor, Tom Olcott, is on a study leave on the mainland, so I've been "in charge." In addition to the three weekly Bible study groups I'm always a part of, I've also done a fair amount of visiting of shut-ins or the elderly, planning for a visioning retreat, meeting with leaders on various projects, planning for sermons and programs coming up. I'm leading the whole service today.


But it's also been a work week around the house. John spent several days painting ceilings and walls in the house/parsonage, and I did some window washing and outside work. We luckily have a washer & dryer, but because it rains so much, we often hang the clothes in our carport. We have also been entertaining the resident geikos that seem to enjoy climbing walls or spying on us from above.

Several times a week John has been walking to the YMCA, which is near us, for a workout. He has also had more time for reading than I have. One of the members loaned us a whole bag of books about the history and culture of Hawaii; we also got library cards from the local library the first week we were here.

We go to the open-air market every few days for fruit, vegetables, flowers. Love it!

And there are always programs going on somewhere. Last night, on the occasion of the Super Moon, we went to the Imiloa Astronomy Center (which is on the University of Hawaii across from where we're living) for a presentation about moons. Did you know the earth's moon is just one of 170 known moons in our solar system? The astronomer showed photos of the surface of various moons -- photos taken by satelite cameras. And a 3-D simulation of Saturn, as well as the first humans to land on the moon. Fascinating! We did get a glimpse of the super moon between clouds and rain.

On Saturday one of the Micronesian groups (the Chuuk group) planned a car wash. It was pouring rain when they were supposed to start. We took our rental car over when it looked like the rain was letting up. As they were drying it, it started pouring rain again. Oh, well. A clean car to ride around in the rain!

Not so much touring as other weeks. But there are blessings just being here -- notice the beautiful lei -- a gift from the wife of the retired chancellor of the University of Hawaii when I visited him in a care facility.

The concerns of the week have obviously been with the compounding tragedy in Japan. One of the women I visited was watching a Japanese TV station -- she understands the Japanese language. A younger Japanese scientist in the congregation (whose husband was working in Japan when the earthquake/tsunami hit) was monitoring the radiation levels and feeling the intensity of the situation. Such painful, heart-wrenching news that continues to come out of Japan. It is a global crisis, obviously, for it affects us all, even if we are only experiencing it from a distance. (No problems in Hawaii, thank goodness!)