On January 8th, I jumped onto a plane with 14 members of my church. Destination: Wahiawa, HI. I know what you're thinking. Fabulous vacation choice - escaping the Midwestern winter and chilly weather to spend 10 days in paradise. But it wasn't a vacation. And where we stayed was not paradise. (Don't get me wrong ... we did get a chance to visit the ocean, and it truly is beautiful!) We got an opportunity to work with an AMAZING humanitarian organization called Surfing the Nations. They focus their time on building leaders, feeding and providing necessities to the homeless and less privileged, and building confidence in children who live in less than desirable circumstances. They offer internships and leadership programs. They teach others how to love unselfishly and put their faith in God. I was so inspired just being in their presence. Love was everywhere and was expressed without embaressment. And not just by the staff and interns of STN, but also by the locals. We learned to 'talk story' and truly get to know someone. Often times we find it easy to 'help others' simply by giving of material items or money. And sometimes this is exactly what they need. But most times, people just want somebody to listen, to build relationships. To let them know that they truly matter, and that what's on the inside is the most important.
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| Ohai Street |
Surfing the Nations is located in Wahiawa, HI on the island of Oahu.
Oahu has the lowest income of all the islands and Wahiawa is one of the
poorest and most dangerous areas. To get from Honolulu to the beautiful
North Shore, you drive right past this city. But most people,
especially tourists, do not realize the city even exists. That's
because walls and hills were built up around it to hide the 'ugliness'.
STN is located on Ohai street, which was once know to be the most
dangerous streets - where drugs were sold, women raped, and people were
murdered. There was a time when people wouldn't even walk on the side
of the road where STN is located because it was occupied by Strip clubs,
Adult novelty stores, and prostitutes. Here's a link to a news feed about STN and the changes that are taking place.
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| What was once a strip club (just changed in the past year) is now being used as a meeting room for STN and is the location of Surfers Church, a church service that provides a free meal and is open to the public on Saturday nights |
It was amazing to hear the impact STN has had in this location. STN has purchased four storefronts - one which was the novelty store, and the other the strip club. Surfer's Coffee Bar has opened and provides a safe haven for people of all backgrounds to put up their feet, enjoy some AMAZING coffee drinks and smoothies, and listen to bands or participate in open mic night. Other businesses, such as a phone accessory store and a restaurant specializing in gourmet hot dogs and Hawaiian shaved ice have moved in. We were honored by getting to know owners of The Dawgs and found encouragement in their stories. One of the best moments was right before we left for home, and we got to pray over their new business with them. Although there is still a lot of work to be done, change has been making a huge impact in the community of Wahiawa.
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| Surfers Coffee Bar - Open Mic night |
I have so much more to share about this trip, but will do so in some other posts:) For more information about what we did on the mission trip, check out our blog
http://www.rivermission2013.blogspot.com/. If you are interested in learning more about Surfing the Nations, check out their webpage at
surfingthenations.com. They are also on Facebook at
https://www.facebook.com/surfingthenations?fref=ts and
https://www.facebook.com/surferscoffeebar?fref=ts.
2 comments:
Good job Katie - Mike W
Thanks, Mike!
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