Week 4

Working long hours back home, it felt like the days were busy, but empty. Here there is not a huge workload, but every day feels full. There is always something to do, whether it is hanging out with people at camp, praying, getting involved with people at the church, or just spending some alone time with God.

Probably my favorite group outing so far was on Valentine's Day. The pastor had the students over for dinner and fun, he had a giant slip & slide set up, and a nice relaxing hot tub.

In sadder news, one of my tentmates left last week. He disappeared for a couple of nights, and once he came back he had decided that Bible College wasn't for him. He flew back to the mainland on Saturday.

Discipleship 102 is looking to be an interesting class. It could be called "leadership training": we break up into small groups twice a week and the students alternate on who leads the small group. On top of that, we are going through the book Spiritual Leadership by J Oswald Sanders, and the teachings have mostly been about leadership. And on top of that, the main homework in the class is to disciple a younger believer, taking them through a curriculum going over the basics of Christianity.

Last week in D102 we took a personality profile test. I met with our teacher (Pastor Bob) yesterday to go over my results, it was an insightful time. There wasn't anything really new, it was just a profile of my own personality and a lot of it I was already aware of, but it really confirmed what I have been learning and inspired me to grow faster. Basically I need to learn to communicate better with people, to share more openly rather than making it hard for people to get to know me. He picked a verse to share with me, 2 Tim 1:7, the same verse that I had picked for myself earlier this semester!

We've been setting traps in the kitchen area to catch some mice that have started roaming around. Some of the girls were upset when we killed one they had nicknamed "henry". We are starting to get flies around the food area again, soon we may be overwhelmed.

Kauai Ranch Photos

Campfire in the rain. It was pretty cold and wet the whole time.

Tents by the reservoir. I managed to avoid sleeping in a puddle.

I'm not a fan of horseback riding. I had a bad experience.

The tiny but delicious pineapple guava.

Warming our feet by the fire.

I think everyone had pruny feet by the end of the day.

Took the kayaks out exploring.

Back in Hawaii

I'm back at Kauai Bible College! I flew in Wednesday night, and was greeted at the airport by some familiar faces. I have been keeping busy since then, there are some changes this semester.

First of all, I'm in Tim Brown's tent, and I am a dorm steward. Tim has a knack for building things, his tent is the only guys tent with electricity, which he has hooked up to a solar power array. I didn't know what I was missing last semester! It's odd being dorm steward (in charge of the tent), since Tim is on his fourth semester and I'm only in my second.

This is the biggest semester the Bible College has ever had, despite Spring usually bringing a downswing on attendance. Most semesters don't see very many returning students, but this year only three students didn't come back! Combined with the incoming students, we are up to 26 students, and with staff there are 35 people staying on campus.

Student orientation brought up a changing focus for the Bible College: this semester they are emphasizing the context of the whole experience, rather than focusing mainly on content. The idea is that in the information age all the knowledge can be obtained without leaving home, so the Bible College should provide an experience. This includes things like constant fellowship with the other students, opportunities to serve, and even a new healthier meal plan this semester.

Friday night we joined with a local young adults group to go camping at the Kauai Ranch, a beautiful 4,500 acre property owned by a wealthy couple. Several movies have been shot there, including Jurassic Park and Tropic Thunder. Unfortunately it was cold, overcast, and rainy for us, and to top it off we didn't have any food due to fasting! It was a good time though, some people went horseback riding or took ATVs around the property, and I took a kayak to track down some pineapple guava. Saturday night was the best Chinese food I have ever tasted!

Sunday the weather turned hot and sunny again. I went to the beach and hung out with some of the students. Classes started today, but my first class is tomorrow. I'm signed up for four classes and debating whether or not to add an apologetics correspondence course. I'm taking homiletics, which means how to teach the Bible, and the big part of that class is actually teaching a large crowd of people on Wednesday nights! It sounds scary, but there probably aren't many places where I would get that opportunity.

The church here is very healthy, making a real effort to do things Biblically. They are trying to give people chances for leadership and to get plugged in at the church, and to that end there are over twenty small groups going on. Pastor Bob has a desire to allow other people to teach on Sundays, giving him a chance to train up more people for leadership. The young adults group is also hoping to train up some leaders to go start new groups on other parts of the island. Even the kids in the youth group are stepping up, giving mini messages every week.

For me personally, I'm trying to grow in the areas of courage and self-discipline. Being a dorm steward and teaching via the homiletics course should help in these things. I picked a verse that exemplifies what I'd like to learn this semester:

For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline. - 2 Timothy 1:7