Doin' The Surge

First off, please read the book God, is that Really You? by Loren Cunningham. This book is the AMAZING testimony of Mr. Cunningham's life and how YWAM came to be. After I finished that book, I walked around the University of Nations campus with chills down my back realizing how much of a miracle it is that this campus exists. He is so honest about how pride can ruin the best of "Christian intentions", but of how God can restore and even resurrect something that had completely failed. God truly has used this man to help build God's kingdom in such a beautiful way.

Physically speaking, the student body on the Kona Campus is growing in huge numbers causing housing to become something of a problem. To combat this problem and the need for larger and more updated cafeteria and tech centers they have been holding the "Kona Summer Surge" on campus. Before Jonathan and I arrived in Kona, we had hopes that in some small way we could contribute to the monumental task they have of building student housing/dorms.

So last week and this week, we had an opportunity to dig into the fun. Last Wednesday, I got to scrub floors on my hands and knees for a solid 4 hours. Now, I'm used to hard work, and I know what it takes to get things clean, but I tell you, I have NEVER spent that much time on my hands and knees scraping dust, paint and epoxy off concrete floors. However, when you are working with girls that love Jesus and are overflowing with stories of His love and miracles in their personal lives, it makes time go quickly and enjoyably. :) Almost made up for the 3 days of a sore gluteus maximus following that work day..almost haha. Jonathan got to spend that time digging trenches for irrigation. He had some interesting stories regarding the Hawaiian terrain and the lava rocks one must contend with while excavating channels for water pipes. Yikes, that made scrubbing seem pretty tame.

Saturday, Jonathan went back with dad to help paint the interiors of the dorms, and Monday this week, we went back together to help reinforce the bunk beds being installed in the dorms.

Truly, we barely put a dent into the massive amount of work that has already been done and still needs to be done here by those participating in the Summer Surge. Those people are professional volunteers that (usually) bring their families along with them so they can work free of charge or pay for x amount of time. 

So here are a couple of pictures I took whilst I assisted my husband drill holes into the bunk beds.

JESUS!! Cuz that's who's it's all about!

oh, yes. The bunks...

Okay, last part of this post..

Loren Cunningham was on campus Monday and they held a ribbon cutting ceremony so he could pray over the buildings. From what I heard, they were to have occupancy permits by today so they would have enough room for the 550+ students arriving next week (including Jonathan and I, yay!!!). The video below is an unedited clip I took of the ribbon cutting ceremony (if you're interested :).

AH!! So next week we start our Disciple Training School with Community Transformations and we are just beside ourselves with glee :) From all the incredible people we've met so far and with what we've seen of the Holy Spirit moving here, we've just gotten a little taste of what's ahead and it tastes SO GOOD (Ps. 34:8)!

P.S. I LOVE getting your comments, so please feel free to ask questions, or voice your prayers for us, or just say hi :) Thank you all for your love, prayers, and financial support! We're inching our way closer to our goal! :)