Diving In

Today was my second Sunday at Hawaii Kai Church, and it was just as good as the first. I helped out with the pre-schoolers once again with great success. Our speaker for this month is Pastor Todd Clark. He is doing a sermon series titled Modern Family. The lesson for today was about wives...mostly it was about how men should treat their wives. I wrote down the list of things men must do in order to glorify God and be a good husband:

1. Men must set the pace for understanding women.

• Children will be as disrespectful toward their moms as they are allowed to be.

2. Men must set the pace for honoring women.

• Women are delicate and precise creatures and were made that way purposefully. God loves them because of it, and they should not be looked down upon for it.  

3. They shouldn't fool themselves into thinking they can live at odds with their wives and be at peace with God.

• "You husbands in the same way, live with your wives in an understanding way, as with someone weaker, since she is a woman; and show her honor as a fellow heir of the grace of life, so that your prayers will not be hindered."                           1 Peter 3:7

After church I came back to the house and wrote out some thank you cards for all the kind people who have taken us to dinner, let us play on their jet skis, and made us beautiful leis. We've been so blessed by the hospitality of complete strangers who have quickly become like family. Yesterday my hosts took Amy and I shopping at a huge, three-story mall with them, and today they let us use their kayak in the bay behind their house. Also, they have provided meals for us every night since I moved in. It's this amazing sense of joyful sharing that keeps overwhelming me. These people don't just give to feel good, or look good, or even just because they're nice. To me they exhibit a true picture of unconditional love in the way they give of their time, space, and resources so freely with the expectation of nothing in return. Relatives and friends who read this, I hope you will pray for the families who have been hosting us as well as others who have provided both openly and anonymously for us. Please ask God to bless them for their generous and gracious hearts.

Tomorrow summer pre-school classes begin at the church. Amy and I will go and observe chapel (since we will be taking charge of it eventually), and then I believe we will hop from class to class and sort of act as cheerleaders. We will probably also do some planning for the Summer Fun program which will start on June 27th.
I'm so excited to start working more with the kids, and I can't wait to see how everything comes together. I've gotten to know about nine of the pre-schoolers pretty well, so it'll be fun to get to see them everyday. Hopefully everything runs smoothly tomorrow and the rest of this week! I'll update tomorrow with details about how it all goes. Keep praying and reading, loves!