what, it's already week 10?

so we just finished week 9 (of 12) for lecture phase.
say what??
the time has flown by...but gone super slow at the same time.

this past week was "corporate week". (all the separate Discipleship Training Schools were together for the lectures in Ohana Court.)
we learned about applying what we've learned to our outreaches.
we also learned some evangelism tools to share the Gospel on our outreaches, and then we practiced them on each other. i think i got saved about 5 times on wednesday...haha!

i liked this corporate week, but i have to admit that i'll be glad to be back on our "normal" schedule next week. i've been craving some semi-free-time. :)

i probably wouldn't have made it through the past two weeks if it hadn't been for the joy of the Lord as my strength. battling exhaustion and distraction, i fought to stay awake during class. but the Lord gave me strength and joy, and He has blessed me so much the past few weeks. :)

i'm so excited for what the next three weeks of Lecture phase hold.
i just want to soak up everything i can before leaving on Outreach.

there were some things i wanted to do before leaving Hawaii, but the time has gone by so fast...i don't think i'll get the chance. but it's okay. how many people can say that they lived in Hawaii for 3 months? i'm so blessed to be here. :)

Blessings!
~Valerie



PS. we finally got some team photos done!
so...meet Team Greece!
back row, l-r (Emily, Chelsea, Tegan, Monica)
middle row, l-r (Jillian, Campbell, Christine, Bee)
front row, l-r [Valerie (that's me :D), Julia]


we will leave Hawaii on June 28th,
and arrive in Greece on June 30th.

please keep us in your prayers. :)

just Jesus.

the other day, i prayed and asked God to reveal a little bit of Jesus to me, so He did.

as i was praying, i saw a man (it was Jesus).
he was attractive, but not physically (if that makes any sense).
i wouldn't describe him as "good-looking", but he was...in his own way.
he had dark hair and a round face, and he was wearing normal, 2012 clothes. :)
it didn't really seem like it was Jesus, until i looked into his eyes.
as my gaze met his, i was overwhelmed with the depth of kindness that i saw. i don't think i've ever seen that kind of compassion and kindness in someone's eyes before.
however, i didn't just see kindness, i saw love.
and i also saw something like fiery passion...which reminded me of a lion.
all in his eyes.

it was amazing. :)

blog friends. :)

before i came to YWAM Hawaii for my DTS, i met a girl (Kimberly) online.
she had commented on a blog post of mine, and curiously, i went to her blog and found out that she lives in Hawaii (where i was going to do my DTS).
an email later, i found out that she lives on the island i was going to be on, only 40 minutes from the University of the Nations campus where i would be staying for 3 months. (small world, yeah?!)
she agreed to guest post about Hawaii before i came (you can read it here).

anyway, a few weeks ago, i wanted to meet her.
our schedules finally worked out to meet last weekend.
it was so amazing!
we went out to eat, went to the beach, and took pictures!

this is the first of my online (blog) friends that i've actually met in person.
i was a little bit nervous, but Kimberly is a super sweet girl who loves God, and we got along famously. :)




okay, so there's a funny story behind this next photo. :D
i had never seen a pineapple plant until that day, and i had kind of assumed that pineapples grow on trees. to my astonishment, i saw this crazy orange bush thing, growing a pineapple and sort of freaked out about it. Kimberly was kind enough to not laugh at my ignorance, and she waited patiently while i snapped photos of the pineapple plant. :)

after our fun afternoon, when Kimberly and her mom brought me back to the U of N campus, I gave them a mini tour. then Kimberly's mom took a few photos of us together. :)
 

it was a fantastic day. one i'll remember forever.


...and i'm pretty sure that Kimberly and i will stay in touch. :)

Kali

everyone, meet my Australian friend, Kali (pronounced kay-lee). :)

she's super sweet and encouraging. :)

and she's gorgeous.

Kali and i have a lot in common (well, she reminds me of my older sister, and we get along really well together).

she's full of joy and smiles. :)

and in case you haven't noticed, she has beautiful blue eyes.
i'm so excited to see what God is gonna do in Kali's life as she goes to South Africa for outreach, but in the mean time, I get to spend the last 5 weeks of lecture with her. yay! :)

Sunkyung

another media portrait assignment.
i asked Sunkyung to model for me. :)

Deb

Deb was the model for a media class on lighting.
i took a few photos of her that i had to share. :)
she's amazing.

Ellie

for media class one day, we were working on portraits.
i asked Ellie if she would model for me and she said yes!
(and it just so happens that today, May 20th, is her birthday!)
happy birthday Ellie! :)