Impartation, Water4Life & Baby

Dear friends and family,

The summer quarter here on the campus is half-way, which means that it is already 6 weeks ago since we came back from outreach. We would love to give an update on what has happened in these past few weeks.

The first week back in Kona we spent unpacking all our belongings in our new room. This time we have a loft which gives a lot more space to the ceiling. We are really enjoying this cosy home and have already prepared an area where we will be making the bed for the baby.

The next two weeks a leadership seminar called “Impartation” started here on the campus where Jackson was attending as a participant and I was on staff. During this seminar Loren and Darlene Cunningham (founders of Youth With A Mission), David Hamilton (vice-president of the University of the Nations) and a few others shared and imparted their leadership experience and wisdom with the participants. It was such a rich time where Jackson and I learnt a lot, not only on the practicals, but also regarding values, beliefs and principals. One of the best teachings looked at what motivates the actions we take. These are your beliefs and values. If for example you say you value the environment, but the reality is that you don’t recycle then there is a contradiction between what you say you believe and what you actually say with your actions. For me personally there was a challenge in saying that I trust the Lord will provide for my needs, yet the first thing I do when I have a need is get worried! The Lord was challenging me to replace my first reaction with a different practicality reflecting what I believe; trusting the Lord will provide, I will pray first about the needs I am currently facing. It sounds so obvious but so many times we do things so automatic without thinking ‘why?’ we do them.

After Impartation I continued my new job as Darlene’s Kona assistant. On one side the job is an office job with lots of e-mails, phone calls, scheduling, organizing etc which I really enjoy. And on the other side there is the rich impartation of experience from Darlene every time I talk with her. She involves me very much in the thinking processes that she goes through before making a decision and so I learn a lot from her not only in terms of leadership, but also as a person.

Jackson just finished another seminar called “Water4Life” where he learnt everything and more about providing clean drinking water to rural areas. He built a water tank that catches rain water, a filter system that purifies, a PVC pump that can be used to pump water from bore holes, a toilet and much more. His days were a combination of science and hygiene lectures in the mornings and then practicals in the afternoons. Since the climate is pretty similar to West-Africa they really did get a good practice doing all the construction under the hot Hawaiian sun. The techniques he learnt in the seminar are so basic that they can all be done with local available materials, so there will be no imported or expensive equipments required when we want to do this in West-Africa. This week he will join a team to do a local outreach here in Hawaii amongst a community that needs a water tank. This will be some good practice to further fine tune the skills he acquired.

Apart from this Jackson now has his driving permit! That means he only has to do his practical exam before he has the full license. So now he is driving me around everywhere and with my stomach getting bigger I really enjoy not having to stress in front of the steering wheel for a change!

9 more weeks to go before the baby’s due date! Today we went for another check up in Waimea where I plan to deliver and everything was fine. The baby’s heartbeat is very strong and so are his/her kicks! We are really enjoying the anticipation of this new family member and we have started our birthing classes here in Kona. Tomorrow is the second lesson and they said they would teach us the famous “breathing exercises”. I am doing well health wise, although I had a little bit of stomach flu the other week. But now I am strong and just a little more tired, short of breath and a lot more hot than usual. They say that your body temperature increases about 20% when you’re pregnant!! It is truly amazing to see the changes your body goes through in this process.

Hope you are all doing well!

Love and blessings,

Jackson & Anneke