Week One Update!

Aloha!


This past week has been amazing!  You may be wondering, "What would life look like for the Lienau Family in Kona for Summer Surge?"  The schedules vary depending on what we are doing, but this should give you a good general picture. 

Here is what a “typical” Monday looks like :)

6:00 AM - It's a Monday morning after a beautiful and restful weekend spent at the beach. I wake up, to the lovely sound of birds chirping joyfully outside our dorm room window (and the sound of 10 other people waking up), and the yellow sunlight begins to fill our room. I climb out of bed, hop in the shower and get dressed, trying to stay out of the way of the other family members vying for space.  Things get crowded in the mornings with everyone scrambling to get a shower in before breakfast, but we love each other and we make it work.

Esther doing devotions in the Prayer Room

6:30AM - Breakfast - I wait in the breakfast line chatting to some friends I have made around campus.  One of the great things about living on the base here in Kona is that you get to meet so many different people, especially during meal times when other Summer Surgers, YWAM staff and students from all of the different DTS classes and second-level schools enjoy eating together. Breakfast is the same most mornings, with a selection of cereals, yogurt, granola, hard boiled eggs and fresh fruit to choose from (papaya is amazing). I grab a cup of coffee and find a space at one of the many tables in the outside cafeteria, sitting with friends or family J

7:30AM – Mom usually calls a family meeting most mornings.  We share what God has been speaking to us, talk though any issues, worship together and discuss the plans for the day.

8:00AM – After our family meeting, we all head to the community-wide worship in the Ohana Court. Everyone on base gets together for worship every Monday morning, and it is one of the highlights of my week. People do more than sing here. They really worship, and the presence of the Holy Spirit is so evident during these times. Not to mention the fact that we have some incredibly gifted musicians on campus!

Mom sharing at the Voice for the Voiceless DTS

9:00AM-12:00noon – This time is spent doing various things.   Josh, Esther and Corina go to Summer Surge Kids Camp Monday-Wednesday, Bibi and Janey go with them to serve at the camp.  The rest of us go to different meetings with GrassRoots News, Global Virtual Studio, The Film Institute (TFI) or help out with IT stuff.

12:00-1:00PM - Lunch is usually the best meal of the day. The food served for lunch really varies. Since so many cultures are represented on this campus, they aim to serve foods that reflect this diversity. Some days you will love it and some days you will skip it altogether. In their great wisdom the kitchen staff always provides bread, peanut butter, and jelly - just in case. 

Prayer Room (becoming one of my favorite spots)

1:00-2:00PM – Off to the prayer room! Dad and Mom have asked us all to try to spend 1-2hrs in the Prayer Room here on campus everyday.  I have begun to love these times that I get to go and have some alone time with Jesus.  It is open 24/7, but don’t have enough musicians/worship leaders to always have live music, but there is always worship music on.  Different ones of us might have meetings or job assignments to do too.  It is one of the only air- conditioned rooms on campus, so I like to go in the heat of the day.

2:00-5:00PM – Our daily training time with “Voice for the Voiceless” DTS.  This group of students is preparing for outreach to India and Africa and have come to learn skills in Media Advocacy.  They are photographers and writers and filmmakers who want to tell stories and bring awareness to those who can’t speak out and we get to help train them how to shoot and edit and encourage them in their adventures.  Dad, Mom, Jacob, Joseph, Tatsi and I have been plugging into this.

5:30PM - Dinner time. We try to do dinners as a family, which can sometimes be difficult with everyone spread out!

6:30PM – Sometimes some of us will walk down to the water (only a 5 minute walk!) where there are lots of shops. Depending on the night, we might go to the theater on campus, where they show different films.  Thursday Night is Media Advocacy night, where they show a justice related film or documentary, Friday is Culture Shaping Films (current “trendy” films, then we have a discussion about it at the end) and Saturday night is family movie night. 

9:00PM – A couple of nights, I’ve been able to Skype with friends on my laptop or read a book and start the process of settling down for the night. 

10:00PM –Campus-wide lights out… and hopefully I will be sleeping soon, as morning comes early for us!  We have a dorm right above the kitchen, so hear the cheerful meal workers early in the morning :)

Awesome beach (that I got burnt at :)

Not all of our days here in Kona will be easy or perfect. Some days my siblings will annoy me. Some days I will be especially tired and feel overwhelmed. Or sometimes your perfect day snorkeling at the beach may leave you with a painful sunburn (as some of us experienced yesterday!). Living in Kona is amazing so far, I feel so welcomed by so many people and can’t wait to see how God uses this time in Kona in my life and with the whole family!  (there’s a really cool Performing Arts/Dance DTS starting in April…) 

Blessings and Aloha!

Did I mention the coffee shop? Yep, yummy!

Anna 

Hike!  So awesome to have my friends,
Rachael Burns here for a few months!