It's All Good

Spiritual walking is a good thing for character-building. Yes, how much more of a character do I need to be, you may be muttering to yourself...hahaha.
It gives a person a chance to put their life and beliefs on the same page and literally learn how to walk the talk.
Yesterday in Makiki, we approached a group of men enjoying a cold one and good conversation, I asked if we could share with them the message of Baha'u'llah, revealer of the Baha'i Faith. One man said it was not appropriate to discuss God when alcohol was being consumed and asked us to come back the next day.
So we did.
Two of the 5 men from the previous day were present and after we greeted them warmly, the elder of the two said the man who told us to come back was not there and just said that to get rid of us. He himself was not interested in religion.
Well, we figured there was a chance we'd get blown off...but, we were still able to find much in common and were able to enjoy making friends with Al and BJ anyway! As a matter of fact I noticed a Redskins coozie and asked Al if he was a Redskins fan.

Oh yeah- only since the days of Swingin' Sammy Baugh!!!
We ended up having the most wonderful conversation and I learned that I could get a Redskins hardhat at a local store in Honolulu. Al brought out some treasures to show us.

So unity was established and love for a common cause was shared. Isn't that what it's all about, anyway?
HAIL TO THE REDSKINS!

Unconcealed Light

As you know from my links, the Baha'is in Iran are facing charges that
could lead to their deaths.
In Hawaii today, Baha'is of all ages and islands and nationalities are
sharing the healing message of Baha'u'llah with receptive souls. We
are offering this healing balm, this sweet fragrance of holiness and
hope. For myself, I am moved to action on behalf of those whose light
of faith has caused them to be imprisoned and threatened with
annihilation.
Aloha Pumehana!

We Are Builders - All Are Invited to Help!

 

Hawaii Satellite Baha'i Conference

June 27-28, 2009

Camp Erdman, Mokuleia, Hawaii

A New Day Dawns in Hawaii

All Things Bright and Beautiful

The drive to and from work has been exceptionally beautiful the last couple of days!

 

The morning sky held the promise of rain.

The evenings have been stunning.

And my 2nd cousin Amanda Tae has been on So You Think You Can Dance the last two nights - cheering for her student Jeanine Mason!

Lotsa Lilu

Back at the ranch- er the family digs outside of Portland, Lilu and family have Uncle Aaron and Cousin Jamie over for a little vacation. Haha, did I say vacation? More like male bonding with tools.

 

Meanwhile back at the pool...

 

Swimming lessons for Lilu. Did I mention that Uncle Aaron has held the Kauai record for the 100 yd. breaststroke for the last 19 years?

 

  

Whew! That was a lot of work!

 

Kaukau time!

That Rotary Attraction!

What a way to end a year as president of the Rotary Club of West Kauai.
We were once again located in the charming, artistic ambience of Aloha-N-Paradise in Waimea Town. Our guest speaker Hans Peter (Pete) Faye spoke about the history of sugar plantations- with great authority, of course, because his grandfather and namesake was one of the original Norwegian pioneers who established the sugar industry in Hawaii!

Before the meeting, a lovely lady wandered in- saying she was new to the neighborhood but not new to Rotary, having attended meetings in other parts of the island. We immediately invited her in to enjoy Rotary fellowship.
Another friend of the speaker's family, a professor emiritus from Stanford University, who has been "avoiding Rotary for many years", was able to feel comfortable in our "laid back" west side atmosphere and looked like he was enjoying himself.

After the meeting, a person mentioned that a Rotarian friend of theirs was afraid of fines- especially in times of financial stress. We were able to share that in our club, we do "happy and sad dollars" so that people can feel free to be generous or frugal - as the situation warrants. No pressure, no embarrassment - except for the purely fun kind!

+++++

GREAT NEWS from the International Rotary Conference in Birmingham, UK!
District Governor Ayman El-Dakhakhni emailed us:

Aloha from Birmingham, England!
 
I am writing to you from the 100th annual Rotary International convention.  Today in the first session in front of thousands and thousands of people, I was honored to be recognized as one of the top ten district governors in the world and the top district governor in North America.  The President of Rotary International, D.K. Lee had called us the "Leaders of the Leaders" and "The Worlds Best".  I just wanted to share the good news with you.  It’s very rare that a district receives this kind of distinguished honor.  As you know, there are over 530 districts worldwide and they all look forward to such an honor.  I would like to thank you for a great Rotary year and I would like to tell you that this honor was bestowed upon me because of you and your hard work.  As I said in our conference, you guys did it--I didn’t do it.  I was there to witness it and to cheer you on.  So, please accept my congratulations to all of you and please pass this great news to all our club members as they all participated in this great year.
 
Let’s look forward to another great year under the leadership of our District Governor Elect, Lisa Foster.
Ayman

Truly, DG Ayman and his District staff have been the wind beneath the wings of all our Clubs. He is an amazing leader in Service above self.