Worship.

(I wrote this yesterday)

Today was a beautiful day. It was a day that you want to spend in the arms of a love. A day that makes you take extra pictures and jot extra notes, so that you can take more of it with you. A day that adds significance to every normal thought and memory.

It started with a family trip to church, where Alex, Curt, and I got to hang out with six middle-schoolers and try to talk about the Bible. It was no easy task, and I was a little disappointed with the lack of focus. But we shared and had little trouble feeling comfortable with each other. I hope Wednesday will be better, having today's trust to build off of. How hard it is to do much in just a week!

Then we sang the same songs as every other week and listened to a sermon that started out so "meta" and self-effacing in the focus on the Greek that it became almost vaudevillian. But it ended with a poignant reminder that for all our talk of Jesus' empathy with our plight, we don't empathize very much with what he went through to save us.

Then we made sandwiches and handed them out to homeless people at a park. One man, James, was so grateful that he prayed thanks to Jesus in the middle of sentences, and began to offer us some of his clothing that a lady had given him the other day. The rest of the people we met were less friendly, rebuffing our attempts at friendship with repeated "thank you"s and "God bless you"s until we left.

But I witnessed magic tonight.

We drove to Waikiki to walk around and eat. We entered a shopping district while waiting for our dinner reservation, but I hate buying tourist-y items and was quickly bored. My dear friend Kaitlin suggested we cross the street to watch the sunset. We went through the deck of a steak house where there was a great mass of people standing around, as if waiting for entrance to something. We elbowed our way down the steps and to the sand, where before us lay a beach full (honestly, FULL) of people, all standing and staring at the falling sun. We got there to see about half of the sun remaining, and when the last sliver dipped below the horizon the people began to applaud.

They applauded God's handiwork! They celebrated God's glory! They didn't know it, but they lifted their voice in purer praise to our protector than any I've heard in a church service.

Oh, that I would clap for the lizard I saw this morning, terrified of my footsteps! That I would cheer for the mynah birds that woke me up! That I would sing and dance and hold the hand of one that I love, and tell her of God's greatness! Oh, that I would merely know God's greatness myself!

If you were here with me, you would be falling in love, too.

Here.

I am here. I am in Hawaii.

We flew from Little Rock to Dallas and spent $70 at McDonald's as a group. While we ate, I switched Kaitlin's Coke with my Dr. Pepper, and waited for her to take a shocked sip. We shared Hot Mustard sauce and laughed.

Still at DFW, I went to the restroom to put in contacts, as I was tired of my glasses. After rifling through my backpack, I realized I didn't have the contacts case with me, and began to put my stuff together to leave. Then a man rushed in (and it was an awkward rush, because it's a bathroom and you know what a man in a hurry means there) and was not satisfied with any of the three stalls present. So he continued on to try the next stalls, unaware that there were no more stalls but in fact there was a mirror. So he hit pretty hard, made an "Uhhhhhooohhh" sound, and then exited rather than wait after having shamed himself.

Then we flew to Hawaii. Hahaha. It sounds so easy! We watched two very emotional movies, "Enchanted" and "Apollo 13," which were emotional for different reasons. The latter's reason being that it was an aerial disaster film, and we were above a large amount of ocean.

We landed. We are here, and it is more beautiful than imagined. We went to a house where three of the church's families cooked for us and welcomed us. Most of the Harding people found their way to the chips-and-salsa table, and I tried to resist to spend time with the adult males lounging in the living room. Our attempts at conversation were ill-fated, and I began to feel bad simply for being around and making things awkward (like when I play sports). So I ate chips.

Then one of the girls in the youth group here offered me a macadamia nut, which I promptly accepted and threw into my mouth. The texture was different, but I chewed anyway and it was a peeled clove of garlic. There was no trash can to vomit into, so I swallowed it and now I smell disgusting. So, long story short, Michaela and I are friends. Hahaha.

Tomorrow will be a good day. And there will be sunshine. Oh, thank God! I am glad to be here, and glad to be alive.