Time to Go - Praying all goes well!

Less than 2 days to go and we are off to Honolulu and Kona! With added security measures these last few days and many delays, we are praying that all goes well. Broens and Heises are awaiting our arrival! So it is last minute packing, and all the details that come with leaving, and saying good-byes. Busy last few days.
Christmas has been good for us all with family and friends around! Kids, grandkids, cousins.....
Pastor Kenn said on Sunday that "pleasure is for the body, but joy is for the soul". So we pray that this experience brings us and those that we will meet, much JOY! We go to serve and pray we can be open to whatever comes to us.
Melody and David Brager are home in Camrose after spending 3 months volunteering at Haggai Institute in Maui. They will also join us at Kona on Jan. 15, spending another 3 months there! They have been YWAM volunteers a number of times! So we look forward to their arrival too.
Please keep us in your prayers that our travelling will go smoothly, and that we will settle quickly into our new homes and assignments.

One Week to Go!!

One week from tonight Bergquists, Vivianne Grue and myself should be almost set to fly!! We leave early on Dec. 31, fly to Honolulu to get in on the Waikiki New Years fireworks, and then fly to Kona the next afternoon!
We are excited to meet up with the other Messiah, Camrose couples, the Broens and Heises for that first weekend! Broens leave Jan. 4, but Heises are there until Jan. 15.
Here in Camrose the snow has been piling up these last few days! Today we had beautiful sun so things looked really nice!
But I am looking forward to wearing my flipflops and not having to tie up my boots every time I go out. And where did I set my mittens this time????
More news when we get there, and hopefully some pictures too!
But for the next week, we look forward to celebrating the birth of our Savior King, at church services and with our families, and in our homes and hearts.
A Blessed and Merry Christmas to you all! May God's love incarnate reach deep into your hearts!
Love from Marlys

Christmastime in Hawaii!

From Lavona and Ordean in Kona for Christmas.....
Dec. 9 "Things are going good here....the count for lunch today was 485. Tomorrow I get a day off to take in a class of my choice. Ordean is so into his project he wants to keep working. He has redone 3 bathrooms and replaced a lot of plumbing. Ben Heise from Camrose has been assigned to work with him this week. Kitchen is best for me. I start at 5 am, suits me fine as it is cooler. Off at 1:30 pm. Cooler probably isn't what any of you are thinking.
Lots of fun Christmas events coming up, including Christmas Eve at the church we will attend the rest of the time here.....oldest church built in 1867. A real lively service with lots of music and a good speaker.
We got to hear the founder of this place (Loren Cunningham) speak. He is amazing, still going strong at 73. Just got back from Asia where the church is really growing. What's wrong with Canada?"

Dec. 12 - " We are sunburnt and tired tonight....went to a remote bay, snorkeled and Ordean swam with the turtles...really big.
What is so good about being here with the group is we are getting into places we wouldn't even know about, we earn our keep but the weekends are awesome.
This weekend we are taking in all the Christmas programs at church and at the university. We went out for supper to an outdoor restaurant upstairs where we could sit and watch the Christmas parade, in our shorts or course.
I had a free day this week to sit in on a class. It is really something to be around all these different races. Most of the students leave this week (on mission trips), so there are many changes in work places.

Dec. 17 - "We are having a totally green Christmas with lots of color added. I stood and admired a huge tulip tree loaded with red flowers.....pretty much the Christmas colors. Seeing the lights in also very Christmas like. However the warm weather and the kids all trucking to the beach kind of changes that feeling.
We are leaving this weekend to do some site seeing with another couple, then have to work right through Christmas. We will have one more weekend after that to go to the beach, then the rest of the Camrose group arrive the last 3 days we have here. (Jan. 1-3)
We are back in Phoenix on the 5th....looking forward to that. We have enjoyed our stay here....Ordean has made great strides with a lot of projects. I have been in the kitchen the last 2 weeks. We are both there for the Christmas days.
We will miss friends and family a lot. We wish you all a Special Blessing this year during this time of reflecting on why we really have Christmas. No matter where we are Jesus love never changes. Our love to each of you at this time."

Lavona and Ordean's 1st week!

Lavona and Ordean arrived Fri. Nov. 20 at Kona. They reported that they have a great room, went to a coffee plantation on Sat. and a beach. That was the first weekend. Then on to the work! Ordean is working in construction, renovating a bathroom. Lavona is cleaning rooms and laundering bedding and towels for guests. Both worked Thursday & Friday in the kitchen, to prepare Thanksgiving dinner for 900 people, and to give regular staff some holiday time off.
They are finding it very warm! They joined the students for their weekly Monday morning worship time and enjoyed that!
Ben and Herta Heise, from Messiah, will be joining them in 6 days, on Friday, Dec. 4!

Where is Kona, Hawaii??

I have been asked this a lot! Hawaii (the state) consists of a number of islands. Hawaii (the island) is the biggest of these islands, hence called The Big Island. If you say you are "in Hawaii" you could be on any of the islands. If you say you are "on Hawaii", you are on the Big Island! Kona is on the west coast of this island, the drier side. It is sometimes referred to a Kailua-Kona.

What surprised me when I saw it the first time was the black lava everywhere, especially visible from the highway when travelling north of Kona (where the airport is), spewn years ago from the volcanic mountains in the center of the island.

A very windy highway takes you south of Kona, and then over to the east side which is rainforest, and much rainier than Kona. Here is the city of Hilo. Travelling north of Hilo you go through many gulches, deep ravines! Eventually the road turns west again, on the north part of the island, and you come to the Parker Ranch, the biggest ranch in the USA! Then only 20 minutes from Waimea, you are back on the beach on the west coast!

It is a fascinating island! Nothing like I ever expected when I thought of Hawaii!! Wind turbines, cows grazing, bamboo in the rainforest, lava tubes, roads too snowy to drive on, black sand beaches, quick warm showers and torrents that make driving nigh impossible, hot pools warmed by active flowing lava streams, palm trees of all kinds, lazy honus (turtles), surfers and spinner dolphins that distract you from Sunday's sermon (because I sit outside!), and the "end of the world" (a cliff to jump off of into the waves way below.....I never did it, but a lady older than me did!).

So that's a glimpse of Kona and the Big Island! If you leave Edmonton at 6:00 am, you can be there by early afternoon (Kona time)!

Broens arrival

We are driving to Arizona, leaving Sunday. Then we fly to Kona Nov. 20,looking forward to a great time. Thanks to Marlys for setting this all up for us . Lavona and Ordean.

Messiah members off to Kona, Hawaii as Mission Builders!

In the next few months a number of Messiah members will be heading to Kona, Hawaii to serve as Mission Builders with Youth With a Mission (YWAM) at the University of the Nations! Much prayer has gone into the considerations and planning for this adventure for each of us!

We are -
Ordean and Lavona Broen - Nov. 20 - Jan. 4
Ben and Herta Heise - Dec. 4 - Feb.
Joyce and Adrian Bergquist - Dec. 31 - Feb. 12
Vivianne Grue - Dec. 31 - Feb. 12
Marlys Sorenson - Dec. 31 - Feb 12
Melody and David Brager - Jan. 15 - March

At this point all arrangements have been made and we are starting to pack! We will not know exactly what our job assignments will be until we get there, but they could include maintenance, construction, yard work, kitchen duties, "hotel" type laundry and room cleaning, working in a free thrift store etc. These jobs are done on the university campus, or at Hale Ole (House of Light) which is the dorm complex where we will be living.
We look forward to meeting students and other workers from all over the world!
Please pray for us as we serve, that we will manage the time change, the early working hours, full working days, the heat! Of course, after work we can sleep, shop or hit the beach! It gets dark at 6:00 pm., but at least it will still be warm.
We will try to keep you posted, and hopefully send pictures too.

Blessings, from Marlys