The past 7 weeks in numbers:

47 days on the road

35 degrees - lowest temp

85 degrees - highest temp

345 miles walked/hiked

18,000 air miles flown

25 talks given

50 hours of counseling

We’ve just returned from almost seven weeks on the road (or in the air) and were welcomed home by a large stack of (mostly) recyclable mail, temps that were 55 degrees lower than the average of the past weeks, and leafless trees and brown earth.

It was very apparent we weren’t in Hawaii anymore.

After our conferences in Live Oak and Red Bluff, CA, back in mid-February, we headed further west to Kauai on Feb. 16, to continue a now seven-year partnership with the Kalaheo Missionary Church (KMC) and Global Algae Innovations (GAI). We are not unaware of how blessed we are to have this annual opportunity to speak into marriages and families in this beautiful place.

This years’ week included a Friday night “date night,” a Saturday morning parenting seminar, teaching at both services on Sunday, and teaching the youth group on relationships on Tuesday. In between events at the KMC, we hung out with employees of GAI and talked marriage and family.

Each opportunity was so fulfilling. Lots of good interaction and feedback. Especially encouraging was getting positive “progress” reports from couples/families we’ve been interacting with for years now. It’s so exhilarating to see gospel-affirming growth. Of particular joy was touching base with a couple who three years ago saw no reason for getting married. Living together and then pregnant with their third child, they had only months earlier come to Christ but their fears regarding marriage still gripped them. They talked with us for quite awhile, airing their concerns and reservations about “tying the knot” and thoughtfully considered a Biblical view. Shortly thereafter, they took the plunge and exchanged vows on the beach in a simple but profound ceremony officiated by one of the KMC pastors. Catching up with them in 2022, they enthusiastically affirmed how right their decision was. Their growth in Christlikeness was evident. All praise is His!!

*David Hazlebeck welcomes the couples to Date Night at the KMC.*

*Two Friesens in a sea of Hazlebecks. Dr. Dave Hazlebeck (far left) is the founder and CEO of Global Algae Innovations (www.gai.com) and two of his four children are pictured here along with his wife (holding one of their three grandchildren) and daughter-in-law. The whole family is dedicated to both KMC and GAI.*

*The youth at KMC are blessed to have Bryan and Tiffany Wienand (and baby Taiko) as leaders.*

It was a privilege to fill the pulpit on Sunday at KMC. We never take that lightly. This Sunday was memorable for two unusual reasons: Kahu John Zimmerman was not present as he was recovering from a broken hip which had been surgically repaired just weeks earlier, but was complicated by a blood clot which ran from his groin to his ankle discovered only days ahead of that Sunday. It was so odd to not have John and Paula at church; a first for us in all our years at KMC. We really missed them and are thankful to report that Kahu John is back in the pulpit now and recovering well.

The second reason this Sunday was particularly “memorable” was we had chickens attend both services. Yes, you read that right. During the first sermon, a young woman was joined by two chickens who had made their way through the (always) open doors to the space under her seat, where they began pecking the backs of her legs. Though she tried to not be disruptive, once the pecking began, she could no longer hold back and she and several others (who were privy to the unfolding drama) burst out laughing as they tried to escort the chickens out. In an unprecedented occurrence, a chicken also disrupted the second service! We’re not sure how to interpret these “it’s never happened before” events, but it sure provided plenty of fodder for discussion during the fellowship time.

*During the worship service at KMC . . . before the chickens arrived.*

*This young couple, who had gotten engaged on the island only days earlier, captured the chicken who attended the second service and posed for this photo op.*

*Before we spoke on relationships to the youth group, their worship band set the table with great worship.*

*We were privileged to partner with this team of leaders for the youth group.*

In addition to our ministry work, we thoroughly enjoyed hiking, swimming, snorkeling, looking for breaching whales, jumping into waterfall pools, spotting turtles, and even fishing (the collateral activity of going on a whale watching private tour, which produced more than the whale watch did). We took full advantage of the beauty of God’s creation, spending every available moment soaking it in.

*Paul poses with the barracuda caught trolling as we watched for whales.*

*Hiking from Shipwreck Beach along the Lithified Cliffs was spectacular, especially because we were with our good friends Bill and Susan Gates and their friend Steve.*

*Good night, turtles. Watching both sunset and the influx of sea turtles making their way to sleep on the shores of Poipu Beach was a double treat.*

So . . . we packed away our flip flops and summer clothes and headed to Mount Hermon Christian Conference Center in Santa Cruz, CA, where we were met with temps in the 30’s. Yikes!

No matter the weather, it was such a joy to speak for Mount Hermon’s marriage conference Feb. 25–27. Director of Adult and Family Ministries, Dave Burns, is a class act, not only directing great conferences, but assisting in leading worship as well, where his incredible skills are showcased on multiple keyboards simultaneously. You have to see it to believe it. Amazing.

The sold-out conference was full of enthusiastic, hungry attendees, which seems to be the standard at each conference we’ve done this year. As he has each at each weekend conference in 2022, Paul announced a moratorium on talking about “covid”—the “C” word—for the duration of the conference. As has also been true each time he’s made this announcement, the crowd burst into spontaneous applause. We’re all more than ready to move on, yes?

It was an anointed weekend. The worship, led by Ian Pitter and assisted by Dave Burns, was energetic and heartfelt. Each of the speaking sessions seemed to hit the target, which is attributable to the work of the Holy Spirit. Mealtimes were noisy and rich in fellowship. And free time was used in ways which fit the needs of each couple.

We are so thankful that Mount Hermon continues to be a place where God’s Word is taught and applied as our absolute authority with boldness and no apology, and where people experience the life-giving hope of the gospel lived out in community and fellowship.

*The temperatures did rise from the 30’s as we hiked around Mount Hermon during the day.*

*We have profound respect for Dave Burns as he continues to serve the body of Christ as director of adult and family ministries at Mount Hermon.*

*Dave welcomes the guests on opening night at Mount Hermon.*

*Ian Pitter led worship with joy and sincerity.*

*We were so happy to partner with Ian and Tracey Pitter this weekend. They were delightful*

We made it “down the mountain” in time to attend New City Church Oakland (www.nccoakland.org) for their 4 pm service and were so blessed to sit under Gary Gaddini’s teaching once again. Gary and Anne were fabled family camp speakers for us for over two decades and not spending a week together each summer has been a huge loss for us. We soaked in Gary’s profound and practical teaching and are so thankful for the huge support and encouragement he’s been to Gabe and Kari in their planting of NCC Oakland.

*All smiles after the NCC Oakland service for which Gary Gaddini preached.*

We had a couple of days in Oakland before heading back to Hawaii and in another instance of God’s kindness and divine orchestration, it “happened” that our nephew Randy, and his wife Rachael had an all-day appointment at Stanford for their little 2-year-old daughter Isla. Sweet Isla has been battling for her life since the first week of December after having been infected with E. coli-turned-HUS (Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome). After numerous brushes with death and two months of hospitalization, she was released with both heart and kidney failure. She’s currently on transplant lists for both.

We have journeyed with them closely throughout these months and were over the moon thankful that we were able to meet up with them at Stanford. Hugging them and praying with them in person was pure gift. I know that many of you are praying for them because you’re connected with us through social media and we’d ask all of you to put Isla on your prayer list for miraculous healing. We want the doctors at Stanford to be AMAZED at her next appointment by how much healing has taken place. It would be an “Only God” affirmation.

*We were blessed to spend some time with Randy and Rachael Clark and Isla before their appointment at Stanford.*

We flew back to Hawaii on Wed., March 2, and started off this 3-week stay on Kona with vacation days.

And they were refreshing, renewing, and recreational.

We were beyond blessed to have lodging at Bob and Debi Cary’s fabulous Airbnb, “The Treehouse Inn.” We stayed here last November as well and we might be spoiled for life. It’s hard to imagine staying at a more ideally-suited place, which is walking distance to the church and to the beach, and yet a secluded and peaceful sanctuary of sorts. The Carys are some of the most generous, thoughtful, honorable people we’ve met and they’ve become not just innkeepers to us, but very dear friends.

*Bob and Debi Cary, the innkeepers of the Airbnb we stayed in, are wonderful people of God and served us above and beyond.*

We made good use of our vacation days, which we ecstatically shared with Lisa, whose spring break happened to coincide with that first week. Fortunately, the three of us are very “simpatico” in terms of how we like to roll, so lots of hiking, swimming, snorkeling, and dining on a mix of the best Costco has to offer along with a few great “eating out” meals.

We had a blast. We saw whales, turtles, monk seals, and many beautiful creatures that live under the sea and/or in tide pools. We were mesmerized by breathtaking sunsets and azure seas. We spent time with some amazing people and were amazed when God orchestrated our crossing paths new friends who quickly seemed like old friends. We ate some great meals, snagged a nap or two, went to bed early, rose early, and felt our hearts fill up with gratitude and awareness of how very blessed we are.

The exclamation point on the end of Lisa’s week with us was when she took a bump off her Southwest flight (rarely is this even an option), giving her a bonus day and $975.00 in travel vouchers. Wow. Just wow.

*The first of many hikes along the rugged lava coastline of Kona. Notice Paul sporting the sun hat given him by our daughters.*

*"Queen Waimanu,” the matriarch monk seal of Kona, was hanging out on Kukio Beach when we hiked by. How fortuitous for us!!*

*We scoured the ocean for whale sightings and were rewarded with numerous spouts and breaches, especially during our first week on Kona.*

*The aftermath of a giant breach. Thrilling to witness.*

*The very unforgiving-if-you-fall shoreline requires absolute focus unless you’re posing on a (hopefully) sturdy ocean made arch.*

*Our “coincidental” meeting with our new friend Mike included an adventure in his outrigger canoe, a first for us. We could get hooked.*

*Tide pooling never disappoints.There are enough sea cucumbers to feed the world, so it seemed.*

*Hiking to Makalawena, one of the most beautiful, under-populated beaches on Kona.*

*Lisa’s “bonus” day enabled her to be at the 7:30 am service church the day we taught. Here we are with senior pastor, Bill Barley, and his wife, Pine.*

*Living Stones’ actual church building holds about 100, but two outdoor areas under awnings add a couple of hundred more seats.*

*Wisely, the outside seating faces the screens mounted on the church building, with backs to the water. Otherwise, the ocean view would win.*

Our two week schedule with Living Stones Church included two days each week of counseling for 8–10 hours, preaching at all four services on Sunday, and teaching at the youth group on Thursday night. The rhythm is that we will partner with LSC twice a year, for two weeks each time, and will provide teaching and counseling at their discretion. This is our third two week period and we’re thankful it’s proving to be very effective. Our sense of “Ohana” (family) deepens with each return trip and feedback affirms the effectiveness of both counseling and teaching.

We loved being with their high school youth group and taught once again on convictions which drive relationship decisions. The group was respectful, interactive, and sincere, which made it a very encouraging evening.

*High School youth group meets on Thursday nights, and Jodi and Christian Coetzee are doing a great job leading this crew.*

*Paul illustrates a point by having students stand or sit according to percentages of statistical behaviors. It was very powerful.*

It’s a small world after all: at one of the evening services at Living Stones Church, the gentleman sitting in front of us turned around quickly just after the pastor mentioned that we would be teaching the next Sunday. “Paul and Virginia Friesen? Eric Erpenbeck. I don’t know if you remember me from the many years I brought my family to family camp . . .” Of course we remembered him, though it had been years since we had seen one another. Who can forget a name like “Erpenbeck,” especially since I calligraphied that long name on name badges for years!

What a happy reunion! Eric has had some tough years, which include the death of his wife, Judy, several years ago and an ongoing battle with cancer himself. We didn’t get to talk much that evening, but in another “only God” moment, we met up with Eric again just days before we left as we were walking along Ali’i Drive early one morning. Unless the Lord heals him, it’s likely that will be our last time seeing him this side of heaven, but we felt it was such a gift to reconnect with him and to hear him affirm the incredible impact their years at family camp had had on their family. All praise is His!!

*Eric Erpenbeck and Paul share a moment on Ali’i Dr.*

Another throw-back reconnect was also made at Living Stones Church, where our paths crossed with Karen Ellison, who had served on our summer staff at CBS in 1978. Now widowed, she fills her days with writing and serving the Lord. Her devotional, Beach Walks and God Talks, is a beautiful collection of spiritual truths woven into nature’s beauty found on Kona. Another gift from the Lord.

*Karen and I had coffee together one morning and shared hearts and minds.*

It was a special joy to spend some time with Bill and Pine Barley, who lead the pack at Living Stones Church. Pine prepared a Chinese feast for us at their home and we shared hearts and “talked story” as they say in Hawaii. Our hearts just continue to grow deeper for these two. They are spiritual bar setters as they teach and live the Word, “in season and out.” We are so blessed by their lives.

*The sumptuous feast prepared by Pine and shared on their deck.*

We have nothing but gratitude for the “island life” and the in-betweens we’ve experienced these past seven weeks. We have been graced with the beauty of nature and the beauty of people. We’ve enjoyed good health and strong bodies. We’ve seen God work in incredible, attributable-to-only-Him ways. We’ve served, but we’ve also been served.

And although we could “get used to island life” year round, we’re grateful to come home to a life and people we love here in New England. Though the contrast is great going from warmth and colorful beauty to cold and brown (with the hope of soon-to-come colorful beauty), the biggest difference is made by the people in any given place. For that, we are relishing these days at home as we reconnect with beloved friends.

We are blessed.