The last time I visited Hawaii…my first time…was in October of 2008.  I fell in love with the islands, its people, and natural beauty.  I found myself intrigued by the demographics of the island.  There were the native people, tourists, military, and retirees.  There were surfers who would work nights as waiters at restaurants and then surf during the day.  The interisland airlines had special handling for surfboards.

Homeless people lived on the beach.  There was talk about giving the homeless people a one way ticket back to the mainland, but somehow I believe that never materialized.  A friend told me about a fellow soldier who lived on the beach.  There were showers available on the beach which is where is cleaned up.  He must have saved alot of money that way.

And now I’m going back.  I’ll see some things I’ve never experienced before, like a mule ride down Molokai to a former leprosy colony.  I’m also booked to go on a volcano tour on the Big Island.

I don’t really consider myself a beach person, although I see myself going to the beach for at least a few hours during my stay.  I’m more of a historical type person hence the trip to the leprosy colony.

I hope to take lots of photographs while there.  Looking back on my 2008 trip, I find my trip terribly lacking.  Perhaps I was just learning how to take photographs.  I plan on taking many more while there.

It will be a true blessing to worship at Pearl Harbor Church of Christ.  There you find all sorts of people, just like the demographics of the island.  I remember being in a young professionals Bible class and thinking these fellow Christians are all in some sort of transit in their lives and we’ve all met at this church at this particular time.  We had one thing in common…that is we believed in the one true God which brought us all together.  It was amazing to see God’s handywork while worshipping with fellow Christians from all over the globe.

From reading the web, I found several things that you should not say to a Hawaiian resident.  Something to say “You must love living in paradise!”  Hawaii has its own set of problems of theft, drugs, violent crime, etc…just like the rest of the country, so please don’t call it paradise.

And yet it’s difficult not to call it paradise when you see the beauty of the islands.

I’m looking forward to my trip in 1 week and will try to post more once I arrive.