A Trip to Hawaii that Restored My Soul

April 28, 2026 / Anne (Grace is my Superhero) / 2 Comments

“If we could figure out a way to get you here to Hawaii, could you come for a week?”

This text came to Chris and I in early January. It was our lifelong friend Jesse. He and his family are missionaries with YWAM in Kona, Hawaii.

We didn’t know what to say to such a generous and preposterous offer! Chris and I, parents to 6 children still at home, couldn’t go to Hawaii! Chris had been out of work for months and was searching for a new job every day. I oversaw homeschooling 5 children and provided care for my toddler and special needs adult.

A few days passed and I felt faith rising.

My God is God of the impossible!

I didn’t want to close the door on a miracle. I asked our 23-year-old son, Cadin, if he had a spring break from college coming up. He did! In less than two months! He said he would sleep at our house and watch over the children. He still had to work his job in the evenings, but our oldest daughter, Areli, said she would cover those hours. Even Ashlyn’s occasional caregiver was willing to work more.

We began planning! If God was going to give us a trip to Hawaii, He must have provision for our daily needs. He must have a new job for Chris that would approve a week of vacation right off the bat! God did! God did!

I was expecting this trip to be full of fun, rest, and restoration after our difficult season. My mom passed away on Christmas day after 4 excruciating months of decline and difficulties. Chris’ younger brother passed away unexpectedly just 10 days later. Our bank accounts got hacked and caused us all sorts of problems. I had the duties of the executor of my mom’s estate to perform while every person, organization, and government agency seemed determined to resist me. Our upcoming trip to Hawaii was a beacon of Hope!

God got us there! While picking up our luggage at the open-air baggage claim, Kay welcomed us with leis and ushered us to their vehicle. It was dark, but the air was warm and humid. Jesse drove us to their home (Pineapple Place) and we saw a large, beautiful home in a gated mountain community. We were shown to the ohana, or guest apartment.

I was amazed by how big and lovely it was. I was expecting a bedroom in their house, not a private apartment! They left us with food to eat and a gift basket. We unpacked and got ready for bed with a feeling of family, friendship, and space to rest.

Six days of Adventure, Rest, and God Encounters!

Day 1: YWAM Kona and Tourist attractions

We woke up with the sunrise to revel in our new tropical paradise.

Jesse gave us a tour of the YWAM base. I had been a YWAMer myself and had heard the miracle stories. It was a privilege to see it in person.

Then we all drove down to historic Kona to see the sights the tourists would see.

Jesse and Kay told us about Hulihe’e Palace which was a summer palace for Hawaiian royalty and Mokuaikaua Church which was the first church on the island. It was built by the first missionaries with the king’s blessing since he had embraced Christianity. We walked through the King Kamehameha Kona Beach Hotel which contained the amazing art of Herb Kane, a painter of Hawaiian history. Jesse pointed out one painting that depicted the queen standing at the active volcano and rebuking the goddess Pele in the name of Jesus. As the queen read the Bible and nothing bad happened to her, a generation was delivered from fear of the angry “goddess” who would destroy with lava.

The hotel contained their favorite place to get shave ice and we tried something new! We walked out the back of the hotel to see the beach at Kailua Bay and the Historic Kailua Village across from it.

Their youngest daughter, Evie, had hula practice, and then we ate lasagna out on the lanai with a spectacular view of the jungle and the ocean beyond, which seemed to dissolve into the sky.

Day 2: YWAM, a Resort Beach, and a Double Date

We went to the Kona base again and Evie took us on a tour of the YWAM Sustainable Technology Research farm. It was amazing, full of new and old farming methods. They has so many plants and animals, hydroponics growing enough lettuce to supply the base salad bar, and a herd of sheep that roamed the sixty acres of undeveloped land. The sheep are also an excellent food source in a crisis; expert Evie informed us.

We ate lunch on base and then visited The Banyan Tree Cafe. Then we drove 45 minutes to a resort beach. It was so amazing and the weather was perfect. We sat in the shade and tried spam musubi for the first time.

In the evening we went on a double date to Kai restaurant which was situated right on the ocean.

Jesse insisted that we go to the historic Kona Inn for a spectacular mud pie.

Such a blessing to talk with good friends! Jesse and Kay had enjoyed their time in Hawaii and reflected that it had been so beneficial for their girls. They lived in tiny dorm rooms on base for 3 years and were constantly reminded that they had to find a home off base. The real estate is crazy expensive in Hawaii, and they couldn’t find anything that they could afford. A normal house and yard for a family of four cost millions! They kept praying and believing that God had a plan. We had been joining them in prayer for years for the perfect house because…

Our God is the God of the impossible!

Finally, over a year ago, someone contacted Jesse and Kay about a rental house that had been managed by a YWAM couple. The couple would rent out the extra rooms and apartment to other YWAMers. This couple was moving and wondered if Jesse and Kay would like to take over their rental home. The miracle of Pineapple Place began! Jesse and Kay had been in the beautiful home for a year and loved that they finally had space of their own, a yard with a pool, and an attached apartment. They could charge a lot of rent for the apartment, but they wanted to keep it available for visitors like us and missionaries suffering from burn-out or trauma. Jesse and Kay had both been trained in the Le Rucher style of personal debrief. They themselves went through a debrief in Cyprus some years back after 20 years on the mission field. It helped them heal and led them to take a 1 year sabbatical which led them to YWAM Kona. During our visit, we witnessed how Jesse and Kay are parents grounded in wisdom, shepherding the youthful missionaries all around them.

Day 3: Lazy day and a Movie

Chris and I had gotten in the habit of standing in the yard in our bare feet at sunrise. Then we would put on our sneakers a take a walk down the neighborhood lane which we called “the jungle walk”.

We took the day slowly, reading books and talking. We got to talk with our friends about hardships, prayers and miracle answers. Jesse talked more about their difficult time in the Middle East which led to their need to debrief. Later he sent Chris and I a text with a scripture.

“The foundations of the city walls were decorated with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, the fifth onyx, the sixth ruby, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth turquoise, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst.” Rev 21:19-20

We forgot to ask what that was about.

Kay made us a lovely meal of grilled chicken and roasted veggies and we ate on the lanai. Jesse, who adores movies in the theater, insisted that we go. GOAT was recommended by their daughter, Jaydn, who is very talented in all things media and movie related. I totally enjoyed it!

Day 4: Jesse’s Famous Five Star Island Tour

We started out early with a caravan of two vehicles since two of the renters at Pineapple Place wanted to go.

First stop: Kona Joe Coffee, a large plantation with a stunning view.

Second stop: Pleasant Meadow Farm, where they are famous for their specialty macadamia nuts, dehydrated 3 times. They give free samples, so we lined up to receive an explanation and a taste of 15 different flavors. Of course we had to bring some home to the children.

Third stop: a scenic overlook of the coast.

Fourth stop: Punalu’u Bake Shop, “The Southernmost bakery in the USA.” Their specialty is malasadas (Portuguese doughnuts) and little, cute souvenirs which may or may not have been made in Hawaii.

God Encounter #1

The time between stops allowed for some life-giving conversations. Jesse explained why he had sent the scripture about the jewels. He had been praying for us and asked God why we had to suffer so many hardships in our lives.

God told him, “Because I wanted to give them treasures. Every trial produced a jewel for them.”

Jesse was starting to tear up and explained, “I just felt so strongly that God has such a reward for you, that in heaven I will be jealous of all the jewels you will have to lay at the feet of Jesus.”

His words and emotions touched us deeply, and I marveled! How could a man who had given his life on the mission field think that our little, difficult lives could produce such glory? It must have been God! I felt like I had gotten a peak behind the veil of this life. The fact that we have a friend who would pray for us like that is a priceless gift!!

Fifth stop: Black Sand Beach complete with sea turtles. We enjoyed a lovely picnic!

Sixth stop: Hawaii Volcanoes National Park

My understanding is that the large volcano is called Kilauea but it has a crater that fountains lava every 15 days or so. It was supposed to erupt when we visited but waited until we were back home to put on a show.

We drove to the Volcano House where many famous people had stayed like Teddy Rossevelt and Robert Louis Stevenson. Such a lovely view of the volcano!

We drove to another location and walked a path to look down into a cold crater that was open for hiking. Then we hiked through a lava tube.

Seventh stop: Ken’s Pancake House, a local diner famous for Sumo meals. Each time one of the massive $30 meals came out of the kitchen, an employee would ring a bell 3 times and every server would yell, “Sumo!” followed by a gong. That sounded like fun so a few of us got Sumo meals and shared.

Day 5: Tide Pools and a City of Refuge

God Encounter #2

Chris had been reading scriptures and passages from his devotional to me almost every morning. I told him that I loved it!

This morning he read Prov 31 to me. It hit me in a new way, and I felt the Holy Spirit talking to me. I had disqualified myself from about half the chapter because I didn’t have maid servants to provide food for, or money of my own to consider a field and buy it, nor did I recognize any of my work as profitable.

“Let’s change that. Open your mind and believe,”

I heard the still small voice whisper. So I wrote each virtue of the noble woman in my journal but replaced “she” with “I”.

Kay packed us a lunch and we all took a picnic to a lava rock beach with tide pools. It was fascinating to discover all the creatures that lived there.

Then Kay drove us over to the Pu’uhonua o Honaunau National Historical Park to walk through an old Hawaiian village that had been a city of Refuge and a burial place. She shared her knowledge as we observed the Totems and Yellow Tangs swimming close to shore.

Chris and I had a date night of dinner on the water and souvenir shopping.

Day 6: The Gentle Beach and God’s voice in the waves

Jesse took us to his favorite beach, Kua Bay Beach. It was beyond gorgeous with gentle water and soft sand. The lava rocks you have to climb over to get to the gentle beach are NOT fun in bare feet, however. Chris and I explored the coast and saw a sea turtle riding inside of a wave, encapsulated in crystal aqua marine.

Jesse and Chris decided to go swimming, and I thought I would just take time to listen to God’s voice.

God Encounter #3

I was dipping my toes in the ocean and heard God’s voice in the waves. Refreshing, cleansing, and life changing words. But this is a story for another time.

After dinner that evening Jesse and Kay drove us to the airport, and I felt a bit heartbroken to say goodbye.

I had rested and had fun with best friends.

I had encountered God. I had seen behind the veil. I had a “deep calling to deep” conversation with Jesus.

I had renewed hope for the future and an assurance that…

Our God is the God of the Impossible.

Since we have been home, we have become aware that Jesse and Kay need to raise more support to keep their ohana open to minister to people in need. We had been blessed beyond words, and we didn’t even go through the 4-5 day Le Rucher style personal debrief. I believe this type of debrief allowed Jesse and Kay to heal. They now bring that healing to others. They have such a gift of family, hospitality, wisdom, and connection to the Holy Spirit. They recently hosted a missionary couple who were kicked out of their country after 18 years of service.

They host many people at Pineapple Place, and their guest book is full of gratitude and love. Here is a quote from this year,

“Mere words cannot express our deep, great gratitude for inviting us & investing in us & listening to us & and providing for us. Yet words, your words were used to start our healing. Showing us that the Lord Jesus can be trusted – that he loves us and loves justice. We are so grateful, hopeful, and beginning to believe we do have a hope and a future; that our losses -though significant- do not define us. Our identity is in Christ – He knows us and He heals us and He really loves us. Thanks for showing us the truth.”

The extra $1400 they need to raise in monthly support seems huge, but we know…

Our God is the God of the impossible!

Do you want to be a part of the impossible becoming possible?

Use this link to find out how to give. Thank you! Mahalo!

https://gotonations.org/missionary/lfamily

Tell Me a Gummy Bear Sto-whee!

February 24, 2016February 24, 2016 / Anne (Grace is my Superhero) / Leave a comment

Bed time is such an important time for young children. Over the years, our good-night routine has evolved and changed. I started by singing songs to Areli, Cole, and Cadin as they lay in their beds in their darkened room. I think I enjoyed the peaceful melodies even more than they did.

Then I heard that if you read poetry to young children, they will grow up to be poets. Who was I to hinder their writing careers, so poetry reading became the norm. My favorites were always from A Child’s Garden of Verses by Robert Louis Stevenson. I must admit that none of them enjoy writing poetry now as teenagers, but perhaps someday they will hear one of those familiar rhymes and be taken back to a sweet childhood memory.

More babies came and Areli, Cole, and Cadin didn’t command as much of my attention at bed time anymore. They would read to themselves in their beds, followed by music or books on CD. Sometimes this was great! Other times, not so much. I would find out later that a particular child would be frightened by a certain story, usually something that I wouldn’t have expected. Other times, Cole would be bothered by the noise while he was trying to sleep. Areli was such a creature of habit, that she couldn’t fall asleep without the tape or CD on. She would pull the tape player over to her bed, turn the volume down, and listen to it under her pillow.

Once Areli came to me late in the evening. I had put a lullaby CD on for her at bedtime and thought she was sleeping. She was crying and shaking and said that the songs made her sad. She has no idea why, but she dislikes lullabies to this day. I discontinued the practice of leaving them alone with a CD at night and favored listening to stories all together at lunchtime. Then I could talk about the story with the children and understand how each one felt about each book. We had some wonderful times listening to all the Chronicles of Narnia, Little Women, and even Jane Eyre.

Areli, Cole, and Cadin grew big enough that they didn’t need someone to tuck them in at night. It was now Ashlyn, Chai, Cooper, and Calvin’s turn. I found Uncle Arthur’s Bedtime stories published in 1951. This book was full of short stories; each one was true and contained an important life lesson or moral. I loved these stories!

Other times I would ask them to share what they enjoyed most about their day. Then we would take turns praying.

I am a natural storyteller, so it is funny that it took me 17 years into my mothering career before I started telling bedtime stories. In fact, storytelling is in my blood. My Papa used to delight my brother and I with his bedtime stories about a tiny but feisty girl named Squeegee. She was so little that she could crawl through a Cheerio. She had a pet mosquito name Quito who she rode like a horse. I always begged Papa for Indian stories. His voice would transport us to a remote Indian village where I was transformed into an Indian princess and my brother, Jason was a young brave. Of course, Squeegee was always there too.

I loved those stories, and we still have some of them preserved on cassette tapes. It is strange that I never thought of telling bedtime stories of my own…until now.

It was Courage Justice who started it.

He wanted a bedtime story, so I began a yarn about the first thing that popped into my head…gummy bears. More and more details spilled out of my mouth until I had a whole cast of characters (four special gummy bears and their friends, Cooper, Calvin, and Courage). The adventures would be something little boys would enjoy, and I received plenty of suggestions and help from the three young boys themselves.

They would take trips to Venice in a rocket ship. They would visit their grandparents in Colorado where they splashed in Uncle Wilber (those of you from Colorado Springs will understand), climb mountains, and parachute from planes. The gummy bears found tiny sombreros and toured the southwest with a Mariachi band. This led to an appearance on Good Morning America and a trip to Walt Disney World where the gummy bears and the boys dressed up as dwarfs and took part in a parade.

We just finished talking about the summer they all spent in Texas on Hank’s Cattle Ranch learning to be Cowboys. The four gummy bears spent most of their time enjoying the view from Courage’s cowboy hat. Sometimes they had to take it easy UNDER Courage’s cowboy hat because they realized that too much sun made them squishy and too much rain made them melt.

The five-day cattle drive was hard, but they met a lot of new friends along the way. Who could forget the turquoise lizard that wanted to travel along in Cooper’s saddle bag or the dragonfly, Zip who became Calvin’s pet? They also enjoyed a pow-wow at an Indian village and had quite a shopping spree with all the money they earned after the cattle were auctioned off. Each boy had to buy their mom a special present, of course. I must admit, I was hoping for some Native American jewelry or maybe even my own horse. Courage was quite proud when he announced that he had purchased for me… a toothbrush. Oh well! I do love to brush my teeth!

Courage enjoyed these nighttime stories so much, that he began coming to me many times a day.

“Tell me a gummy bear sto-whee!” he would say.

I wasn’t always available to snuggle with him and tell a story, so the older children would begin to continue the adventure with their own stories.

It is amazing how these stories take on a life of their own and transport all who listen to a magical place. I enjoy all the adventures that I have had with Cooper, Calvin, Courage, and the gummy bears.

I do not recommend that you allow your children to eat gummy bears. They are bad for you in about 10 different ways. But they are also our friends, and we do not eat our friends, do we?

I do highly recommend them as traveling companions into the imagination of a child…and then into peaceful landscape of dreamland. If all the gummy bears are unavailable, you could try looking up a tiny woman who is known for her courageous spirit. She is in her 40s now, but still young at heart and up for a good bedtime adventure!

My Adventurous Husband with the Crazy, Impossible Dreams Might Just Be Right

July 3, 2014 / Anne (Grace is my Superhero) / 3 Comments

My husband, Chris, is very different from me. In fact, he is quite the opposite. He is spontaneous and impatient, prone to making rash and risky decisions. He is also very driven. When he has a certain goal in mind, all else fades to the background as he plows through valleys and climbs over mountains to reach that goal. When he gets an idea in his head, it seems like an obsession to me. I am a steady and reliable creature of habit. I like to dwell, remain, and stay in my comfort zone. I feel no need to go trailblazing into unknown and possibly scary territory. To change my course is like trying to alter the flow of a river. I have found that trying to deter Chris from a goal is like trying to stop a freight train once it is barreling down the tracks. It is much easier to jump aboard and enjoy the ride!

We faced our first major financial decision as newlyweds. Our apartment had washer and dryer hookups, but we had no washer and dryer. We would spend hours at the Laundromat. Chris reasoned that if we could put our Laundromat money towards payments on our own washer and dryer, we would be much better off. I agreed, but when I saw the large price tag, I was terrified. We ended up in our car in the Sears parking discussing the pros and cons. The worry of making a bad decision brought me to tears. We ended up buying the brand-new, super-capacity Kenmore beauties, despite my abiding nervousness. Eighteen years, 6 moves, and eight children later, they are still washing 2-3 loads a day! Chris was totally right!

In 2006 we were renting a nice house on Market St where I found my Little Piece of Heaven. Sure, I wanted to move eventually, but I figured that God would bring that opportunity right to us at the proper time. But Chris was obsessed. He was unsatisfied with our living conditions and upset that our rent money was going into someone else’s pocket instead of building up equity for us. He talked to realtors. He got lists of homes sent to him every week on the internet. He kept finding houses that he wanted me to look at. The available four bedroom homes priced around $100,000 were not at all what I would call attractive or comfortable! I didn’t want to look at these homes, not to mention consider living in them. But I did it, because Chris asked me to. We even put offers on two of them. They had been on the market for a long time. We thought we could get a good deal, fix them up and then sell them for more…all in an effort to get closer to our real dream house. Both houses were snatched up right before our offers came in.

Chris didn’t give up, however. He talked to other realtors, looked at other houses, and kept viewing homes on the internet. None of the homes interested me at all. Basically, I had given up on owning a home. One day Chris came across a picture of an older home, shrouded in dark awnings and overgrown shrubbery. He set up a time to see it. He walked in the front door, took one look at the high ceilings and beautiful woodwork and thought, “This is it!”

There was just one mountain of a problem. It was more than twice what we could afford. He set up a second time to view the house and wanted me to come along. I so desperately wanted to refuse him, and I almost did. I didn’t want to go see another ugly house. I definitely didn’t want to go see a beautiful house, fall in love with it, and then have to face the reality that we could never afford it. But I did it, because Chris asked me to.

The house was built in 1924 and was in a beautiful neighborhood with tree lined streets. I toured the gorgeous home, loving every detail of it! I tried NOT to love it…but I couldn’t help it. I took a paper containing the specs of the home that included a tiny black and white picture of the exterior. In my mind, that dreary picture was a picture of my dream home. I placed the paper on top of my filing cabinet. Every time I passed by and caught a glimpse of that paper, I would pray that God would do a miracle and give us that house! Every time we passed the exit on the highway that would take us to the house, longing would fill my heart that someday that exit would lead to my home! Every night before bed, the children would pray and ask God to give them that house! Chris’ obsession had become a family obsession!

The realtor went to the owners with a crazy idea. Even though the house had only been on the market for two weeks, he urged them to consider a sellers agreement, where we would make payments to them directly and take over the mortgage in a few years. It seemed like an eternity before they responded…THAT THEY WOULD! Amazing miracle number one! Yet our soaring spirits sank a bit as we heard the terms. The monthly payment was way too much, and we had to come up with $10,000 upfront. Chris countered with $300 less per month. They accepted! Amazing miracle number two!

Time came to sign the paperwork, and we still had no money to put down. Chris continued to plow ahead, scaling that mountain and signing away! I was terrified and thought back to the washer and dryer purchase so long ago. How small that decision seemed compared to this one was! I sat with the realtor, the paperwork, and a kitchen timer in front of me. I was timing contractions that had been coming every twenty minutes for baby number six. I was about to have a baby, and here I was, facing one of the biggest decisions of my life! I wanted to call it all off, or have a conference like we did in our car in the Sears parking lot. I wanted to cry my heart out and beg Chris to back out of the whole thing!

Quietly a peace descended upon me, and my emotions stilled. My contractions stopped. I saw the hand of God moving heaven and earth. I saw that it was He who had put that obsession into my husband’s heart. I signed the paperwork and believed that God would work out the rest. Amazing miracle number three!

I didn’t have any more contractions for almost a week. My grandmother joyfully offered to give us the money we needed and a bit more! Amazing miracle number four! Chris’ mom flew in from Colorado in anticipation of the new baby’s arrival. That night my water broke, but there were no contractions. In the morning, we thought we would pass the hours by showing my mother-in-law our new home! It was a hot and humid day in August. I walked around my home, and I began to get contractions. They increased as I showed off my four large bedrooms and gigantic bathroom on the second floor. They increased even more as I went down to view my spacious and clean basement with shelves and shelves of storage space. Finally, we all gathered outside to return to our rental house. I leaned on the truck with one intense contraction. It was hard to escape the pain with heat emanating from the sun above and rising from the blacktop below. I thought, “What have I done, coming here while in labor? I need to get home!”

We arrived home in plenty of time to fill the baby pool in our bedroom and call the midwife. Our little Cooper was born a few hours later, healthy and happy! Some weeks after that, we began to move into our new home.

We are still in this home, paying the mortgage (our mortgage!) eight years later. That is the real miracle! We have weathered job losses, economic downturns, and debt reduction programs. We were close to foreclosure during the hard times, yet we are still here!

Three years ago Chris became obsessed with another goal, to become a business owner. He talked to a business broker and received emails about local businesses for sale. He read books about entrepreneurs and conversed with friends who were business owners.

“Oh brother,” I thought. “Here we go again!”

He inquired about a Signarama shop just blocks from our house. He went to visit with the owner and saw the shop. He was convinced that this was it. He wanted me to see it all and tell him what I thought. I really didn’t want to! But I did, because he asked me to.

When I saw the shop I thought, “This is definitely NOT it!” A sign shop, full of vinyl to make signs? How boring! I never had any interest in being a business owner, nor ever thought about making signs. Chris began the slow process of turning my course.

We talked with the regional VP of Signarama to learn more about the franchise. What emotions surfaced when I thought about this proposition; spending all we had plus going into debt to acquire a business? Terror! Pure fear! Fear of not having enough to pay our bills. Fear of heading towards foreclosure again! Fear of making a big whopper mess-up of a decision! Quietly peace descended upon me, and I heard the voice of God.

“Do not fear making mistakes. Mistakes aren’t as powerful as you think they are. You see them as huge giants that can rob you of your destiny. That is not true. Your mistakes cannot negate my promises or my power or my faithfulness in your life. I can cause all your mistakes to prosper and use them for good. In fact, your mistakes are your servants. Use them to learn about me, yourself, and your destiny. Use them to draw near to me. Do not fear making mistakes. Make all decisions in confidence and faith. I AM able to lead you and keep you in my perfect will. I AM faithful!”

So we took the plunge into business ownership. It has been harder than we had ever imagined. Some of my fears have come to pass, but I realized that they weren’t so bad after all. God is in control, and He is bringing us through this into the abundant prosperity that He has promised! Chris is learning to slow down his freight train to prayerfully consider my wisdom. I am learning that my adventurous husband with his crazy obsessions might just be tapping into the very heart of God!