Aloha Family & Friends, Kevin&&&Casey Schmidt Family & Friends, Every year around this time, I begin...
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Kevin & Casey Schmidt 1638 Nakula Street Wahiawa, HI 96786 808 . 372 . 1567 808 . 561 . 8636 [email protected] MARCH – 2017 Aloha Family & Friends, Every year around this time, I begin to hear the muffled rumblings of 5 th Graders getting ready to “go to CLUB” for the very first time. One of our rituals at the basketball courts and on the Frisbee fields is to protect the older Middle Schoolers’ from the encroachment of 5 th Graders joining their ranks without having gone through the proper gauntlet of “waiting.” To the casual observer, it looks mean: (Jesus would never turn 5th Graders away, right?). But we do turn them away from CLUB-stuffs, and we ask them to wait until they reach 6 th Grade. We do it in an Inviting sort of way, so to speak: they are invited to wait, to watch, to get ready, to practice their guitar chords for their eventual Band Practice, to convince their parents that next year they should be allowed to go to CLUB, to practice their dodgeball skills (which is the way every CLUB night accidentally ends), to look up to current CLUB-kid participants, to see the whole eventual thing from the outside looking in, and to talk to us about it. Waiting has its merits, and when it doesn’t, it’s as my cousin would say: “It’ll be alright.” But it is also helpful for me personally, to suddenly become aware of all the outsiders-looking- in—wanting to be a part of CLUB’s doings, wishing that they had been born just a little bit earlier so that their kingdom-come was happening now and not later, and measuring us all to see if we are worth having them. It is good for me to see them look at CLUB like that. It makes me want to make a good ending of the year, to effect measurable program impact, and to survey the pulse of our collective Welcomability. Right now we are winding down our weekly studying of the Book of Matthew. We have been taking a deep look at “Jesus’ 5 Major Speeches,” and quite a number of students have been fulfilling our weekly “Silver-&-Gold Challenges” of reading, on their own, the other Gospels as well, parallel to our studies in Matthew. Additionally, in the last few weeks, a handful of students have stood in front of the others and recited the Beatitudes. Some of these kids are gearing up to be baptized, some to be Confirmed in their tradition, and quite a number of them to go on a weekend-long Retreat with us during Spring Break. All of this is occurring right in the middle of several volunteer Team-members leaving, several families being re- stationed, and several others arriving here for the first time. As we continue to grow, we have moved our business address from Kaneohe’s windward side of Oahu, to central Oahu. In addition to a new office, we have moved our mailing address to: Pacific House of Mission P.O. Box 860969 Wahiawa, Hawaii 96786 Please help us make this move by editing the address of your correspondence to PHM, to include donation checks, general letters to PHM and the Board, etc. Mahalo!
Transcript of Aloha Family & Friends, Kevin&&&Casey Schmidt Family & Friends, Every year around this time, I begin...
Kevin & CaseySchmidt
1638 Nakula StreetWahiawa, HI 96786
808 . 372 . 1567808 . 561 . 8636
MARCH– 2017
Aloha Family & Friends,
Every year around this time, I begin to hear the muffled rumblings of 5th Graders getting ready to “go to CLUB” for the very first time.
One of our rituals at the basketball courts and on the Frisbee fields is to protect the older Middle Schoolers’ from the encroachment of 5th Graders joining their ranks without having gone through the proper gauntlet of “waiting.” To the casual observer, it looks mean: (Jesus would never turn 5th Graders away, right?). But we do turn them away from CLUB-stuffs, and we ask them to wait until they reach 6th
Grade. We do it in an Inviting sort of way, so to speak: they are invited to wait, to watch, to get ready, to practice their guitar chords for their eventual Band Practice, to convince their parents that next year they should be allowed to go to CLUB, to practice their dodgeball skills (which is the way every CLUB night accidentally ends), to look up to current CLUB-kid participants, to see the whole eventual thing from the outside looking in, and to talk to us about it. Waiting has its merits, and when it doesn’t, it’s as my cousin would say: “It’ll be alright.”
But it is also helpful for me personally, to suddenly become aware of all the outsiders-looking-in—wanting to be a part of CLUB’s doings, wishing that they had been born just a little bit earlier so that their kingdom-come was happening now and not later, and measuring us all to see if we are worth having them. It is good for me to see them look at CLUB like that. It makes me
want to make a good ending of the year, to effect measurable program impact, and to survey the pulse of our collective Welcomability.
Right now we are winding down our weekly studying of the Book of Matthew. We have been taking a deep look at “Jesus’ 5 Major Speeches,” and quite a number of students have been fulfilling our weekly “Silver-&-Gold Challenges” of reading, on their own, the other Gospels as well, parallel to our studies in Matthew. Additionally, in the last few weeks, a handful of students have stood in front of the others and recited the Beatitudes. Some of these kids are gearing up to be baptized, some to be Confirmed in their tradition, and quite a number of them to go on a weekend-long Retreat with us during Spring Break. All of this is occurring right in the middle of several volunteer Team-members leaving, several families being re-stationed, and several others arriving here for the first time.
As we continue to grow, we have moved our business address from Kaneohe’s windward side of Oahu,
to central Oahu. In addition to a new office, we have moved our
mailing address to:
Pacific House of MissionP.O. Box 860969
Wahiawa, Hawaii 96786
Please help us make this move by editing the address of your
correspondence to PHM, to include donation checks, general letters to PHM and the Board, etc. Mahalo!
“Are you
ready?" Klaus
asked finally.
"No," Sunny
answered.
"Me neither,"
Violet said,
"but if we
wait until
we're ready
we'll be
waiting for
the rest of
our lives,
Let's go.”
-Lemony Snicket,
The Ersatz
Elevator
Such is the mixture of our Mission’s constant operation, and Springtime always showcases how brittle (think peanut brittle!) the construction of a military community can be.
What a great treat this is to be a part of (think peanut brittle!). This morning, we began the work of bringing 4 full-time Summer Interns here to be a part of it as well. At this time every year, we Video-Conference with our prospective interns—training them weekly to raise a financial support team, and preparing them for the culture, the work-ethic, and the philosophy of PACIFIC HOUSE OF MISSION to “go to where people are.” We share with them the brittle and thrilling reality of the lives of our nation’s warfighting families—that their physical geography is very tentative, just as their program-attendance with us is as well. We will do what we can while we are together, and in our many different ways and timelines, enjoy whatever kingdom-come we can get.
A Hawai’ian “Mahalo” to all of you who are active support-ers, active pray-ers, active advocate-ers, and active communicate-ers with us in this Mission. In the months ahead, please continue to pray for our Mission and our ever-transforming Staff persons serving youths on this Island from the Services of 2 Army communities, and from Air Force, Navy, Marines, and Coast Guard (yes, we have them all!). This is a critical time each year as we broaden our support, receive vehicle donations from departing families, consider our Board membership, and seek funding for the year to come. Spread the word! Aloha!
PEACE—Kevin & Casey & David & Jacob & Jordan & Hannah & Rachel & Elijah & Malia & Micah & Delilah… Schmidt
