Big Wave Surfing

Though surfing big waves is not my passion. I deeply respect guys who charge, especially considering the punishment they receive when the don't make it.

Fireworks

After a little prodding from Ian, we met in Gresham and left for The Dalles. Actually across the river from The Dalles. We went to buy fireworks from the Indians. You know, the kind that you don't find here in Oregon, Boregon when it comes to fireworks. No, we are not in high school anymore, but can't men get into some fireworkage? I certainly think so.

Made the drive, rounded up the necessities..



Not enough money.

Back to The Dalles to withdraw more, +$2.50 service fee. ah

Now back to the reservation! At one point I busted out the line "What kind of stuff do you have under the counter". This brought back memories!!!

The drive back is the weird part of the story. Everything going great, we get back on 84 and head for Portland. We'll Ian never bothered to check the gas. We're on E...actually, well below E, and apparenlty we had been for some time. 40 miles from the nearest gas station, what to do? After about 30 minutes at 60 mph (the speed at which we thought we would get the best mileage) we pulled into Multnomah Falls and begged several people for gas. None had any! We got back onto 84.

Then we see the sign for Corbett, low and behold, there is a gas station in Corbett, albeit 1 1/2 miles straight uphill. So off we go in search of gas for a truck that has gone way too far already. Little did we know the gas station was already closed. It was actually a convenience store with a half pump in the front by the porch.

Decided to ask some locals. Ran into a fire chief who was mowing his lawn with his last tank of gas....no dice there either...

Enter Steve.

Steve pulls up on his cherry red Titan motorcycle. Very nice! He is a rock sold believer, works 50 yards from Ian, and is excited about cruising to lunch with us in the upcoming weeks! Steve calls his girlfriend, her cousin jumps on his Harley with a gallon of gas in his side bag, rolls over to us 20 minutes later, tops us off (not really) with this gallon, and sends us on our way!

Steve is my man of the week.

Despite the trip taking 5 hours with no food. We realize the trip was a total encouragement to us and Steve and a confirmation that Braddah J.C. is large and in charge.

I'm amazed at God's provision and the Body of Christ.

Braddah J got a job

Thanks for all the prayers! It's now official. Jon is gainfully employed with the Banks School District. He will be teaching mathematics (most likely Pre-Algebra, Algebra, and Geometry classes), he is also the new head wrestling coach at Banks High School! Stay tuned for updates.

Mahalo Ke Akua

Grad Party Time

Invited: EVERYONE
Day: Saturday June 16th
Time: 5:00PM - Whenever
Address: 15435 SW Hall Blvd. Tigard
Menu: Hawaiian style: BBQ Chicken, Burgers, Mac Salad, Rice, and many appetizers

POTLUCK: If you would like to bring a plate for everyone to share, that would be much appreciated.

Wear your finest Aloha wear (Hawaiian Clothing)
(If you have some)

BYOB

Malawi Africa 2007

It's official. We have tickets, and we are going! I'm stoked on the trip for many reasons, here are a few...

1.) God has called us to Go to the nations.....
2.) I've had a desire to go to Africa since I was little.
3.) I feel called to the mission field in some way and hope to refine this calling.
4.) We will be working on a building project to help the local people with several microenterprises and a start-up internet cafe.
5.) We will be training teachers new and effective ways of reaching children in education.
6.) We get to spend time in Kruger National Wildlife Park
7.) C'mon, it's Africa
8.) There are many others

Here's what I'm not excited about...

1.) Getting all my immunizations, but will do so regardless.

Please check out this video I put together that details the upcoming trip.

Thanks for reading, Jon

Graduation

Well. It's not official, but it seems this is the way Pacific University does things. They have you pay almost $100.00 for a cap, gown, tassel, and hood, never mind the $20.00 red thing hanging from my neck (I don't even know the name of it-anyone?) then they sit you in a two hour ceremony, give you a bottle of water, march you across the stage, toss a hood on you (which is kinda funky) then have the nerve to give you an EMPTY diploma holder. Then they schedule a class the following monday??? Are you kidding??

Ok, despite how bizarre that sounds, I actually had a great time. Two work samples to go, and a reflection. Stay tuned for the Grad Party in early June!

Mahalo Ke Akua

King Herod 's tomb found

This is cool on many levels. First of all, it's always neat to find old things, I mean REALLY old things, particularly those that have not been seen since they were buried and have been for centuries. I equate it to finding GOLD or DIAMONDS. Secondly, Israel is a hotbed of historical and achaeological digs, and people routinely find ridiculously neat artifacts, which are Priceless. Thirdly, It validates what the Bible claims through the uncovering of TANGIBLE historical evidence.

MY NEW HOUSE!!!

I'm so stoked on how God is just hookin it up! Check this out all yall. Braddah J just scored a new pad. I will be house sitting indefinitely. This thing is sick. There are 10 acres in the back yard, No close neighbors, and it's gonna be unreal come BBQ time. If I really owned this property, I'd be set for life. The owners are considering selling since their father just died, but that might be two years from now. So, in the meantime...Who's ready to roll?

Kitesurfing

I have a new hobby. Kitesurfing. Last night, I picked up two used kites and a bar and lines from a friend of a friend. I have a slight problem...no board to ride on. Looks like I'll be picking up a blank in the next few weeks and start mowing some foam. We'll be rolling out with 11.o and a 13.5 meter 5-line kites. They are last years models, so they are equipped with many new safety features. I'm stoked. Better learn how to fly'em.

For TERRY

Despite what some post about...

The Department of Defense has announced its recruiting and retention statistics by the active and reserve components for the FY 2006 recruiting year.

Active duty recruiting. All services have met or exceeded their recruiting goals for fiscal 2006.

Active duty retention. Overall, the active duty services exceeded retention goals across the board. The Army, Air Force and Marine Corps exceeded fiscal 2006 retention goals in every category. The Navy retained in high numbers at the outset of the year, but a focus on physical fitness test performance led to an increase in disqualification among first-term sailors.

Reserve forces recruiting. Two of six Reserve components met or exceeded their accession goals for fiscal 2006, while two other Reserve components, the Army National Guard and the Air National Guard were close to making their end of year goals.Although the Army Reserve fell short of its annual accession goal, the U.S. Army Recruiting Command achieved 99+percent of its annual recruiting goal.

Reserve forces retention. Losses in all Reserve components were within acceptable limits. However, enlisted attrition through August 2006 is higher than the same period reported last year, but lower than the same period in the base year of fiscal 2000. The U.S. Naval Reserve presents a concern with its increasing attrition rates. We expect September 2006 to continue the current trend. (Note: This indicator lags by one month.)

Coast Guard. The Coast Guard is not included under the DOD statistics below (because the Coast Guard falls under the Department of Homeland Security), but the Coast Guard met its active duty recruiting goal for FY 2006, recruiting 3,992 enlisted members out of a goal of 3,950 (101%). However, the Coast Guard fell short of their Reserve goals, recruiting only 924 out of a goal of 1,390 (66%).

Fiscal 2006 Enlisted Recruiting from October 1, 2005 - September 30, 2006:

Recruiting Statistics

Componant	Accessions	Goal	Percent
Army	80,635	80,000	101
Navy	36,679	36,656	100
Marine Corps	32,337	32,301	100
Air Force	30,889	30,750	100
Army National Guard	69,042	70,000	99
Army Reserve	34,379	36,032	95
Navy Reserve	9,722	11,180	87
Marine Corps Reserve	8,056	8,024	100
Air National Guard	9,138	9,380	97
Air Force Reserve	6,989	6,607	106

Good Friday

In a recent e-mail from my old friend, he reminded me of something significant.

While I was busy getting the kids off to school,
Jesus was busy staggering his cross to Calvary.

While I was busy at the store buying my bitter herbs,
Jesus was busy being nailed to the cross.

While I was busy choosing the Caddish wine,
Jesus was rejecting the wine with gall.

While I went through my busy day - doing both good and evil -
Jesus hung on the cross and took it all.

While the kids were packing up there school supplies,
Jesus was commending his Mother to John.

While I was busy picking up the kids, Jesus was busy dieing.

While I went about preparing our Seder Dinner,
Joseph of Arimathea was negotiating for Jesus' body.

While our family celebrated our simple Seder dinner,
Joseph and Nicodemius buried Jesus in the tomb.

While I was busy washing the dishes the authorities were busy sealing His tomb.

It was a very busy day.

May the Lord bless you and keep you and yours during this sacred season, and may his countenance rest upon you for all to see,

Job Offer

After spending the entirety of Tuesday at the Oregon Professional educator fair, I scored four interviews. Three down, one to go. I just got a call, and was offered a job in COMPTON! Yeah, Compton, California, you guessed it..."C-O-M-P-T-O-N, and the city they call Long beach" - Dr. Dreahaha. I got a week to let them know I probably wont do it, but the offer sure is nice!

So stoked!!!

Over the past few days, I've been able to start talking with an old friend from Pacific University. While a freshman at Pacific, my next door dormmate, a Montanan and I, hit it off right from move in day. Since we lived next door to each other at this new place, it was easy to get to know each other quickly, class together, yada yada yada. A long story short - This guy was into some pretty crazy stuff, he loved booze, and loved women. He ended up having a child, later got married, and I haven't talked to him in 6 years. Well, I was able to meet up with him this evening at Beaverton 4 Square church for their midweek service, and later retreat to his house with his wife and two children and talk to him about his story, about how he met and fell in love with Jesus, and how it's changed his life. As I walked in to the sanctuary this evening, I was literally moved to tears to see him and his wife standing, with raised hands, worshipping.

NCAA Basketball Tourney

So far so good. Over the last few years, my buddy Titus and I have tried to pick the winners for the NCAA Basketball tournament. Titus follows the game a little more closely than I do, and every year to date, I've lost, and lost BADLY at that. This year we are going to have a new champion. Out of the 60 Games that have been played to this point, I have chosen 49 of the correctly. 49/60 or 82%. I'd take that to the free-throw line in overtime. Had 10 of 16 in the sweet 16 round, 8 of 8 in the elite 8 round, and now sitting pretty with 3 of 4 in the final 4 round. If any of you are wondering who will win, Jonny Boy picked Ohio State - Titus threw his cash on the Georgetown Hoyas......and with 82% correct so far, I'd throw your money down on the Jon and the Buckeyes.

Global Warming Debate....???

After Watching the ENTIRE thing, I felt compelled to post it. Very well done!

It's about that time!

Who's ready to have a BBQ?

Class

What had originally been a class scheduled to meet on Mondays, has now turned into a class that meets on Tuesdays, which I don't particularly care for. Paul and Merideth have been way too kind in opening up their house, feeding Matt, Joel, Dan and I some great food, AND DESSERT, all of which is usually homemade from scratch! It's unreal, the food is great and we get to spend a little time together as a band. The thought of missing out fills me with loathing. Tonight we are recording Matt on drums and trying to get this CD thing kicking! Maybe we'll throw a few bass tacks down...

.....So, here we sit in class.

No Food,
No Band,
We are learning about troubled students, and...it's troubling me!

Ahhh.

3.6.07, 3.7.07, 3.8.07

The last three days are all a haze as I look back on them. It’s vacation right? I’ve neglected posting anything due to lack of time, and lack of internet availability here on the island, yeah they’ve got it, but it’s mostly dial-up. I often think of my “hi-tech” friends and how they would struggle with dial-up. It continues to be variable winds, which is great for surfing (wind=BAD, unless it’s offshore). Wednesday eve is prayer meeting at Calvary, followed by a potluck, so I scored again.

Here’s a small centipede -


The cultural significance of food is very noticeable over here. When I taught at Moloka’i Christian Academy I would often be shocked at how students of all ages were taught to share their food as there was need. For instance, I was sitting at the lunch table with many of the students one day and a student did not have a meal. The other students responded by offering portions of their lunch. It’s not just a pre-school or even a high school thing, it’s ingrained in most of these students and they take joy in knowing they can provide for others who may or may not have. Sharing food is like sharing a part of their heart. Here are some of last nights people at the table.




Angela, Candace, Megan, Teva, Nicci, and the Pou boys….Taoatua, Hoarai, Pi’itoa, and Noho’ari’i, (sons of Nicci and Teva – they are Tahitian.) We were even able to meet up with Atoa, a former Moloka'i Wrestler.

We’ve dawn patrolled a few times since last writing. Yesterday I drove up to Kalae to pick up Clint (the Moloka’i wrestler who got hosed in the state finals) and we paddled out at Kawela at about 5:55am to score some waist high rights. He had to be at school by 8:00, so time was limited, but we had a great time nonetheless, and he was only a few minutes late. I would seriously be in trouble if I grew up here and knew how to surf. There would be patches of absences on my record due to the surf pumping.

The last two days I’ve been helping Teva with a bit of remodeling at Auntie Gloria’s place. My hamstrings are sore from working on the floor, but I’ve got a little extra scrod to work with. I was also able to stop by All God’s Children Pre-school and help out for a few hours just playing with the kids. It’s hilarious to hang with little kids like this (three and four years old) and hear them talk Pidgin Hawaiian, total slang for these little guys. Here’s a few examples; “Uncle Jon, you when get da stuffs?” And “Uncle Jon, can push me next?” And I’ll never forget…
Me – “What’s your name”
Kid – “Braddah Nick”
Me – “What?”
Kid – “Braddah Nick”
Me – “Braddah Nick???”
Kid – “Yeah”
Me – “hahahahahahaha”

In the few hours I hung out with them, there seemed to be and endless line of kids waiting for me to push them on the swings. There were a few criers, but for the most part, they were happy to wait in line and snag a turn when they could. A few were so stoked, they stopped and threw up da shaka (hang-loose sign).

The pre-school is on the same grounds as the Christian Academy, so I was able to see the improvements they’ve made to the school



and even take a seat in my old classroom.

Another trip to the beach to teach Stephanie how to surf….She ended up riding this one all the way to shore, jumped off, and cut up here knee. She was done after that.

A developing story : Since I arrived on Moloka’i my left bottom wisdom tooth has started hurting, toothaches are BAD!! I finally cracked yesterday due to the fact that it was not getting better despite the unhealthy amounts of hot saltwater I was gargling. A 5 minute seat in the community health center dentist’s chair revealed that I have a hideously infected wisdom tooth that NEEDS to come out, all the while, the infection has spread down into my neck, this would explain why it has been increasingly harder to swallow and chew. I got some antibiotics, plus a bunch of codeine, the latter I haven’t had to use yet. The pain has subsided a lot.

It many regards, I’m looking forward to coming home. I’m stoked out on Ethnos and the potential there is for the body to grow in size and depth. I’m also a little bit guilty of being gone for so long considering school and other commitments I’ve made. On the down side…There are a friends and family here that I dream of seeing more often.
Ahhh.

3.5.07

Awoke this morning with just enough time to get out of bed, brush my teeth, and swig a smoothie, before heading down to the wharf to head out and fish for the day.

The water was sheet glass the entire time we were on the water, a rarity for Moloka’i, as the wind is usually blowing 10-20 mph, and the winter swells make it a little rough. It was calm a creamy all day long. We had trolled down the south shore of the Island for about an hour,

and I was listening to a story about the fish that had been caught in this particular location…meanwhile, a 100 pound Marlin was busy chomping at one of our lures.

Yeahyeah! I grabbed the reel and started reeling, before Stephanie was able to get seated, and ready to fight the fish herself. It was going to be a hard fight, as the reel was slipping on the pole…it was a two-man ordeal after that! The fish was on, the reel was smoking, and we were stoked once again! The stoke only lasted about 5 minutes though, after the thing jumped out of the water, ran further, and finally took advantage of a little slack in the line. Soo, it was pretty fun while it lasted, and we were happy to see some fish action,

but…it would have been rad to actually land da bugga! So, after 4 more hours of trolling for nothing, we headed back to the wharf. The rest of the evening was spent hanging with old friends, eating, and laughing.

3.4.07

Arrived to Moloka’i with no trouble whatsoever. Chris dropped me off, boarded the plane, left Honolulu (HonoZOOlu), and touched down at the Moloka’i airport at 7:35 am.

I sat there for about 5 minutes, soaking up the silence. There were no cars driving, The sun was just over the eastern mountains of the island, and I could hear no one. Just like that it was easier to breathe! I was picked up shortly after by Candace, Aisha, and Megan and we all cruised up to Coffees of Hawaii to score some coffee, grind some poi bagels and talk story.

These girls are great!!!! Megan and I cruised down to the “Wherehouse” (Calvary Chapel) and met up with all the old Moloka’i church Ohana. (Ohana = Family). I was stoked as stoked gets!!! I’m tellin’ ya, these people great!! My cheeks hurt from smiling too much…and I like smiling, so…I’m talking LOTS of smiling! Yeah. I was stoked to hear Teva and the Band layin it down with the worship music. These guys have a deep pocket, and Teva is an incredible worship leader! I haven’t been able to clap my hands while singing for the past several months, seeing how I’m playing bass and all, Worshipping without the bass guitar in hand was nice! I’m always amazed at the simplicity of things over here. Most people can hear God’s voice a little more clearly on Moloka’i, being that the “neon” of the city is gone, and we get to see the simplicity of life as it used to be. Following church, I met up with Teva and Taoa (his boy) and he headed to Halawa Valley,



surfed there for about an hour…it was junk, so we left and headed back to Rock Point

where the wind had just turned off-shore, and the waves were firing. I got doughnuts on the first two waves, but it was fun anyways. We ended up surfing for about 3 hours, until the sun started to set. We loaded up and headed back to Candace’s house up in Kawela. The pad is sick, with an unreal view of Lanai, Maui, and about a 5 mile stretch of the south shore of Moloka’i.






Aloha again!