Brace yourselves......I've become a regular church goer!
Every Thursday at 7pm I show up at the Keolahou Congregational Church and take my seat in a pew near the front. The other parishioners are sweet, kind and quite old. They all have their favorite seats and I wonder as I settle in, whose spot I'm sitting in. I watch them greet each other with genuine affection and caring and it feels nice to be in a room with such a warm community.
The church itself is inviting, small, cozy and wooden, smelling of nothing. We open the windows and doors to let in the warm night air and finally he arrives, barefoot, wearing shorts, a t-shirt and a big beaming smile.
Jarret is an Ukulele teacher who gives a group lesson free of charge and he's created quite a loyal and eclectic following. One of his students works at the church and so we are lucky enough to borrow this fantastic little space in which to play and sing. You should hear us! It's pure joy when you've got 40-50 Ukes strumming away, accompanied by our choir of voices and the impromptu hula of those who know how and feel so moved.
Here's Jarret doing one of my favorite power songs.
His community lessons are his way of spreading the seeds of Aloha. He's dedicated to passing on his knowledge of the Hawaiian culture and language, which (trust me) with these songs is really helpful and he gives explanations of the myths and legends behind them. It's juicy stuff and I'm really loving it.
Who'd have thunk?!
It was a lazy start to Christmas day with last nights party clean up, Mummy chat and small kine gift giving at home.
It took me until about 3:30pm to rally and finally get out of the house to move my energy and what better place than Baldwin Beach?
The waves were mesmerizingly massive on the outside reef, but at the shores edge they sloppily let their crumbly crests fall.
The lowering sun powerfully back lit the flora and fauna.
As lovely as it all was I just couldn't be arsed to walk the whole stretch.
So I did what everyone loves to do and let the waves tug at the sand from under my toes, over and over again. Refreshed and restored, I overate at Christmas dinner and languished in the enjoyment, love and laughter of my good friends. I am a very lucky woman indeed.
