Time to go to church.

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?!