Eruptions

We visited some presentations today, ones done by the twenty-eight students that are first to graduate from Free Chapel College.  We dropped by there because we're really involved with a few of the students there.  Of course, we taught a class last year.  But also, the ones that are involved in children's ministry for the last two years have been a big part of our lives.  Madison loves Mary Shannon and Camille very much, and in fact plans to invite them to her birthday party in June.  Hopefully they can make it!  So we visited, and it was a bit overwhelming in some ways.  Each student had a write-up about us, about our ministry and our class.  You can see here the one that Camille put together.  

It took us about two hours to make it through all the presentations, because there were so many memories and kind words of encouragement.  We'll be seeing Camille and Mary Shannon after this, of course, but some of the other students may be moving on.  Some live farther away, or some simply go to other campuses nearby.  Regardless, it was a nice occasion, and it was funny to see Madison's picture pop up so many times in these presentations.  When asked about it, Madison said she would like to go to Free Chapel College some day.  I think that would pretty much be an automatic admission, really.

Today she had ballet and jazz after school, her long day.  She doesn't have many long days left - we'll be doing costuming in about a week, and soon after that the rehearsal and the recital itself.  Then, that chapter will come to a close.  It's been a happy one, and the old saying needs to be said once more:  "Don't be sad it's over.  Be happy that it ever happened."  It happened, and it was nice to see Madison grow up, year after year in her dancing shoes, gracing the stage.

Daddy and the rest of the KidPak staff went to Hebron Christian Academy today, hosting their very last chapel in their gym.  Apparently, they're actually building a chapel for next year.  But for the past few years, it has been in this gym.  We've gone every single time, and it's been fun.  More fun, lately. The hardest part is lugging the sound equipment out of the Buford Campus and transporting it over to the school, and the back again when done.  There is quite a bit to carry.  But the weather was fine, and the kids had a great time.  Even more so, we had our next series' devotionals already done, so we were able to hand out Daddy's "Incredibles"-themed devotionals to all the kids.  That was nice.

So we all got home a little later today.  We were working on the finishing touches of Madison's electricity circuit project, and also doing a bit of research on the Anne Frank project as well.  Interestingly enough, someone actually recreated Anne Frank's annex within the Minecraft game.  That's something that Madison will have to see, given how much time she's spent with Minecraft lately.

And so that's the news here.  News elsewhere includes Pele getting upset about something or other.  No, we're not talking about the soccer player.  We're talking about Pele, the Hawaiian fire goddess.  Of course, we don't believe in that sort of thing.  But the story of the day is the eruption of sorts, some  lava vents opening up that aren't too close to the Kīlauea, volcano itself.  The end results include evacuations and earthquakes and the panic that comes with it.  The blessing is that people are safe, although houses in that area are clearly not.  We were there a few times in Hawaii.  Mommy and Daddy tried to get a helicopter ride over Kīlauea, twice, but the weather didn't permit it.  I don't recommend risking wasting a day for that helicopter tour, as you can't really fly in inclement weather, and that part of the world is in a RAIN FOREST.  We had two wasted trips to the Big Island there, but on the second one - during our honeymoon - we had a back-up plan.  So it was okay.  The first time we waited to see if the weather would straighten up... and we got to know that airport really well.  It was a long wait, and a wasted day.  The second time, on our honeymoon, we left right away rather than wait to see if it would turn out.  Because it didn't.  And we had a great time.  We went to Kīlauea, and saw all kinds of great things at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.  We had a great time that day, despite the gloomy weather.

Of course, today, people are not having a great time.  Hopefully it will all work out.  Again, fortunately, everyone is going to be okay.  It's unsettling, and it's a fact of life living beneath a volcano.  That doesn't mean anyone has to like it, of course.   The best thing to do is return the heart of the island back to Pele, and I think everything will be fine.  Either that, or consider living on Kauai.