Not Quite Celebrities!

On my plane ride from Honolulu to Majuro, Republic of the Marshall Islands, I sat next to two sisters and their children. The sisters grew up in the RMI but now live in Hawai'i. They are hapa (in Hawaiian, what we call a half Caucasian, half something else mix), and they spoke English and Marshallese fluently. I asked them what I should do in the Marshalls since I was to be there for at least a month. As a result, they called me up at the hotel and asked if Makana and I wanted to go on a "picnic" with them. Surely! They actually took us on a boat to another island that their family owns. :) We spent the afternoon there and had a great time! We met some of their other relatives and friends that day as well. It felt like I was back in Hawai'i, when people just invite others they meet and welcome them into their homes.

One of the people we met that day was another sister, who still lives in the RMI. She works for her father's newspaper (the only newspaper in the RMI) and asked later if she could interview me for a human interest story. She thought it was neat that my grandfather emigrated from the Marshalls in the early 1900's, and that is the reason why Dave and I decided to adopt from there.

I called my dad to get some info on my Papa (grandfather), but I nonetheless got information mixed up. More clarifications to come. . . . :) While in the Marshalls, my cousin Marjorie and her husband Gary had us stay at their house for 3 weeks. :) That was an ENORMOUS blessing! They have been living there for four years thus far as missionaries. We are praying that God will work through them mightily as they spend the rest of their years there.