July 4 Weekend 2003

"Yeah! It's Thursday and I only have 30 minutes until I am free for 3 days!!"

Then it happens. A parent comes down the stairs, opens the gate and says, "I'm sorry honey, but you have a flat tire." All I could say was, "What?! Again?!!?" The children are finally gone just before 5:30pm and I am able to go up to the parking lot to find out how bad the senerio really is. Back tire, not needed for steering. Low, but not completely flat. Hhhmmm. I will try the service station. I babied my car down the street to Texaco. I put air in my tire - although I have no idea how much. Those who have said I have wisdom beyond my years have never watched me around a car.

I decided I had better keep an eye on my tire as I take my car to Sears so I tried to make my passenger side mirror reflect my tire. It only worked if I leaned accross the seat to look at it. That could negatively affect my driving, so I vetoed the idea. I get to Sears and an hour later find out that I have a nail in my tire. By now, the nice gentlemen at Sears practically know me on a first name basis and didn't even bother to ask if I had bought the tire there. The man simply shook his head, as if with pity, and told me there would be no charge. (They probably do that for everyone, but I thought that it was nice.) On the way out they informed me that one headlight was out. Mental note - get headlight changed.

The rest of Thursday night I didn't do much. Then came Friday. Most of you already know that I went to the Kailua parade on Friday. After living in Council Bluffs, this parade was actually a bit of a let down. Being from a small town, every band within driving distance came to march. Lots of music, big trucks, performers, etc. Even the elementary schools would march. This parade had 2 school marching bands - both from the mainland, 1 military band and NO local school bands. I kept waiting to hear the base drums or see the flags flying through the air. No. We did get to see all of the Hawaii politicians, plenty of McKenna car dealership advertisements, the shriners and some scout troups. Lots of local advertisement. The people I was with were fun though. And at least I got to go to a parade.

I spent the rest of the day at home. Got to talk to Jay for a while who placed the idea into my head to rent a movie. I did. They were good.

Saturday was my day to play. We started out at A'ala Park, a place where many homeless hang out - some live. The goal? Pass out cake and sandwiches and help them celebrate the holiday. This we did. We also laid out copies of the Gospel of John and the Four Spiritual Laws. A few people sat and read them while they ate their snacks. Fine with us!! :-) Naive group of people that we were, many of us didn't realize until later that there was drug activity going on in the park. Looking back on it, I think one group of people sitting on a bench were actually laughing at our naivity. I boldly (hehe) walked over to them and offered them food. All but one turned me down. I guess most groups who bring food go to the other end of the park. I found out why. We all know that homeless people come in all shapes and sizes, but my heart was wrenched when I walked accross the park to deliver food to those who had not come over and found many of them in wheelchairs or missing arms or legs.

The people were very gracious. In fact, when I pulled in and started unpacking my car, a couple of homeless ladies (& 1 gentleman) came to help carry things to our site. Toward the end we put away our table and simply carried the food and water around the park. My heart rejoiced as I stepped back and watched Debra eagerly passing out Four Spiritual Laws Booklets and Aunty Jo stopping to pray for people. Arlene and her friend were busy making sure things ran smoothly and people felt welcomed.

By 1pm, we still had the equivelent of 1 Costco cake left. Debra and I decided to hit family day at Waikiki. The rest of the cake (and water) almost flew out of our hands. People there were hungry, too! I had the opportunity to pass out 7 of the Gospel of John. One lady took it saying, "Oh, I'm not a Christian." I smiled and told her that she may take it anyway. It makes good reading.

For those of you on the mainland. There was a court battle here last week. The Christian Coalition sponsored a parade to kick off Family Day. A group called something like "Parents of Gay and Lebian Children" or some such thing was not granted permission to march in the parade. The ACLU took the city and the Christian Coalition to court in hopes of having a judge allow them into the parade. That didn't happen. The press made it sound like this huge battle that had enraged the entire gay community and split the rest. I know there were protesters at the end of the parade, but I think reports may have been slightly eggagerated. They had a booth up at the Family Day Fair (that part was sponsored by the city.) It had a gay flag, mean signs and a sour looking man behind a table. Nothing for children or to build relationships - or even to draw a crowd for that matter. I wanted so badly to go up to that man - or maybe write a letter to the editor to pass on my mom's advice. She used to tell me that you can't legislate morality. Laws don't change a persons heart. That must be done one person at a time. She also told me that honey will attract more flies than vinegar. Enough of that.

I stayed all day and then went to the Beach to watch Lilo and Stitch. You would not believe the number of people on that beach!!!!!!!!!!!!! We arrived an hour before things started and literally had to climb over people to find a small piece of sand to sit on. The line to get food took 45-60 minutes. I was standing in that line when they set off the fireworks. I felt like a little kid as I listened to the military band play "Stars and Stripes Forever" and watched the fireworks go off over the ocean. Everything stopped for the show, and it was worth it. Stitch was just heading for Earth when I finally found my seat in the ocean of people. This movie is just more fun when you watch it outside on Waikiki Beach. :-)

The trip home provided more adventures. I should have waited longer before leaving, but I didn't. As a result my car began to show signs of overheating, so I pulled over and sat until the rest of traffic was gone. It was during this time that I realized that I, or something in my car, still carried the stench of the homeless people we had spent time with that morning. My first reaction was, "Ugh! What is that doing in my car?!" That reaction was soon followed by a memory of hearing Jim Cymbala talk about an encounter that he had with a homeless person who visited his church. The stench was so overwhelming that he had to look away while he was talking to the man. As he recounts it, God got his attention in the middle of that conversation and told him that this stench represented the world Christ gave His life for. What an honor to be entrusted with caring for those Christ loves.

Eventually traffic thinned out and I thought I was home free. No such luck. As I was heading to the Highway, I realized why traffic had been so slow. They had a DUI checkpoint set up. Remember that headlight?? Yeah, I got pulled over. The officer was very nice. I had not switched out insurance cards when I got my new ones. Other people must do that fairly often as well because as he was writing the ticket, he was also showing me the number to call and telling me what to get from my insurance company, etc. My purse had been in the trunk. Lucky I think out loud. The officer asked me for my liceanse and I said to myself. "Oh, I put my purse in the trunk this afternoon." I released my seatbelt and started to open the door when the officer stepped back and said in a loud voice, "Getting out of the car." or something like that. It was then that I realized I probably should have asked for permission first. Oops. Eventually, I got home.

This morning was good. I didn't have to teach so I was able to be more social as I set up AND I got to be in the church service. We tried centers in Keiki church. The idea went over well. The water table in the first center didn't go over so well. After playing nicely for 15 minutes or so, the children began to pour the water over each others heads. Okay, next idea. :-) (Thanks Karen and Brandi for being such good sports!)

I trust that each of you also had a wonderful holiday weekend.

Blessings!
Jeannie Hughes