Short Trip to BC

last monday sandi and i left on our fast and furious journey to Vancouver, British Colombia. i say "fast and furious" not because we drove anywhere at dizzying speeds, but because we set out on our journey knowing that the hours we would be traveling would outnumber the hours we would spend at our destination. yup...we traveled for a total of 33 hours (including layovers and a 2.5 hour delay in Chicago), and we were on BC soil for only 29 hours.

why this crazy trip, you ask? we were on our way to meet my dad, mom, sister, and grandma on the campus of Trinity Western University, where sarah, rachel, and i all attended for some length of time (and where i recieved my undergrad degree). the occasion was the giving and recieving of a painting--from my parents to the school--in Rachel Anuhea's honor. the painting, entitled "Quiet Storm," was one that Rachel was strongly drawn to and eventually ended up purchasing when she was home in Hawaii. it's painted by a local Japanese painter and is quite stunning. if you ever find yourself in the Vancouver, BC area and would like to visit the painting i'm sure the school would welcome your visit.


two tired but happy travellers!!

we had heard that it had snowed the week before...but we had no idea that so much would still be around one week later! here's a mini-van that was parked in the Vancouver Airport parking structure...

here's a view out the window on our 40 minute drive from the airport to the school...

On campus...

Here we are with Sam and Torie and their very healthy baby boy, Bennett!! Sam was the very first person from Trinity that i got to meet and speak with. he was doing a college fair in Hawaii before i had made my final decision to attend the school and we were able to hook up. i tell him he's the X-factor that sealed my decision to attend!! ...it's true=) (and now, he loves spam musubi, shoyu chicken, lumpia, and many other local favorites)

sandi and me with Dr. Calvin Townsend. both rachel and i had him (seperately) for the same 400 level class...Influential Christian Thinkers of the Western World. it was wonderful to talk with him again...

me with Tim McCarthy...godly man, song-writer, director and overseer of all the chapel worship teams (usually 4-6 per year), and proud father of 5 children!! (two are twins) congratulations Tim and family!!

This is me and my 2nd year Greek prof...Dr. Kent Clarke. though it is difficult to pick our a favorite prof out of the many wonderful professors i had the privilege of learning under, i thoroughly enjoyed learning from Dr. Clarke. as his smile conveys, he is always excited and energetic about what's going on. (he's a tremendously busy man/husband/father, yet his joy is deeply rooted in the foundation that can only be found in Christ) sandi and i were only with him for about 5 minutes, but it was such a rich 5 minutes. ...and sandi and i walked away encouraged and blessed. Mahalo Dr. Clarke!!

this is Robson, the jr./sr. housing building where i lived with Will for 1.25 years! good memories! good friends!! good times!!! good food!!!!=)

sandi and me in the snow...

on our first...last...and only morning in Langley, BC, sandi and i had the great honor of having breakfast with Pat and Cherry Sczebel. Pat is a humble friend, pastor, teacher, song-writer and primary worship leader at Crossway Communtiy Church in Cloverdale, BC where i attended for 2 years. it was the first time that they and sandi had met. not only was the food great! ...in the short time that we spent with them, they encouraged, cared-for, taught--for lack of a better term--"pastored" us so wonderfully. it was so good to visit with great friends! Mahalo Pat and Cherry!!

and if you thought that was a lot for 29 hours...i didn't even mention Amy's birthday party that i crashed at the Walsh's on Teusday night! (and that was after dinner with dad, mom, sarah, grandma and sandi at the Olive Garden...they had to get their fill...NO Olive Garden in Hawaii!) it was great to see old friends and meet new ones. God is growing His church in Cloverdale! what a wonderful group of people! sandi and i are definitely planning on returning to BC in the near future! there's a lot more people that she need's to meet! ...a lot of places to visit! ...and a lot of food to eat!! thanks be to God for such an amazing trip!!