Hawaii July 3rd.

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Hawaii is special, because they have more holidays than the mainland. There’s all the special Hawaiian holidays that give us an extra day off. Since all of the interns had a day off, we took advantage of it. We ventured back to the North Shore and made a few stops along the way.

Most of the times I find cool places because of social media. I see pictures other people have posted and of course want to go there and post a picture myself. Wow Wow Lemonade was one of those places. It’s an adult lemonade stand that serves their lemonade in mason jars. It’s like a childhood, hipster dream. Right next to Wow Wow Lemonade is Surfers Coffee Bar. Surfers is part of the Surfing the Nations program that uses surfing as a way of outreach. They also happen to have some delicious acai bowls, which I happened to buy even after eating breakfast and drinking a whole jar of lemonade. Food and I have a special bond that can’t be broken.

After our foodie adventures we drove through Haleiwa to walk around a bit then continued our way down to Sunset Beach. I’m a beach lover through and through, but Sunset had waves going over your head and there was not enough bravery in me to muster getting into the water. I watched as big B continued boogie boarding no matter how many times he crashed against the sand, and as Crystal tried not to drown in waves that were going over her head. Jasmine and I walked down the beach looking at the huge beach rental properties. As sunset approached we all watched the sky change from blue to black. It was a great day with even greater people.

I love the Windward Intern program. It’s not only a way for me to be able to serve Christ, but it’s been a way for me to form strong, encouraging Christian friendships with people who love God and love to serve God. People who are rich in His word and push me closer to Christ. This summer was special because there were interns from all over the United States. Now when I leave and return home I’ll still have friends from Oklahoma, Atlanta, Nebraska, Ohio, and other places in California. God puts people into your life for a reason. He forms these bonds so now no matter where I am in the United States, I’ll have a brother or sister in Christ.