INTRODUCTION
Aloha! Kia Ora! Hello! Quick note here before we get started on this post…
This post, along with documenting my Māui-Aotearoa 2023 Art Ministry Trip, has also become my art and life newsletter for the year. So, I’d suggest grab a cup of coffee or tea or whatever your beverage of choice is and maybe even a snack and sit somewhere comfortable to read (or plan to read in increments when you have time). I apologize, it couldn’t be helped…because I tend to write like I talk, this is a really long post! So take whatever time you need, however you need to do it to read my story.
I know it’s been awhile since you’ve heard anything from me. These days I am a bit more quiet on social media (due to not having the kind of time and focus it needs to keep everyone continuously updated like I used to, and also due to not having the energy anymore to keep it up). So I’m being a lot more intentional about when, what and how I share things. I’d rather share in person but these days being in person with each other is oftentimes so complicated and not possible. So I am still trying to figure out how to stay connected with many of you when it needs to be through the internet.
With this post I was able to document the “this is what I got to do on my trip” for you but (because I am who I am) I also was able to process on a deeper level the “this is what God was saying and doing in the creative conversation” and the “this is what was going on with me and how the trip impacted me” stuff. It may take you awhile to read it all the way through but these days I’d rather share the real conversations than share the surface ones.
I encourage you to please try to read through it all (even if it takes more than one sitting), this one is special and there’s some good meaningful stuff in there all the way to the end. I think this might be some of the most revealing and heart sharing writing I’ve done in a very long while.
I’ve organized it into 3 Parts and each part has sections within and under some of those sections I have included additional sections I call "Talk Story" (which is where I have written more detail telling a story about something specific that took place). If you need to take your time reading it Part by Part, Section by Section, it’s okay, I understand. No worries. I do want to thank you ahead of time for your friendship, for your prayers, your support and encouragement of my art and art ministry travels and for following along like this. I hope that I have been able to paint a beautiful and accurate picture of this trip through words (and some photos) and that my sharing ultimately gives God all the glory for each healing step that we got to take together on this journey.
So after a very long time waiting for anything from me, here ya go…
PART ONE
THE PART ABOUT WHY, WHERE AND HOW
BACK STORY
4 and a half years. It took 4 and a half years from the time of it’s conception to the time of it’s implementation for this trip to finally take place. In the grand picture of all of my travels, it’s not the longest I’ve had to wait for a specific trip to be taken. I’ve had other trips that took a little longer to come to life. But this one had some very unique circumstances that took place within the waiting.
It all started back in 2019 when I was living on the tiny island of Māui in the Hawaiian archepelego out in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. I was up top the 10,023 foot summit of the dormant ancient volcano Haleakalā (house of the sun) for the first time looking out around at the view of 360° of water, when I heard a very distinctive prompting from within that I was to travel to Aotearoa (that’s the Māori name for New Zealand) to minister through creativity. I sensed this was the inner voice of Holy Spirit (as at that point I was putting my world travels on hold for a bit while I figured out what life as a local living on Māui should look like for me, so traveling to another country wouldn’t have been my idea). The year before I had moved from Idaho to Māui to live and minister through art full time within a small local church and I was only a few months into my time there. The timing and location of the prompt caught me off guard. Specifically, I was to travel to South Island to the south eastern coastal city of Dunedin where dear Kiwi friends had just church planted Mercy Vineyard. I wasn’t sure of the when of the travels, but I figured it would be within the next year.
I had traveled to Aotearoa before. It was back in 2011 when I had the opportunity to go to North Island to connect with another set of friends up in the western coastal town of Raglan by the Tasman sea (near Hamilton). That trip (though at the time was not an official Art Ministry Trip) had been a key moment that spoke life and purpose into what would soon after in 2012, become these Art Ministry Travels.
Who knew that when I received that prompting up top Haleakalā at the beginning of 2019 that by the time I would actually be able to take the trip to South Island, NZ in the last part of 2023, I would first make a move back to Idaho and then a global pandemic would shut the entire world down for several years.
Needless to say, once Covid-19 swept throughout the world ravaging nations and changing all of our lives, air travel was halted to most countries at that time. Everyone was affected. Islands were particularly affected (history shows that disease can wipe out island populations much quicker due to isolation). New Zealand was a country that completely shut out foreign air travel the longest of all nations to stay protected. In fact, Hawai’i (though a part of the United States) also had a lengthy shut down to not only foreign travelers but also travelers from the other states (which meant Idaho) so any thought of going back for a visit to Māui had to be put on hold too. So my trip plans were cancelled and postponed indefinitely until the world reopened and God gave us a green light to resume plans.
Fast forward to 2023 when the world and traveling schedules could be open once again and plans could resume to finally travel to New Zealand and also back to Māui. Finally I was able to get back out there beyond the continental US to travel overseas. This excited my heart. After all that time I was missing my Ohana (family-friends) and the little church called Ke Aha (the Gathering) on Māui and I longed to be reunited with them all once again. So combining the 2 trips was suggested (to save on cost and also allowing for more convenience on schedules). Flying from Hawai’i to New Zealand made sense being that they both are in the Pacific and the original prompting came while I had lived on Māui.
PREP STORY
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it."
-John 1:1-5
The long unnerving trudge through a global pandemic and the unrest from it all wasn’t the only thing fronting this trip. Even after timing plans were able to resume and airline tickets were able to be purchased and art ministry preparations were able to be communicated, there was still a lot of rough and tumble struggle to overcome in 2023.
On a personal level: I’m someone who feels deeply, a natural helper who experiences the world through my heart. It’s in my nature to make myself available to others. My training is in pastoral ministry and counseling. I’m an Enneagram 2 (a natural helper). For me, it’s an honor and a blessing to be someone that holds safe space for others, to listen, to care, to be there however I can. I’m typically the strong one holding others up. And yet if I’m not careful I can overextend myself in unhealthy ways. I’ve known this for years (oftentimes had to learn the hard way) and on many levels I’ve worked to find balance for myself and others. But in recent years with all the shifts and changes and losses and waiting and just all the stuff and things that got hard and created so much grief and trauma…I got a bit out of whack this year (it was like a perfect storm that set me a bit off balance).
Both my parents (back to back) experienced major physical injuries that hindered their mobility and required my presence for helping with caregiving for extended periods of time. These shifts in health for my parents caused deep grief and incredible stress and strain on my family. I also had several close friends experience deep painful losses within their lives that weighed heavily and out of love and care for my friends I did what I could to also be available to them for support. All of these things seemed to happen back to back and at the same time on top of each other. So many people were in pain all around me, as I was too.
I was having trouble finding the time to get into my art studio to paint and when I could get in there I found myself struggling with artist block and couldn’t paint. My mind wouldn’t settle and my inspiration had dried up. Painting is not only my business income and an avenue of creative art ministry to others but it is also my own personal therapy (the act of creating and painting…it speaks life into my soul and is one way that I converse with God). The stress I was experiencing from everything I was carrying was affecting me greatly and I felt drained and lifeless. I could barely eat and I was grinding my teeth while I slept (what sleep I could actually get) due to all the stress I was feeling. I actually ended up breaking a tooth in half which severed a nerve causing intense jaw and head pain which then resulted in an emergency tooth extraction. This just added even more stress into an already stressful season.
With all of this going on I kind of fell silent this year. For my own protection, I backed out from posting and spending time on social media, I wasn’t able to say yes to social gatherings (group or individual) due to lack of time but also my headspace was just not in a good place, I backed out from a lot of things because I was deeply hurting and didn’t know how to maintain my normal extroverted fun-loving lean on me I’m here for you kind of lifestyle. It was just too hard (too many people going through hard things needing help and I too was going through hard things and needed help).
To quote from an original song by one of my Ohana, singer-songwriter Isabeau Waiau Walker: “My eyes well up everytime we talk, everytime we talk…and I never asked for anything that would be an inconvience…all my friends think I’m okay, all my friends think I’m okay…it’s confusing…”… yep, that pretty much sums up how I felt this year. Even the strong ones feel weak sometimes. *if you’re interested and get a chance, check out her music which is available on all the streaming platforms.
For my friends in New Zealand that I would be traveling to in Dunedin: They experienced some tragic losses that created deep grief for them, along with many other struggles in various areas that caused incredible stress and strain. They care for and minister within several different circles and in each of those circles there were deep struggles and needs with so many people that they were allowing themselves to be present for and available to. My friends were in desperate need of ministry to themselves.
For my friends in Hawai’i that I would be traveling to in Māui: Along with some difficult hardships and major shifts, health scares and deep losses already taking place in many of their lives, and barely just recovering from the economic losses due to the pandemic shut down…Māui experienced the August 8th wildfires caused by extreme winds from Hurricane Dora. These fires destroyed several areas of the island including the leveling devastation of Historic Old Town Lahaina (the original capital of the Kingdom of Hawai’i) taking out countless homes, businesses, historic sites and killing many people. I have friends who lost their home and everything they owned that night narrowly escaping with their own lives. So my Ohana and the people of Māui (and Hawai’i) have experienced incredible traumas and are grieving deep deep loss due to that night. My friends who were busy ministering to the needs of others were in desperate need of ministry to themselves.
And if all of that wasn’t enough to handle…between the time I booked my multiple flights (with 3 airlines in order to accommodate for the multiple locations and length of timing of the trip from September to November) and the time I actually boarded planes to embark on the trip…I had numerous (way too many to count) flight changes and cancellations that I had to deal with and maneuver through from each airline multiple times. The last time I had to deal with that kind of airline struggle was back in 2001 for my move to Scotland to do full time ministry in the inner city of Glasgow (which was already planned and booked to take place mid September 2001, and then 9-11 happened and rocked the entire world!…and so airlines were crisis scrambling trying to recover from that tragedy a week later when I flew out across the pond to start a new life in a different country!) …..So yeah…with this trip, I had so much to deal with even right up to just before I was to leave for it!
These are just a few dark highlights of what was prepping my trip. And I felt each one deeply.
BUT despite all of that, despite my own limitations and my own fears, despite what seemed like “all hell breaking loose” all around me and within me…we prevailed. God is good. And when He says GO, we can trust He has a plan and He goes with us…in fact, upside down Kingdom is that it’s the other way round…we GO with Him, so regardless of how dark it is…He is the Light in the darkness.
I was reminded of so many true stories in the Bible of people persevering through incredible trials in order to do the very thing God had called them to do. I was reminded of so many fictional stories of journeys taken through innumerable hardships in order to fulfill their quests. I was reminded or years of travels in my life (literally and figuratively) that I have already taken with unbelievable struggles that I have already overcome. And I was encouraged deep within my soul.…God is my Peace. In actuality, I wasn’t alone. I never am alone in life and on these trips. God is with me. And so many people who are praying are with me. Don’t be afraid. We are overcomers.
This trip was God’s. His idea. His timing. His way. And His choice to call on me up top Haleakalā to journey out upon the waters WITH Him through creative ministry to GO BEYOND and GO PAINT ON PEOPLE’S LIVES…GO LOVE PEOPLE with HIS LAVISH LOVE. So that’s what I persevered to do. They wanted me to go. I wanted to go. And more importantly, I knew He wanted me to go. I would choose to be obedient and would trust Him that it all would be okay to go (that he would take care of my loved ones at home and out there and all the plans and details along the way).
Before embarking on the trip I met with my Commissioning Group (a group of 12 pastors, ministers, mentors, life coaches, friends who are my prayer-accountability-encouragement support before, during, and after each trip). They have been with me on my journeys from the start. They are my life line in so many ways while I’m out there.
They spent time praying for me and this trip and they spoke from experience and wisdom from their own lives into my difficult circumstances. I was sharing about my fears and concerns of actually going on the trip and leaving my parents with so much struggle and pain here at home without my help. I didn’t know how I was going to do it…how was I going to fulfill what God was calling me to do (minister through art to other people in other places who were also grieving so much loss and in so much pain when I felt like a failure in my own life here)?
Dean (one the members of my Commissioning Group) calmly and very compassionately looked at me with tears in his eyes and said, “Lisa….what if something GOOD happens?” ……oh my goodness, yes…he shifted my perspective…and focused my eyes back on Jesus…yes…what if something good happens.
“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish it’s work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.”
-James 1:2-8
“You have not been given a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and self-control.”
-2 Timothy 1:7
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understandings, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.”
-Philippians 4: 6-9
TALK STORY
MĀUI: Home Away From Home
Throughout the years as I’ve traveled to and from the island of Māui I have always been blessed that no matter how much change takes place (in the world and in my own life) it has been and will always be “Home Away From Home” to me. You can read about those other travels from the Blog tab in the Menu on this site within the Short Trips and the Long Term Expeditions tabs.
It’s not really about the sandy beaches with mellodic waves rolling and crashing in or the tall palm trees swaying in the warm gentle breezes high above (though these are beautiful elements that I do love). It’s about the closeness of friends that have become family (Ohana) that I miss when I’m away, who welcome me back with open arms and hearts each time I return.
It’s about the every day life that happens beyond the tourist sheltered hotel resorts with idyllic beaches, picturesque landscapes and entertainment driven luau’s with hula and ukulele music. It’s just real life. An older “lived in” house that’s seen better days filled with numerous people ranging all various ages from children on up to grandparents. It’s part of the culture…the extension of Ohana. Blood family, distant family, friends who have become family. Each sharing life together (oftentimes living in the same house) that spans countless meals eaten and late night conversations filled with laughter and even tears, crayon masterpieces and stuffed animals, sticky fingers and dirty faces, Costco and Safeway shopping, loads of laundry and picking up toys, birthday and graduation celebrations, school papers and jobs worked, bills paid and that ever present question…what’s for dinner?
It may sound familiar to you (even beyond Māui) because it’s just normal life in a big family. For me (coming from a much smaller family-I’m an only child- that has moved a lot-my father was military (we even lived on Oʻahu for several years when I was a child and my dad was stationed at Pearl Harbor)…and then later as an adult I found it hard to settle down myself, growing up without a whole lot of “roots” put down, it wasn’t until later in my adult years that I chose a spot to call home in Idaho and my parents followed suit). But even with the years of stability of that home I found that I still have “itchy feet” and need to regularly travel the world experiencing new places and people. It’s in my bones and blood, and it’s in my calling.
Though I have lived with roommates and housemates in community before throughout my young adult years, it was a bit overwhelming to experience so many people living together in the same house on Māui (being a grafted in extension of the Waia’u Ohana led by pastors Kaleo and Shelley, living at 257 in Kahului) but with time it became comforting to my soul to belong and has become just as much a part of me and my culture as my own blood family (although I still need a dose of daily solitude when I can get it).
So yes, living in a land-locked state in the continental US and yet being a lover of water, I have missed the ocean all these years. But it’s the people in my Ohana that I’ve missed the most these past 4 years. Maybe I felt it more strongly because the world had shut down and I couldn’t travel safely. We tend to long for what we can’t have or do. As I patiently waited out the Covid years to be able to return to Māui I continued to cultivate our relationships through phone calls, Facetimes, texting, sending cards and letters and packages via the postal systems, and streaming Ke Aha’s church services on-line. You can read about how I was able to minister through art via long distance from the Blog tab in the Menu on this site within the Short Trips tab.
In planning this trip I gave myself several weeks at the beginning to be on Māui to reconnect and decompress from such a hard year before setting off for New Zealand to minister. And then I gave myself several weeks at the end upon my return from New Zealand to be on Māui to debrief New Zealand, minister to Ke Aha and personally fill up before returning to Idaho. This was Akamai (Wisdom).
TALK STORY
AOTEAROA: Coming Alongside My Mentors
Back in 2001-2002 I lived in Glasgow, Scotland and attended a ministry-church leadership-missions college. Not only did my time in Glasgow give me a deep love, that has never gone away, for my ancestral land of lochs and highlands, bagpipes and castles… but it also connected me with dear people from all over the world who have become friends for life and who have helped to bring life into my Art Ministry Travels. You can read about my time living in Scotland and my short trips back there here on this site within the blog tab.
My ministry college leaders (Kel and Sharon) were from New Zealand. Their daily examples of heartfelt compassion for people of all walks of life and their dig in-get involved dedicated service along with their resounding language of creativity became important influences on me and the developing art ministry that would eventually be birthed within me. They were full time missionaries and pastors whose travels have spanned over 20 years around the globe serving in countries like the Philippines, Scotland, and Lithuania.
Yes they were ministry mentors, but they also became good friends. Well after we had said our goodbyes from the gritty streets of the Scottish industrial city of Glasgow, they were the first people I contacted to come alongside through creativity when I was officially launching my art ministry travels. By then they were living in Lithuania and had started planting a church in Klaipėda. I would travel to the Baltic country of Lithuania twice throughout the years, bringing art and creative ministry to the people they were serving through the church and through an orphanage and a school. You can read about those travels from the Blog tab in the Menu on this site within the Short Trips tab.
Over the years they too traveled to the US a couple of times to visit various people they know throughout and have popped in to connect with me in Idaho each time.
So when I heard the call when I was up top Haleakalā in 2019 to go to New Zealand to minister through art, it made absolute sense that I would come alongside them once again. They had made the move back to their home city of Dunedin in their home country of New Zealand a couple of years earlier where they had begun to plant another church and were serving in various ways within their community. I quickly contacted them and they joined me in the excitement of the plan for me to come alongside them through creativity once again.
Little did we know at the time that we’d have to wait so long for the trip to take place. But thankfully while we waited out the Pandemic years I was still able to minister to them through art via email, text, phonecalls, Facetime, and sending cards, letters and packages through postal systems. You can read about how I was able to minister through art via long distance from the Blog tab in the Menu on this site within the Short Trips tab. This kept us connected until I’d be able to make a trip to them in person.
PART TWO
THE PART ABOUT THE ART MINISTRY STUFF
"Come and See, Follow Me" c. 2018 Lisa Marten
"Honi-Hongi: I see you-me" c. 2022 Lisa Marten
GOING BEYOND TO PAINT ON PEOPLE'S LIVES...
ART MINISTRY TO MAUI: Ke Aha Vineyard Church: Kahului, Māui Hawai’i
Partnering with God to hold safe space in the heart conversations, while I came alongside Ke Aha Vineyard once again through creativity, was such a humbling honor and memorable experience; especially after such a long wait and at such a pivotal timing (post Global Pandemic, post Māui Fires, and during a venue transition).
PAINTING LIVE
Before the trip (like about 6 months before) God had given me some images to paint live during worship while I was with them on Māui. Each painting spoke the message that God was with them in very close ways on the hard and tiring journey that they found themselves on.
TALK STORY:
If you recall from Part One, I hadn’t painted an original painting in 6 months due to being super focused with helping my dad with caregiving for my mom. And it had actually been over 2 years since I had painted live at all (summer of 2021 I painted live at a solo art show I was featured at and then I also painted for a live music gig featuring a local musician friend). And it had been over 4 years since I had painted live within a church setting (which was back when I was painting live at Ke Aha Vineyard in 2018-2019 before I had moved back to Idaho).
Needless to say, being back on Maui, after 4 years being gone, with the task of painting live brought up all kinds of emotions for me. Ke Aha was looking forward to me painting live for worship once again (they had missed my presence with them and the paintings that would come to life while we worshipped together). Though there wasn’t any real pressure or expectation from them of if-when I would paint on this trip, I recognized that painting live was important and I wanted to paint live. I missed being able to paint, there is a special connection I have with God in the creative conversation that takes place as I paint during worship and I missed that intimacy, and I missed being able to paint live while worshipping with Ke Aha.
But I was also quite nervous to face the canvas once again. Would I be able to do it well? It had been so long since I had painted I barely recognized myself (like I had lost a part of myself somewhere and I didn’t know where I was) and I questioned my capabilities. I knew that in order to deal with my fears, I needed to paint the first Sunday I was there or I might never paint live again (that’s how scared I was). Thankfully I can be open and honest with the leadership of Ke Aha. I humbled myself to them and confessed my apprehensions of painting and asked for prayer. They didn’t realize how the stresses of life had affected my painting abilities and my self confidence. They gladly gathered around me and prayed. I appreciated their support at a time when I really didn’t know what to do but felt compelled to step out in faith and obedience as a sacrifice to God. And God honored that. He had some comforting and encouraging words for me through their prayers.
So with courage I faced my fears and I joined the worship band on stage. As I stood in front of my canvas and the music began, I reached for my brush and I took a deep breath and whispered to God, “okay God, we can do this, you and me, let’s talk” and I dipped the brush in the paint and brushed it onto the canvas. It was almost immediate. As the song moved forward and voices sung out pouring love out to God, my paintbrush danced, the conversation opened up, and my “creative muscle memory” kicked in. Through tears I whispered, “oh…here I am. Thank you Jesus. you found me.” And we danced on the canvas together once again.
That first painting that first Sunday back on Māui at Ke Aha was of a cascading waterfall beckoning them upwards above their hard circumstances. It was for them…but it was also for me, calling me to trust God as I moved forward with Him.
The second time I painted (once I had returned from my trip to New Zealand) I created an image of a river inviting them to reflect on life from right where they were at. This was the painting image that I had tried to paint during the summer back in Idaho in my studio that I ended up throwing away because I was so frustrated not being able to paint. Once I was back on Māui I knew that I was try once again to paint it, this time for Ke Aha. God had plans beyond my own understanding. The timing and place of birthing the image was meant for Māui, was meant for Ke Aha, was meant for a transition and shifting moment, was meant for me too. The painting was called “Look Around” and was from the vantage point of traversing from rock to rock in the middle of a river when you look around at the rocks you can see, at the rocks thar are under the water, at the rocks you’ve already stepped on, at the rocks you think you will step on, at the rock you are currently on…each rock, each step making your way across…taking in the view of what was, what is, and what will be. The painting needed to be painted exactly when it was painted…it was for me too.
The third painting I did live was (once Ke Aha had moved into the new smaller venue) was of an active volcano calling them forward to follow God even through the difficult times. The billowing smoke represented God’s breath calling us forward (like the pillars of smoke and fire in the Bible that God was in letting the Hebrew people know He was with them and where to follow Him. The gold lava represented Jesus’ blood for us and also Holy Spirit’s promptings to follow Him where He calls us.
SPEAKING
I was given the opportunity to speak the message at Ke Aha one of the Sundays I was there. They had me speak about grief and trauma and God’s love for us and gentle presence with us when we are hurting. I utilized a couple of paintings I had created back in Idaho, along with a visual aid that I had made of a ball of tape to illustrate my message.
This would also be a message I would speak while in New Zealand.
TALK STORY:
What’s really interesting is that I had actually prepared this message first to be spoken in New Zealand with Mercy Vineyard. It’s a new creative message I was in process of developing based off of a sermon I had heard by Pastor Tim Sheets where he talked about cumulative grief being like a ball of tape that attaches itself to our emotions and memories and can be difficult to shake off. When I had heard his sermon I was so moved by the visual in my mind of grief being like a ball of tape that I created a painting of a tape ball. When I had mentioned it to my friends in New Zealand they were very interested in allowing me time to share with people about grief and possibly using the imagery of the tape ball.
Some of the people they walk alongside have experienced deep grief from difficult circumstances in their personal lives and the thought of being able to address loss through art and creativity could be therapeutic. We had discussed the importance of also speaking about recognizing how God is very present with us and desires to help us in our grief and recovery from traumatic things in our lives. So for part of my prep for the trip I took a few months developing this new concept with imagery and illustrations (I was careful with what I was developing to not copy Tim Sheets sermon, I was working from my own work but giving him credit for the original connection of a tape ball with grief). I even made a few actual balls out of different kinds of colorful tape (visual aids to interactively stick together…representing when our tape balls conflict with other people’s tape balls and how we can cause harm to ourselves and others by reacting out of our pain- if we aren’t actively taking our tape balls to Jesus and sometimes if we need to also to counselors and trusted help- to work through our grief and trauma, we can get stuck).
I also worked on gathering Scriptures to speak into and encourage, along with developing a Christian meditation/prayer to share with everyone (inspired by meditations written by author John Eldridge...again, using my own work but giving him credit for the concept) while I planned for people to create art expressing their emotions and conversation with God.
Then a month before I was to embark on my travels everything shifted for Māui with the August 8th wildfires that swept across the island fueled by the high winds of Hurricane Dora. The hugely tragic destruction of the historic city of Old Town Lahaina with the countless loss of homes and businesses and lives and the displacement of so many people stretching across Māui, it was then that I was asked if I could also take some time while I was on Māui to speak to Ke Aha Vineyard about grief and trauma through art somehow. I shared about my creative tape ball message that I would be giving to Mercy Vineyard in New Zealand and it was agreed that I could share it also with Ke Aha Vineyard in Māui. The fires were just one event of grief and trauma that had cumulated for people. Many of them were already experiencing grief and loss in their personal lives on many different levels before the fires happened.
This was the first time I was getting to share a new creative message that I had just developed and would be speaking and implementing it through art in 2 very different places on the same trip. I was definitely nervous.
Even after having given the message a couple of times now I still feel like it needs more development, but I am thankful for both opportunities to share through a very visual and creative way about how grief and trauma affects us throughout our lives and into our relationships and how much God wants us to let Him be a part of our journey through our pain (Psalm 23, Isaiah 61). Ke Aha has chosen to keep a print of my Tape Ball painting, alongside a print of my “Perspective” painting that they’ve been using as a visual aid the past 2 years for the church illustrating the importance of listening to each other’s different perspectives (the image is of 2 chairs back to back representing we can never actually know someone elses perspective-life experiences and they can never actually know ours, but we can sit down next to each other and we can ask them to tell us their story and we can listen and learn…and visa versa). They display them both every Sunday to remind people of God’s heart for us. Sidenote: I also did the Easter message for Mercy Vineyard in New Zealand earlier this year using my “Perspective” painting via FaceTime video.
“kuana’ike (Perspective)” c. 2021 Lisa Marten
“tape ball (cumulative grief-trauma)” c. 2023 Lisa Marten
“ho’opiha (to cause to fill, to fill full, until runs over)” c. 2021 Lisa Marten
COLLABORATIVE PAINTING
I also got the chance to facilitate a collaborative painting time for Ke Aha one of the Sundays. I had pre-designed canvas for them to paint together based off of an original painting of my own that I had painted years ago in Idaho.
This would also be an art activity I would facilitate a couple of times in New Zealand.
TALK STORY:
I have always enjoyed implementing collaborative painting activities on my trips. For 13 years I’ve been facilitating these kinds of paint-together-on-the-same-canvas events with all various size groups and in all various kinds of settings near and far (either joined by other artists to facilitate or facilitating on my own). It is incredibly fun getting people together (especially if they have had little to no painting experience) to paint together on the same canvas to create either a pre-designed image or an image that sponteously develops while they paint.
When I had lived on Māui and was the Artist in Residence for Ke Aha Vineyard, I was able to facilitate several collaborative painting times (including one large painting during a Sunday service). So it was really cool to be able to implement a painting event once again (and during a Sunday service), this time within a new venue for them that they began meeting in while I was with them.
I had pre-designed 2 canvases based on my painting “Collaboration Convergence” that I had painted years before back in Idaho. Because of limited space within the facility, I designed a canvas for the adults to paint on and a smaller canvas for the children to paint on. The painting imagery was about people helping out to pour water from a jug into a glass for someone who was unable to pour it themselves as an example of collaborating through service. I modeled it after a photo I had taken when this very thing had happened for me in a coffee shop years ago. I wanted a drink of water but due to the small amount left in the jug I needed to tip it in order to get the water to feed through the spout. I was unable to tip the jug, hold my glass, and maneuver the spout all on my own. Thankfully some people in the cafe saw me struggling and came to my rescue. They tipped the jug for me and helped to pour the water so I could get a drink. I quickly took a photo of us collaborating and my painting came from that photo and actual moment.
This message of collaborating in service was quite timely for Ke Aha especially post Māui fires. They got involved on numerous levels helping those who have been displaced from their homes and businesses. One way was by helping those who needed clothing, food, toiletries, places to live, etc. They collected a huge amount of items on behalf of others (near and far) and then took the goods to the designated community distribution hubs for the people on Māui in need. Another way was having been emergency refuge for visitors to the island who had been injured in the fires and needed sanctuary until they could be transported back to their places of origin. These are just some ways that the people within Ke Aha have reached out to help their fellow islanders in need. As time moves on and Māui continues the long and complicated recovery process, Ke Aha will continue to be open to helping out their fellow neighbors however and whenever they can. The facilitation of the collaborative paintings was a way of reminding everyone how beautiful life is even in the hard moments. Sometimes we are the helpers and sometimes we are the ones in need of help.
PAINTING POSTCARDS AND PRINTS AND EVEN FINANCES
I had also brought along with me stacks of postcards made from many of my original paintings and also a few select prints. This gave me the opportunity to give people a creative word or message through by the giving of my own original paintings (in the form of a print) that I had been creating all these years back home in Idaho in my art studio as I waited out the pandemic to travel. I want to thank the good people of the local Boise, Idaho printing business, Evermore Prints. They have been my professional printers for years. They do such an amazing job of scanning my original paintings to archive digitally and printing them in all varous formats and fashions as I order them. I’m so grateful for this option. It allows me to earn additional income from my art through prints than just my original painting sales. It also gives me the freedom to easily and conveniently take postcards and prints with me as I travel around the world so I can give them away as gifts to people whom God prompts me to bless. So I want to thank Jake and Moriah and the staff of Evermore Prints for being a part of the creative conversation with me.
I have always loved how creative God can be when it comes to how He chooses to have the conversations with people that He is wanting to have. He is so detailed and so creative. One of the ways I’ve been able to be a part of those conversations has been by giving away postcards made from many of my paintings. I will spend time in prayer ahead of time and ask God if there is someone He is wanting me to connect with, if there is a specific painting postcard image (or there might be a larger print He has had me bring along) that He is wanting to speak from to that person, what that message might be for that person, and when exactly He is wanting me to give them the postcard or print and the message that goes with it. The ways He speaks through art can be so multi-faceted.
God also had me plan ahead of time to bring a certain specific amount of money (some from my own finances, some from financial donations people had generously given to me for the purpose of blessing others). I want to take this moment to thank all those who donated to my art travels (and specifically to this trip). Thank you for being an important part of the creative conversation with me. It was so fun to get to be the “in between”, “the messenger”, “the pour over coffee filter” of helping others in need…to be part of the conversation that God was having with people’s deep cries and prayers.
TALK STORY:
Every Art Ministry Travel I’ve taken has had it’s “Treasure Hunts” with God that I’ve been able to be a part of and it makes it so fun to love people in these creative ways with God. This trip did not disappoint in that area! I was constantly listening in on God’s conversations with people (listening for moments when He might want me to enter into the conversations with something to share or give). And you know, the more you stay open to listening in on the conversations and paying attention to Holy Spirit’s promptings, the more you actually get to be utilized in such fun ways within the love encounters God has for specific people (as long as you humbly recognize that you are only the messenger…it is God who is doing the loving, and it is God who gets the glory). There were several opportunities when I was able to watch how God was encouraging and answering hearts cries from the people he had placed within my path, and through such creative expressions.
I want to honor those whom I was connecting with on a personal level and so I won’t go into detail about someone’s story out of confidentiality…but to talk story here: There was a specific person on Māui that I was able to have a long running continued conversation with that was clearly prompted by God with timing and message. Our conversation ebbed and flowed throughout the time I was there. I was prompted by Holy Spirit to give the person some specific painting postcards that spoke into their circumstances in such unique and creative ways encouraging them within decision making and trusting God and giving them hope for their future. And (through the clear prompting of Holy Spirit) I was able to surprise them by gifting them a specific amount of money (an exact amount that I had been given by others before I had left Idaho that -without me knowing-met a very specific need for this person).
The giving of this money at the timing it was given spoke volumes of love from God to the person (lavish love) and as I stepped back to watch it unfold I was in awe of God. The person needed to know God was caring for them in the details (through a very difficult and lonely season they were experiecing). It was like a fun treasure hunt with God as it unfolded…and the treasure was this persons heart. I love how God loves…He loves us lavishly. And His promptings of love are constant, we just have to be listening intentionally and be open to them.
What blows me away even more…it’s not just about me having some money to give someone in need on Māui…it goes all the way back to before the trip…4 different people gave me money to give in this kind of way. I had no idea how I would be giving, to whom (one person, many people) or when. It was revealed in detail once I was on the trip and practically in the moment! Like literally it was like I heard God say to me that morning…“Lisa, it’s now, it’s today, put that money, yes, that amount, in your pocket, be ready. Wait for it, I’ve got a treat in store. Listen, watch, and be ready.” and then I set out for the day…It’s moments like that where I truly get to see that these trips are never about the art and they are never about me. It’s always about God’s love for people’s hearts. I enjoy that He uses such creative ways (and sometimes He uses creativity and art)…but it’s always speaking His love.
ART MINISTRY TO AOTEAROA: Mercy Vineyard Church: Dunedin, South Island New Zealand
Partnering with God to hold safe space in the heart conversations, while I finally was able to come alongside Mercy Vineyard in person through creativity after such a long wait, was such a humbling honor and memorable experience; especially at such a pivotal timing (post Global Pandemic).
SUNDAY MORNINGS WITH MERCY VINEYARD
During my time in Dunedin I was given the opportunity both Sundays to give the Sunday messages at Mercy Vineyard by leading us in some themed art activities.
The first Sunday we focused on listening to God for each other and for others through creativity. This was through what I like to call Personal Prayer Art. It’s implemented by taking the time to pray and ask God for any kind of images, paintings, words, Scriptures, songs, etc. that could speak encouragement to others. Usually I have people pair up and spend some time praying-listening to Holy Spirit’s promptings for each other and then spend the time creating and sharing those promptings with each other and then spend the time praying for each other. I’ve been facilitating these kind of creative prayer moments for people about the same length of time I’ve been faciliatating collaborative painting moments.
I utilized a painting of my own that I had done years before in Idaho that would illustrate for us being intentional in our listening. It’s of two people sharing a cup of coffee together in conversation across from each other at a table.
I’ll share a specific story from this time below in my Talk Story section
The second Sunday we focused on the hard subject of cumulative grief and trauma in our lives and the importance of understanding that God is very present with us in even the hardest of times through my “Tape Ball” painting and message that I just shared about here in this post up in the Māui section under Speaking. While I spoke with Mercy Vineyard about grief I had them create art (through whatever mediums they wanted to choose…paints, colored pencils, crayons, clay, etc.) that would express their grieving feelings to God within their circumstances that were difficult and then as we prayed and read out Psalms and Scriptures focusing on God’s presence with us, I had them do some more art (coming from their prayer conversations with God) that spoke into their grieving feelings with hope and healing.
I utilized a couple of original paintings of mine that I had created in Idaho to help illustrate what I was sharing with them. I would also share this message with Ke Aha Vineyard on Māui.
“kuana’ike (Perspective)” c. 2021 Lisa Marten
“tape ball (cumulative grief-trauma)” c. 2023 Lisa Marten
“ho’opiha (to cause to fill, to fill full, until runs over)” c. 2021 Lisa Marten
TALK STORY:
I want to share a little more in depth about my first Sunday with Mercy Vineyard when I was facilitating the Personal Prayer Art with them. It was an incredibly fun time of getting to listen to God for them (and speak some encouraging messages to them) and also getting to watch as they listened to God for each other through creativity and for others that had no idea they were being loved on from afar. What am I talking about?
Okay so to give a little back story…my trip to New Zealand sat in the middle of my trip to Māui (in other words, I had traveled to Maui first, then I traveled to New Zealand in the middle, then I traveled back to Māui to finish up there). Before I had left Māui to head to New Zealand the Sunday before I left, Ke Aha Vineyard spent time praying for me and for Mercy Vineyard and others whom I’d be ministering to. While they were praying, many of the members of Ke Aha had some encouraging words and pictures that they prayed and spoke over me. I made sure to write things down and took them with me in my journal as I flew to Dunedin.
Okay so the first Sunday I was with Mercy Vineyard I was to faciltate the time of the service that would normally be for the message or sermon. As I explained above, my plan was to lead them in a creative art exercise of listening to God’s heart for each other (and through the art they would create they would encourage each other with God’s love). I was to have them pair up and pray, asking God if there was any kind of word, a picture they could draw or paint, Scripture that might come to mind, anything (even if it seemed crazy or odd, because sometimes God does speak through things-ways that aren’t conventional) that would speak something specific to the other person (as a loving encouragement from God). It would be a time of stepping out in faith and trusting that they could listen and hear God’s heart for someone else and they could even implement that message through fun and creative ways like drawing or painting (utilizing whatever mediums they chose…paints, colored pencils, crayons, clay, etc.)
So that morning as we met together we began our time by singing worship songs to God. It was a beautiful time and a “pinch me” moment as I soaked up the wonderful reality that I was finally physically in New Zealand getting to minister to Mercy Vineyard in person like I had been shown all those years before up top Haleakalā on Māui. And in the middle of our singing I heard a prompting from God. I was to model exactly what I wanted them to do for each other by doing it for each of them. I was to use some of my painting postcards, that I had brought along with me in my journal, and the messages would be some of the words given-prayed by the members of Ke Aha Vineyard on Māui! So the moment we finished singing, and my friends Kel and Sharon who are the pastors of Mercy Vineyard introduced me so I could begin my facilitation of the prayer art time, I quickly excused myself to run and get the painting postcards and my journal that had the written prayers and words from Ke Aha. God was being unconventional!
I then proceeded to explain to them what was happening…that I had been listening to God’s heart for them while we were worshipping and He immediately intstructed me on how and what He wanted to say to them. So I was able to pick out specific painting postcard images and match them with specific words given and speak-give them out to the specific people who were there that morning. It was SO FUN! And as I was showing an image and speaking a message looking into the person’s eyes…they were humbly taking it all in. I then would ask them if what was being shared was at all resonating for them. I then prayed for each of them…because the messages I was giving to them through the postcards didn’t stop there…it wasn’t about me. God was going to continue to have conversations with each of them and I needed to let go and step away from my assignment.
Okay so here’s the cool thing…it’s not that I gave the words and messages, it’s not even that I was using my own painting images (which had been painted years before back in Idaho!) to convey those messages…it’s that God chose to also include the people of Ke Aha Vineyard on Māui to pray those messages that would be connected to the postcards and to the people! And no one knew each other! No one had met! No one knew names or anything about anyone! God was loving the people of Mercy Vineyard lavishly and chose to do it in such an unconventional way through such incredibly creative means!
And this story doesn’t end there!
I did have them pair up and do the very same for each other. I had them create original artwork of their own and with the words coming from what they were hearing from God and drawing and painting.
And this story doesn’t end there!
Kel loved what was happening and he asked us all to spend time doing a similar thing for a team of people, from a church on North Island in New Zealand, who would be traveling to the country of Nepal to do ministry. He asked if we could do it through using more of my painting cards that I had brought. So we used painting postcards and spent time praying and asking God together for words for each team member (no one knew any of the team members personally, we just had their first names). We spoke out what God was sharing with us for the people…the messages were written down…and afterwards Kel sent the postcards with their prayer messages to the team leader to take with them on their trip. He instructed the leader to pass out the cards and messages to the team members as they were traveling on their way to Nepal! HOW COOL to get to be a part of the creative conversation God was having with so many people around the world! To stop and think about that is mind blowing!
And this story doesn’t end there!
Mercy Vineyard also spent time doing a similar thing, but creating with their own artwork, for the people of Ke Aha Vineyard on Māui (they gave them to me to take back with me to have them read to Ke Aha once I was back there)! How fun for Ke Aha Vineyard to receive prayer messages and pictures from God via Mercy Vineyard!
This Talk Story also fits under the subject of my “Painting Postcards And Prints And Even Finances” section!
Take a moment and think about the ripple effect of creative collaboration in the God conversations! God is so unconventional and loves so creatively and lavishly! He will do whatever it takes and use whomever He chooses. God is so cool!
SUNDAY AFTERNOONS COLLABORATIVE PAINTING
During both Sundays I was able to facilitate collaborative painting gatherings for people that Kel and Sharon knew and were coming alongside through service and ministry opportunities.
One was held at the house where Mercy Vineyard meets. They called it a House Gig and invited people they knew from around the community to come and join us. What I loved was that it ended up being quite a culturally diverse gathering. There were people from many countries who joined us to paint and hang out. For the House Gig collaborative art I pre-designed a canvas based off my original painting called, “Collaboration Convergence” which is about collaborating through service. This was the same painting design I used with Ke Aha on Māui.
And the other collaborative painting gathering was held at community center in the city where a community service group called Stepping Stones meets "promoting mental and social well being and resilience". For the Stepping Stones collaborative painting I pre-designed a canvas based off of my original painting called, “Reach” which is about diversity and acceptance.
"Collaboration Convergence" c. 2016 Lisa Marten
"Reach" c. 2016 Lisa Marten
TALK STORY:
As I shared earlier, I love getting to facilitate collaborative painting moments with people. There is something so fun about watching people (of all ages, genders, skill levels) start out as individuals apprehensively thinking they’ll just fill in a little spot on the design to fulfill the task and somewhere within the time together there is a shift and those individuals become a community that begins working side by side with purpose to create something beautiful and cool together that has continuity and coherence. It’s like a kind of dance or like jazz music where individual voices are allowed to shine through but overall there is a unified rhthym that moves the piece forward. And when the painting is completed they step back and are able to see what they accomplished together. And typically they’re amazed and find a sense of pride in what they were able to be a part of…together. This is collaboration. I love getting to create a safe space for this kind of collaboration to take place.
One such fun thing happened when I was facilitating with Stepping Stones on my last Sunday in New Zealand. My time with Stepping Stones is one of my favorite memories from this trip.
There was quite a large group present and the canvas I had pre-designed wasn’t big enough to fit everyone around it at the same time, so people had to take turns painting on the canvas. I was told that even with the normal apprehension that would take place for people, there were a couple of individuals who typically wouldn’t participate in group activities due to being super introverted, so I was to expect that some wouldn’t be open to participate.
Before we started I gathered everyone together and I shared with them about what we would be doing. I chose to speak to them from who I am…someone who sometimes struggles with anxiety, someone who sometimes struggles with things that are unfamiliar and finds it hard sometimes to do things others may find easy, someone who sometimes struggles with feelings that she will let everyone down if she doesn’t get it right, someone who has had to overcome a lot in her life…having been born disabled with clubbed feet and being undiagnosed on the autistic spectrum, someone who has oftentimes felt like an outsider…different and awkward. This is why I love God so much…because God loves me so much…just as I am…for who I am.
I let them know that there was a lot of understanding coming from me…that no matter how they experienced the world, I hoped that for the day, for our time together, we could create a safe space for each other and that the collaborative painting would be our way of expressing acceptance to each other side by side on one canvas together.
Later I was told that the individuals that normally don’t participate in group activities were some of the ones that chose to get involved almost from the start and spent a great deal of time painting. I was told that one man had been having a real hard day but it was that man that came up and painted several times, talking to me quite friendly and wanted to be involved. And I experienced one lady who was having such fun painting and interacting with people and didn’t want to quit until the whole painting was finished. She was able to get people who wouldn’t normally participate to paint with her side by side. I liked her. There were moments we were all laughing because it was a fun time together. My time with Stepping Stones will forever be one of my favorite moments of my travels.
PAINTING POSTCARDS AND PRINTS AND EVEN FINANCES
I had also brought along with me stacks of postcards made from many of my original paintings and also a few select prints. This gave me the opportunity to give people a creative word or message through my own original art that I had been creating all these years back home in Idaho in my art studio as I waited out the pandemic to travel. God also had me plan ahead of time to bring a certain specific amount of money in New Zealand dollars (some from my own finances, some from financial donations people had given me to bless others on the trip) that I was to set aside to give away to Mercy Vineyard and to people (whom He prompted me to give to) as a blessing (and answer to specific needs or prayers).
TALK STORY:
While in Dunedin I had the honor of getting to connect up and meet with some individuals for one on one conversations. The purpose was to not only meet people that my Kel and Sharon were personally connecting with and building relationship with, but to also encourage those people through conversation and creativity. Preparing for these moments I spent time in prayer asking God if there were any specific painting postcards that I had brought along that He would want me to give these individuals, and what encouraging messages He might want me to share with them.
There was one day in particular where I had the opportunity to visit 2 women in one day (each separately). They each were people whom Sharon was connecting with weekly. One was a young teenager who was navigating the beginning stages of her life and relationship with God and one was an older woman, a poet who was finding herself maneuvering a more mature season of life and relationship with God. Each woman seemed to be looking for something. Guidance. Direction. Answers. They were encouraged by the chance to meet me and have creative conversations. Each woman had so much to offer their worlds. Friendship. Compassion. Who they are. I brought my painting postcards to each encounter and continued listening to Holy Spirit for the words to share.
I want to honor both women and their specific circumstances and stories so I won’t share details of our conversations due to confidentiality, but I can share that God was doing some really cool things in the brief moments that we got to meet together. The painting postcards He had me pick out to give each one were images that seemed to really resonate with them. The encouraging messages that I got to share with each of them seemed to connect deeply for them as they shared back with me. And my time with them seemed to encourage me also, as I found myself learning such beautiful and deep things about life and God from both a younger than me woman and an older than me woman…all in one day!
PART THREE
THE PART ABOUT TATAU POUNAMU
“greenstone door”
(a precious gift of enduring peace, making peace, peacemaking)
restoration of peace
Pounamu:
Pounamu is the Māori word for greenstone or another word for it is jade. As North Island, New Zealand (Aotearoa) is called Te Ika-a-Māui (Māui’s Fish Hook). notice the Polynesian story connection with Māui, Hawai’i , South Island, New Zealand (Aotearoa) is called Te Waka-a-Māui (Māuiʻs Canoe) and itʻs also called Te Waipounamu (Waters of Greenstone). There is an abundance of jade on South Island. And Pounamu in Māori culture is meant to be given, not taken.
While on Te Waipounamu I was able to purchase some authentic Aotearoa pounamu cut by Māori artisans, along with uncut pounamu that had been given to me (the finances to purchase had been given to me before I embarked on the trip for the sole purpose of gift giving) and I was able to bring back pounamu to gift to my Māui Ohana and to those in Idaho who have helped to support my travels. I specifically was able to give Uncle Kaleo a pounamu toki which is often worn by chiefs, warriors, and elders. I gave this to honor him and his position in our Ohana and as Pastor. This was yet another example of how God loves lavishly and spoke words of encouragement through creative and symbolic gift giving.
TALK STORY:
New Zealand: Walking
Before I began my travels in September, it was told to me by Chad, one of my Commissioning Group (who had twice walked the pilgrimage Camino de Santiago in Spain-Portugal) that I should try and do a lot of walking while I was on my trip. He said it would be a wonderful way to not only see the places I would be at, but that there was something grounding (earthy and yet also spiritual) about having your feet actively walk, taking the world through all the senses of your body. What’s interesting is that I ended up walking a great deal (almonst daily) in both Māui and Aotearoa. I’m reminded of my days living in the inner cities of Glasgow, Scotland and also Seattle, Washington when walking was a favorite way of experiencing daily life in the city. I was glad to get to experience Dunedin, New Zealand in this way too.
The thing about walking though…I was born with severe clubbed feet. Both my feet and legs were so twisted inward and my hips slightly deformed, the doctors didn’t think I’d ever walk. I was fortunate to have been born in the late 60’s shortly after a new non-surgical method for clubbed feet was being implemented in the US. It was called the Ponsetti Method. And at the time, my father was a medical corpsman in the Navy, so we had access to good medical opportunities. I was in corrective casts from birth that moved my bones into positions to help them grow properly and then later had corrective shoes with the arches on the outside and bar braces across the soles to wear as a toddler learning to walk. I had to swing my legs and hips in order to scoot around. Eventually and with a lot of physical therapy and parents who cheered me on with every step, I did learn to walk and run like most children, but not without a lot of struggle and my own limitations. I suffered great pain as my legs grew and I was never good at sports or running fast. As a child this would often be the cause of not being chosen for certain games at recess or for not doing well in Physical Education sports. I had always wanted to dance. The doctors told me I wouldn’t be able to handle dancing. And the doctors told me that I would most likely experience difficulties with my legs and hips in my older age.
Being honest here, as I grew up and became an adult when it came to anything about my legs, I quickly set aside anything that made me look different than others to reduce being ridiculed or rejected. So I didn’t choose sports or other kinds of physical activities that required running to participate in. I never liked the look of my legs. Deep down inside I struggled with self esteem because of what I had endured with my legs and feet.
The doctors were right in that my legs and feet aren’t able to handle the kind of endurance that is needed for dancing like in ballet or tap or ballroom…but even still, I have always loved to dance (especially to rock songs). Eventually I did become a dancer but in a different kind of genre (I co-founded an Art Performance company called Marten Evergreen that combined choreographed interpretive dance, live painting, drama, and music and we performed avant-garde pieces live at art events).
I have found movement for my body to be very therapeutic for my body and my mind. So this is why I love to walk and I love to dance. And yes, the doctors were right in that the older I am getting I do experience more pain in my hips, legs and feet (much like I did when I was a child). If I’m inactive they hurt. And if I’m active they hurt. Bed time can often be difficult as my legs and feet struggle and will ache and throb with whatever I have put them through within the day. And mornings can be hard too as my body needs to start moving after being inactive for so long. These days I do yoga daily to stretch and calm my body and I get regular massages to help my muscles relax.
Despite any limitations I struggle with…truth is…a miracle has taken place. I can walk. I can run. I can dance. I can jump. I was blessed to be born in a time period in a country and in a family that could offer correction to my legs and feet. If it had been a different place or a different time or a different family…my story might be very different.
So, back to talking story about walking…
Being my first time on South Island, my friends in New Zealand were wonderful about making sure I got to experience their daily life as ministers within their own city of Dunedin (which I highlighted in the PART TWO of this post and did require me to often walk within their neighborhood to people’s houses or to shops or to bus stops and walk within the city to events and shops).
They also made sure I got to experience various cultural events taking place in their area (like poetry readings and peace ralleys in the Octagon, art museums and street murals, visits to authentic Māori marae’s (meeting houses) and stock car races out at the racetrack…I even got to sit in one of the race cars!), and I got to watch the Rugby World Cup Finals (with the New Zealand All Blacks in it) on TV and I was there during the time of their National Elections for Prime Minister. They also took me to some really unique and beautiful sites that their region has to offer (like the breathtaking coastal views of the Catlins where I got to stand at the southern most tip of South Island, got to see giant albatross birds flying, and even waded my feet into the icey cold surf of the Pacific Ocean). I have lots of fun memories and photos commemorating my time in Aotearoa on this trip. I’m so very thankful for the time I had there with my friends. Experiencing a mentorship and friendship that has spanned over 20 years and has been lived out through time connecting together and ministering side by side in 5 different countries, makes each face to face in person connection that much more special.
Yep, I walked A LOT while I was on my trip. This was a good thing. But it was also a challenge at times (remember what I just shared with you earlier in this section about how my hips, legs and feet do still struggle with pain).
There was a day towards the end of my trip to New Zealand that my friends took me to (according to the Guinness Book of World Records) the “Steepest Street in the World” (Baldwin Street located in Dunedin, New Zealand) to experience the joy of walking all the way up and all the way down. The top section of Baldwin Street is 529 ft long and climbs 155 ft with a slope of 19º or 35% in that short distance. Needless to say, my calves were burning as the slope got steeper and steeper on the way up and my legs were struggling in pain. But I didn’t give up. I kept that smile on my face and I kept my eyes fixed forward to the top. Not only was I walking up that hill for myself…I was walking up that hill for my wee mom (who was back home in Idaho enduring her own heartbreaking story of legs and knees in pain that were no longer working properly, bound to a wheelchair and bravely trying to overcome incredible odds to walk again). My challenge was her challenge.
I felt like I was in slow motion walking upwards as my body had to lean forward closer and closer to the pavement in order to counter balance and not fall backwards. I don’t remember how long it took me to walk the distance up to the summit of the street, but during my last steps I noticed a Tūī bird following me. It was the first time I had seen one my whole trip. Tūī birds are native to New Zealand and in Māori culture they are believed to be messengers from God speaking confidence and life fulfillment. Climbing up and then back down that steep street (and the pictures that have come from that memorable moment, bringing their own interpretations of symbolic meaning) has become an encouraging word for me from God that continues to speak deeply within.
It was also during my last days ministering in New Zealand that my friends took some intentional time to minister to me. I appreciated the heartfelt gesture, recognizing that we all had been going through hard seasons (even me who was in the midst of great heartache but still being obedient and sacrificing a lot to travel and purposely love on others in God’s creative conversations beyond my own small world in Idaho). While they prayed for me that day of diligently walking up that steep street was brought to my attention. My friend had taken a photo of me at the half way point. It showed me leaning forward in order to stand straight on the angled road. He titled this “Lisa with Lisa”…a visual of what it feels like when I’m trying to do life by just existing in my own understanding out of my own lack. My friend then took the photo and altered it…making the road flat instead of angled, which made me look like I was just having fun hanging out and the house behind me was crazy angled. He titled this one “Lisa with God”…a visual of what it would be like trusting God and letting him level all the hard things, it didn’t matter how crazy life got, it showed that when I let God lead me, I am having fun…when I let myself lead me, I am struggling to even stand straight. This creative visual and word has helped me more than my friends will ever know.
I’m forever grateful for that day on Baldwin Street and it’s follow up of having God alter my reality. It has helped me to daily remember that I need to trust God with all that is concerning me. To let go of the struggle, the need to be in control, the anxiety and worry, the pain and the deep grief…that He will level the road for me, “His yoke is easy and His burden is light”…so when I feel the weight of the spirit of heaviness take over, I know what I’m doing…I’m straining to climb by myself…and God loves me and my loved ones so much, He wants me to do it with Him. This was speaking deep healing to me. Maybe that Tūī bird was a messenger from God letting me know Jesus is with me and I can let go.
TALK STORY:
Māui: Floating
It was after walking that steep street experience that I returned to Māui for the remainder of my trip, to continue my time there getting to hang out with and minister to my Ohana and Ke Aha Vineyard yet again. It gave me the time I needed to share stories from Aotearoa, giving the pounamu and the words and pictures from Mercy Vineyard and bringing God’s love back with me from “beyond”.
While I was back on Māui, my friends were wonderful about making sure I got to experience daily life within the Ohana at 257 (which can be filled with everyday family things like a cacophany of laughter and cries from young children who are continuously making messes as they play with their toys and color pictures and make crafts, many a deep or surface conversation about all kinds of topics with anyone willing to enter in while doing the endless housework and laundry, the task of weekly Costco grocery shopping for the house, numerous meals eaten buffet style due to so many to feed, long complicated birthday songs sung around crowded tables, numerous games of the dominoes game Mexican Train and Bananagrams and late night movie watching after the last child has fallen asleep). They were also wonderful about including me in with ministry to the people who are Ke Aha Vineyard church (which I highlighted much of in PART TWO of this post).
It was during this timing that I was able to connect in person with my friends who had lost their home and everything they owned in that tragic night of the Māui fires. They lived in Old Town Lahaina and have a horrific escape story (that includes being stuck in the traffic on Front Street and getting separated, driving through fire and smoke). They could’ve easily been part of the death statistics. I’m so thankful they are not. But they will be the first to tell you, the gratefulness of being alive also comes with a deep sorrow and grief of the trauma from that night. It’s complicated. Their story isn’t mine to tell, but I can share that my experience of driving past and through Lahaina (with my Ohana) on this trip and getting to see in person for myself some of the devastation and destruction from that infamous night…along with getting to see and hug in person my friends who lost their home but were spared their lives…I have no words. Just tears. I’m so thankful I was able to spend some time with them to listen and help in some of their aid, to minister to them and pray for them, to look into their eyes and express love. I hold that moment dear.
My Ohana made sure that I was able to have much needed moments of down time for myself to debrief and process, especially with the scale of ministry I was pouring out on Māui and in New Zealand and back home in Idaho. Some of that down time included getting to join in on daily walks around the neighborhood to stretch tired legs and get the body moving and talk story about the day. Some of that down time included deep conversations over meals with Uncle Kaleo, hearing his heart for his family and his people. Some of that down time included getting to play in the dirt in the side garden with Auntie Shelley, creating fictional stories as if on archeological digs. Some of that down time included more conversations over coffee than I can count (this was due to them knowing how much I love “coffee time” which to me is getting to spend quality time with loved ones through coffee and conversation…and due to me being there over my birthday, which made it a fun treat).
And some of that down time included getting to go to the beach to experience the sand, the surf, the sun, the sight and sound and smell of the ocean…a much needed deep soul healing beach day that was a gift from God.
I’m trying to be careful and sensitive with my inclusion of sharing this part of my trip, mainly because when I travel to Māui, Hawai’i it’s different for me. And I am compelled to share from my heart.
When I share with people that I’m going to Māui, I often get people saying to me things like…“Oh must be nice to be able to go to Hawai’i”….it leaves me conflicted in my heart and head because from the start of a conversation it feels awkward for me like I’m being misunderstood and I have to explain myself. .. I’m not going as a tourist, it's not a vacation. I’m going there to minister and serve through relationship and art, stay with friends (who are like family) and are from there, and I used to live there so it's also like home too. And how I get to go on trips like this takes a lot of faith. It marvels me every time and I love how lavishly He loves those whom He sends me to (as I’ve shared in PART TWO of this post).
In fact, when I lived on Māui, during the years before the pandemic, at 257 with my Ohana and ministered full time within Ke Aha, I just did normal life stuff like all the other locals do (kind of like what you probably do in the place that you live…you don’t normally go do all the things that visitors go and do until perhaps you get visitors and then you want to show them around where you live, right? or they ask to experience stuff, so you choose to go do stuff with them and oftentimes it’s not what you would normally do. Sometimes it ends up being really fun stuff making some really fun memories and you’re thankful for getting the chance to experience a new thing that was right there in your “backyard” the whole time (but normally you don’t do that stuff, you just live life). And sometimes you end up struggling with what you’re experiencing because the thing you’re doing might possibly be causing more harm to the indigenous peoples and the land or realize that the locals aren’t actually getting the jobs or the finances from what you’re doing or things have become so expensive due to the tourism that the cost of living for the locals is too high and they are losing their homes and jobs…and you want to do better.
This happens a lot in Hawai’i. It’s complicated. It’s such a huge tourist destination (if you do any research at all you’ll soon learn some of the darker things about what has been done to and taken from Hawai’i -look up the coup against Queen Lili'uokalani and the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom in 1893, with the support of the US government- that has been harmful to it’s people and it's land and what has happened and is currently happening to the people and land of Hawai’i......it's quite complicated)…and people forget that the local and native people are just trying to live and survive like other people are anywhere else in the world (yes, even in tropical touristy Hawai’i)…maybe perhaps it’s like that even where you live.…maybe you’re just trying to survive and want to be seen for who you are not seen for what you can offer.
I need to speak of this like this because this trip to Māui (on top of having actually lived there with a local Native Hawaiian family) has been so impactful for me. It was a heavy one. My heart hurts. There was always an underlying pain there (as I said, it’s complicated), but now especially after the August 8th fires that destroyed and shifted so much more for Māui…To quote Auntie Shelley, “There is a blanket of grief covering Māui”. She’s right. Everyone is grieving such huge loss.
I would dare say that phrase probably is a good description of a lot of how this year has felt for them…and for many of us on so many levels (near and far).
So as I share this next part about the beach, I don't want to be misunderstood.
The beaches in Hawai’i, the water…it belongs to the people of Hawai’i…getting to go to the beach, to swim, to surf, to be refreshed by it’s rhythms…it is a natural part of their lives, it’s part of who they are (mauka to makai). So going to the beach (or experiencing most of what Hawai'i has and is) really isn’t for us foreigners to “take”. Much like the Pounamu of Aotearoa, it can only be given. It’s a kama’aina (people of the land) thing (the Māori would say "tangata whenua")…it fills their mana (spirits, souls) with life. The Aloha Spirit of Hawai'i is given but it’s often been taken and exploited (something for you and I from other places to demand our time and place with when we need a break) which has caused a lot of harm in Hawai’i.
I’ve had an undeserved humbling honor of being grafted into an Ohana (a family) on Māui that is led by Pastor “Uncle” Kaleo Waia’u who is Kānaka ʻŌiwi (Native Hawaiian) and his ancestors come from Hawaiian royalty and he comes from a long line of Pastors. This place at the table that I’ve been graciously invited to was given (I didn’t take it), to sit at the table, to come alongside to talk story, to listen, to be asked to participate in the conversations (to give back into the Ohana, into the commuity)…this can only happen because of God’s grace. God loves to do things different, to knock down walls, throw open doors, to part the seas, to get rid of borders, to be inclusive instead of exclusive, to invite and include, because His Kingdom is upside down. Jesus is Aloha Spirit. Jesus is Love.
To quote Jesus:
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” -Matthew 5:3-12
I’ve taken the time to listen as Uncle Kaleo and others talk story speaking from their hearts about the deep things, the things that matter. I’m not in any way saying I know these things, there’s still so much more for me to learn and understand…(this isn’t my story, it’s their story…and yet my heart desires for their story to be known).
To quote an anonymous something that I read to open up the Reflect Art Conference in Boise, Idaho in 2018:
“Blessed are the weird people, the poets and misfits, the artists, the writers and music makers, the dreamers and the outsiders. For they force us to see the world differently.” Maybe some of this post, this part, is me trying to “see” differently for myself and for anyone who wlll listen…I’m trying to give a different perspective. I invite you to sit down next to me.
Mā kahana ke ʻike (the only way to know the work is to do the work).
And so now that I don’t live there anymore, but go back to visit my Ohana, it kind of puts me in a odd place. I mean, I was a local but I’m not anymore…technically I’m a visitor now. But I’m not a tourist either. I’m not vacationing. I’m staying with and spending time with my Ohana (friends who are my family). It’s no longer my home but it’s still my home in my heart. And being an Art Minister with a heart to serve first no matter where I am, when I’m there I’m also ministering to the people of Māui through creativity and through relationship (mostly through building relationship). My heart is for them. So my motivations for things are a bit different. I’m always checking my motivations.
But all of that said, I’m just pouring it out here probably being the most raw that I’ve ever been in a blogpost. And I openly apologize, I’m not trying to point fingers here at anyone reading this (I’m not trying to call anyone out on anything specific or trying to be offensive, I apologize if it comes across that way)…I’m mostly processing deep grief…grief I’ve felt by others when they’ve shared with me, and grief of my own that I’ve felt with all that I’ve experienced.
I mean, I’m just as guilty of this stuff too as I have traveled around the world visiting countries and places and people. And though my intentions have always been for good (through service and ministry), truth is I am the foreigner and I come from a different perspective than the people I am visiting. I’ve sometimes gotten it wrong. Others have had to have hard conversations with me to help me understand their perspective and the cultural differences and also the underlying complexities of history with the white colonist (from the US and the UK that have shaped so many indigineous people’s lives and lands around the world)….there are grievous things that have been done to peoples and land in the name of progress (yes, even in Hawai’i). I’m thankful for the grace extended to me by those willing to be open still to relationship.
I’m not trying to say don’t take your vacation in Hawai’i. This conversation is so complicated. I think what I’m trying to say is…when we travel let’s be respectful, be sensitive, be mindful, because what we do and say and how we do and say it affects people (the very people who are living and working and trying to get by in those places we go to see and experience. Be willing to have the conversations with people who actually live and work in the places we go to, people who are actually from those places…ask questions to learn and then listen with your heart. Cuz it’s complicated. We’re all in relationship together. What we do and how we do it (and what our attitudes are) in the places where they live makes a difference.
In fact, I think more than anything I’m trying to talk about something that is so complex and sensitive (in so many cultures and countries-even my own-and on so many levels)…to still be open to traveling and seeing places and learning more about our world, but also meeting and getting to know people from those places, taking the time to listen to their stories and gain a different perspective.
I say all of this in the way that I say it because (as many people before me who have dedicated their lives to following Jesus and being Peacemakers that travel the world cross-culturally) I want to extend open hands…to create safe space for the conversations…even the hard ones. And this is a hard one. I want to "e aho ia" (do better).
This trip showed me…after such a long time of waiting through a global pandemic that shifted everyone’s worlds…we are all so different now and we are all hurting and grieving some kind of deep loss, cumulative loss, traumatic loss. We all need to feel safe, to be seen, to be heard, to be known for who we are today. And we all need to be able to let go of the fear and the anger that has engulfed us and take the risk to trust love once again. And that my friends is only something God can help us with. We need God’s healing touch deep within us. We need the kind of healing that fills us with God’s true Peace.
“The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion—to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor. They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations. Strangers will shepherd your flocks; foreigners will work your fields and vineyards. And you will be called priests of the LORD, you will be named ministers of our God. You will feed on the wealth of nations, and in their riches you will boast. Instead of shame you will receive a double portion, and instead of disgrace you will rejoice in your inheritance. And so you will inherita double portion in your land, and everlasting joy will be yours. For I, the LORD, love justice; I hate robbery and wrongdoing. In my faithfulness I will reward my people and make an everlasting covenant with them. Their descendants will be known among the nations and their offspring among the peoples. All who see them will acknowledge that they are a people the LORD has blessed. I delight greatly in the LORD; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of his righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. For as the soil makes the sprout come up and a garden causes seeds to grow, so the Sovereign LORD will make righteousness and praise spring up before all nations.”-Isaiah 61
Soooo….back to the beach….
The very first day of this trip, the day I arrived back on Māui after being gone for 4 years, Uncle Kaleo picked me up from the airport and immediately (without me asking) took me to a nearby local beach. Not to swim or do some kind of tourist thing…but rather to do a very Hawaiian thing….to just stand at the waters edge and to look out. To listen to the water and to feel the resounding waves crashing on the sand. He took me there to experience something he does for himself on a regular basis. It was only for a few minutes (this wasn’t an outting for the day). He took me to the beach to ground me. To help my body, my mind, my soul connect once again with what matters. To fill my mana with life.
After my trip to Aotearoa once I was back on Māui, one of the members of my Ohana took me to a small beach that I had not been to before. It was the only intentional “beach day” I had during my 2 month trip. We had been experiencing a colder wetter autumn on Maui and it had rained a lot…but this was a beautiful sunny day on the Valley Isle. I was given the gift of getting to swim in the warm jade colored ocean (like Māui’s own Pounamu).
To quote Dean again, “It’s not about you…but it’s for you.” This describes a lot of how a ministry trip can minister to other people and it can minister to me too.
Swimming isn’t normal for me. I don’t always like to swim. I have struggled with fears of water ever since birth. Being born with clubbed feet and being in casts soon after my birth kind of began my love-hate relationship with water. My parents had to soak my legs in water to soften the casts for removal and replacement as I would grow. It was a process that brought my tiny psyche great fear and my body great pain. I learned to walk with specialized braces and shoes. When it came time to be in water as a child growing up learning to swim, I was terrified. I’m told that there was an incident where I almost drowned in a children’s pool. I eventually learned to swim but not without lingering anxiety (especially in pools with lots of splashing).
I think the thing that spoke more positive messages about water was that my dad was in the Navy throughout my childhood, working on aircraft carriers and submarines that traveled the seas around the world. This meant that we lived mostly near oceans (even lived on Oʻahu, Hawai’i when I was a kid). So I grew up always having water nearby and it’s been a huge part of my family’s lifestyle to go to the beach. As an adult I have tried to embrace the challenge to overcome certain water fears when I have felt safe with those around me (learning to fly fish waste-deep in Idaho rivers, learning to river kayak in Alaska, learning to surf in New Zealand, Māui and Oregon). But if I don’t feel safe I will opt out. So choosing to swim in the ocean is a very big deal for me whenever I choose it.
That day the water was ideal for me. I layed on my back floating in the hands of the ocean, bobbing up and down in such peace. Deep blue skies hanging above me and soft warm breezes all around me. I could hear the water lapping around my body and the small breaking waves crashing on the sandy beach. This was mana filling in a way that I had not even realized I needed. It was like a big comfy hug from God. It allowed me to rest, to release, to let go of all the stress and pain, the anxiety and worry, the shame and guilt, the struggle and uncertainty of the last 4 years (and especially the last 6 months)…to let it all just float away on the waves.
High above me I could see a flock of black Iwa frigate birds circling in the sky. One was diving down into the water nearby to catch a fish. In all my time over the many years of being on Māui, it was my first time ever seeing Iwa birds like this. Iwa birds are sacred to Hawaiians. They symbolize guidance and finding safe passage home. The deep healing meaning washed over me while I was floating out there and I began to cry. It was so beautiful. I had been found once again. I was home here on Māui. And I once again I would be guided safely back home to Idaho too.
I’m very thankful to my friend who took me swimming that day. I don’t know if she realizes how healing it really was for me.
Before embarking on my flights back to Idaho, on my last day on Māui, I asked one of my Ohana to take me back to that beach that Uncle Kaleo had taken me to on my first day just 2 months earlier. This time it was raining, windy, cloudy, cold. But I stood there at the waters edge and I breathed in the salty air. I listened to the waves crashing and I felt the rain and the wind on my skin. I looked out over the open water. I was grounded once again, my mana filled. It was time to go.
CONCLUSION
I’ve been back in Idaho over a month now. It’s taken me some time to gather my thoughts to talk story in this kind of way. I’ve taken it slow and I’ve approached this trip post differently than other trip posts. Instead of just giving a play by play of the trip while I'm on the trip or only highlighting th eart stuff (like I used to do in my blogposts) I wanted to go deeper and speak from my heart, to invite you in and talk story with you.
God gets all the glory for this journey. I couldn’t have done any of it without His guidance, direction, promptings, without His peace, grace, mercy, without His modeling, perspective, discipline, without His creativity, inspiration, encouragement, without His lavish love, comfort and healing. This journey was birthed by Him and through Him. And I’m so thanful.
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it."
-John 1:1-5
And here I’ve come full circle with my story about this trip. "What if something GOOD happens?" ...Yes...there is so much HOPE beyond. "The Light shines in the darknesss, and the darkness has not overcome it." . Thank you Jesus. We can do this together.
Thank you friends for reading this far. Thank you for hanging in there with me. I have appreciated all of you. Thank you for coming along with me as I partner with God on these art ministry travels. Thank you for joining the creative conversation through your prayers, support, encouragement, and listening. You matter in the conversation and you are a part of what is helping me to go “beyond”.
Where will I travel to next and when will I go? Stay tuned…
Mahalo nui loa (thank you very much).
A hui hou (until we meet again).
Much Love, my friends!
-Lisa
“For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives it’s name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in yoru hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.”-Ephesians 3:14-21
“And this is my prayer: that your love will flourish and that you will not only love much but well. Learn to love appropriately. You need to use your head and test your feelings so that your love is sincere and intelligent, not sentinental gush. Live a lover’s life, circumspect and exemplary, a life Jesus will be proud of: bountiful in fruits from the soul, making Jesus Christ attractive to all, getting everyone involved in the glory and praise of God.”-Philippians 1:9-10
Update on my mom: Since I've been back from my trip I've been able to see how well my mom is progressing with her recovery and rehabiliation. Along with my dad's faithful caregiving, she has a wonderful team of physical therapists working with her. There has been a transformation within my family. God has drawn us closer together since my trip. And God blessed us with some holiday miracles...she stood up on her own out of her wheelchair for the first time in months just before our Thanksgiving holiday AND just before the Christmas holiday she has begun walking on her own with only the aid of parallel bars to practice with. She is gaining back much of her mobility and dexterity that she had lost before I had left for my trip. This is so encouraging! Her physical therapists have expressed their excitement in her progression and we are all so proud of her. We believe that in the New Year, once she receives her customized knee brace, we will be seeing her getting around on her own once again getting back to normal life functions and being who she was made to be. She is determined to overcome and we are so proud of her perseverance through such a hard season. It has given us all hope. We are so thankful to God.
Thank you to everyone who has been so wonderful in praying for us. And thank you to those who have generously helped out with meals and visits and helping my dad with projects. And thank you especially to those who have come to our rescue during times when we were really struggling this year (you were life savers...literally). We love you and we are so appreciative of you. We are humbly learning that "it takes a village" and we are so thankful to God and how lavishly He loves.
Mahalo nui loa (thank you so much). Ke Akua pū (God be with you).
Mele Kalikimaka (Merry Christmas)! Much Aloha (Love).
-The Marten Family
