The morning had started far too early for my personal fancy. Tired? Yes. Sleep deprived? Yes. Excited ? Oh yes, even more so! Our class of 23 seniors and 4 staff begin to trickle into the parking lot of Weimar Academy as the clock struck 3:30 in the morning. After throwing our suitcases into the vehicles and loading ourselves into the glorious TCI vans, we were off on our way to Sacramento airport. After arriving, checking in our few suitcases, and successfully making it through security, we were on a plane flying to Maui, Hawaii by 7:00 am. More or less, 6 hours in the air, then touchdown into Maui with 4 hours to kill. We dispersed ourselves into groups and went to purchase a Hawaiian lunch of our choice from the nearby stores.
From Maui to our final mission trip destination, the Island of Molokai Hawaii, (population of 7,000) we were to take a 30 minute ride in a 9 passenger, 208 Grand Caravan propeller plane. In other words, a glorified tin can with cardboard wings. We were split into three groups and hauled over at separate times. The first group left, then the second, and finally, my group was due to leave at 5:20 pm. Needless to say, some were quite nervous to fly in such a small aircraft with the dark clouds and slight rain brewing outside. Furthermore, we had all heard stories about such planes crashing in the ocean on the same route. The turbulence upon takeoff did not bring much ease to the nerves, but the second we were in the sky, they were melted away…for the most part.
The view from the plane was completely breathtaking. We were met by the foamy turquoise sea, the scattered golden sand, and the cotton clouds that gathered closely all around. Numerous rainbows greeted us with their bright colors, reminding us of God’s great promise. My group even saw a complete full circle rainbow! Molokai prides themselves in having the highest sea cliffs in all of the world and as we approached the island, we had the best view of them. Out the large plane windows we could see the colossal green cliffs covered with vegetation and shining waterfalls which scattered the landscape. Some of us even saw the large crater in which the Molokai Leper Colony lived. After a magnificent tour of the island that so greatly showed off God’s powerful and beautiful creation, we had a surprisingly smooth landing at the tiny Molokai airport. We were then picked up by the pastor and taken to the little campus where the Seventh Day Adventist church is located. It is a wonderful place with flowers all over the landscape. After exploring a bit, we set up our beds, ate a delicious meal by the pastor’s wife, had worship, and with exhausted dispositions, we went to bed.
We are excited for the days ahead in which God will work through us to reach His people. Please continue to pray for the Molokai senior mission trip, not only for the people on the island, but also for us students and staff that we may be able to truly reflect Christ, and that we will have a great revival in our lives as well.
From Molokai, over and out.
-Chantal Ross, Class of 2020