Initial Reception

So it begins.

So many things have changed so rapidly in my life lately - even as my DTS in Kona has only just begun.

Upon arriving at the campus late afternoon on Friday, I was greeted by an amazingly large amount of people, all roughly twenty-somethings who all arrived for the same reason I did - largely to experience God firsthand over these three months.

As it stands right now (4:47 PM Hawaii time), I have met more friends from different countries than I ever have in my entire life.

Let's start with the basics:

Papa - a native of Ghana, Papa is one of my roommates - a large dark-skinned man who is incredibly soft-spoken despite the fact that he could probably crush me with a flick of his wrist. He is a wonderfully gentle and polite person, and he hopes someday to become a reverend like his father in Ghana. At 23 years old, he is well on his way from what I know of him.

Ben - Ben is a radically intense person whose hair cannot be held back by the bandana on his head, just as his love for people cannot be contained within himself. He is absolutely in love with God, and it is his intensity that strikes me more than anything else. He sleeps on the bunk above me, and is thankfully a fairly lightweight guy.

Jacques (pronounced 'Schak') - Jacques is from Belgium, despite having a very french-sounding name. He is also a very soft-spoken guy, who carries a dog stuffed animal in his pocket for photography purposes. His dog's name is 'Muellon' - and he is an absolute superstar across the world. Muellon has been photographed everywhere from Denmark to The Great Wall of China - Jacques also has a photograph of Muellon being held by a famous rugby player in Europe. (If anyone is interested, Muellon has a facebook page - but you can only be his fan, not his friend. Celebrity does that to a person. Or dog. Or whatever.)

There are so many others that it would take me hours to write about them all - I've met people from South Korea, Japan, China, Brazil, Australia, and all over the United States.

I've met Samoans, Pacific Islanders, Europeans, Koreans, British and French people, and several Australians (who I could honestly listen to for hours). Women with Australian accents? Nothing more attractive. I mean wow man.

As the night deepens, I hope to update all of you on the past few days that I've experienced so far. All I can say is that I can feel myself changing - or being changed rather - and I have nothing but hope for the future.

Mahalo
Aloha

-Dan