Wednesday (I'll start coming up with better titles, I swear...)

Today was a productive day of work; tonight was an enriching night of fellowship.

I’ve really been thankful for the friends I’ve made on the island.  I had planned on just sticking to myself for the first month and a half that I’m here—working, writing, engaging in self-discovery.  But the opportunity for companionship has presented itself more frequently than I expected, and for once in my life, I’m pushing against my antisocial nature and exploring this foreign land of Making Friends After College.  It's not half bad.     

Bible Study was great tonight—better than last week.  There was nothing wrong with it last week… but the discussion seemed deeper and more fruitful tonight.  And actually, I should clarify… there’s not much discussion to speak of… it’s mostly a question-answer format, and any extensive teaching is done by Ryan, the leader of the Bible Study (who is also a  young pastor on staff at North Shore, my church here.)  I really respect Ryan as a teacher… he’s completed a lot of Bible education and has a real gift for communicating truths.  He preaches at the Saturday night service, so I think I’m going to go to that this week.  We (the whole congregation) are studying Psalm 51 this week, discussing the different connotations of “sin,” “transgression,” and “iniquity.”  I studied all these subtle nuances in college, but it’s healthy to be reminded of them once in a while—and after being spoiled by such an enriching, intellectual Bible Study group back home (shout out to ya’ll!), it’s nice to be blessed with the same mental and spiritual exercise here in Hawaii.

Anyway, Bible Study was good… and we all sat around for a while eating pumpkin pie (provided by Ryan’s wife) and drinking hot, spiced apple cider (provided by Sage, who opens her home to us every week for Bible Study.)  Afterward, I stopped at the Princeville Foodland (close to Sage’s house) for a few groceries and ran into my friend Melia who had also just left Bible Study.  We shopped together and I gave her a ride home so she didn’t have to hitchhike.  Melia’s best friend Cassie (whom I’m also friends with) just left yesterday for a 6-week trip to the mainland, which is rather dramatic for Melia considering that her and Cassie spend every waking moment together.  So it was nice timing that Melia and I ran into each other… we talked for a while and made plans to go to the beach sometime soon. 

And that was my day. :)

Oh, and a side note… I really miss my cat today.  She’s made cameos in my dreams the last few nights (side note during the side note… I’ve been having CRAZY dreams while I’ve been living here… I’m known for having crazy, epic, blockbuster dreams anyway, but I seem to remember them more frequently now that I wake up with the sun and don’t have an alarm clock interrupting my REM cycles…), and then this morning, I pulled out a freshly-laundered tank top, and low and behold, there was a long, orange cat hair stuck to the hem.  Huh.  No clue how that got there, but it made me miss Peaches!  So until I get to go home and cuddle with her (if she’s in the mood), here are some pictures of her that I’ll share.  Aloha! :)