Clayton was able to convince St. George’s and Calvary Episcopal to bring our friend Meredith to town to speak about witnessing to Muslims. She spoke two nights, and we did touristy stuff the rest of the time! It was awesome, other than our car breaking down a few times. We got to try out a couple new waterfall hikes and see part of the North Shore we hadn’t explored yet!
Since arriving here, there has been a particular tree that has elluded us. Just beyond the fence from the church, on Hickam AFB property, stands a mango tree. Once we saw someone picking and talked with him from the other side. He gave us a bag full. A couple of times we have used large sticks to push one on the ground close enough to the fence for us to grab it.
But today we had true victory. Jill Landau, from our church, took us the next step: beyond the fence. She and her husband have a fruit picker. They collect mangos all the time. When they discovered our frustration at being just out of reach, they offered to help. Today we went on base, drove over to the field, and looked at the church from the other side. There in front of us was the majestic mango tree ripe for the picking. And man, did we pick! 52 mangos later we decided we had enough… for now. Thank you Jill!
Now, if anyone has a mango recipe you wish to share, fill in a comment below and let us know!
We’ve had an active Memorial Day weekend!
Friday : we attended the baseball game mentioned in the previous post.
Saturday: we went to Home Depot and bought more garden-related stuff, like Thai Basil and Eggplant. We re-potted a few marigolds and worked on getting the plants out that were done (beets and banana pepper) and the other plants and some spinach seed in.
Sunday : we had a beach service! It was on Hickam Air Force Base at one of their beaches, where the water was incredibly blue. The service got great attendance. Clayton gave a children’s sermon in shorts and flip flops, and the congregation sat in swimsuits and hawaiian print shirts. Afterward we had a potluck and hung out at the pavilion and beach.
That night a couple from our church invited us over for dinner, and we got to spend the evening getting to know them. It was a really refreshing time, and we found out that we knew some of the same people and had a lot in common. Autumn enjoyed being the center of attention for one of their daughters, Grace. At one point we looked over and Grace had wrapped a flower lei around Autumn’s head like a crown. She seemed to love being treated like a baby doll and getting over some of her stranger anxiety.
Monday: Frank and Betty Field, from Church of the Advent in Nashville (where we were previously), were also in town! They came to church on Sunday and they also treated us to lunch Monday at Tiki’s Grill & Bar in Waikiki. The restaurant was on the second level and overlooked the ocean. It was really, really nice seeing them.
After lunch, we headed over to the Honolulu Zoo! Autumn has gotten a little bigger now, so after her nap in the stroller we headed over to the petting zoo area. She quite enjoyed the big, hairy pig and the goats. She was all grins. Oh, and they murdered the lions since the last time we were there. Seriously. They did.
What is better than going to a botanical garden? Going with botanists! Friday we met up with a couple of students and one of my profs from my Ethnobotany class for a small outing to Foster Botanical Garden. It is downtown, a couple of blocks from Chinatown. We learned so much information about the plants they had, it was crazy. And it was more interactive too. They would say, “Crush these leaves and smell” or “Taste this, it’s spicy.” or would talk about why certain plants were in the garden and how long they had been there, or even about their own gardens. It made for a very interesting trip. I will spare you from all the photos, but several are below!
