as for the shells, want to congratulate Ayako-san, Maki-san, and Satoko-san for being the fastest to request it. please send me your address and it should be in the mail this week. and for Michiko, i’ll put together another set for you because you only came in 3 seconds late and i know how much you really want shells. thank you all for your email and keep on surfing! as for all the other people who wanted it, i’m so sorry. when i have my next break, i will put more together and give them away. but for right now, i have to get back to work.

kimura-san told me that some of the volunteers who went to kobochihama from tokyo are checking my blog to see how their vacation is coming along. hey you all, we are having fun in the sun. here is otoosan and okaasan taking a photo of the famous Hitachi tree at moanaloa gardens.

first time eating frozen yogurt. the Kimura-san sisters in Hawaii!

i’ve said this so many times but 3/11 changed my life. i use to complain a lot, i use to have negative thoughts, and i use to have stress at times. but after that, everything changed. i’m just glad to be living a healthy and happy life. i appreciate every breath, every single day. and every friend i have. i’ve came closer to many of my friends since that day and i met new ones. i just got an email from my dear friend holli yesterday that touched my heart. my best friend always standing right on the side of me where ever i go, and what ever i do. thanks holli for always lifting me up at the times i need it most.

i get teary eyes whenever i think back at the day i met kimura-san and his 2 beautiful daughters. it was right after the tsunami and things were really dark in kobochihama. no electricity, no food, and no help. i still remember pulling up with our 2 vans and unloading supplies. these were the places we were looking for and to find it by chance was unbelievable. then when i first talked to kimura-san, i remember his kindness and i remember the strength in him. i had no idea he lost his wife and son and when matsu told me later, i remember my heart just break. i better stop because i’m getting teary. anyway, we are 1 year and 4 months later and look where we are! in hawaii! blue sky, warm weather, warm water, and happy kids! when i first met these 2 girls, they wouldn’t say a word to me, now, we talk, we play, and we have fun. time goes on and i hope to be a part of this wonderful families lives forever.

i talked to wilma from maui yesterday. i contacted her and kept in touch with her after i read a letter she sent to kimura-san a year ago. it was so warm, touching, and lots of aloha. kimura-san wanted to thank her, so did i. anyway, on the phone yesterday, she told me that one of my dreams came true? what? which one? she told me that i wrote to her that one of my dreams is for kimura-san to come to hawaii. yeah! i remember that now. so here we are with just another of my dreams coming true. i took him surfing yesterday for his first time when he stood up on his first ever wave. i would have never thought i’d be surfing together with the last samurai!

playing in the ocean with the kids was something we really wanted to do. we swam, we surfed, and we had a really fun day in the water. here is matsu taking 11 year old Miho-chan for a ride. the 3 kids surfed for the first time too.

miwa-san asked me so many times to join our missions but our schedules couldn’t match. she has a pretty demanding job in tokyo and because the transportation system in tohoku was shut down, she couldn’t take off work for the length of time we needed for our missions. she made generous donations and always encouraged me and our team. but now that she’s in hawaii at the same time the kimura-san family are, she can finally feel and see what our missions were all about. it wasn’t just to go there and drop things off and leave. it was about giving, caring, and building relationships that will last forever. we will support tohoku for as long as it takes! WE ARE ONE!
and to all the volunteers that helped kobochihama, you are all kind and have big hearts!
also wanted to thank my sister and the boys at faith surf school in waikiki for always taking care of me and my special guests.