this is day 2 for me and as i sit in my mosquito net looking at the photos i took so far, i get lost for words when i look at the kids smiles. to think that most of these kids wouldn’t have survived this long if they didn’t cross the path of two angels John and Kathy is unbearable. i will get into full detail about this whole operation soon and i will also give you full details on how to become a volunteer. i’m just soaking in more information and experiences because i know there will be many people i know coming here for sure. even a day here will change your life. when i was young, i never believed in angels. but for the past few years, i’ve been meeting so many angels and there are hundreds right here at NHCC.

that last swell that hit hawaii had the biggest buoy readings i’ve ever seen since the internet came out. it’s a bummer the winds were from the wrong direction because the Eddie Aikau at Waimea Bay would have been on for sure. oh well, now we probably have to wait for another 5 years.

this is where breakfast, lunch, and dinner are served here.

and this is the kitchen. very simple, very economical, and very delicious!

when ever i see these kids eating such healthy food, i think about the hard work and dedication John and Kathy have put into the NHCC.

this is the food that gets served for the teachers and volunteers. made withs love and very delicious.

walking in the local meat market was a great experience. seeing body parts of all kinds of animals was kind of cool. but when i came across the dog section, i almost threw up. i took some photos but not sure if i want to show them to you. i don’t want to start a controversy. haha.
last day for me here as i’ll head back to the city tomorrow, do some sightseeing for a day, enjoy the culture, then jump on 3 flights back to hawaii. many more stories to come so stay tuned.

Inside a huge Buddhist temple.
Beautiful power spot!

i wake up early today for 3 reasons.
1. to see the kids early morning lifestyle.
2. to go to the market with the chefs.
3. because i slept before 7:30pm last night.

i walk over to the dorms where the kids live. one by one them walk out with big smiles. so much energy. they serve their own breakfast and know what they have to do.

at exactly 6am, they line up for their HIV medicine. they must take it at 6am and 6pm sharp every single day to keep their immune system strong.

watching this really makes me think of all the spoiled kids i see back home. these kids didn’t have choices to get HIV or not. they were born with it and now have to live with it for the rest of their lives. but you know what? they are happier than most of the kids in the world. they have each other and have more love than you can imagine.

and yes, they do have chores too. this little one sweeping the sidewalk with full enthusiasm.

Davis gets up early, makes his breakfast, teaches all day, sometimes in the night too, and is living a very independent life. if you knew how spoiled Davis was as a child compared to Mason and I, you would never believe how far he’s come. i’d never thought the day would come i’d see him living a simple and happy life.

he made me my breakfast sandwich which was really good.

then i went up at 6:30am sharp to jump in the truck with the chefs to the market. they do this every single morning because they don’t have refrigerators. what ever they buy in the morning, it’s all gone by night.

they load up the truck with bottles to get water. i just sat back and thought how efficient they are.

we head to the market and i’m glad i didn’t fall out of the truck. we get there, the chef gives me her bag, and ended up being the carrier. it was pretty heavy and a great workout for me as we walked around for 2 hours.

the things you see are so amazing. want some peking duck?

then since there is no ocean around, all the fish come from the rivers. river fish!

somethings i don’t know what it is. even though it looks pretty unappetizing, i want to try it.

the corn was my favorite! i ended up eating 2 of them.

see the eyeballs? pretty cool culture i experienced this morning. now i’m back to the orphanage and as i was walking back to my room, a 4th grade girl ran up to me and gave me a bunch of flowers. and i know for a fact that nobody told her to do it, she did it from her heart. the love is just flowing here and i’m soaking it all up.