Iselle and Julio

I have had a few readers wondering about our safety here, so I want to put everyone's minds at ease for now! There are two hurricanes headed for the islands, so it has been a week-long crash course in hurricane preparedness for us. The hunt for water was successful earlier in the week and the scramble for groceries was accomplished yesterday. Also, a trip to the library was absolutely necessary in case I can't charge my iPad for several days. Point for paper books, haha!

Iselle will be the first hurricane to directly hit the Hawaiian Islands since the early 90's, the Big Island receiving the most direct hit. By the time it reaches Oahu, where we are, it will be a tropical storm. We are located in the hills and live in a newer house and so we feel secure as far as our physical safety. We are prepared for up to several days of power outage and no water. We have several cases of bottled water, lots of canned foods and things that can be heated on our grill. We will fill the bathtubs with water to be able to flush the toilets. And we have flashlights and batteries. We are not super worried about our safety up here, only our sanity, with the possibility of no Internet ;) Good thing our game closet is fully stocked.

It's kinda cool following these satellite photos. Just the fact that modern science can literally predict and follow the path of hurricanes is pretty amazing. The islands look so tiny next to that huge funnel, eek!

Where Hawaii does need your prayers is for the homeless. There are a huge number of homeless people here, many of them living under bridges and highways and in parks. While shelters are doing what they can to get the word out and assure people that the shelters can offer safety to them during the storm, many are refusing to pack up and leave their spots. Please pray for Hawaii's homeless! My heart has been turned toward them since we moved here, there are just so many.