Category: Pam F

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Kuleana: A few days before departure, a note from Pam

Of this year’s two married couples on the team, Art and Pam are both returning team members. (We look forward to the opportunity of Steve and Shirley serving together, hopefully side by side)


Here’s a note that Pam wrote to some of her supporters, that we’d like to share with you..

Pam F

Dear Friends and Family,

It’s been two weeks since Art and I returned from a wonderful, relaxing 10 days in Kauai and Oahu. I’m loving the islands more and more.  It is paradise on earth but true paradise will be at Jesus’ side.

And here we are getting ready to leave for MS on Sunday to work with Habitat.

Listening to Hawaiian songs would bring tears to my eyes even though I have no clue what they’re saying.   I just learned of a Hawaiian word, although not while we were on the islands. Kuleana.  Unlike English, the Hawaiian language can say many different things in one word.  Kuleana is path, posse, responsibility, privilege, concern, cause, reason…Kuleana may be those to whom or for whom you are responsible.  They are your accountability system.  So you are my Kuleana…I am responsible to you who are sending me out.

It is also my Kuleana, responsibility, to take the Word and love of God out to the people in MS or whoever I may meet along the way.

Kuleana can also speak of a value or way of thinking.  Then the perspective changes to “what an honor and privilege it is for me to have the responsibility to take the Word and love of God out to the people.”  It adds an expression of gratitude that is sometimes lacking in taking on a responsibility.  If I adjust my perspective to include honor and privilege, then the responsibility takes on a new meaning.  That is Kuleana.  Maybe I’m totally off base.  But it sounds good.

So what is your Kuleana?

Mahalo and Christ’s love,Pam

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caulk

Millie, Pam you see any gap? No, thanks to your care …. and that very forgiving caulk…..  : )

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Kelly’s reflection on a transition

Saying goodbye as the girls return

Kelly works in a supporting all of the team, making sure we have everything we need, and Brad can give a direction and that it’ll be followed up. He saw everyone excelled in their job.

The first week is almost over and the most standout thing so far for me is being able to watch Pam Fong and Millie Liao working together. Brad, our site supervisor gave the two of them the task of making and installing all of the window sills (the ledges at the bottom of the windows) starting on Thursday morning and they jumped right in never having used any of the tools they were going to use yet proceeded with confidence and boldness. What a team. They probably don’t know how inspiring they are to me.

I’m so proud of them and proud to say that I am a teamate of theirs. Be sure to speak to them about it. Also, if you get a chance ask Carol Nakatsui and Lorin Lew about the green colored caulking. The weather got warm and humid by the end of the week but everyone stayed in good spirits. I’m sad that the first week is ending and the co-ed team is leaving. The Lord has blessed all of us with the fellowship that we have been having while still being able to serve and help others. I hope when Craig and Gary come out on Sunday evening the we can continue.

Kelly

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A recent storm affects Pam’s prep

Pam!

Recently, California had a barrage of thunderstorms that shook houses and nerves. Pam reflects on Katrina and our lives…

It was a dark and stormy night…I just experienced a thunderstorm like none I’ve never experienced. It began at midnight and continued for two hours straight! It alternated between pounding rain, huge bursts of lightning, followed by incredible booms of thunder that rattled the house. It brought back memories of how scared I was during a storm at night when I was little…I would get up and walk to my parents’ bedroom and watch them sleep or sit in the hallway. During this thunderstorm, I kept wondering how my two nephews with whom I was sharing the room could sleep through it all. When was this thunderstorm going to end? I need to get some sleep since I was driving over 400 miles the next morning on my own. Then my thoughts turned to the folks who had experienced and lived through Hurricane Katrina. My thunderstorm paled in comparison. They had to endure a much more violent and intense storm that lasted about a week.

Aren’t our lives also filled with storms and hurricanes in one form or another? During those times, don’t you just want it to stop and get back to the calmness? But God didn’t come to eliminate those life storms or hurricanes. He came to fill them with his presence. God is in control. During life storms or hurricanes, we’re forced to search for and cling to God’s ever present hand. We don’t have to wonder where God is. “Lord, you are my strength, and my protection. You are a safe place for me to run in times of trouble.” Jeremiah 16:19. He’s also there building endurance in us. “We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they are good for us–they help us learn to endure. Endurance then develops strength of character in us, and character strengthens our confident expectation of salvation.” Romans 5:3-5. We can be a storm or hurricane survivor if we keep our focus on God. He will supply us with everything we need to stand firm during our storm or hurricane.

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Pam’s joining the team! (Sort of)

Pam!

This is the first year Pam will be coming to Mississippi. But she’s been part of our support team as wife to Art, and friend/supporter to many. So we can’t really say she’s joining, because she has been part all along… This will mark the third married couple we have serving concurrently, in fact  Mo and Carol N will be on the Coed team this year as well.

I’ve had the opportunity to send several dear friends as part of this mission since its inception. It’s such an amazing experience to go to the airport and send teams off and be there when they return. It’s awesome to see so many folks come out. I’ve enjoyed hearing their stories of divine appointments, using a palm nailer, going to WalMart, working side by side with potential home owners, The Shed Barbeque Joint, overcoming a fear of heights, Brad’s (one of the Habitat foreman) inspiring Martin Luther King’s impression, going to WalMart, sharing meals with Habitat families, going to WalMart, etc.

Art and I talked about how this could be a ministry that we could serve together. However, the timing has never been ideal …there’s always been some excuse to hold me back. But it’s God’s timing, not mine. So after many years of sending, I’m blessed to be one being sent. And on another note, WalMart and I aren’t friends even though there’s a Super WalMart a mile from home. Who knows, maybe after this trip, WalMart and I will become better friends. After all, I’ll have to get my daily fix of popcorn or ice cream somewhere!