Flying Back to Honolulu on Friday May 30th

Many Many Thanks to you All!!!!

My journey is finally ending. I am going home. You are all welcomed to stay with me on Kauai when I get back.

I thank God for keeping me safe. God knows Best!!! It has been amazing because he has placed me with special people. Seeing new things and places is always fun but because of the people I have met it has been extra special. It is the people who have touched my life in positive ways. And I hope that I have been able to do the same. God,I believe,placed me with the right people at the right time.

And thanks to Joan Lloyd of the Upper Room Worldwide Ministries base in Nashville,Tennesee who kept me supplied with the Upper Room devotional that helped me keep to my daily routine of morning devotions,journaling,daily planner and Qi Gong.
It kept me centered...in touch with God...and added to keeping my life balanced.

When I get home I expect that I will need time to readjust and get re-established.

My house and yard will need to have some major work. I am happy that Cindy and Martin and the children were able to take care of my home and car while I was away.

I think God placed me here at the Maungarongo Foundation in Te Kopuru a little town next to the Wailoa River...notice the similarity to the word Wailua River. The Wailoa River is sometimes referred to as the brown river or upside down river. It's color is browner than the Waimea River. It is an inlet sea of the Pacific Ocean.

I joined WWOOF,willing workers of organic farms,so I can learn about organic farming and meet Maori people. I got both here. It is also a Christian Foundation.

The manager Te Aloha who I am staying with is a wonderful people who has done a lot of social work for her people and when she was in Hawaii in 1993 was invited home by Roselle Bailey,who she did not know but who knew about Te Aloha. Te Aloha's uncle was connected to the Hokulea canoe building and voyaging projects.

Iam enjoying my stay here and learning much about organic farming and companion plants. I learned about WWOOF at a youth hostel in Brisbane,Australia. I later learned that the movement was started in New Zealand in the 1970s.

Just before leaving Australia I learned that Maile Wehrheim was going to school in Wellington, NZ. After a couple of days in Auckland I flew to Wellington and spent several days with Maile. We hiked up Kapiti Island,a nature conservatory. It was wonderfull. After five nights there flew back to Auckland then took a 3 hour bus ride to Dargaville where Te Aloha picked me up to stay at Te Kopuru 11km South/West.

Australia and New Zealand newspapers have been covering the U.S. political scene quite well. New Zealanders were against the Iraq war so they have little love for
America. I have been welcomed and I certainly can understand why. Also learned that Japan and China with U.K. are their biggest import/export countries.

I have felt very at home in New Zealand. It feels like Kauai in many ways.

However, I am eager to get to warm Hawaii. I will stay with daughter Shari and husband Jonah and grandsons Zion 7yrs and Kauila 5 yrs for about 10 days before returning to Kauai on the 8th or 9th of June. Shari reports that Zion took the SAT test for first graders and scored in the top 1% in the nation. That is Big News!!!

With that I say Aloha and Mahalo and A Hui Hoa,

Joanne