Part 4 - Visiting the land

(This is part 4 of a blog series. Scroll down to "Our Big Announcement" if you want to start from the beginning.) The next 2 days were spent site-seeing. Our first day site-seeing we drove to the rain forest. It took us about two hours to drive the breathtaking route. The further out we went the more lush and green it became. On the way, we spotted a little local farmer's market so we stopped and decided to have lunch there. We each bought something and sampled all the goodies. The best thing hands down was the Hawaiian bbq and the malansadas. This is a malansada:

I had never heard of them before until Hawaii, but Tom was a huge fan, so we actually ended up sampling malansadas in 3 different places. They are a Portuguese sugary donut-like pastry that are wildly popular and everywhere in Hawaii. One of the great things about Tom is that he is a total foodie. We tried all kinds of new things thanks to him :) Tons of fun! Brady actually said he gained 9 lbs while we were in Hawaii :) LOL! Hey, it's ok, it was vacation, and we were exploring the option of moving there. We needed check out every little detail of Hawaii, including the food, right Brady? HA! Just so you know, he lost it all the first week back...that's a man for ya. We drove through some of the cutest towns and stopped for some coffee and some more snacks :) I bought some coconut jam at a little store that we save up for Sunday morning biscuits....YUM! We saw some of the most beautiful, lush, green scenery with little waterfalls in the middle of vallies. Beautiful doesn't seem like a good enough word. My eyes were big and all I could seem to say was "Wow!" over and over. It was green and tropical with gorgeous flowers on one side of the road and the ocean on the other. While we were on this drive the Lord was speaking to me about creativity. I felt like He was telling me that He was going to bless me creatively. I have had some dreams for a long time that have to do with writing, and I just felt Him bring that back up in me on that drive. I felt in my spirit He was saying that my creative juices would flow more freely there. I got excited about that for a split second and daydreamed about it, then I was back to freaking out because it was seeming more and more like we were called there, and I just still wasn't ready to give in just yet. Aaron also had the Lord speak to him about creativity while we were there. Most people don't know that Aaron can play the guitar. He use to love it, but never does it anymore. He was in the car thinking about playing again, and Brady says to him right then, "Hey Aaron, I am just going to throw this out there, but I just saw a picture of you in my mind playing your guitar." Of course then Aaron knew that it was more than just his own thought. I think the Lord was telling Aaron that it use to bless His heart when Aaron would play for Him, and He misses it and wants Aaron to do it again. It really was just so amazing how the Lord was so there with us the whole time, speaking and interacting with us. The next day was our trip to North Shore. We actually drove to the land that the Lord had told Misty about in her dream from my first post. Talk about surreal and knowing God had brought you somewhere! It was just crazy! I asked myself a few times if this is for real while we were there. After stopping for yet more malansadas, (lol) we drove to the 80+ acres that Lou Ingle had been gifted. Tom and Donna just happened to know a couple guys who were hired to clear the land and farm it. They were gracious enough to meet with us and show us the very beginning stages of clearing and preparing the land. I think we were all super nervous and curious how we were going to feel when we saw the land for ourselves, and if the Lord was going to say "THIS IS IT!" I think we were expecting something big here, but it didn't happen. It honestly was so overwhelming being there. It was a HUGE job. There were trees everywhere. The property was beautiful, but far from being anywhere near ready for anything to be started there. They had been waiting for archeologists to mark off historic graves and areas that they couldn't build on top of. There were brush piles and rocks everywhere. It was just a mess. They had several different test crops planted to see what grew best in the soil. It was really interesting being there. One guy and his sweet family invited us back to their home for lunch, and we enjoyed our time talking about everything and praying together. They were sweet, sweet people that had obvious love for Jesus. We were blessed meeting them. It was an honor being there, but it's really hard to explain how I personally felt while we were there. I guess the word that comes to mind first would be heavy. I felt so heavy. That heaviness didn't really lift when we left either. I was uncharacteristically quiet in the car, just processing the past few days. It might have been bit a awkward, because Donna tried to break my silence and ask me what I was thinking and feeling. I remember telling her and Misty that I was just overwhelmed. This was all so much to process in such a short amount of time. I mean, think about it, all within 3 weeks time, we were living our ordinary lives comfortable in our home in Texas, and next thing I know, the Lord is asking us to visit Hawaii, and He is speaking so much while we are there my head is just spinning. We get back to the house and I am still just.so.quiet. I am starting to feel for sure that we needed to be there, but I was scared to say yes to God. Scared of change and also loss. I was so sad thinking about leaving my family and dear friends. We have so many precious valuable relationships that I didn't want to leave. And I was worrying about money and how we would be able to do this financially, and Aaron's farm and having to lay that down. Just processing all these things, made me feel super heavy and burdened, and sad. So much so, that I couldn't enjoy being in Hawaii. The reality of it all settling in was scary. Then Brady, being Brady, had been listening to worship and processing with the Lord himself outside, and he came in and said..."Stacy, I was listening to this song, and I felt like the Lord wanted me to play it for you." As you listen to the words of the song imagine how I was feeling at the time. The very first line of the song, I started to cry. All the way through I felt like the Lord was just hugging me, telling me, I know you. I know your heart. I know what you are feeling and thinking. I know you are scared, but I am here. Trust me. I've got you. " I am closer than your breath. " It was so very sweet. I love how genlte and loving and personal my heavenly father is! I love how He loves me so much to speak so sweetly right when I needed it. (To Be Continued)