It has been just over one year since my family and I came to Hawai’i to serve the mission community here. I remember that it was at the beginning of Great Lent, 2007 that Fr. George Gray brought up with us the idea of coming to Hawaii. Our plans became much more concrete in August, when enough pledges had come in to possible for us to be go.

In September, we were pleased to see the Mission receive the name of St. Juvenaly (previously it had been called simply OCMK,  “The Orthodox Mission in Kona”).

When we did arrive, I was on loan from the Diocese of the Midwest. It was a rare opportunity to test the waters, to see if we would be a good fit here and if the Mission would be able to sustain a priest, even on a part-time basis.

Upon our arrival at the Kona airport, we were greeted by members of the Mission bearing leis. My wife and I had a sense of homecoming — we had met in Hawaii thirteen years ago while working with a missionary organization called YWAM. It seemed no small coincidence when we were invited back to serve in the State where our life together began, and to work with this mission in particular, where a good portion of the community has some connection to this same organization.

Very quickly after we arrived, it was evident to us that the faith and dedication of the small group group that God had assembled in this place was for a larger purpose.

Our Mission planning meetings were early highlights for me, as well as the celebration of Christmas (in Waimea) and the Great Blessing of Waters for Theophany (at the ocean, pictured at left).

By Lent, we had become more determined to remain in Hawaii, and sought the blessing of Bishop BENJAMIN and my bishop at the time, Archbishop JOB.

We returned to Chicago (Hyde Park) in May to sell, give away, or pack all our earthly belongings, and made the final leap. I returned for Pentecost, and, as of June 16th, was formally transferred to the Diocese of the West and assigned to serve the Mission.

The moving process continued over the summer, as we transferred all the paperwork of our lives to Hawai`i. In August, we moved again, up the mountain to Holualoa.

My family and I are acclimating to the unique culture of the Islands. We have a better sense of the various communities here, and the Hawaiian street names no longer seem so exotic. We continue to be amazed by little “coincidences” sprinkled throughout our days, as well as the small town feel of life in Kona.

So, after more than a year and three major moves, I am pleased to report that my family is thriving here and the mission is gaining strength. We love seeing new faces every Sunday, people from our island as well as the mainland. We have been blessed to celebrate two baptisms and one wedding, as well as our first patronal feast together, which, as far as I can tell, is the first patronal feast in honor of St. Juvenaly to be celebrated anywhere in the world.

It is a particular joy for me also to serve in mission territory. As one of three Orthodox priests within about 2,500 miles (two of them in Honolulu), there is much work to be done!

We have big dreams for the future—we would love to see the community grow and thrive, and we dream of obtaining property to build a beautiful Orthodox temple, complete with a cemetery and retreat house. The task of the past year, however, has been to provide a stable Orthodox presence here on the island, to gather in the faithful who have been so far from an Orthodox church for a long time, to begin to root ourselves in the larger community, and to walk through the liturgical life of the Church together with the people here – for some of them, it was their first time experiencing a full year of living within the liturgical cycle of the Orthodox Church.