It was a great joy for St. Juvenaly Mission to host Bishop BENJAMIN from July 30th to August 2nd. Some faithful members of the mission drove in from as far from Hilo bearing fresh lychees from their orchard (a five hour round trip) to visit with his Grace, and our community was blessed to have a fellowship meal and conversation with him after both Vespers and Divine Liturgy.

For many of us, the most exciting moment was when his Grace descended the stairs leading from the parking lot to our new church home, and we had the opportunity to give him a tour of our new facility.

This is the first time that our mission has rented a space of our own. It has been a great joy to begin to settle in, hang icons, setup an altar of our own, and to burn incense and light candles without trepidation. We are grateful for this opportunity to create a more authentic Orthodox ethos here on the Big Island of Hawaii, to nurture the faithful and to reach out to those who are searching for the beauty, history, and transcendence of Orthodox worship.

Big kahuna mahalos to his Grace, Bishop BENJAMIN for traveling to this, the most geographically isolated island chain in the world, making us feel well cared for here in Hawaii!

The Bishop enjoys a "shave ice" with Matushka Jenny