#insideazusapacific

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Amidst the lengthening to-do list that is ever present in the background of my mind, there is the always open box begging me to take a breather. Not to ignore responsibilities or shy away from the tough decisions approaching, but to find something I really enjoy and just grab it.

Such an occasion was this little thing called the Yosemite Night Hike, put on by APU’s Outdoor Adventures. I’d been hearing about it since Freshmen year, always wanted to go but never wanted to commit. This year, in a sort of last-minute decision encouraged by my friend Katie, who was a guide for the hike, I decided to go.

The hike began at 3:45 AM, and we were out at North Dome by the time the sky was beginning to lighten. It was quite literally as if God took up a paintbrush and created the world again, a new day. I feel as if just by sitting on that cold rock I participated in something sacredly breathtaking.

I love the rush of a busy schedule. I love to be doing something. I dislike just sitting there; what is the point? How is just sitting being productive? I’m not sure, so I tend to avoid it. But how refreshing is it to take a second to view God’s creation in action? I don’t think I’ve ever seen something more magnificent than the sun rising over the Yosemite valley, light settling over air so pure (especially compared to Los Angeles).

My next task? Go to the mountains just behind APU and see what God does in a sunrise up there.

-Madison FM

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Gratitude

Happy Thanksgiving! We received a whole week of break off this season; definitely seemed to come at the right and needed time! Amidst this season, there is so much to be thankful for and I love how the spirit of thankfulness seems like to brim over around this time every year.

Thanking Jesus a little extra today! For one, I am thankful for an incredible home team of people in my life- people that show me Christ, offering listening ears and encouraging words, teach me how fun life can really be, love me when I am feeling unloveable, and keep me grounded in my faith. These relationships and friendships carry the most value- I can thank APU for leading me to most of these people. Secondly, I am grateful for my education and for a place like APU that has made me feel so known and has Christ at its center and forefront in everything they do. I am thankful for a place that has been so transformative in my faith walk, and in my life as a whole. Lastly, I am grateful for rest. Break is so good for the soul, and for time to step back and regain perspective for these last three weeks!

Let us practice hearts of gratitude and spirits of thankfulness like this today, and everyday. What are you most grateful for this year? 

-Jena P.

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Being Thankful this Thanksgiving

This Thanksgiving, my family and I went to spend break with our grandparents in small-town Wisconsin. It was the most beautiful escape from the stress of college life.

Time in Wisconsin consists of long walks down the country highway, Nana’s wonderful cooking, and reading. It is a relaxing bubble, a time to slow down. About this time of year, everyone starts to talk about stress and feeling overwhelmed. I would rather talk about looking for the highlights of life, focusing on the small things.

How perfect that it ended up overlapping with Thanksgiving this year?

We all need to take time to find the small things in our lives that make us happy, whether that is a simple thing like taking a walk in the 40 degree weather or going on a horseback ride with your sister. In the clutter of college, it is important to remember that there are still beautiful blessings in life.

It is hard to be positive in tough seasons of life.

But God has given us life, and that is reason enough to find a smile.

God bless,

-Madison FM

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Golden Moments 

Senior year is full of these sweet, sweet moments that I am learning to savor more than anything.

This past weekend, a handful of us hopped in the car, drove down the 57 freeway, grabbed some blankets and some tacos, and chased the sun beachside. Our friend, Kami, has an incredible knack behind a camera, so she snapped some pictures of us that are out of this world. The light was delicious; the hour was full golden. We indulged in good conversation about our lives, about our futures, about our hopes and our realities. For a second, we were at a complete sense of contentment with knowing that everything was going to be just fine.

I'm learning to hold relationships like this close. APU has gifted me with some of the sweetest friendships- those that are God-centered, supportive, life-breathing. Those are the most golden of them all.

-Jena P.

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H A N G  I N  T H E R E

Pictured above is the wonderful Adams Hall Resident Advisors (RAs) doing some pretty rad ariel dance.

It was great to get off campus and do something that was physically demanding, like spinning in the air on those slings, with some of the greatest people I know! I love my staff. They are definitely an encouragement for me to take care of myself.

In times of stress, I have found that what helps the most involves physical activity. It is all too easy to shut down and curl up with Netflix (which I have definitely done before!), but it is much better for me to GET OUT and move! Hang up in the air, you know? Even amid the stress that comes with being a college student, it is so important to find time to hit the gym or just go on a walk. For me, at least! Even studying outside is better than being up in my dorm room.

I don’t know what it is, exactly, but finding time to take care of yourself during a stressful period is more beneficial than just focusing on ridding yourself of the stress. Many times, you just need time to process. Physical activity works the mind. For me, I process the best while being active. Even when I am not in the mood, going out on the track or even just walking on the treadmill in the gym helps me to organize and collect my thoughts.

To just remind myself to hang in there, because God is watching out for me. Sometimes, you just need to make yourself remember this.

God bless,

-Madison FM

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I’m relying on others.

You want to know something that college teaches you? Your STRENGTHS.

You are able to do things you didn’t think you could, handle stress you never thought you could manage, finish an impossible assignment, understand that thing that she-said-he-said-about-her-friend, go to six hours of class on four hours of sleep. You are stronger than you know.

You know what else college teaches you? Your WEAKNESSES.

This world is a lot to handle, especially as a twenty-something college kid with a huge future spreading out before her. I’ve found myself reaching out more and more for help from those surrounding me, help that I often do not want to acknowledge that I need. But I cannot go through these times alone. I thank God daily that He has given me people to walk through hardships with.

It is okay to take care of yourself. Treat yourself to a cappuccino.

Why? Because you deserve alone time.

It is also okay to need people. Get dressed up and go to Pasadena to study.

Why? Because you deserve to be with the people who love you.

Most importantly, rely on God. That’s easier said than done, especially when confronted with the things that make you weak. But He is the only way to be able to look at those weaknesses and see the strength in them.

God is ALWAYS a strength. Forever.

God bless,

-Madison FM

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Happy Fall!

Fall is such a fun filled season to enjoy with friends! For some people, the arrival of fall means beautiful colors and falling leaves, for some it means pumpkin flavored everything, and for us here at APU it apparently means triple digit weather in late October. 

Yet wherever you live, this season is a wonderful time to celebrate traditions, both new and old! Growing up in North Idaho, every October, my family would bundle up in warm clothes and head to the pumpkin patch to pick out some pumpkins to carve for Halloween. Now that I’m down in California, my friends and I have enjoyed carrying on this fun tradition, but are more concerned with bringing ice water than hot apple cider!

There are also plenty of other fun activities to enjoy with friends and family throughout this season. Go apple picking, find a fun corn maze, or bake some yummy fall treats with your family. As it nears Halloween, maybe check out some haunted houses with friends, and make sure not to miss out on Knotts Scary Farms! 

Whatever activities you choose, don’t let the season pass you by without making some great memories with friends and family. It’s a perfect time to celebrate traditions as we near the holiday season!

-Stephanie K.

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Hello, all!

My name is Jena Postma, and I am back once again - excited to return as my last year of sharing stories, words, and experiences with you. I’m from the Pacific Northwest, you can find me in the mountains or near the ocean, I have a love for Justin Timberlake and Jimmy Fallon, and I’m a Marketing major/ Graphic Design minor with a whole lot of dreams and questions of what to do with it post-grad. Being my senior year, I am in the home stretch of my last laps at APU; and what a sweet and wild ride it has been. I am eager to savor all of the last bits of what this season has to offer, and I’ll do my best to share that with you.

APU has gifted me some of the best times and friendships of my life. It is awesome to reflect over the past four years and see how God has had His hand over all of it. This final year, my heart and hands are open for all that God is trying to show me. Let us remain open, ready, eager, and faithful.

Cheers to new seasons (and in whatever season you are in),

-Jena P.

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                          Spontaneous Memory Making

How fun is it to look back on fun times with friends that you never expected to happen? Don’t get me wrong, I love to plan! I am very detail oriented, and for the most part, I like to plan things out and know all the details. However, every once and a while, an opportunity comes along leading to a completely spontaneous and unplanned experience. When things like this happen, I can’t help but wonder if I often get too caught up in the details of life rather than taking in the moments.

This week, one of my roommates and I decided to buy come concert tickets about four hours before the concert and go see Chance the Rapper on the last night of his tour! It was such a fun night that built memories that my friend and I will remember forever. Getting to share adventures with people you love is such a healthy gift. I think it’s important to have experiences like this that allow you to just take a break and have fun.

We are currently entering the heart of the academic semester which can be a very stressful time as homework and tests start piling up. Therefore, I would encourage you to be aware of your habits in this season. Integrate time for relaxing and fun into your busy schedule- I promise it’s possible!

My goal for the duration of this semester is to focus on a balance between control and spontaneity. The reality is that ultimately, I am not the one in control, and no matter how much I plan, unexpected things will happen. Be excited to take on each day as it comes, ready for whatever adventure may present itself!

-Stephanie K.

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Ciao ciao!

Here I am, back in America, back at APU. After a semester abroad & a summer where I spent only one week at home, I am all too ready to get into a routine again. Life has been a chaotic but beautiful tangle of different countries, languages, food, time zones, & homework loads.

I am a Resident Advisor in Adams Hall Forever (Third Central, yay!), a student of literature and writing, a friend in a wonderful group of God-loving women, and daughter of Christ. I love every bit of who I am. But still, there are always challenges in finding a groove in navigating the craziness of being back on campus.

Here’s the thing about college life; it is crazy, but it is so sweet. It is hard to find something to keep you stable with everything going on, but it is not impossible. What I’ve found to be most important is accepting that this packed lifestyle is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity & that means engaging in all the great parts it has to offer. Entering my junior year, you would think that I have everything under control by now. In all reality, though, every year, every semester, every stage of life is different. And it takes some time to get into the swing of things, but, eventually, it just happens.

Amid all of the reading, the studying, the planning for your upcoming weekend, there is a God who is always with us. 

Much love,

Madison FM :)

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Photo credit: Chris Miyashiro

Again! Again!

I walked into the office today, sat down at the desk that I have been writing at for the summer and promptly realized that this blog post would likely be my last contribution to the Inside Azusa Pacific blog. It’s strange that, in a way, after writing this piece, another chapter, another paragraph, another sentence stands to be written – both for me and this blog.

Have you ever wondered how many things you’ve done for the last time?

In less than ten days, Azusa Pacific University will be teeming with students as incoming first year students make their way onto campus in order to take their first steps as college students and as members of the APU community. It’s been one of my favorite times of the year. As I walk down Cougar Walk, I can see the joy and energy written on the faces of the students that I pass by. Every corner holds something new. Every building has some potential.

For many of my friends and I, this will mark the beginning of the end for us as members of the undergraduate APU community. This is our fourth time around. This isn’t our first Fall back to APU. For some, no doubt, while we smile and laugh as we get to see our friends from all over once more, there will be many of us who sense as though we’ve seen all that APU has to offer. We’ve walked through all the buildings. We’ve taken most of our general education classes. We’ve eaten most things in the 1899 Dining Hall.

What more is there to offer?

As I sit here with my notepad open and scratching out notes about what to write on, I detect a sense of that seasoned temperance that comes with being a senior in my own soul. But, on further reflection, I also sense a bit of exhaustion as well. Perhaps some of you can relate. You’re happy to be here, but you’re ready to move on to greener pastures. This one has gotten a bit too small for some of us. And many of us take that as a cue to check out of the community for the last year.

It all just repeats anyways, so why bother?

“It is supposed that if a thing goes on repeating itself, it is probably dead; a piece of clockwork.” G.K. Chesterton once observed in his work Orthodoxy. “People feel that if the universe was personal it would vary; if the sun were alive it would dance.”

For those of us that feel that rhythmic pattern of the change of the seasons and the classes and the professors, I think we can resonate with that sentiment to some extent. But the funny thing is, Chesterton points out that when we think that we’re right, we might actually be wrong.

“Routine might be due, not to a lifelessness, but to a rush of life … A child kicks his legs rhythmically through excess, not absence of life. Because children have abounding vitality, because they are in spirit fierce and free, therefore they want things repeated and unchanged… It may not be automatic necessity that makes all daisies alike; it may be that God makes every daisy separately, but has never got tired of making them.”

So where does Chesterton leave me, a raggedy senior well read into the culture and layout of Azusa Pacific? Where does he leave all of us returning to APU for maybe a second or third time? And, most importantly, where does he leave those of us who are just beginning their chapter in college for the first time?

He leaves us in a space to make a choice.

Chesterton leaves us with a thought to mull over before we quit society altogether. Perhaps the reason why there are so many things that repeat time and time again is because they are part of what has made Azusa Pacific University an incredible place for my friends and I. Maybe, just maybe, it can be that for you as well.

Sometimes the things we do continually are because they are the stuff which binds us together, and reminds us that we are part of a larger family, a larger story, a larger world outside of ourselves.

For now, it means that I must duck out for the time being, and invite others to pick up where I and others before me, have left off.

Elofson out.

 -Tim E.

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Strawberry Shortcake and the Sabbath

I’ve received several direct messages lately about some of the content I share on social media. It’s not regarding anything too controversial, unless one thinks people posting pictures of food to social media from time to time is obscene.

It’s true. I do indulge in taking one or two photos of food when I find myself preparing a dish for my friends and I to enjoy. But I don’t cook every day. But it’s a nice change of pace from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. And so, I find it amusing when I receive messages of curiosity and surprise that I turn to cooking as a way to take a break from the rest of the week.

My habit of switching things up, though, isn’t unique to me. In fact, according to a recent report published by NPR, it’s becoming the norm.

On June 4th, NPR published an article titled "The Millennial Obsession with Self-Care". Within the piece, the author mentions that the Pew Research Center discovered that millennials:

…reported making personal improvement commitments than any generation before them. They spend twice as much as boomers on self-care essentials such as workout regimens, diet plans, life coaching, therapy and apps to improve their personal well-being.

As a way to keep balance in their lives, millennials try to get involved in things that will keep them in higher spirits. The term self-care, the article claims, has been around for centuries. So, what is it that we’ve stumbled upon?

Self-care is the millennial take on an age-old spiritual discipline. Thing is, I don’t think we realize it.

The rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel once wrote that “labor is a blessing, [but] toil is the misery of man.” The thing is, we understand that every so often, we should step back from our jobs to switch things up and enjoy life. And yet, we are also guilty of the extreme that thinking “Sabbathing” means doing nothing.

I remember sitting down across from a professor of mine who’s become a bit of a mentor to me when he remarked that Sabbath is meant for praying and playing. It’s a day set aside to enjoy life and to commune with God.

“And that,” he said, tapping the book he had on his desk, “is why I require my students not to do homework from Saturday evenings to Sunday evenings. We’re not machines, you know.”

When it comes to Sabbath, I’ve learned to appreciate how versatile it really is. For those who tend to be neck-deep in research, we’re invited to take up a hobby that gets us outside. For those of us who use our hands (or feet) more, we can take a day to read a good book or the like.

Besides:

Then Jesus said to them, "The Sabbath was made to meet the needs of people, and not people to meet the requirements of the Sabbath” (Mark 2:27 NLT).

I think the same can be said about self-care, too. So, go take a hike, read a good book, find a place to get away and appreciate the world. It will still be around when you get back.

And, if you don’t mind me, I’m going to try and bake some dessert.

-Tim E.

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Walking With

Since you cannot do good to all, you are to pay special attention to those who, by the accidents of time, or place, or circumstances, are brought into closer connection with you.

~Saint Augustine

One of the most challenging and, oftentimes, formative experiences students will experience as part of the APU community is our fierce commitment to serving the local and global community every year.

For me, that experience is found in the middle of Skid Row. And yet, I find myself returning to it every Spring Break. Funny thing is, even after I have gone before, I still get anxious about it a few days out from the trip. For me, the very notion of leaving for some place for anything and forgetting something of mine is horrifying. What if something were to go wrong? What would I do?

Ministry is somewhat like that. You can never truly prepare for what lies around the corner. Why should I have a false sense of comfort?

And yet, we find Christ tells another story. When he sent out his twelve in Matthew 10, he told them:

As you go, proclaim the good news, ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. You received without payment; give without payment. Take no gold, or silver, or copper in your belts, no bag for your journey, or two tunics, or sandals, or a staff; for laborers deserve their food.

While we tend to focus on the privation of the disciples, I think that Jesus’ instruction has a positive element to it as well. The reason why the twelve were not given anything to take is because they might need to realize that they are enough on their own to carry some rudimentary form of a message of hope, truth, and love. No number of translations of the Bibles, commentaries, and how-to manuals in the back seat of the car will help in a moment of need.

What people often need is not a model but a person to walk alongside them and meet them where they are in that moment.

“Compassion,” stated Frederick Buechner, “is the sometimes fatal capacity for feeling what it’s like to live inside somebody else’s skin. It is the knowledge that there can never really be any peace and joy for me until there is peace and joy finally for you too.”

While we don’t need to go overseas on service teams or down the road for a local mission trip to feel compassion, the Center for Student Action provides chances where students are challenged to think about how we should and can be compassionate to all of our neighbors, especially “the least of these.”

One of my supervisors and mentors by the name of Chris once told me to always place a qualifier before the word ministry, since anything done out of service to another is ministry in the end. Everything – large, small, and everything in between – is a form of ministry when we do it out of compassion and love.

Whether living into the mission of God for you is done by making Americanos in the neighborhood Starbucks, changing a tire on a customer’s car, driving to a conference for connecting people to resources, or by stopping to offer to walk a mile carrying a man’s bag, God sees it and adds permanence to our work. The time may come when we are meant to serve in other capacities, but for now, we are called to serve where we find ourselves today.

Of course, this may also mean being willing to put down roots and pick up a shovel somewhere as well.

God knows what might happen.

-Tim E.

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Like a Feather on the Breeze

I found myself feeling restless the other night. It was the weekend. And the world had all but wound down.

Outside my window, I heard a cricket strike up a familiar tune every so often, only to quiet down when the rare car passed by the road near my home. After lying on my bed for an hour or so trying to sleep, I got up. I found myself making my way through the dark of the apartment and outside into the evening.

On my way out, I saw in the shadows of my apartment the silhouette of my longboard that I used to get from place to place during my freshman year. I paused for a moment. As it lay, propped up against the wall near the door, it occurred to me that it seemed to almost be waiting for something. I shook my head to clear my thoughts, but paused once more to grab it. The door closed behind me.

I spent the next two hours boarding around my university’s empty campus, listening to and feeling the evening air as it brushed past me. The wheels made their familiar faint whirring sound against the concrete, reminding me briefly that the bearings stood to be replaced. On occasion, a patrol car would pass by and I would wave before each of us continued our separate ways.

My watch beeped, letting me know that it was well on into the evening. I should be headed home. But I remained, circling the sparsely populated parking lot. In the middle, I had parked my car and upon reaching it, I leaned my board against its dust-coated exterior.

I sat in the car for a moment, not sure why I was here.

I noticed that the radio was on. An unseen violin played softly into the night, for anyone or anything still awake to hear it. After a moment, I left the door open as I climbed on the hood of my car, leaving long tracks in the dust. Leaning back, I started to count the stars in the middle of that parking lot as a small, sad piece spread out over the night.

Within a few moments, I fell asleep.

There’s a saying from one of my favorite movies where the protagonist observes that “I don’t know if we each have a destiny, or if we’re all just floating around accidental like on a breeze. But I think maybe it’s both. Maybe both are happening at the same time.”

To be honest, I would like to think that is the case. If it is one way or the other, I don’t think we would know either way until we find ourselves on the other side of eternity. And yet, I find myself living closer to the notion that there is some plan I must follow exactly.

I think it’s because I like a sense of control. Most of us do, I’d wager. And that’s a normal thing to wish for - a stable income, a stable home, a stable schedule, to name a few.

The danger comes when we extend those plans to those with whom we relate. We like to define the people around us by a single role – friend, roommate, brother, sister, mother, father, uncle, aunt, grandparent – and then restrict them to that sole defining characteristic.

I believe this ties into that idea I wrote about before – that we all find ourselves writing stories, oftentimes seeking those who can mentor us and help us overcome the obstacle facing us on the road ahead. We tend to see ourselves as individuals, as single authors writing entire scenes with an incredibly diverse support cast of flat characters.  

But when we do that, we buy into the idea of community rather than the actual community itself. Others write their own stories and influence ours in ways we can’t predict. They develop in their own rite, apart from any restrictions we place on them.

When we make room for others to write the scene alongside us, we invite in unpredictability. We become vulnerable. We allow others to hurt us because the scene didn’t go the way we thought it would.

But at the exact same time, we become present to one another. Perhaps, there and then, we can see one another more fully, as we are, and not as we would like to be, for a moment or two.

Even it does seem to imply that we are but feathers on a breeze.

I think that’s one part of what keeps life exciting.

And if you listen close, maybe, just maybe, you can hear the music.

-Tim E.

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Those Human Moments

I have become indebted to a good number of people around my university because of all their investment in me. This summer, I’m staying at my university, in part because of a job, but also because I’m taking a summer class with someone I am grateful to know.

I ran into him the other day as I was trying to take a picture for my university’s Instagram. He was sitting on a marble block and reading under the shade of a tree, preparing for our next discussion on the life and works of Kierkegaard.

To be honest, I don’t know if he would be on campus this summer if not for me. To the best of my knowledge, he has no summer classes apart from the one he’s teaching for me. But this past spring, after I received an email from our financial and academic service on campus informing me of the sheer impossibility of my graduating within four years, my professor found me sitting, shell-shocked, in the hallway on his way to class.

I felt the blood drain from my face as I finished reading the email. I thought I was on track. How did this happen?

My professor had just turned the corner when he saw me out of the corner of his eye. Turning, he paused and asked what happened. After informing him of my dilemma, he closed his eyes, thinking.  A few moments later, he looked up, spun on his heels and walked back down the hall to locate a form. Finding it, he returned and handed it to me.

“This is a form for an independent study and course replacement,” He said, “And, while I can’t teach every single one of those classes you need, I can teach your upper division philosophy course.”

“What?” I asked, still recovering from the email.

“I don’t have my summer plans firmly established yet, but it seems as though you need some help.” He prompted, still holding the form. “Let’s see if we can meet over coffee or something over the summer and talk about something you’re interested in. Let’s get you back on track for graduation.”

I blinked.

He smiled, “Well, do you want to talk philosophy or not? Come on, it’ll be fun.”

I took the sheet, folded it, and placed it in my bag.

“Sure,” I started. “I’d like that. Thanks!”

“Don’t mention it,” he said. “Besides, I’m late to class!”

And with that, he disappeared down the hall as if nothing happened.

I found out later that I received the email due to a mishap in the system that could easily be fixed. But by the time that happened, the deadline for dropping classes had already passed. Not that I would drop it if I could, because when a professor, err – when anyone – goes out of their way to help others I usually try to spend time with and become that type of person.

This story brings to mind a quote from one of my favorite shows. As the plot reaches its resolution the main protagonist, realizes that his companions won’t remember their previous adventures with him as history. As they begin to fall asleep, he remarks, “I’ll be a story in your head. But that’s OK: we’re all stories in the end. Just make it a good one, eh?”[1]

The thing is, even after I graduate and move on to other things outside of college, I will still remember the people who have influenced the time I have spent here. These will become some of the stories that I will remember fondly when others’ stories have connected with mine.

Frederick Buechner writes “I not only have my secrets, I am my secrets. And you are yours. Our secrets are human secrets, and our trusting each other enough to share them with each other has much to do with the secret of what it means to be human.”[2]

Those moments of overlap, those moments of sharing our secrets in moments of vulnerability—  when a professor stops to help a student, when friends show up at three in the morning to support another, when strangers become family through the sharing of their lives over a fire—are the moments when we are most human.

For me, this professor helping me in a moment of need was just one example of numerous times someone has poured into me. I don’t know if it would be possible for me to recall them in their totality. At least, not in a reasonable amount of time.

I am grateful for them all.

-Tim E.

—

[1] Doctor Who (2005). “The Big Bang.” Episode 13. Directed by Toby Haynes. Written by Stephen Moffat. British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), 26 June 2010.

[2] Frederick Buechner, Telling Secrets (HarperCollins e-books, March 17, 2009), 40, Kindle.

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LU’AU

This past weekend, our university held our 16th annual Pacific Islanders Organization Lu’au. At Azusa Pacific University, there are a variety of ethnic organizations to be involved in. The groups create space to fellowship, share, learn, and celebrate culture and cultural diversity on campus. Each year, Pacific Islanders Organization, commonly known as PIO, puts on a lu’au to share and celebrate Polynesian culture with the entire community. Students, friends, and family from all over attend, and this year the organization was able to sell out with over 1400+ tickets.

For months, students from Hawaii, of Polynesian ancestry, and other students who have a desire to learn about the culture practiced weekly to prepare for the event. There were a variety of dances from multiple Polynesian islands, ranging from Hawaii to Tahiti to Samoa. Colorful prints filled the stage, as attendees were given leis, and Hawaiian food was served. Over 150 students participated, transitioning in traditional dances and chants.

Through dance, we as students were able to share culture, but also share a way of worshipping our Savior, Jesus Christ. There is great pride in the production and “ohana” that we created over the last few months. Many of us say, that this has been one of the best and most spiritual experiences of our life. I hope you have the chance to one day celebrate with us!

-Caitee K.