| Aloha Mai Rev. Tanaka!!!
It's my pleasure to greet you and congratulate you. I remember that you and my mother are the same age. Two years ago, instead of a red chanchanko, my mother wore a beautiful red, double carnation lei. We had a "surprise party" for her, and it included guests from Chicago, as well as family members she hadn't seen in a long time.
Oh my, you're family has really gotten small. Where in the southern hemisphere are your children?
I have to admit, you have inspired me to travel. I love your journeys that you took, looking at your pictures (when I was at KIC), and listening about your adventures. Thus, two years ago, I began my own adventures. I went to Taiwan for two weeks. And that was so remarkable. Thank you for being such a positive inspiration. My next adventure is Korea, then South East Asia and after the Asia trips, I begin with South America (Brazil and Argentina!).
As you may know, those are Hawaiian words. "A hui hou" means good bye. "Malama pono" (there should be a line over the first a) literally translate means "care for all that is righteous". But simply put, "Please take care." "Meke Aloha Pumehana" is an expression used with people you feel you have intimate ties with saying, "with much love." In Hawaiian culture, it is strongly believed that to give away our aloha to another person, is to give that person a part of yourself. You learn so much teaching at a school for Native Hawaiians. (www.ksbe.edu)
True, the last time I visited Osaki, it was an older church. I didn't think anything of it being old. (I guess I'm so used to different Konkokyo churches). I would love to. I'm hoping to visit in March during my spring break.
By the way, favor-ful is a word that I made up. If you have the chance to read the book, "Your Best Life Now" by Joel Osteen of Lake Wood Church in Texas, you'll see why I came up with it. Joel Osteen is like a mentor to me. I love to listen to his sermons and he inspires me. He's like a Konkokyo minister, speaking in English in a easy to understand, modern, humorous, mesmorizing manner. His book "Your Best Life Now" is a book i've recommended to all the young ministers in Hawai'i to read. I have yet to come across another book like it that really focuses on "favor-minded thinking". www.joelosteen.com I also coined the word "favor-ful" after having attended PSI Seminars. I went to their Basic and their PSI-7 workshops and was blown away. Talk about Konkokyo in action and in your face. Recently, the Board of Directors here in Hawai'i have agreed that should any minister wish to attend the Basic seminar here, that the KMH would pay for it. As bold as this next statement may sound, I strongly believe it to be true, that the Basic Seminar of PSI is much more powerful and more effective than the Shutokuden could ever be.
Sorry, I got carried away, but I was so excited about responding to all of your questions.
Please take care!
A hui hou!
Todd
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