Joy and I were driving out from Kona to visit King's mansion. The car was filled with anticipation as we looked outside the window we saw the unopened crate of furniture from our warehouse in Phoenix. I began to mentally unpack and place the furniture in the rooms.
It was so fun to see the rooms of the "mansion" come to life like toy soldiers appearing to announce Christmas. As a child I loved the sugar plum fairy. The moment the rhythm of the first note I was dancing on tip toes. I was peering in the windows of my mind to see what gift would surely arrive, just like my crate of unopened furniture. Our delight was opening the crate and reminiscing what had crossed the ocean.
We arrived ahead of our crate. That was a good thing as we were fast at work cleaning and preparing the rooms. We were thankful all arrived in time for Thanksgiving. This was a season to GIVE THANKS. We at YWAM were recounting and adding memorial stones to all that the Lord had given us these past 50 years. Somehow the disappointment of unfinished floors faded as we polished the plywood. Our dreams and expectations saw the soon to be beautiful hard wood.
We went about town securing other pieces and even gathering up items from the Cunningham's. We especially loved the old Victrola. This seemed to set the "stage". I could almost hear the reverberating notes of music in the early 1900's.
We had to get the home ready for the guests to arrive. We took the liberty to decorate for Christmas. This was a great disguise for unfinished corners and bathrooms. The splendor of the rooms seemed to strike a note of sugar plums dancing in the air with each added light. The wonder of Christmas is the joy that we bring by allowing our light to shine.
One area of delight was when we had rummaged thru the shed to find old boxes of tarnished silver and an old oak dresser. This would flank the hall. The silver began to gleam with each wipe. We now began to allow the fragrance of Christmas to fill the air. We were preparing to serve even without floors, kitchen or running water. We were like children waiting to get our hands on the cookies. We would serve tea and cookies. Hospitality danced from inside the rooms like our hearts. We had discovered what was buried and unused. We would pour what we had -- LOVE.
As the guests began to come, they shared memories of former days when Youth With a Mission purchased the home in March of 1977 from the Greenwell's. This made it the first outright owned property by YWAM anywhere in the Pacific and Asia. This home would see many students and brides leave the front lanai. Guests talked about the schools they were in remembering the nearly 80 back to back training schools(DTS). It was hard to believe that at one time an estimated 4000 young Christians were trained for missions. We were all a little gray around the edges. Many of the remaining leaders in YWAM toured and traced their roots to a transformational encounter with Jesus in these rooms. We will share a few of the delightful stories in the upcoming posts and tell of all the global ministries that were birthed.
You should have heard the gasps as they turned each corner to see the beautiful finish work. The baseboards were whitely polished showcasing the love and care of the craftsman. Their gleaming eyes told it all. The mansion never looked so good. She was beginning to shine like former days. The Greenwells were considered leaders in the development of West Hawaii. Their hospitality was known throughout. Parties and family gatherings for the coffee plantation owners were the custom. The rooms must have bustled with all the love and excitement that family gatherings bring, not to mention Christmas. We were inside the heart of the home.
We now were grasping how this 1903 Hawaiian plantation-style structure perched on six acres got her name "KINGS MANSION". She truly was gracefully displaying the title in honor of the KING OF KINGS! This was a home of HONOR. It would continue to be a legend.
