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It'spretty hard to think of Oahu asanything other than wonderful.The beaches are warm and beau-

tiful, the water is turquoise and invit­

ing. Happy vacationers relax, surf and

build up the tans they plan to show

off when they get home. Inland, the

lush jungle features exotic botanical

life and spectacular waterfalls.

Delighted children swing on vines

and splash around in the clear pools

at the feet of cascading water. What

could be wrong in Hawaii? Plenty.

Not Exactly ParadisePeel back the surface, and you'll find

a state ridden with poverty, violence

and drug abuse. Per capita, Hawaii

has the largest amount of metham-

phetamine users in the United States.

Despite the beauty of their sur­

roundings, the citizens of Honolulu

experience sin and suffering as much

as the people of any other major city.

One might be tempted to smirk at

the idea of someone going off to domissions in Hawaii. But the influence

of Christ is desperately needed in

tropical"paradise." And so, for the

past three years, men and women

between the ages of 18 and 29 haveheaded off to Revolution Hawaii to

spend one year changing that corner

of the world. While there, they study,

pray and get intimate with God.

What is Revolution Hawaii?As described on its website, Revolu-

1

tion Hawaii is "intense daily disciple­

ship, one-on-one mentoring, rele­

vant study and expert teaching from

some of the top leaders of the Salva­

tion Army and the Christian Com­

munity. However, the main focus ofRevolution Hawaii will be in the

field." Participants are assigned to

one of the four corps in the Honolulu

area where they assist the officers in

meeting the needs of the surround­

ing community. Significant time is

also spent in learning and personalreflection. The students live in com­

munity in dorm-style apartments

located on the divisional headquar-

YOUNG SALVATIONIST/September 2008 II

Jessica, Kealoha and Corey in class.

ters campus. But that's only from

September - May. In the summer,

the students are dispersed amongstthe the Micronesian Islands for some

more primitive missionary work. And

understanding that not everyone can

give up a year, Revolution Hawaii has

added the option of joining in for just

the summer component.

The Nuts and BoltsRevolution Hawaii is led by life-long

Salvationist Rob Noland. Rob is pas­

sionate about giving Christ to the

people of Hawaii and Micronesia.

And he's just as passionate about

equipping the minds of his students

and seeing them develop as mature

followers of their Lord. He expectshis students to read a substantial

stack of books, including such pop­

ular Christian writings as Velvet Elvis

(Rob Bell) and Revolution and Renewal

(Tony Campolo and Bruce Mains). Of

course, Army books are also part of

12 YOUNG SALVATIONIST/September 2008

the reading list. This year the newly

published Insane (Nealson Munn and

David Collinson) was mandatory

reading. More familiar stand-bys like

Aggressive Christianity (Catherine

Booth, updated by Cory Harrison)are included as well.

Throughout the year, specialists in

particular fields are often brought in

to spend a week teaching the stu­

dents. They cover a wide variety of

subjects: mass media, youth min­

istry, fair trade, global renewal, bib­

lical holiness, etc. This provides fresh

perspective for the students (and a

lot of fun for the teachers!).

Who is Revolution Hawaii?"I used to run from church. I'd go

drinking. But now I'm choosing

God's way," says 27-year-old Kealoha

Irvine. Kealoha, the only nativeHawaiian student in the 2007-2008

school year, met Rob Noland when

Rob was holding a church service on

the beach. He accepted the gospel

at that point, but later began to stray.

Eventually Rob shepherded Kealoha

back into the fold again. But it isn't

always easy for him. "My family

doesn't really support what I'm

doing. In Hawaii, family is number

one, and they see me asstepping out

of the family to be with Rob."

Kealoha knows what Jesus meant

when he talked about choosing him

over family. He still loves and

respects his family, but he chooseshis Savior above all else.

Twenty-year-old Jessica Franklin

came from chilly Alaska to the shoresof Honolulu when at a crossroads in

her life. "I prayed about what to do

with the next year of my life," she

says. "He led me here. God opened

my eyes to him while I've beenhere." It was similar for Martina

Pound, 19, who had just graduated

from high school in the Marshall

Islands. It's been a big adjustmentfor Martina. In the Marshall Islands

she never saw anyone homeless and

she never saw any drugs. Accordingto her, they don't even have a food

bank there. The pace is much busierin her new environment. But she felt

called to be here. The smile on her

face shows she knows she did the

right thing.

Corey Gaus, 27, gets great satisfac­

tion from the sidewalk Sunday school

at a local housing project with which

he's involved. They started with no

children, now their average is about40. He muses over the fact that he

was once reluctant to come to Rev­

olution Hawaii. "I didn't want to

come, but I was called. I had a min­

istry at home that was failing. While

I've been here I learned why it was

failing. I wasn't applying what Jesus

was teaching. You've got to preach

with the love and authenticity thatChrist showed./I

Though not a Salvationist, Joey

Arnold was working at The Salvation

Army's Camp Kuratli in Oregon

Martina and Jessica enjoy stre~t,ministry.f4i'\1

Martina and

Joey relax

after street

ministry.

when he heard about Revolution

Hawaii. "I came to RevHi because of

its motto: 'learning how to love God

by loving others.' I needed this

improvement in my life." In addi­

tion, he welcomed the discipleship,

discipline and accountability. Joeyloves the classes at RevHi. And he

reports, "I'm doing things I never

thought I'd do. Like spending timewith the homeless."

life TogetherLiving, working, studying and social­

izing with the same few people isn't .'.

always easy. The students at RevHi

come from dramatically differenthometowns and varied ethnic back­

grounds. They have had to consider

that there are many ways of looking

at an issue. They've also had to learn

that there are numerous ways of car­

rying out daily activities and no one

way is the right way. But after

months together, the group seems to

have made space for each person to

express himself. They almost seem

like a hodgepodge group of brothers

and sisters. They like to hike

together and see movies together,

YOUNG SALVATIONiST/September 2008 i3

though their taste in movies varies

quite a bit!

But the RevHi gang doesn't live in a

bubble. On Oahu, there is quite a bit

of interaction between the corps.

There are young adult meetings on

Sunday nights that are attended by

people from several different corps.

There are social gatherings and

opportunities for worshiping withother Christians. And of course, there

are the interesting people that the

students meet while ministering. In

the course of a year, many new facesfill the lives of the RevHi students.

The study, the communal living, the

ministry - these are the elements that

lead to dramatically changed lives.

Students return back to their corps of

churches equipped to lead. They've

been stretched and challenged, and

they have found out that "with God

nothing is impossible."

For more information about

Revolution Hawaii, visit

www.revolutionhawaii.org.

Students and residents of a low-income housing community enjoy a Bible lesson together.

14 YOUNG SALVATIONIST/September 2008