One week ago, Birgitta, Emerald, and I left our Michigan home well before dawn in a car loaded with five bulging pieces of luggage and a sense that God was nudging us to the starting line of a unique adventure. We figured it wouldn’t be easy, but knew it would be significant, because he had been the one to initiate and then facilitate it.

After a grueling travel day of 22 hours, we reached our destination – the University of the Nations, YWAM’s global headquarters in Kona, Hawaii. Welcome baskets and hugs awaited, along with freshly made beds, bubble-stuff for Emerald, and even rice cakes with peanut butter for me. School leaders let us know they’d been praying for us individually for many weeks and that they were “so glad” to finally meet us.

Though our adjustments have been hampered by exhaustion, sickness for Emerald (a violent, 48 hour stomach flu), and steep learning curves on the how-where-when details, we are gradually learning who’s who and what needs to be done. Though the week was dotted with quite a few “lows,” veteran YWAM-ers advised us to delay judgment until the end of the first week.

So here we are, and they were right. We’ve all adjusted to the change of 5 time zones, everyone is healthy, and we’re functioning successfully within a well-structured schedule. But other categories have needed adjust- ment, too, some by God himself. I think back to that first morning on the YWAM playground, sitting in the warm sunshine with a cranky, sick Emerald as I complained to another nanny about our long travel day.

“Twenty-two hours and three airplanes!” I said, knowing she’d be impressed.

“Thirty-six for us.” she said, “Six planes. Three little kids.”

That two-line conversation taught me two things: (1) There’s no benefit to complaining, and (2) every person on this campus has a fascinating story of how they got here – logistically, yes, but also by way of God’s call.

Our best adjustment, though is the joy we’ve found living in a thoroughly Christian atmosphere — many cultures but only one God. With few exceptions, those on this campus (1200 in all) are here because they either love the Lord and want to know him better, or are sincerely seeking him for the first time. All ages are represented, and young children are everywhere.

So, after this first week, our expectations are high that God will make himself known in new ways – not just to student-Birgitta, but to nanny-Margaret, pre-schooler Emerald, and everyone else on campus.

Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you judge the peoples with equity and guide the nations upon earth. (Psalm 67:4)