3/3/08

Dear Revolution Hawaii, and viewers like you,

How are you doing? How is your family? What is going on in your life? I pray and trust that your life is all that it can be. I would love to hug you, right now. I know life can often be confusing and hard. But don’t quit. Do what you do best. And never stop.

Did I tell you how I am doing? August 31, 2007, when I landed in Honolulu, HI, my heart started pumping…and it is like an oven over here. I never thought that I would be part of a year-long ministry team, called “Revolution Hawaii.” In the summer, we plan to do more mission work in Micronesia…and then in September, I plan to do ministry in California…

Did I tell you what we do? First, we workout for about an hour: 6:30am, Tuesday through Saturdays. I usually play basketball…and it gets my blood and mind flowing.
We then spend about an hour to read and discuss through the whole Bible (in a year): because they are like our story…we can learn so much about life and destiny from it.
We have been reading and discussing through several books per month. We have guest lectures, classes…we study prayer, ministry, theology, devotions, testimonies, etc.
We volunteer at different places during our afternoons, from 1-5pm, Tuesday through Thursday. For example, Kealoha, our team-mate, volunteers at a Boys & Girls Club in Waianae.
On Tuesdays, I wash dishes at a homeless shelter (River Of Life), from 1-3pm: there are so many smiling faces, there. Then I help kids with their homework, at the YMCA for about an hour. Tuesday nights, we (as a team) usually have Bible study via Rob Bell videos.
Wednesdays, I spend about two hours at an after-school program, at the Settlement (which is like the Boys & Girls Club). I help these kids with their homework.
Thursdays, I talk with the widows and folks (for two hours) at Salvation Army’s Adult Day Care. And then we run a youth program, nearby these apartments, in this neighborhood called Major Wrights. There are so many kids in this hood. So many broken families. We also have Bible study at the church. We have been studying through the books of the prophets.
Friday, we clean up the house, buy groceries, and prepare for the next week. Then at 4pm, we have a youth club for the kids from the hood…youth group, and Bible study for Salvation Army’s Adult Rehab Center (and these guys truly love what God does).
Saturday, we go back to the hood (Major Wrights) and spend more time with the same kids that come to the Thursday and Friday activities…then, some of them even come to church on Sunday. After dinner, we play intramural sports with other Salvation Army churches. Then we go out to the streets with sandwiches; and we spend about two hours talking with the homeless in Chinatown (in the streets of Kauluwella).
Sunday, we help out with Sunday school and junior church, at the church. And we attend evening service at another Salvation Army church in Leeward (Pearl City).
This service is centered around praise and worship: and we all love singing to our Creator and Savior. We call our evening services, there, The Upper Room. And it has been our favorite part of the week. And we have testimony time because “What has God been doing in your life?’
Monday, finally, is our Sabbath, our day off, and the day to relax because God is in control. I am only part of God’s plan for everything. And how sweet is that?

If God is in control, however, then why are there so many dark secrets in Hawaii? Nobody told me about Hawaii’s suicide rate, Crystal Meth addicts, and crime. And what about the kids that are forced to be homeless because of their parents? Why am I here?


Did I tell you where I was? I was born in a ghetto in Oregon…almost not born…alcoholic dad…far behind (home-schooled), couldn’t talk well, or anything, until I rushed into public high school…and I was so different…I wouldn’t suffer thru two years of Bible college in New York, and then one in West Virginia…because I thought I already knew the Bible…but I somehow fell in love with it…earlier, last year, I was helping my mom because of financial and health difficulties (plus, divorce, now; and she is now in Washington)…but then I heard about Revolution Hawaii while I was a wilderness counselor in Oregon…‘But I have to stay home’…but after my mom saw my tears, she told me that I should take this opportunity to make a difference in the lives of others. And, now, here I am.

But why am I here? What is my goal? To inspire others to be better than their abusive parents: because you do not have to live on the streets: life can be better if you are living for only Jesus (L4OJ): for the dream of the joy of the love of the life of the destiny. And there aint nothing better. To make a difference with whatever that I got. To live life with a smile. To live for what I love. To make dreams come true. To do what is best. To wait. To fight. To love. To giggle. To grow. To learn. To smile. To try my best. To try. To fail. To live like nothing else.

What are you going to do? Can you be part of my ministry? All you have to do is make your check payable to The Salvation Army, with my name on the memo. Revolution Hawaii costs $15,000 per student, for all the year-long travel, housing, food, medical, and other such costs. But then Salvation Army gave me an $11,000 grant. And then I was able to raise $1,500 from people like you. But I still need $2,500. And that is it. What are you going to do, now?

For those who know me really well, you know that I have a lot of dreams in life. I use to have a dream of making it in to the NBA. But I still want to become a writer, singer, actor, dancer, inventor, and such. I want to travel the world. But I also want to do whatever that God wants me to do. That is what I am going to say for now. I really want to make a difference in this world. Pray that I continue to follow after God, to work on my gifts of encouragement and whatever else that I can do. And I want to thank you for being part of my life.

I would at least appreciate prayer; but I do want to hear from you. Write to me; call me; check out my blog at http://L4R.blogspot.com. Let me know how things are.



Jo Arnold
Revolution Hawaii
2950 Manoa Road
Honolulu, HI 96822


Listen to this story…

After church (3/2/08), I was going to play basketball but then I started talking to my homeless friend, Babs, who is about 28 years old. Tears covered his face, while he told me about the girl that gave him his nickname because she disappeared, several years ago. The he asked me if I could help…I wanted to say no…later, I told Luis, while we were pushing Babs several blocks (in a shopping cart) to Saint Luis for lunch, that missionaries are suppose to help people. But he smirked that I was making a difference. And then I was telling Babs about how we have things in common. We both have alcoholic dads. And we both love talking to people. At one point, I pushed him to one part of the sidewalk, after lunch. Then I saw a puddle dripping down. But when you gotta go then you got to go. And then Babs told me about how they had a toaster, one time. And they would camp out near a bus stop. And they would use an outside plug-in to plug the toaster into. Later, one man gave Babs a Bible, kissed him for some seconds on the lips, and basically called me Bill Gates with bucky teeth. I even ran into Kalani who must not be on the streets anymore… I told him that he looked so good. And then he gave me bus directions to Pearl City.

Revolution Hawaii’s director, Rob Noland, and his family: as follows:
Riley, Hayden. Rob, Dee, Parker, McKenna, and Shea.






‘I Am,’ as seen in the first picture, is what God is. When I asked you how things are, you could say things are going. But with God, things are really going…but are we going with Him?
The sunset reminds us that life is slowly leaving us (we are dying). And we are running out of time. Will we make the most of each day? Are we willing to use everything that we have?
Will we smile, like I was in this one picture? Are we willing to ask God for joy in the mist of horror and pain? Will we choose to look at life through the eyes of God, of destiny?
The last two pictures are those of the kids in the hood, in Major Wrights. Are you willing to make a difference in their lives, or in those around you? Is it worth it? You can.

Never stop doing what’s best.