A rainbow from above

As I departed the Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace this morning for the airport, I was told by one of the Cathedral employees, "You always have a room here, Father." I was deeply touched and realized how very easy it is to make friends in Hawaii, much easier for me than it seems to be back on the mainland, perhaps because I am more relaxed and at ease in Hawaii.

When I arrived at the office of Captain John Callahan, who runs Hawaii From Above, I was delighted to see that he and his assistant, Cyndi, both removed me from my flight with them last August (I give him my highest recommendation!). In fact, both mentioned the "thank you" I sent them and John had even kept my business card (which came in handy because he had to call my cell phone when he realized I left my credit card there; oops!).

When our guide from Damien Tours, Keanini, who runs Molokai Mule Ride, arrived to pick us up at the Kalaupapa "International" Airport he remembered me from my pilgrimage in August. I was very grateful and he gave another excellent tour.

At one point I mentioned to him that I would like to bring my World Youth Day pilgrims to Kalaupapa after Father Damien's canonization; he responded by suggesting that I bring them to Kalaupapa for a few days of service work. It's a brilliant idea! I'll be in touch with him upon my return.

What was supposed to be a rainy day in Kalaupapa turned out to be a rather pleasant day, which resulted in my seeing a rainbow from above:




Excitement is naturally building in Kalaupapa over Blessed Damien of Molokai's upcoming canonization. The church of St. Philomena, where he served, is currently being restored in preparation for the many pilgrims who are expected after the canonization, and are to be completed by October (pictures will come later).

When I departed the Cathedral, I was encouraged to return soon; when I left Kalaupapa, I was encouraged to return soon; when I left the airport in Honolulu, I was encouraged to return soon. Truly, good friendships have been formed here, and I cannot wait to return.

In about an hour I will board my flight for St. Paul, from where I will continue to St. Louis. Your prayers for a safe flight - and for sleep on the flight - will be much appreciated.

Mahalo, Hawaii! Aloha!

A delightful flight

I left the house this morning at 7:00 in order to arrive at Hawaii From Above – located at the airport - and meet Captain John Callahan at 8:30. When traffic flows well the airport is only a twenty-minute or so drive, but wet roads early in the morning can result in a few accidents (Hawaiians aren’t known to be the best of drivers, spending much time simply enjoying the weather or the views).

Very soon after I entered the eastbound lanes of Interstate H1 (the other two are cleverly named H2 and H3) I encountered heavy traffic moving very slowly. I felt as though I were back in Chicagoland.

After driving for nearly thirty minutes I finally discovered the cause of the slow traffic: an accident in the left-most westbound lane. As in Chicago, so in Honolulu. As soon as the gawkers passed the accident traffic picked up and moved well.

After only one wrong turn (the boys who travelled with me in Hawaii quickly learned that I almost always make one wrong turn but that I also always find my destination), I arrived at Captain Callahan’s at 8:00. Having arrived so early I had time to begin this blog post and also to listen to the news (which I haven’t caught in almost a month).

From my car I could see the plane on which we would be flying: a Cessna 337 Skymaster. It sits six people. I’ve never before wanted to fly on a plane so small and yet somehow this morning I wasn’t at all nervous about the flight.

I met Captain Callahan and his assistant Cyndi. I also met the other man, Joe, who wanted to go to Molokai and whose presence made this morning’s trip possible. Sandy at Hawaii Adventure Hiking arranged for the two of us to fly with Captain Callahan; Cyndi flew along for the ride and to walk along Molokai while Joe and I went on the tour.

Captain Callahan is a most excellent and accomplished pilot, having flown the military version of the Cessna 337 in the Viet Nam war. Both takeoffs and both landings were perfect and completely smooth. I was very impressed!

The views from the plane were phenomenal! We even drove straight through a few clouds, and I could see clouds from above and from the side. It was amazing!

I would highly recommend Captain Callahan to anyone. As Cyndi said, I’m now a lover of small planes. I’d love to fly in one again soon.