Another Important Lesson Learned!

This is my recollection of what turned out to be a wonderful blessed night.  Please feel free to add or edit, or submit your own perspective. 

We (Carol Kanayama, Gregg Hamamoto, Greg & Kristina Nifong, Mike Kanayama, Janet China) first gathered at Unified to decide on a venue for the outreach effort.  Wayne asked us where God told us where to go.  Greg Nifong said he saw a statute, like King Kamehameha holding a spear.  That indicated downtown.  Kristina offered Chinatown as the place God advised, Janet China suggested the Home Improvement Show at NBC, Greg Nifong said Chinatown felt right, and Wayne said Chinatown had been on his heart for a while.(Someone else — MIke?–might have said Chinatown too. I was distracted, thinking of food because I was hungry, as was Gregg Hamamoto.  (At some point, I said we should go eat together but I was sure that was because of my preoccupation with food.  I could sort of see us eating together although I didn’t say that to the group.)  

So Chinatown is where we went. I drove the ladies– Janet and Kristina– and Wayne drove  the men– Greg Nifong, Gregg Hamamoto, and my cousin, Mike.  We agreed to park in the Municipal lot under a park bordered by Nuuanu Avenue and Beretania Street.  However, I had difficulty finding the entrance, and as I circled the block, lo and behold, Wayne was in the next lane, and he said the parking lot was on Beretania and Maunakea Street.  So that’s where my group went– at least, we thought that was the designated lot– we learned there are a LOT of parking lots in Chinatown–but we didn’t see Wayne’s car and wondered where they were.  The men were concerned, and called us at various times to coordinate meeting up with us.  They had parked in a different lot, and we women waited, as arranged, outside of the Municipal lot on Beretania Street. 

The evening was turning dark, and the atmosphere was beginning to change with the working people and college students dwindling. We women were directly across Wong Kee Restaurant and Legend Seafood Restaurant at the Cultural Plaza.  Just as it started to get a little spooky waiting there because it’s a high crime rate area, Kristina noticed our guys approaching on Beretania Street, and she said, “The men are coming to rescue us.”  It really felt like that!  Like  in cowboy movies where the cavalry come to rescue the women in distress.  It was a real kick to see our guys walking toward us– I think I’ll always remember that scene.  

When we met the guys, my cuz, Mike, said he needed to get to a bathroom quickly, and Greg Nifong echoed him, saying, he confirmed that!  We went to the Cultural Plaza to find a restroom, and the men went upstairs to the Chinese church.  But they were denied entrance because it wasn’t a public bathroom.  Wayne was drawn to the sign — No Public Bathroom Restroom- in Legend Seafood Restaurant, and he went in there to ask if they could use the restroom.  Annie, a waitress, gave them permission.  I was relieved for them because I was starting to wonder what they’d do if no place admitted them.  When the guys came out of the restaurant, Wayne felt we needed to bless the restaurant, so he suggested having soup in the restaurant.  When we were seated in the restaurant, we ended up ordering dinner!  (Just what I had wanted to do– eat together.)

The place was elegant, with white cloth tablecloth and white linen napkins, and a huge chandelier.  The waitresses were dressed in a white shirt, black pants and black vest– formal-looking.  The food was excellent!!  As we settled in, we relaxed, and had a really nice time.  I felt as if we were celebrating and God was happy that we were.  

We felt truly blessed.  We prayed for the place to prosper, and within a half hour, more customers arrived. 

After dinner, we prayed for Queen Quing, our waitress, because her wrist hurt.  Afterward, she tested her wrist, twisting it around, and said it felt good! 

Annie (the waitress who let the guys use the bathroom) was watching from a distance.  She practically ran over to us, and stuck her left arm out, saying, “Do the same thing for me too!”  Her wrist hurt too.  We prayed for her, and she thanked us.  (She didn’t tell us whether it got better, but from her reaction, it must have.)  I guess she related the experience to maybe the supernatural element of tai chi or kung fu because she said it was like “tai chi/kung fu”, and she demonstrated some tai chi/kung fu moves for us.  

She then gave us free dessert!  Three different kinds of a liquidy pudding, which were like zenzai.  It was quite delicious.  

After the wonderful meal and dessert, we debriefed outside the restaurant.  The men said that at first, they felt that they needed to hurry up and get over the distractions — the parking lot miscommunication, urgent bathroom need, and being denied bathroom privileges– so that they could pray for people.  After all, that was our purpose for going out.  Wayne said he was wondering why all of these things were happening, but as he was in Legend’s restroom, he felt God wanted to bless the restaurant.  The guys said they had to set aside their agendas for God’s agenda because God wanted them where they were- in Legend Seafood Restaurant.   

Mike said he felt as if we were foreigners in the place at first, but later felt we fit right in– it felt comfortable.  

I just felt blessed and special.  The meal, the place, and the service made me feel special, as if I was being honored.  It blows me away to think of this, but I felt as if God was honoring us.  Us!  The Scriptures about how God delights in us, and how He rejoices over us are real!  

And we did get to bless Annie and Quing. And Janet later.

What an unusual night!  And what a blessed time it was.  Thank you, God!! 

Carol