BONZAI HALLOWEEN

Halloween night is a night of fun. It’s a night of mischief and also a night of evil. It’s a night of alcoholic parties and a night where one could really slip in their faith. It’s also a night where one’s faith could really be grown.

We were on our way to the ATS bible study at the Kauluwela Corps, the radio blaring with music, and scenes of trick-or-treaters and party-goers all around. Anywhere you looked were either very promiscuous Halloween costumes or drinking or the two intertwined. It kinda made one think, ”Where’s the gospel… or the spirit?” We all in the car have Jesus in our lives, but on the way there you can definitely feel sin’s gravitational force on your heart. But that was soon forgotten as we walked down the stairs into the basement cafeteria of the Corps. A wave of grace flooded us and the presence of Jesus surrounded us. We praised, ate, praised, studied a passage, and then praised some more.

The whole time we were there, there were a few guys who kept laughing at us. We were confused at first, but then it hit us. We were in a bible study with ex-convicts and drug addicts who were hardcore and we were a group of college aged missionaries dressed for Halloween. It was a good combination. I was a cave man with a dead kangaroo on my head, Brock Esqueda was a scary looking zombie, along with Kealoha, our resident assistant. Kanysha Mays was little Bo Beep or something, and Matt McQuade had a moustache, which was scary by itself.

At the end of the meeting, we took off on foot towards Chinatown which was a couple of blocks down. We met up with one of our homeless contacts, Bonzai, because we had previously promised that we would come visit him that night. He was really excited to see us, which was a blessing, and we were really excited to see him. It was funny when he saw that Kealoha had a bag of makeup that we were going to use for our costumes, because he grabbed it and started getting it everywhere. It’s really humbling to see a man in his fifties who lives on the street standing there having fun with you, squirting fake blood on everyone and himself. He was one of us, not homeless, and we were the same, and Christ was apart of every bit of it. At this time last year, Bonzai would have had nothing to do with the Revolution Hawaii team, but through their hard work and the everlasting grace of our Father, we now get to witness to him almost every day of the week.

Once we were finished bloodying each other up and putting makeup on, we headed out to the Chinatown block party down the street, including Bonzai. It was weird to see so many people on a street that at that time of night was normally only inhabited by homeless people on the sidewalks. After walking a little bit through the stench of alcohol and the roar of reggae music, Bonzai was feeling a little awkward and headed back to his spot with a couple of the girls. A little bit after, we headed back as well saying goodnight to Bonzai and left to go to a Christian group’s party we were invited to.

On Halloween night, we had lots of fun, but the real blessing was our time with Bonzai. He’s opened our eyes and our hearts, and through God we have been humbled. We love him and pray that our Lord continues to bless him.