Lahaina, HI – Dec. 8-12, 2025

Week 2 in Lahaina, by Jeremiah Brewer (age 9, Fourth Grade) 

Working in Lahaina the last two weeks has been fun, but I also have been homesick at times. This week I helped deliver tools to people, painted a little bit, learned more about truss building, helped put doorknobs and locks on the doors, and made many new friends. Trying to keep up with homework has been stressful, and I miss my school friends. 

The weekend was a lot of fun. I really like doing things with my church family. I even got to pick oranges! Swimming in the ocean is amazing! That’s all for this week. 

And from the office manager… 

Our most exciting accomplishments this week were putting roofs on the Kahahane and Yadao houses. At the Kahahane house, truss installation was completed, and the soffit and bird blocks installed. Those required painting. Building the trusses for the Yadao house was no small matter, especially on a tight lot with very red and very fine dusty soil. Happily, by week’s end, most of the trusses had been assembled and put up, and the sheeting was half done. The ongoing loan of Eric’s telehandler has been essential, as well as the ability of one of our volunteers to operate said machine! [Eric and Brandy Cajudoy are the local contractors with whom we are working, a very good partnership!] 

Learning about Lahaina, its history and culture, has been so important. Somewhere I read that Lahaina is “thriving,” but a better descriptor is “recovering.” Much careful consideration is being given to how recovery need to happen. There is a whole lot more involved than just the building of houses. As a group, we watched the Frontline documentary Maui’s Deadly Firestorm. A cultural training presentation by native Hawaiian Ke’eaumoku Kapu (who is also featured in the documentary) is provided for each group of volunteers. We will return home better understanding what Lahaina folks are confronting as they move forward. 

By week’s end everyone is tired. Sleeping in past our usual 6:30 breakfast time is welcome, especially for the younger ones! Since we are all here for three weeks this time, we had the gift of an additional weekend on Maui, thus more time to poke around and take in what the island has to offer, including whale watching for some.