Lahaina, HI – Feb. 8-14, 2026

The February leadership team replaced the January leadership volunteers this week. Weekly volunteers for the next two weeks arrived on Sunday, February 8. A group of nine from Kansas, a woman from Pennsylvania and two gentleman, previous business partners in Hawaii, one from Arizona and one from Washington, all headed out to the job sites Monday morning.

At Valerie’s house, a team of volunteers finished blocking. They framed the roof, including repairs of trusses and fascia in preparation for sheeting. They began sheeting and did cleanup work.

A team of volunteers worked at Jelyn’s family house. They diligently mudded and sanded in the kitchen, dining and living areas. The next day they mudded and sanded again and the third day they mudded and sanded some more! Finally, they primed and added two coats of paint to these areas.

The third team installed flooring at Clint’s house. They were happy to also install cabinets from the MDS Kansas cabinet shop. They hung doors, put in closet shelves, worked on the French doors, added trim and painted doors and trim. The volunteers had a view of the ocean and reported whale sightings while working at this home.

Wednesday morning we all attended the cultural training where we learned some of the history and culture of Hawaii. Some Hawaiians have a deep desire to restore the Lahaina historical areas that had been burned in the fire. After the training, we drove part way up the mountain to the Kaipo agricultural farm. Agriculture is declining in Maui, with fewer farms compared to what was here many years ago.

Thursday evening, some of the Long Term Recovery Group joined us for supper. Brandy and Eric, along with Jessica, the lead case manager and Lori, from the media department shared about the disaster and recovery efforts.

When asked about highlights of the week, some volunteers expressed they are pleased with the new skills they are learning and were delighted with the whale sightings.