Lahaina, HI – Sept. 14- 18, 2026

An eager group of 12 longterm volunteers and 10 weekly volunteers (except in Lahaina they stay for two weeks) started up the fall projects on Monday, September 14.

But before I get to that, those of us who had arrived earlier to get the site prepared for the weekly volunteers were delighted and honored to participate in the second annual Lights for Lahaina event. Friday evening featured live music, food trucks, and booths with local service organizations and crafts. Saturday evening was the light march. Hundreds of people carried lights along the beach, through town, and then to the Catholic church. It was a beautiful and moving procession, especially stopping along the sea wall where conchs were sounded from land to sea, and back again, three times, the ancient way of honoring the past, the present and the future. The walk was led by students from the local high school, acknowledging them as the future of Lahaina. Very meaningful.

The Madrigal house was ready for insulation and shingles. Two crews took on those tasks, and by week’s end the inside was ready for drywall. Soffit placement was begun, as well as caulking around doors and windows on the exterior. Shingling will need to continue into week two, but they made a lot of progress! It’s a large house, basically two MDS houses joined together, for a large multigeneration family.

The slab for the Hashimura house was prepped and waiting for framing. After marking out the walls, a crew set themselves with the goal of constructing and erecting the outside walls by week’s end. With the help of the crews from the Madrigal house, the framed walls were set up on Tuesday, and the Hashimura crew began working on the inside walls. Those were mostly completed by week’s end.

An important aspect for every group’s work here in Lahaina is a cultural orientation presented by Ke’eaumoku, a local man deeply immersed in Hawaiian history and culture. After his presentation, we returned to camp and watched the Frontline video about the fire, Maui’s Deadly Firestorm. It is sobering to watch and try to imagine what happened here on August 8, 2023. The Hashimura house is located in a neighborhood where many people died, unable to escape the flames. There are a number of new builds there, but many empty lots remain.

A unique advantage of the two week stints in Lahaina is the free weekend. Church on the beach, the Road to Hana, parasailing, sunset on Haleakala, the marine aquarium and snorkeling are a sample of activities we enjoyed.

Thanks for reading, for your support and prayers, and especially to the volunteers who will yet come and share of themselves in Lahaina. We hear words of appreciation everywhere we go, the grocery stores, the hardware stores, restaurants, the beach… people here are so grateful for our presence and work. They are not forgotten!