Kokua at Waialua United Church of Christ March 23, 2015

On January 8th, 2015 the entire staff of Tūtū & Me O‘ahu was fortunate to join Rev. Dr. Grant Lee and Uncle Larry in giving back to one of the communities our program serves: Waialua. At the Waialua United Church of Christ we worked side-by-side with Rev. Dr. Lee and Uncle Larry to maintain and restore the grounds on which Team 1 facilitates our preschool program. Our staff repotted and thinned out decade-old planters, trimmed and cleared the hedges and lawn, weeded and raked unruly areas of the grounds, washed screen doors, offices, and walls, and mowed large sections of grass with the help of one temperamental riding-lawnmower.

Rev. Dr. Lee expressed deep gratitude for the help, sharing with our group that the amount of work we completed would have taken the “Yard Fellowship” (an elderly group of the church’s congregation in their late 70’s and 80’s who typically care for the 4.5 acre grounds) months to accomplish. Once finished, our efforts were rewarded with prime selections from the church’s fruit trees such as mangos, star fruits, soursop, guavas, and pomegranates, as well as plentiful Chinese food courtesy of the reverend.

It is no overstatement to say we left the grounds fulfilled in more ways than one. Much mahalo to Rev. Lee, Uncle Larry, and the congregation at the Waialua United Church of Christ for the opportunity to demonstrate our gratitude through service and for sharing your space with our program every week.