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Dear Family and Friends ~ ALOHA!
It is with a heavy heart but renewed hope that I share this message with you all. This may take 7-10 minutes to read, please bear with me.
As many of you know, Brady, Russell, and I moved to the Big Island on October 2nd, 2017. We managed to sell and donate many of our belongings and left on a plane from Portland, Oregon with 11 suitcases. Yes, eleven. Haha. :)
After 3 months of staying in AirBnbs while we looked for jobs and a permanent house rental, we found a nice cabin off the grid in the Puna District in a town called Pahoa, in the Black Sands Beach Community. We moved in on January 1st, 2018! It was an amazing way to start the new year filled with hope! Brady has been working in Hilo which is about 40-minute commute from where we were living. Russell began pre-school in February at a charming Hawaiian charter school, Kua O Ka La. With only one working vehicle it was a challenge to get everyone where they needed to be every day of the week but we made it work. 5:30 am wake up to take Brady to Hilo, I would drive back home, get Russell ready for school, and take him to school. At this point, I would have already been in the car for over 2 ½-3 hours. Life without a car here can be very difficult. I would pick Russell up from school and Brady up from work and we would go on family outings in Pahoa and the surrounding towns. We had fallen in love with this area, the people, the culture, and had finally begun to create the quieter lifestyle and spirit of Aloha we so desperately wanted after being ready for a big change from the mainland. There is always something new and exciting to explore in these little pockets of the Big Island. Many of the places we grew to love may now be a distant memory.
Okay, so fast forward to where we are now, May of 2018. On the full moon on April 29th, I started noticing frequent small earthquakes, which grew in seismic activity over the course of a couple of days. By May 2nd, 7 months to the date that we moved to the Big Island, volcanic fissures started forming in a subdivision called Leilani Estates, 5 miles northeast of where we were living. People were being told to evacuate that area because of imminent lava eruption predictions, as well as the threat of sulfur dioxide in the area being emitted from cracks opening up in the ground from the earthquakes. We felt that with a small child and earthquakes growing in intensity, it was in our best interest of safety to leave the house for a few days to go stay with a friend until things subsided. We left Pahoa on May 4th. Many other people were doing the same, but many also decided to stay and wait it out. Russell's school had been canceled for a week before it started to hit us that we may not be able to return to the house to live. After another week had passed, the number of fissures had grown to 15-20 and we knew we were going to have to quickly make some very big decisions. There are only a few roads that lead to the part of town we lived in and they are all being closed due to the earthquakes and lava flow. There is now currently only 1 road (Highway 130) that leads to the area we lived in, and that road is in danger of being closed soon due to large cracks opening in the road that have been forming over these last few weeks. Our kind and generous friend Matthew has let us stay at his house in Oceanview. We are happy to have a safe place to be, away from the chaos, while we figure out or next step.
There are hundreds of families who are all doing this same thing right now. They are all staying with family or friends or in shelters while we wait for this natural act of awe and wonder and new land being created to have finished its current course. It has now been almost a month since this all began. There is no end in sight. Each day, the activity grows and lava flow spreads to many more houses, structures, and land (some 2,400 acres currently) including parts of the Puna Geothermal Venture in Pahoa. If you are interested in watching local Hawaii news, I encourage you to search Hawaii News Now (HNN) online for up-to-date reports about what is currently happening, as the mainland news is not covering the stories too much in depth and many of the details are left out. You can also research the Hawaii Civil Defense and USGS (US Geographical Survey).
Brady and I regretfully had to break our lease with our landlords (who live in California) because the cabin (which had only screens for air flow and no windows to close) and all the surrounding neighborhoods have become virtually uninhabitable due to poor air quality amidst the threat of constant lava flow with no end in sight. We contacted our landlords when we 1st left, even though at the time we were unsure of a return to live. When it was clear we weren't going to be able to live there anymore, we sent them a notice on May 12th giving our 30-day notice, which we, of course, could not actually live out the 30 days at the cabin. We told them of the severity of the situation, sent them links with all the information via websites and local Hawaii news, we cleared out the house and left all the keys and pertinent information with them, but they refused to reply to our calls, emails, and text messages. I finally texted them to tell them it would be a relief if they could at least let us know that they were receiving our messages. They finally confirmed that they received the notice on May 16th, telling us that they received our message and that they were watching the news closely and would get back to us soon and to have a nice day. That's it. We do not plan to go back to the cabin in Black Sands to live.
Brady had purchased a used car of his own a few months back, but it needed repairs and is currently still parked at the cabin in Pahoa and is not drivable. We still don't know if we will be able to get the car back. We are currently staying in Hawaiian Oceanview Estates at the south part of the island. Brady has a 2-hour commute to work in Hilo, in which he also drives through Hawaii Volcano National Park. He stays in town for days at a time for safety, to avoid paying the high costs of gas, as well the hundreds of miles that would be put on my car daily. We are now separated as a family most of the week. Russell and I are without a vehicle so we spend most of our time at the house. We cannot play outside some of the time because of the sulfur dioxide in the air from the winds being carried over from explosions at Halema’uma’u Crater in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.
With all of this upheaval, our lives have been turned upside down. We are tremendously grateful for our safety. We are under a lot of financial strain at the moment, considering the fact that we were still new to this area and becoming more accustomed to making a living here and budgeting our money. I work online doing transcription work and had been driving for Uber and Lyft the last several months, but have not been able to do so due to having the one working vehicle and needing to be home every day with my child. We currently have very little savings now and no money to find a new place to live. We did want to move and we're planning to do so in the late summer, but fate had something different in mind. We can stay with our friend while we plan our next move, but we would like to find a place of our own as soon as possible, preferably before Russell starts the next school year in late August of 2018.
I have never been afraid to ask for help! This is a time when I am humbled by the grace of God and knowing I have faith that our future will bounce back to where we have a solid foundation.
I am graciously asking that if you are felt led to donate to our campaign to help us find a new home I will not only be ever so grateful to you, but you would be giving me peace of mind for my child's education and a more permanent place to call home after having to up and move at a moment's notice.
My son's school also had to evacuate their property from the premises because the lava flow has been coming dangerously close. The teachers, children, and families are all experiencing much sadness but also hope for their futures. Many have relocated to other towns on the Big Island while deciding to stay here or return to the mainland. We LOVE Hawaii, this is our home! We are not leaving and we want to make this beautiful and magical island our home for as many years as possible. I want my son to grow up here amongst this wonderful culture. I see how quickly he has picked up the language. His teachers love him and are very impressed with his skills; they see his talents and there is the possibility that he will be able to skill kindergarten and go directly to 1st grade if we want to go this route. We are very proud parents!! We love our son and want him to excel in his education.
During this transition, Brady and I have decided that we are going to separate as a couple, but amicably remain friends and co-parents to our son, Russell. This decision was mutual and even though it has been emotionally difficult and challenging, we feel and hope that it will improve our relationship and help us as individuals to grow and excel in life.
With so much promise for a better future, I have to let my pride be set aside while I ask for the gift of your prayers and donations. I have spent a number of nights crying myself to sleep, not sleeping, or having intense dreams which have opened me up to the reminder that we are not in control of what the Earth creates. We are here to be good stewards of this land. We are living here watching Pele, the goddess of volcano and fire, creating a new landscape. We are watching history being created right before our eyes!!
I am in awe of how life can change in the blink of an eye.
No one here on Earth is alone; we are all here together. Human fragility and human nature are shown when we are faced with the reality that the life we once knew is no longer present. These are the moments that create an unbelievable hope for the future. The future that we ALL create is not just for ourselves but for each other, each and every human being. I know one day I will look back on all of this and be reminded of what heartbreak can do. It lets the light in through the tiny cracks and shows you that even in your darkest moments, there is light on the other side. Never take anything for granted. We are all just one moment, one thought, and one breath away from a completely different life.
I PERSONALLY WILL DONATE 10% OF ALL THE PROCEEDS FROM THIS CAMPAIGN TO MY SON'S SCHOOL, KUA O KA LA AND TO HIS TEACHERS WHO HAVE BEEN DISPLACED FROM THEIR HOMES; AND 10% WILL BUY SUPPLIES TO DONATE TO THE LOCAL SHELTERS WHO ARE HOUSING PEOPLE GOING THROUGH THIS VERY DIFFICULT TRANSITION. I WILL PAY IT FORWARD!! I UNDERSTAND THE POWER OF INTENT AND GIVING AND COULD NOT ACCEPT FUNDS FROM ANY KINDHEARTED SOUL WITHOUT CHOOSING TO CONTINUE THE CYCLE OF GIVING AS WELL!!
If you are not living on the island but are looking for other ways to help those affected you can do so through these avenues:
1. You can also donate to the American Red Cross Hawaii Chapter (808-739-8109)
2. AT&T has launched their text-to-donate campaign specific to the eruptions of Puna. Customers can donate $10 to the Hawaii Community Foundation via the campaign by texting “VOLCANO” to 50555. 100% of the money donated will go to help the victims of the volcano.
Please, if you have been touched by our story, if you know the hardships and struggles we endured to get here, if you can relate to what we are experiencing, if you can remember a time when someone else helped you out in a tremendous time of need, if you find it in your heart to help us we would be EVER SO GRATEFUL!!
With any funds raised through this campaign, we are determined to:
1. Find a nice new home for Russell and me to live, preferably in Hilo, HI so he can still attend the same school. Our safety and comfortability are most important. I will rent a small apartment or a small house, whatever I can find within the $750-$950 monthly rent range.
2. We will donate 10% of proceeds of the campaign to Russell's school and his teachers and use 10% to buy supplies to donate to the local shelters set up in Pahoa and Keaau.
THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH for reading our story and please feel free to share the link if you are so led.
So much ALOHA coming from this small corner of the globe!!
I LOVE YOU and are very grateful to have so many kind and caring souls in our lives, both near and far!!!
Mahalo and Aloha!
Sincerely,
Miriam, Brady, and Russell
It is with a heavy heart but renewed hope that I share this message with you all. This may take 7-10 minutes to read, please bear with me.
As many of you know, Brady, Russell, and I moved to the Big Island on October 2nd, 2017. We managed to sell and donate many of our belongings and left on a plane from Portland, Oregon with 11 suitcases. Yes, eleven. Haha. :)
After 3 months of staying in AirBnbs while we looked for jobs and a permanent house rental, we found a nice cabin off the grid in the Puna District in a town called Pahoa, in the Black Sands Beach Community. We moved in on January 1st, 2018! It was an amazing way to start the new year filled with hope! Brady has been working in Hilo which is about 40-minute commute from where we were living. Russell began pre-school in February at a charming Hawaiian charter school, Kua O Ka La. With only one working vehicle it was a challenge to get everyone where they needed to be every day of the week but we made it work. 5:30 am wake up to take Brady to Hilo, I would drive back home, get Russell ready for school, and take him to school. At this point, I would have already been in the car for over 2 ½-3 hours. Life without a car here can be very difficult. I would pick Russell up from school and Brady up from work and we would go on family outings in Pahoa and the surrounding towns. We had fallen in love with this area, the people, the culture, and had finally begun to create the quieter lifestyle and spirit of Aloha we so desperately wanted after being ready for a big change from the mainland. There is always something new and exciting to explore in these little pockets of the Big Island. Many of the places we grew to love may now be a distant memory.
Okay, so fast forward to where we are now, May of 2018. On the full moon on April 29th, I started noticing frequent small earthquakes, which grew in seismic activity over the course of a couple of days. By May 2nd, 7 months to the date that we moved to the Big Island, volcanic fissures started forming in a subdivision called Leilani Estates, 5 miles northeast of where we were living. People were being told to evacuate that area because of imminent lava eruption predictions, as well as the threat of sulfur dioxide in the area being emitted from cracks opening up in the ground from the earthquakes. We felt that with a small child and earthquakes growing in intensity, it was in our best interest of safety to leave the house for a few days to go stay with a friend until things subsided. We left Pahoa on May 4th. Many other people were doing the same, but many also decided to stay and wait it out. Russell's school had been canceled for a week before it started to hit us that we may not be able to return to the house to live. After another week had passed, the number of fissures had grown to 15-20 and we knew we were going to have to quickly make some very big decisions. There are only a few roads that lead to the part of town we lived in and they are all being closed due to the earthquakes and lava flow. There is now currently only 1 road (Highway 130) that leads to the area we lived in, and that road is in danger of being closed soon due to large cracks opening in the road that have been forming over these last few weeks. Our kind and generous friend Matthew has let us stay at his house in Oceanview. We are happy to have a safe place to be, away from the chaos, while we figure out or next step.
There are hundreds of families who are all doing this same thing right now. They are all staying with family or friends or in shelters while we wait for this natural act of awe and wonder and new land being created to have finished its current course. It has now been almost a month since this all began. There is no end in sight. Each day, the activity grows and lava flow spreads to many more houses, structures, and land (some 2,400 acres currently) including parts of the Puna Geothermal Venture in Pahoa. If you are interested in watching local Hawaii news, I encourage you to search Hawaii News Now (HNN) online for up-to-date reports about what is currently happening, as the mainland news is not covering the stories too much in depth and many of the details are left out. You can also research the Hawaii Civil Defense and USGS (US Geographical Survey).
Brady and I regretfully had to break our lease with our landlords (who live in California) because the cabin (which had only screens for air flow and no windows to close) and all the surrounding neighborhoods have become virtually uninhabitable due to poor air quality amidst the threat of constant lava flow with no end in sight. We contacted our landlords when we 1st left, even though at the time we were unsure of a return to live. When it was clear we weren't going to be able to live there anymore, we sent them a notice on May 12th giving our 30-day notice, which we, of course, could not actually live out the 30 days at the cabin. We told them of the severity of the situation, sent them links with all the information via websites and local Hawaii news, we cleared out the house and left all the keys and pertinent information with them, but they refused to reply to our calls, emails, and text messages. I finally texted them to tell them it would be a relief if they could at least let us know that they were receiving our messages. They finally confirmed that they received the notice on May 16th, telling us that they received our message and that they were watching the news closely and would get back to us soon and to have a nice day. That's it. We do not plan to go back to the cabin in Black Sands to live.
Brady had purchased a used car of his own a few months back, but it needed repairs and is currently still parked at the cabin in Pahoa and is not drivable. We still don't know if we will be able to get the car back. We are currently staying in Hawaiian Oceanview Estates at the south part of the island. Brady has a 2-hour commute to work in Hilo, in which he also drives through Hawaii Volcano National Park. He stays in town for days at a time for safety, to avoid paying the high costs of gas, as well the hundreds of miles that would be put on my car daily. We are now separated as a family most of the week. Russell and I are without a vehicle so we spend most of our time at the house. We cannot play outside some of the time because of the sulfur dioxide in the air from the winds being carried over from explosions at Halema’uma’u Crater in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.
With all of this upheaval, our lives have been turned upside down. We are tremendously grateful for our safety. We are under a lot of financial strain at the moment, considering the fact that we were still new to this area and becoming more accustomed to making a living here and budgeting our money. I work online doing transcription work and had been driving for Uber and Lyft the last several months, but have not been able to do so due to having the one working vehicle and needing to be home every day with my child. We currently have very little savings now and no money to find a new place to live. We did want to move and we're planning to do so in the late summer, but fate had something different in mind. We can stay with our friend while we plan our next move, but we would like to find a place of our own as soon as possible, preferably before Russell starts the next school year in late August of 2018.
I have never been afraid to ask for help! This is a time when I am humbled by the grace of God and knowing I have faith that our future will bounce back to where we have a solid foundation.
I am graciously asking that if you are felt led to donate to our campaign to help us find a new home I will not only be ever so grateful to you, but you would be giving me peace of mind for my child's education and a more permanent place to call home after having to up and move at a moment's notice.
My son's school also had to evacuate their property from the premises because the lava flow has been coming dangerously close. The teachers, children, and families are all experiencing much sadness but also hope for their futures. Many have relocated to other towns on the Big Island while deciding to stay here or return to the mainland. We LOVE Hawaii, this is our home! We are not leaving and we want to make this beautiful and magical island our home for as many years as possible. I want my son to grow up here amongst this wonderful culture. I see how quickly he has picked up the language. His teachers love him and are very impressed with his skills; they see his talents and there is the possibility that he will be able to skill kindergarten and go directly to 1st grade if we want to go this route. We are very proud parents!! We love our son and want him to excel in his education.
During this transition, Brady and I have decided that we are going to separate as a couple, but amicably remain friends and co-parents to our son, Russell. This decision was mutual and even though it has been emotionally difficult and challenging, we feel and hope that it will improve our relationship and help us as individuals to grow and excel in life.
With so much promise for a better future, I have to let my pride be set aside while I ask for the gift of your prayers and donations. I have spent a number of nights crying myself to sleep, not sleeping, or having intense dreams which have opened me up to the reminder that we are not in control of what the Earth creates. We are here to be good stewards of this land. We are living here watching Pele, the goddess of volcano and fire, creating a new landscape. We are watching history being created right before our eyes!!
I am in awe of how life can change in the blink of an eye.
No one here on Earth is alone; we are all here together. Human fragility and human nature are shown when we are faced with the reality that the life we once knew is no longer present. These are the moments that create an unbelievable hope for the future. The future that we ALL create is not just for ourselves but for each other, each and every human being. I know one day I will look back on all of this and be reminded of what heartbreak can do. It lets the light in through the tiny cracks and shows you that even in your darkest moments, there is light on the other side. Never take anything for granted. We are all just one moment, one thought, and one breath away from a completely different life.
I PERSONALLY WILL DONATE 10% OF ALL THE PROCEEDS FROM THIS CAMPAIGN TO MY SON'S SCHOOL, KUA O KA LA AND TO HIS TEACHERS WHO HAVE BEEN DISPLACED FROM THEIR HOMES; AND 10% WILL BUY SUPPLIES TO DONATE TO THE LOCAL SHELTERS WHO ARE HOUSING PEOPLE GOING THROUGH THIS VERY DIFFICULT TRANSITION. I WILL PAY IT FORWARD!! I UNDERSTAND THE POWER OF INTENT AND GIVING AND COULD NOT ACCEPT FUNDS FROM ANY KINDHEARTED SOUL WITHOUT CHOOSING TO CONTINUE THE CYCLE OF GIVING AS WELL!!
If you are not living on the island but are looking for other ways to help those affected you can do so through these avenues:
1. You can also donate to the American Red Cross Hawaii Chapter (808-739-8109)
2. AT&T has launched their text-to-donate campaign specific to the eruptions of Puna. Customers can donate $10 to the Hawaii Community Foundation via the campaign by texting “VOLCANO” to 50555. 100% of the money donated will go to help the victims of the volcano.
Please, if you have been touched by our story, if you know the hardships and struggles we endured to get here, if you can relate to what we are experiencing, if you can remember a time when someone else helped you out in a tremendous time of need, if you find it in your heart to help us we would be EVER SO GRATEFUL!!
With any funds raised through this campaign, we are determined to:
1. Find a nice new home for Russell and me to live, preferably in Hilo, HI so he can still attend the same school. Our safety and comfortability are most important. I will rent a small apartment or a small house, whatever I can find within the $750-$950 monthly rent range.
2. We will donate 10% of proceeds of the campaign to Russell's school and his teachers and use 10% to buy supplies to donate to the local shelters set up in Pahoa and Keaau.
THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH for reading our story and please feel free to share the link if you are so led.
So much ALOHA coming from this small corner of the globe!!
I LOVE YOU and are very grateful to have so many kind and caring souls in our lives, both near and far!!!
Mahalo and Aloha!
Sincerely,
Miriam, Brady, and Russell
Organizer
