Aloha Challenge: An Ocean Challenge Program
Photo credit FFWPU-USA
The much-anticipated ‘Aloha’ Ocean Challenge was held in Kona, Hawaii from January 14 to 19. The six-day program, co-coordinated by Chuck Frumin, pastor of Kona Family Church, Frank Button, Ocean Tribe coordinator for the Western region, and Branch Gaarder, national coordinator of Ocean Tribe, included four days of ocean fishing, two days of activities, and a tour of the Island of Hawaii, the largest island of the archipelago.
Five participants from Arizona, California, and New Jersey were welcomed to the Hawaiian Queen Coffee Garden center where they stayed for the duration of the program. The first day kicked off at 5:30 a.m. with scripture studies and a breakfast prepared by local Unificationists. Then participants were off to the docks for a six-hour fishing trip on the Silky, a 45’ charter boat captained by Steve Tarbill and his deckhand.
Participants took turns sitting in the fighting chair where the angler holds onto a giant rod and reels and wrestles any fish that takes the bait. The target fish in the Hawaiin region are billfish, mahi-mahi, and tuna. Four to six lines are suspended from outriggers, or attached to “teasers,” which attract larger fish to investigate near the surface. During the four days of ocean fishing, the group worked together and took turns catching mahi-mahi and spearfish. On the last day of fishing, one participant caught a 150lb blue marlin, the group’s first and only marlin of the program!
The group spent the latter half of the fishing days snorkeling, hiking in scenic parks, learning about thermal energy and fish farms, and visiting historical buildings, as well as King Garden and Queen Garden. In the evenings, local Unificationists Chuck Frumin, Steve Tarbil, Gabriel Legay, and Bruce Brown gave testimonies, reminiscing on times when their lives were touched, changed and transformed by Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon and Rev. Dr. Sun Myung Moon, co-founders of Family Federation for World Peace and Unification (FFWPU), and affectionately known as True Parents.
Near the end of the program, Sun Jin Moon, senior vice-president of Women’s Federation for World Peace International (WFWPI), and her husband In Sup Park Moon led a group tour of the Hawaiian Queen Coffee Farm. Sun Jin Moon shared about how True Parents used to take Korean leaders in formal suits to get Hawaiian shirts. Keeping with the tradition, Sun Jin Moon took the Aloha Challenge group to shop for their own Hawaiian shirts. “Please think of this as your second home,” she said to the group. “Please come back again and enjoy Hawaii.”
The last day included a tour of the Island of Hawaii. The group went to many places that True Parents enjoyed visiting: the majestic black sand Punalu’u beach, Mount Kilauea, the King Kamehameha statue in Hilo, and two trees where True Parents would stop to rest and pray. “I strongly believe that Ocean Challenge is more than just fishing and touring. It is a compressed package of True Parents’ love and passion for the ocean and the people of this world,” shared one participant.
Inspired by the commitment and enthusiasm of the local church captains and Unificationists, Branch Gaarder wants to continue to build the Aloha program and help it flourish in the future. “I am blown away by the foundation of properties, deep-hearted Unificationists, and the beautiful island True Parents chose to leave their legacy,” shared Gaarder. “True Mother specifically asked for Aloha workshops to be held here, and now I know why.”
Stay tuned for future Ocean Challenge programs in Hawaii! Until then, Aloha!