Day 10 & 11 @ Home

Yesterday (Wednesday), my sister Pearl & Paul (brother-in-law) flew in from the Big Island to spend Christmas with us.  It's been about 4 years since we've been together as a family so it was really exciting.  What's even more exciting is that Pearl is pregnant, so everyone is super stoked about that.  Anyways, during the day, we pretty much just helped Karen prepare food for dinner, drove the car into town to get a quick car wash, took some pics to and from there, came home and watched mom give Panda a bath, yeah.  Later that night, we through a family Christmas party and had some of Karen's friends over too so it was cool having everyone there along with new company.  Food was bomb, games were fun, yeah... good night for sure.

Today, just chilled around the house, cruzzing, you know, the usual, then I decide I wanted to go down into my backyard and explore the jungle.  So I got ready, pulled out my machete and walked out the back door.  As soon as I exited the house, I heard movements amongst the plants.  At first I thought it was the wild pigs my dad was talking about, but then I noticed a long stick picking at the avocados up in our tree.  So I peeked across the street to see if my dad's car was there but it wasn't, and I was sure it wasn't my mom, so I approached the tree and as soon as I walked around to see who it was, there were 2 guys stealing our avocados!  So I called them out:

-Me: With machete in hand, "Eh, what you guys doing ova hea?!?!"
-One guy sees me and nudges his partner, now they're both looking at me a little shocked.
-Guy: "Oh... we just picking da avocados."
-Me: "You cannot be doing dat, dis our stuff brah."
-Guy: "Uh, k..."
-Me: "Just take what you wen already pick and no come back ova hea."
-Guy: "Oh, ok, tanks."
-Me: "Eh, no worries, Merry Christmas ah?"
-Then I watched them walk away in the jungle til I couldn't see them no more.

Craziness huh?  What perfect timing to want to go into my backyard for a stroll.  This wasn't the first time people came to steal stuff so it was kinda cool spotting them out.  I could have been a little bit more aggressive in this situation, but honestly, the look on their faces when I first called them out broke my heart.  I assume that these guys were homeless and just wanted something to eat but i caught them with their "hands in the cookie jar."  I could have took back all the avocados they picked, confiscated their stick that they used to get the fruit, called the cops, or been stupid and fight them.  But for some reason I felt led to let them keep what they already picked.
It wasn't until later that I remembered what my devotional was the night before.  In short, I was reading Proverbs 3, and in verse 27 it says "Do not withhold good from those who deserve it, when it is in your power to act."  Like I said, I could of responded to those guys differently but I didn't.  But some may wonder or argue "they don't deserve good."  Well you know what, none of us deserve "good" cause every now and then, we get caught with our "hands in the cookie jar" but God still forgives us and blesses us cause we are His children.  That experience was literally a "What would Jesus do?" moment for me.  I think Jesus would know their names.  My hope for those guys is that somewhere down the road someone will help them, spiritually and physically.  I know what it's like to be hungry so I honestly hope they enjoy those avocados.  A part of me hopes I can see them again and actually get to know them.  God is good.
Afterwards, mom came out to practice shooting the BB gun I bought her, specifically for sniping out people that come and steal our fruits, and she killed it.  Her first shot nailed the water bottle we put out for practice, and as she went on, she was hitting more targets than my sister and I.  Paul and Pearl came out to join us and we ended up harvesting some of the avocados.  Good afternoon.