KAPA‘A — The 20-foot shipping container is coming to Benjamin Kuhaulua’s backyard on Sept. 28, said the Kapa‘a resident living close to the Church of Latter Day Saints in Kapa‘a.
“Normally, we would have the container for four days before they come to get it,” Kuhaulua said. “But, through the grace of God, we have the container until Oct. 3.”
Kuhaulua is asking the community for help in filling the shipping container with donated goods for families impacted by the wildfires, the biggest one devastating the coastal town of Lahaina.
“As a man in Christ, and a born again Christian in prayer, I have become deeply convicted about the events in Lahaina,” said Kuhaulua, a former coach with the Kapa‘a High School football team, and a community volunteer. “From watching the news throughout each day, I have seen the damage and devastation of buildings, homes, the loss of lives, and how all lives were affected.”
Connecting with a resident who is in Lahaina, but living in a subdivision that was spared by the fire, Kuhaulua said he was told about the large number of people who visit the home in search of items to survive. The shipping container will be sent to his residence where people visit in search of relief and aid.
“There’s been a lot of things sent to Maui to help people,” Kuhaulua said. “But I was told these items are not getting to the people who need them the most. The Holy Spirit has prompted me to get a 20-foot container, and to send it to Maui filled with supplies desperately needed.”
Kuhaulua said he was told the biggest thing people need is water. This situation was demonstrated when Hurricane Iniki tore through Kaua‘i in 1992, and people needed ice and water in the storm’s aftermath.
“But most of all, and most importantly, He told me clear as day, to go to the fellowships of Christ Jesus in my community and ask for Bibles, for what we’ve seen is that everything has burned,” Kuhaulua said. “And, for 4×6-inch cards of short letters. These letters are prayers of hope, of healing, of peace, of comfort, and of knowing that God has not left or abandoned them.”
“He has been there from the beginning,” Kuhaulua said. “He is there now, and He has not forsaken them. He will be with them to rebuild and heal. For as in Ezra and Nehemiah, God is the rebuilder of broken down walls and human life.”
Because of the short window of when the container will be available for packing relief items, Kuhaulua asked that people contact him by email at bt64tb64@gmail.com or call 808-635-0430.
