KAPA‘A — The deadline for dropping off relief supplies, including Bibles and 4-inch by 6-inch index cards with inspirational and motivating notes of encouragement, is Oct. 3 before a 20-foot shipping container is sealed and delivered to Maui.
A handwritten sign on a bedsheet describes the location of relief supplies drop off at the home of Ben and Tracy Kuhaulua, which is located a stone’s throw from K Snacks by Kanoa Iwasaki across Kuhio Highway from Pono Kai.
“The response from people, and the churches have been overwhelming from the day the container got here on Thursday. It’s more than half-filled. I have a daughter who is home schooled, and she made at least 700 note cards using quotes from the Bible,” Ben said.
There was a U.S. Marine who happened to be passing by. He stopped for a while to help with the packing. People have been driving by and dropping off supplies and materials. The Kaua‘i Independent Food Bank provided a pallet of bottled water, one of the most asked for items.”
Tracy Kuhaulua, Ben’s wife, said people have been very generous.
“There was a lady who came so she could meet Ben in person before she left Kaua‘i,” Tracy said. “After hearing him on one of the radio stations, and reading the account in The Garden Island, she just cried and said she needed to meet Ben before leaving the island.”
The Kuhaulua ‘ohana will be available to accept contributions, which will be shipped to the Kelawea Mauka Distribution Hub at Lahaina on Maui. They are available on Monday from 8:30 a.m. until 5 p.m. On Tuesday, the deadline for finalizing the container for shipment, the Kuhaulua ‘ohana will be accepting relief supplies until 1 p.m.
Some of the items being asked for include bottled water, paper towels, toilet tissue, rice, detergent pods, Spam, Vienna sausage, saimin, Cup of Noodles, small sizes of cooking oil and dish soap, Clorox wipes, kopiko coffee in sachet, baby diapers, hot chocolate packets, single serve creamers, feminine hygiene products, adult diapers in medium size, Kleenex boxes, soap bars and Ensure for kupuna.
Ben, describing himself as “a man in Christ, and a born again Christian, said, “The Holy Spirit has prompted me to get a 20-foot container, and to send it to Maui filled with supplies that are desperately needed.
“But most of all, and most important, He said to me clear as day, to go to the fellowship of Christ Jesus in my community and ask for Bibles, for what we’ve seen is that everything has burned. He also asked for 4 by 6-inch cards or 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.”
