A chapter is over - I am selling my apartment in Hawaii!

Hawaii are you ready for this? I'm selling my beautiful apartment in Kona, Hawaii after much thought and prayer.

Thinking about this too much breaks my heart. Seldom have I worked so hard to attain something like this very condo in 2014. When I bought my apartment in Norway in 2005 it was the easiest thing I had ever done. The bank said I could pretty much borrow as much money I wanted and then asked my parents and I to sign two papers, deal done in 10 minutes. I went on one showing that I stumbled upon and the whole deal was over in the matter of a few days!!

When buying my Hawaiian condo it took blood, sweat and tears, and I spent months howling over listings, laws, hundreds and hundreds of papers and documents, and on several showings, not finding the exact place I wanted. I started July in 2014 and worked on it until September, before I could breath out and be the proud owner of a Hawaiian home. 

Now, less than two years later, I'm letting go of that dream, and selling it. It has been a lot of hard work and a lot of joy. I have met some amazing people, and remain close to some of them and my real estate agent. She keeps buying me stuff and taking me out to breakfast and dinners, and our next plan is to catch a movie. I had no idea I would find a friend in her. Through these two years over 20 girls have lived with me or without me in the apartment!! It has been amazing to think that I've been able to provide a home, not just for me, but for other girls in missions while they are in training in Hawaii. I wish I could continue doing that, but hope the person that will take over, can continue what I started. It has been a steep learning curve, I've made mistakes, I've been super stressed out, and I've gotten some things right.

When nothing was working out, and I could not find a place I wanted to buy, these are the exact words I felt God whisper into my ears "I want you to have a home in Hawaii" - which led me to search as close to the YWAM base I could and made me buy in Royal Kailuan, the closest neighbor to YWAM.

To you who lived there these 2 years, I just want to say thank you!!! Thank you for being a part of my dream. I really hope my home was a home to you also in the months you lived there! Thanks to everyone that helped me out, moral support, prayers, plumbers, handy men, friends that helped carry and fix and set up all the furniture (a lot of stairs, huh?). Thanks to you who believed in me. And of course to my Norwegian bank Nordea and Ole Martin Kro!

The only joy in this, is that to sell it I am coming back to visit this summer!! I get to see Kona and Hawaii at least one more time and maybe get a closure, at least for now. It makes me so sad. Living there 1997-2000, then visiting in 2001, living there 3 months in 2005, visiting in 2011 and then living there 2013-2015, this place have impacted me enormously. I would not be the person I am today without Kona. Now it is time to say goodbye.

One of the hard feelings I'm left with is was this really it? All that work for this? Is it really ending now? I guess that's some of the questions I will have to deal with in the months to come, and allow myself to grieve too.

Well, so a chapter is closing and almost over. Here is a little picture cavalcade to show some of the things and people being involved in the dream.

Zade and Laura, two of my interior oriented students in DTS helped me buy and decorate my place!

One of the documents I had to read and sign. And yes, it was 108 pages long!! 

Meet Patti Kam, my amazing friend and realtor! I don't think I could have done this without you!! Here out for one of the great hang-outs we had.

Luckily I've had a lot of girls living here more handy than me!! Samantha, you were gold to have in the beginning. I'm so sorry about that huge couch you had to drag up those stairs while I was on a plane to Korea!!!

Haha, the larger than life TV! It took 4 grown men to carry it into the apartment and they said they hoped I would never return it (so they would have to come pick it up again!) 

The first three girls living in the apartment, Samantha and Benedicte. Thank you so much for all your help!!!

Without a car this is how it went down. Using my scarf and handbag and the scooter lock to get down curtain rods from Walmart!! Many fun experiences like this and help from strangers.

But sometimes I got help from Cam's truck to carry beds and other heavy stuff in. Thanks Cam!

And Sam came with the only thing missing, her own coffee pot!!

It's looking more and more like a home!

Creative Lynda decorating one of the bedrooms!

One of several pool parties, this one for my birthday!

Good Norwegian company, Astrid! In between her busy Bible studies we got some down time to speak Norwegian and hang out!

Visitors from Norway!!

Beautiful Kayla and Alea, my two friends that supported me and hung out in my place. 

Some of my students over to hang out, watching movies and baking cakes! Awaken DTS 2014 yei!

A crumb on the floor left alone for a couple of hours and this happens!!

The only picture of me cooking, haha!! But I did cook a lot actually, though the repertoir was pretty meager!

Sam and Sharon took me to American football game. I'll miss you in the apartment, Sam! We'll have to do some final hang-outs there this summer!

Katie, who taught me all I know about American football and some more. Here we're at Ironman 2015, at the finish line. We spend numerous Saturday days on the couch watching American football! Now she is training to be a midwife in Togo!! 

Katie started brewing the Hawaiian drink Kombucha and we all got hooked on it! It looked like a little animal living in that jar, it was pretty nasty, but oh tasted so good!

Linn and I on our way home from the beach. I loved living with you, Linn!