ERIC AND LYN TAYLOR: KANALANI KIDS, KAUAI, HI

Makanalani’s mission is to enable children with few opportunities to have a free holiday in a tropical environment and to experience God’s love and the love of others. Through this life-changing experience they will see that there can be much more to life than the circumstances in which they live, and they will go home with the seeds of their future growth and new hope for life.

It has taken many years to achieve this dream. We are finally now able to open our home and share our lives with these children. How did this dream become a reality? More than ten years ago Lyn accompanied a friend to Kauai and they spent fabulous days exploring the island. It was her first visit to Kauai and she knew that it would not be her last. The magnificent scenery and the aloha spirit of the people on Kauai stole her heart. She had always wanted to have a place where she could bring disadvantaged children together and offer them a free week away. It was to be set in an environment where they could experience life in a different way from their current situation, and in that way they would come to see that life could be different. Never had we dreamed that this would be in Kauai, but after her visit Lyn realized that this would be the perfect spot.

In 2005 we purchased 130 acres on the north shore and started the process of
developing the land. After several years, the 130 acres now has a large barn, an agriculture processing building and a home with a water well and solar power for the whole property. We have fenced the property, added roads and bridges and planted hundreds of fruit and hard wood trees. Mini donkeys, sheep and horses from Arkansas now live happily in the farm.

Offering children a chance to spend some time on a working farm where they can learn about the land, harvest fruit and vegetables, feed the animals, etc. is a great way to create opportunities for these children to grow and learn to be good stewards of the land. Each child is unique and special and we want them to know that God loves them. Just as they will have the opportunity to plant seeds in a vegetable garden and pick the produce to eat, our hope is that the time that they spend in this environment will plant the seeds for their future growth.