Report Title:

WHEREAS, the Legislature is always proud to recognize and honor the outstanding accomplishments of Hawaii's students and educators, whose efforts give pride and inspiration to the people of the State of Hawaii; and

WHEREAS, three years ago, OUR LADY OF PERPETUAL HELP SCHOOL, a tiny catholic school in Ewa Beach, was battling dwindling enrollment and growing debts; and

WHEREAS, inspired by faith and a love for OUR LADY OF PERPETUAL HELP SCHOOL, Shelly Mecum, a fourth-grade teacher, envisioned a simple rescue mission and a brave book writing adventure, sending 300 people, ages 5 to 79 on a search for God, having them record their experiences, then put them all in a book; and

WHEREAS, with the prayers, donations, and heartfelt support of the entire community, Shelly Mecum proposed a challenge to the students and their families to write this book in order to ignite within them the power in writing and the passion in reading while nurturing their spirituality, with the faith that this project would also save the school from closing; and

WHEREAS, on April 23, 1998, equipped with Quicksnap cameras, notebooks, pens, and pencils, the kindergarten through eighth grade students from OUR LADY OF PERPETUAL HELP SCHOOL, their families, and parishioners boarded 14 buses destined for spots scattered throughout Oahu in a amazing journey in search of God; and

WHEREAS, Shelly Mecum, Principal Dennis Sasaki, and the children and their families have learned that dreams utterly come true--especially those powered by love, fueled with prayer and driven by God, as their book, "GOD'S PHOTO ALBUM", has been sold to Harper San Francisco, the inspirational division of Megapublisher Harper Collins, and will be released May 1, 2001; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-first Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2001, that this body hereby honors and commends the students, teachers, families, and parishioners of OUR LADY OF PERPETUAL HELP SCHOOL for their extraordinary achievement and nationwide recognition and publishing of "GOD'S PHOTO ALBUM", and extends to them its warmest aloha and best wishes for continued success in all future endeavors. We believe you can fly.