Hope to see you at the Hilton Hawaiian Village in Waikīkī on Friday, April 24, 2026 for the Hawai‘i Prayer Breakfast.

On Easter Day 2026 the life and ministry of mid-18th century English evangelist George Whitefield is coming to the big screen across the United States. A feature film titled the A Great Awakening is opening at Easter in theaters across the country. A tag line for the film calls it the “Revolution before the Revolution,” that is the Revolutionary War. The heart of A Great Awakening is the close friendship and working relationship between renowned American inventor, printer, and diplomat Benjamin Franklin and the English mid-18th century evangelist George Whitefield. The circulation of Franklin’s Philadelphia newspaper barely made him a living until he discovered Whitefield and successfully bid to publish his sermons. The paper flourished, as did the popularity of Whitefield. It is said that Whitefield’s evangelical tours up and down the 13 British American colonies for the first time gave the colonies, in a big way, a vision of joining forces and becoming a nation free from the colonial rule of Great Britain.

In late October 2019 I guided a tour bus full of friends mostly from Hawai‘i on a visit to the Old South Presbyterian Church in Newburyport, Mass. Inside this historic church in this scenic port town on the Merrimack River, in a crypt one floor below the pulpit, lies the remains of evangelist George Whitefield.

Adding a Whitefield stop was a wild card in the tour route of the Hana Hou New England tour, led by Dave and Cheryl Buehring. The tour joined a group from Kawaihao Church in Honolulu, Hawai‘i missionary descendants from the Hawaiian Mission Houses, and many others with Hawai‘i ties at the Bicentennial of the departure of the Sandwich Islands Mission to Hawai‘i. This was held at Park Street Church in Boston in late October 2019.

Following the services at Park Street and the Long Wharf in Boston, where the pioneer Sandwich Islands Mission Company departed to board the brig Thaddeus, we took off amidst the glorious fall leaves of New England. We soon arrived in Cornwall, Ct. to visit the grave of Henry Obookiah-‘Ōpūkaha‘ia; to Phillips Academy at Andover, Mass. to pray at the missionary rock along the shore of Rabbit Pond; and more stops with ties to the Hawai‘i Mission in New England.

I felt led to give our Hawai‘i-focused tour group a look at a couple key sites of American history, though ones with background ties to the Hawai‘i missionary events. I added Plymouth Rock and the National Monument to the Forefathers as a stop. Focusing on a George Whitefield stop seemed a bit out of our realm, but I sensed we should add Old South to our itinerary. I am thankful Dave Buehring went along with my instinct. Now with A Great Awakening being released George Whitefield is becoming an even more iconic figure in the history of American Christianity. Whitefield, well before the Revolutionary War broke out in 1775, had a vision that God had big plans in his Providence for the American colonies. Whitefield died in 1770 in a home directly behind the Old South Church

Below are photos of highlights of our visit to Old South Church.

The crypt of George Whitefield in the basement of the Old South Church in Newburyport, Mass. This Whitefield grave is a pilgrimage place for Christians visiting New England. The church tour guide offers a comprehensive and informed narrative about Whitefield, one of the best of its kind I’ve found in all New England.

At 2019 visit to Old South Church: Chris Cook (left) with filmmakers Michael and Shari Leinau of Global Net Productions in Seattle, and Jeff Rogers from the University of the Nations in Kailua-Kona Hawai‘i. Paul Revere cast the church’s bell. This photo is taken from the peak of the church’s steeple.

As the youngest of five children to Kwai Wah and Elizabeth Lee, I had a front row seat observing my sister Deborah, the oldest, who was adventurous, outgoing, and an excellent floral arrangement/lei/haku creator. I received a call from Deborah in the year 1992. She was on the mainland, Seattle, I believe. Deborah told me she was awakened in her ‘na‘au” to bring Henry home, “He wants to come home, Denby.” Within a 24–48-hour period, talks between our parents and Deborah affirmed, Deborah will bring Henry ‘Ōpūkaha‘ia home.

I remember my Mom (and Dad) sharing their conversation with Deborah. “What!?! Deborah, that’s a big task, I mean what…how…Deborah we don’t have that kind of money!”  With Deborah conveying how this was manifested by the Holy Spirit, how this was not just another thought but from her “na‘au”, she heard “Henry wants to come home.” The movement to bring Henry home started.

We are eight generations removed, a relative of Henry. We all knew about Henry, his story passed down through the generations, and owned Henry’s memoir written by Edwin W. Dwight. Mom reflected and started to see how God prepared the way for Henry to come home.

In the 1960s our mother Elizabeth met her Caucasian cousin, Berle Walters, who came to Haili Congregational Church. They knew of each other but never met until then. Their meeting would turn out to be momentous for the homecoming of Henry as the sharing of genealogy, getting it written on paper, was pivotal and a means for Cornwall to release “Obookiah” to his true ‘ohana.

Mom mentioned that others have tried to bring Henry home, to no avail. She mentioned a colonel, other individuals and some Hawaiian activist group. But it was God’s timing to speak to Deborah in the wee hours of that one morning, and because of God, the way was made open, specific people placed in the path for Deborah to complete the homecoming of this amazing Hawaiian.

I remember the time when the question was posed, “How would you know it’s Henry?” “What you think we would find….would he be all there?” Winkler Wood Product wanted to contribute making a koa casket. Because it was guessed that there wouldn’t be much to retrieve of his iwi (bones), a koa box approximately 2 1/2 x 3 foot was beautifully made.

But then, that call came to my parents that Henry was all there, all 6 feet of him, along with brass tacks identifying, H.O. 26.  Winkler Wood Products was informed of the update, and a beautiful full-size Koa casket was completed, Wow!

Henry ‘Ōpūkaha‘ia’s homecoming was God led. Our namesake cousin, Henry Keau Kumuola Opukahaia Kelii Hoomanawanui, carries the name of Henry and both of his parents, Keau-dad, Kumuola-mom, paddled Henry’s casket on a double-hulled canoe with the Keoua Canoe Club crew from Honaunau paddling to Kealekekua Bay, signifying Henry’s return.  As Henry dove in the water to swim to shore, clouds parted and the sun shone through lighting a path to the shore with dolphins rejoicing as they swam and leaped out of the water behind and alongside the canoe. Only God.

Deborah’s obedience in adhering to the Holy Spirit, taking action, and having the faith and trust in our Lord and Savior, was inspirational. I am forever grateful and thankful to my late sister, Deborah Li‘ikapeka Lee, and for our parents, Kwai Wah and Elizabeth Lee for their love for Christ and commitment of bringing Henry ‘Ōpūkaha‘ia home. 

Aloha and a hui hou, my sister! 

I Love you, Denby Toci

Debbie remembered by Nicholas Bellantoni

I will be posting a series of articles focusing on Deborah “Debbie” Lee and her advocacy for ‘Ōpūkaha‘ia.

Deborah Li‘ikapeka Lee passed away in December in her home town of Hilo on the windward side of Hawai‘i Island. Best known to me as Debbie, she influenced my life, my knowledge of Hawaiian ways, and in my knowledge of the life, times, and heritage of ‘Ōpūkaha‘ia – Henry Obookiah. I first met Debbie in August 1993, on the very day the remains of ‘Ōpūkaha‘ia were landed at the wharf at Napo‘opo‘o along Kealakekua Bay in Kona. I along with my friend book editor Scott Tompkins attended the burial service held at the Kahikolu Church mauka of the landing. I had recently posted my obookiah.com website in the early days of online websites, with the full text of the Memoirs of Obookiah available. In 1993 I soon added information about Debbie’s Ka ‘Ohe Ola Hou Inc. – the Bamboo Lives Again foundation. Our connection began that day, flourishing and enduring through great, good, and troubling times for us both.

Below is the first, a tribute from our mutual friend archaeologist Nicholas “Nick” Bellantoni.

Nicholas “Nick” Bellantoni Ph.D., Connecticut State Archaeologist emeritus, has become a good friend over the years during visits to the now empty grave of ‘Ōpūkaha‘ia in Cornwall, Conn. Nick led in disinterring the remains of ‘Ōpūkaha‘ia in 1993 following Debbie’s blessed fulfillment of her wish to return Henry home to Hawai‘i. Nick with utmost care and concern for Henry’s remains placed them in a koa coffin in Hartford to being the return of ‘Ōpūkaha‘ia to Hawai‘i. Debbie Lee and her ‘ohana in Hawai‘i warmly welcomed Nick into their family. Nick’s book The Long Journeys Home: The Repatriations of Henry ‘Opukaha’ia and Albert Afraid of Hawk published in 2018 recounts in detail his encounter with ‘Ōpūkaha‘ia and Debbie during his archaeology work in the Cornwall cemetery.

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Deborah “Debbie” Li‘ikapeka Lee’s commitment and loyalty to family heritage have been inspirational to me. We met on a warm July afternoon in 1993 when she and her parents travelled to Connecticut to escort the physical remains of her seventh-generation ancestor, Henry ‘Ōpūkahaʻia back to his homeland on the Big Island of Hawai‘i. As the Connecticut State Archaeologist, we were responsible for the respectful and professional removal of Henry from his 1818 hilltop burial in Cornwall, Connecticut. Acting upon her inspiration that was “so overwhelming, it could not be ignored,” Debbie Lee had committed herself totally toward ‘Ōpūkahaʻia’s repatriation.

From that introduction over 30 years ago, it has been an honor to have been accepted by her as friend and extended family. The power of her feelings and the responsibility of taking on the repatriation is an example to all of us of the importance of spirituality and heritage in our lives.

The commitment of Debbie and her parents, Elizabeth Kapeka Ho‘omanawanui and Kwai Wah Lee, to bringing Henry home are examples of the power and devotion of family defining their heritage against overwhelming odds.

She worked for over a year polling family members gaining their consent to exhume Henry’s remains from Cornwall Cemetery and bring him home to Hawai‘i. At first, there was little enthusiasm, but that soon changed as Debbie’s passion became evident and family and public officials were convinced. She became empowered and strengthened, resolved to give Henry’s life contemporary spiritual meaning by the return of his physical remains, his iwi, to Hawai‘i in fulfillment of his deathbed wish. The repatriation was no small achievement. It seemed that only Debbie could have made it happen.

We extend our deepest sympathies to her family and friends. We will miss her passion and energy. But are rejoiced to know she is united with her much-loved Henry ‘Ōpūkahaʻia.