Finding hope in Lahaina

From a church kid to a street hustler, Kevin had seen it all—drugs, gambling, prison. Then, The Salvation Army gave him a shot at something better. These days, he’s helping folks rebuild in Lahaina after the wildfire, turning his rough past into hope for others. With each meal served and every helping hand, he’s rewriting his story—one life at a time.

Below is a transcript of the video edited for readability.

Kevin Nagasaki: My grandparents used to take care of the church in Honolulu. So I kind of grew up in a church knowing all the Bible songs, knowing all the stories and everything. 

But I kind of faded away once I got my license and then started getting into trouble. I got involved in a lot of illegal activities.

Then I learned a lot, how to gamble, how to deal drugs. Then we opened up the strip club, then we opened up the gambling halls. We had a lot of things going.

I was in and out of prison, in and out of boys and girls home. Always knowing Jesus, but I mean never putting him in the front was always, you know, I, I, or the money, money.

I finally realized that I was tired of this life. I was tired of looking behind my back and worrying about who’s going to try to rip me off or who’s going to try to rob me. I made a 30 year old plan.

When I was 30 years old, I was going to just retire, take the money I had buried and hidden and just leave. And just leave that life. God had other plans for me.

I get a knock on the door where we live in and they’re looking for me. I said, oh no, here it is. 

So my first instinct is to run. But then this voice inside of me told me, hey, get it over with, get it done, you know, if you want to live a good life, you’re going to have to change. 

So I stood up, they arrested me. They just took me right there that day. And I went on my knees in that cell and I told Jesus, I said, you know, whatever gotta be. 

If I gotta do the 25 years, I’ll do the 25 years. If that’s what it takes to clear my record, I’m gonna do it because it’s time. And I did only eight months and that can only be God, you know, that was a tough one. 

Moving forward from there, I started cooking and then started washing the dishes. I said, that’s going to be my mantra. I’m going to be the dishwasher to help people because that’s what they need to be cleaned to be, to be washed, to be restacked and to be reused to bring out the good message and to bring the good news.

That’s what The Salvation Army is all about. Giving the needy, giving the people that second chance, you know. And I thank God of course first, and then thank Salvation Army for giving me that second chance.

Those experiences, life experiences, all those things shaped me in ministering to the people on the street. Now I’m willing to hug them, I’m willing to talk to them, willing to sit with them. I have known the community practically all my life. 

Lahaina, the town most devastated by the wildfire. A point of no return. At least 1,000 structures burned down. Block after block, houses are burnt to a crisp. The deadliest wildfire in modern U.S. history.

When the fire came, it looked like a bomb went off with everything just burnt. A lot of people lost their lives. 101. And basically, we knew all of them.

It’s going to be definitely different, but, you know, the spirit and the mission of Salvation Army is still going to be out there to meet the need, no matter what. 

I’ve been a corps member since ‘96. I’ve been working for the army since ‘98. Whatever it’s going to take to keep that ministry going, that’s what we need to do here. And that’s my mission. It’s been a blessing.

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