In February 2007, KGMB9's Guy Hagi and photographer Mike Cherry traveled up the Hamakua coast to Waikoloa and found the hardest hit communities were up north. In this final story of the Still Struggling series, they visited Hawi and Kapaau, where the earthquake's epicenter hit the heart of the communities.

Original Air Date: Feb. 7, 2007

On Oct. 15, 2007 at 7:07 a.m., a 6.7 magnitude quake struck and the historic Kalahikioka Church in Kapa'au town crumbled.

"I wasn't actually sure what it was," said Kohala resident Gidget Badua. "I thought a tree fell on my truck."

"My neighbor was screaming," said church moderator Jennie Vega. "It was so long in length that it was scary; really, really scary."

"When I got here, got out of my car and started walking up... I started crying. I couldn't help it," said senior minister Rev. George Baybrook.

What stood tall for 160 years was now a heaping pile of wood, rock and hearthache.

Volunteers shored up the windows and roof. The youth group put up temporary barriers to keep the curious away. But almost four months later, not much else has changed.

"We still gotta meet with the architects, the congregation, so it's gonna be a long process," said Vega.

The church is designated a historical site. That means it must be restored in its original state. Native Hawaiians built it in 1855 with pegs instead of nails and wood handcarved from the Kohala mountains.

"If we were to do the stones as well, the expense would be just phenomenal, probably $2 to $3 billion," said Rev. Baybrook.

Finding those funds won't be easy. The church is a non-profit organization. That means it gets no financial help from the federal government, leaving church leaders and congregates to rely on donations and faith.

"Our people really believe in God, the Lord, and His grace and we believe we can do it," said Rev. Baybrook.

Faith won't bring back Kohala's 100-year-old smokestack.

Gidget Badua was born and raised in Kohala. The smokestack was there all her life, and she was there when it collapsed.

"I cried that day," said Badua. "When I walked out of my driveway, I looked up and it was still smoking. The smoke stack was gone. We stayed at the end of my driveway almost all day watching everybody come and they kinda chased people away and the people were saying it's part of my past. I just want a piece of the past."

A piece of the past that symbolized the town's once thriving sugar plantation - its successes, then the struggles of families when it closed down. For many, it symbolized home.

"That was my thing, like I'm finally home," Badua said. "If I got to Kona, Hilo, the smoke stack was there. Now when you drive in, it's just not there. It's kind of sad."

That's not all that's changed the town of Hawi. The earthquake crushed the Kohala ditch.

"We used to grow up there and catch fish all the time, so to see it totally dry is something we never experienced. It just always had water," said Vega.

Of 19 flumes, or man-made wooden channels, a handful are in splinters. Its owners, Surety Kohala Corporation, may not be able to repair the 15-mile long waterway safe enough for kayaks. "Flumin Da Ditch" was forced out of business. A Hummer safari tours has taken over the space.

Bank of Hawaii customers now do their banking in a portable set up behind the building.

Hisaoka Gym in Kohala is still unsafe. Electrical fixtures need to be replaced and there are cracks in the walls and roof tiles -- $200,000 to $1 million. The Keokea Pavilion in North Kohala is also still closed.

But the damage around town may have been much worse if it weren't for the hearts of the people.

"After the initial earthquake and aftershock, me and my sister jumped in my truck and drove around to see if everybody was okay," Badua said. "There was Bobo Medeiros and Tyson Nams, they just went out on their own time and with the aftershocks still coming, they risked their lives to clear the road."

Risking lives to save lives. That's what matters to Rev. Baybrooks.

Three months later, he said it's not about the destruction or the cost to repair.

"It's really not the building," Rev. Baybrooks said. "It's the people. And nobody was hurt or killed and that's what we're really thankful for. It's revived our faith if anything. There's people coming to church who haven't come for a while and it's definitely brought us closer together."

Closer to the one they call their strength in a time of trouble.

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