Here's the crew from CC Iwakuni. They came down to hang with us and join in the VBS fun. We were blessed by their visit and helping out. Missing is the shepherd of the flock, Mike Silva. He was kind enough to send down his wife Sonya & family. God is doing great things in Iwakuni. Please continue to pray for the Silva family and their growing flock!
Anna Silva is in town. She brought her mom, Sonya and 13 other wonderful people from Calvary Iwakuni! What a blessing that they all came down to Okinawa to help out and be a special part of the ministry here. Bekah and Anna are best buds - their smiles say it all.
Every Saturday morning, the men gather for a time of prayer, fellowship, breakfast and the Word of God. This Saturday, we had a good group of guys come out for Men's Breakfast. Damian, Derek, and Matt led us in worship and Derek Forbes did a good job, encouraging and challenging the men in the scriptures.
I was told for the first time in 14 years, there are 3 typhoons in our area at the same time! Whoa... if they combined would it be the Super-Duper Typhoon? There is one south-west of us, one to the north and one to the south-east. The south-east one is suppose to hit us pretty good. We are in TC-3 right now. Even with storms around us, God is always in control. If things go as tracked, we will be in TC-1e on Wednesday night/ Thursday morning. This is interesting because we had originally planned our week-long VBS for this week, but God led us to push it back one week! What wonderful providence He has. Pray for Mike & CC Iwakuni, they're suppose to bring a team of 14 down to Okinawa to help! I'm excited to see what God will do!
On Friday, the Barrios Family stopped in at church. David, who gave his life to Jesus this past Easter has grown leaps and bounds in the Lord. Today is their 5th Year Anniversary, so they wanted to renew their wedding vows before the Lord. It was such a blessing. Glenn led us in a time of worship.. yup, Glenn... and then we shared from John 2, where Jesus was invited to a wedding and performed a miracle. Anytime we invite Jesus into our lives, the wonderful and miraculous takes place as it has in the Barrios Family. An d just like the comment of the head waiter... Jesus saves the best for last! The best is yet to come for David, Liz and their wonderful family!
Last week, Larry Torres and family moved from Okinawa and are being stationed at Cherry Point, NC. They are making several stops along the way. Larry sent me this picture of his boys (Raphiel, Brandon and Anthony... actually one more is missing, Noah) eating world famous Matsumoto Shaved Ice. Our good friend, Travis Takamiya taught me when you eat something yummy - you can say "it broke da mout'" (Hawaiin pigeon for 'tastes good'). It "broke da mout'" eh boys? PS... love those shirts!
Mike's so excited for the dessert potluck! It was great to see our brother, Mike Silva who almost one year ago was sent out to start a work in Iwakuni. Since then, God has done a neat work there and the bible study has grown into a church, which currently meets in their home. Mike shared that God has been faithful and he thanks everyone for their prayers. Please continue to pray for the Silva family. With Mike is our good brother in Christ, Joe. Joe's a Marine, can you tell?He's a great Sunday school teacher, loves the Lord with all his heart. You can't help to get on fire hanging with Joe. He'll set you on fire. No more PT for Mike.
So, we're in Typhoon Condition 1 Emergency now. The storm's not too bad. There's rain and wind as expected and an occasional gust but nothing major. The bummer is we missed church services but it didn't stop us from worship and the Word. The family got together and worshipped and learned about Paul's shipwreck on Malta- because of a similar style storm (Acts 27-28). We learned that even when others might be mean to us, we can still serve them and God can protect us in stormy times. It is always an interesting but fun time teaching the kids the bible. God bless our Sunday school teachers.
Here it is. Typhoon Ewiniar. Today we are in Typhoon Condition 3. The Joint Typhoon Warning Center http://www.npmoc.navy.mil/jtwc.html shows the storm coming right up at us. It is a category 4 storm. It was down-graded from a "Super Typhoon". For the Oki alumni family, you miss those "typhoon parties" huh? Big bag of chips, cokes and a few board games... and if you were lucky, the power stayed on long enough to watch some movies too.I think everyone's excited for the first typhoon. It's suppose to hit us Saturday or Sunday- bummer! I hate missing church. So I also found out that "Ewiniar" is a Micronesian name for a "storm god". But we know that our God Jehovah Reigns! I'll keep you posted.
Glenn & Farah were our main teachers. They taught at "Big Bear Lodge". Here Glenn shares the story of Saul's conversion to the 5th & 6th grade group.
Maria, Sonya, Jen and Arika smile as they keep a safe distance from water fun of the kids.
Mr. Matt has the craziest games. Today the kids raced each other in sitting on water balloons.
The Toma family's back and Joseph joined the VBS fun today. He's showing you his ice glacier craft he made.
Here's the crew of 1st & 2nd graders making their crafts. Each day, Cindy & Shari prepare a different craft for each grade group. God has blessed us with great help!
