Brees Talks About Jesus

Many of you know that Drew Brees is the quarterback for the New Orleans Saints that just won the Superbowl. It is interesting to hear in his own words how he came to know Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. A really good interview. Please click on the link below and see it for your self. http://www.tangle.com/view_video.php?viewkey=7dde44d1a0c8c69ccdec&sp=2 Another hero that our young people can look up to.

All Out for Valentines Day

Okinawa is gearing up for Valentine’s Day and the Japanese really love this Holiday. On Valentines Day here in Japan, the girls give gifts to the boys and a month later on “White Day”, it is the day that the guys return the favor. Check out all this chocolate, it is all for February 14th.

From Israel with Love

 Sosimo was in Israel for about 4 months and on his arrival back to the USA he brought some Olive Wood Communion Cups for the body here at CCGinowan. This Sunday we were able to bless the church. Thank you Sosimo, this is a real blessing.

Happy Birthday Oba-san!

Kayo brought her grandma to the Koinonia Cafe the other day, it was her Grandma’s Birthday. Kayo and Andrew will be getting married soon. It was great to see Kayo’s Oba-san. Happy Birthday Grandma!

Friday Lectures

We were blessed this Friday morning the have Pastor Rick as our first guest lecturer for this semester Bible College. Rick is a great teacher and a good communicator. He encouraged the students in a good way, thank you Pastor Rick for teaching the class.

Another True Life Hero

Tony Dungy used to be the coach of the Indianapolis Colts. Many of you know his life, but recently ESPN wrote an article on his life and how he is such an inspiration to so many people. He looks back at life and says that if he “only would have taken Michael Vick on that fishing trip” his whole life could have been different. I do not want to steal the thunder of this modern day hero, but please click on the link below and read it for yourself. Our young people need someone to look up to, and Tony Dungy is one of those men.http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/eticket/story?page=100128/TonyDungy

Morning Devotions

Joanna had the opportunity to share her testimony with the students Thursday morning. Now that the Lord has blessed us with full time Japanese students we do everything with translation. So as Joanna shared Yumi translated. It is a blessing to step out in faith and see God do His Great work.

Tim Tebow Article ESPN

I know that you are busy and time is precious but please take the time to read the article that ESPN printed on the front page of their website. Tim Tebow will join in on a TV add sponsored by Focus on the Family on Prolife that will air Superbowl Sunday. The Ads that run during the Superbowl run about 2 million dollars. He is coming under a lot of fire for his Christian values, but the article by ESPN is really good. For those of you who do not know Tim Tebow, he was the quarterback for the Florida Gators who won the National Championship last year, was a Heisman Trophy winner and is considered one of the Greatest College Football Player of all time. A real hero that our children can look up to. Please click on the full article link below: http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/commentary/news/story?page=hill/100202

The Boek’s in Japan

This is a great picture of Jeremiah and Geigy. They celebrated their 16th Wedding Anniversary (Geigy’s crown is going to be huge in Heaven). This is a picture of them in front of Mt. Fuji, absolutely beautiful. We miss the Boek’s here in Okinawa. Hopefully they can come back and visit with us for a while. God bless you Boek’s, we love you.

Genesis Class

On Tuesday nights we teach the book of Genesis, taught by Chuck Robb and translated by his wife Yumi. The class is 3 units so they meet from 6:30pm to 9:30pm with a little break in between. Chuck is a good teacher, it should be a real blessing.

Miss Okinawa at Naha International Airport

The other day Eder and the crew were picking up one of the students and were able to meet Miss Okinawa. She was waiting to greet some important people arriving at the airport. We heard that one of the Japanese Professional Baseball teams were arriving. Eder and Hannah got a good picture. Eder was reallllly happy.

Nago Cherry Blossom Festival

Joel and Eder took some of the New Students up North to see the Cherry Blossom Festival. They met the Newell’s there and first went to lunch, then they climbed the over 700 steps to the top where there is a small temple and a cool walk through the jungle. The flowers are so beautiful, everyone had a great time.

Asa’s Japanese Buddies

Here is Asa and his school buddies after they did their performance in school. They look so happy together. There is nothing like a bunch of buddies hanging out after your performance. It is amazing to see Asa’s first response now, often times he answers in Japanese and not English. He is learning fast!

Happy Anniversary!

February 2010 marks the 10th Anniversary of Pastor Tom ministering in Okinawa Japan. It was February 2000 when Rick (Pastor Rick from CCOkinawa) and Rico came in a venture of faith to see what the Lord wanted to do in Okinawa. We stayed the whole week in Rick’s Grandmother’s house and it was a great adventure. The weather was cold just like it is right now. Who would have thought that a little trip like that would begin an Adventure of a Lifetime for Rick and Tom. I love what Pastor Skip Heizik has to say “God has the editing rights to the script of my life and he can change it any time He wants to”. Again, this marks the first 10 years of ministry here in Okinawa, what does God have in store for us next? I don’t know, but if He tarries, we know that it will be great!

Million Dollar Smile!

That is the look of Emi! It is so good to have her back this semester. Like all the returning students we are so glad that they are back. Emi has been home for the last two months, working, and spending time with her parents. God bless you Emi, great to see you!

Orientation Spring 2010

Orientation began Monday evening, everyone was gathered, ready to hear what will be expected for this semester. We did things a little different this time, this time everything was translated from English into Japanese. It is so exciting to have full time Japanese students. God is under control of this semester and we look forward to what He has in store for us.

John Michael has Arrived!

John Michael has been in Korea for the last two months, but his last week was in Mainland Japan. It is a blessing to have him back with us for this semester. God did a great work in his life while he was in Korea, and we look forward to God’s Good work done this semester. Please pray for our brother John Michael.

Asa’s School Performance

Most schools in Okinawa had performance days on island the other day. Asa’s first grade class did this special dance. Sorry the pictures are not the best quality but we did our best. He really got into this performance, I think his acting qualities came from his mom. Asa had a good time.

Taliya Arrived from Ishigaki Island

Taliya will be attending this semester along with all the other Bible College Students. She is from a smaller island off of Okinawa, Ishigaki Island. It is a blessing to have her with us and we look forward to the good work that God will be doing in her life. All the rest of the students are excited that she is here with us.

Jillian has Arrived!

Jillian arrived in Okinawa this morning. It was a long flight but she made it here safe. We are looking forward to what the Lord has in store for her this semester. It is a blessing to have her with us this semester.

One Good Lunch

We took the new guys to one of our favorite places to eat “the Karage Joing”. Well, it is not called that, but that is what we call it, because it has the best Chicken Karage on the Island. Check out that heapin set of boneless white chicken meat. No one has been able to eat it all as of yet. Keli’i came close but did not finish his rice. The plate is bigger than Justin’s head. It was delicious!

New Doors

The new doors are now installed and they look beautiful! The workers did an excellent job, better than what we expected. We knew that they would look good, but not this good. The sanctuary looks so welcoming, no more stooping down to enter the worship area. Rob is happy, he won’t have to worry about banging his head. They need about a week before they can paint the trim. Thank you Jesus!

Cory has Arrived

Cory arrived via Tokyo Airport. His plane was a little delayed but he is here safe. We are looking forward to what the Lord will do in Cory’s life this semester, we are blessed to have him with us.

Friday Night Outreach

We gathered at the Koinonia Cafe Friday night for an outreach to the community. Students from Ryukyu University were present as well as groups from other places. We had a band “Treasure Hunt” come out and minister, as well as Cotton and Amanda did some special music. We had a curry dinner as wells as some great desserts and coffee. Yoshua shared in the message. It was all so blessed.

Prep Time

We had a prep meeting with the teachers/interns for this coming semester. They have been preparing for the past few months but now it is time to start real soon. We are excited with all the classes that we will be offering this semester, it will be blessed of the Lord.

Michigan Girl has Arrived

Amanda came in tonight at around 10pm. Her flight was delayed a little in Tokyo but not too bad. When Amanda came back from Korea she put on a few pounds, but not now. She looks so thin, we were asking her "Didn't they feed you back East?" Well she is back in Okinawa, three square meals a day (healthy and happy). But in all seriousness Amanda, you look wonderful! So good to have you back with us. Praise the Lord!

Justin Diaz

Justin arrived this morning looking good. No jetlag as of yet. Tonight the guys all gathered together and Rob and Trevor's house for some games, surprisingly Justin did not fall asleep. We are scheduled to work out tomorrow morning at 6:45am, I don't know if he will be awake by then, but we will see. Great to have you with us Justin.

Widening the Doors

The door has been widened, the next step is putting in the frame and the new doors. After this picture was taken they put in the new frame and cemented the areas back in. It is looking great. The workers are doing an excellent job. We needed this work done before the new Bible College Semester begins. Praise the Lord it is coming together smoothly.

Eyes Glued

Joel has been anxiously waiting the announcement from Steve Jobs on the new product coming out of Apple Inc. It is in, the ipad. As you can see Joel is glued to the announcement from their creator and benchmark inventor; Focus Joel! Focus! Let’s get back into the Word!

Construction Downstairs Begins

Before, we had a little entrance way leading into the Sanctuary. Today the workers begin installing double doors into the Sanctuary. The building already looks so beautiful, we are looking forward to the new addition this week.

Hey it’s Naoko’s Birthday

Naoko’s Birthday was Monday the 25th, so we made her a cake this Wednesday and celebrated after the midweek service. Naoko is such a blessing and it is wonderful to see the work that God is doing in her life. Please pray for our sister and for all that God has in store for her life. Happy Birthday Girl!

Finished Product

We finished the roof tiles today with the help of the guys with a few ideas. The tiles are so old that they cannot even be dated, before WWII. It was great bringing them back to life. Also the wood beam on the corner is also really old. When you look at it you can see that it actually is a 4x4 but as the top got smaller they did not bother to square it off. A real cool piece of old wood.

Congratulations Joel!

Joel received his Japanese License today, he passed after one try! This is awesome! Usually it takes 3 to 7 times before you pass in Japan. Every time you take the test it cost over $40.00 dollars. For an average Japanese person it cost over $3,000.00 dollars to get your license. If you have an American License, you have to take a written test and then take the driver’s test, and it is hard to pass. Great job Joel, Praise the Lord and all Glory to God!

Scripture Tiles

We started construction on the roof tiles in the Koinonia Cafe. It is looking good. We had everyone write Scriptures on the tiles before we hung them up. Anna wrote in German, Eder wrote in Spanish. Some really cools stuff.

John Michael in Tokyo

Praise the Lord John Michael is back from Korea and now in Mainland Japan. He is staying with the Boek's for a week, and then will return back to Okinawa. He is hanging with Emi today and from the picture it looks warmer in Tokyo than here in Okinawa. God bless you both, we are looking forward to seeing both Emi and John Michael next week.

New Construction

We started construction on the inside of the cafe. We are putting up a little Okinawan style roof as decoration. We will not put the tiles up until after Wednesday night. After midweek study we are going to have everyone write Scriptures on the tiles, it will be really cool, just like we did for the tile roof outside. Go for it guys, it is looking great!

Nago Trip

Thursday we had some good fellowship time visiting the Newell’ in Nago City. We went to the famous “Pizza in the Sky” and then visited this beautiful place with awesome waterfalls. Absolutely Awesome! A good looking crew in a good looking place.

Eder's Story

The video is self explanatory but Eder was excited to actually see the house. A Japanese movie was made here in Nago and this house was a big part of the movie. Let Eder explain the story.

Oh no! Not another tooth!

Asa said that he was playing Ninja with the students in his Japanese school. One of them gave him a kick to the mouth and loosed his other tooth. It was ok, it was getting ready to fall out anyways. Well there you have it, his two top teeth are gone. It is kind of cute the way he talks now, with a lisp.

Tamiko’s Birthday

Wednesday we celebrated Tamiko’s 23rd Birthday. Rob and the gang made her a special cake, chocolate with chocolate shavings, her favorite; anything chocolate. She loves it so much we made two and it was delicious! Happy Birthday Tamiko, and God bless you!

Banana’s for Masaki

We were blessed with the opportunity to hang out with Pastor Tim, Ayu and Masaki overnight Wednesday. We spent the day hanging out and seeing the sights. Tim emailed us and sent us these pictures. His neighbor “Eda”, like Eder has a banana plantation and brought over this big stock! So Tim hung them in his kitchen “Samoa Style”. I think that he remembers this from his past visits to the island of Samoa. Good job Pastor Tim, great idea.