Memorial Beach Day

Today was Memorial day in Okinawa, and we had the day off to hang out with the kids. So we went to Kadena Marina and went snorkeling, swimming and floating on the surfboard. The kids had a great time. Afterwards we met the Church at Comprehensive Park for a relaxing afternoon resting under the trees.

Foursquare Church in Yomitan

Sunday May 29th, I was invited to speak at a Foursquare Church in Yomitan. The Pastor is Brothe Nao (pronounced Now) and he is a wonderful man. His father originally founded the church and passed it onto his son. The congregation were warm and they loved to sing. So I took part of the worship team with me, Tamiko played guitar, Zach played the gymbe and Regin was on the Saxs. It was a great time. You cannot see them, but there was a group of college age youth, and it blessed my soul to see young Japanese youth attending service.

Lisa Mascharka heading to Spain

Lisa is a wonderful woman who loves the Lord. I have had the opportunity to be with Lisa on 2 missionary trips. The first one to the Philippines, and recently we went to Israel. Well this summer she is leaving to Spain for 6 weeks. We are blessed for her. Lisa has 2 children and a wonderful husband who loves Jesus and is willing to let her travel for the Lord. She is looking for people who will support her in prayer as she steps out in faith. I told her I would put her on the miniweb site so that you would pray for her. So let's not let her down, but constantly lift her up before our heavenly Father. I don't have room to write her testamony, but she goes a few years back to Twin Peaks where she attended Calvary's Bible College with Pastor Mike Harrington from CCBC Jerusalem. Please keep our dear sister in your prayers. Love, Pastor Tommy

Tim and Ayu begin marriage counseling

It is such a blessing as Tim and Ayu prepare for marriage. What is so exciting is to see that they both have such a heart for ministry. So as they prepare for that wonderful day, please keep them in your prayers as they seek Jesus together and get ready for a lifelong commitment to eachother together in Jesus Christ.

Chapel speeches for Class Presidents at OCSI

On friday morning some of the students at OCSI addressed the student body and gave speeches on why they wanted to be Student body presidents. What is such a blessing is that all of the students running are Christians who love Jesus. So, we are looking forward to having the total student council made up of people who love Jesus, and with that, a great year for our Savior. Please pray for the Christian students at OCSI as they prepare for the 05-06 school year, that they might infect all the other students with Jesus Christ.

Brent Mize and John Fredrickson in Iraq

Check out our brothers. Last week both Brent and John got deployed to Iraq. Please pray for them as they know that God sent them out there to serve their country, but they also know that God has a plan for them in Jesus Christ. They both have a vision to preach the Word and lead the men in Worship. Back in Okinawa, Brent was involved teaching young people and John was one of the worship leaders. Together they make a great team. We will be posting their picts so if you would like to see them, click onto http://photos.yahoo.com/iraqmissionaries . We will keep you posted, and please keep them in your prayers. We love you Brent and John, and will be praying for you!

Ministry at the USO in Camp Hansen

May 21st, we had a wonderful opportunity to minister to the Marines on Camp Hansen. It was an incredible evening. The Sargent/Major of the Marines in Japan is a Christian, and he invited us to come on base and put on a Christian Concert for the Marines that are located up north. So the worship team prepared, Tim Newell prepared some rap and break dancing, and we came up there loaded with a lot of hamburgers, hotdogs and the Love of Christ. So many Marines showed up, that we had to get more burgers and still we ran out. Glenn and company cooked over 350 burgers! Well, the ministry time was awesome! Different Marines came up and shared their testamony, and we shared the Gospel one on one. A few of us had the opportunity to lead different Marines to the Lord, and a handful of them showed up for Church this morning. Praise theLord! Please continue to pray for the ministry to the Marines up at Camp Hansen. We know the Lord wants to do some great things up there, but the timing has to be His. If you would like to see some of the picts from the evening, please click onto http://photos.yahoo.com/camphansen. God bless you all. Pastor Tommy

The Missionary girls from Okinawa

So beautiful! I am not talking about Pastor Tommy, but the girls. Just kidding. You might remember the girls from Okinawa who came to Cali and stayed with all of us. On the far left is Azusa Naka, Kayo Yamauchi, Yumi Tomori (today is her birthday), Asuka Sato, and Joanna Ruiz. It was so great seeing them in church today. Please pray for these gals, I believe with all my heart that God has some wonderful things in store for them. God brought them to Cali for a special reason, and He wants to use them in Okinawa in a special way. May God bless them and continue to prepare them for the work that He has in the future.

Clear example through Scripture

Have you ever heard these words before "use it, or lose it"? Well I like the words of Jesus better "do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal" Matthew 6:19. This is exactly what happens to clothes that you do not wear in Okinawa and leave them unused in the closets. Because the humidity is high in Okinawa, sometimes your clothes will grow mold or mildew if you do not use them. This is what happened to a few of my dress shirts that I have not used in 9 months. Because I work at a school, I am required to wear dress pants and collared shirts (I usually wear Aloha surf shirts) and my dress shirts, well I never wear. But the other day, I took a few of them out, and I noticed that they were destroyed. It is interesting, in the Scriptures the word destroy means to "eat away at" could Jesus have been talking also about mold. Well it went to show me, a good lesson, there are things that I don't use and I am just storing them up here on earth. Unused treasures, when I should be storing things up in Heaven. Another good lesson, to many clothes that I don't even use, they just sit there, taking up space. Are there things in your house that are just taking up space? Some things to think about. Let's store up our treasures in Heaven.

TC-1 at Sunset beach Mihama

This Friday, the youth from OCSI and CCOkinawa met at Sunset beach. They had a time of worship and one of the youth, Luke Schneider gave the message. It was really a cool time. Some of the youth felt compelled to share the Gospel to those who walked by. Later that night some other students from OCSI, came by and hung out who normally do not come to Biblestudy. Please continue to pray for the youth in Okinawa, that God would pour out His Spirit upon the young people. That a new generation will be "turned on" to Jesus Christ.

Sushi! We were all so excited!

We were so blown away today. We came home from school and Joanna had homemade sushi and homemade Miso soup for us. It was so great! We were totally blessed. God has blessed us with a wonderful wife and mom, she makes the best meals for us. I know her schedule, between taking care of Asa all day, studying her Japanese, preparing for Biblestudies, and teaching at the gogo eigo school, she is busy, plus she takes care of the rest of the household. God bless you Joanna and may the Lord continue to bless you as you serve Him everyday. Love, Tommy

Father and Son

Father and Son. Zach and Tom finishing the day together at OCSI.

Zachariah awarded Principal for the day at OCSI

Zach was awarded Principal for the day with 5 other students this week at Okinawa Christian School International. The Secondary principal Ms. Richardson is in Thailand this week and awarded those students who wrote essays on "why you would like to be a Principal for one day". There were other participants, but only a few were chosen. The only bummer for Zach was that he had to get dressed up for school. Usually students wear t-shirts, shorts and flip flops. But not today, he had to wear pants, shoes, comb his hair and wear a nice collared shirt. All in all, he had a great day.

Worship/Word Biblestudy

This week at Worship/Word, we had a wonderful time. Tim Newell led worship with Ayu his finance playing the gymbe. We were so blessed. Personally I could not stop crying. We began with prayer, asking the Lord to show us Himself in a personal way. Tim led beautifully and we were touched. Please continue to pray for the young adults in Okinawa, that the Holy Spirit will fall afresh on the young Okinawan's and those who live here. Pastor Tommy

Crazzzzzy hair day at CKC

This last Wednesday night at CKC (Calvary kids club) at CCOkinawa, the kids had a blast. Most of the kids either cut or combed their hair in crazy ways. Not pictured is Glenn Phipps and Noah Barnett, they cut their hair with wild designs in it. It looked cool, but thank the Lord, the mom's finished the job right after the service was done.

Ministry is long hours - seriously!

This is our own Tim Newell, that took a break to clear his head, and whammm! He fell asleep on his Bible. But with all seriousness, this guy is serving the Lord hardcore. He is involved in a lot of ministry here in Okinawa. If he is not teaching at CCBCOkinawa, he is leading worship, preparing for Biblestudies, or on the go for God. Please continue to pray for Tim as he seeks the Lord everyday, and his goal in life is to be pleasing unto the Lord.

CCOkinawa's Hoopmania 2005

This years 3 on 3 Basketball tournament was a blast. Our very own Pastor Rick was the MC of the event. The guys had a blast hoopin it up on Saturday afternoon. During the tournament, we had the opportunity to sit all the guys down and share the Gospel with them. A great outreach to a lot of guys who might never hear the Goodnews that Jesus loves them. Please click below for more picts at http://photos.yahoo.com/hoopmania2005

CCOkinawa's Osaka Missions trip

The guys traveled to Osaka to do some ministry there with Aaron Deleon. They were so blessed. Please check out the picts at http://photos.yahoo.com/osakamissions2005 To the far left is Glenn, then Matt, Aaron and June, missing in the picture is Tim Newell (he was taking the picture). During there time in Osaka, Glenn had the opportunity to share the Word at a Christian Church on Sunday morning, and on Friday afternoon they spent a few hours at an orphanage. Please continue to pray for Aaron, as he faithfully serves the Lord in Osaka, Japan. He is seeking the Lord every day on what direction the Lord wants to take him. He has started attending a Japanese language school full time so he can learn the language and share the Gospel in Japanese to the native speakers.

First visit to the Itoman Orphanage

May 5th is Children's Day in Japan, so a group of us went down to the Itoman Orphanage. Itoman is a city farthest south of the Island of Okinawa. In the w2 Biblestudy, there is a girl who attends who frequently volunteers at this orphanage. We asked her if we could come and help and she was excited. So, to make a long story short, we finally were able to serve there. We were blessed, the kids were allot of fun, energetic and happy. Joanna, Yumi, Takako, and Genevieve were able to serve the newborns, and the toddlers. The rest of us, clowned around with the kids. God gave us some vision in the future. We can come back again, serve the little ones, and do little Bible skits for the kids. Please pray for us though, because this is like a Buddist orphanage, so we believe that God will give us His favor, with the leaders. If you would like to see more pictures, please click onto http://photos.yahoo.com/okinawaorphanage Pastor Tommy

Tommy and son Asa at the beach in Yomitan

This was a cool picture that Joanna took. The oldest Ruiz and the youngest Ruiz. This little guy is a handful, but a great big blessing to our family. He keeps Joanna busy during the day, cooking and cleaning, and taking care of him, I am taking about Asa and not Tom.

OCSI Youth Baptisms on Friday afternoon

On April 29th, at the conclusion of Spiritual Emphasis Week at Okinawa Christian School International, we had a baptismal service for the youth that wanted to make an open confession for Jesus Christ. Six Youth made a commitment to be baptized that afternoon. We had a wonderful response as the youth, teachers, and adults tracked down to Zampa Beach and witnessed these marvelous confessions. If you would like to see more pictures please click below on Tamiko's photo album at http://photos.yahoo.com/cinnamico Pastor Tommy

Youth Baptism at Yomitan beach

Sunday May 1st, Damien(left) baptized a few youth that wanted to be baptized when their parents were there. A few days earlier at OCSI (Okinawa Christian School International) we baptized some youth at the conclusion of Spiritual emphasis week. It was a blessing to see the work of God in these youth. It is just the beginning, so please keep these guys in your prayers. In the middle of the pict is Vincent Hoag, on the right is Sam Toma. If you want to see more picts from the baptism please click onto http://photos.yahoo.com/baptisms2005 . This beach was so beautiful, a secluded beach in Yomitan Village.