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Vunder and Segmon at Naha International Airport

Praise the Lord! The guys arrived safely from California and blessed to be here. They had a great flight and looked alive and well. They had a little turbulance coming into Taipai that would have shook up Pastor Cisco and Jesse Hernandez, but other than that, they ate well and slept as good as expected. We are looking forward to what the Lord will do with these guys while they are here in Okinawa. Please continue to pray for them, that the Lord will lead and guide these guys. God bless you all, Pastor Tommy

News Flash!

There are new pictures of Glenn and Farah's baby, and all the pictures have been uploaded from the Samoa Trip. So, when you get a chance, click onto http://photos.yahoo.com/babyethanphipps and http://photos.yahoo.com/samoatrip2005 for the Samoa pictures. God bless you all, Pastor Tommy

A New Venture of Faith for God!

This is an incredible blessing. God has given us a youth/javahouse in Yomitan. Today, Pastor Rick and I spoke with the realtor and the owner, and they agreed to lease us the bottom floor. We are blown away. For many of you in California, when I was there in June God gave me the vision for a youth center, coffee house. I believed that God would give us a bar that we can convert into a place that would be used for the Lord, and He did it! The place needs a lot of work, but that is ok. It will be a blessing to see it converted for Jesus Christ. Kind of like what He is doing in our life, changing us from the inside out. What is another blessing, is that there is a lot of parking in the back, and I believe that God wants to use it for an outreach in the community. If you would like to see more pictures, click onto http://photos.yahoo.com/jcjavahouseokinawa. Please keep this new venture of faith in your prayers. God bless you, Pastor Tommy

News Flash! Ethan Phipps is born!

The adorable bundle of Joy. Ethan Phipps, he was born August 25th at 7:00am in Okinawa. He is 7lbs. 13oz, and Glenn and Farah are the happiest parents in the world. If you would like to see some of the pictures, click onto http://photos.yahoo.com/babyethanphipps. We will post more picts in the days to come, so check back with us often. Also, please drop a comment and greeting below for Glenn and Farah to read.

Pastor Travis and family from CCTokorozawa

Many of you have not had the opportunity to meet Pastor Travis and his wife Dawn. (they are pictured right in the middle of the photo). Pastor Travis originally came from CCHonolulu in Hawaii. About 4 years ago, he heard the call of God to leave Hawaii and head up to Japan and start a new work for the Lord. Pictured to the left is Rich and his wife Candice, who also left Hawaii and joined Travis in the new work. These two men are a real blessing and love the Lord with all their hearts. This picture was taken up in Nagano near the river, as they spent the day relaxing in the Lord. Check out Rich's fresh shorts, Hawaiian style. Please contine to pray for Pastor Travis and all the people at CCTokorozawa, God is doing a great work there, and we look forward in anticipation on what God will do in the future.

Pastor John Greenroyd to visit Okinawa

Hi everyone! It is such a blessing. Pastor John Greenroyd from CCLosAlamitos will be visiting Okinawa on September 12th - 19th. He will be traveling with his younger brother. Pictured above is a recent photo of him and his wife CeCe. A little background about Pastor John; About 5 years ago he and his family were missionaries in England. After serving a few years on the mission field, they were led to come back to the states and serve under Louie Montieth at CCNorco. Then God opened the door for Pastor John to start pastoring the church in Los Alamitos. He has been serving there ever since. The city of Los Alamitos is located right next to Seal beach about 5 miles from the coast. Beautiful surf! (I went surfing right before one of his board meetings, I was on time, but I still had a little sand on my feet) We are looking forward to seeing you Pastor John, safe travels ahead. Pastor Tommy

Rosie is back in Jerusalem

This is a picture of Rosie last year in Jerusalem in the outdoor market. I am sorry, I do not have a recent photo of her, because she has just arrived back in the Holy Land. God is so faithful! It is a blessing to see God provide for her ticket back. She has recently emailed me, and gave me a prayer request list that is too long to list here. But if you can, please email her at bergyavila@hotmail.com and she will put you on her email list. Please continue to pray for her, as she will have a busy semester ahead of her. We plan on visiting her in March. So, if you would like to join us for the ministry tour to Jerusalem, start saving your shekels now.
God bless you, Pastor Tommy

Weekend missions trip to Ie Island (iejima)

This past weekend we had the opportunity to travel to a neighboring island in Okinawa. This island is only accessible by boat, which takes about 30 minutes from Nago, which is in Northern Okinawa. Tim Newell a few weeks ago was invited to serve with another youth group on Island, and he felt the need to come back to Iejima and do some follow up work with the church. We had a blast, there were 11 of us who went, and we served by doing children's ministry, youth ministry, yard work, and general church ministry. If you would like to see some more picts please click onto http://photos.yahoo.com/iejimamissions. Also, you can click below and hear an audio blog from Pastor Tommy. God bless you all.

Joanna is back in Okinawa

Praise the Lord! Joanna arrived back safe in Okinawa. She had a long great trip, filled with wonderful stories, and blessings of the great things that God is doing, and will continue to do in Samoa. I am in the process of uploading the pictures. There a many of them, so it will take time. When you get a chance, please click onto http://photos.yahoo.com/samoatrip2005 to see them. What the Lord will do next, we don't know. But we know that He is still moving and the Lord will direct our paths.

Joanna and Monique with the locals in Western Samoa

While in Western Samoa the gals were able to hang out and visit some of the local women in the village. Pictured here are some of the ladies who gather in the Falas (outdoor tents) and make floor mats and fine mats. The floor mats are for what you would think, for the livingroom floors, but the fine mats are made for special occasions, like when guests and family arrive. In the older days, they did not have money, so they would trade using the fine mats as currency! The ladies in the picture we excited to have their picture taken. It was real interesting some of the things Joanna told me. She stated that when they visited these small villages, some of the children were real shy. For some of them, this was thier first time seeing "Palagi", people who were not Samoan. The Lord used these ladies in a powerful way.

Little Cody is now Big Cody!

For you older missionaries who went to Samoa 5 years ago. You might remember little Cody. Well he is not little anymore, and he is now driving. It is incredible to look back and remember him running around while we were doing the VBS. I know that this picture is special to Pastor Cisco because he remembers hanging out with this kid. Please continue to pray for Cody and all of the youth back in American Samoa. Many of them are a lot older and in College now.

The girls make the Samoan Paper

The ladies in Samoa made news in the local Samoan paper. Pictured above are some of the ladies from CCSamoa, and as you can see, Joanna is in the lower middle and Rebecca is in the upper middle. Monique is MIA (missing in action), the lady from the paper just showed up and took the picture. God did a wonderful work in Samoa, and the gals were blessed to just be a part of it.

Goya - the popular Okinawan Vegetable

Goya is so popular in Okinawa. It grows all year long. People either love or hate it. It is really bitter. In fact, in english is it called "bitter melon". But, it is filled with all kinds of vitamins and nutrients. People say, if you work in the heat, Goya gives you energy. Goya is packed with all the good stuff your body needs. My next door neighbor grows it in her garden. I wanted to take a picture of her in her garden, but she said "eei", which means no. Well, this is your Okinawa lesson for the day. God bless everyone. Pastor Tommy

Mihama outreach

The team from CCMontebello is here in Okinawa for a few days, and as they were here, we did some ministry at Mihama. For some of you who don't know where Mihama is, it is located in the heart of Okinawa on the westcoast of the Island. It is called Mihama American village. There are a lot of shops and places to eat, kind of like Seaport Village in San Diego, California. We played the music on guitars, did some drama, and shared the Word. It was a blessing to shine the light of Jesus Christ. Please pray for the team from Montebello, they are heading next to Osaka Japan to visit and minister with Aaron Deleon.

New Gogo Eigo sign

We were totally blessed. We spoke with the owner of the building in the picture, and asked him if we could put up a sign on his fence. He said Yes! Praise the Lord! This is a blessing twofold. First, more people will be able to find the eigo house (english house). And second, people will be able to find out where we live. It will be easier to tell them to turn at the eigo sign. As you can see, we live is a pretty busy area of Ginowan. A perfect place to shine the light of Jesus Christ. Please continue to pray for us, as we step out in faith, and invite more people to be involved with Gogo Eigo. Pray for Vunder and Segmon as they will be joining us here in Okinawa, and will also be teaching some english classes. God bless you all. Pastor Tommy

Clams! Clams! Clams!

Joanna is gone in Samoa, so we have to experiment in dinners. The kids have been getting the usual, spagetti, curry, rice. Well the next door neighbor, our japanese fisherman, came over with some clams. Last time he brought us clams they went bad. We did not know how to cook them. So this time, I headed straight for the internet and checked out how to cook'em. So we experimented, and they came out great! Pictured below is Hannah, my oldest daughter eating clams, rice, and salad, yummy! Pray for me, Joanna will be back in a week and I am running out of cooking ideas.

Joanna and the gals in Western Samoa

I just recieved and email from Joanna that they were leaving American Samoa and flying to Western Samoa. The plane flight is a real trip. Let me explain; The flight from American Samoa to Western Samoa is a short one. Only an hour flight, but, you fly on a twin engine little plane. I mean little. It only seats about 20 people. Before you board the flight they weigh you and position you for weight dispersion. So when Pastor Pule and I flew to Western, we could not sit together, too big. I was on the left, Pule on the right side of the plane. When the plane takes off, they put the emergency brake on, put the engine to full throttle and release the brake and you are off. Well, the girls will be in for a real treat. One thing though, the view is incredible from the low altitude, you see many atolls (floating lagoon islands) and green lush vegitation. Pray for the gals, they will be ministering in some of the small villages as well as leading the ladies in a closer walk with Jesus. Click below to hear an audio message. Pastor Tommy

Joanna teaching at the Women's Conference

The women's conference has begun and they are blessed. At the time of this writting they have already finished two of their sessions, but they have a few more days to go. Joanna said that they are having a great time and the Lord is doing a good work in all the ladies. If you notice to the left of this picture you see a vase with flowers. That is one thing that I love about Samoa, the tropical flowers. Forget the florist, just go outside and pick the most beautiful flowers that you have ever seen. Monique is having a wonderful time, fitting in well. For Rebecca, it is a good homecoming, being back in Samoa.

Joanna, Sepha, and Monique in Samoa

Praise the Lord! They are in Samoa and blessed. Some of you might rememeber Sepha (Joseph) he visited California a few years ago, but now he is all grown up. Sepha will be joining the army soon. Joanna said that it was such a blessing to see him and many of our Church family. This picture was taken at Mary's house in Avo. Some of you might remember the village of Avo, it is located right near the beach overlooking the ocean. Beautiful place to seek the Lord. When the guys stayed there, we would all get up early and do our devotions on separate place on the beach or near the coconut trees. Great memories! Your'e in our prayers girls, keep up the great work for God.

Rob Vunder on his way to Okinawa

It is a real blessing that Segmon and Rob are heading out to Okinawa to attend CCBC and to help in ministry here on the island. Everyone already knows Segmon, and pictured here to your right is Gabe (aka "spin master"). Well, Rob is pictured on the left. Sorry everyone, this is the best picture that I could get of him. I took this off the internet from Jon Horne's picture album. Pictured here are the guys cooking in June for the Father's day bar-b-que. Please continue to pray for Segmon and Vunder as they prepare to come at the end of this month. They are saving money and Vunder is selling his car. God bless you guys, Godspeed, and may the Lord direct your path.

Joanna is on her way to Samoa

The gals have arrived safely in Hawaii and are on their way to American Samoa. Joanna has emailed me and sends everyone her love. She has been spending a lot of time in prayer and preparation for the Women's conference and asks that you would continue to keep them in your prayers. She knows that God wants to do a wonderful work on this trip, and is looking forward to God using them in an incredible way. So Joanna, Rebecca and Monique, we want to say that we love you and will continue to lift you up in prayer. God bless you, as you serve Jesus oversees.

This weeks prayer requests for e3missions

Thanks again everyone for turning back to the e3missions website. This is the prayer requests for this week here in Okinawa. May the Lord continue to bless you as you serve Him everyday. We cannot express to you the thanks and importance that your prayers mean to us. We know because you are praying, the hand of God is guiding and leading us. Please click below to hear the audio blog from Pastor Tommy.

Joanna is off to Samoa

Hi everyone. She left today from Okinawa, heading to Taiwan, and then will fly directly to Hawaii. In Hawaii, she will meet up with Rebecca Gawryl and Monique Salazar. From Hawaii, the three of them will head off to American Samoa where they will be teaching and leading worship for a Women's retreat in Western Samoa. Whew! That was a lot of explanation, to say, please keep them in your prayers. It is so awesome and a great privelege to see the Lord use these gals in such a wonderful way. We are expecting great things from these gals, as they step out in faith for Jesus Christ.

First Year Anniversary in Okinawa

It is hard to believe that we have now been here in Okinawa for one year. Saturday July 30th, marked our first full year. We are totally blessed and privileged to serve the Lord here in the country of Japan. We are so blessed to hear of the wonderful work that God continues to do at CCLivingwater, under the leadership of Pastor Jerry who is totally submitted to the leading of the Holy Spirit. We just want to say to all the people in the USA, Samoa, Philippines, Israel, etc. that we love you all, and may the Lord continue to be glorified in all of our lives. Love, Pastor Tommy

Typhoon Matsa on its way!

Typhoon Matsa is on its way. We were told that it will hit us on Wednesday the 4th of August. Joanna leaves tomorrow for Samoa, Pastor Rick and Alvin leave for Guam that same day. So they should miss the system. It looks like it will be passing close by us, but sometimes these typhoons take a different course. (Click on the picture to get a closer look) Typhoons are a way of life over here in Okinawa. In fact, if you see the picture, this area of the world is know as "Typhoon Alley" because they usually pass right between Okinawa and Taiwan, as they make their way pass China and up to Korea and Mainland Japan. Like always, please pray for the safety of all people in these countries.