Happy Birthday Joel Coronado

Joel turned 19 today with much fanfare. He was greeted with a sounding Happy Birthday greeting at morning devotions. Vunder baked him a tasty spice cake and we ate it for lunch. Pastor Rick blessed the Bible College students with some hamburger patties, so we had a feast and a birthday party for Joel at dinner. And even at the Wednesday night Bible Study, somebody baked him another cake. This dude was spoiled, and he was king for the day. Happy Birthday bro.

Japanese 1 - Pastor Tim Newell

Today was the first day learning Japanese at the Bible College. Pastor Tim Newell is filling in for Natsuki until she finishes up her work schedule. I think the students really enjoyed it. They were looking forward to learning the Japanese language.

Orientation for CCBC Okinawa

Today we had the opportunity to begin orientation for the new students here in Okinawa. We shared with them the expectations, and the do's and don'ts for living in Asia. Pictured above is Debe Pallman, she did an excellent job sharing with the students on what it is like being a missionary and how to relate relationally with one another. You can see the teacher side come out of her during her time with us.

My Mistake

Sorry guys! I thought that I introduced to you Doug and Brad. Doug is on the left and Brad is on the right. My total mistake. Today during orientation it was pointed out to me. They are totally cool guys, and a real blessing here. Both of their fathers were in the military, and Doug has been stationed here before when he was real young. We took him over to Mihama area, and he did not recognize it because it was not built when he was first here. Please continue to life up all the students in your prayers. We begin classes officially tomorrow.

w2 - Worship/Word

Worship and the Word, it does not get any better than that buddy. We were blessed to hear the Word by Dan Pallman. Afterwards Mark Davis baked a pineapple upsidedown cake and brought it for us to eat. We had a great time of fellowship.

Sunday morning Church Service and Potluck

pictures by Vunder



This Sunday we had a great time as the body here in Ginowan was able to welcome the students from the Bible College. After the service we had a potluck Japanese style. It was such a blessing, all the food was out of this world. Some of the students have to get use to Asia food, they are trading in their burgers for Sushi, Curryrice, and noodles. Their tastebuds will never be the same.

Last but not least

Joel Coronado! He is now here, and this makes all 12 students accounted for and present. Counting Misty and Yoshi, there are 14 total for this semester. Oh yeah, the Lord blessed us with one more full time student. Her name is Aaron Shaver and she will be attending full time with the rest of the students. We are blessed by God's faithfulness to bring them all here without any hickups. They went through customs with no problems and they were all in great shape. Please continue to pray for all of the students, we are so blessed by the Lord. God bless you all, Pastor Tommy

Britney Barger in Williamsburg Virginia

Hi everyone! This is Britney Barger (left) one of the missionaries that was sent out from CCLivingwater. She is serving the Lord in Williamsburg under Pastor Tom Hallman. She is also one of the missionaries we support here in Okinawa at w2 (Worship/Word). She sent me this picture from a recent youth retreat that CCWilliamsburg's youth attended. She stated that it was a blast. The girls and guys really jelled together, and got closer with the Lord. Keep up the good work Britney, go strong for God. Please leave an encouraging word for Britney below. God bless you all, Pastor Tommy

A Special Invitation

Kodai and Manna's parents are building a new house next door to ours, and when they pour the concrete roof, it is a special occasion. They invited our whole household (even the students) to come over for a special celebration. They had a unique dish, goat soup, it is only served on special occasions. They had sashimi, and sashimi, and more sashimi (raw fish). There was so much, we could not eat it all. There also was so much "taco" (octopus), but our bellies could not take in another bite. Vunder and Keegan's dad (Mark) are the sashimi kings! The two upper pictures are the guys eating the sashimi, and the bottom pictures are the guys eating the goat soup. We were very privileged to join in on this event. The girls went home early because they needed to settle in at their house. Maybe next time girls, but don't worry, the guys ate enough sushi for all of you put together.

Chillin at Kadena Marina

Friday morning the girls were getting settled in their new apartment, while the guys were doing the same. Then we moved in the last of the bunk beds for the girls and planned an afternoon trip to the beach. We headed up to Kadena Marina, and since we had the snorkeling gear till the evening decided to jump in the water. At first the water was real hazy, but once we passed the outer breaks the scenery was incredible. We saw a large blue and black sea snake, a pair of squids, and hundreds of tropical fish. Once we were done, we just chilled on the beach. We had to get back early, we had a leadership meeting at 5pm, dinner at 6:30 and prayer and youth group was at 7pm.

Three girls arrive!

They arrived late Thursday night, but they are doing fine. To the left is Shannon Ray from Northern California, Michelle Bonner from Peru, Nicky Whalen from Hawaii, and my beautiful wife Joanna from Okinawa. We are planning on taking the girls out for a time at the beach today, to relax and unwind before we start the new semester Monday. Please keep all of the students in your prayers. God bless you, Pastor Tommy

Maeda Point excursion

School has not started yet, so we have been taking some time off, showing the students the island. Today, we took them a little up north to a great snorkeling spot called "Maeda Point". They were able to feed the fish and even venture into some WWII caves. They had a good time jumping off the rocks and talking to some of the Okinawan people. It was a good time.

Djuji arrives!

You pronounce it "juji", but her real name is Djurka. She is from Austria, but her parents are Serbian. I first met Djuji while I was in Israel, and she has a heart to serve young people. We are so blessed that she is with us in Okinawa, and we totally believe that God wants to do something wonderful in her life while she is with us here. Please keep all of the Bible College students in your prayers. Love, Pastor Tommy

Happy Birthday Natsuki

Today is Natsuki's Birthday and we were blessed to celebrate it at the Koinonia Cafe after Wednesday night service. Natsuki is such a blessing to all of us as she helps translate on Sunday evenings and helps with the kids on Wednesday night. We are so thankful for her humble, loving service to the Lord. God bless you girl! Please leave an encouraging birthday greeting for her below.

Wednesday afternoon Aaron

Wednesday afternoon Pastor Tim took Yoshi for an interview in Naha city. After the interview they picked up Aaron at Naha International Airport. Aaron is originally from Riverside California so we are close homeboys from the Inland Empire. He has recently come from attending CCBC in Jerusalem, and that is where we first met. We are looking forward to seeing what the Lord will do in his life this semester. So, please keep Aaron in your prayers, as well as all of the other students. God bless you all, Pastor Tommy

Tuesday Students Arrive

These three students arrived Tuesday evening and the next morning we took them to Tropical beach for some reef walking. We were checking out the fish at low tide. High tide came up quickly so we went for a swim. The top picture is Jeremy Zierigan, in the middle is Haley Brooks and on the bottom picture is Mark Starr. We are blessed to have them with us.

Mark Davis working the Espresso Machine

We put Mark right to work. Never mind he is a Captain in the US Marine Corps, he is first a Servant of the Lord. Mark has been such a blessing to all of us here at CCGinowan and CCBC Okinawa. Please continue to pray for Mark as he continues to serve the Lord every day. God bless you, Pastor Tommy

Czech Visitor

Sunday morning we had a visitor from Czechslovakia (far right). He met Lewai (left) in Fukuoka. He had a few days to visit, so he came with Lewai back to Okinawa. He was a real cool guy. That is the way Lewai is, a good example of a friendly loving Christian.

Koinonia Cafe short video

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Just a short video of the guys playin some tunes at the Cafe. Please double click the video above to see what was going on. Also, remember to pray for us that the Lord would continue to pour His Spirit upon the Island of Okinawa. God bless you, Pastor Tommy

Matsuri (Festival) Time!

This is a picture of Manna, and she is wearing an Okinawan Yukata. A Yukata is like a kimono but they wear it in the summer. It is light weight, and cooler in the summer, so it is a summer kimono. This weekend their was a big Matsuri in Okinawa City and Manna was able to attend it. She came by the Koinonia Cafe to pick up her brother Kodai, so we made her get out of the car and pose for this picture. She looks so beautiful neh (right)!

Ayu's new job

photos by Vunder
Ayu got a new job! She is the proud worker at Lawson's. There are three major convienent stores in Okinawa, Family Mart, Hot Spar and Lawson's. Ayu recently started at Lawson's and Vunder took these pictures of her. We have to watch out for Pastor Tim. Ayu will probrobly be bringing home some onigiri (rice balls with seeweed, tuna or chicken) and Tim might be gaining some weight. What do they say about marriage? Two years twenty pounds, four years forty pounds, watch out Pastor Tim.

Jun's Birthday Celebration

Let the good times roll. Tonight after w2, we celebrated Jun's birthday. Vunder, Trevor and Zach, sang a birthday song for him. During the song, they invited Jun and Kodai to join on in (upper left and right picture). On the bottom right, Kodai is singing a song for the group and on the bottom left is Jun holding his birthday cake that Vunder made for him (yummy). Happy Birthday Jun! When you get a chance, please leave a greeting for the birthday boy below.

The bugs of Okinawa

This is a picture of Michal holding the cage of one of the types of bugs that are in Okinawa. The kids love playing with these things (yuck!). You can buy different kinds of these beetles at bug shops (that is right, bug shops!) but they are quite expensive. They cost about $30.00 dollars each. The kids will play with them, and even challenge other kids bugs against their bugs. The bugs will fight and the one bud that turns the other bug on its back, wins. (go figure?) The bug in the picture is one that Jason Arbogast' son Justin caught at one of the parks. You can go into the jungle and hunt these down for free. My son Asa wants one of these, but they often escape in the house. That is the last thing that Joanna wants in the house, a bug infestation. God bless you, Pastor Tommy

Misty Albright arrives in Okinawa

Thanks for all of your prayers. Misty arrived safely from California today. During Sunday morning service, Vunder and Hannah went to Naha Airport and picked her up. It was a long flight from Cali, but she arrived happy and in good health. Misty will be helping with the Bible College as well as doing ministry at CCOkinawa during the week. Please continue to pray for her that she adjusts well to the climate and that the Lord will continue to use here in a wonderful way.

Yoshi is back!

Some of you might remember Yoshi, he is a recent graduate from CCBC Murrieta. He visited with us a few months ago. Well, the Lord has spoken to his heart and he has returned to Okinawa to assist in the Bible College. We have been praying that the Lord would allow us to start teaching Bible classes in Japanese, but until now there was no one who was able to teach in the native language. Please keep Yoshi in your prayers. We will be teaching the book of Matthew in Japanese. Please pray that the Lord would send those who are interested in taking the class in Japanese. God bless you, Pastor Tommy