Lightning Speed

This is the fastest visa that we have every received. It took only one week for Melinda to get appoved by immigration for her Missionary Visa. We turned in her paperwork and whalla, they called me a week later with her approval. I thought that immigration wanted more paper work, but they said "approved". Please continue to pray for Melinda, to be led in the power of the Holy Spirit. God is doing a great work in her life.

The Three Beauties

This is a really good picture of Liz, Jesse and Joanna. Look at their bright and shining smiles. Jesse (middle) will be leaving the island soon, we are all going to miss her wonderful personality. She has blessed the students many times with her tasty Indian Curry, yummy! God bless you girls, this is a great picture.

Los Locos for Jesus!

Some of the Bible College Students dressed up as Mexican Homeboys and Homegirls. They look nice and cool in the bigger picture but scary in the smaller one. I would hate to meet the guy in the blue penelton in a dark alley, he looks scary. We had a fun night at the Harvest Carnival at CCOkinawa. Everyone had a blast!

Chaplain John Keith

It is such a blessing to have Pastor John come out to the Bible College and teach the students at their "lectures in Ministry" class. Chaplain Keith is the Pastor at Kinser Chapel. Joel Coronado assists in ministry there heading up the Bible College crew that serves on base. John did a great job sharing and encouraging the students in the Word of God.

Zach in Mexico

pictures by Karolina

Zach had the opportunity to head down to Mexico with a group from Calvary Living Water this weekend. He was asked to teach the youth a message while he was there. The gals had a special women's teaching and they also passed out clothing to the people in need. Karolina (Sosimo's mom) said that Zach was in charge of the shoes, so they called him "El Zapatero" (the shoe guy). Zach called me and told me that they has a wonderful time sharing the Love of Jesus Christ.

Do my eyes deceive me?

That is right! Gas has dropped down to 112 a litre. I put in 2,000 yen (twenty dollars) in my tank and I could not believe how much gas I received. For those of you who are wondering where we got this price, it is right down the street from where Trevor lives on Ojana Hill. Gas is now under $4.50 a gallon. That is extremely inexpensive for this part of the world.

Devotions with Joel

It is always a blessing to begin our day seeking the Lord. Joel gave the morning devotion and afterwards we received instruction for the day. The Bible College Semester is going by so fast. November will be the busiest time of the year. We have 3 retreats, a trip to Korea and outreaches all over the island. Please keep us in your prayers.

Beach Baptisms

Baptisms at Tropical Beach could not have been more beautiful. The weather was perfect and the people there were such a blessing. It was awesome to see everyone take a step of faith and make a public confession of their faith in Jesus Christ. Pastor Tim and Dan did a great job of performing the baptisms. The Lord continues to do a great work in Ginowan City.

It started out with one

Stay tuned to see who got baptized this Sunday. We did have baptisms a few weeks ago but there was one person who was not able to be there. So we planned again for today. We started out with one, but ended with five people getting baptized. Praise the Lord! More pictures will follow.

Can it be true?

Yes it is! We broke the 120 yen a litre mark. Gas has dropped to 118 a litre. As we have been saying, a few months ago the price for a litre of gas was 181 yen (close to $8.00 a gallon). But now we are at about $4.75 a gallon. That is great news for us on the island. Our pray now is that the airline fuel charge for a passanger ticket will follow suit and drop too. Stay tuned and keep us in your prayers.

Women's Cooking Outreach

I had to take some shots and get out of there quickly. The gals had a cooking class to teach some of the local ladies how to cook Mexican Chicken Fajitas, homemade tortillas, salsa, rice and beans. All of the ingredients were bought in the local markets in town so any person in Okinawa can make these yummy dishes. Believe it or not, all of the ingredients are reasonably priced. Liz and Joanna did all the shopping from the off base markets. They plan on doing this more in the future. It was a great outreach to our neighborhood friends. And the food was out of this world. The Kitchen at the Koinonia Cafe worked out great! The industial equipment held up to 20 hardworking ladies and passed the test. Praise the Lord!

She could not turn down her fans

The Okinawan Actress/Princess Queen was spotted again on Tropical beach. Once she was recognized she could not help her fans from smothering her and demanding that she pose for a picture. This one will go down in the history books. The first time that the Okinawan Actress actually posed with her fans for a photogaph. Production for her new movie "the Mystical Boar" begins in a few months. There have been problems with the actor Sosimo Avila because he is trying to headline his name above the Okinawan Actress in all advertizements. A direct quote from Mr. Avila "I am the Mystical Boar, this movie is about me, me I tell you, it's my life story, no one will take away the headline from me". Stay tuned fans, this court battle with the Avila lawyers might get ugly. Okinawa Ocean Magazine

Ira, Paul and Ray

It was a blessing to hang out with the guys this evening. We went out to dinner and afterwards joined up with Sosimo and the group that ministers on Futenma Friday nights. Most of you have never met Ray, but he is located on Mainland Japan. He is a part of the Airforce and he does some training here in Okinawa. It is always a blessing when Ray comes back and visits with us. God bless you bro, he leaves back to the Mainland tomorrow.

Someone Got Hurt

One of the Bible College Students stubbed their toe badly, it might even be broken. This person is doing good even though experiencing excruciating pain. Praise the Lord Ira was there to use his medical experience to take care of the situation. The pinky toe received the blunt of the impact. (look how swollen it is). It swelled up pretty fast. Not to make light of it, but who do you think was the person who almost broke their toe?

Halfway Point of the Semester

We can hardly believe it, the 2008 Fall Bible College Semester is officially half over. We are having such a wonderful time with the students we do not want it to end. In this picture we are at Kakazu Ridge. Since it was the end of week 8 we took all the students on a field trip in the morning. Please pray for the students as they pray and make preparations for where they will attend next semester. Some will be graduating, and are praying on where the Lord would send them next.

It Continues to Drop

Good news for us here in Okinawa, the price continue to drop for a litre of gasoline. We are down to 122 yen. We might see it drop more. The bad news; air travel continues to be on the rise. It is hard to swallow the fuel charges they are adding to the price of the tickets. On some flights, the fuel charge is more than the ticket itself. Praise the Lord! God is still under control.

Morning Devotions with Josh Dean

Josh did a great job this morning sharing in devotions. We were all stuffed with pancakes and then we got our spiritual filling. It always amazes me how the Lord gets us to the place where He wants us to be. Through many circumstances God brought the Dean's to us here in Okinawa, Praise the Lord!

Accountability

We are in the middle of midterms here at the Bible College, but one of the guys discovered something. Click on the video and we will let you in on the action.

So Refreshing!

I know that most of you are like me, a busy schedule and when you come to the middle of the week you are already beginning to get tired. That is when the rejuvination takes place; the mid week worship service. Just when you think that you are tired, the Lord just gives you a great big boost. The mid week service is a must for all believers. I cannot tell you how much I appreciated the worship time Wednesday night. Just being able to worship the Lord was awesome, and the reward; a refreshing and a spiritual awakening. It was a powerful time.

Genesis Chapter 24

In our Genesis class we were studying through Genesis 24. This chapter talks about how Abraham sends his trusted servant to find a wife for his son Issac. One of our students in their practical application part of the assignment wrote this and I think that it is fitting for life. I hope that you enjoy it. "Rebekah’s heart of servitude inspires me very much. She didn’t know that this would lead up to her marrying Isaac, but she acted out of love to a man she didn’t know at all and was walking in the will of the Lord. The Lord intervened with his plan for Rebekah and Isaac’s life. Again in this chapter when Isaac was out in the field meditating, he looked up and saw what the Lord had brought before him. Rebekah did the same thing on her travels. The Bible said that she looked up and then saw Isaac. Their marriage wasn’t an act of themselves but in obedience to the Lord being where He wanted them to be. The most successful way the Lord works in people’s lives are when we are whole heartedly focused on Him so that the desires of our hearts are in tuned with His Spirit, and then we will know we are walking in His will."

Not in a Long Time!

I cannot remember the last time we have seen gas this low in Okinawa. But again before you get too excited in California, this is per litre. Remember there are about 4 litre's to a gallon. So gas for us is a little above $5.00 dollars a gallon. That is great! Since about a month ago we were paying close to $7.50 a gallon. I really cannot remember the last time it was this low. We are lovin it!

Brother Luke

Hey everyone! Let me introduce to you Luke. He is a Marine serving here in Okinawa. His dad Chik is a Calvary Chapel Pastor who at one time was stationed here in Okinawa. In fact Chik accepted the Lord while serving here on the island. Please continue to pray for Luke that the Lord would do an incredible work in his life while here is here with us in Okinawa.

Koinonia Birthday

Tonight after w2 we celebrated Asa's Birthday. Ichino baked him a special cake. It was totally yummy! Thank you Ichino for this great cake, and Happy Birthday Asa, we love you!

Ayu Watch

This week of Ayu watch we find her at the Koinonia Cafe. Can you imagine some time around the first of December Baby Newell will be joining us in Okinawa. Praise the Lord! God bless you Pastor Tim and Ayu, please enjoy every day that is left with this pregnancy, we are super blessed for you.

Plunger or Chopstick

We had a great message this week from Pastor Tim. We are studying out of Romans chapter one. As he taught he gave us a cross reference from 2Tim 2:21. We are either vessels of honor or dishonor. A plunger is a tool but so is a chopstick. A plunger is used to clean a backed up toilet (you can see the picture in your head). A chopstick is used to pick up delicious food items like elegant sushi (yummy). The chopstick is a vessel of honor. Here in Japan you can buy all kinds of beautiful elegant style chopsticks. All used for the same purpose, to being joy and satisfaction to the master. "In a great house there are vessels for honor or dishonor". Let's be vessels of honor, sanctified, ready to be used by the Master. An Awesome Message.

Asa's Birthday Cake

Joanna baked Asa a cool Lego Cake. He wanted a strawberry cake, so Joanna covered it in blue frosting. It was delicious! As you can see Asa was blessed with a lot of gifts. He had a wonderful day, Pizza for dinner and a Lego cake for dessert.

Good Job Bro!

Today David Barrios performed his first Marriage Renewal Vows. A couple asked him if he would renew their vows for them, so David stepped out in faith. It was a beautiful ceremony on Torii Beach in Yomitan Village. Right on the beach as the sun was setting, David renewed their vows and shared in the Scriptures. David is holding a ministers manual that walks you though the steps of performing a wedding. A day filled with blessings for everyone.