Morning Devotions

It is a blessing to be able to gather together for morning devotions here at the church. Many people cannot do that because they have to go to work, so we do not want to take for granted the opportunites that God has given us to get into His Word. Iza did a great job of encouraging us in the Word. "Jesus Christ is the same, yesterday, today and forever", Praise the Lord!

B.O.B. Brothers of Boaz

Trevor hosts a Men's Bible Study on Monday night (Brother's of Boaz). It is a blessing to worship, get into the Word and just spend some time fellowshipping together as men. Please continue to pray for this Blessed Bible Study.

Baby Masaki

This kid is getting cuter by the day. Pastor Tim and Ayu had a special outing and asked the girls to baby sit. They were so excited they cancelled all of their plans. Everyone wants to babysit little Masaki.

Training Time

The Traininator's coming back from the Gym on Foster. After a hard mornings workout what do you eat for breakfast; cereal and donuts. That's right, donuts left over from w2, breakfast of champions. Check out Eder sportin Zach's shirt from Cali. Looks pretty good on him. Especially seeing that Eder has dropped another 13 pounds, that guy is rockin. No dieting, just eating regular and training hard, a good example for us all.

Prayer Request

The Regina is going into the hospital today to have the Baby! Praise the Lord! Please pray for a safe and quick delivery. We are all so excited and blessed for them. The Dean's are so special to all of us. We look forward to what the Lord has in store for them in the future. God bless you Dean family, we love you!

Cool Club!

We took this picture on the roof top of Chris and Julie's house during the party for Paul and Ally. The weather was absolutely beautiful and there was a strong breeze. The view of Okinawa City was beautiful. Just another blessing of living on a tropical island.

Paul heading back to the States

Brother Paul (center left) is leaving Okinawa and heading back to the United States. Paul is in the Airforce and has attended the church for a few years. It is always a bummer when people leave the island. We are going to miss you bro, may the Lord lead, guide and direct your steps. God bless you bro, your family at CCGinowan.

M.E.L.T. Time

My English Lunch Time; it is always a blessing to head out to Ryukyu University and help with this weekly outreach. The students help Pastor Tim and Roy Toma at Campus Crusade for Christ as they reachout to the students on campus. Everyone does a good job of sharing the Love of Jesus Christ.

Back in Okinawa

And ready to bake! Just one of the items that Hannah brought back from the States. The best thing about it, we all benefit from the blessing. It is good to be back home. The weather is hot and humid, but not that bad as long as the wind continues to blow. God bless you all, and thank you for all of your prayers. Love, the Ruiz Family.

Okinawa Bound

Time to head back home to Okinawa. It was such a blessing with all the ministry back in the states. Zach will prepare to head to Israel in August and we head back to Japan to prepare for the summer SOS. God has great things in store for us all, we are blessed to be a part of His work.

One Last Chill

We were chillin out at Grandma Miko’s house. One last BBQ before we head for Okinawa. It was a blessing to be able to spend so much time with our family. Please pray for Pastor Tom’s Dad, he is sick right now and we are praying for a fast recovery.

Surprise Guests

We were driving back home for lunch after church when we saw someone in the lane next to us say “Are you Pastor Tom”? We pulled over and she introduced to us that she is Regina’s mom. You can definitely see the resemblance!  We were blown away! A God thing; His perfect timing.

Sunday Morning

The day before we left California, I was able to teach at Calvary Living Water. Before we went to lunch, we gathered the crew together for a pict. We are so blessed as missionaries to have a sending church in the missions field. We can never take for granted our spiritual family that supports and prays for us. We love you Living Water!

Family Photo

 

The family photo. We are all together! Good looking kids! Praise the Lord for them all! The top photo is Joanna’s sisters and her mom. Thank God for a godly mother who prays for us all.

Our First Youth Pastor’s

Mark and Cindy Schroeder were our first youth Pastor’s growing up in and out of High School. Pastor Mark taught me a lot about ministry in those early years. Bob Solorio and myself were his interns. It is great to see that the Schroeder’s are doing great in California. Mark pastors the church; Heritage Christian Center.

Nephew Paul gets Married

This is Joanna’s youngest nephew; Paul Schreoder. He got married this past Saturday. Zach and Paul were born in the same year. He got married at a young age; he is 19 years old! Wow! The wedding was so beautiful, his older brother Daniel officiated the ceremony.

Memory Lane

 

These are some pictures of my family when we were younger. We were looking through some photo albums and I had to put them up. The picture of Joanna and me are our first year of marriage (I was doing some hard core eating). The other ones are pictures of my mom when I was growing up. She reminds me so much of Natsuki, not only their size but their personalities. Natsuki does things that remind me so much of my mom. Well, there you have it, memory lane. 

Back in Los Angeles

Our trip to Virginia was a short one but a blessed one. I was there only for 3 days but Joanna and Hannah were there for 10 days. Short for me, but longer for the girls. They were able to spend a lot of time with our niece Kristen, Bobby and the kids. Thank you again Tom and Jeanne for blessing us with a great trip and allowing us to minister to the body. God is so good! One interesting thing when flying back to California you notice how much smog is in the air, different from Okinawa.

The Pentagon

I am sorry these are not the greatest pictures but we were traveling on the freeway as we took the shots. The most interesting object in the picture are the 3 points of the monument on the lower picture. This monument is new (well, it was not up 3 years ago). This structure was made to remember the flight pattern of the airplane that struck the Pentagon in 2001. A difficult day in our Nations history. 

Quantico Marine Base

On our way back from Williamsburg on our drive to Regan National Airport, we stopped by Quantico and saw the entrance to the Marine Base, very impressive. There is so much history in Virginia, definitely you need at least a week to begin to see everything in our Nations Capital.

The Krew in Korea

Well, as you can see the crew are doing great! They labeled this picture as the sent it to me "Snacks for Pastor Tom". They look really good, but what is this all about that Daniel is holding prunes? I know that I am getting old, but what is this? God bless you guys and Amanda. It is great to see that you are all doing so good. Praise the Lord!

Cali Families in Virginia

It was such a blessing seeing the family here in Virginia. The families that are pictured started out in California but the Lord has transplanted them into a loving fellowship in Virginia. In the bottom picture is my niece Kristen, Bobby and their family. Joanna is holding the youngest of the crew his name is Zion. Double click on the pictures and get a better look.

Welcome Michael!

Michael will be joining us in about a month in Okinawa as he will be attending the SOS (Summer of Service) in July. It will be Michael's first visit to Asia so he is excited and we are excited. We know that God has great things in store for our brother, so please keep him in your prayers. God bless you bro!

Wednesday Night Service

We were so blessed as Pastor Tom Hallman asked us to lead in worship for the Wednesday night service. I was also able to teach the Word that night. It was a blessing to just hang out with the body after church. There is a wonderful body of believers at CCWilliamsburg.

Calvary Williamsburg

This is a good looking sign, very welcoming as you drive past the church. God has given the body at CCWilliamsburg a wonderful sanctuary in the short time that they have been a church. God is so good. Praise the Lord!

Passing Richmond Virginia

I was passing by Richmond on the way to Williamsburg and I thought about Michael Snider as I passed by him home town. For those of you who do not know the Snider he is a missionary at CCTokorozawa on Mainland Japan. He will be visiting back home in August to spend time with his family. God bless you Mike, may the Lord lead, guide and direct you.

Hey! The Langley's

On my way to Williamsburg I was able to spend the night at the Langley's house. Williamsburg is 2 1/2 hours away from the DC Airport, so it was a great excuse to spend time with our wonderful friends. Many of you know the Langley's, they were such a great family to have out in Okinawa. They attended CCOkinawa with Pastor Rick but we got to know them very well. You might remember that Mike visited back to the Island recently and we were able to have him teach at the Bible College (it was a great lecture). In the morning Cindy cooked us a blessed breakfast but before that Mike allowed me to train with him in his "new style" of working out. I have been wanting to try his new system because we have all seen good results (look how good that Stud is). So we trained in his basement for about 45 minutes. I wish that I was able to spend more time with them, but I had to make my way to Williamsburg and Mike had to work. There kids are getting so big, beautiful and handsome! God's blessings are all over the Langley's.

Meet Ellen Gaston

Hi everyone! Please keep Ellen in your prayers (no relation to Matt Gaston) as she is seeking the Lord's will concerning Japan. She attends CCFredricksburg in Virginia along with the Langley's. Ellen is praying about joining the missions group OMF and either coming to the Bible College before or after her missions stay with them. She is a wonderful gal who is in love with Jesus Christ. God has opened up some new doors for her in the present in that she is now on staff with CCMagazine there in Fredricksburg. God bless you Ellen, you are in our prayers.

Virginia Bound!

By faith I boarded the plane for Virginia, destination; Williamsburg. There were just a few tickets left, but Praise the Lord I got on! It was a great flight, God blessed me with a good seat; emergency isle, a lot of leg room. I was able to spend good quality time listening to the "Preach the Word" mp3's that Pastor Jerry made for us. In fact we were able to listen to them on the way back and forth from the Fishing Retreat. I am hoping to spend time on the drive from DC to Williamsburg soaking in the Word. Please pray for us, that the Lord will give us a good fruitful time here in Virginia.

You Gotta Clean em!

After you catch em, you gotta clean em. Taking out the fish guts can be a lot of fun, as long as you have the guys to help you out. At this time, we were filleting them for the fish taco's that will be made that night. They were delicious!

Picturesque

This is why people love the Eastern Sierra's so much. You can hardly soak it in, the view that surrounds you. Ice cold snow stream water, mountains on each side, and fish that can only be caught using the right bait, amazing!