Tonaki House at Night

We didn't get a chance to take a photo in the daytime, so you cannot see the beautiful Okinawan Roof that our little house has. But we are located on the main street on the island. All the way from the port to the beach (which is not that far) the street is lighted. We sat in front of our house and greeted the people who passed by. The Locals were asking us "where do you live" or "is this your house", we were so proud to say "yes, we live here". We felt like local Tonakian's. Except when Tom Cotton spoke, he was a dead give away that we are not from these neck of the woods. It was so peaceful at night, the stars were out shining in the sky, so relaxing.

The Last Supper

We had our last dinner with Izuru so it was kind of special, shoyu chicken and Pepper Chicken, it was fabulous. We had a good night of fellowship. It was a blessing to hang out with our brother Izuru.

Izurusan and His Crew

Right after our afternoon Bible Study we took this picture with our brother Izuru. He is the only Christian that is living on this island and it is such a blessing to be here to encourage him. Please pray for our brother, he is experiencing some persecution here. God wants to do a great work here and we are blessed to join our brother in this work.

Tonaki Time!

Some times you just got to study wherever you can get it. We are at Tonaki Jima right now, spending some time on the island, working on the house, and later we will have a Bible Study with Izurusan. Internet is scarce, but we should be able to “hook up” later. Time slows down on the island, but your studies don’t, there is nothing like studying on the beach.

Beautiful Lookout

One of the great features of Tonaki are the views from above. We are surrounded by two high peaks on the West and East of the island. It makes for great hiking adventures as well as viewing spots. On the top of this cliff, there are two telescopes that you can look through for free. After this site we ventured down the side of a slop and with the use of a rope we scaled down the cliff. Beautiful, simply beautiful.

Tonaki House

The Lord has blessed us with a wonderful house to rent on Tonaki Jima. Prefect for setting up ministry on the island. On this trip we bought a Microwave, chairs, a tent and more supplies. Here we are, have lunch together.

We Made it!

No need to worry, we had plenty of time. Next stop, Tonaki Jima. The water is pretty calm, it was a good trip. But the boat was packed! The most people I have ever seen on this trip. The reason being; Silver week. Many Japanese people have Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday off this week. We are looking forward to a blessed trip.

Tonaki Bound

We had to catch the ferry out of Tomari Point, but we also needed breakfast. One problem, Tom got caught behind a new cashier, they took so long. But wait, Tom has patience, so does Joel (he did good), but it was I (Pastor Tom) who was freaking out! Hurry Tom, the boat is going to leave!

Happy Birthday Megan!

Monday is Megan’s Birthday so we celebrated w2 style. It was a blessing to have Megan with us again this semester. Our prayer is that she will continue to grow in the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Please leave her a birthday greeting below. Happy Birthday Megan!

Mihama Outreach

Saturday night the students had their first outreach of the semester. We had a lot of different bands out that night. The time was real fruitful with the students sharing the Gospel with many people. Please continue to pray for us that the Lord would give us fruitful service unto Him.

Visit to Calvary Chapel Naha

Saturday afternoon we headed to Naha City to meet with Pastor Masaru of CCNaha. He gave us the Royal Tour of the place, beautiful! We are looking forward to sending some students to help in ministry at his church. Please pray for the students, that they will be led by the Holy Spirit. Please pray for CCNaha, that the Lord will continue bless this ministry.

Back in Okinawa

Well, the Missions Conference in Hong Kong was great. But it is sure good to be back in Okinawa. The Bible College semester is going good, the students are studying hard and learning of the Grace of God. We know that the Lord has wonderful things in store for us all. Thank you, all of you, who have been praying for us.

Giant Cup of Java

McDonald's in Asia are totally competing against the other Mega Coffee chains (simular in the USA), so at many McDonald's in Hong Kong they are building thier McCafe's. They are pretty awesome, the menu, the seating, impressive. Well, their mocha's, latte's and the such are really good and tasty! Check out this huge cup of Joe, this Mocha was only $3.00 dollars, minus the 50% off coupon that they were giving, that is only $1.50. A delicious Java for way under 2 bucks, what a deal.

Back to Hong Kong

The trip to Macao was very fruitful, in fact it was much better than I thought. I am so glad that we went on this adventure, it was truly a blessing. Thank you Joanna, Chuck and Yumi for encouraging me, we were all totally blessed.

Macau thick in Christian Heritage

Macau was an interesting place, not only are there so many casinos but there is a lot of Christian Heritage that we have here. Portugal owned Macau for almost 500 years. It was here that many Christian Missionaries prepared before heading to Japan. Also, Robert Morrison the first Protestant Missionary sent to China died and is buried here. We spent a lot of time trying to find his grave site. Some of the other Christians with our group found it, but we will leave it for another visit.

60 Years of Communism in Macau

 

 

 

 

This year they are celebrating 60 years of communism in Macau. As Joanna pointed out to me which was so interesting; check out the Starbucks, Levi’s and McDonald’s all in these pictures. The epitome of democracy and consumer competition in action. It does not make sense. But very interesing.

The Double McPork Sandwich

Folks, it’s a dream come true! McDonald’s in Hong Kong came out with the double McPork sandwich. That is right, can you believe it? I just had to have one. But to tell you the truth, it was not as good as the single McPork back in Okinawa. Well, that is ok, maybe the Double McPork is heading for Okinawa.

Trip to Macau

 

After the Conference was finished, we traveled with Rusty back to his home town of Macau. One of the fastest way to travel there is by the hydro boat. This thing is fast, just 1 hour. By regular ferry it would take 4 hours. No way man the 1 1/2 hour trip to Tonaki is long enough. When you get going, the boat actually comes a little out of the water. It was super fast. Amazing!

Men’s Session: Pastor John Michaels

What can you say about Pastor John Michaels…. A Missionaries Pastor. John has so much wisdom and encouragement to pass on to us all. Even though he is no longer a Senior Pastor over a congregation. The Lord uses him to Pastor us missionaries out on the field. If he is not ministering in the Philippines, he is in South America. It was a blessing for us men to be encouraged in the Word of God.

More Cabbage Facts

Photo from Geigy

She loves to send me pictures of cabbage. For those of you who don't know, we love eating cabbage at the Bible College, the reason being, it is packed with all kinds of vitamins. This stuff is so good for you. Seriously, this is one of the resons that Eder has lost close to 60 pounds (30 kilos). Well, here are some more wonderful cabbage facts:

Cabbage is an excellent source of Vitamin C. It also contains significant amounts of glutamine, an amino acid which has anti-inflammatory properties. Cabbage can also be included in dieting programs, as it is a negative calorie food (citation needed).
It is a source of indole-3-carbinol, or I3C, a compound used as an adjuvant therapy for recurrent respiratory papillomatosis, a disease of the head and neck caused by human papillomavirus (usually types 6 and 11) that causes growths in the airway that can lead to death.
In European folk medicine, cabbage leaves are used to treat acute inflammation.[8] A paste of raw cabbage may be placed in a cabbage leaf and wrapped around the affected area to reduce discomfort.
Yeah! Let's hear it for Cabbage!