Lost a Tooth

Asa hates loosing his teeth. He said that he does not want to look ugly, but he actually looks more adorable. We told him that loosing his teeth is a part of growing up. He got more excited when we told him tomorrow we will give him a 100 yen so he can get himself a little toy. He was ready for bed.

Out like a Light

Tom was super tired from the long trip from the States. He hit the wall about 6pm. We let him sleep for a little while, then he went home to take a shower and get ready for B.O.B, the men’s Bible Study. We did not want him to go to bed until 9pm, or he would be wide awake at 3am. He needs to get adjusted to Okinawa time.

Sukiyaki Nabe Party

In honor of Zach’s Birthday, Joanna cooked us all a special dinner, Sukiyaki and Nabe. It was absolutely delicious! We had two cookers going on at the same time. Everyone really enjoyed it.

Thomas Cotton

The Cotton man arrived with Anna via China Airlines. The plane ride was smooth even though it was 14 hours long. Tom arrived in good spirits so off we go to the Cafe. It is good to have him back, he had a great time in the States hanging with Daniel, thanks a lot buddy for blessing this Australian.

Anna is Back

Anna arrived safely from California. We picked her up today at the airport in Naha. She is really tired even though she had some good sleep on the plane. She has a bit of a cold so that is why she is so drowsy. Great to have you back girl!

The New Cotton

Phil Joel meets the 21st century. The new Cotton, we dig his wild hair but it was getting out of control, wild man status. But Iza tamed the beast giving him a good haircut. He looks great! Good looking hairstyle Cotton, we really dig it. We are looking forward to Tom getting back to Okinawa. He will be teaching the book of Hebrews for the Bible College. Watchout! Tom is now a College Graduate and he is going to put all the learning to good work.

 

Happy Birthday Zach!

Zach turned 20 today January 10th. We were glad to be back in Okinawa for his birthday. We celebrated with a big cake! It is also Debbie Pallman’s moms birthday Hirokosan’s today. Happy Birthday Zach and Hirokosan.

Liquid Gold

Coming back from America we made sure to bring the Hot Sauce. Valentina and Tapatio are the No.1 choice of chili lovers. Tapatio is produced in California while Valentina is “hecho en Mexico”. You be the judge, which is better. As you can see from Eder, he is one happy boy!

Celebration

It was a great day for the Ruiz’s to celebrate Zach “Coming of Age” in Japan. Zach is 20 years old, where did the years go? I can still remember the day he was born. We all had a great night.

Coming of Age Day

In Japan, January 10th is a holiday celebrating the “Coming of Age” for all the 20 year olds in Japan. At 20 years old they officially become adults. We celebrated at w2 by praying for them. This year there were no gals. That is really interesting because when Zach was born in America, I remember the nurses telling us that there were a lot of boys born that year. Here you go, again, prayed for all guys and no gals.

One Happy Camper

Check out the smile of Eder’s face. A real difference from the way he has been looking in the past pictures. He is happy because Joel and the crew are back in Okinawa. We like that smile Eder, you look good bro. Praise the Lord Joel’s back!

Back in Okinawa

We made it back home safe from California. We want to thank everyone for the blessings that they gave to us in so many ways. The fellowship was a blessing, but it is now time to get back to work at home. We are looking forward to a great semester with the new students and we appreciate all of your prayers. We love you all and God bless you!

Taipei, Taiwan

We arrived safely to Taipei, waiting for our next flight to Okinawa. Even though the flight from LAX was 14 hours, it went fast. Joel Coronado was on the same flight as well as Joanna Bessman. It was a good flight, Praise God!

A Whole Lot of Luggage

As you can see with Ms. Happy (Michal) we have a lot of luggage that we are bringing back to Okinawa. There are always things that we need to bring back to Okinawa for ministry. We were over the weight limit on a few of our bags but God have us grace and they did not charge us extra for the pounds. Praise the Lord, Okinawa here we come back home!

Leaving LA

Well, it is time to leave California. We were so blessed with the Avila family giving us a ride to the airport. Thank you Karolina for allowing us to use your van, it was absolutely a blessing to us. God continued to keep the van running strong, even though we all know that it has a lot of miles on it and a lot of history. Thank you Jesus!

Cold in Korea

Check out John Michael with the snow on the ground. He have been in Korea a little over a month now, and is doing great. We miss this guy, but he is doing a lot of ministry in Daejeon. God bless you John Michael, be blessed bro.

November 16th, 2004

A brother was recently blessed by the Lord and I encouraged him to blog his experience and he will be able to look back on what the Lord did for them. As I was thinking about their blessing, it reminded me of the blessing the Lord gave us over 5 years ago when we first came to Okinawa. We need a computer and someone blessed us with one, it was not anything super, just an older computer. But when I set it up I recognized that it was the same model that we gave away in California. The Lord reminded me what He said “He would blesses us back with everything that we gave away”. Now this was not the same computer we gave away, but it was the same model. This computer meant more to me than getting a super high tech model, because it served as a reminder to remember that God was going to do all that He promised He would do in our life. God is good! He is a good God and will bless you beyond your imagination. Praise the Lord!

Ruiz’ and the Simmons’

One last picture with Pastor Jerry and Kim as we get ready to head back to Okinawa. It was a blessing Wednesday night. I was able to teach at the Spanish Ministry for Pastor Cisco. So the English and Spanish Services go on simultaneously, one in the Sanctuary and the other in the Living Water House. Thank you Pastor Jerry and Pastor Cisco for everything!

Five Latinos and One Georgian

Well, Royce counts; Chuck Robb fits in just fine with this group. The boyz from Living Water warmed up to this Georgian. Chuck and Yumi head back home to Okinawa tomorrow morning via a stop over in Tokyo. They had a blessed time.

Okinawa Rules!

We ruled the School! This is not even the whole Oki group. It seems like we were the largest group at the Conference. Seriously, it was fun because our group took over the whole East side of the back section. When we went to lunch; forget it, we were a big mob. We were thinking about jumping Phil Twente or Double B into the gang, but they would of just slowed us down. Ira and Irma kept us in control corralling us back at their house. I cannot even tell you about the feast that they cooked back home. We were crashed all over the house. Rowdy in Rancho California!