One of my favorite streets

I don't really know why, but I love this street in Okinawa. Some of you might remember this area, it is real close to gate 2 Kadena and to the Okinawan Zoo. I guess I like it because of all the trees and it is so green. On the trees there are ferns growing on them, real tropical, cool shade. It is real peaceful driving in this part of Okinawa.

Signs are going up !

The signs for the coffeehouse are going up today. They brought this large crane to put up the Koinonia Cafe sign. Today, they will finish putting up the next one, and then at night, they will put up the lights. It is looking pretty good! It is amazing to see the coffeehouse coming together. Please continue to pray for us, we are looking for a permanent home to hold Sunday morning services.

w2 - Sunday night

Praise God the Espresso machine just came in! Thank you Pastor Jerry and Pastor Cisco for mailing it to us. Phase II of the coffeehouse now begins. This week Dan Pallman did a great job of teaching the Word. It is amazing to see how God is developing his gifting.

New Video -w2 Tropical Beach Bash !

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Hi everyone! We are planning a Beach Bash for w2 here in Okinawa. We made this fun video to spread the word with everyone here in Okinawa. We hope that you like it, so, play it loud. Remember, we like to have fun in Jesus. So, again we hope that you like it.
God bless you, Pastor Tommy

Memorial Peace Park

Today we had the opportunity to take my parents out down south to the WWII memorial here in Okinawa. The place was packed! Many of the Japanese Okinawan people are off work this week, it is a major holiday (Golden week). We also had the opportunity to visit the war museum. Tomorrow my parents leave to Fukuoka to visit my mom's sisters on the mainland, then, they will come back to Okinawa for one more day. We sure have had a lot of fun with them here with us.

First coffee machine is a go!

Tonight we tried out the first of our coffee machines. We ordered a brewer from the states and it came in, so we had to try it out. Tastes pretty good! We are still waiting for our Espresso machine to come in, it should be any day now. Please continue to keep us in your prayers, everything is coming together.

Visit to Iejima

Saturday, April 29th, we had the opportunity to travel to Iejima, a small island off the coast of Northern Okinawa. We rented a microbus from OCSI and 25 of us headed up north. It was a rainy day, but that did not stop this crazy adventurous group from their mission; to climb to the top of the peak on Iejima. (look at the picture in the center top)
Trevor Raichura spent 2 years on this island teaching english to the jr highers in the school district, this is where he learned Japanese and is now a fluent speaker. Trevor was our tour guide and he kept on yelling "this is my Island" from the top of his voice. Just kidding! Well, you have to take a ferry boat to the island (about 25 minutes) and at this time of the year it is the Lily Festival on Iejima. The islanders say that there are over 1 mission lilies on this small island, almost one lily for every Okinawan (there are 1.3 million Okinawans).We really had a blast!

3 generations on Okinawa

It was kind of cool when this picture was taken to realize that my Dad (Tom Sr) Myself (Tom Jr) and my sons (Zach and Asa) represent three generations of Ruiz's. It has been my prayer for almost 2 years to have my parents visit Okinawa. After retiring from the Restaurant business they no longer have the pressure of having to return back to work. Also, as I think about it, this is the longest time that I have spent away on a type of vacation with my parents in my whole life. It is really good having them around with us.

New signs for the Coffeehouse

A company down the street is preparing the signs for the Koinonia Cafe. They are looking pretty good. Tim Newell designed them. Yesterday we recieved the commercial coffee brewer from California, and now we are waiting for the espresso machine. Please keep us in your prayers, we are trying to locate a refrigerator for the kitchen, and then, we will be on our way.

English lessons at Okinawa College

Today we had the opportunity to teach english at M.E.L.T. (my english lunch time) and after that we headed up to Jason's work and helped him with his english classes. We had a good time just talking to the students, getting to know them. There truly is a need to share the Love of Jesus Christ with the people here in Okinawa. Jesus loves people, and that is who we need to be talking to. Wherever we go, just shining the Love of Jesus.

The CCLivingwater Youth House!

The guys at Livingwater are at it again, doing some great stuff. Leave it up to Jon Horne and Royce Rull to come up with some cool ideas. The Youth have transformed the Coffeehouse at Livingwater to a sweet Youthhouse! Go for it guys, let the Lord lead and guide you in different ways to reach the young people of your generation. God bless you all, Pastor Tommy

Part II Samurai Tug-O-War

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Hi everyone, we are just having some fun uploading these videos. Rememeber, this is just fun stuff here at e3missions. We hope you enjoy part II of "Samurai Tug-O-War.

Worship at CCWilliamsburg

This is a picture of the worship team at CCWilliamsburg. Patrick and his brother Matthew (Dejembe player) lead worship with a few other guys at the church. Both of these guys are busy doing other ministries like their skate shop outreach on Friday nights. Please continue to pray for these cool dudes as they follow Jesus Christ. Hey, Patrick and Matthew, keep serving Jesus Hommies.

Sunday morning service in Ginowan City

God has opened some new doors for us and we are totally blessed. On Easter we rented the Ginowan city town hall, and after the service we asked the director of the building if we could continue to rent the auditorium weekly and he said yes. So for now we will be holding Sunday morning service here at the town hall. Please continue to pray for us that the Lord would continue to give us direction, and bring new Japanese Okinawan people to the Church.

Hey, it's Joanna's Birthday

Joanna is one year older today. Last night we had a surprise Birthday party for her at Koinonia Cafe. She told me that she did not want a party this year, but some of the gals said that they wanted to do something for her, so, we had a blast!
Every Sunday night we have w2 (Worship/Word) at the Koinonia Cafe. This week was really interesting. Like always everyone stays late and fellowships, but last night we had a lot of visitors from off the street. An older gentleman wanted to know what we were doing so we invited him in and he stayed and talked with Trevor a long time about the Lord. He was not a Christian, but he knew much about Him. Then later that night, a young skater came by and Rob talked to him. Then about that same time a young man was riding his bike and we invited him in. He stayed for a long time, and the guys began to share Jesus with him. He was going through some difficult times and we shared about the Love of Jesus Christ. He knew nothing about God, and as we continued to share with him and talk, we asked him if he would like to invite Jesus into his heart. He said Yes! So we led him in a prayer of asking Jesus into his life. We were so blessed, it was awesome. About that same time, a lady came by and asked what this building was all about. We told her, and then she said that we should use it to share Jesus with people. It was such a confirmation for us. She was a Japanese believer and was blessed that we were in her neighborhood. So many great things happened that night. Please continue to pray for us that we would be a light in the Ginowan area. Pastor Tommy

A new video on e3missions

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Hi everyone! Segmon Joyce created this video the other day. It reflects some of the ministries that the guys are involved in. Just a small note; it has been such a blessing to have these guys out here helping in ministry. Thank you Pastor Jerry and Pastor Cisco, for encouraging these guys to take a step of faith and come out here and minister. I hope you like the latest Segmon creation, drop an encouraging word to both Vunder and Seg when you get a chance. God bless you all, Pastor Tommy

Another beautiful baby!

Praise the Lord! Regin and Beth Rodriguez had there first child on Easter Morning. Raine Rodriguez, sounds so beautiful. Some of you might know Regin and Beth, they both teach at OCSI. I have had the privilege of being on a missions trip with Regin to the Philippines. They are both such a wonderful couple. Please continue to pray for them, as they faithful serve the Lord here in Okinawa.

Farewell Kayla

It's a bummer. Kayla Silva is leaving Okinawa to head back to Iwakuni, mainland Japan. We had a blast with her staying in the Ruiz house. But now she goes back to sanity (the Ruiz house gets wild, for those of you who know Asa). Thanks again Sonya and Mike for allowing her to spend the time with us. We will really miss you Kayla. Love, the Ruiz family, Vunder and Segmon

A new Arrival

Fia (Fiafia Cleary Liaga) arrived on Saturday April 15th at 6:48 am, weighing in at 7lb and 02 oz and she was 20.7 inches long. Like how Moses wrote down the starting point of the journey of Israel by the command of the Lord (Numbers 33:2) we want to acknowledge God's hand in starting out Fia's life here on earth.
This is the scripture the Lord gave us when Fia was still in Mom's womb. Psalm 139: 16-17 - Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them. How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! how great is the sum of them!

Thank you all for your prayers and support.

Love
Pule, Colleen and Fia Liaga

A new video on e3missions

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Hi everyone! We just put up this new video on e3missions. The guys had a fun Easter afternoon the other day. They did some entertainment for the company that Tim Newell is employed by. Cast your vote by clicking the comment button below and tell us what you think. Come on guys, write an encouraging comment for the boys. Pastor Tommy