Refreshing Times

Aloha,

It has been busy the last few months and I have been meaning to post an update but just have not found the time too. My family and I are currently in VA for a visit and it has been great having some down time, spending time with family, doing a little sight-seeing and sharing on the ministry in Hawai'i with our church family in VA. I initially came for the 2013 CEF National Conference at Ridgecrest NC, so our family decided to make the trip at the same time. It was a great conference and a great time of spiritual refreshment as I was able to hear the Word from gifted speakers, take part in workshops, fellowship with some old friends and make some new friends in the ministry. It was definitely an encouraging time and it put a lot of things into perspective for me.

Our family has been able to visit several of our supporting churches and share on the ministry. We share at two churches this Sunday, one being our home church Midway Baptist, before we make our return trip to Hawai'i on Monday.

The ministry in Hawai'i continues to grow. The Lord has allowed me to start 1 new Good News Club® at a local elementary school.

45 children are currently enrolled and at least 12 have accepted Christ! Our CYIA program begins the first week of June and we look forward to what HE will do in the lives of the precious children of Hawai'i. We hope to send our newsletter out or post online before our summer ministry begins, so you can read in more detail all that has been happening.

Thank you for your prayers for the sale of our house....the Lord has answered and it is officially SOLD! Praise the Lord!

Baby Esther is doing well. She is a bundle of joy and continues to have good health as she grows. Timothy and Annikah are enjoying time with Poppop & Beppe (Grandma & Grandpa in Dutch) and they love spending time with Uncle Matt and playing in the very big yard (8 Acres to be exact...lol).

Kristin is doing well as she also enjoys time with her family and we both appreciate the extra help with our 3 little ones :o).

I will try to post again soon, but until then the Lord's blessings and favor be upon each of you, ALOHA!

Psalm 16:8

I have set the LORD always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.

January 2013 Newsletter

Aloha Everyone,

I trust that you are all doing well. Happy Belated new year to each of you and your families and I pray the Lord's richest blessings on each of you this year and always. It has been a busy month here in Hawaii. God has been continually opening doors for the ministry.We are seeing more children come to Christ and we are seeing schools open the doors for Good News Clubs to take place. We are seeing more churches contact us for training in reaching the children. Just last week the Lord opened a door for me to go to Maui for 6 days to do training ad pioneer the ministry of CEF on that Island.I spent 3 Days doing a training workshop with 27 church staff. 17 YWAM Discipleship Training Students from Norway, Switzerland, Ireland, Scotland and the United States also attend for one day and it was a tremendous blessing. Just today I received and email from the Pastor in Maui saying that a couple of the individuals took the training they received and went into one of the local communities. They used the Wordless Book to share the Gospel with the Children and 3 accepted Christ! What a blessing to see lives being transformed by the power of the Gospel. Thank you for supporting our ministry and making an impact for His Kingdom. Blessings to you guys. I have attached out news letter  for you guys to read. Hope you are encouraged by what the Lord is doing.

Mahalo nui loa

Hau'oli Makahiki Hou!

Hau'oli Makahiki Hou!

Hau'oli Makahiki Hou...in Hawaiian it means Happy New Year. It’s 10 days late, but I pray and that you will have a very Happy New Year as you continue to see all the great things HE will do, and all that you will learn. The Lord has been so faithful to our family in the past year and I know that He WILL always continue to be faithful to us. He has blessed us and provided for us in ways we cannot even begin to comprehend.

I remember growing up my teenage years, all my friends would as we say in Trinidad, 'bust a lime' ...which means go out or hangout and they would buy food and other things and sometimes I would not go because I knew I could not afford to buy anything and the times I did go, I just watched as everyone else enjoy a meal or something else. I even remember working an entire year just to save enough to pay for my first semester at University!  I grew up with very little and I remember one time just crying and asking God why can't I have a little extra to buy something? Why do I have to sacrifice and worry about finances in my teenage years?

But as I have learnt, God is Sovereign...HE is in control and all those years of sacrifices have helped me to continually trust the Lord in providing for my needs and that of my family. If I did not learn what it meant to sacrifice, I do not think I would have trusted the Lord to provide in the way that I do now or make the sacrifices we do as full-time missionaries.

I pray that this year you will not lose hope but you will continue to trust Him in everything you do, Continue to take those little or giant leaps of faith He may be asking you to, because as our family has seen… you not only grow closer to Him, but there is great blessings and great joy in doing so!

Happy New Year and God’s blessings to you!

Good News Fun

The Gospel can be fun! Can you tell?

Good News Club® Ministry

This is one of the new clubs started just a few weeks ago. This makes only 2 clubs in the entire state, of over 200 plus schools.

Your support makes clubs like this possible.

The Starfish -Ka Hôkû Kai

Once upon a time, there was a wise kupuna (elder), who went to the sea to contemplate. One day while walking along the shore, the kupuna looked down the beach, and saw a gracefully dancing human figure. The kupuna wondered out loud, "who would so joyfully greet this day with hula?" and began to walk faster to catch up.  Getting closer ...

the kupuna saw that the dancer was a keiki (child), who was not dancing at all. The keiki was reaching down to the sand to pick up something, and was gently throwing it into the sea. The kupuna called out to the keiki, "Aloha! What are you doing?"

The keiki paused, looked up and replied, "Throwing starfish into the sea." Surprised, the kupuna sputtered, "I guess I should have asked, "Why are you throwing starfish into the sea?"

The keiki smiled brightly, pointed upward and, with exquisite simplicity, replied "The sun is up, the tide is going out, if I don't throw them in they will die." "But don't you realize," asked the kupuna, "that there are miles and miles of beach and starfish all along it? You can't possibly make a difference!"

The keiki listened politely. Then bent down, picked up another starfish, and threw it gently into the sea, just beyond the breaking waves, and exuberantly declared, "It made a difference for that one."

To our friends and supporters, you have and continue to help us make a difference in the lives of the keiki and the people of Hawai'i. Every one person who hears the Gospel and responds makes a difference! Mahalo nui loa for praying and giving.

Matthew 18:14
"In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should perish."

Good News Club® Take 2

Aloha,

For the past few months we the staff of CEF Hawaii have been working to advance the ministry to the Keiki of  Hawaii. We have been training a team of committed Christians to effectively share the Gospel with Keiki and how to conduct a Good News Club® ministry. 

Today we launched the 2nd Good News Club here on Oahu. There are now 2 Good News Clubs in the entire state of Hawaii. This by far is not a large number, however, each club started allows a greater opportunity for the Keiki of Hawaii to here the Gospel and puts CEF Hawaii one step closer to  reaching Every Keiki on Every Island with the Gospel. 

Today we only had two keiki show up for this club, again this is not a large number, however, through an exciting club the Gospel was presented. When the club was over, those two keiki who attended club had made a first time decision for Christ. What a blessing!