Sunday Morning the two gals headed toward Naha back to America. We are going to miss both of these gals. Please pray for Christina in that she will be heading to serve in Korea starting in January. Also, pray for Amanda that her visa will come through so she can come back and serve here in Okinawa. God bless you girls, we already miss you.
Our wonderful brother Abraham will be leaving this month, heading back to the States. We are going to miss this brother, he is such a blessing! We had a great time at his house, eating sandwiches, curry, pizza, pasta, you name it, we ate it. It was a blessed night. Thank you brother Abraham!
Dean heads back to California Monday and before he leaves he wanted to visit the beach on the East Side of the Island. So we drove over the hill and checked out the site. The water was cold, but it was absolutely beautiful. A nice little visit.
Today Joel purchased his new Mac book Pro laptop. He is totally blessed! It is amazing the things that laptops can do now. This computer is super fast. Joel will tweak it a little to make it fast. Praise the Lord Joel, cool blessing.
Well, Stephen flew out this Saturday afternoon. It is always a bummer to see the students leave, especially cool guys like him. We are going to miss you Stephen, be blessed as you fly back to Hawaii. May the Lord, lead, guide and direct your steps. Give every one our love back at CCHonolulu and may the Lord show you what He wants you to do next. Again, God bless you bro, we love you!
Zach, Hannah, Michal and Asa are heading back to California for Christmas vacation. The 3 older ones are attending a youth retreat up in the mountains this weekend. Asa will be hanging out with Grandma. Pastor Tom and Joanna will be heading out next week, we have a lot of teaching engagements.
That’s right! Hannah got her braces taken off yesterday. The orthodontist was not going to be able to take them off for her until after Christmas, but God made a way and we are so blessed! Such a beautiful smile! As you can see, she is blessed.
It was a blessing to see the 4 students receive their “certificate of completions” from CCBC Okinawa. For those who meet the requirements of CCBC Murrieta they will be receiving their diplomas’ for the main campus. We are so proud of all the students and all that they accomplished this semester. We love you all and are so proud of you!
John Michael has bought his ticket and will be heading to Korea December 9th. He will be helping at CCDaejeon in Korea. John Michael will be leading in worship and assisting Pastor Mike in whatever he needs. Please keep our brother in prayer, we are so blessed for him.
It was such a blessing having Teriya with us this past week. We had such a great time with her. But now, she must go back home to Ishigaki Island. Please pray for our sister, that the Lord would lead and guide her steps. We would love to have her come back and study the Word at the Bible College this coming semester. God bless you sister, we love you!
This is another picture of Pastor Tom and Andrew at the Worship Concert in Tokyo. The two cats hanging out for a night of worship. Hakugaijin would have "rocked the house"!
This is the largest bowl of Ramen I have ever seen, and the winner is Rusty! Check out the size, but we need to hear from the Rusty Man himself. So if you are listening Rusty "I want Rusty, I want Rusty, we want to hear from the big man and find out from him how good this ramen was". So if you are reading this Rusty, leave a comment below. Again, this bowl is outrageous! Tom Cotton is totally jealous!
Today we had the banquet for the Bible College and had a wonderful lunch together. It is hard to believe that that Bible College semester is almost over. Every semester they are faster and faster. This is a great group of kids, we are so blessed that the Lord brought them this semester.
It was such a joy to hold Hikari and Aiya’s baby Sunday morning. She is so beautiful, a bundle of joy. Most Japanese babies are so small, I don’t think that any of our kids were ever this tiny, all 4 of them had big heads. Praise the Lord for His wonderful blessings.
Saturday night we went out for one final witnessing time with the students from the fall 09 semester. We passed out Cd’s that Campus Crusade for Christ made for Japanese people. We passed out a lot and also spent time witnessing to people that were willing to talk. It was a blessed night.
Here are the guys all in action. Praise the Lord no one got hurt, and everyone had a great time.Glenn was caught doing the “Bill Belichick” stealing the plays. Just kidding Glenn, you are still the top force to be reckoned with!
CCGinowan takes the crown! The guys were excited at their victory against CCOkinawa. CCO was a worthy opponent especially since CCGinowan has lost to them for 3 straight years. CCGinowan will hold the trophy for 1 year, until (Lord willing) next year when they play again. There is one problem, if Jesus comes back before next year, then Glenn for sure will not be getting his trophy back.
This is such a funny video of Daniel last year at the Annual Turkey Bowl, that we played against CCOkinawa. Daniel was so sore from the game it was hilarious. Click on the video above, we hope you like it.
Everyone did an excellent job serving the people Thursday afternoon for our blessed meal. There was so much food, and it did not stop at night. At night we busted out the leftovers and finished the night off with desserts. We have a wonderful time! Praise the Lord!
On Special Holidays, Camp Foster flies the big flags on base. These things are huge! The picture does not give it justice. The are always beautiful to see, and worth pointing out as you drive by the base.
At least for one year. The Boyz of CCGinowan brought home the gold! They have been challenging CCOkinawa for the last 4 years and have always come home short. Not this year, they are the champions, and they are happy. When you come to the Koinonia cafe you can look in the center corner and see the trophy for yourself, on display for all to see.
Cabbage is dropping in price so we are really happy. 139yen a head, that is really cheap, about $1.60. In the off season they go about close to $4.00 a head. Remember Geigy, eat your cabbage and stay nice and healthy!
Wednesday night Joanna began preparing one of the turkeys right after our mid week service. Her turkeys are slow roasted for about 10 to 12 hours, and they come out so moist and tender. She starts first by buttering up the bird, add the spices and we are ready to go. The second turkey is already cooking back at the house.
It is a blessing to have Talia from Ishigaki island visiting with us this week. Many of you know Teresa who teaches and ministers using Hula, well this is her daughter. We are so blessed to have her with us.
Well, the guitar master that is; Eder was playing guitar and one of the young boys who comes over to the Koinonia Cafe was watching Eder groove on the guitar. Afterwards, Eder began to teach him some chords. He was really into it.
Pastor Tim came down from Nago for the Monday Thanksgiving Celebration. It was a blessing as he shared the Gospel in Japanese. The Japanese people heard of the Love of Jesus Christ that afternoon.
Monday is Thanksgiving/Labor day Holiday here in Japan. So we decided to have two Thanksgivings, one on Monday and one on Thursday. We used Monday as an outreach to the Japanese people. Thursday, the guys are going to play their annual “Turkey Bowl” against CCOkinawa. Then we are going to celebrate our traditional American Thanksgiving Holiday at the church. It was a blessing having the outreach Monday at the church.
Part I began Thursday evening at Camp Kinser. Part II was tonight at Camp Courtney. Amanda is the intern up North at the Chapel and they celebrated their Thanksgiving Dinner Sunday night. As you can see these two ate too much. Megan was supposed to go with them, but she came down with a little touch of the flu. But this is just the beginning folks, tomorrow (Monday) begins the first of two Thanksgiving Dinners at CCGinowan, Monday is a Japanese holiday and we will celebrate it Japanese style. Thursday is the traditional day for the Americans, and we will have one on that day too, food fest 2009!
Next to Yumi is standing Miki (to the right). Miki is a student at Ryukyu University. Recently she was in a Japanese commercial. For those who saw her it was great to see her on the screen. Great job Miki, go for it, next stop, the big screen.
Aiya and Hikari had their baby last week, and they brought little Selah with them. She is adorable! Grandma Reikosan has beautiful children and grandchildren. We are so blessed for this family.
The Ruiz girls are setting up the Christmas tree. It feels like winter here in Okinawa. Well, not that cold, but it is in the mid 60’s. We have been experiencing a cold front, so it looks like we are going to have a cool Thanksgiving. Get ready folks, Christmas time is here.
Today Tokito officially becomes an adult in Japan. In America a person becomes an adult at 18 years of age. But here in Japan the legal age is 20. It is a big deal when you turn 20 in Japan, the city office has a celebration in the first week of January. All the guys and gals who turn 20 show up at the city office for pictures and it is a special day for the parents. The 20 year olds all wear special kimonos, it should be awesome. Zach turns twenty soon, so Tokito and Zach will be a part of the festivities. Tokito wanted a special Blueberry cake so Joanna baked him one. As you can see from the bottom picture, Tokito is wearing a special beanie. Amanda and the girls embroidered it. Tokito’s name in katakana is there and also the wolf sign. Toki loves wolf’s. Well, Happy Birthday Toki, we love you bro!
Masaki, Pastor Tim and Ayu’s baby is on the cover of Christian Style Magazine in Okinawa. He is absolutely adorable. But the thing that cracks us up is that he is “Giant Baby”. It reminds me of the old Godzilla movies where he destroys Tokyo. Well Masaki is destroying Mihama American Village in Chatan. Check out the car that he has already picked up off the street. “Nooooo Masaki, don’t eat the car”, this little boy is adorable.
photos by Tamiko
Camp Kinser’s Thanksgiving Dinner for the Marines was a blessing. Joel Coronado is the intern in charge of serving at that base, and Chaplain Keith invited all the Bible College Students to come out and be a part of the night. The students got right in there and started serving. Some of them were in charge of the entertainment for the early evening. They led in worship and special song. It was a blessing being able to serve our men and men of the Armed Forces.
This morning Megan gave the Bible College Students a good devotion. It is a blessing to be able to gather in the morning and start our day out in the Word together. We are blessed in His Word.
We celebrated both Birthday’s Wednesday night after our mid week Bible Study. Tom’s Birthday is today, and Toki’s is Friday. Happy Birthday boyz, we hope that you had a great one.
A couple of more shots coming out of the F-15, it was pretty awesome to sit in the cockpit of these mighty jets. The one thing that still amazes me, there are so many buttons, knobs and controls that the Pilots must know before they can even start this jet up.
Can you believe it? It is cold in Okinawa! For some reason we are experiencing a cold spell, the weather is 18 Celsius, not that cold stateside, actually it is 64 degrees Fahrenheit. But it is so cold for us. The students are in jackets, beanies and sweaters. If Adam Jahnkow was still here, he would love it!
The Marines celebrate their 234th Birthday. Eder was invited to attend the Ball Tuesday night. The Brother in his Dressed Blues is Josh Dubois. He is the one who invited Eder. Eder looks sharp as a tack.
Tuesday the Chaplain’s on Kadena Airforce Base invited the Pastor’s out in town for a luncheon plus tour of the flightline. It was a blessing. We were able to get up close to an F-15 fighter jet and as you can see we were able to get in the cockpit. Totally amazing plane. We had a great time.
As the world knows President Obama is in Asia busy visiting the countries. While in Asia Airforce II follows close behind. This is not a secret. In case the President needs to get back to Washington DC fast, Washington DC comes to him. Airforce II literally becomes a floating White House in the air. Always an amazing sight.
Andrew did a great job teaching the Word and Tom did an excellent joy of translating into English. It is amazing to see Neely’s Japanese abilities flourishing. Tom is always so interesting to listen to, his words and actions make the translation come alive, thanks dudes!
Pastor Bill and Danita came down Sunday afternoon and spent some time talking to us about Leadership in Ministry. It was a blessed time and everyone enjoyed to time of questions and answers. Thank you Bill and Danita for taking the time to come out and share with us. Also, thank you Pastor Rick for allowing them the time to come on their busy schedule.
This guy hunts for the good deals. We were blown away, he came back from Union with the fine catch, literally. 6 pieces of fish, and a bed of rice, for only 298 yen (about $3.30). Attah boy Tom! Living like a true missionary, stretching every yen.
Last week we heard the news that our good brother Go went home to be with Jesus. He moved back to Mainland Japan to work, and for some reason, they found him passed away in his apartment. We were all so totally shocked! We all love Go, but we look forward to seeing him again in Heaven. Please pray for his parents here in Okinawa, Keisho has spoken with them and they are deeply grieved with this news. God bless you all. Pastor Tommy
Joanna and I were blessed with the opportunity to be a part of CCO’s Couple’s Retreat at the Zampasaki Hotel in Yomitan. Pastor Bill and his wife Danita were the special guest speakers. It was a blessed time.
It was a blessing to have the Forbes with us for our “Lectures in Ministry” class. Derek is presently located in India getting ready for the Franklin Graham Crusade. His wife Allison is living here in Okinawa until the baby is born. Next year both of them will be moving to Osaka for the Crusade that will be held there in 2010. Please keep their whole family in your prayers.
Atsukosan and Satsukosan came to the Bible College and again blessed all the students with a delicious dinner, homemade gyoza and chinese soup. Oh, they were so blessed. Gyoza is not easy to make (as you can see) each one needs to be hand made. They made over 300 of them! Wow! Yum City! Thank you again girls, they were all so blessed!
They delivered new couches to Pastor Tim’s house, now it looks even more like a living room. The Bible College students took a trip up to Nago and they did not waste any time trying them out. God is so good. Look at the little boy Masaki, he is modeling for the picture just like his dad would, he is practicing for the cover of his new CD; “Don’t just sit here, go and Preach”.
The conference begins today, Monday the 9th up in the mountains of Okutama. Most of the Calvary’s from all over Japan are represented here. Pastor Bill Stonebraker and Pastor Tim Newman from Hawaii are our guest speakers. We are looking forward to a great time of teaching and fellowship.
I was so amazed to see these kids riding the train all by themselves. They are first graders, 7 years old. There was a bunch of them running around. That is what they do here in Japan. The people have no problem with their kids riding the trains, it is completely safe. In America we would never do this, so dangerous. But again, this is Japan.
Don’t they look absolutely wonderful! It is so great seeing Michael, Jiai, Rusty and Amber. They are doing so good. The only person we did not get a picture of was Erin Shavers. Erin is doing so well in Ome city. It was such a blessing seeing them all.
Pastor Santo and Pastor Travis put together a worship night Saturday afternoon. We were blessed with some great worship, fellowship and fun. There were four different bands that led in worship that night. It was a great event, thanks guys, for putting this all together.
This city is absolutely beautiful. Yokohama is a port city and it felt like being in downtown San Diego. The city is famous for so many of its buildings. The top picture is the largest building in Mainland Japan. Check out the size of this Ferris wheel.
Praise the Lord! We made it safe to Mainland Japan. We were lovingly greeted at the airport by the Jeremiah Boek Family. We are able to spend a few days with them at their house, ministering with them at their Church. Thank you Geigy and Jeremiah for allowing us to stay with you in your house.
Friday morning Roy blessed the students by coming out and sharing with us at our Lectures in Ministry class. Roy has been a missionary here in Okinawa for the past six years. He is involved with Campus Crusade for Christ and does ministry with Calvary Chapel Okinawa. We were truly blessed with Roy and his wife Nancy.
Happy Birthday Kayo, we are so blessed for you. We are excited for you in all the things that God has in store for you. Keep going strong for Jesus. For the rest of us, please leave Kayo a Birthday greeting below.
Kevin was just promoted to Sergeant this past week. He was promoted Emeritus out of a large group of applicants. There was one one chosen this year, and he was the one, Praise the Lord! Kevin loves the Lord and it shows in his life. God bless you Kevin and congratulations.
