Hi everyone! Karen and I spent two incredible days in Yosemite National Park which is located east of Sunnyvale where we stayed with my sister Louise and husband Wayne. The awesomeness of God's creation, the beauty and vastness of His creativity overwhelmed us totally! It was exhausting, especially for this out-of-shape pastor but it brought back rich memories of when Karen and I got to visit Yellowstone National Park while still in seminary(way back in the summer of 1983--wow its been ages, almost a lifetime ago!) We got to see the huge redwoods which date back to 3000 years ago or that is what scientists estimate and got to enjoy the evening with Greg Sumii. Discussed with him church health, the discipleship process that the Vision Community is helping Gail and I to refine and implement and appreciated his insights. It seems that his church at Northwest church is also going through transition and although we are similar, we are worlds apart in terms of size(they average 1800 attendees on any given Sunday morning with 3 service times: 8:00AM, 9:30AM, 11AM. Karen and I are making plans to attend their 9:30AM service. They are also having a 11AM Vacation Bible School "Fundago" coincidentally with their 11AM service with the fun activities of the VBS week just concluded and they will have a 12NOON Fun Day, complete with bouncing castle, hot dogs, balloons, etc. We will try to take some pictures and post them for you to see. Although we have done much, we are also enjoying the time away from Hannah and Jacob; we will see them tomorrow in Los Angeles. Thanks again for your prayers and support! We love you all in the Lord! Daniel

Pictures of our trip to Seattle and Victoria.

Hi everyone! Well, it's been a whirlwind of a trip visiting with Joe & Ila; they have been incredible hosts and we surely enjoyed our time in Yakima. Victoria was nice but incredibly expensive; I did not fully appreciate the USA until I was in a foreign country and although everyone spoke English there, you still could sense the "foreigness" of the area. We enjoyed driving down to Multnomah Falls in Oregon on Monday, watched kite-boarding in Hood River and saw the beauty of the foothills of Washington State. Flew out of Seattle yesterday, left Jacob with his friends for the rest of the week, Hannah is now with the Kibach students at DC/LA and we have enjoyed being with my sister Louise and husband Wayne. Tomorrow we drive to visit Yosemite National Park and then will spend the weekend with Greg and Yolanda Sumii. In the midst of the busyness, I ahve enjoyed spending time w/our Lord, praying and enjoying the incredible peace He gives. Praying for you all, especially for Ken & Denise, Jacque, Layne, Aldie, Karl; thanks for your prayers, we have felt the power of God's answer to your prayers! God bless you! Daniel

Hi everyone! Got in to Seattle late Sunday nite, enjoyed staying at the Doubletree hotel just down the street from the airport--Joe and Ila Hoptowit picked us up yesterday and we've enjoyed being together, ate a great seafood dinner at a popular Seattle fish place called Ivars. I enjoyed eating fish & chips and a bowl of their world-famous clam chowder; it was great! I told Joe that he was a man after my own heart, to begin our time together eating! We drive to Port Angeles today to catch the ferry into Canada early tomorrow; pray for us that our time together will be blessed! We love you all and pray for you as well! Have a great day! Daniel

Hi everyone! Praying that your day goes well! As I reflect on the demands of my day, to prepare for our trip and to get the house ready for Alden and Jamie, God reminded me of Jesus’ busy schedule early on in his public ministry. As recorded in Mark 1 & 2, the gospel begins with the record of Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness, followed by John the Baptist’s imprisonment and Jesus’ calling his disciples. It also records his early ministry around the sea of Galilee, in Capernaum where Jesus taught in the synagogue and his popularity grew to enormous proportions. Remember what took place in the home of Simon Peter and his brother Andrew? James and John, the sons of Zebedee were there as well, as was also Simon Peter’s mother-in-law, sick in bed with a fever. This reference by John Mark, who collaborated with Simon Peter, validates the fact that Simon Peter was married, and that Simon Peter’s brother Andrew, Simon’s wife and mother-in-law lived with them. Knowing that Simon Peter was willing to leave his family to follow Jesus would seem rather foolish or irresponsible, but I think that it also speaks volumes to the devotion that he had towards Jesus. You know the rest of the story: Jesus heals Simon’s mother-in-law, she feeds them and then the whole village comes with the sick and Jesus probably spends the rest of the evening and later hours in the night healing those who were sick. Obviously, a great miracle of healing took place and Jesus could have slept in. Who would have faulted Him? But our Lord does what he habitually does every morning(as recorded in Mark 1:35) “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.” He probably only got a few hours sleep but the Father compelled His Son to spend time together, perhaps to go over the events of the previous day and to remind His Son: “Son, all your life, if you let people impose their agenda on you, you will do many good things, wonderful things, you will develop a good reputation and people will like you, invite you to parties, have a good time, make lots of friends and be popular. HOWEVER, remember why you were sent, why you left heaven’s glory to live among men. Sure enough, when Simon Peter discovered Jesus gone from his house, he went looking and found Jesus alone praying. "Everyone is looking for you!" We have your daily schedule mapped out for the next several months and we think that we should also go to the big city of Jerusalem next year and really wow the crowds! What do you think, Jesus? Are you up for this? And because Jesus spent time in prayer, reflection and recommitment to the will of the Father, in verse 38, Mark records Jesus’ reply: "Let us go somewhere else—to the nearby villages—so I can preach there also. That is why I have come." May we also listen to the Father and hear His heart.
Our church has a great opportunity this summer with Pastor Ken and Gail and our four summer interns and we can be busy doing lots of activities. However, we should regularly go to the Father for His instructions and be about the “Father’s business”. One of the most neglected and most difficult ministry we have at Kinoole is the ministry of prayer. Why? Because the results is totally left up to God’s timetable and not man’s. It requires faith, not in the visible, but in the invisible work of the Holy Spirit. It also requires humility and diligence because as James, the stepbrother of Jesus reminds us in James 4:2-3: “You do not have, because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures." But Jesus also declares His church shall be a house of prayer. I have commissioned Wally Dyer and Didi Sabate to continue praying on Thursday afternoons from 1PM-2PM, not a time of convenience or something with great fanfare BUT essential to the spiritual health and vitality of Kinoole Baptist Church. I am committed to pray for one hour each week for our church; please, will you do the same? Have a good day, everyone!

Hi Everyone! Not quite sure who's getting this but our time is counting down(T-4, leave on Sunday) Wanted to share a beautiful reminder that went hand in hand with Ken's message on Sunday where the source of love is God and we are so deeply loved! Laura shared this story and at the end of the story she wrote: "Share this with a friend---I did!" And so I wanted to do the same: here goes:

Did you know this about THE BUZZARD: If you put a buzzard in a pen that is 6 feet by 8 feet and is entirely open at the top, the bird, in spite of its ability to fly, will be an absolute prisoner. The reason is that a buzzard always begins a flight from the ground with a run of 10 to 12 feet. Without space to run, as is its habit, it will not even attempt to fly, but will remain a prisoner for life in a small jail with no top. Or consider another of God's creatures THE BAT: The ordinary bat that flies around at night, a remarkable nimble creature in the air, cannot take off from a level place. If it is placed on the floor or flat ground, all it can do is shuffle about helplessly and, no doubt, painfully, until it reaches some slight elevation from which it can throw itself into the air. Then, at once, it takes off like a flash. How about the majestic BUMBLEBEE: A bumblebee, if dropped into an open tumbler, will be there until it dies, unless it is taken out.. It never sees the means of escape at the top, but persists in trying to find some way out through the sides near the bottom. It will seek a way where none exists, until it completely destroys itself.
But consider that God's greatest creation is PEOPLE: In many ways, we are like the buzzard, the bat, and the bumblebee. We struggle about with all our problems and frustrations, never realizing that all we have to do is look up! That's the answer, the escape route and the solution to any problem! Just look up. Sorrow looks back, Worry looks around, but Faith looks up! Live simply, love generously, care deeply, speak kindly and trust in our Creator who loves us.
SEND THIS TO A FRIEND .... I did. IN GOD WE TRUST(who coined this phrase Abraham Lincoln?) How about the prophet Isaiah 40:28-31 "Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." Have a great week everyone and pray for your pastor! He really needs your prayers!

Countdown is 4 days to travel to Seattle/Vancouver Island/Yakima; trying to get it all done before we leave. My son Jacob leaves tomorrow and we will meet up with him Monday morning when the Hoptowits pick us up. First up on the agenda is to tour the sights of Seattle. Looking forward to it; will have pictures for you

Today's thought: From Psalm 10: God always hears "the desire of the afflicted" and encourages us to keep the faith as He protects and upholds us by His mighty right hand. Thank you, Lord! Great is thy faithfulness!

WEEK 1 OF PASTOR'S SABBATICAL LEAVE

Today marks the first week of my sabbatical leave. It has been a whirlwind of activity, primarily because of my family's focus of my son Jacob's graduation from Christian Liberty Academy. He graduated last Saturday, May 30th, 2009 and it was a special day, to say the least! Both his grandmothers were present, my mom and Karen's mom and stepdad were here to celebrate the joyous occassion. I must admit that the venue at New Hope Christian Fellowship was most enjoyable due to their air conditioned auditorium--it was quite comfortable! We had barely enough time after the sweet fellowship to prepare for Jacob's grad party at our church later that evening. I was quite impressed by the incredible work of the Junior class and their families to decorate the New Hope fellowship hall and serve the 17 Senior graduates and their families to a wonderful pupu lunch. It was more than just appetizers but almost a full meal served by willing servants. The food and the service was unbelievable! Thank you CLA Juniors! May your graduation be just as memorable next year as you made it for us this year! A special thanks also to the dedicated faculty of Christian Liberty; what more can be said as to the high commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ and to every student. It was so evident that the love of Christ permeated every aspect of the graduation ceremony.

I must say that the joy began at 2:30AM that morning when my mom and I got up to make makesushi for Jacob's grad party. In all, I believe we rolled 25 rolls of sushi and the highlight of that memory was my "messup" on the very first roll where I forgot to put a sheet of nori on the su or bamboo wrapping device. My mom is quite proficient in making sushi where she has provided our family numerous times and special occassions with her tasty sushi. Later that morning, around 4:30AM, Karen's mom woke up to help roll several of the sushi so she could see how it was done. Several of the rolls were not wrapped properly where the rice spilled over but no worry, we just ate those and kept the good ones for the party, which everyone seemed to enjoy. I'll share more about that later on.

Our church also sponsored a graduates luncheon where 7 graduates were honored, given their cross pens and listened to their plans for the summer and fall. We were quite proud of each of them: 5 high school and 2 college graduates were honored: Hilo High: Joseph Davis and Jon Miyazono(who did not attend the luncheon); Waiakea High: Colby Miyose; Christian Liberty Academy: Jacob Tomita & Justin Pang; University of Hawaii at Hilo: Karl Sunagawa; and California Baptist University: Jamie Drake. Well, I need to get ready to attend the 10:30AM worship service at Kinoole Baptist Church.I had two major goals this past week: 1) to start walking every morning(happened only 3 of the 7 days) and to have my quiet time with the Lord(happened 4 days, hope to do better this week). Pray for me, everyone! More later on today about Alden and Jamie's wedding, how the Tomitas helped this fine couple start their married life with the Lord and with family and friends surrounding and supporting them.