Hello everyone!

Trust that you are enjoying your 40 Days of Love small group! To our friends who log on to see what we are doing, we began our second Purpose Driven Life small group campaign(the first being in 2008) and are in the middle of the campaign(DAY 18 of 40) Pastor Rick Warren of Saddleback Valley Community Church in Mission Vallejo, California developed this material called the 40 Days of Love.

This fits perfectly with our discipleship process of moving everyone from our Sunday morning worship(8AM & 10:30AM) to the SS or even better a small group. We began on Kickoff Sunday(09/17/10) with 25 small groups. We have learned that to grow stronger, we must grow smaller, deepening our love for one another through small groups, amen?

Jesus taught us His Greatest Commandment(found in Mark 12 & Matthew 22): “You shall love the Lord Your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength and love your neighbor as yourself.” We want to become better lovers of God and of people. Our Vision Statement says it simply: Kinoole Baptist Church exists to Love God, Love People and Serve. Like the song that goes: “They will know we are Christians by our love.” In addition to the Sunday morning sermon, we are enjoying Rick’s teachings each week as he teaches from 1 Corinthians 13, called by many “the Love Chapter”. His brother-in-law Tom Holladay, teaching pastor at Saddleback wrote a book called the “Relationship Principles of Jesus” and we are using this book, which is broken down into 40 chapters as the primary daily devotional reading for our campaign.

We truly have been blessed! For example, in Day 17: The Connection between Mouth and Heart (pages 157-158), he writes “The only path to a change of heart is to take off the fake and paltry crown you’ve fashioned for yourself. Your heart changes whenever and wherever you recognize that God is the only rightful wearer of the crown. He is the only King.” Amen and Amen! I always get into trouble when I focus on myself more than God, when I yank the steering wheel of my life away from Jesus instead of letting Him drive.

Have a safe week everyone and let Jesus drive! Pray that I will do the same! Love God, Love People and Serve! See you this Sunday!

Jesus died, Jesus was buried, Jesus was raised from the dead, Jesus appeared to many!

Hello everyone! What an incredible display of God gathering His people all over Hilo last weekend from Good Friday meditations, Easter Sunrise services, baptisms, multiple Sunday morning services to celebrate the resurrection of our Lord! God brought almost 200(191 to be exact) to our two services that we offered. What a wonderful testimony: "I serve a risen Savior!" was emphatically declared in every church, in every household all across our world. Millions of people celebrating Resurrection Sunday! The shouts of "He is risen! He is risen indeed!" rang out to declare our joy and gratitude to our God who made Jesus His Son to be our substitute. The prophet Isaiah said: "But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities, the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. " (Isaiah 53:5-6)
Last Sunday, we began looking at the historical record of Jesus being seen by many in the 40 days before He ascended into heaven to one day return to gather those who remain to be with Him forever. We will continue this Sunday with "A Look Back to the Resurrection", Randy Drake will be preaching on the 25th and I will conclude the "Life After the Resurrection" series on May 4th with "Believing Is Living". We will observe the Lord's Supper on that Sunday. "Soon, and very soon, we are going to see the King! Hallelujah, hallelujah, Hallelujah! Have a great week in the Lord! See you this Sunday!

I'm back!

Hello everyone! Well, I am now fully back from my sabbatical leave and I thank God, my family and our church for giving me this time to be away. I felt so welcomed my first Sunday back in the pulpit on September 6th and the observance of the Lord's Supper was wonderfully meaningful for me. Thanks to Earl and Didi Sabate for the beautiful maile lei; I felt so special! I was extremely blessed to know how supportive you were all summer of Pastor Ken Drake's leadership, along with Gail and our four summer interns! Their hardwork and creativity made it possible for me to leave the church in their capable hands. A special Mahalo to Tony and Brenda Pratt and to all of you who worked hard to offer the Welcome Back Picnic for me this past Sunday. Even our first-time guests who stayed for the meal would agree wholeheartedly that Kinoole Baptist Church offers the very best potluck in the world, amen? Amen! I must admit that I was a bit uncomfortable going first in the line and sitting with my wife Karen the entire meal! Somehow it seemed like I should have gotten up and served some water but thank you for allowing me to be the guest of honor! I also appreciated the hearty rendition of "For he's a jolly good fellow!" And to top it off, the cake was exquisite! Great choice!

Besides rest and a renewed spirit, as I met with pastors and other church leaders and visiting in their churches this summer, I am convinced that we must "live and leave a legacy of faith" for the generations coming after us. Psalm 71 & 78 remind us of the vital responsibility to pass the baton of faith to those who come after us. They clearly spell out the mandate from God that this is our time to serve the world and not ourselves. The very next day, we were able to share the love of Christ to the veterans at the Care Home and visit with Calvin Kaya, Jimmy Fujimoto and Mrs Henry Ayabe. What a blessing! We all missed Pastor Alberto Camacho but our prayers are with him and his parents in the Philippines as he spends the next several weeks attending to their special medical needs.

Can you believe that this November will mark sixty-three years that God has planted our church here in Hilo to be a lighthouse of His presence and power? This Sunday, Gail is leading another group through Class 101, an Introduction to Church Membership because everyone here at Kinoole Baptist Church learns to Love God, Love People and Serve. This is more than just a motto; it is our God-given mission! He is waiting on us. Can He count on us to follow Him faithfully as ducklings who follow the mother duck? See you Sunday! Daniel

Hey everyone! You must have thought that I fell off the planet for the past four weeks! No, I returned home to Hilo and tried keeping a low profile to allow Pastor Ken, Gail and the summer interns to lead in my absence. Thank you again for your faithful participation this summer: your attendance, your giving of tithes and offerings and your willingness to follow. Today in my study time, I began meditating on Ephesians 1, especially the words that the Apostle Paul gave in his opening address to the saints at Ephesus. He described them as the "faithful in Christ Jesus" and prayed the blessing of God's grace and peace. I was so blessed by Paul's prayer and I pray this same prayer for you: "I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know Him better." (Ephesians 1:17) I am thankful for your many prayers for me and my family. I enjoyed celebrating my wife's birthday this week and tomorrow will be my son's 18th birthday. Will you remember him in your prayers as he checks in his dorm room at Biola University, and completes the orientation process and officially becomes a student there? He called to tell me that he is enjoying spending some time this evening with Alden and Jamie Arakaki, Jason Peterson and Dave Hashimoto to help him celebrate his birthday. The Lord continues to share significant insights as to how I am to pastor once I return in just twelve days on September 1st. I got to visit with Gail and Ken recently assessing the summer and anticipating my return. Again, thank you for remaining faithful serving our Lord, serving each other and serving the world in which you live. God bless you! Talk to you soon! Pastor Daniel

Final Leg of My Sabbatical Leave

Hey everyone! I am packing my belongings getting ready to make the hour-and-a-half drive to LAX airport. It is 4:30AM California time and I have about an hour before I leave for the airport. It has been an incredible experience to dialogue and "do life together" with Tim and Carolyn for the past two weeks; God has given them a vital relationship as they work with the pastors and churches of the Gold Coast Association to become a biblical community affecting and impacting the Ventura/Camarillo/Simi Valley area of Los Angeles for the Lord and I have seen firsthand the struggle and dilligence of this couple whom I call dear friends. Friendship takes work but it is so very sweet when God joins hearts together in unity and love! This has been an eye-opener to walk with them to see that the ministry of any church goes far beyond the physical borders of their community; it really has the great potential to impact the world if we are willing to trust God and do His will. However the words of the Apostle Paul in Ephesians 6:10-20 ring true here in California as it does in Hilo, Hawaii: "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after your have done everything, to stand. . . . And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should." We are in a spiritual battle for the souls of many and with God's help, we will overcome! Thank you again for all your prayers and your support for me, my family, Gail, Ken and for each other at Kinoole! We are indeed so blessed to have the Lord and each other! I am halfway through my spiritual pilgrimage and I miss you all! Keep on Loving God, Loving People and Serve! I love you more than words can express! See you in September! Daniel

Counting down the days here in Southern California!

Hey everyone! I have enjoyed my visit with Tim & Carolyn Logerquist immensely! It is like our special summer of 1983 in Yuma Arizona has continued magically, although we are all 26 years older. They are such a special encouragement to me in a timely way as I am halfway through my sabbatical leave; the wisdom of their years here in Southern California come as a breath of fresh air! As I see the impact of their ministry here, I believe God is showing me what He desires of me as pastor not just of the Kinoole Baptist Church but also as pastor of our city for the next ten years. When we talk about vision, God wants us as His people to flesh out His eternal love, redemption and forgiveness; sometimes we think so narrowly of our Christian influence and the impact for kingdom living we have. What did the Apostle Paul say in Galatians 2:20? "I am crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me." thank you so much for praying for me and Karen and Hannah and Jacob; it means a lot to be loved and remembered before the Father! God bless you! Looking forward to my being back Sept. 1st. Daniel

Simi Valley California

Hi, everyone! Reporting from Centerpoint Church in Simi Valley, California, also from the office of the Gold Coast Baptist Association where Tim & Carolyn Logerquist minister. These are wonderful friends from the past, when Karen & I were church planters in Yuma, Arizona in the summer of 1983. We were the only married couple on the team of 8, four went to Phoenix that summer and four went to Yuma, Arizona. Tim was the Director of Missions and our supervisor there. It has been great to renew friendships and I have enjoyed my visit here totally. This past Monday, we got to visit with Matt, Dean of Students at Eternity Bible College where Alden Arakaki and Jason Peterson(Ronald & Lei's grandson) will be second-year ministerial students. He was very gracious to show us the property and we talked for about 30 minutes as to the founder Francis Chan's vision of establishing a solid bible foundation for the students there, preparing them to minister wherever God will lead, whether in vocational ministry or otherwise. It was not fancy but very practical, pouring the money into quality teaching rather than building. I must admit I was very impressed with what I saw--I know that both Alden and Jason are blessed to be here! Simi Valley is quite beautiful, the mountains and valleys are so incredibly a declaration of God's creative hand. If time permits, I will get to see the Ronald Reagan's library here in Simi Valley later this afternoon. The weather has been hot but it has been nice to enjoy air conditioning and staying indoors; however, the weatherman promises cooler temperatures for the next several days. I have enjoyed dialogue with Tim as to how churches in his association address church health, growth and mission and it has been wonderful to listen and share our journey at Kinoole the past seven and fourteen years since Karen and I first came to Kinoole. I have received much affirmation that we are on the right path and need to continue seeking God to fulfill His good work in us. Yesterday I got to talk on the cellphone with our new interim Associational Director of Missions Bill Abbott who came on the field July 1st; I welcomed him to the Big Island where he is busy trying to reconnect with the pastors and churches of the Big Island Baptist Association; I will look forward to spending some time in dialogue with him after I return Sept 1st. I have heard that the three services are going well, and our interns are working hard preaching, teaching, leading, and serving. Thank you for the support you give to Pastor Ken and Gail in my absence; I am blessed to know that you are continuing in faith and service this summer! May God bless each of you richly! I miss you all and are praying that what God is showing me this summer will benefit our church for years to come. Thank you for keeping me and my family in your prayers! I love you! Daniel