By Patty Kamahele, Administrative Assistant

Then the LORD came and stood, and called as at the other times: “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel said, “Speak, for Your servant is listening.” (1 Samuel 3:10)

On a visit to the mainland, my sister and I were driving down a stretch of freeway in SoCal called “The Grapevine”. We suddenly had a flat tire, and this is not the place you want to experience one! With cars barreling down that freeway, we pulled over and got out of the car to investigate. (I don’t know why. It’s not like either of us could fix it even though our dad had showed us how!)

Just then a car pulled behind ours, and the driver asked if he could help. We both said, “Sure!” and thanked him for stopping. He went to open the trunk to get the jack and spare tire out, glanced at the rear tire and said, “Oh, you already jacked your car up.” We replied, “Oh no. We didn’t!” 

“Well, somehow your car is already raised up on the flat tire side!” What??!! No way! After staring at it and checking if it was sturdy, he proceeded to change the tire with no jack! My sister got in the car with it still raised on the right side, carefully drove forward, and the car gently lowered to the ground. We, and the guy, had our mouths wide open. We just could not believe it! (When we stopped to get a new tire, we asked the employee if there was such a feature on this fairly new car. He replied, “Definitely not!”)

We thanked the man profusely and gave him some money for his trouble. But no money could buy what we witnessed and knew was from the Lord. Perhaps He had sent an angel to hold the car up and another to fix the tire?! He met our need in that memorable moment of time.

Sometimes the messages the Lord sends us are obvious and sometimes they aren't. But I believe if we keep our eyes open, even to the little things, the Lord is speaking to us. It may be to encourage our hearts, or to minister to another’s. 

I have found this so true in this time of the loss of my husband. The Lord has sent me beautiful rainbows and heart-shaped clouds, sweet memories of Francis, scripture verses at just the right time, songs in the night, loving notes from family and friends, and immense comfort from His Word. 

But the key to having these things bless us is having an open heart to receive them. And guess what? He is speaking to you even now…in this moment. Listen. Can you hear Him?

Prayer: Lord, I ask that You would give us hearts to hear Your still small voice in the midst of the noise, and then act upon what You’ve spoken. Maybe it’s just for us. Or perhaps it is to help encourage another person in need. May we be conduits of Your great love as we share it with a hurting world. In the matchless Name of the One whose Love has no bounds, Jesus. Amen.

Note: Our dear friends Terry, Nancy & Dwayne Clark recorded a song called, "Thank You" which reminded me of how the Lord can speak to us through music. How grateful I am for what Jesus has done for me. You can listen to this beautiful song by clicking here. 

“This was taken on our lanai, and it speaks of God’s faithful promises and presence.” (Patty)

“See the heart cloud? This was taken at First Prez Ko’olau, reminding me of God’s great love for us, and my husband’s for me.” (Patty)

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By Julie Lockyer, Administrative Assistant

Have you ever felt that your spiritual life has dried up? Maybe you feel distant from God and you just don’t seem to have the time to spend reading the Bible?

I am in that place right now. You would think that there would be more time during a pandemic to dive into God’s Word and be filled with His living water. 

I used to wake up and go straight to my Bible-reading and devotions. That hasn’t been happening lately. I wake up, make my coffee, and jump on my computer to do work. There are times when I sit to read my daily devotions, but I get easily distracted. My mind starts to wander. And all of a sudden it’s time to get ready for work. Sometimes I try to listen to a message on my car radio, but I get distracted by traffic and crazy drivers.

Then when I get home from work, I need to get dinner made and then do the dishes. By the time I get everything done, I’m exhausted. I plop down on the couch and watch TV or grab my iPad and play games to help me wind down.

We all go through challenges at work, at home, with family members, and even friends. Sometimes these challenges can be very draining. The well gets drier and drier. 

The wonderful thing is God is still here! It amazes me how even though I’m not always faithful to Him, God still shows up for me daily. He never leaves me. I want to have God in my life more. I want to feel His presence in a deeper way.

Sometimes we go through an extend drought and, like a well that isn’t getting filled, our spiritual life starts to dry up. I’m not feeding my soul the way I should. I need to dig deeper to fill up with God’s Living Water. Yes, it takes work but it is so worth it! 

The Lord will guide you continually,
And satisfy your soul in drought,
And strengthen your bones;
You shall be like a watered garden,
And like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail. (Isaiah 58:11)

If you are like me, let me encourage you to make time for more of God. We need to put things that aren’t important on the sidelines, or rearrange our schedule and pick up the Bible, read devotions, listen to worship music, or whatever draws you closer to Him. He is waiting for you!

Prayer: Lord, I thank You for always being there for me even in times of drought. You are a faithful God who loves me and wants me to draw closer to You. Thank You that Your mercies are new every day and that I can come to You to fill my soul with Your living water. As You fill me Lord, help me to pour out your love to others. Amen.

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by Jenny Sung, Executive Coordinator

Picking up my kids from school is one of my favorite parts of the day. The wait at the auto line is long, but I often have a good exchange of texts with my boys while I’m stuck behind cars. My texts are often auto-corrected and for some reason, whenever I tell them I’m stuck behind “cars,” my phone auto-corrects it to “cats.”

Mitchell: “???”

Grant: “Stuck behind cats???”

Mitchell: “Mom? Where are you?”

Me: “Stuck behind cats”

Me: “I mean cats” .... “no, cats” “darn it … cats”

If you find this stream of communication funny at all, then you share my sense of humor. The point of this story is that we all get stuck sometimes, and in the midst of feeling stuck, we can get frustrated when things don’t spell out the way we want. We thought life would be different now, but we feel stuck. We thought we were moving toward a goal, but the end looks nowhere in sight. We thought good things would happen, but each day is a struggle. We thought …. (sigh)

There are many examples in the Bible of people who struggled, felt stuck, and cried out to God in the midst of suffering and doubt. Joseph who was stuck in a dungeon for years; Daniel stripped of his home and stuck in a foreign land called Babylon; Jonah in the belly of a whale; the woman stuck with a blood condition for 12 years––deemed unclean by society and isolated.

Where is God in the midst of this? Is God with us?

YES. ABSOLUTELY. Jesus told us in this world of the in-between (between His resurrection and His return) we will have struggle (John 16:33). But take heart because He has overcome the world. We may feel stuck right now, but that is never the end of the story. We can trust in a loving God who cares for us and has our best in mind. Not only that, but He is with us in the midst of every situation.

He tells us “So do not fear, for I am with you. Do not be dismayed for I will strengthen you and help you.” (Isaiah 41;10). He tells us, “Come to Me all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). Psalm 91:4 says, “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.”

God is molding us into His image in the process. (2 Corinthians 3:18)

We can have confidence in our loving Heavenly Father and cast our concerns and cares onto Him because He uses every circumstance and situation. He is always moving and working in ways we may not understand in that moment. We can pray for God’s will in our lives and others because of His incredible sacrifice and love for us. Let us trust in Him, even when we’re “stuck behind cats” or any other place in life.

Prayer: Dear Lord, thank You that we can trust in Your goodness and faithfulness, even when we feel stuck, frustrated, or confused about our situation. Help us to surrender and pray for Your will in all circumstances. Mold us into Your image, and lead us by the power of Your Holy Spirit. In Jesus name we pray, Amen.

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By David Free, Deacon

“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” (Matthew 5.5)

Oh man, I thought to myself, does that mean I’ll never be blessed, and never “inherit the earth” (meaning, partake of God’s abundant blessings here on earth and in heaven)? I certainly can’t describe myself as a meek person. If anything, I’m an extrovert. So I decided to dig into the subject, look for the true meaning of meek, as it pertains to the third beatitude.

It did not surprise me that the word meek can often come with negative connotations. It may be that people see being meek as being a doormat, for people to walk all over. In fact, one dictionary defines meekness as “overly submissive or compliant; spiritless; tame.”

Yet Jesus described Himself as meek and lowly in heart (Matthew 11:29), and we know that He who defied the Pharisees, overturned the tables of the moneychangers in the temple, and never backed down from wielding the truth as a two-edged sword could never be described as spiritless or tame. 

So, if I want to be one that inherits the earth, I need to learn to understand what it truly means to be meek.

I discovered that Biblical meekness means to place our trust in God, commit our way to Him, and wait patiently for Him; to refrain from anger; also to refrain from revenge and defensiveness. Meekness loves to forego wrath and leave its vindication with God. Meekness is the power to absorb adversity and criticism without lashing back.

Power under God’s control means the refusal to inflate our own self-estimation. Paul captures that aspect perfectly in Romans 12:3 —“For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.” 

Meek people see themselves as servants of God, not thinking more highly of themselves than they ought to think. To be meek is to accept our strengths and limitations for what they truly are, instead of constantly trying to portray ourselves in the best possible light. But it does not mean that we should deny our strengths and abilities. 

What I have learned is to get my ego out of the way, trust in the Lord, and not so much in myself. Humility springs forth meekness. And meekness indicates strength of character.

So, if you, by any chance, disagree with what I wrote here today and want to challenge me, you’ll find no fight here, my friend! I’ll be entrusting even that to the Lord’s hands.

Prayer: Father, we ask for Your guidance in negotiating our paths through a world of voices proclaiming words of untruths, words of self-glorification, and words that don’t fit our faith in You. May we be meek and lay our concerns at Your feet, knowing that resolve will be Yours. Through the name of He who showed ultimate meekness, we pray. Amen.

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by Pastor Steve Peich

2 Thess. 2.17 - May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, 17 encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word. 

When I was 24 years old and not very long a Christian (about three years) I went into the ministry and worked at a refugee camp in southeast Asia. My parents were stunned and deeply disappointed at my new found career choice.

I can assure you it was not pleasant to enter the ministry without the encouragement and support from those whom I sought it most. This left me feeling a bit insecure at times. Yet despite all that, God had a plan in mind that I didn’t see coming. After months at the refugee camp, I was asked to preach in a combined service of the different Christian refugees who worshipped in the camp (Vietnamese, Cambodian, and Lao). I was incredibly nervous. Who was I to preach to these people? I hadn’t even read the whole Bible yet. I knew next to nothing about theology. I was in way over my head.  

However, as that was going on within me, my supervisor, who was old enough to be my father, watched me preach. For some crazy reason he saw potential in me. I couldn’t see that I would ever be much of a preacher because I was so unlearned in the way of our faith and because I sounded more like Rocky than Shakespeare in those days (ok, so I still sound a bit like Rocky, but I assure you, it’s way worse back then). As the days went by and as he saw me preach more and more (and struggle more than you could imagine), he asked to meet with me each week for prayer and to share what God was doing in our lives. In time he became Christ’s encouragement made flesh.

Up to that point I was all zeal and no clue. His words of encouragement, wisdom, and guidance were like water on a parched soul. At that time, I was so gung-ho that I never thought I would return to the United States. But he convinced me to return to attend seminary so I could “put better tools in my ministry toolbox,” as he put it. It was a life-altering decision. 

I often wonder what my life would be like if he didn’t take the time to take the initiative and intentionally encourage me as a Christian; to guide and support me in days where I felt so clueless and to see in me what I could not see in myself. Jesus used Him to “encourage my heart and strengthen me in every good deed and word.” I will never forget him and I will never be the same because of him.

That’s the kind of person God calls every Christian to become. God doesn’t call all of us to the same type of ministry, but there are some things He gives us to do that are universal. Being a channel of His encouragement is one of those universal calls. So let me challenge you to pray to God and ask Him to lead you to someone just to encourage them, to help them see what they cannot see in themselves. Let yourself become God’s instrument to stretch another soul to greater things. 

Prayer: “Lord, make me an instrument of Your encouragement to another soul who needs it. Help me be courageous enough to jump on opportunities today to speak Your words, Your grace, Your love into my friends, my spouse, my kids, and whoever else you send my way. Give me the words that can give life to another. In Your Name I pray, Amen.”

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By David Chang, Director of Ministry Support

One of the favorite things I like to do is to pick fruit. While other people like growing things that were pleasing to the eye, Mom and Dad loved plants that were pleasing to the tummy. My parents’ yard had all kinds of fruit––two kinds of mango, lemons, tangerines, oranges, bananas, and papayas. 

It looks like I’ve passed on to our grandkids my love for picking fruits because they enjoy doing it too.

Recently, in preparing for my devotions, I intentionally prayed, “God, please talk to me through Your Scriptures.” And He did.

“Remain in me, and I will remain in you! The branch can’t bear fruit by itself, but only if it remains in the vine. In the same way, you can’t bear fruit unless you remain in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. People who remain in Me, and I in them, are the ones who bear plenty of fruit. Without Me, you see, you can’t do anything.” (John 15:4-5)

From that passage of Scripture, I sensed that the Lord was showing me that I was focused on “picking fruit” in my life. My motivation was to work hard, so that I can pick fruit. Now picking fruit isn’t bad in itself. I want to bring blessings not just to myself, but to others too. I want to further God’s Kingdom, bless my family and others. 

But I think God was telling me that I need to shift my focus. God was telling me that I need to change from focusing on the fruit and start focusing on the vine, which represents Jesus in this passage. This isn’t easy for me. In my Mom’s garden, I learned to look for fruit. You had to look through the leaves and around the branches to find the fruit that was perfectly ripe for the picking. I think this is how it affected my life’s priorities––to look for the “fruit,” that is, for opportunities and pathways that would bring the best outcomes in returns and affirmation.

So, I think God was telling me to shift my focus, look away from figuring out how to maximize outcomes and returns, and instead focus on Jesus and figure out how to maximize my relationship with Him. After all, the Scripture tells me to remain in the vine, to remain in Jesus. It does NOT tell me to remain in the fruit, or to focus on getting the results. I need to trust that if I focus on Jesus, He will bring the results.

Prayer: Lord, thank You for speaking to me through Your Word. Help me to shift my focus on You rather than on the fruit. Help me to trust that if I remain in You, the fruit will come. Good results come only from You. In the name of my true vine, Jesus, Amen.

P.S. to the Prayer: Lord, I just realized that focusing on the fruit got Adam and Eve into trouble, so even more please help me to look at You and not at the fruit!

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By Gary Toh, Director of Prayer Ministry

A couple of years back, I was strolling down Chinatown when I heard someone crying for help. I quickly rushed over to the crowd and saw a man was lying on the ground. He was crying and muttering that he needed to go to the hospital. He looked like he was in anguish and pain.

I took out my phone and dialed 911. After some assessment from the call center, they determined that it was not an emergency and asked me to call for a non-emergency ambulance to the scene.

While waiting for the ambulance to arrive, I tried talking to the man to calm him down. After a while, the crowd dissipated, and we found a place for the man to sit.

I found out that he was homeless and had strained relationships with his family. He came to a point that he just wanted to go to the hospital to die. I started to encourage him and prayed for him.

At this time, two hours had passed and still no sign of the ambulance. He decided he did not need to go to the hospital and wanted to leave. Before he left, I noticed that his slippers were broken. Not thinking too much, I offered him mine. He gratefully accepted and left wearing my slippers. Thank God we live in Hawaii where it is totally normal to be walking around barefoot. I walked back to my car and went home.

In Luke chapter 10 someone had asked Jesus, “Who is my neighbor?” Jesus proceeded to tell the story of the good Samaritan. A man was left for dead after being beaten and robbed of his belongings. Two religious leaders saw him and ignored him. But a Samaritan came by and helped the man. He went way beyond to help the man.

The Jewish people at that time despised the Samaritan people. Jesus used him as an example to remind people a good neighbor is someone who does good for strangers no matter their background.

In these modern times being a good neighbor means sometimes we may have to help strangers. People who may be different from us. From young, we have always been taught about “stranger danger.” Yes, there’s wisdom in that, but Jesus clearly asked us to do otherwise. He is not asking us to put our well-being at risk, but He is asking us to be kind and generous to people we meet.

Prayer: Lord, please open our eyes to see people who are in need around us. Help us to be kind and generous to them. Amen.

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By Pastor Dan Chun

The priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to Peter and John while they were speaking to the people. They were greatly disturbed because the apostles were teaching the people, proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead. They seized Peter and John, and because it was evening, they put them in jail until the next day. But many who heard the message believed; so the number of men who believed grew to about five thousand. (Acts 4:1-4)

Someone told me that he met a Christian from China who said that to join his church people would have to be willing to go to jail for their faith. 

Wow! What if we made that a requirement for our members – that they would have to be willing to go to prison for their faith? It would point to a faith that is dead serious about following Jesus and seeing Him as Lord. It would cut down on a “consumer Christianity” that might use Jesus just to benefit ourselves in wealth or status or power. It might create a community more radical and serious about their faith.

This made me ponder. Would I be willing to go to jail for my faith? Would I be willing to die for my faith? Would I be willing to have myself endangered in living a life for Jesus and others? Could that decision be the baseline for all of my actions here on earth? Faith would not be frivolous. I would not be a dilettante in Christianity just dabbling or putting my toe in the water but not being fully immersed in allegiance to Jesus. 

We may think this is crazy to live a life willing to die for a cause. Aren’t only terrorists like that? No. Think about it. Those who are in the military, police, EMT, firemen, and front-line workers among others all know there may come a time when they will have to put their life on the line for others. They signed up for that.

In our passage, Peter and John were willing to go to jail for their faith. How would you answer if asked you, “Would you be willing to go to prison for your faith? Why yes, or why not?”

I once was asked to give a Bible study in another country and was told it was possible I would be arrested if I led it. Most of us are not put in that position, but what if you were? So how did I answer? Well, this devotional is about you. What would you say?

How serious was Jesus about the devotion we should have? Jesus said, “If any want to become My followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow Me.” (Matthew 16:24)

How we respond to that verse will guide our outlook on life and faith.

Prayer: Lord, we often sing “I surrender all, all to You my blessed Savior, I surrender all.” May the words of our lips be consistent with the reality and message of our hearts. Lead us away from a consumer faith to a faith that is willing to go all out for You. It’s not about us. It’s about You. In the name of the One who went all out for us, Amen. 

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By Marianne Schultz, Deacon

“Honor your father and mother. This is the first commandment with a promise.” Ephesians 6:2 (NLT) 

This Mother’s Day week I think of all mothers honored by their children and how much love they hold for their sons and daughters. What is the greatest gift a mother can have? My mom would say knowing that I am happy, in a good place, and surrounded by the Lord with a beloved companion. 

I gaze at the brooch that a grieving mother carried here from Uwajima City in the Ehime Prefecture in Japan. It is a gift I could never have imagined receiving. The reason brings me to tears as I think back to February 2001.  

I picked up the newspaper before leaving for work and saw their faces across the front page. I remembered them from two days before. Young high school students that I had met on their only day off from the fishing boat Ehime Maru, which sadly sank the next day. These young men were full of joy; happy to be in Honolulu sightseeing, shopping, laughing, and joking with one another. They came into the Crazy Shirts store when I was working. I spent lots of time with them, showing them popular designs, and using my broken Japanese to make their experience enjoyable. I didn’t know how memorable that afternoon would be.

Seeing that they had been killed in this tragic accident, I thought of their parents. I could not imagine the grief, disbelief, and horror they must have felt. What would they like to know? I felt led to write an open letter to the newspaper about my encounter. I wanted the parents to know how full of joy their sons had been on that day.

The grieving families traveled to Honolulu and one family asked to meet with me. I had written of my time with their son and they wanted to feel the experience of his last happy day on earth. They arrived with an entourage from the consulate and entered the store with an interpreter. I was able to take them through the entire store on the same path as their son had taken. I could tell they were happy to see how he spent his time. I showed them the gift he had bought for (as he lovingly said) “a girl.” I wrapped the shirt, as I had for him, and presented the gift to them. They were so appreciative.

These grief-stricken parents asked if we could go somewhere private and I led them to the back room. As the door closed, they both fell into my arms, hysterical with tears. I held them for a long time. It was the most heartbreaking experience I’ve ever had. They said they were so thankful to retrace their son’s last steps and feel his presence. It was a gift they could have never imagined. I think that this memory is always in their hearts especially on Mother’s Day and Father’s Day.

God puts us in places that result in ways we could never have never imagined, letting us share His love when we least expect to. 

“Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.” Romans 12:15 (NKJV) 

Prayer: Heavenly Father, I pray with all my heart for mothers and fathers who still have their children to love and watch grow. I also pray for those that have lost a child and will never know what their life could have been. Father, thank You for letting me be there for the families of the Ehime Maru, giving them some peace of mind and joy. Father, be with them always. In Jesus Name I pray, Amen.

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By Jeremy Lim, Session Elder

When Jesus spoke again to the people, He said, “I am the Light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in darkness, but will have the Light of life.” John 8:12 (NIV)

I’m afraid of the dark. The irony in this is that I tend to do a lot of things in the dark. I hike in the dark, kayak, snorkel, scuba dive, fish—all in the dark and often by myself. But the only reason I’m willing to do these things is because I always have a light. Of course, there have been times when my light fails and I’ve struggled to keep fear from overwhelming me. 

Without a light, accomplishing even the most simple tasks in the dark can be an exercise in futility and frustration. We will always face challenges in life and whether there is a literal or figurative darkness surrounding the challenge, darkness will distort or limit our perspective of reality. But it doesn’t change what is real. Hiking on a treacherous trail may be more difficult or even impossible in the dark, but the trail remains the same whether it is illuminated or not.

I recently read this excerpt from the Experiencing God devotional by Henry Blackaby:

“If, however, you notice the world around you becoming darker and darker, don’t blame the darkness! It is simply doing what darkness does. The only remedy for darkness is light.”

Darkness will always do what darkness does. It will hide issues that need to be addressed or make it feel impossible for us to know how to deal with them. It will lead to hopelessness and ultimately an unwillingness to even attempt to deal with many of the challenges in our lives. Darkness will understandably lead to fear—except, like my fear of the dark, when we have light. 

When Jesus says “I am the Light of the world”, He is not making a metaphorical statement simply meant to make us feel good. He wants the truth and practicality of this statement to change our lives. It will not change our circumstances, but it will change the way we see our circumstances. It will give us hope and confidence to deal with even the toughest challenges in our personal lives and in the world around us. Add to this His promise to never leave us (Matthew 28:20) and that we are part of the body of Christ where each part supports the other (Ephesians 4:16), and not only will we never have to walk in darkness, we never have to walk alone!

How might darkness be leading to frustration, hopelessness or even denial in your life right now? Allowing Jesus’ Light to shine into this darkness may reveal some challenging realities, but remember that with His Light comes hope and the power to change and grow so that we can experience the reality of His healing and wholeness.

Prayer: Jesus, I know that challenges in life are inevitable, but the darkness surrounding them does not need to be. Let Your light pierce through the darkness in my life and in the world so that I can have hope and strength to face whatever is in front of me. In Your Name I pray, Amen.

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By Roslyn Catracchia, Director of Worship

The last devotional I wrote was back in December, before my sabbatical. But in January, the day after, what I had hoped would be the start of a relaxing, spirit-filling time-away turned into a very unexpected revelation that it was time to sell the home I grew up in since I was one. (Don’t do the math, it was a long, looooong time ago.)

My six-week sabbatical wasn’t what I expected at all. BUT! It was exactly what I needed. God opened up my calendar, opened up my hours, and gave me breathing space, which got me through yet another “unimaginable.” 

Fast forward to now. My deadline to write today’s devotional was, oh, two hours ago. But after sitting here for a while, I did not know what to write about because I’ve been in a seemingly constant state of “WHAT IN THE WORLD, GOD?!!!”

So I’m keeping it real yet again today.

This past Sunday was the first time Leon, Joy, and I were leading worship together in more than a year. People were missing. Mary, our fearless choir director, was missing. The entire choir was missing. And my mom was missing, still. I haven’t gone a day since she went to heaven three years ago that I haven’t felt her missing. I know I’m not the only one. I have received so many deeply beautiful messages from so many of you telling me of how you miss her, too. 

When we closed the in-person service last Sunday after Pastor Dan led us in a service of Communion, we sang the simplest, of songs, “Glorify Thy Name.” I don’t know how long that lasted. A minute? Two minutes? But I knew something special was happening. Nothing was the same as it had been a year ago. Nothing was the same but God’s promises remained truer than ever. 

I don’t know about tomorrow. BUT. I know WHO holds tomorrow. And while there is a crazy amount of stuff that I do NOT know, I know that HE is trustworthy. 

And in the midst of all the turmoil, a friend reminded me that while Jesus spent his time in the desert, He was alone. I’m picturing Him screaming to God, begging to hear His voice. ANY inclination that His Father was still present. Satan was around multiple corners, tempting him to doubt. But Jesus continued on.

I often wonder, what must have been going through Jesus’s head? How did He continue on? Was He self-assured? Was He holding on mere threads of sanity? I’ve often heard that pilgrimages through the desert test one’s faith to the core. It is safe to say that the task that lay before Jesus was under pretty unreasonable circumstances, and perhaps, as Christians – that is EXACTLY what we are called to: to be prepared for the unreasonable. How can anything as otherworldly as the Power of God possibly make sense within the narrow confines of our normal way of living?! No. We are called to believe in the unreasonable. We are called to have faith in the extraordinary. 

“Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.” (1 Timothy 6:12)

By our human standards, a life of this devotion sounds unreasonable, and eternal life sounds unreasonable! 

Are you currently going through your own desert? Are you calling out to God, praying you’ll hear an answer and yet nothing returns to you? Not even a whisper? Praise Him in the storm, just as you would to praise Him in the desert. 

I was sure by now
God, You would have reached down
And wiped our tears away
Stepped in and saved the day

And once again
I say, "A-men" and it's still rainin'

But as the thunder rolls
I barely hear Your whisper through the rain
"I'm with you"
And as Your mercy falls
I'll raise my hands and praise the God who gives
And takes away

And I'll praise You in this storm
And I will lift my hands
For You are who You are
No matter where I am
And every tear I've cried
You hold in Your hand
You never left my side
And though my heart is torn
I will praise You in this storm

[Song: Praise You In This Storm by Casting Crowns]

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You that as we draw near to You, You draw near to us. Thank You that You are always with us. Thank You that You hear our every cry, in the desert or in the storm. Thank You for Your faithfulness and for never leaving our side, ever. In Your powerful Name, Jesus, Amen.

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By Marianna Meachen, Director of Care Ministries

There is an age-old debate when you see a glass of water with the water line in the middle of the glass. Is the glass half-full or half-empty? I have always considered myself a glass-half-full kind of person. Have I always had an easy life? No, life did not hand me a beautifully wrapped package tied with a bow. Do I sometimes fail to see everything from an optimistic viewpoint? Yes, but I have tried to look at what I can learn from a situation or how I am being tested and use it to grow and learn small things along the way.

I know is God wants His goodness to be evident in every area of my life and to reflect His glory. He has already provided me with everything I need to survive and thrive on my journey to meet Him in eternity. God walks with me each step of the way. 

“Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price.” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20a, NIV)

That is an astounding statement. That God who created the universe knows me. He not only made me, He also paid the supreme sacrifice for me. 

God wants to bless us. His plan is still there even when we lose our way or deliberately walk away. We were ordained to be blessed; it is our inheritance in God through Jesus. 

So why are we lacking? Why do we have fears and anxieties? Why do we doubt? We so often let the world get in our way and do not see our blessings because we look at the world rather than relying on confident hope that God will what He promised. We rely on counterfeit gods and substitutions rather than allowing the one true God to do what He promised. 

Fear and doubt hide God's provision, goodness, faithfulness, and blessing from us, so we think that we lack what we need to survive. But in reality, we can thrive. If your glass is half empty, you can change it by changing your perspective on life. How? Commit to reading your Bible daily. Make a plan. If you need a Bible reading plan, e-mail me. I have lots. Pray, pray, pray! Spend time each day with God! Learn to listen to His voice. Get involved in a small group. Don’t have one? Call your friends or someone you’ve wanted to get to know and start one. Look at things through faith, and attach confident hope to each one. Faith draws us closer to God. Hope allows us to see what He offers, and confidence tells it is true. 

I told you I have always been a glass half-full type of person. Well, I used to be. Now? Now I am a person whose cup overflows because of the goodness of God.

“I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things, I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" (Philippians 4:11-13, NKJV)

Jump into His living water and get wet!

Prayer: Father, may Your hope drive out all fear and bring us to the beauty and fullness of what You have waiting for us. Let us always keep our eyes focused on You no matter what comes. To You be blessing, honor, and glory now and forever! Amen!

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By Al Linton, Session Elder

Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus by digging through it and then lowered the mat the man was lying on. (Mark 2:4)

I know a little bit about roofs from personal experience. Not the type back in Jesus day, but your modern-day roof. But this isn’t about roofs as it is about friends who help each other. 

Years ago when my wife and I lived in Kansas, we had a friend who did a “roof raising” party where friends and family came over to replace the shingles on his roof. Kind of like the barn raising parties of the past. It was hard work but it was great comradery. 

A year later, we did the same thing on our old farmhouse. We had a bunch of friends over and re-roofed our house in one weekend and afterwards had a great party for all our friends involved.

Five years ago here in Hawaii, we had the roof of our house blown off in the middle of the night by a storm. In the morning it started to rain flooding the inside of the house. Within an hour we had friends from work, church, the neighbors, and the fire department helping to tarp the roof and save our furniture and possessions.

God was with us and we were blessed with help from people, some of who we didn’t know before!

These friends are truly amazing friends. They had a love for the paralyzed man and the faith in Jesus to go to extremes to heal their friend. Jesus saw their faith and healed the man. (I don’t know if they fixed the roof ...)

I thank God every day for friends both known and unknown, and I know when they have a “roof” to raise I will be there to help.

There’s a saying most of us are familiar with: “a friend in need is a friend indeed.” This quote goes back to the 3rd century and is credited to Quintus Ennius, a writer and poet during the Roman Republic. It means when a friend is in need, it’s your deeds that make you a true friend. It works when you help strangers too. Always be willing to help a friend in need.

Prayer: Dear Father, thank You for friends and family to help us in our time of need. Not just physical or materiel needs, but with spiritual needs as well. Help us to recognize that we are here to help each other. In Jesus name, Amen.

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By Jeff Page (Director of Young Adults) and Lauren Stein (Session Elder)

Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it. (Matthew 7: 13-14)

The discovery of the Hawaiian Islands is rooted in a rich history of wayfinding. Thinking about how Polynesian navigators found their way to this isolated speck of land in the middle of such a vast ocean is enough to leave one eyes-wide in wonder, marveling at the navigators’ ability to know where they were and where they were going. If those ancient sailors had been the tiniest fraction of a degree off at any point, they might have missed the Hawaiian island chain entirely. But they stayed the course, and didn’t drift from their mission. 

Jesus gave us a clear mission in the Great Commission. He commanded us to make disciples, baptizing and teaching them to obey His commands. And He also promises to be with us through it all until the end of time. So often organizations and institutions start out wanting to be part of God’s mission in the world, but along the way they drift off course by a few degrees and ultimately miss the target entirely. Let’s take a look at a few notable examples.

Harvard University was founded in 1636. Harvard’s founders created it to be a ministry training school anchored in truth. Harvard’s early mission statement for its students was: “To be plainly instructed and consider well that the main end of your life and studies is to know God and Jesus Christ.” But only 80 years after its founding, Harvard’s identity was shifting. Concerned by Harvard’s secularization, New England pastors founded another university to be a new stronghold of Christian higher education in 1701. Their answer to Harvard’s mission drift is known as Yale University. Today, both universities are highly sought-after institutions, but neither resembles what their founders envisioned.

Let’s consider another telling example. A man named George Williams started a Bible study in 1844 for displaced young men on the streets of London. Rapidly growing, these Bible studies became a movement and the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) was established. The YMCA was a refuge of Bible study and prayer for young men seeking escape from the hazards of life on the streets. It grew to become an international movement eventually training and commissioning over 20,000 missionaries. But somewhere along the way, the YMCA substituted its mission—to make disciples of Jesus—for one of its outreach strategies: community and fitness centers. In 2010, the organization officially dropped three of its four letters to become simply “The Y,” removing any remaining overt ties to its Christian roots.

We might want to believe mission drift won’t happen to us. We might tell ourselves we are more committed to Jesus than Harvard or the Y. But the truth is we aren’t. Instead of pridefully assuming we are strong enough to stay the course, we should assume mission drift is happening to us. We get distracted. We want to please others. We get busy. We lose our way. Because of this, it’s essential that we continually look back at the mission that launched us in the first place. In remembering, we regain our bearings. 

Let’s review this a paraphrase of Jesus’ words about our mission (the Great Commission): 

I have been given complete dominion over heaven and earth. Under that authority I charge you: wherever you go, make apprentices of people from everywhere, immersing them in the reality of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Instruct them how to do what I have told you. I will be with you every moment to accomplish this until it’s done (all the way through the end of this age).

Jesus’ mission is to make apprentices and show them how to do what He said. Have you committed to learn life-mastery under Jesus? That is the main thing He is doing, the very reason you were created. It’s the most important thing happening on earth, and the kind of life that you will want to go on forever (which, of course, it does). 

Where might you be experiencing mission drift? Is there an area of your life that is drifting from Jesus’ mission? Maybe an area that has not been open for instruction from Jesus? 

Prayer: Jesus, You alone build the kind of people who can put our world back together. I commit myself to training under your instruction, with your help I will master what you are teaching and join your work rebuilding our broken world. Amen.

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By Scott Schultz, Session Elder

We see empty cups all around us: addiction, homelessness, hopelessness, mental illness, spiritual emptiness, worshipping false idols, and the list goes on. We can help fill these cups in many ways. 

After Christmas, a friend dropped by with an unusual gift; calling it “complicated but not complicated.” Marianne and I opened the lovely card, which included $70 in cash and a reply card with instructions. Pass the money along to someone who needs it and return the reply card, telling her who we gave it to and how they reacted. Simple enough? Not really! We discussed this opportunity and came up with a couple of worthy alternatives. 

Through a good part of Facebook, Marianne learned about Diane McElroy, a nurse/midwife at Tripler who started a grassroots organization in April 2020 called The Kaneohe Neighborhood Pantry and Book Exchange. Diane wrote, “From the humble beginning of a single bin with 6 books and a few groceries to shelves full of books, food, and personal care items. In the last year the pantry has provided facemasks (sewn during the shortage), food, books, DVDs, games, school supplies, clothing, personal care items, etc. Often by people who just leave things anonymously. The participation of the community has helped renew my faith in mankind. It is so nice to see our community come together in these trying days.” 

So we gave the money to Diane, who told us she would use it for a spa day, a sorely needed luxury for someone who works the 6 pm to 6 am shift! It turned out to be a gift of rejuvenation and renewal for someone who helps to bring new lives into the world and encourages kindness, generosity, and unity in our world.

“For God loves a person who gives cheerfully.” And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others. As the Scriptures say, “They share freely and give generously to the poor. Their good deeds will be remembered forever.”(2 Cor 9: 7-9 NLT)

A cup that is always full is the one offered by Jesus. It is full of forgiveness, grace, joy, and love. God fills us through the Holy Spirit, and Jesus fills us through His body and His blood. 

“Reach out your hand, if your cup be empty; If your cup is full, may it be again” (from Ripple, Robert Hunter, Jerry Garcia). Remember this when a time comes for you to “reach out your hand.” 

“You care for all my needs, anointing my head with soothing, fragrant oil, filling my cup again and again with Your grace. (Psalm 23:5, The Voice)

Sharing an unexpected gift (even your time or an empathetic ear) is one way we can demonstrate God’s goodness and grace in a world suffering from a shortage of goodwill and kindness.

Prayer: Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for filling our cups and giving us opportunities to fill the cups of people You put into our lives. I am grateful that You did this through Your only begotten Son Jesus, in whose precious name I pray, Amen.

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By Candi Lopes, Children’s Ministry Coordinator

“How blessed is God! And what a blessing He is! He’s the Father of our Master, Jesus Christ, and takes us to the high places of blessing in Him. Long before He laid down earth’s foundations, He had us in mind, had settled on us as the focus of his love, to be made whole and holy by His love. Long, long ago he decided to adopt us into His family through Jesus Christ. (What pleasure He took in planning this!) He wanted us to enter into the celebration of His lavish gift-giving by the hand of His beloved Son.” Ephesians 1:3-6 (Message)

“A father of the fatherless…” (Psalms 68:5)

God is so good, and I am so thankful knowing that He is my Father in Heaven.

I am a product of earthly adoption and foster care. I praise God for blessing me with parents who chose me to be their child and be part of a loving family. I grew up knowing that not all children become as fortunate as me and my adoptive siblings. I saw firsthand how children get born into families but are not able to share that same kind of love. I saw firsthand how parents abuse their precious children, as my family also took in foster children for years. It breaks my heart knowing that there are so many children needing a father like God, who is so loving and caring. It drives my passion to work with children to share the love I have been gifted with. 

As I plan for a trip to visit my adoptive older brother, I am reminded about my childhood and growing up with the immense love my parents had for me, my four adoptive siblings, and the numerous children they cared for through the foster system. My parents were truly God’s hands and feet in the way they cared for us every day. 

My older brother Karl, my father’s biological son, was adopted by our mother who loved him as her very own. Karl has autism, but my parents showed him as much love as they showed all of their children. He may have always been in his own world in a way, as he communicates differently with others and not all the time. But he has always been my big brother. My parents would tell me how he welcomed me and loved me so much when I came to live with them as an infant in foster care. He showed such gentleness when he held me and protected me. 

Karl was recently diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer, and is now in hospice. Because of his autism, his inability to communicate, and the harsh and low quality of life that cancer treatment will bring, the doctors will not give him chemotherapy to lengthen the time he has here on earth. At first I was angry, guilty, mad, upset, sad, heartbroken (all of the above!) about that. But I had a change of heart after a conversation with a nurse who sees a lot in the emergency room. I believe God made that meeting happen. This nurse reinforced the fact that it would almost be inhumane to keep someone on treatment who may or may not wish to, or who may not understand what is happening. I am at peace knowing that when God calls Karl home, he will be at home with God the Father and our adoptive mother in Heaven. 

“But our citizenship is heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.” (Philippians 3:20-21)

Prayer: Dear Father, thank You for loving us and adopting us to be yours forever. Thank You for the families You have given us here on earth and the family of Christ we have in the church. Continue to show us how we can love others to do Your work through our everyday lives. Amen.

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By Chris Pan, Executive Director

For today’s devotional, I just wanted to share a prayer that I came across recently. I’m very slowly working my way through Pete Scazerro’s devotional, Emotionally Healthy Relationships Day by Day, A 40-Day Journey to Deeply Change Your Relationships. In the book, Pete quotes a prayer from Richard Rohr, a priest and author who has been a speaker at Hawaiian Islands Ministries. So, for today, will you join me for a few minutes of silence and reflection before God, then pray this prayer below, at your own pace?

I thank You, Lord Jesus, for becoming a human being so I do not have to pretend or try to be a God.
I thank You, Lord Jesus, for becoming finite and limited so I do not have to pretend that I am infinite and limitless.
I thank You, crucified God, for becoming mortal so I do not have to try to make myself immortal.
I thank You, Lord Jesus, for becoming inferior so I do not have to pretend that I am superior to anyone ...
I thank You for becoming weak, so I don’t have to be strong.
I thank You for being willing to be considered imperfect and strange, so I do not have to be perfect and normal.
I thank You, Lord Jesus, for being willing to be disapproved of, so I do not have to try so hard to be approved and liked.
I thank You for being considered a failure, so I do not have to give my life trying to pretend I’m a success.
I thank You for being wrong by the standards of religion and state, so I do not have to be right anywhere.
I thank You for being poor in every way, so I do not have to be rich in any way.
I thank You, Lord Jesus, for being all of the things humanity despises and fears, so I can accept myself and others in you.

(Richard Rohr from Hope Against Darkness: The Transforming Vision of St. Francis in an Age of Anxiety)

Now, take another minute or so, in silence before God. What line stood out to you the most? What does it have to say to you today? Can you sense an invitation from God for today? 

Repeat the prayer if you like, and have a wonderful day. 

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By Paul Zukunft, Session Elder

Psalm 69: 1-4 “Save me, O God, for the waters have come up to my neck. I sink in the miry depths where there is no foothold. I have come into deep waters; the floods engulf me. I am worn out calling for help; my throat is parched. My eyes fail looking for my God.”

As a career seafaring officer in the Coast Guard, I can relate to this Psalm (and a somber one at that) on multiples levels. And with that, comes another sea story from my daily journals that ties this Psalm and the title of this devotion to everyday life.

It was July 1991 and I was in command of a light frigate patrolling the central Caribbean off the coast of Haiti. A mass exodus from that grief-stricken island was underway, with tens of thousands of Haitian citizens taking to the water in rickety boats with no food, water, or personal flotation devices. Their objective was to flee Haiti, make landfall along the coast of Florida, and start a new and much improved life. Now these boats called “Haitian sail freighters” had no engine, radio, life jackets, or navigation instruments and were at the mercy of the winds and currents to reach their destination. A typical Haitian sail freighter is constructed of wood, about 45 feet in length, and carried over 200 passengers during this exodus of Biblical proportions. However, in this case, the sea did not part and proved to be quite tempestuous. Hope gave way to despair as these grossly overloaded boats floundered and the occupants, many of whom could not swim, were literally up to their necks in water.

Within a 24-hour period, my crew rescued over 880 survivors and added one more when a Haitian woman gave birth to a baby boy in our helicopter hangar-turned-maternity ward. 

Thirty years later, I look back on that near-tragedy and the death-defying desperation of God’s creations seeking to improve their lot in life. Each Haitian migrant was eternally grateful for being rescued and given a second chance in life, albeit upon being repatriated to their Haitian homeland. 

Most striking was the manner in which my crew of 100 shipmates ministered to these 881 Haitian migrants. Those who were not standing watch pulled double duty in the galley to prepare a sumptuous feast for our guests who had not eaten in days. Several Chief Petty Officers, with the help of a translator, told nursery rhymes from memory to comfort the many children. Two of my female officers served as nurse assistants to the new mother, and her baby that was delivered by our corpsman. None of this was scripted, and it was purely spontaneous and humanitarian.

Bottom line––there was no “us” and “them.” It was just us! Too often we draw these invisible lines, especially between the fortunate and less fortunate. We turn a deaf ear or blind eye to those who have “come into deep waters,” as though their hardship might be contagious. And when their throats become parched from calling out for help and their eyes fail looking for God, it is we, as followers of Christ, who must answer that call and be that beacon of hope. After all, we are all God’s children, and we are all in this boat together––just us!

Prayer: Almighty God, as we survey Your great creation, our eyes are opened to the widespread suffering and hardships among us, and know that we are all equals in Your eyes. Use us as Your footholds of grace and compassion so that Your will shall be done. Amen.

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By Lauren Stein, Session Elder

But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. (2 Corinthians 12:9-10)

One of my favorite children’s TV programs is The Magic School Bus. If you aren’t familiar with it, the series chronicles the adventures of Miss Frizzle’s science class as they explore the world at an often microscopic level. As they go on incredible field trips, Miss Frizzle often reminds them to “take chances, make mistakes, and get messy.” 

I often need Miss Frizzle’s advice in my own life. To be honest, I am most like her student Arnold. He is best known for his plea for this to be a “normal field trip” to which the rest of his class responds, “With the Frizz, no way!” Like Arnold, I often cling to what feels safe or what seems normal, but sometimes the Lord is prompting me to take a chance and trust Him in the midst of the messiness of life. 

For most of my life, I have been terrified of making mistakes. In school, I hated missing an assignment or making a mistake on a test. When my perfectionism got the better of me, I could feel my throat tighten and my eyes water. I was in that space when I was invited into a community of Christian high school girls that lovingly called themselves “The Perfectionist Club.” We joked that we were a group of girls overcoming our perfectionism, perfectly. In reality, it was a community full of grace and love. We discipled each other by listening graciously and speaking biblical truths over each other.

One that we often came back to was 2 Corinthians 12:9-10. To this very day, it reminds me that I don’t need to be perfect. His grace covers me. In fact, when I am weak, He is most glorified. My shortcomings and struggles are opportunities for those around me to see how good, gracious, and loving my God is. I don’t need to be perfect because He has extended abundant and amazing grace to me. 

And for that very reason, I can have space in my life for other people’s messiness. No matter where I am or who I am with, because of the grace that I have received, I can extend that to my students, colleagues, student teachers, family, and friends. In whatever space we are in, as Christians, we need to be the kind of community that holds space for people to make mistakes, take chances, and get messy. As we invest and disciple people in the midst of their messiness, we will have the honor of seeing them grow from their experiences and into people who are becoming more and more like Jesus Christ. 

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for Your grace. Thank You for seeing us in our mess and loving us anyways. I pray that my shortcomings and my struggles would bring glory to You. Help me to make space and extend grace to those around me. Make me aware of where You are at work in the world and how I can join You in Your Kingdom work. Amen.

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By Adele Chong, Session Elder

Today, April 22, is Earth Day, which was first observed in 1970. That makes today the 51st Earth Day. Over the years you’ve probably noticed newspaper and magazine articles listing ways of how we can reduce the use of the precious resources of this planet – practicing environmental stewardship. It is everyone’s responsibility to take care of God’s creation, not only on Earth Day but every day.

I’m excited for the new opportunities, through First Prez, to care for this Earth perhaps in more significant ways than our individual efforts! First, some background:

In September 2020, the last in a string of golf course operators of our campus terminated its contract with First Prez. At Session meetings in late 2020, we started hearing from the Long-Range Planning Team new ideas for the 246 acres newly available to First Prez. At each month’s meeting I grew more excited, hearing about a new ministry (now officially named Hakuhia) that would be environmentally responsible, would serve the community, would promote Hawaiian culture as it relates to the land, and, above all, glorify God. 

Genesis 1 tells us about God’s creation of light and darkness, sky and water, earth and seas, trees with fruit and seed-bearing plants, then the sun and the moon, the birds and creatures of the sea, and living creatures on the land. Then He created man and woman, and gave us the plants and trees for food. 

Genesis 1:29-31a “Then God said, ‘I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground – everything that has the breath of life in it – I give every green plant for food.’ And it was so. God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.”

In Genesis 2:15 we learn that “The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.” Right in the beginning of the Bible we are told it is man’s responsibility (and all of humankind) to take care of God’s creation. It’s not only on Earth Day.

Pastor Dan’s sermon on February 21, 2021 “The Story of More – Hakuhia” is about this new ministry using the property. Hakuhia means “the Lord is delighted.” If you missed that sermon, or want to remind yourself about this important journey First Prez is starting, you might be interested to read, watch, or listen to that sermon here. 

Most likely one of the uses of the land will be to grow food. Learning from the Hawaiian culture related to the caring of the land will be important to contribute to the resilience of our state’s food system. Prior to Western contact, the Hawaiians were completely self-sufficient, growing all the food needed to support the population. In our modern world, I have heard estimations that if Hawaii is no longer able to import food (perhaps due to extreme hurricane damage to airports and harbors), the state would run out of food within weeks.

Kelly Miyamura, the Executive Coordinator for Hakuhia, told me there is no lack of ideas about how to use the property. The process of developing detailed plans and putting the plans into motion will be lengthy. All along the way there will be a need for First Prez covenant partners (a.k.a. members) and regular attendees to assist with their skills, talents, and time. I hope you will keep up with the development of the ministry and offer your time when you see there are needs with which you can help. If you're hesitant about serving, check out Pastor Dan’s March 7th sermon about that called “Service with a Smile.” 

Prayer: Dear Lord, thank You for this exciting opportunity to glorify You and delight You with our Hakuhia ministry. May we embrace the many facets of this ministry, serving when You call us, each doing our part to help with serving the community, practicing environmental stewardship, learning from the Hawaiian culture, and making the ministry financially responsible. You are our Creator and Redeemer. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

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