Greeting All,
Well as many of you know, August was a very emotional month for us. We took our trip to Las Vegas for my Father in law's surprise party. He turned 75 and was very excited to see us. Tina surprised him at the golf course at 5:45am, she called him to wish him a Happy Birthday. He was saying how he wished we could be there, but understood the circumstances. Then when he showed up at the golf course, he about dropped. It was great to see him. While we were there, my parents flew in from Samoa the very next morning. My Dad, had some problems with his heart and was getting it checked out there. On Tuesday morning, he had a angiogram done, and we found out he needed a 5-bi pass. We were glad God had us there, to be support for the family. He had his procedure on Thursday morning, was in ICU for 4 days and released from the hospital on Sunday. It was a modern day miracle and we thank you all for your prayers. As for Tina's Mom, her cancer scare turned out great. After more extensive tests, they couldn't find anything. She did however, come back to Maryland with us. We were hoping she would have her knee surgery here and give Tony (Tina's Dad) a break. He has been her caregiver for years and everyone thought it would be great for her to recoup here. But, things didn't work out that way. She left a week and a half ago. She missed everyone too much to stay and is scheduled to have surgery next Tuesday the 23. We also had Pua and Tavita's birthday's while out there. So, we would be on a low and then a high. It was a roller coaster of a month.
So, as you can see August was a very eventful month for us. Now that we are into September, I jumped right into things. I have been very busy with the Church Planters and helping to get the core team together. As of now, we have 14 people on board, including Mark, Joey, myself and our wives. It has been great to meet with all of the people that have shown an interest and to hear their hearts for Annapolis. I have also started leading Worship on Sunday mornings as part of my intern. I will be leading the 2nd Sunday of each month to hone that skill. It has been a great time for me, to help to search for the songs, practice with the team and to be led by the Spirit on Sunday morning. I have really enjoyed it. W also had 2 more birthday's this month, Teuila turned 13 and is now an official teenager and Terenuku turned 8. We are going to try and do something a little special for Teuila later on when we are able to. As for Terenuku, we had what was suppose to be a small surprise party. It was an old fashion party, where we all made up games, had the kids make little pizzas on English muffins and had a treasure hunt. After all the neighbors saw what was going on, we had well over 30 people in our back yard. We had a great time with all of them and we are now talking about having a movie night in the backyard with the projector and a sheet. We all talked about starting here and then maybe trying it at the park here in the neighborhood. It's great to see God at work.
We want to thank you ALL for your support and your prayers. These past couple of months have been a struggle for us in many ways, and God has pulled us through by each of you. You have no idea the impact that you make on us each month and we are very grateful. We are excited to get the core team completed and really dive in. We have many ideas for Downtown Annapolis and love to dream for the time being. It will be great when we are fully supported and can devote all of our time there. Thanks again and have a blessed week!!
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Our Journey...
Our Journey began 11 years ago, in July of 1997, when we left everything we knew in Las Vegas, Nevada and landed in Hayward, California. I was a Supervisor with Southwest Airlines and took a lateral move to California. No one understood why we were leaving, or did they think we stood a chance at making it away from home; honestly we weren't so sure ourselves. At the time, our two daughters Teuila (1 yr old) and Pua (11 months old) were all we had. I didn't have a relationship with Christ or even the desire to go to church (Tina and I argued about that all the time), but God was already working out His plan.
He put a Samoan family in our lives and I began to see that they were different. Not in a bad way, but in a good one. Kavika didn't drink alcohol, which was crazy to me, but it was cool to see that he was secure with that. We grew close to Kavika and Fo'i over the next year as they shared their faith with us; not just by talking about God but by the way they lived.
In the summer of 1998 we moved to Anaheim, California. I was promoted as an Assistant Manager with Southwest. During our time there, God put another family in our path that showed us what it meant to be a servant. I had a ton of questions and our friends Jerry and Natalie answered them by sharing their faith.
In July of 1999, my sister Mariah talked me into going to a concert. At the time, I thought it was a "regular" concert but was surprised to find out it wasn't; they kept talking about Jesus. There was a speaker named Miles McPherson who formerly played with the San Diego Chargers. As he told the story of his life, I felt like he was talking about me (drugs, alcohol, and the whole party scene). There was also a group of 5 Samoan brothers called the Katinas headlining the concert. During their songs they spoke about their lives and what they had been through. Joe Katina talked about forgiveness; what it meant to forgive and be forgiven. That night, I knew I needed to experience that forgiveness so when an alter call was made, I was one of over a thousand people who responded. Right there I prayed for Christ to enter my life and He did.
After the concert we got to meet the Katinas. During our conversation, we found out that they were somehow related to Tina. We exchanged phone numbers and, over the next 3 years, grew close to them and even did a Bible study with Joe over the phone. Each Wednesday morning, at 7:30 am we would study the Bible and I would ask a ton of questions. Through their faith and encouragement, they have been a huge blessing to me and my family.
In September of 1999, we moved to Seattle, Washington. I was promoted again, this time as a manager with the company. My goal was to move as far up in Southwest Airlines as I could and it seemed like things were going that way. We got plugged into a Church and I also started singing with the Praise band. I was involved in a couple of Bible studies and various other things. Our time in Seattle was one of growth, both spiritually, musically and we added one more to our family; we were blessed with our son, Terenuku in September of 2000.
In July of 2001, I was promoted again and we moved to Arnold, Maryland. After three months of searching for a church, we visited Bay Area Community Church (BACC) and immediately felt at home. Soon we plugged into a Small group and got connected with the people there. We had great people discipling us as we started to serve in many different ministries and studies. Five years from the time we left Las Vegas with nothing, we started to feel like we were finally "making it." Our youngest son, Tavita, was born in August of 2004 and our family was complete. God was truly blessing us and everything was good.
By 2005 we reached a level of comfortability. Things at work were good, I was making good money, family life was great, and spiritually we were on a high. That's when God asked us this question: "Will you give it all up for me?" We struggled with that for 2 years, until finally in January of 2007, we decided to give it all up and go into full-time ministry. We gave up our annual salary, and started to raise support in November of 2007.
During 2007, we linked arms with the Katinas for a short term mission to our homeland of American Samoa. Our goal was to reach the youth with a message of hope. That mission was accomplished through a series of concerts called R.O.C. the Rock. We hope to continue that mission annually, helping young people become positive leaders in the community.
That brings us to now. We are currently Church Planters in Residence with BACC. We are still raising support and, praise GOD, we have reached 83% of our support goal. God has been so good and faithful. We are excited about what he has laid before us with this Church Plant in Downtown Annapolis. We're especially excited to be working alongside Mark & Mollie McGeever and Joey & Katie Tomasonni.
We look forward to seeing how this chapter turns out. Looking back, we know God has been with us through it all and He is so good! The family that left Vegas with nothing, with little chance of making it, now has everything we could ever need.
I know that sounds like a great ending, but it's only the beginning, so stay tuned...
He put a Samoan family in our lives and I began to see that they were different. Not in a bad way, but in a good one. Kavika didn't drink alcohol, which was crazy to me, but it was cool to see that he was secure with that. We grew close to Kavika and Fo'i over the next year as they shared their faith with us; not just by talking about God but by the way they lived.
In the summer of 1998 we moved to Anaheim, California. I was promoted as an Assistant Manager with Southwest. During our time there, God put another family in our path that showed us what it meant to be a servant. I had a ton of questions and our friends Jerry and Natalie answered them by sharing their faith.
In July of 1999, my sister Mariah talked me into going to a concert. At the time, I thought it was a "regular" concert but was surprised to find out it wasn't; they kept talking about Jesus. There was a speaker named Miles McPherson who formerly played with the San Diego Chargers. As he told the story of his life, I felt like he was talking about me (drugs, alcohol, and the whole party scene). There was also a group of 5 Samoan brothers called the Katinas headlining the concert. During their songs they spoke about their lives and what they had been through. Joe Katina talked about forgiveness; what it meant to forgive and be forgiven. That night, I knew I needed to experience that forgiveness so when an alter call was made, I was one of over a thousand people who responded. Right there I prayed for Christ to enter my life and He did.
After the concert we got to meet the Katinas. During our conversation, we found out that they were somehow related to Tina. We exchanged phone numbers and, over the next 3 years, grew close to them and even did a Bible study with Joe over the phone. Each Wednesday morning, at 7:30 am we would study the Bible and I would ask a ton of questions. Through their faith and encouragement, they have been a huge blessing to me and my family.
In September of 1999, we moved to Seattle, Washington. I was promoted again, this time as a manager with the company. My goal was to move as far up in Southwest Airlines as I could and it seemed like things were going that way. We got plugged into a Church and I also started singing with the Praise band. I was involved in a couple of Bible studies and various other things. Our time in Seattle was one of growth, both spiritually, musically and we added one more to our family; we were blessed with our son, Terenuku in September of 2000.
In July of 2001, I was promoted again and we moved to Arnold, Maryland. After three months of searching for a church, we visited Bay Area Community Church (BACC) and immediately felt at home. Soon we plugged into a Small group and got connected with the people there. We had great people discipling us as we started to serve in many different ministries and studies. Five years from the time we left Las Vegas with nothing, we started to feel like we were finally "making it." Our youngest son, Tavita, was born in August of 2004 and our family was complete. God was truly blessing us and everything was good.
By 2005 we reached a level of comfortability. Things at work were good, I was making good money, family life was great, and spiritually we were on a high. That's when God asked us this question: "Will you give it all up for me?" We struggled with that for 2 years, until finally in January of 2007, we decided to give it all up and go into full-time ministry. We gave up our annual salary, and started to raise support in November of 2007.
During 2007, we linked arms with the Katinas for a short term mission to our homeland of American Samoa. Our goal was to reach the youth with a message of hope. That mission was accomplished through a series of concerts called R.O.C. the Rock. We hope to continue that mission annually, helping young people become positive leaders in the community.
That brings us to now. We are currently Church Planters in Residence with BACC. We are still raising support and, praise GOD, we have reached 83% of our support goal. God has been so good and faithful. We are excited about what he has laid before us with this Church Plant in Downtown Annapolis. We're especially excited to be working alongside Mark & Mollie McGeever and Joey & Katie Tomasonni.
We look forward to seeing how this chapter turns out. Looking back, we know God has been with us through it all and He is so good! The family that left Vegas with nothing, with little chance of making it, now has everything we could ever need.
I know that sounds like a great ending, but it's only the beginning, so stay tuned...
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