September Update...

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!!