Do you have an available heart?

Winkie Pratney said “God is looking for willing hearts. You do not have to be special. But you do have to be available.”

Our team has made so many new friends this week! We worked with a couple different churches from the Mainland and the Waipahu area. We have loved getting to know our new friends!! 

We worked with a church in Waipahu, helping lead the missions portion of their VBS. They were so interactive and received our message so well. We had loads of fun! 

Romans‬ ‭10‬:‭14‬ ‭says “How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?”

When you look at the disciples, you see a variety of different men. They aren’t what WE would considered qualified. Most were uneducated, unconnected, and unnoticed. While I might have my own agenda for who I would choose as my disciples, Jesus saw something in these men. He saw their willingness to go. He saw their faith in boldness and selected them for the task. 

We shared this with the students at the VBS, to show that anyone and everyone is called to go. We wanted to express that the only thing that “qualified” us to be a missionary was putting our "yes" on the table. We trusted that God had a plan and would use us!

-Gracie

Hawaiian Church Ministry Team

A Flood of Obedience

There is no success without sacrifice. If you succeed without sacrifice, it is because someone has suffered before you. If you sacrifice without success, it is because someone will succeed after. -Adoniram Judson

My team and I are about halfway through our mission trip now. With all of the ups and downs we have experienced, I am so blessed to have Lucas and Annsleigh standing next to me. They have taught me so much about faith and perseverance.

It’s so easy to see God’s hand during our trip because of all of the beauty we are surrounded by. Even the gas stations have the most jaw dropping views!

We’ve spent this week in so much fellowship! Getting to know the church body here at Malama Christian Fellowship has been the biggest blessing. They are some of the most generous people I have met. They have loved us like family!

God is teaching me so much about letting go of all of the little things to make His plans priority in my life. I look into my future and I see so many possibilities, it’s paralyzing. When I sit and think of all of the things that I could do with my life, I begin to lose sight of what God has commanded me to do. I don’t need a map for my life, I need a compass that is fixed on God. Our maps look different in each season of life, but our compass will show us if we are headed in the right direction.

John Piper says, “You don’t have to know a lot of things for your life to make a lasting difference in the world. But you do have to know the few great things that matter, and then be willing to live for them and die for them.”

With the help of our good friend Cyril, we have officially reached about 40 people with intentional Gospel conversations now!! I have the names of each of those people so we can continue to pray over them (please DM me if you’d like this list).

Every single life holds so much significance in God’s eyes. My friend Cyril has taught me to not neglect a single person that crosses our paths. We cannot pick and choose who gets to hear the Good News. During our times of evangelism, he has shown an incredible amount of boldness through his faith in Jesus. He has taught me that regardless of how you share the Gospel, it’s takes the same step in obedience to do so. Obtaining this obedience is a daily denial of your flesh and desires. It’s rooted in Bible intake and prayer.

Please pray that our team is flooded with the obedience to continue reaching the people in this area.

-Gracie

Hawaiian Church Ministry Team

Leave God's Children Alone

Our town is a hotspot for human trafficking. Malama Christian Fellowship displays so much boldness on Sundays through their sign waving. They line the streets demanding that the human traffickers leave God’s children alone. It’s heartbreaking to hear about all that has happened. However, it is so encouraging to know there is a church that loves their community so much and is willing to do something about it!

This trip has genuinely taught me that only Jesus satisfies. Nothing that this world could ever offer will sustain your life the way Jesus does. I am surrounded by the most beautiful views and there is still brokenness all around. Children with hungry bellies, families with no home, and a shared feeling of emptiness. So many times we put our value in our works, our relationships,
and ourself. When in reality our sin pushes us so far away from any redemption. But God loves us so much. We have absolute reassurance through His sacrificial love.

It’s been so beautiful to share that truth with others.

Please continue to pray that more opportunities come our way and that we take the necessary step in boldness to speak Jesus into their hearts.

-Gracie

Hawaiian Church Ministry

New York, New York!!

Start Spreading the News!!

IMB job #: 23936

Location: Queens, New York
Team size: 6 guys
Field expense: $2118 plus roundtrip travel & required travel insurance

Job description: Start spreading the Good News of Jesus to the nations who live in New York City. Partnering with Filipino-American pastors and believers, you will reach out to the diverse nationalities that live in Queens, New York. Utilizing a community center for classes in Martial Arts, tutoring high school students, and music, you will interact with the nations. Having experience in these skills is a bonus, but not required. You may also use sports such as basketball, soccer and volleyball in a nearby park to meet students and adults to start conversations that lead to the gospel and discipleship.

MORE INFO

Dates for summer 2022
May 30  Team leader training begins (Nehemiah Teams Training Center, Mentone, AL)
June 2  Team member training begins (Alabama)
June 7  Teams deploy for the field (via ATL)
July 29  Teams return to the US for debrief (Alabama)
August 1  Teams return home

COVID-19 in 2022
We continue to move forward in planning for summer 2022 teams. Decisions will be made by April 5, 2022 as to whether certain teams may need to be cancelled due to travel restrictions or local situations. Info will be posted on the website if teams are cancelled.

Amazing!!

Where do I even start, this
summer was amazing. The Lord was so faithful this summer. I learned so much this summer about what the next step is for me after I graduate. God is so good!

-Grace
Reaching the Nations, Georgia

Summer 2021: East African Refugees

IMB job #: 19087

Location: Columbus, OH

Team size: 4

Field expense: $1100 plus roundtrip travel

Job description: His light, His love & His joy are breaking into the darkness through friendships. Your task is to become community with refugee families who have lived in the Midwest for up to 20 years while maintaining traditional dress, cooking, and folk Islam practices. The children in this neighborhood are the 2nd generation to live in the USA. Few have ever visited Africa. Their English skills are significantly higher quality than that of their parents. They are obedient to traditions out of respect, but their hearts & minds are becoming Western, their souls are confused, conflicted, and could be ripe for harvest. Part of the training will be to learn & understand shame-honor based cultures and use Biblical stories in contact of this mentality. Parents tenaciously hold to tradition, many fathers still follow Islamic law and mothers have horror stories of fleeing Somalia, Ethiopia, and Kenya as well as heart-breaking stories of shame assimilating into Western culture and American school systems, while trying to learn English to survive.

Spend time prayer walking, tutoring children of all ages using academic skills, crafts, sports & cooking. Early evenings involve drinking tea while sharing & listening to stories with the parents, even late-night meals & celebrations. May also be some opportunity to build relationships with international students who are spending the summer on various university campuses in mid-Ohio. 

More Info

Dates for Summer 2021

May 31  Team leader training begins (Nehemiah Teams Training Center, Mentone, Alabama)

June 3  Team member training begins (Alabama)

June 8  Teams deploy for the field (via ATL)

July 28  Teams return to US for debrief (Alabama)

July 31  Teams return home

COVID-19 in 2021
We continue to move forward in planning for summer 2021 teams. Decisions will be made as we get into 2021 as to whether or not certain teams may need to be cancelled due to travel restrictions or local situations. Info will be posted on the website if teams are cancelled.