Evangelistic Series

Busy!

This word describes our life for the past two weeks. There has been a flurry of activity as we have begun our evangelistic series.
It has been a blessing so far--we've covered topics such as the validity of the Scriptures, the Controversy between God and Satan, and Creation.

The third night of the meetings, attendance dropped to an all-time low, and we were tempted to be discouraged. However, we spent much time in agonizing prayer, and have been excited to see God turn things around, and to bring many people to the meetings.

One of those people is Glen. Glen is a young man about 28 years old. He told us that he had bought a book from us in January, when we first got here. Two weeks ago, we knocked on his door again and invited him to the series. He was unable to come the first few nights, but has been coming faithfully since Wednesday, and has been immensely enjoying the message.

Another is Debra. Donato and Danielle were dropped off on her street, and gave her a flyer inviting her to the series. She has been one of our most faithful attendees, coming to every meeting, and seems very open to hear the Word of God.

Steve and Leila are another couple who have been faithfully attending. They are an amazing, God-fearing couple who desire nothing more than to follow God and His leading. We have studied several testing truths with them, and they are more than open and accepting, when they are given a "thus saith the Lord." They truly are faithful Bereans.

Aunty Joyce brought her 14-yr-old grandson, Tito, to the meetings last Wednesday. He enjoyed them so much that he has come every night. He is FULL of questions! "Was God married?" "No." "How did He make Jesus?" It has been a blessing to have him around, realizing that the gospel has power to change anyone, regardless of circumstance.


We want to ask you, reader, to pray specifically for David. He is a middle-aged man who is battling stage 4 cancer. He came to our church one day, asking for prayer. Since then, we have been studying the Bible with him, and have been enjoying his fellowship. Pray that the Lord will give him peace and joy during this experience.

Thank you for your prayers and support--they are invaluable to us as we labor for the Lord.

Flyers!

Last week, our flyers for the upcoming evangelistic series arrived in the mail. Since then, we've been knocking on as many doors as we can in order to ultimately invite every family in Kane'ohe to the series. We have been having some awesome experiences as we've invited the community. Here are a few of our experiences:


"As I walked up to the door, the man said from inside his house, 'I'm not interested!' I said right back, 'Sir, we're not selling anything!' He was quiet, then said, 'okay.' I walked up to him and gave him a flyer for the meeting. 'Oh, I don't want anything religious!' he said. 'Sir,' I said, 'It's free dinner, free childcare, and a meeting where you can sit down and learn something new.' Again, he was quiet. Then, with a smile on his face, he said 'Okay. I'll check it out.' Praise God!"
--April

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"I met Wayne passing out flyers near the church. As I talked to him, I found out that he used to attend the Adventist church many years ago. His family was baptized here in Kane'ohe, and he was actively involved--being a deacon and involved in many ministries. He left about 10 years ago because of various reasons, but said that he still keeps the Sabbath and is still Adventist. He said that he is waiting to come back to church. 'I'm waiting for a revival in the church,' he said. I told him, 'A revival is happening now. Our young people are going out door-to-door and sharing the gospel.' He said that he was going to come to the evangelistic series, and that he was willing to help with whatever area he could. Pray that he will come and will re-dedicate his life to the Lord."
--Donato

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"'I wish I had known about you sooner,' Janelle said. I had knocked on her door to give her a flyer and invite her to the series. As we continued to talk, she asked, 'Do you give Bible studies to teenagers? My daughter needs to know about Jesus...and I want her to study. Can you come study with us?' I told her that we definitely do give Bible studies. We exchanged phone numbers, and she agreed to come to the series. Please pray for her! I know the Lord has a plan!" 
--Danielle


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In Matthew 22:8-10, it says, “Then saith he to his servants, The wedding is ready,...Go ye therefore into the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage. So those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good: and the wedding was furnished with guests.”

These past couple of weeks it has been our intention that every house in Kane’ohe will receive an invitation to our “Hope for the Ohana” series. We have been going to every neighborhood, street, court, and avenue placing an invitation. So far, we have been receiving solid and positive feedback from the community.

This past week I met Sally. She happened to see me approach her door and decided to meet me before I got to it. We began to converse about the series, and then she asked what church was the series affiliated with. I immediately shared with her that we were Adventist, and her eyes grew to the size of watermelons!

Of course, I became interested in why she became so excited. She shared with me that the previous week she was passing our church and was wondering what the church believed and who went there. She was so excited that I came, because for her it was a sign from God. She grabbed the flyer, thanked me for stopping by, and said she will see me there.

It is amazing how God sets up divine appointments. Please continue to pray for that God will open this community's eyes so that they can partake of the feast.

--Grayson

Adventures on O'ahu

There's a saying in the canvassing world--"we work hard, and we play hard."

True to the saying, we have been working hard for the Lord. At the same time, we have been playing hard, as well!

Each week, we have one day off. On these days, we have done a lot of activities around O'ahu, including ocean kayaking, going to Pearl Harbor, body surfing at the beach, climbing Stairway to Heaven, going to local swap meets, eating "local" food (Malasadas, anyone?), and much more.

Here are some pictures to show some of the fun times we've had.

O'ahu in the dark--taken from the top of Stairway to Heaven

Stairway to Heaven

Grayson at the top of Stairway to Heaven

Our group before going in the Pearl Harbor memorial

The document that was signed to end WWII

The U.S.S. Missouri

Donato, Grayson, Maverick, Danielle, and April in front of the Pearl Harbor Memorial


 

The two small islands where we took our kayak

The guys taking a kayak to Lanikai Beach

Group picture from Pali Lookout

Eating at Z Pizza--love that Daiya Cheese!

Give Them All....

One of my favorite songs growing up was "Give Them All"--The lyrics were always something that touched my heart. "Shattered dreams, wounded hearts, and broken toys...Give them all...to Jesus." Each of us, in our lives, have things that we need to give to Jesus. It may be broken hearts, relationships, or even broken families. The beautiful thing about Jesus is that He will take all of those things upon Himself so that we can live a life of freedom.

"Christ was treated as we deserve, that we might be treated as He deserves. He was condemned for our sins, in which He had no share, that we might be justified by His righteousness, in which we had no share. He suffered the death which was ours, that we might receive the life which was His." --DA 25.2

Grayson was able to see this experience first-hand this last week. He has recorded it for us to read, knowing that it will be an inspiration for others. 

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"I have been blessed to be studying with a man named John.* Together, we have been going through the book of Revelation. It has been powerful to see how God can use a book about prophecy to connect the two of us.

"This past week, John and I were talking about the lifestyle of God's people in the last days. I shared with him the standard God has given to His last-day people. At this, John opened up and shared the things he has been struggling with. He shared how he wants to be rid of all the things that "hold him down."

"This is a huge step for John. For him, it marks a start to clear things out of his life that will keep him away from God.

"There are many other “Johns” out there that need to hear the call. The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Continue to pray for more laborers, and pray for our series which begins on February 26!"

-Grayson Abaya 

*Name(s) changed

"...and thank you for bringing this young person to my door. In Jesus' name, amen."

To hear the first prayers of a young Christian is something that is beyond words. It is a powerful thing to see the Holy Spirit working on hearts, knowing that you were simply, in the words of a friend, "one beggar telling another beggar where to find bread."

To work for others is something that will change your life. It causes one to realize just how much Jesus loves each of us. It gives us understanding of our own human frailty and constant need of a Savior. It shows us just how much we need the sanctifying influence of the Word. It shows us how important and powerful our beliefs are.

Today is one of our busiest days of the week--Tuesdays are filled to the brim with studying, writing studies, and giving studies. We have been here almost six weeks (wow!) already, and the precious souls we are studying with have blessed our lives immensely.

"But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word." --Acts 6:4

Hope for the Ohana: Letters to a Broken Family

We want to ask for special prayers for our upcoming evangelistic series. It is starting in 21 days--exactly three weeks from today.

We know that God has powerful things in store, but we also know that it is through prayer that victories are won.

Last week, we studied with a family who gave us a powerful example of the power of prayer. Each Easter in Kaneohe, there is a massive amount of outreach done by local Pentecostal churches. Starting this week, this family is starting prayer meetings in their homes to pray specifically for the outreach.

As I heard this, it made me realize how important prayer is to ministry...and how little I pray for the outreach I do. Friends, we have the opportunity to make a difference in the Great Controversy we are in, and we dare not undertake it without entire dependence upon God.

So, our plea is simple. We want to ask you to pray for our evangelistic series at least four times a week. The prayer doesn't have to be long. In fact, it can simply be a silent petition to God--He hears and we know He will answer.

James says, "The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much." He continues with a powerful example. "Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit." --James 5:16-18

Friends, Elijah was just like we are...but through PRAYER he was able to access the power of the Heavenly Kingdom.

We know that we are in a warfare--we need the prayers of our friends. We ask for your help in this battle--we need your prayers.

Mahalo--your reward is truly in Heaven!

This time last year, Carlos Interiano was working in Exeter, California. He met a family while they were watching a football game, and they invited him inside. As they conversed, Cayelle, the owner of the home, introduced Carlos to her brother Caleb*. 

During the commercial break, the family asked Carlos, "why are you doing this work?" Carlos then shared his testimony. As he was sharing, Caleb--who had previously studying with an Adventist from Brazil--realized that Carlos was also Adventist.  Caleb asked for Carlos's number, and Carlos left.

During the next three months, Carlos introduced Caleb to Donato, who was also doing Big Books in the area. The three of them became good friends, and they spent a lot of time together.

After those three months, they lost contact and were no longer able to connect. For over a year, the three of them didn't talk to each other.

Fast-forward to last week. Michelle Mogollon is the Bible worker at the Exeter SDA church. She knocks on Cayelle's door. Cayelle says that she is busy and cooking, and invites her inside. Cayelle realized that Michelle was Adventist and told her about Carlos & Donato.

Michelle then called Donato (who is here in Kane'ohe), and passed the phone to Cayelle. Cayelle told Donato that Caleb had moved back to Oa'hu in mid-July. She gave Donato Caleb's number, and Donato promptly called him.

The next day, the two of them spent the day together, and Caleb shared how he was struggling spiritually. While the two of them were spending time together, the Bible Worker from Brazil called Caleb after not talking to him for 2-3 months. Caleb said, "This is a crazy coincidence that he's calling right now--he's calling when you're with me--no other time!!!!"

As Donato shared this experience with us, we knew that it was truly more than coincidence. God has a plan for Caleb's life, and it beyond words to be a part of such an experience. 

It was powerful to see God working in such direct ways. The amazing thing about this experience is that it happens every single day in our own lives. God is constantly setting up divine appointments for each of us in an effort to win our hearts. Praise Him for His never-ending love for us! 

*names changed