Hey, I just wanted to apologize if there was any confusion with my last blog. The story I was talking about was from my testimony, and the events that happened, happened back during Christmas. Since then, things between me and the people involved have been resolved, and it has been good. At the time of the events, I was upset, but I have learned I need to really love people.
Thank you for your prayers and concerns. God bless.

Does it ever feel as if we are going through life, just walking around without any immediate goals in sight? I believe that our goals and dreams can really influence our choices in everyday situations. This has been set on my heart over the past few weeks. Talking with friends on the streets, the kids in the projects, and my life in the next year, the topic of dreams, ambitions, and goals has been a key subject.

I know that as a follower of Christ, He is our goal in life. But that holds a lot of weight, and is far easier said than done. “Do you not know that those who run a race all run, but one receives the prize. Run in such a way that you may obtain it.” 1 Corinthians 9:24. It is my encouragement to you that Christ be in your goals and that the journey there be at His service.

I met Ducky last year out at A’ala Park after he had made Chinatown his new home. He is somebody I became quick friends with, because I quickly discovered why people called him Ducky. He comes from Oregon, which is my home state, and had recently come over to do a little soul searching. Problem was, he has kids back home in Bend, and he had run out of money, so he was stuck.

About three weeks after meeting him, he made the decision to admit himself into The Salvation Army Adult Rehabilitation Center (ARC). That was one step towards a goal he had set, to get back home to his family. Ducky has tremendous faith, and knows his word. I remember that most of our conversations, it revolved around the Christian faith, his walk, and the Word. He left the ARC about a month into the program, and we lost contact with him.

I was in the park about three weeks ago, and who do I see? Nobody had seen Ducky in the Chinatown area for about four months, so when I saw him I felt a sense of joy. But he looked terrible. Tears in his eyes, dirty clothes, and rugged looking face, I knew that it had been a long hard few months. After talking to him, I realized that he was still pursuing his dream to get home. That was the only thing keeping his hopes alive. Unfortunately, he believed he had run out of options.

Now, this is the power of prayer, and praise to God. Not only did Revolution Hawaii bathe his circumstance in prayer, he had people praying, and I was asking others who didn’t know him to pray that something would open up for him to get a flight back home. I would ask him every time I saw him how things where coming, and nothing seemed to be improving. About a week after we had been praying, he shared with us that prayers had been answered; a one way ticket back to the mainland!

Ducky left last Wednesday, back home to his family, his kids. The road is still long before him, but he never lost his faith, never lost his dreams, and never let go of what God had blessed him with.

In Matthew 6:19-21, Christ tells a very key piece of wisdom. “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your heart is, there your heart will be also.”

Please keep Ducky (aka Roger) in your prayers. Thank you so much for the continued prayer for ministry here.

These past nine months, I have learned more about myself than in 20 years of life. Before coming and just absorbing myself in the faith, I had things together. I went to school, had a good job, a girlfriend, I was involved with the church, and believed I was on the right track. Nothing drastic happened, except that I felt the burden of complacency ruling my life. I have been a believer for most of my life, but a nudging kept saying, “Do something different, for Me.” Now, that could not have been anyone but God, because it went against all that I would naturally do. Plus, I had been praying for something more in my life.
So, after applying and being accepted to Revolution Hawaii, I headed out feeling I was on top of my game. I had God in sight, and I was really excited. I didn’t really know anyone, so I looked at this as an opportunity to take advantage of building new friendships.
I finished my spring semester of community college, gave in my two weeks at my job, and decided that it would be best to not be in a relationship, in order that the two of us could grow in our personal relationship with God. As the months wore on, I felt like I was no longer in control of anything back home in Oregon. People I cared about and loved where starting to make dumb choices, and I began to feel as though they stabbed me in the back. I lost my trust with them, and grew in bitterness towards them. The whole time, I thought I was doing the right things by focusing on ministry here, balance a broken relationship, and build new friendships. That is when I questioned God, myself and others.
One of the most important lessons I have learned is that nobody is perfect. Heard that all my life, but it never rang true to me because I was living as though I was perfect. The sad reality hit when I was sitting alone in the mountain, during a time called silence and solitude. I always felt as though I surrendered my life to God, by giving what I thought He wanted. Unfortunately, that was only about a quarter of who I am. The scariest place in life, to me, is anywhere alone.
But something happened in that time of isolation. The anger, bitterness, lust, jealousy, lying, fakeness that I had tucked away in the back of my heart and mind, hoping it would just disappear, came to the surface, and in that moment, I realized those things where the bricks building the wall between God and me.
This is when I experienced the true gift of amazing grace. When I finally fessed up and let go of the chains around my heart, I realized it was God holding the key to the lock.
“As it is written, ‘there is none righteous, no not one.’” Romans 3:10
2 Corinthians 12:9 “And He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, my strength is made perfect in weakness.’”

What is the Good News that we share with people? Is it a message that tells people how they are sinful, they are living the wrong lifestyle? Or is it a message of hope, of a future, of something greater than we can imagine? These are questions I have been challenged with this past year, and I want to ask you the same things. The reason I bring this up is because I have a friend that has tought me the importance of holding onto a hope that he was taught about at a young age.

I met Michael Clarke out at A'ala Park last year. People call him Eyore because of his slow paced walking, talking character. He comes from Chicago, and is always telling me stories from the Windy City. I noticed Mike when he was passed out, with bruises, open soars, and pale looking skin. I met him soon after that because he woke up when some friends started yelling at him for laying on their cardboard. Mike was attracted to the group of us that went out to the park, and he said it was because we showed him that there is hope in the world.

Over the months, I got to know Michael and we became good friends. He knows where he is at in life, he doesn't like it, and he wants to change. I was talking with him one time and he told me he had been on the streets for about 2 1/2 to 3 years, and it was definitely taking its toll. I remember him breaking down a couple of times, because his desire to get back to his life of sobriety was so strong.

I was once told that for some people, receiving prayer is like candy. Take it when it is offered? Mike did just that, and I believe that it has built his confidence in himself. Every time I see him, he will ask for prayer. He holds onto hope.

Just recently, Mike got into a clean and sober house up in Pearl City. That was an answer to not only our prayers, but his prayers too. First he went to detox for a week, then got into the house for about another week or so. People that saw him, said he looked strong and healty.

Friday nights, some of us go out to invite our friends from the park to go to a dinner and Bible study. There were people around, some sleeping, and some walking around. I saw Mike, sleeping under one of the trees. It broke my heart, because I knew that he relapsed. I didn't want to wake him, so I ended up talking with him a few days later. He had a beer and that went against the rules.

"And this hope is what saves us. But if we already have what we hope for, there is no need to keep on hoping. However, we hope for something we have not yet seen, and we wait patiently for it." Romans 8:24-25. My friend Mike has told me, and shown me, that he has a hope; hope not only in Christ the risen Savior, but for himself. To me, that is something to hold onto.

I just want to bring it back to ask ourselves this question: what is the Good News? As Christians, we have the obligation of sharing this message. In a world of suffering and struggle, I believe that this Good News can bring healing, hope, joy, perseverance, and love into the lives of those who need it most. Please keep Michael Clarke in your prayers. Pray that the hope he holds to, he will hold tight.

The United States of America is a very unique and amazing country. The major cities consist of many ethnicities, ideas and cultures. Living in Hawaii, the term "melting pot" is used to describe this mix of cultures. Hawaii has an amazing mix of people from all walks of life. Culture is defined as this: the taste in art and manners that are favored by a social group.

Most of my life I spent in the same area. I had some white friends, some black friends, some Hispanic friends, and some Asian friends. The thing was that I defined people only as that. It is so easy to get caught up in the "me" society that we live, and I would watch myself fall into that trap. As a Christian, called by Christ to preach the good news to the nations, this mentality was not going to get me very far.

One thing I have always been told when visiting a place foriegn to my comfort, is to be open to the culture. Watch what people say, how they engage in conversation, how they eat, what they wear, and so on. If you want to disrespect a group of people, all you have to do is continue in your familiar way. That is not to say a particular culture is better than another, but that they are all different.

As I said earlier, Hawaii is considered a major "melting pot" and has people from all over; from Asia, Micronesia, Polynesia, the main land, and many others. Adapting to what other people do around the world is one of the best things someone can do. I know that for me, it has changed my life, but it can also make a difference in what God can use you for.

One prime example of adapting to a culture to reach a specific audience, comes from the Apostle Paul. 1 Corinthians 9:22-23 says, "To the weak, I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings." This does not mean compromise. What this means is share the gospel so that people can understand.

I have been learning about the Hawaiian culture and it has been awesome. Some values people hold here are these: family, respect, food, love, to name a few. No matter where we are in this world, the gospel can be shared. I know for me, God has really opened my eyes to see how small I am and how diverse His people are.

There are always stories, adventures, and testimonies of Gods awesome work. I wanted to share this one with you because it has really made me consider who or what I put my trust in. This happened about a week ago...

Walking down the street, heading towards The Salvation Army Thrift Store, my friend Chelcee and I where stopped by a man that has forever changed my view on life. Sitting at a bus stop, he waved the two of us down, because he had seen us around and wanted to talk with us. Well, to our surprise he was deaf, and had been drinking, and to top it off, he spoke Spanish.

Right away, I knew that God had set this all up. I pray often that God would stretch me, and this is what He does. As soon as we realized he was deaf, we grabbed a pen and paper, praying we could somehow communicate. He sat, motioning that he had seen us before, praying, and that he felt ashamed of himself. Because he had been drinking, the guilt made him believe that he was unlovable. As soon as we got the paper and pen, the three of us began an amazing conversation.

His name is Eduardo, and he is from Mexico. For work, Eduardo was in the masonry business and the pain from the work drew him towards alcohol. He also told us that he was a retired boxer in Mexico, and when you look at his hands, you could see the result of years of fighting.

This was only the surface of our conversation. But the part that amazed me most was that it happened in three languages: sign language, Spanish, and English. I think the most important part of our whole conversation was this: in that moment, Eduardo saw and felt love. True, genuine, raw love. Not by anything Chelcee or I said or did, but by God through us.

We all hugged, said our goodbyes, and walked in opposite directions. Have you ever had one of those moments where all you could do was say, "Wow!"? That moment occured as I realized a very important lesson. When we are going about the Lords work, the barriers we see, can be overcome by God, our Creator. When we allow the Spirit to work, where we know we cannot, God will never cease to amaze us.

Keep Eduardo in your prayers...

Take a look around. Look at your neighbors, your co-workers, friends, family, the state, the country, the world. One of the most common struggles that I see is that of suffering. No matter where you are on this planet, there are people in our lives that are suffering. In some form, this should deeply effect us, as believers in the body of Christ. If suffering has not affected you in the past or now, all I would suggest is to check out the news; T.V., internet, newspapers.

The reason I bring this topic up is because as the fellowship of believers, we must do whatever we can to be there for those that are suffering. It has been heavy on my heart to write on this struggle. Being involved with the homeless community, the low-income housing projects, and society, I see this suffering going on everyday, in every direction I look.

For a long time I would look at these struggles, and justify it in my mind that it is their choice, their lifestyle, and it is what they want. When I realized that the world does not revolve around me, that is when I could see the deeper issues that where within the very hearts and minds of those suffering around me. So far, every person I have ever talked with that live on the streets, have told me stories and events that have brought to this point in their lives.

"Happiness is not a reward-it is a consequence. Suffering is not a punishment-it is a result." Robert Green Ingersoll

Much of the time, it was the choices that they made that brought them to this point. But it came only from one or several devastating events before that. At the same time, most of these people resort to some sort of pain killer. That can be alcohol or drugs or sex. Soon, this becomes a lifestyle, and there is a sense that the pain is no longer there.

I recently attended a conference called H.I.M. (Hawaiian Island Ministries). The theme of the conference was 'Many yet one'. This idea of being united as a church, really hit home for me. Looking at the struggle of suffering as a whole and trying to tackle on your own, is impossible. But, as the body around the world, with hearts of compassion and selflessness, and the struggle can change.

"For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us." Romans 8:18.