Getting to Know the Island

Aloha!

Psalm 13:6 "I will sing to the LORD, because He has dealt bountifully with me."

Today my heart is overflowing with praise and thanksgiving...His bounty toward us is overwhelming. As the Psalmist says in Psalm 16:6, "The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places..." our hearts echo.

Until our schedules settle into routines with work and regular Bible Study meetings, we have been taking the chance to explore a little bit of our surroundings. Norm and I took a little trip to Kailua last Friday. We found a wonderful beach park with beautiful aqua colored water and powdery white sand. Today we went to a North Shore town called Haleiwa (where we went to a farmers market recently...see pics below) and to a nearby beach called Mokuleia...this is where the TV show LOST was filmed. As we drive around and see the island and interact with some of the locals, we are falling more and more in love with the place we've been called to serve.

Shave Ice and Dragon Fruit at the Haleiwa Farmer's Market "Mango Mania Festival"

Norm at Kailua Beach Park

Norm and I were talking about the cultural differences here when we were on our way home from our outing, and one of the things we have both been struck by is the "ohana" (family) atmosphere. People generally are more relational...whether at the store, at the bank, or on a bench in the town center...people like to "talk story". We feel this will be a huge help in establishing relationships which are meaningful and will lead to ministry opportunities.

Ronald and Amel, the two men who will be arriving in November to complete the team will be here this weekend on their house hunting trip. We are so eager to be with them...we are looking forward to another Bible Study, some planning and prayer, and for more bonding time with them. Please lift them up in prayer during this weekend as they have a lot to accomplish in a short time...sound familiar? We feel so settled here already it doesn't seem possible we were encountering the exact same things less than two months ago. We know they are feeling the urgency to be here and get things going.

Family wise, the boys are feeling more and more at home everyday. Collin is spending more time with the "cousins" and Kyle invited a friend from school over to work on a Chemistry project together. This opened a neat opportunity to minister to an unbeliever...he made several comments about how happy he was to have a new friend, and how warm and homey he felt with our family. We are so excited for the boys to catch more and more of the picture that God has a really neat ministry for them here, right alongside us. What a joy to serve together.

Please pray for us this weekend...our house is scheduled to close on Monday. We just got the last of the paperwork signed and sent today! Pray that the paperwork is in order and will clear as it should. What a relief to have this settled so quickly. We'll let you know when it is final.

We have visited a few churches since we came, and this makes us all the more grateful for our dear church family at Keyport Bible Church. We were delighted to receive our first "Missionary of the Week" card in the mail yesterday! It brought tears to my eyes to see all the signatures and sentiments from our brothers and sisters in Christ. Thank you for your love and your faithfulness in prayer and giving. We pray for you often, and always with great thankfulness.

For Christ's glory,

the deGuzman family

We're Finally Online!

Aloha!


We are getting all settled into our new life here in Hawaii. (We can hardly believe we are here!) The boys are settling into their routines at school...schedules, homework, friends. Norm and Christy are just finishing up the logistical aspects of the move...address change, new phone #'s, drivers licenses, cars, and so forth.


Our home is small but we are loving it! It is bright and cheerful with big windows on 3 sides. They let in lots of sunshine and a delightful breeze almost all the time! Christy surprised Norm by having the house completely unpacked and set-up...boxes recycled and all...by the time he arrived.

We both start new jobs within the week. Norm will be working at K-Mart, and Christy will be working at one of the elementary schools in town. All around us, on the news and in papers we hear reports that unemployment rates continue to skyrocket, furloughs, and the search times for employment lengthen. But in the midst of this, God has seen fit to bless us both with employment within a month of arriving here...may He receive the glory. We praise Him for His gracious provision.


Last Sunday we held our first official Bible study at Ko'Olina Beach, whose name means "place of joy". It was a joy indeed to gather together (20 of us in all) to sing praises to the Lord, feast on His Word, share tesitmonies of His greatness and His working in our lives, to pray together, and to share fellowship and a meal together. Psalm 84:1 was the theme of the study. "How lovely is your dwelling place, O LORD of hosts!" What a joy to be reminded that because of our dear Savior Jesus' work on our behalf, we may worship God wherever we are, and that there is nothing on earth that can compare to being in the presence of God. His dwelling place is lovely beyond description. Please keep us in prayer as we decide on a regular time and location for our Bible study so that we may effectively minister to our neighbors and co-workers, and that we would be bold to invite people.



We will be sending monthly newsletters out in the mail, and we'll be using this blog to keep you updated in between newsletters. We love and miss you!

For His glory,
the deGuzman family