Day 1 Mililani

The flight yesterday was long, we played cards, watched movies, slept, and planned. We were all ready to stretch our legs after a 9 hour flight! In the airport we were welcomed with leis from several in the church. Most of us are a little jet lagged, since we are 5 hours behind Nashville time.

We had a meeting this morning with Pastor James and his wife Julie. They are so welcoming to us, allowing us to stay in their home this week. The church (named The Gathering) is a year old and we are the first missionary group to come alongside them. There is a lot going on spiritually here on the island, lots of cultures, and Christianity is not the major religion. Relationship building is the main way that Pastor James is able to build God's church here in Mililani. We understand that coming from RHCC and it's exciting to share ideas.

Just Walk Across the Room is the evangelism training that Laurie Campbell lead tonight and it's a perfect fit for what is going on in the church. We had 8 adults come to the Shiroma's home where we had the training, which is a good percentage of the church. There are usually 60 adults in the service on Sunday's. There was a lot of time for sharing and a good start for the study.

There are lots of connections of people that we know back on the mainland, that is comforting and we know that it's not an accident either. God has prepared this trip and prepared the youth group to hear the words that we're bringing. I am excited to meet them tomorrow and talk about Philippians. Our theme is "More than Enough" and we are talking about the joy, peace, and purpose that Christ brings to our lives.

This mission trip is better than any vacation I have ever had! God created amazing things for us to discover and we intend on seeing many of those things this week.