MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

We hope this Christmas season is full of Christmas cheer for you as we celebrate the birth of our Savior. I am using the word Christmas often here because it is something we don’t hear much of anymore. Not that it has been replaced with Happy Holidays either. Seems life is going on as usual other than Christmas trees in people’s living rooms (Hawaii imported 1OOK trees from Oregon) and Christmas lights on houses. But where is the Christmas spirit?

When I first got saved in November, 39 years ago, all my family got a Bible from me that Christmas. Being a new Christian and learning about Church history, I learned that early Christians were persecuted so they weren’t outspoken about their faith but if they sensed someone they were talking to was a Christian, they would nonchalantly scribe an arch in the sand. If the other person was a Christian, they too would scribe an arc which touched the other arc making a fish design.

As I do book signings, the title of my book being “MIA: That the Lost May be Found” often catches the attention of some. However, they aren’t quick to say they are Christians but as we talk, it becomes clear they are and they say how much they like my book title. Some have even whispered, “We’re believers too.” Did you catch that? They whispered. Why? Because today, like 2000 years ago, people are persecuted for being Christians–even right here in America. So we are afraid to speak.

Last month I told you that Hawaii has many military ceremonies like for when our military personnel return from overseas, Veteran’s Day, Memorial Day, Pearl Harbor Day, MIA/POW Recognition Day and others. One thing I didn’t mention though is that at all of these ceremonies, they begin and end with a prayer, And, it is very clear which God we are praying to. So speak out and have a Merry Christmas!

You’ve heard of the devastation from the typhoon in the Philippines. Is what you may not have heard is that New Tribes pilots have been flying supplies in using fixed wing and a helicopter from day one. Along with your prayers, you can also contribute to offset the mounting costs of fuel and supplies by going to NTM’s website: http://usa.ntm.org/projects/haiyan-relief

Thank you for your partnership and have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Mark and Joan