Aloha from
the Hale (house) Kahu (of the pastor),
By God’s
mercy it is Advent again. Our hope is closer than it has ever been! We’ll soon
light the Christmas candle with our new family of faith at Kalahikiola
Congregational Church in Kapa’au, Hawaii, population 2,004. We are thankful for our first year of pastoral
service here.
One blessing
of old age is growing more and more convinced of the truth and power of the
gospel of Jesus Christ – “the same yesterday, today, and forever.”
Our grey
heads groan for “adoption as sons and the redemption of our bodies.” And yet,
to the praise of His glory, we’re already seated with Him in heavenly places. By
the gift of faith, we rest securely in His once-for-all redemption. We try to begin
most days with devotion but must end every day with repentance. We’ve tearfully
watched dear ones stubbornly refuse Jesus, preferring the bitter fruit of their
rebellion – some for decades! We’ve also walked with brothers and sisters
through sickness, poverty, disappointment, and abuse for long hard years
“afflicted in every way but not crushed” – trusting in the Savior who stands
for them.
Even more,
this gospel - so perfectly designed for our sins and struggles - fits every
person. The Creator of every culture sent His Son who speaks every language,
sings in every style, and sympathizes with every pain. The Nazarene satisfies
hearts in every land. We have never seen a person too far or too foreign to be
saved by the Jesus of the Scriptures – “we know that this is indeed the Savior
of the world.”
We are blessed to be part of a encouraging and outward looking church. We are growing together in the Word – Acts on Sundays and Romans on Wednesday nights. As the Spirit applies the truths of God, our vision for our families and communities to know and follow Jesus is growing.
We have
worked with sister churches here on issues that impact our community.
Looking at
our small community through our old mission-eyes we see kids in spiritual
darkness. Their Moms and Dads profess no faith, some are hostile to religion,
the light of Jesus rarely cracks into their worlds. We have learned from Child
Evangelism Fellowship that Hawaii law allows facilities use on campus after
school hours. So, we hope to offer Bible, song, and sharing to children at
Kohala Elementary School. “Good News Clubs” have been held on over a dozen
campuses throughout our state. (https://www.cefhawaii.com/ “Our vision is that every child on every island can hear
the Gospel by the age of twelve.”)
CEF came to
our church and trained a dozen committed believers from our community to lead
clubs. Enthusiasm and vision are building. Not surprisingly, the school
authorities have been dragging their feet in resistance. We’d be grateful for
your prayers for the 300+ children in our public school, their families, and
their teachers.
Another
cause that has banded our area churches is life. Hawaii was the first state to
legalize abortion, after the Roe v. Wade decision in early 1970. Now our state
lawmakers are busy seeking to enshrine death in our constitution – suggesting
that abortions be linked to sunny vacations! Last month I taught my second “4
Questions” training, using great material from PassionLife friends we met in
Beijing. (Your heart will thrill to see how they’re promoting life around the
world, https://www.passionlife.org/ ). We are in conversation with
leaders of crisis pregnancy centers on our island about them helping us open an
outpost in our town. Join us in praying for moms, dad, and families, to receive
and cherish every life God gives.
We praise the Lord for the privilege of serving as IDEAS Community Life workers with a focus on Asia. We have the privilege of encouraging colleagues who leverage their professional skills to help communities and individuals flourish. We marvel to live in a world with fibre-optic connections all the way to our island!
After a
thorough study of their work around the world, IDEAS has decided to focus especially
on six nations that offer great opportunity for Kingdom advance. The good work
they are doing in other places will carry on as well. But we are praying for stronger
multi-focused teams in – China, Kazakhstan, Jordan, Tunisia, Argentina, and
Guatemala - to deepen the experience of abundant life for people and
communities there.
Here is a
new IDEAS video to help explain our work:
IDEAS Mission, Vision, & Core Values
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bdij7KiNHKQ
We are
thankful for the Lord’s care for our family this year. As we moved back to the
USA from China, we suspected if we lived in Hawaii, we would get some visitors.
We hoped so! We had no idea we’d be so blessed to live in a big parsonage, our
biggest digs in 42 years of marriage. We have had the joy of hosting all three
sons, our daughter-in-law, and all three grandchildren in the last year.
We are very grateful for your prayers, support, and friendship. May your joy and hope be renewed this season as we wait for Him who will come and make “all things new.”
Gratefully
in His Grip, Mark and Dayna Blair
Email blairstan2@gmail.com
Blog http://blairstan.blogspot.com
Web Site https://pastormarkblair.org
