All Saints Day

Aloha from the northern tip of the island of Hawaii!   

We have settled into the Hale Kahu (pastor’s house) of Kalahikiola Church in Kapa’au. We’re thankful for the welcome of the congregation and friendships we are making in the Kohala community – the lady from Hilo who gives Dayna a great price on papayas, the postal clerk who knows where we live and home delivers our boxes, the lawn guy who comes back when the mower is too noisy during a teaching session at church, the friend who takes our food scraps to feed her goat, and the townspeople who fill the stands for high school sports – most wearing T-shirts with the school logo. Welcome to small town life! 

Photos: Kohala shoreline, statue of King Kamehameha – he united the Hawaiian islands - was born here in 1758, the Hale Kahu.

Passion Life comes to Hawaii

Our first guests were Mark and Dana. Yes, Mark and Dana Nicholson – he’s the Executive Director of Passion Life - https://www.passionlife.org/. They shared their global ministry with leaders around our island.  We worked with Passion Life in China and Kazakhstan, now they’re in more than 20 nations! They see that rescuing babies is a vital mission strategy. Many babies that God saves become agents of His grace to save entire families and communities. Only about 3% of all abortions are performed in the USA, while 97% of the globe’s prolife resources are spent on the USA. So, Passion Life’s strategic focus is on the 97% of global abortions committed outside the USA. They share Jesus and salvation as they resource global leaders to apply the grace of the Gospel to the guilt of abortion.

Our Kia Soul was off-loaded onto the Hilo dock just in time to drive Mark and Dana around our Big Island. They had some great meetings and connections with leaders for life in Volcano town, Hilo, Kailua-Kona, and here in Kohala.

Zooming IDEAS around the World

Even from the middle of the Pacific we have a thriving connection with our IDEAS team. In September we joined in the Global Leadership Team meetings. It was encouraging to hear how the Lord is creating communities of contagious hope through our colleagues in thirteen nations. We appreciate the leadership of our new President, Gabrielle Thompson. We hope we made some positive contributions to the discussions, even though the meetings began at 3 a.m. Hawaii time!

Our monthly micro community meetings are at more reasonable times. We have had several meetings with two groups of colleagues in different nations. One group offers prayers and encouragement to Associates with responsibilities for older parents, on the opposite side of the globe.

Our other micro group has been enjoying reading and discussing, Crazy Busy by Kevin DeYoung. With humility and humor He describes the challenges our jam-packed schedules have created.

We are also making connections here in Hawaii as IDEAS “Church Ambassadors.” IDEAS global work of demonstrating love by meeting holistic needs through our professional skills in Agriculture, Business, Community Development, Education, and Health & Wellness is not widely known in these islands...yet!

“A Man who Makes Coffee” on Sunday Mornings?

For the last two months Mark has been preaching through the book of Hebrews (“A Man who Makes Coffee”??...terrible Bible joke) on Sunday mornings at Kalahikiola Church. It is wonderful to see how God’s Word to an ancient church on the other side of the globe speaks with relevance and hope to our island church today.

At this point we are here on a six-month pastoral assignment, at least. We and the church members are praying for the Lord to make His future plans clear to us all from March 2023 onward.

As we celebrate All Saints Day on November 1 we think of you with gratitude. You don’t need to be a statue or a stained-glass window to be a saint! You do need to be in Jesus who makes us holy. Across many years and miles, we praise God for countless brothers and sisters we have made in the Gospel. Some have “crossed over” already, we’re all booked too as we know “the way, the truth, and the life.”

Many thanks for your prayers and partnership in Christ over many years.

“For all the saints who from their labors rest, who thee by faith before the world confessed, thy name, O Jesus, be forever blest. Alleluia! Alleluia!

From earth's wide bounds, from ocean's farthest coast, through gates of pearl streams in the countless host, singing to Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, Alleluia!”

“For all the Saints,” William Walsham How (1864)

 Gratefully in His Grip, Mark and Dayna Blair

 

 IDEAS (International Development and Educational Associates) is a 501 © (3) public charity. Contributions are tax deductible. IDEAS also receives Donor-Advised Funds, Employer Matching Gifts, Stock, Mutual Funds, and IRA contributions.

https://ideasworld.org/associate/blair-mark-and-dayna-support-0471

Support by mail: Checks (no cash, please) made to IDEAS (our name should not be on the check, but attach a note: ‘Mark and Dayna Blair’) and mail to:

IDEAS, 7852 South Elati Street, Suite 202, Littleton, Colorado 80120  www.ideasworld.org

Our Phone Numbers Mark 808-218-4872 / Dayna 808-218-3698

Emails blairstan2@gmail.com / mark.blair@ideasworld.org / dayna.blair@ideasworld.org

Blog http://blairstan.blogspot.com/                            Web Site https://pastormarkblair.org/

                         

Still Rolling Along...

Greetings from Portland, Oregon on this beautiful summer day!

Tickets are now being sold in Oslo, Stockholm, Berlin, Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam, London… In a few weeks the roadies will set the stages. The band is already practicing. The “Never Ending Tour,”

 rolling for more than 60 years now, still travels the world. He is 81 but still sings “Forever Young.” “I was so much older then, I’m younger than that now!” Apparently Bob Dylan has not found the word ‘retirement’ in his Bible. We’re a few years behind him, but neither have we.

 A few days ago, we had our physical exams here in Portland. The doc said we might still have a few miles. So, we’re excited to share the doors the Lord has opened for this next season.

 IDEAS Global Conference 2022

The last week of July we had the privilege of meeting our colleagues with IDEAS in Estes Park, Colorado. Every three years the whole team gathers for a week of renewal and refreshment in the Lord. It had been four years since the last GloCo because of COVID. The timing was perfect for newbies like us to learn more of how the Lord is using our associates in building communities of contagious hope around the world through health care, community development, business, agriculture, and education. Mark had the privilege of giving the opening and closing messages from the Scriptures.

It was a blessing to lead our team in a commissioning prayer for a family we went through IDEAS Orientation with in February as they headed out for service in Argentina. 

 Our specific part-time assignment with IDEAS is becoming clearer. We met our new President, Gabrielle Thompson, and she has helped clarify our Church Ambassador role, writing recently, “We would love for you two to be IDEAS representatives beginning in Hawaii and then the greater United States, in sharing at churches and Christian communities. We are looking to expand our reach of awareness about the mission, vision and values of IDEAS, as well as helping guide others towards opportunities that IDEAS has to offer.”

As part of the Community Life team, we will lead two monthly ‘micro-community’ groups of our colleagues from around the globe. One group will focus on honoring parents through all of life. Many overseas workers struggle to know how best to honor their parents from the other side of the globe. We will discuss the book “The Thoughtful Caregiver” by Rebecca James Hecking. Our other group will read and discuss the book “Crazy Busy” by Kevin DeYoung.  Our groups will span the clock as we span the globe. Dayna and I will Zoom in at 6 a.m. from Hawaii while those in Thailand will be joining at their 11 p.m. – with colleagues in China, Bangladesh, Jordan, Tunisia, and Colorado representing their time zones! Crazy busy, indeed! 

 In the coming years we will be traveling for IDEAS to see and encourage our colleagues in their places of service around the globe.

Mahalo! – many thanks for your generous support to IDEAS to help us with these travels.

 From Oregon to Hawaii

Our trusty Kia Soul will get a new set of license plates soon. She will sail from Tacoma, Washington to Hawaii. We’re grateful to have a vehicle for the pastoral ministry we will begin in September.

Mark will pastor Kalāhikiola Congregational Church in Kapa’au for at least the next six months, Lord willing. Their faithful pastor, our dear friend Tom Fernandez has stepped down after 17 years of being their Kahu (pastor in Hawaiian). So, we gladly agreed to serve this church that has faithfully supported us for many years of our mission service in their transition.

“Kalāhikiola Church…has been in use for 164 years. Kalāhikiola translates to "The Day Salvation Comes" in the Hawaiian Bible, and is the name of the hill in the Kohala Mountains where the timber to build the church was harvested.” (Tom Morse;  Editor, North Hawaii News @ https://www.kalahikiolacc.com/ )

 Kapa’au is a special place for Dayna as she received Jesus as Lord and Savior at a church camp there at the age of 10…just a few years ago. We appreciate your prayers that we might be faithful in this great opportunity to serve the Lord and His people. May God save more 10 year-olds - and all their ohana (family)!

It seems the ‘Covid cloud’ has mercifully lifted. How has this pandemic left you? Perhaps your loved ones have been taken by this affliction. May the Lord give you His comfort. Perhaps your church has been shaken to the core. May the Lord give church leaders clarity of focus on Christ and the Scriptures above all else. Perhaps your own faith has suffered from too many Sundays of church in your pajamas. May you rise up and get out the door in Christ’s power to serve Him with new determination. It’s time to worship and work for Him with unveiled face! We have been reminded that life and death, mortality and eternity, heaven and hell are real. May you not fritter away the unrepeatable opportunities of each new day to make Christ known by word and deed. We are His ambassadors – sovereignly placed in spheres of opportunity where you alone can tell friends, colleagues, neighbors, and family His great news. Godspeed!

 Very Gratefully in Him, Mark and Dayna Blair

 IDEAS (International Development and Educational Associates) is a 501 © (3) public charity. Contributions are tax deductible. IDEAS also receives Donor-Advised Funds, Employer Matching Gifts, Stock, Mutual Funds, and IRA contributions.

The easiest way to contribute - for you and IDEAS - is online.

https://ideasworld.org/associate/blair-mark-and-dayna-support-0471

This secured site protects donors and keeps track of your giving. Check it out.

If you would prefer to mail a check, no problem. Checks (no cash, please) made to IDEAS (our name should not be on the check, but attach a note: ‘Mark and Dayna Blair’) and mail to:

IDEAS, 7852 South Elati Street, Suite 202, Littleton, Colorado 80120  www.ideasworld.org

Our Phone Numbers Mark 808-218-4872 / Dayna 808-218-3698

Emails blairstan2@gmail.com / mark.blair@ideasworld.org / dayna.blair@ideasworld.org

Blog http://blairstan.blogspot.com/                            

Web Site https://pastormarkblair.org/

Save Us!...50 years into forever…

 

Aloha from Honolulu this Holy Week 2022,

Wherever you are in our troubled world, we pray you’ll carve out a moment to reflect on why this is the most important week in human history. The Desire of Nations delivered our dying world. As churches around the world will proclaim this holy weekend, this shocking wonder came at the excruciating cost of His own execution. Yet His story has not ended, He had breakfast on the beach with guys who attended his funeral! Guilty disciples touched His wounds, suffered for their sin and shame. And He still lives among us – multitasking to govern the galaxies – while offering undeserved mercy.

My history (Mark) was eternally changed this week, fifty years ago. The high school kid who went to a YMCA camp in 1972 on Catalina Island for fun went home forgiven. The campfire talk was Great News to me, and I walked up to pray. Now, after fifty years of doing some of the same stupid things over and over again, I remain in the grip of His grace. Two thousand years ago the Palm Sunday throng shouted “Hosanna.. SAVE US” --- He did, He still is, and He forever will!  

“Community Life Specialists”

We spent this week in Leadership Team Meetings with our new IDEAS associates via Zoom. We are growing in our appreciation of this effective ministry and the opportunity the Lord has given us to contribute.  Our new title is “Community Life Specialists.” From our IDEAS Project Yearbook, “Community Life leaders work to see our personnel holistically thriving, having clear understanding of IDEAS’ niche for the holy calling of Christian professionals found in the identity, character, and purposes of God.” The mountains we all climb get steep and scarry, but sometimes the hardest part is the rock in your shoe! We hope to remind our new colleagues that it is o.k. to sit down and take the rock out! So, they can keep climbing with fresh zeal and joy.

Important Correction

As we introduced IDEAS in our last letter, we attached a web giving link that did not work. (Thanks to those of you who tried and helped us get it right!). If this sounds like a not-so-subtle appeal…well… Here is the right link, with the giving information we put in our last letter:

IDEAS (International Development and Educational Associates) is a 501 © (3) public charity. Contributions are tax deductible. IDEAS also receives Donor-Advised Funds, Employer Matching Gifts, Stock, Mutual Funds, and IRA contributions.

The easiest way to contribute - for you and IDEAS - is online.

https://ideasworld.org/associate/blair-mark-and-dayna-support-0471

This secured site protects donors and keeps track of your giving. Check it out.

If you would prefer to mail a check, no problem. Checks (no cash, please) made to IDEAS (our name should not be on the check, but attach a note: ‘Mark and Dayna Blair’) and mail to:

IDEAS, 7852 South Elati Street, Suite 202, Littleton, Colorado 80120

There is a great Finance Team who can answer any questions at: give@ideasworld.org  or     720-283-9100. Many thanks, for contributing to our work through IDEAS!

 Another Correction…

A couple months ago we mentioned a one-hour film about the history – and continuing impact – of Gospel missions to Hawaii called “A Witness to Aloha.” Then the site got removed! But it is back up, so hurry and watch it - interesting, encouraging, and free!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YoxC84RxfM

 Front Row Seat for More Hawaiian History

For April and May we’re in a Guest House of Kalihi Union Church in Honolulu. There are 14 different thriving congregations who call KUC home. We have enjoyed meeting brothers and sisters from Tonga, Japan, Korea, Micronesia, Samoa, and Hawaii. 

Worship and witness happen all week long, sports in the gym, senior’s programs, food distribution to over a 1000 people, Bible Study Fellowship, American Heritage Girls and Trail Life - Christian ‘Scout’ programs for boys and girls, prayer meetings, weightlifting, floral arrangements, Youth Nights, and of course sermons, studies, and songs! We don’t have to get in the car to find ministry!

Over 500 neighbors come for ‘Manna Ministry’ weekly – Bread - fresh and Eternal – is given freely!

Three people obeyed the Lord through baptism at KUC Sunday. The Pastor wisely reminded us of the Palm Sunday shout “Hosanna.. SAVE US!” – because that cry begins and must continue through all our life with Jesus. Two got dunked, but if the Sister in the blue t-shirt had gotten in the pool, they all would have sizzled. She was wearing an electronic ankle monitor. She raised her arms in joy as loved ones poured cleansing water over her…

Our Sister will be sentenced soon, but wherever she goes she is a blood-bought, Spirit-filled, heaven-bound daughter of the King. “Hosanna.. HE DOES!”

 We enjoyed the Hawaiian Islands Ministries conference with people from our islands and the Mainland, including these brothers and sisters.

We witnessed Isaac Ikeda, here with his wife,  ordained to Gospel ministry in the Honolulu Nazarene Church. He heard us speak in his church when he was in elementary school – and distinctly remembers hearing for the first time about a strange and far-away place called Kazakhstan!

Upcoming Ministry Opportunities…

April 24 – Japanese Fellowship, Kalihi Union Church, Honolulu

                 Hawaii Kai United Church of Christ (over Zoom)

                 Kaneohe Christian Church, Oahu             

April 30 – American Heritage Girls, Kalihi Union Church

May 1      Kailua Christian Church, Oahu

May 20,22 Waipuna Chapel, Kula, Maui

May 29   Kalihi Union Church

June 19   Kalāhikiola Congregational Church, Kapaʻau, Hawaii

July 24 – 29 IDEAS Global Conference, Estes Park, Colorado

Maylee in Russia

For the last four years our Granddaughter, Maylee, has been an on-line student of a private high school in Moscow, Russia, while living in Almaty, Kazakhstan. She plans to graduate in June. She has just flown – via Belarus because of global sanctions – to take her final exams in Russia. We really hoped to be there to celebrate her accomplishment! Hopefully, we will see her before long in Hawaii.

We are so proud of her! She has been an excellent student, recently earning a ‘Good’ score on the ILETS exam for a British University she is considering.

Thanks for your many years of faithful prayers for Maylee, please continue to pray as she considers future education and where to live. Lots of big decisions in these challenging days for a young lady with a Russian and an American passport.

Josiah in Istanbul

Maylee’s dad, our son Josiah, has taken a new job in Istanbul. He recently moved from Almaty to Turkey to become a Sales Executive for Tersane Istanbul. https://tersaneistanbul.com.tr/

If you want to buy a beautiful condo on the Bosphorus, in the historic Golden Horn of Istanbul, we know a great guy who is ready to help you! Pray for Josiah as he starts a new life there. Yet, thankfully, in the same part of the world as Maylee – for now! Ah, life is an adventure.

 On Good Friday Peter swore he never even knew Jesus! A few weeks later he stood before thousands in the city where Jesus was murdered. God saved him too; and filled him with power to declare salvation for all, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call” (Acts 2.38,39) ---- “Hosanna” for all our loved ones!

Rejoice! He is Risen!! Mark and Dayna Blair

Our Phone Numbers    Mark 808-218-4872 / Dayna 808-218-3698

Emails  blairstan2@gmail.com / mark.blair@ideasworld.org /  dayna.blair@ideasworld.org

 

IDEAS - 7852 S Elati St., Ste 202 Littleton, Colorado 80120,  www.ideasworld.org

https://ideasworld.org/associate/blair-mark-and-dayna-support-0471

 

Blog  http://blairstan.blogspot.com/               Web Site https://pastormarkblair.org/

Local in Hawaii, Global with IDEAS

 

LOCAL IN HAWAII, GLOBAL WITH IDEAS

Greetings from Portland, Oregon,                                  March 2022

 We have circled back to where our America tour began last August 15! Living in a compact car has some challenges – 19,000 miles and counting! But our journey has brought wonderful visits with friends and family, worship with dear brothers and sisters, and beholding the wonderful works of God throughout our “Beautiful Land.”

 

Now we are enjoying some days with our family here. Our youngest grandson, KaMakanaOKeAkua (‘the gift of God’ in Hawaiian) Kapono Blair - - turns 5 on Tuesday! And we get to celebrate with him!  Then we fly home to Hawaii.

 

 

 

 We’re IDEAS Associates!

Last week we attended “IDEAS Orientation – Preparing you for Success as an IDEAS Professional” in Denver. After a couple months of completing questionnaires, submitting

references, psychological profiles and evaluating our marital compatibility, they found we are still crazy enough to work in God’s global harvest field for another season. We are thankful and excited for new opportunities. 

 

We have 2 big opportunities with IDEAS. One is to help our new colleagues thrive as they leverage their skills to restore hope in marginalized communities around the globe. The other is to help local churches better understand and engage with IDEAS.

 We plan to make our home somewhere in Hawaii. From there we can engage IDEAS Associates remotely, encourage local churches and their leaders, and travel to the places IDEAS serves around the world. Thanks for your prayers as we walk into these new opportunities.  

We will start on the campus of Kalihi Union church in Honolulu. They have kindly invited us into their mission house for April and May. KUC has been faithful supporter for many years. Their campus is a busy place with over a dozen congregations meeting there weekly. We look forward to seeing family, friends, and other churches on ‘the gathering place’ of Oahu.

Here are some invitations we have received so far…

March 20 – Kauai Christian Fellowship – North Campus, Kilauea, Kauai

April 24 – Japanese Fellowship, Kalihi Union Church, Honolulu

May 20-22 Waipuna Chapel, Kula, Maui

 Financial Support through IDEAS

Several have kindly asked how to continue supporting our work, now through IDEAS. Thanks for asking! IDEAS (International Development and Educational Associates) is a 501 © (3) public charity. Contributions are tax deductible. IDEAS also receives Donor-Advised Funds, Employer Matching Gifts, Stock, Mutual Funds, and IRA contributions. Not sure if we understand all that! But there is a great Finance Team at IDEAS who does, and they are willing to answer any questions at give@ideasworld.org or 720.283.9100.

The easiest way to contribute to our work with IDEAS is online.

 https://ideasworld.org/associate/blair-mark-and-dayna-support-0471

This secured site protects donors and is the most efficient way to give and keep track of your giving. Check it out.

If you would still prefer to mail a check, no problem. Checks (no cash, please) should be made to IDEAS (our name should not appear on the check but attach a sticky note with ‘Mark and Dayna Blair’) and mailed to:

IDEAS, 7852 South Elati Street, Suite 202, Littleton, Colorado 80120

Mahalo Nui! Many thanks, for contributing to our work through IDEAS!

 Good Seed bears Good Fruit!

We continue to hear from some of the hundreds of international students we served during our 12 years in Beijing. Nearly all of them are back in their homelands – they came from almost 100 nations! Advanced degrees they earned have opened good opportunities and gospel opportunities for many of them. Pray for God’s global church.

A Kenyan brother who served with us a decade ago wrote last week. He thanked us for our ‘example’ in marriage and ministry as he is now married and raising children for the glory of God in Nairobi. A Costa Rican who studied Law in Beijing is now qualified and employed as a lawyer. Now he has started an on-line seminary course to better know the King whose perfect Justice will endure forever. Some of them are in especially hard places, like Ukraine! And those trying to live and serve in Russia are struggling too. COVID ‘protection’ has fueled Gospel-hostility in many lands. We are humbled by the example of our Chinese brothers and sisters. Church closures have not kept them in pajamas watching television, but boldly and creatively finding new places to worship and witness. Hell’s gates will fall, Jesus is building His Church.

May God enable each of us to find our place of Kingdom service, Mark and Dayna Blair

Our Phone Numbers    Mark 808-218-4872 / Dayna 808-218-3698

Emails  blairstan2@gmail.com / mark.blair@ideasworld.org /  dayna.blair@ideasworld.org

 

IDEAS - 7852 S Elati St., Ste 202 Littleton, Colorado 80120,  www.ideasworld.org

 

Blog  www.blairstan.blogspot.com                                        Web Site  www.pastormarkblair.org