Ben Hall

Well on a very serious note....

We lost a friend the other day, early on Easter morning. His name was Ben Hall, and he was a 17 year old young man who lost his life in a car accident. I knew him from about a year ago, when I first started helping out with the Foster Youth Group, and he used to come with his sister, Shelby. He was a pretty cool guy and he will be missed by us at B³ Youth Group, but his family also. We have a great faith and hope that we will see him one day when we have our appointment with the Lord, to be with Him for eternity.

This picture is at the memorial service we went to yesterday for Ben, which I was so blessed to attend. The pastor stood up there, and didn't dishonor Ben by making a service that remembered him, but also didn't dishonor the Lord, and he preached the gospel to the people. There were so many kids there from Ben's High School, and the pastor stood and told them the concerns of a life without Christ, and asked them where they would go if they passed away. It was very powerful. Many people were mourning for Ben, but I think also the Lord (Ben too!) would be pleased with the amount of people that made commitments to Jesus Christ in those pews. Praise the Lord for His faithfulness. "Sometimes the Lord causes people to fall asleep in order to show others that they need to wake up."

Please pray that God would continue to comfort the Hall family, but also give us in the B³ Youth Group the God given words to encourage Shelby and anyone who needs comfort in the Lord from this situation. God is already doing a great work! Love you all, thank you!

Tsukiyaki Party

This was a great party....man the food was amazing! Well these two ladies....Sachiko（さちこ）and Achiko (あちこ), they come once a semester and bless the Bible College students with an amazing, very authentic Japanese meal...we have had takoyaki, okonomiyaki, but this time, they rocked the tsukiyaki. Oh man.....delicious....it is pretty much just oil, water, and soy sauce mixed together in a frying pan with a little beef and a lot of vegetables and Japanese noodles (udon). Amazing. The ladies asked me which one was my favorite, since I have been here for all their meals, and hands down it was this meal. And trust me I ate enough for all you back home, you dont have to feel left out!

Kid's Ministry Class

In this class we were learning how to make balloons...and stuff....it was fun....I always have fun in this class...good times....I just really like this picture too. And no I'm not choking my pink poodle, it is a leash....so yeh!

New Videos

Well I had lots of new videos that I have been taking....but I havent been able to get them on this blog....they are too big....if you have some time, I have some pretty funny videos. You can go to my youtube account and watch them if you like! Comments are always wonderful too!

http://www.youtube.com/user/godssouljah9

Blessings to ya guys....have fun!

Why so long!

Well guys.....it has been a long time huh! Here is the quick run down of things that have happened....


1. My computer hard drive took a poopy.....aka....stopped working... I think dust got into it and it scratched it! AHhhHHh!
2. I have been out of a good computer of my own for about 3 weeks now...
3. Momma sent me operating system CDs so I could load it on to computer.
4. FINALLY! Today I received my hard drive in the mail at Tommy's house....so i loaded it all back up and I am back in business!

The only bad thing is that anything and everything that was on that previous hard drive is gone forever :(

But it is ok...because I think that stuff that I do still have, like on my Ipod and my pictures that were mostly on my Flickr page was the gist of the stuff I really needed. God only let me keep what I really need to serve Him. He showed me alot of things these past couple weeks, even though it was very hard relying upon a bunch of people for their computers....But God is Awesome and Mighty and all glory goes to Him! He gave me a clean slate this month....literally!
Praise You Father!

look for more updates sooN!

Love and peace
Daniel

B³ Lock In Dinner

We had a Purity Lock In Night, but before we locked ourselves in at the chapel for a time of the Word and worship and fun, we went to the Globe and Anchor for a sweet dinner with all the fixins....Here is most of the group that we serve at the B³ youth group.....It was cool to have some of the Bible college students there too....thanks so much for the great witness and encouragement to the youth! Oh yeh....my camera this night was on the frits with no charge and stuff, so I wasnt able to get alot of pics....but we danced salsa here on the dance floor....really fun....thanks Sosi and Fredee....and Masao broke some b-boyin juice down.....sweet.....




Oh but this was also fun....some of the guys....(dylan and jake) didnt want to participate during the message....and we asked them if they would participate or they would have to play a game later....but not just any game....they had to play this game....Cheesecake with ranch and vegetables on top.....mmmm.....maybe they should trust us when we tell them to be Bereans....lol just some fun.....




But yeh the rest of the night was amazing...we were so blessed. Continue to pray for the kids!

Cape Zanpa

This beautiful place is a famous place of action during the attack on Okinawa from the US Marines. Before they invaded Okinawa, this was the place, in Yomitan, that they filled the waters with American battleships and amphibious vehicles to run aground the island. The Marines were expecting another D-Day like in Normandy, but actually got no opposition on the shores, because the Japanese were bunkered down for a war of attrition, fighting to the last man, in the caves and underground tunnels of the Island of Okinawa.





We went here to check out the suicide cliffs and stuff, but while Tom and the students went for a walk to the cliffs, I walked down toward the waters on the very sharp coral formations to get a closer look at the crashing waves....it was so sweeto....










This is the lighthouse that was put up in remembrance of the landing here in Okinawa. You can get to the top for a small fee...but walking around it is just fine with me...







This is just a quick video of the crazy waves here....when you start the video, just in the distance is where the suicide cliffs are. The people were so afraid of the Marines from what the Japanese war machine would say. They would tell the Okinawans that the US were barbarians, and that they would do lewd things to their women and children, so instead of going through that, they would kill themselves and their babies. So horrible. The ideal of suicide in Japan is still very sickening, that it is more honorable than causing shame to your name or family. This is a big battle that is being fought out here, and the people need to hear of the love of Jesus. Please continue to pray for the Japanese people!

Sweet Okinawa house

I was hanging out with Pastor Tom and Tim, and Tim had to head over to his wife's parents house. So we took him there, and there was the most beautiful house that I have ever seen....everything about it was just amazing...here are some of the pictures.

This is like a little ladle that you use for cleaning your hands. You would usually dip this in the water, and then run the water over your hands, instead of just sticking your hands in the water and contaminating all the fresh water. Its cool how the Lord cleanses us through the Word. Thank you Lord.









This is just a sweet lookin thing, dont know what this one is used for...looks like a seesaw, maybe that is what it is.
Anyway it is cool.









Ayu's (Tim's wife) dad take care of all these things daily, and he puts a lot of hard work into keeping his huge back yard looking ridiculously amazing. The house has been in his family for a long time, but he put a lot of additions to the outside gardens, including a onsen (bath house) and dining area for when they BBQ.




This is the best picture....not because I'm in it....but because this is a picture of a bansai tree that is more than 100 years old. It is Ayu's dads favorite bansai tree, and he takes extra good care of it, there were close to no blemishes or bad growths on the tree. These trees take so much discipline. It just shows how someone can be so dedicated to something for so long and it can still be almost perfect. Same with our walks with the Lord, we can be righteous, pure, and holy before the Lord, but by putting our bodies and minds under submission, disciplining it to follow the Lord!



This is the stair well from the street up into the house. It was so beautiful, and I was blessed to get to see this house. As soon as we started to walk around, I was thinking how awesome it would be to seek the Lord in the gardens, just spending time with Jesus! Find your place to seek the Lord, to hear from Him!

God bless!

Super Bowl...

We had a superbowl Monday morning party out here in Okinawa, while you guys back home in California had SuperBowl Sunday....so in the spirit of great munchies and awesome food, we made some breakfast dishes, and I was blessed to make my famous Banana pancakes. mmmm....i love them so much....thanks to everyone else for making their stuff too!

Pig on the loose...

Well on Sunday, as we were going out to lunch, there was a pig that got loose from a near by pig farm. It was filthy and very much hideous. Click on the picture to get a closer look. Enjoy!