The Journey Continues

Aloha,

Layne and I are so encouraged and blessed by what God is doing in our lives and how He has called us to be a part of what he is doing in Hawaii.  Here is an update on how our Journey is moving forward.  Thank you for your support and partnership in God's activity in our lives.

Yesterday we announced to our Church Family that our final Sunday with them will be on July 15th.  God has blessed Layne and I with great friends in our last 28 months of serving at FBC Carthage.  We have seen God move mightily within this fellowship.  Many have come to know Christ as Lord and Savior.  We have seen 6 High School and College students except the call to ministry, Praise the Lord!  God has allowed Layne and I to also build tight relationships among families within our community and county.  We will miss the people we got to live life with here in Smith County.

We will spend a few weeks packing and preparing to relocate to Las Vegas.  We plan to move from Carthage to Las Vegas during the first week of August.  There are many things we must sell.  Please pray for us, as we need to sell our home and a few small items.  The Home is a huge prayer request.  Our plans are to move whether or not we sell our home before August.  God has Called us, and we are confident that He will accomplish the details.

Why move to Vegas?

Our past home church (Hope Church LV) has offered me a residency position for a year.  With the support of the North American Mission Board, we will be equipped and trained in church planting.  We will also continue our partnership with Launch Network.  While we are in our year of training, we plan on inviting families and people we are connected with in praying about moving with us to be a part of what God is doing in Hawaii.  We cannot do this by ourselves, and we understand that the success of the church in reaching people is going to happen because of Godly families joining together and living life together.

Thank you again for being so faithful in your prayers for us.


Glory to God, FOREVER!

Zeke

Our New Journey

The Psalmist in scripture says that...

"The works of God's hands are faithful and just; all his precepts are trustworthy"

This is very true in our lives as we speak.  Many of you have heard about God calling us back to my home town of Hilo-Papaikou, Hi to be a part of what He is doing through church planting.  Last week Layne and I attended a church plant retreat through Launch Network.  We went through many assessment training, meeting with professional Christian counselors, pastors, and fellow church planters.  This retreat focused on our strengths and weaknesses in our leadership areas.  They also determined if we were practically ready to plant a church off strong.  After 2 days of assessments and evaluations, we received a message stating that we were APPROVED and ready to take the next steps towards church planting.  Praise the Lord!

At the assessment, we were able to cast vision for what we believe God is calling us to be in Hawaii.  Our fellowship will be focused on engaging families in Hawaii, the south pacific, and the world.  God has given my wife and I the name Ohana Church for our fellowship.  Ohana means family in Hawaiian, and we will exsist to...

HONOR GOD, ENGAGE FAMILIES, and EXPAND THE KINGDOM!

Lastly, we have many prayer needs.  Here are some specific things to pray for us for...

1. Need to sale our House.  Jason Martin from Heartland Reality is our contact.
2. Our possessions in our home.  We don't need many of our furniture or entertainment items.  Need to sale or give away.
3. Pray for our transition from Carthage, to Las Vegas.
4. Pray for our 6 to 8 month training in LV.
5. Pray for Layne as she leaves her family behind as we pursue God's calling to Hawaii.
6. FBC Carthage, our church family.  They will also be in transition as they seek God for direction in Youth and Worship ministries.
7. Pray for all the people that we will depart from here in Carthage.  We will miss them very much.
8. Pray for my Pastor Tim Frank and his family as they continue to serve at FBC.  We have become very close over the last 2 and a half years.
9. Pray for Zach and Andrew Layne.  I have really come to love these boys as my own sons.  They recently got saved, and I foresee challenges in the future for them with out consistent discipleship and mentorship.  Gonna miss them.
10. Pray that Ohana Church will be a fellowship that will invest in planting more churches around the world.

This is the beginning of a great Journey.  I will share more on our journey in a week or so.  Thank you for being a part of our lives.  We love you all!

Glory to God, FOREVER!

Zeke