Matt! Welcome to California...

 
 
 
 
On Saturday Matt Andersen arrived in Los Angeles, we welcomed him Calvary Chapel style with a huge meal at the Old Spaghetti Factory. We all had so much to eat along with a wonderful time of fellowship. Matt said that this is his first time in California, he is a New Jersey boy. It was a bit weird hanging out with the CC Okinawa crew in the states. We had a lot of fun together, and we are all looking forward to the Calvary Chapel Missions Conference that is going to be starting on the 2nd of January. Please pray for Matt and Jess as they seek God's will for their lives after Okinawa. 

Christmas with Mark and Cindy

 
 
 
 
We were really blessed on Christmas morning to spend it with Mark and Cindy from Calvary Chapel Murietta. Cindy made a wonderful breakfast called Mom's delight, it was incredible. Then we opened presents, the kids were blessed with so much, more than they even know what to do with. We had a great time of fellowship with Mark and Cindy, we look forward to seeing them again.

We departed Murietta and went to Long Beach where we ate lunch with Sandra's family. Then departing there we made a stop in Irvine to visit and eat dinner with Uncle Bong and Auntie Carol. We closed Chistmas day 2006 with a drive back to Long Beach.

It was certainly different than what we are accustomed to, on Christmas day. Sandra usually cooks a big meal for the family, starting with fresh cinammon rolls first thing in the morning, but as different as it was it was such a blessing to see all of the friends and family that we did. Praise the Lord, He alone is faithful to meet us right where we're at, Be blessed through the New Year. 

Psalms 19:1

 
A Psalm of David, "The heavens declare the glory of God. The skies display His marvelous craftmanship."

Christmas Eve 2006 "A Celtic Christmas"

 
 
 
 
On Christmas Eve we were invited to a Celtic Christmas concert at Calvary Chapel Murietta. It was a great experience, they had a lot of great music and insights into the season. The music was led by the Rick Blair band. Their were dancers, percussionists and a lot of other entertainment. We had a time of candlelight while they sang the last few songs of the evening.

Pastor Brian shared a great evangelistic message about Jesus the Christ. They had coffee and an abundance of different kinds of cookies available, we pray that everybody had a very Merry Christmas. 

Goodbye to the Barnett children...

 
 
 
 
Greetings from California! I have been here about a week now, it has been wonderful thus far, as I have been able to see a lot of friends and family.

Today we spent the day in Corona with Pastor Rick and his family, Daniel Sedota and Jessica Valadez. We had a great time eating Alberto's and drinking Starbucks. It was quite an emotional time for Hannah and Micah as they said good-bye to their friends Noah, Rebekah and Nehemiah. They have spent the last three years of their lives buliding relationships with Pastor Rick's children. They will be leaving Saturday morning to spend time with their grandparents in Neveda. Then we will be leaving to Italia before they return.

They had a good time today playing together before they said good-bye until the Barnett's come to Italia to visit. Other wise things have been great, our time on the internet has been very limited, but God is still good. Check back soom for more updates. 

Sayonara Okinawa!

Soon I will be leaving Okinawa until next year. Prayerfully we will be able to come back and share of all that the Lord is doing in Italy. Pray for our time in the states, we want to be led by God's Spirit in all that we do. Sandra and the kids have been there since December 16th. We will be attending the Calvary Chapel Missions Conference then departing January 16th to Italy.

Please continue to pray for our visas as we will be returning to the California in April to submitt the paperwork. Please pray that God would lead us as we begin to settle in Italy along with our language studies.

It is our hope to build long lasting friendships in Italy as we have in Okinawa. The Lord has blessed us with many friends here, friends that we will dearly miss, thanks again.

Prayer Card!

 
Konichiwa! We have been incredibly blessed recently, a friend of ours from Calvary Chapel Tokorozawa, Japan designed our prayer and information card. He did an incredible job with it. Please continue to pray for us as I depart Japan tomorow to meet up with Sandra and the kids in California.

Our time here has been wonderful, but we are ready to move forward with all that God has in store for us. 

More pictures from our going away...

 Our friends Glenn and Farah Phipps
 Micah and his friend Christian, it was taken on their way to Micah's first sleepover his friend house.
 Silas and his friend Yasutomo
 Silas and Sparky 

Velarde's Send Off

Greetings everybody! WEll our time here in Okinawa continues to tick away one day at a time. Last Sunday on the 10th the church had a going away potluck for us. We had an incredible time and were extremely blessed. Many of our friends came out and shared many kind words with us. We gathered togehter for an Italian style potluck with many different Italian dishes. The food was amazing and the fellowship was even better. After the potluck Sandra and the girls went out for some coffee at one of the local Starbucks and had a lot of fun.

We have been so blessed here in Okinawa, the Lord has been so faithful to bless us out of our minds. The Lord has given us so many friendships, that I pray will last a lifetime. The night was really good and I am thankful unto the Lord for His goodness and faithfulness in our lives.

Sandra and the kids left back to the states on Saturday the 16th. They made it and are in good health. They are saying in Long Beach with her family right now. I will be joining them this Friday, I can't wait to see them. From their we will be departing to Italy on January 16th. Please continue to pray for us, the the Lord would lead us in all that we do, that our quiet times would be rich and fruitful, Thanks to everybody for your prayers and support, we love and will miss everybody very, very much. 

Finally! Gen and Tamiko have returned...

Our friends Gen and Tamiko have returned from Austria. They were attending a 3 month discipleship program of Calvary Chapel Bible College Austria called "A VISION FOR LIFE". They were tremendously blessed by their teacher and the friends they made. The Lord did a wonderful work in Asutria in their lives, but
it is good to have them back in OKINAWA, they have been instrumental in the high school ministry here at CCO. Please continue to pray for them and God's leading in their lives.