On Saturday, November 17, we were pleased to be part of the 9 th Annual Ko Olina Charities Thanksgiving Luncheon. Each year, Ko Olina Charities provides meals for 4,000 needy people, including the homeless, elderly, handicapped and military. These meals are distributed through 12 church sites, from Makaha to Pearl City.
Helping to serve was an awesome experience for us, not just because we had the pleasure of serving some very wonderful people, but also because in doing it we got to connect with another church. Pastor Eric Ebisu from Pearl City Community Church asked our church, New Hope Pearl Community, to help provide volunteers for the luncheon that would be hosted at his church. He asked for 20 volunteers and he got that, and then some, including our pastor, Nando Jaime, and his family.
Pastor Eric made it plain that the event was about spreading God’s aloha, not about his church getting the glory. During the pre-event briefing, he encouraged everyone to invite the people they met to go to their church, both NHPC and PCCC! He also encouraged us to share the gospel with the guests. He even gave us tracts that we could use to lead people to Christ.
We thank God for all who volunteered, from kupuna to teenagers. We were so excited by the response of the volunteers, some who were doing something like this for the first time. They experienced the gift of serving others, and they want to do it again.
We also thank God for men like Pastor Eric and Pastor Nando, pastors who are primarily concerned with building God’s kingdom. |
