A message to our church family ("ohana") from our Pastor from Ohana Baptist Church in Honolulu, Hawaii:
Dear Ohana,
In Exodus 14, the nation of Israel was caught between a “rock and a hard place”. On one side was Pharaoh who had hardened his heart against God and the Jews and on the other side was the Red Sea. There was no where to turn, no where to go. Did God bring them this far just
to leave them stuck in the middle like this?
That is the way we have felt for the last year. Caught between a landlord who had hardened his heart against us and a flooded economy with no affordable land available to us. Our landlord has made it clear to us for the past few years that they did not like us and did not want us here. They have done everything they could to make life difficult. I have been told many times in no uncertain terms that we cannot stay beyond the end of our lease and that they would like us to
move sooner rather than later. There has been no question in their desire for us to go and “good riddance”!
You will also remember that we have been looking for new property for the last two years and have found none. We thought we had found what we needed more than once (in fact, in one case, we were within days of closing). In each case, God clearly closed the door and did not allow us to go forward. I began asking God “What are you doing? If we do not find a place soon, where are we going to go?”
In Isaiah 55:8-9, the Bible says that God’s ways are not our ways. In Exodus 14:13-14, God told the people to “fear ye not, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will shew you this day”. It was at this point that God did a miracle and provided them a way to go.
I believe that God has also provided us with a miracle. Instead of providing us with a place to go, God took the “King’s (of Cycle City) heart…in the hand of the Lord, as the rivers of water:” and He turned it to do His will. (Pr. 21:1) This week our landlord offered us a two year extension on our lease! This was a complete turn around from everything that we had been told and was absolutely unexpected. I wish I had the words to explain to you how much of a
miracle this truly is.
I feel like I have been holding my breath for six months and now I can breathe again. This relieves the pressure of not knowing where we are going and what we are going to do. It allows us time to look for property, especially with the economy changing; new space will open up and prices will go down. Cycle City has even indicated that they are willing to consider a long term lease.
Thank you for your prayers and support throughout this whole process. It was a very difficult time. I will be honest and tell you that my faith waivered many times as I wondered what God was doing. I did not expect Him to do this.
In Exodus 15, the nation of Israel spent time praising God for His deliverance. I hope you will join us in praising Him for His faithfulness even when we are not. October 5th is our 22nd
Anniversary. Our goal is a $1000.00 for each year of God’s blessing. Would you consider helping us to reach that goal in praise to Him? We will still need to raise money for when God gives us our own property.
One other note before I close. Some will ask about the Preschool and the Smith’s staying. At this point, there is no way of starting up the Preschool again this year. We have already turned in our license, our teachers have found other jobs, our parents have foundother schools and the Smiths have already packed and shipped their stuff. We must believe in and trust in the sovereignty of God. He could have changed hearts at Cycle City six months ago and we would not have made this decision. No one here wanted the Preschool to close or the Smiths to leave, but God has a plan and purpose for all of this. If you have not sent a goodbye note for them or if you would like to send a love offering, please do it now as they leave on August 18th.
God Bless you and thank you again for being a part of our miracle here in Hawaii.
Aloha In Christ,
Wayne T. Surface
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What's even more interesting: hours before reading this email, I was about to contact our church secretary at Palm Springs Drive Baptist Church to ask why "Ohana Baptist Church - Property Situation" had been removed from our Prayer List for the week. After reading this email, it no longer matters how the entry got deleted. None of us here in Florida knew what was going on, but God did! He truly answers prayer, and it's even more humbling when we see Him answer and move in miraculous ways that none of us could have ever possibly imagined! God is great!!! He truly never fails us; He never will!
