Good Morning

Go out into the world today and love the people you meet. Let your presence light new

light in the hearts of people.

-Mother Teresa-

Good Morning,

Sharron and I are blessed with a wonderful family. And, while we may be separated by miles, technologies of today help us to keep in touch. Our niece, Amanda, is a nurse living in Dallas, Texas. Some of you know her, as she was the nurse two summers ago at Camp Homelani. Please pardon me, as I want to do a little Uncle bragging.

Amanda, since being a little girl, has wanted to help others. I remember asking her, when she was about five, what she wanted to be. She said she wanted to be a “victinarean,” as she wanted to help hurting animals. She moved to Dallas after her summer with us in Hawaii to begin her career as a nurse. When it came to decided where to live, she and a few friends, chose a lower income housing unit that had several refugees from Somalia. She wanted to help make a difference. I recently received an email from her, which I would like to share excerpts with you.

Dear Uncle Dave and Aunt Sharron:
It has been another interesting weekend. I am amazed by how the Lord works and stand in awe of what I get to witness to what's happening in this community of refugees. I sometimes imagine myself with my feet kicked back being entertained by the Lord doing His thang. I almost have to laugh because its just so mind boggling and I cannot explain it. All I can do is praise God for His miracles and His love for people.

This Friday night I stopped by a family's apartment to visit. One of the boys, age 8, was covered in a weird sort of skin problem. He had big rashes and raised scabby lesions all over his body. My heart was broken. This boy has no Medicaid and can't afford a doctor or medicine. I came home that night and cried it all out to my roommate and we prayed over this little boy. I called my friend David, who is a pediatrician, and he agreed to see him Saturday night. I brought the little boy over to my house that next night and David checked him out, but wasn't able to make a diagnosis. So, we were frustrated. David remembered that there was a dermatologist that goes to our church and was able to call him that night. This doctor is one of the best dermatologists in Dallas. The quickest way for us to get this boy to see him was to bring him to church. Hallelujah! So, we HAD to bring him to church with us. So, this little Muslim boy not only saw the best doctor and was diagnosed but also got to attend Sunday school that morning. The next issue was the medicine and all of the oral and topical antibiotics and steroids that he needed. We found out he has a severe case of eczema with a staph infection on top of it.

The sermon was about Jesus feeding the 5 thousand people bread and fish. Mark 6:34 "When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a Shepherd….The crowd ate and were satisfied." Neil the pastor had a trunk full of dollar coins and we were each given 5. We were told to do whatever with our money, give it away, keep it, use it to take someone out, add it with someone else. David, the doctor was given almost $60 of coins after the service to pay for the child's medications. This paid for almost half of the cost of the medicine. The rest was covered by another nurse and the doctor.

I am still crying tears of joy over what the Lord has done. And of course am laughing at how He works. Jesus showed compassion on this poor Muslim child and why? I can't answer that. Because of my human flesh I had trouble even touching him. I kept imagining Jesus touching the lepers and holding the sick. I can see Mother Teresa holding sick people who had sores all over their body. I wish I could be as bold as that. Please pray for these people and that one day they would say the name of Jesus as their Savior.
Love, Mander

I think you can see why I am so proud of Amanda. However, that is not the reason for sharing this with you. Yes, I think Amanda is a very special person, but she isn’t. She is normal in very sense of the word; she has good days and not so good days. However, she is making a difference in other people’s lives. She doesn’t do it with fanfare, and will probably be upset with her Uncle Dave if she finds out that I shared her story.

Amanda teaches me, once again, that God does not need superstars representing him. He needs people like you and me; people who are willing to reach out and touch the lives and hearts of others on a daily basis. He needs people who follow the greatest commandment: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself." There is no commandment greater than these." Mark 12:30-31

To quote Mother Theresa once again, “We can do no great things --only small things with great love.”

Blessings,
d

Good Morning

February 4, 2008

"My father gave me the greatest gift anyone could give another person, he believed in me.”
Coach Jimmy Valvano

Good Morning,

Next month a team from Territorial Headquarters will be here to review our work over the previous year. During this time, I will give a State of the Division presentation, highlighting some of the events. While the list is not all inclusive, I attempt to give them a flavor of the year. I thought that I would share some of the things with you, as it is really your work that I am highlighting.

I will begin by talking about the trust people have in The Salvation Army. The best illustration of this was someone placing ten $100 bills in one of Hanapepe’s kettles. When I heard of this, I tried to imagine the level of trust that person has in the Army. And, more importantly, how can we live up to that trust? It comes down to the work that you do every day and that work being the best representation of The Salvation Army.

The Kroc Center draws closer to becoming a reality. We will soon be taking possession of 15 acres in East Kapolei. Without going into details, our ability to secure this prime property is more evidence of God being at the center of the project. A ground dedication will take place this spring and ground breaking in the latter part of this year.

We opened an outpost in Arno (Marshall Islands) and Saipan. A new building was dedicated in Pohnpei. It is thrilling to see our people’s excitement about spreading God’s love through the ministry of The Salvation Army. The Chief of the Staff (the second ranking officer in the world) will be touring Micronesia in September. We are hoping that she (yes, she) will open Saipan as a corps and dedicate a new corps building in Ebeye (Marshall Islands).

Our Social Service programs continue to be models to the rest of the Territory in professionalism and effectiveness. Each time I visit one of our programs I am amazed at the number of people’s lives touched; the care that the clients receive; and, the dedication of our employees.

Revolution Hawai’i entered its second year of operation with seven students. Each of the students must raise their own money and give a year of their lives to serve others. The students spend their time focusing on Bible Study, discipleship and service. They learn over the year the importance of building relationships, and using those relationships to bring about positive change in the lives of others.

Last year was more challenging financially compared to the last couple of years. Our overall donations were down; however, it was encouraging to see our kettles were up approximately 8% over the previous year. As the economy slows, we must be ready to serve more people in need, yet with possibly fewer resources. This coming year may be a challenging one. However, I believe we will be ready to respond because of two very important things; 1) God is never in a recession, and 2), the character of our people.

God bless you as you do the business of The Salvation Army by changing lives.

Blessings,
d