Cultural Acclimation

Talofa from the Huffmans,

We pray that you are having a wonderful and warm holiday season. Our first season in the islands will be very different. As we look at Christmas decorations wearing shorts and flip flops I wonder what else will change. It’s exciting to see a whole different culture sharing our Lord’s birth. As we observe the lit palm trees, I pray that all will experience Christ in a special way this year.

God continues to show his mighty power in our lives. In September, we began visiting a Baptist church that meets up the hill from our condo. The pastor is Samoan and the congregation has strong missionary ties with the island of Fiji. This body of believers is well established (but not rigid) and has many different growth opportunities for the whole family. We are going to a family fellowship/small group each week and are praying for clear direction in joining a church. Regardless of where we worship, the Christian community seems very small in a way as most leaders have been here a long time and know each other. This has offered many quick connections for the ministry.

One connection has already taught us the importance of knowing the Samoan culture. Sometimes actions speak much louder than words. One friend went to serve in the Peace Corps in Samoa in the sixties. He was young and single at the time and welcomed an opportunity to attend a social event with a Samoan girl. Upon returning to her family’s house, the girl’s family said it would be too dangerous to walk back through the jungle in the dark and encouraged him to stay over and return in the morning. He graciously accepted and slept in the family room away from the rest of the family. As he left for his home village the next morning he was perplexed when people offered congratulations.

It was expected that when a single man sleeps under the same roof as a single woman then they would be married!! Needless to say he was stunned. Fortunately his village was able to eventually smooth over his innocent social faux pas caused by his ignorance of the local custom. Sometimes what you do matters a lot more than what you say in any language. Learning the culture is even more important than learning the language if we expect to reach others with the love and hope of Jesus.

We ask you to pray for the following items:

• Growth and excitement as we study and seek the Lord’s word each day.
• Wisdom as we meet and continue to make connections.
• Our family’s health and safety as the enemy attempts to fight our progress.
• Finances for the ministry (currently 25% funded).
• Comfort as we miss everything and everyone we left behind in NC.
• Praise – Julie’s parents arrived safely for a holiday visit.

If you feel led to partner with us financially, please visit our contact page.

You each are so special to us and such a blessing in our lives. We pray for you this holiday season that you would have time to slow down and focus on our Gift of Jesus Christ our Lord.

In Him,

Julie for us all

Island Arrival

Dear Family and Friends,

We are very thankful and happy to report we are here, safe in Hawaii. We arrived very late on July 18th and moved into our two bedroom condo a few days later. The girls were able to start school only one day late and enjoy finally being part of the ethnic majority. Both have less than a handful of non pacific islanders in their class. They are making friends quickly and enjoying an almost daily dip in the complex swimming pool.

We arrived during a heat wave which in Hawaii means temps above 90 degrees with no trade winds. It may seem like no big deal but most Hawaiians do not have air condition, including us. Last week the landlord had a split air system installed with the 2 inverters on our balcony and 2 blowers inside (no inside ducts). If we keep the living area a little cool then the kitchen is comfortable. The unit in the master bedroom is kept on cooler than normal so a fan blowing down hall can keep the girls bedroom comfortable.

Paul has settled into working from home easily. He works from 6 AM to 3PM to overlap east coast work hours. We are six hours behind the east coast so when he begins work at 6AM it is 12PM in North Carolina. Julie is still spending much of her time setting up house and getting a basic home office set up for the ministry.

We visited a great church this past Sunday that meets at the girl’s school 4 blocks away. It is part of the Evangelical Free Church of America. We discovered that the head pastor, Danny Yamashiro, is the founder and director of the one of the largest mission groups in the state and works with churches from all over the country and across denominational boundaries. Our insurance agent is also a part of this missions group. We are very excited God has already connected us with two people whose input will be invaluable in expanding the medical ministry in Hawaii. Julie has also met two physicians that are very interested in our work in Samoa. So far, God is allowing all the connections to “fall in our laps” so to speak. We will also spend the next few months reading, and getting to know our new community and the cultural nuances in which we will operate. This knowledge will be imperative in order for us to be effective in this mission field.

We made the news back in North Carolina. A local magazine (Surf the Lake) did a feature article about the ministry and the move to the islands. Quote: (“We are not typically beach people but we love the people of Hawaii and the melting pot of Asian/Pacific cultures. We did not come here for the beach or because of a romantic idea of Hawaii… we came here because of the people.”)

We can’t thank you enough for all your prayers and concerns on our behalf. It is very humbling to see so many joining our ministry through prayer and financial support. Without you, we literally would not be here. At this time, we need to raise an additional $1000 in support to cover the cost of our move. The total for flights, moving a few boxes, and hotel for 4 days was almost $4900.

The ministry will also have monthly administrative expenses as well as our travel expenses to Samoa. The current monthly support goal is $400. This includes administration expenses and our initial mission trip to Samoa.

If you feel led to partner with us, please send your offering to Huffman Pacific Ministry, PO Box 700279, Kapolei, HI 96709. We ask most of all for your prayers on our behalf for wisdom and physical protection as we continue to settle in and prioritize our time.

Love in Christ,

Julie for us all

Praise God from whom all blessings flow

As many of you know, we signed a contract to sell the house on June 28th and plan to close on July fourteenth. This means we should be on a plane bound for the mission field by July 18th. This will allow us to get there a week and a half before school starts for the girls…just in time to find a place to live!

You might think our good news would stop there but it doesn’t. God has used many people and many events to continually bless and encourage us. We have sold both vehicles and “all” of our furniture. Our new neighbors offered the use of a vehicle for our last three weeks in NC saving us close to $1000 in rental and insurance fees. We were also able to get a phenomenal deal on airline tickets. This brings down our expected moving expenses so that we are now 70% funded. God is so great and we believe he will provide funds to cover the rest of the move by the time we get there.

Paul and Julie completed all the requirements for our ministry charter with The Missionary Church International (our mission parent organization). It was a joy to dive into the scripture and explore the why behind the what of our faith… to see God’s Spirit alive in His Word. This also provided a time of renewal of our faith in our Father and confirmation of the purpose of our ministry.

We will attend a weekend of in depth leadership training at Mission of Hope Ministries in Columbia, SC before we leave. We are excited to learn more about the Samoan culture from our mentor, Pastor Pele, who himself is a Samoan. Each culture has a unique response to outsiders so the more we know the more effective our ministry will be. Pastor Pele is also a noted speaker for Promise Keepers (Men of Promise in Samoa) and other men’s ministries and will provide great insight into the Polynesian family structure.

Pastor Pele recently returned from the big annual medical mission to Samoa and American Samoa. The group was able to see, aid, and witness to over 2000 people in five villages. Over 800 of them dedicated or rededicated their lives to Christ. We can’t wait to get to go next year!!

Please pray for spiritual and physical protection for all of us as we make the big transition to the islands. We seek your prayers on our behalf as we prioritize our time and resources over the next few weeks.  We hope to see many of you before we leave for Hawaii. Thank you all for the calls, prayers and support. May God Bless all that you do for Him.

The Huffmans

The fruit of generosity

Thank you to all who have committed your prayers and finances to God’s work through Mission of Hope and Huffman Pacific Ministry. We are honored and humbled that God has moved your heart to support those in Samoa “who are the least of these our brothers”. It is hard to imagine that there are still places in the world that do not have clean running water or basic medical care.

What is important is not the amount of the gift but the generous heart that produces the gift.

Mark 12:41-44

41 As Jesus sat facing the temple offering box, he watched how [much] money people put into it. Many rich people put in large amounts. 42 A poor widow dropped in two small coins, worth less than a cent. 43 He called his disciples and said to them, “I can guarantee this truth: This poor widow has given more than all the others. 44 All of them have given what they could spare. But she, in her poverty, has given everything she had to live on.”

Thank you for partnering with us.

Grace and peace from the Lord

We have continued with little touch-ups around the house… a little paint here, a little scrubbing there. We have had a steady stream of lookers at the house but only one bite. It was a low offer with several contingencies. We declined the offer and continued to pray.

During the first week of school summer break the house showings dried up. They have picked back up now with serious buyers beginning to show themselves.

We are praying that God will receive all the glory as we (sometimes) patiently wait to move toward the next goal of the ministry… settling in to Island life.

“Sometimes He calms the storm… other times He calms His children”

Lord help us be calm and at peace before your throne. Your grace is sufficient for all.

Unexpected Encouragement

We continue to see God’s hand in many areas as we work towards our goal of moving to Hawaii by the end of June. God has blessed us in several ways financially this week. We have seen donations to the ministry increase (about 12% of budget) and we received word that we will get an unexpected small housing allowance from our sending minstry to help provide for our needs on the ministry field.

 

Also this week, God provided encouragement in the form of a broken air conditioner. Our air conditioner decided to stop working this week (a couple days before potential buyers were scheduled to see the house). Julie spent most of Wednesday afternoon with a repairman trying to figure out the problem. He left late Wednesday saying it must be a problem with the electricity going into the house so that necessitated a call to our power company. They promptly came out and checked twice as much as required to make sure there was no problem on their part. This provided Paul with an opportunity to share about our ministry and Julie a situation to share God’s light instead of frustration.

Thursday morning offered another chance to serve the Lord with a glad heart despite the continuous coughing and sneezing caused by allergies that were aggravated by the open windows in the house. A technical supervisor from the air condition company came and quickly sorted out the problem with our system and through God’s provision only charged us 25% of our initial quote for his service. On top of that the parts were under warranty. God is Great!

House for Sale – Please Pray

We had several prospects view the house this past weekend. Please pray that a good offer will come soon… but most of all that God will be glorified through it all.

Thank you for partnering with us!

 

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Update – Items sold

We have moved another step closer to our goal of selling all that we have before we leave for Hawaii. We sold our van this past weekend.

Current status:

• Honda van – sold
• Chevrolet S10 – Paul’s coworker is graciously waiting to buy until June (Thanks Ben)
• Washer & Dryer – Also going in June (Thanks again Ben)
• Paul’s stereo equipment – sold
• Dining room and breakfast tables – sold
• All extra clothes, toys, decorations, fine china, etc., etc. has been or is being sold, gifted or donated

Please pray for the house to sell so that we can be in Hawaii by mid July at the latest. We want the girls to be able to start at the beginning of the new school year so they will not feel so left out or behind.

Thank you all for partnering with us!

Prayer, prayer, prayer…

Our greatest need is prayer. Please pray for a smooth transition. We hope to move by the end of June (if our house sells quickly). You can also pray for open minds and open hearts for those we will be working with and serving and for wisdom as we embark on a new phase in our lives. Paul will continue to do his current job through telecommuting. Julie will use her background in reporting and health education to network and administrate this part of the Mission of Hope ministry.

We are selling everything we own because of the high cost to ship oversees. We will purchase items we need to setup our home in Hawaii from yard sales, etc. after we get there. This process reminds me of the follow verse:

“…Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you shall have treasure in Heaven. And come, follow Me.” (Luk 18:22)

Please join us in prayer and we will share with you how God answers.

Samoa Medical Missions

There is such need to treat existing problems during the summer missions that there is little time left for educating the people regarding preventative measures. Many of the health issues could be addressed proactively before they become serious. To this end, Mission of Hope would like to increase the number of missions to Samoa each year, adding basic healthcare education on disease and infection prevention.

In order to increase the effectiveness of this ministry, MOH Ministries asked us if we would consider relocating to Hawaii to establish a long term presence in the region. We are honored and humbled that we have been asked to fulfill this role in MOH ministries.

“… as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.” (Mat 25:40)