Servicemen's Center Ministry in Okinawa By Dennis Cote The GI Ministry in Okinawa, Japan, has been busy these last couple months. We just celebrated Thanksgiving with a wonderful home cooked meal for all our single and unaccompanied military. At the writing of this article we are currently planning our Christmas fellowship. Our ministry goal, of course, is to follow Jesus' command—the Great Commission. We want these young men and women to hear the Gospel and be saved, baptized, and discipled for His service. When these young men and women come under sound preaching, they grow in grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. The Servicemen's Center at Maranatha Baptist Church is their home-away-from-home. For most of these young service members, it is their first time away from home. There is great pressure and temptation in the military. The military culture is one that glamorizes the use of alcohol and promiscuous living, and all the things listed in Galatians 5:19–21. We want to provide a place where they may come to relax, get off base and out of the barracks. Every Friday evening we offer Bible studies and fellowship at the Servicemen's Center, where families of the church provide home cooked meals and treats. But most importantly, we open God's Word and study to show thyself approved unto God. Every month we offer outings where we visit different places on the island of Okinawa. Okinawa offers multiple places to explore God's beauty, and the steep history and culture of this island. European Military Ministry Field Conference Normandy, France — July 14–18, 2013 Our BIMI Military Ministry European Field Conference will be held July 14–18, 2013, in Normandy, France. We invite our readers to join us for this unforgettable trip to some of the battlefields where our brave Americans fought and died for the cause of liberty in WWII. We will tour the beaches of Normandy (Gold, Juno, Sword, Utah and most famously, Omaha Beach). We will see Pointe DuHoc where our rangers scaled the cliffs paying with a great cost of lives. We will visit St. Mere-Eglise where our airborne division parachuted in the early hours of invasion day. Among other things, we will have a prayer and praise service in the cemetery at Oma- ha Beach. Before the tour of the beaches begins, we will visit the amazing war museum in Caen, France, which will set the tone for the tour. These are only a few of the places we will visit. The last day we travel to Paris where we will stay the night before we return to Germany on Friday. There we will have the opportunity to tour various sites in the city, including a group visit to the famous Eifel Tower. It will be a trip of the lifetime. Of course, in addition to all the touring, you will get to meet and “rub elbows” with our military missionaries who will be attending the field conference. If you are interested in knowing more details, please contact Dr. James Kennard, Military Director, or Dr. Jeff Alverson, Assistant Director at BIMI. We encourage churches to send their pastors. As these young men and women grow, they get busy for God. They get involved in ministries of the church: choir, usher, sound booth, and much more. God uses these service members in wonderful ways. Just as God called Barnabas and Saul in Acts 13:2 for His work, God has called many of these young adults over the years from the GI Ministry to His work today. Today they are serving as missionaries, pastors, church leaders, supportive wives of the ministry and faithful members in the Lord's church. They know what it means to make a commitment; they understand sacrifice, and they know what it means to serve. They have been prepared for battle, and we are in a great spiritual battle today. One of the many examples is that of a young man who was saved here at Maranatha and has grown while stationed here. Soon he will be leaving our church and attending Bible college back in the States. God has called him to full-time service and he has surrendered to His Call. To God be the glory! There are thousands of military men and women on this island who do not know the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior. In Matthew chapter nine, Jesus saw the multitudes and was moved with compassion, this is what we need today—compassion. In verses 37 and 38, Jesus says,“the harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.” Letter from WWII Veteran – recipient of BIMI Certificate Dear Mr. Kennard, We just wanted to drop you a note to tell you how much we appreciated your honor service for our WWII vets at Delray Baptist Church. It was so nice. We had eleven of our family members there and they all enjoyed it so very much. My husband's ship was the USS Paul Hamilton DD590. Their sister ship, USS Twiggs DD591, was sunk the night before they and the Paul Hamilton were due to return to the States for repairs. In the 1980s we started having reunions with the survivors of the Twiggs. We attended 18 reunions. But over the years, we started losing men and as the others aged, they became unable to travel, so we had our last one in 1987, I believe. It was a very sad day. Thank you again for caring for these vets. It was an honor that was long overdue. God bless you as you continue your work. Before I close, I want to mention that the beautiful plaque will take a place of honor on the wall of our den, alongside other cherished Naval pictures. Sincerely, Barbara and Ralph Mulkey Honored 10–14–2012