September Update

I was having a conversation with God a couple weeks about faith.(can we sense a theme this year?) What does it look like to have faith that moves mountains? I’ve read the verse about needing faith as small as a mustard seed at least a hundred times, I’ve listened to so many sermons on this topic, but the idea that I could look at Mauna Loa and command it jump into the Pacific Ocean seems so impossible. But does even thinking that way mean I lack faith, and is that why I can’t stand in my back yard and command it to be?

Frankly, this lead to a whole tangent of questions, but ended with me pondering what does a life of radical faith actually look like. When I hear the term radical faith I immediately think of Peter stepping outside the boat to walk on water; which seems so impossible as I look out at the vast Ocean.

The past several months we have shared The vision God has given us with friends and family. Many are supportive, some have “better” ideas, and others question our qualifications, or sanity as we move forward. I have come to the conclusion I’m not doing any of this for mans approval so I want my eyes so fixed on Jesus that as He calls me to “step out of the boat” I can walk towards Him with confidence. I don’t just want to have faith the size of a mustard seed. I want to live a faith filled life. I look at Abraham who was given a seemingly impossible promise of having a son in his old age,

“Yet he did not waiver at the promises of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith giving glory to God, and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform” (Romans 4:20-21)

Thats the kind of faith I want. The kind that sticks with Gods promise, no matter what.

I’m still not sure about commanding Mauna Loa into the water, or literally walking across the pacific. But as I grow in my relationship with Jesus, I am praying that my faith is strengthened so if He ever told me to do those things I wouldn’t hesistate because I believe in the God who can do the seemingly impossible!

Couch

We had been praying for a reasonably priced couch. Specifically we were praying for an L shaped couch. Our parents had moved their two seater couch to big island, which we have been using, but it doesn’t seat 6 of us; it barely fit three of us.

So we began praying, for an L shaped couch so the whole family could fit on one couch, reading books, cuddling, but especially as we do weekly worship nights together we wanted to create a space that allowed people to gather comfortably. Well this last month we were blessed with a generous personal donation and an incredible second hand deal. We drove three hours north and picked up our L shaped couch. It may seem like a silly thing to mention but having a space where we enjoy getting to gather is so important to us. Our family has been able to spend many mornings and evenings gathered in our living room space. We have even had a few people come spend the night in the couch this month. We are looking forward to many memories being made on it!

Fires and Hurricanes

This month was an interesting month in regard to disasters. August 15th we had a 30 acre fire start up on a neighboring ranchers land. We were not home, and thankfully our neighbor was able to keep us updated and was prepared to grab our animals and get out of the way if the fire did get out of hand. Fortunately, our local fire department responded quickly and they were able to control it pretty quickly, although they did close the roads down for a few hours. But after the Maui fire disaster a couple years ago, I think hearing the word fire hits a little differently. We are all too aware of how quickly a small spark can get out of hand. So when we heard the fire was so close to our house, we sent word to our prayer team and they were quick to cover us and our property in prayer.

Well the next week we were finding ourselves preparing for Hurricane Hone that made its way to the island of Hawaii. It just so happened that Gabes parents had purchased a generator the week prior which was a huge blessing because as the hurricane came towards us we didn’t have to worry about any loss of power during that time. We were very proactive to pack things up pretty tight, tie anything down, and, board up windows. Because we don’t have any wind break around us, and we are so far south we knew if it got bad, we would get hit pretty hard. So we did all the prep work we could, then sat at home and rode the storm out. We had hoped it would stay a tropical storm but as it got closer to the island It did end up being a category 1 hurricane. Thankfully amidst lots of rain and wind we had no damage to our property and the weekend was a great time of sitting together as a family playing games and worshipping Jesus.

Our road was not so lucky, and many of our neighbors had sever damage due to flash flooding from the massive amount of rain breaking through walls and tearing down the mountain. I’ll get to the road later in this post, but One of our neighbors, I’ll refer to him as J, had such severe flooding from a river forming in his yard that the entire bottom floor of his house was covered in a foot plus of mud and sand. The damage was awful. Gabe got the opportunity to drive the tractor to his house and fill in some of the holes the water made, and create a berm to hopefully protect the house from future damage.

Tractor

Last month we had shared the tractor had several things that needed to be fixed. Well we were able to fix them. Praise Jesus! And it was just in time because that tractor became so valuable after the hurricane.

After Hurricane Hone as mentioned, the road to our house was in terrible condition. We fortunately have a truck with 4 wheel drive, but many of our neighbors were unable to get down the road due to a river forming in the road, tearing it up pretty badly.

The damage forced many of our neighbors to stay home for an additional couple days after the storm. We are all working to try and get the city to help maintain the road, however they are currently not wanting to work with us to get asphalt or assist in caring for the gravel(Which is a whole issue for another day). Because of this we were all thankful we had gotten the tractor up and running prior to the storm as we were in a position to grade the road the day after the storm, making it drivable. We were then able to help a few of our neighbors with several projects caused by the storms.

One neighbor in particular, the morning Gabe went out to fix the road, was attempting to haul a trailer behind his truck. He ended up getting his truck stuck and breaking his drive train. Gabe was able to pull his truck out, pull the trailer out, and then continued to smooth the road enough so the tow truck could down the road.

Gabe continued to work tirelessly that week getting up at 5am several days, and working late into the night to intentionally bless our community.

Friday Youth Outreach

We have continued to join in with Purpose Ministries Friday night outreaches. Its a great opportunity to build relationships with the local youth. This last Friday a new Bible verse was introduced, and the kids were challenged to memorize the scripture. We love seeing the energy and excitement. This last month 5 more boys got water baptized. This is always such an exciting thing to bear witness to, as these young men make a public declaration that they follow Jesus.

Kellys Kitchen

We are continuing to make bread to sell at market. This weekly event has brought a little bit of financial support, but mostly it has been an amazing opportunity to get involved in the community. We are constantly blown away each week by what God is doing through something so simple. We have gotten to use bread to build friendships. At the end of each day, our leftover bread is given away; Some of it is given to other vendors, some of It is brought to outreach events, and some of it has been donated to a local homeless ministry.

A few weeks back a couple came up to me and the husband shared that he has a slice of bread each morning with an egg and his coffee; He told me there is an unexplainable peace as he enjoys his morning routine. I got to share with him that as we make bread on Tuesdays we worship and pray. All day Tuesday and all day Wednesday my prayer is “God, allow your presence to fill the home of each individual who eats this bread. I want them to know You!” He seemed almost taken back, and simply said “Keep praying ,its working”

Planting Hope Ministries

We are officially Tax Exempt!! We were told the process to get approved could take u to 6 months. We received our letter of approval with in 30 days of submitting our 1023 form. We are able to do business as Gabe and Kelly Neufeld so all donations made to support us are able to go through the ministry giving those who have supported us from August 2024 and moving forward, a tax break. As we pray for this ministry we both feel such a strong sense that our vision for Planting Hope Ministries doesn’t even begin to compare to what God has in store. We are so excited to be on this journey and see how God uses this tool for His glory.

Prayer Requests

**We are currently looking for 100 people who will commit to pray with us and for us. We firmly believe that everything we are doing here has to be rooted in Jesus and we want a team with us who will go to Him on our behalf and intentionally take time to pray with and for us. If you are wanting to be apart of the group please reach out to me via email, or fill in the link at the bottom of our “Support Letter” Page. We will begin to send out more personal prayer requests that way. Thank you to those who have already said yes to partnering with us through prayer!**

-We have officially sent out support letters as we have transitioned into full time ministry. We threw out a big number asking for $10,000 a month in support. We don’t know how God is gonna provide financially, but we are 100% trusting that He will. We felt very confident that He was telling us to trust Him, so we are praying that our personal needs will be taken care, and all funding will be taken care of for building materials, and land development moving forward.

-We are traveling to Minnesota for a couple weeks in October. Please pray for safety as we travel, and great connections to be made.This trip will be spent mostly with family, but we are also hoping to connect with churches and potential partners. If you would like to connect with us while we are in town, reach out to us via email, we would love to grab coffee, answer questions, and share more about what God is doing in Hawaii!

-Prayer for a consistent water source. As we move forward water is one of our biggest hiccups. We would love for a well to be dug, but the cost is steep. We are continuing to seek out other options, but need prayer for wisdom, and practical solutions for the present and future growth.

-Please pray for continued health of our family, continued protection, wisdom and that God would continue to speak clearly to us so we can walk forward confidently.

Mahalo Nui Loa!