August 2025 Conchshell Chronicles
Thank you for joining us this month of August.
Lamb Bleatings
Laura at Moanalua Gardens, contimplating this huge Monkeypod Tree:
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all of your ways acknowledge him and he shall direct your path. Proverb 3:5-6
A classic memory verse from the Word of God growing in meaning as I meditate upon it and realize how much I actually lean on MY OWN UNDERSTANDING and don’t acknowledge because I am too busy thinking of my own solutions, schedule and scheming.
God my heavenly Father is not acknowledged or brought into my equation of judgement and decision making.
My brain darts around thinking of possibilities and I go into autopilot doing what I do and carrying on as if I know best not acknowledging the One who is actually In control and all-knowing of it all.
When I take time and intention to lean into my Creator and Lord …… the King whom I serve , the One who is Lord and my Caring Father, Son and Holy Spirit, I experience a miraculous detailed adventure that blows my mind. Could never make up what happens when the Author and Perfecter of this Universe shows up and does His thing. Wow! Such precision, accuracy, joy, peace , and the ultimate fun and depth of meaning and purpose.
We all want the fruit of the Spirit because we were designed for LOVE, JOY, PEACE, PATIENCE, KINDNESS , GOODNESS, FAITHFULNESS, GENTLENESS AND
SELF CONTROL.
Perfect Love casts out all fear. Love covers a multitude of sin.
My private time with God meditating upon His word, asking the questions, and listening for his responses always makes for an exciting day full of engaging moments that bless my soul endlessly and fills me to full and overflowing.
Whatever is done in private becomes public …. Habits we have both good and bad, our practices, prayers in private …. We get to see the answers and rejoice in public. The joy God gives us within escapes to the public place we enter …. He comes with greater force as we turn ourselves over to Him and His plan and purposes in the private places of our hearts and lives.
We submit to God , acknowledge His presence, trust in Him, ask for wisdom and discernment and the direction of our existence enters another realm. That is the realm I want to dwell in ….. the One the ultimate Designer plays In ….. that is the playground I want to run around in.
God help us to see you more clearly and to trust,
Acknowledge and hear from you and your heart. We want you to be In charge and become Large in us, through us, around us, and become so a part of us that we live and breathe your presence. In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Have your way.” Aloha Laura
The Uyeda Family gathering in Ewa Beach
He is Pursuing
From the first book in the Bible:
Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, “Indeed, has God said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?” 2 The woman said to the serpent, “From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; 3 but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.’” 4 The serpent said to the woman, “You surely will not die! 5 For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loin coverings.
8 They heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. 9
Then the LORD God called to the man, and said to him, “Where are you?” Genesis 3:6-9
Wailea Walk on Maui
A few weeks ago, I was at a memorial service at Kumulani Chapel on Maui for a friend. There were over a hundred people there. I sat next to David, who was a manager of Kimo’s, one of the significant party places on Front Street Lahaina when I moved to Maui in 1981. Sitting behind me was Dickie, one of the Kimo bartenders. Dickie used to grow weed in his backyard and sell it to his friends in Lahaina. He bought plastic flowers and wired them to his pot plants, so his neighbors would think he was growing flowers. Next to him was Marla, a former waitress from the Chart House, another party spot in Lahaina. The service was led by Ricky, who owned a record store on Maui when I met him in 1981. As people began to get up and talk about Roger, the deceased, I realized that each of these speakers were not Christians when they came to Maui. They came to surf, party, and enjoy life. The Deceased himself used to sell drugs at Kimo’s before he became a Karate master and opened his own dojo.
But something happened to those attending Roger’s service, including the Deceased - they became followers of Jesus. Since they were already living life in the fast lane, they took their relationship with God very seriously and applied the same enthusiasm to Christ as they did to their former lives. They were not spectators to Christianity but bold participants, and their efforts changed the spiritual landscape on Maui.
David, the former Kimo’s manager, became an elder at Kumulani Chapel. Dickie and Marla became youth pastors at Hope Chapel. Ricky became the leader of a Bible study and launched Kumulani Chapel in 1982. Roger became one of the most effective Bible teachers on Maui and his home study groups with his wife Janet touched hundreds over the next forty years of his life.
I don’t think that any of us at Roger’s memorial service were looking for God when we came to Maui, but the reality was God was looking for us. He found us. And for many it was not through the established churches on Maui. We all seemed to be individually touched through friends who already knew Jesus and we ended up starting our own churches over the next years- Hope Chapel in Kihei, Kumulani Chapel on the Westside, Church of the Living Water which became Waipuna Chapel in Kula, and Island Hope in Paia.
It was relational discipleship. Friends loving and caring for new friends, who in the process were touched by Holy Spirit, and we all became convinced that Jesus was the God-Man who died for our sins and resurrected to prove his Divinity. Life in His Fast Lane now became purposeful, and we all ran with it. The result was that in 1981 less than 10% of the people on Maui attended church. Now its closer to 30%, and I have witnessed thousands touched by this move of God on Maui over the last 40 years.
World religions tell us to search for God and do things to make ourselves more acceptable to God, and maybe we will find Him.
The Bible clearly demonstrates that God is seeking and pursuing us.
For thus says the Lord GOD, “Behold, I Myself will search for My sheep and seek them out. Ezekiel 34:11
Be encouraged. God is seeking and pursuing our family members who are not yet tuned into the Holy Spirit. He is pursuing those you encounter at the gym, at the beach, at your workplace and favorite coffee shop. He even is chasing those who seem to be opposing you and your beliefs. Many, like Laura and me, who seem to be the most unlikely people to become Followers of Jesus, will have an encounter with God and become some of the most effective disciple makers of the Kingdom.
Roger, David, Dickie, Marla, Ricky and many others at that Memorial Service became instrumental in this move of God on the island of Maui and into many parts of the world.
People everywhere are searching for Love, Meaning, and Community. Jesus is the ultimate source of all that! Pray for your family members, your neighbors, your friends, and even those that oppose you.
God is pursuing them, just as He did with Eve and Adam, and He will use your interaction with them to bring them into His Family. Follow His Lead!
Aloha Michael
Wahikuli Park just north of Lahaina where in November 1981 I told Jesus that I would follow Him.
Israel Study Tour
March 9-20, 2026
$3999 Land only - includes hotels, transportation, breakfast and dinner, enrance to the archeological parks, study materials and teaching by Dr Randy Smith.
We are excited to take many of our friends there to experience the Bible in its geographical and cultural context.
March is a good month to travel there as the rains have ended, the hillsides are green and red, blue and purple flowers are everywhere.
This is our 8th study tour to Israel and we think it will be the most peaceful time to visit the Bible places. Please consider joining us in March.
The details and cost are on the Christian Travel Study Programs website.
Please call Dottie or Larissa at (800) 371-4485 and tell them you are on the Seek The Lamb Team before November 1.
Please contact me if you have any questions:
gmbagby@gmail.com
Aloha! Michael
Here is the CTSP link:
https://christiantravelstudyprograms.net/260302.
Utila Construction
We have made great progress on our staff housing apartment at the Rio Coco Cafe Utila. This will be our ministry center on this Western Caribbean island that attracts many Europeans, Asians, Israelis, South Americans, Canadians, Irish, English, Scotish, and Americans who come for scuba and free diving certifications.
Our cafe is located in the middle of five dive schools and we have old friends and new friends coming into the cafe every morning.
We have four young ladies and two young men on our Utila Team, and we are building additional staff housing. We began this project in April and much has been accomplished.
Please join us as we prepare for this outreach to this island where we have been laboring since 2008.
Rio Coco Beans Coffee
We have 28 single origin and our special blends of artisan roasted, high altitude, hand picked specialty grade coffee available to send to your home or office.
Join our Coffee Club and receive 15% off your order.
Thanks for spending time with us this month!
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