Health, Wealth and Happiness

This letter is racist and wrong.  Most of Obama’s education came from the prestigious private school called Punahou here in Honolulu.  The emphasis on the color of his mothers’ skin and father’s skin is a sick attempt to inflame racial hatred.

Obama is from the USA and has worshipped for 20 years at a Church of Christ.

When you say he’ll come from the East, do you mean Hawaii, or Chicago, or Kansas?  Which one of those is the East you are referring to?

Oh wait, he spent 2 years in a Catholic school.  He must secretly be a Catholic, right?  One could twist it that way, as well.

I am a Christian and what I see here is hogwash.  My NIV Bible does not say anything that can be interpreted in THIS way.

By the way, we are NOT at war with the Muslim Nation.  If we ever get to THAT we will lose.  The terrorists are a small group of radical Muslims amidst a very large number that are not.

I feel sorry for those that are easily misled, like sheep that simply and mindlessly forward this without questioning.  Those that are of more noble character, like the Bereans examine the Scriptures daily and make sure what they are told is true.

I will pray for those that are so easily misled.  It is sad that some are so paranoid.

I am a Christian who is for Barack even though I do not believe in everything he stands for.  He is NOT the one who has anger management issues and wants to drag out this terrible war and who stands for 4 or 8 more years of the same old same old.  He DOES stand for hope for millions of Americans who feel that their voices have not been heard.

I pray that you all will have the discernment to see through this hate-inspiring rhetoric.  I am not necessarily asking people to supoport Obama, just to have the decency to disregard this poorly disguised racial hatred.

Rick Emmerich 

I love these guys.  I really had thought they were a side show.  Not the big lumbering elephants parading around the ring (American) or the fierce tigers (Continental), but the clowns on their unicycles in the big circus.  That was fun, wasn’t it?

Then I flew the brand new Jet Blue plane.  Pilots Jeff and Lance, (one of them looked like a daytime soap actor, the other, not really) flew the A320 I believe, masterfully into SLC.

I then had a rollicking 4 days at the Zrii Launch convention, and came back to the airport for what I figured would be a quiet and relaxing flight back to Long Beach.  On the last day, I had found a check that I turned in.  The people were so glad that they gave me a hand made bust of Jesus, or Joseph Smith.  Since I am a Christian, I have named him JC.

But what was important at that moment was me trying to cram JC (bless his heart) into my luggage to get onto the plane.  The very nice people at the uncrowded ticketing area were very patient and understanding.  They allowed me to check my attache case.  That at least delayed the problem that I would have getting onto the other carrier’s flight at LAX, the next day.  I won’t mention names, but let’s call THEM Water Buffalo.

As I got on the plane I was met with enthusiastic smiles and more of the great attitude I now expect on Jet Blue.

I settled in and got a window seat.  That would prove somewhat profitable as I got some mountain shots on my camera out the window.  It’s a shame to be in a place for 4 1/2 days and not even get a decent look at the Wasatch Mountain Range.  Heck I wouldn’t even know THAT name if I hadn’t been there before.  You know what I mean don’t you, business travelers?

It was an uneventful trip back (which on airlines is good).  Did I mention the great Customer Service and the smiling crew members?  As we deplaned, I slipped through the tiny airport quickly, grabbed my case and waited for my ride.

I would not say that there is a new sheriff in town necessarily, but Jet Blue has zoomed to the top of my short-hop choices.  They assured me that those planes could NOT hold enough fuel to take us over the big pond to our rock in the middle of the Pacific.  

That’s too bad.  Some of THOSE endangered species are now extinct.  Since I got hung up on the animals, I will proclaim the Jet Blue JAGUAR of the airline animals.  (Thanks for getting me to Hawaii, water buffalo.) 

It seemed so….authentic, as we met for the first time with our new evangelist and the mission team.  We were at the home of Joe and Mary Santos, who had the courage to start their own house church 21 months ago, fed up with the doctrinal changes and the attitudes of their previous church.  My wife (Dr. Malia Emmerich) and I had watched from a distance as we were forced to endure some very ‘non-christian’ behavior from that very same church, that we still attended.  Not that this post is about me, but after a long period of thought, prayer and seeking of advice we were also ready to make the break later that winter. Last night, we were one with the new arrivals from the CAICC (City of Angels Intl. Christian Church)… CAICC.org and our new evangelist, Kyle Bartholomew.  Joe had fielded a recent call attempting to slander Kyle, but Kyle’s life and his passion to work for God are an open book.  And we expect the persecution.  When others see a sold-out committed movement that actively preaches the Word and expects others to live by the Bible, they feel threatened. Our World Missions leader, Kip McKean preached a fiery and fact-filled message that dipped into little known Old Testament (OT) details.  During his history of the movement, tears were shed, and many Amens were heard.  His wife Elena’s soft voice would frequently say "Preach it Babe." As Kip highlighted, they have been persecuted mightily, but continue to do God’s work, which has shown phenomenal growth in the last 3 years.  One year ago a similar but larger missions team went to LA, with 42 members.  Through much sacrifice and then, of course lots of hard work, 101 baptisms and many resorations and move-ins have taken place in the LA area.   Again, see CAICC.org. Sadly for many were the details of how the old ICOC churches changed doctrine when things got tough and controversial, and how much those chuches (no longer united) have fallen in conviction and membership.  Many of us had been a part of those fellowships and we love so many friends that have been left behind. I have documented some of these details almost ad nauseum in other forums, but may chose to get into the previous church changes at a later date, if it’s deemed relevent.  Also, please view "Hope For The Islands" on this same site. The kick-off of this new version of the Honolulu International Christian Church was a loud, boisterous affair, with great song-leading and sharing late into the night. For those that desire a strict and thorough adherence to Biblical teachings, with the zeal and desire to seek and save the lost, join us in Honolulu at the Mauna Kea Chapel at 1330 Mauna Kea across from Zippys.  That’s Mauna Kea and Vineyard, at 10AM on Sunday morning. Can’t make it to the island, then go to http://CAICC.org to find a congregation near you.  Also, http://honicc.org and http://honicc.com for those of you who want to follow our growing fellowship.    Rick Emmerich