A Summer of Change

It has been many months since I last posted an update on what I've been up to lately--over six to be exact-- and in that span of time, I can guarantee you that I have been up to quite a lot lately. That's right ladies and gentlemen, this kid has been working and playing extremely hard through thick and thin times these past months have held.

To catch you up to date, the Ultimate Workout mission project in Mexico I went on this past summer that I mentioned in my last post went extremely well. We built numerous churches, provided just as many dental and medical clinics, and provided Vacation Bible School programs for the local children at each of the six different locations we were at. On top of that and most importantly though, the participants connected with a God that finally became real to some while others simply made their connection even stronger. New families were formed and I even found a relative I never knew I had; a cousin from New York!

Aside from that mission project, the rest of the summer was filled with many travels for me. In fact, I have never flown on an airplane so many times in one summer, or any other span of time that close together, ever before in my life. (See my 2011 summer airport list here!) Although all of my travels were within the United States, each trip had something for me to gain and every location had something to teach me about life, love, happiness, or the one and only Almighty God.

Summer of 2011 is one I will remember forever. I went through some of the greatest moments of my life and even roughed it through one of the lowest moments in my life. I met amazing new people, made new friends, reconnected and learned a lot more than what I already knew about old ones, and even went through a summer romantic encounter all in which, have helped me grow and mature as a person. If you ask me, this summer not only housed one of the most productive and eventful summers for me, but this summer has changed my life completely and has set me on a new track full of hope, happiness, and a bright future.

We all want to see ourselves move forward toward success. We all go through life's clear, sunny days its cloudy, stormy ones with the hope that at the end, we pull through to make it to our goals. We want to live without the worry of not being able to provide financially for our family both now and in the future. We want to go on a vacation with our family and friends whenever we want and we never want to feel guilty about rewarding ourselves with that brand new pair of shoes or nice jacket because we might now have enough money to pay for the water bill at the end of the week. We would like to have enough money to buy the gifts we would like to get for those we want to get them for.

Enough about the money. We want to be healthy to live long enough to see our children and even grandchildren grow a little. We want to look good enough to wear that bikini or pair of board shorts with confidence wherever  and whenever we want to take a little dip. We want happiness, true health and true wealth.

This is what I want because I want to be the best and healthiest in all aspects of life Christian I can be. With this desire and goal in mind, I feel that God has led me to lead and live a healthier life. Better yet, I feel that He has led me to help others live a healthier life so that they can live happier and longer. It is my great pleasure to announce that over the summer, I have opened up my own Health & Wellness business helping others achieve true health and true wealth.

This adventure has filled me with excitement, joy, and motivation to be the best and healthiest person I can be for everyone around me. It has been going extremely well since it's start and what I love most about this venture is that I am always constantly learning wonderful things about myself, the industry, and those that I have the amazing opportunity to work with. I work with people I never thought or even dreamed about even meeting let alone working with! I can't wait to share more about my business with you. Things are looking bright and I'm excited for the future!

Mission Project Mexico: Ultimate Workout 21

Mission and charity work are big passions of mine. Whether it's supporting a music concert or a 5k run for a charity organization that is local to me here in Los Angeles, building a school in Ecuador, or even sending care boxes to those in need in the Philippines, I love being able to help those who are in need in every and any way I can.

In a little over two months, I'll be flying down to to the city of Tuxtla Gutierrez in the southeastern tip of Mexico for my third consecutive Ultimate Workout summer mission project with Maranatha Volunteers International. Like last year, I have kindly been asked to return this year as a staff member for one of the five different site locations. Each site will consist of about anywhere from 20 to 35 high school-aged participants from all over the world, most of whom, have never met. 

In less than two weeks, each site will build a Christian Seventh-Day Adventist Church for their assigned community for a total of five churches--And that's just the beginning! There will be a medical team consisting of professional medical physicians, dentists, and student volunteers who will conduct clinics at each of the five sites providing much needed care to men, women, and children of all ages. Special programs will also be held at each site for the local children where they'll sing songs, hear stories, and participate in games and arts & crafts.

With all of the things that are accomplished on this two-week mission project, lives are definitely changed. Many of the local people we will meet in Mexico have and never will leave their home country. In fact, in most cases, they rarely leave the isolated state they live in. Seeing total strangers from far away countries is a miracle to some of them already, but to come to their small dot on the planet map to build a much needed, prayed-for church, is a true, joyful blessing. It is something that they'll never forget.

It won't just be an unforgettable, life-changing event for the people in Mexico, but it will change the lives of the teenaged participants as well. Most or all of the sites the participants will be staying at will be without some of the things that most of them consider essential in their daily, modern way of living. They can expect their homes for two weeks to be without hot water, clean bathrooms, bed mattresses cell phone reception, and you can forget about having a computer connected to the Facebook or Twitter. That's right, little to no electricity. 

The participants will be disconnected from such a digitally connected lifestyle that they will get to see things in ways they have never seen before. For some participants who have never left the boundaries of their own home, they'll make new friends whom they'll form family-like bonds with by the end of the project. They will get to reflect on their own lives  and see those of others and things taken for granted back home on a daily basis. 

This project will be an amazing experience for the staff, participants, and for the people of Mexico. Ultimate Workout will be a workout for every mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual aspect of everyone that will be involved and it will help enable them to see and appreciate the little things in life including life itself. 

This year will be another great year and I am looking forward to it.

A New Powerhouse NHL Team: The Los Angeles Kings

For over ten years now, I've watched Los Angeles Kings hockey games and I can truly say that tonight's win against the San Jose Sharks proved that they are capable of winning the Stanley Cup Championship this year.

Over the past ten or so years, I've seen the Los Angeles Kings at their high and low points in that span of time and I have never seen such a great team like the one the Kings have right now. In my opinion, we have the best coach we've ever had who knows what it's like to coach a championship team. In 2008, he took a group of fresh, young, promising players and turned the team into a top, world-class team. He has improved our team's every aspect of play and the results are showing.

Tonight's game against the San Jose Sharks was a possible playoff matchup for the Los Angeles Kings for there is a fairly large possibility they could see San Jose in the first round in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Although tonight's victory was not an easy one for the Kings, tonight was a great way to see what the LA Kings are truly made of.

The game took much discipline, great composure, and a hunger like none other than a team that wants the cup--like the Kings displayed tonight. There was teamwork, hard fights along the boards and extremely hard effort put in by a team with great depth.

With the Western Conference tighter than ever in the history of the National Hockey League, one little point could be the deciding factor on whether or not you'll be in the postseason or not. 

The Kings started the season 8-0 holding first place in the Western Conference and have been looking absolutely great all season long currently sitting at 5th place. Out of all the years I have been watching the Kings, I can truly say that this team is a Stanley Cup Championship team. It isn't just because I am a fan. I truly believe this team has it in them to make it. Even if they don't win the cup this season, we're looking at a new powerhouse team in the National Hockey League for the next few seasons--The Los Angeles Kings.

Care Project: Philippines

One of my ongoing mission projects that I do is making mission care boxes to send to those in need in foreign countries. This past week, two of my mission care boxes were sent to two families. One box was sent to an in-need, widowed mother in the city of Umingan Pangasinan. There, she provides for not only her son and daughter, but a large group of her other neighbors in her area.

The other box was sent to a family in the City of Caloocan also known as the City of Kalookan (officially Makasaysayang Lungsod ng Caloocan or in English The Historic City of Caloocan) which is just north of the capital city of the Philippines, Manila.

Inside the boxes that come from my ministry, are quality clothing, footwear, and some food goods to last about two months. All of my care mission boxes are funded through your contributions and I want to say "Thank You" to those of you that contribute to my ministry here. If you would like to make a contribution towards my mission projects, you can do so by going here.

Busiest Year of my Life...?

Without prediction, this year has by far proven to be the busiest year for me.

Even as a musician, my music theory and musicianship classes at school are pushing me to study and practice more than ever. Being a music minor is starting to hit me and lately I haven't been able to work on my own music because these music classes of mine are so time consuming I just do not have the time. Doubt is starting to fill my head about minoring in music. But I told myself that I would push through this and "get it done" and "do what I have to do" to minor in Music. Yet again, the haunting voice questions, "Are you sure you want to do this?"

I move on.

The Music Speaks Movement  is a project Youtube star & recording artist AJ Rafael started to help raise autism awareness through the power of music and bringing people together. Music Speaks 2009 was a concert series that brought in over $8,000 to the Autism Speaks organization for the Walk for Autism in November that same year. This year TEAM MUSIC SPEAKS is hoping to exceed that mark.

I plan on auditioning for this concert with my band. (See the video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7slkT3T4p_Q) This weekend, me and my group plan on making an audition video so please pray for me and send me wishes of luck on this upcoming project. It's not for any fame or money. I simply like sharing my talents with others to help a good cause in this world. You all should know that I'm very involved in mission work and charity events so this fits perfectly in my area if this happens for my group and I. And of course, Soli Deo Gloria -- To God be the Glory.

However, this is a huge gamble I am taking for this weekend for it is also a weekend where I really need to buckle down and study for school. Knowing me, my time will go heavily to this music project and very little will be left to study. Even so, God has blessed be through many challenging times and I have no doubt He will help me pull through this time!

Also, tonight is the starting night for MIQ. Standing for Most Important Questions, MIQ is the first ever Satellite Televised Evangelistic Series designed for Youth. This series tackles the questions our young people today have that our churches a lot of times don't answer. Do you have those deep questions about life, relationships, family, friends, your future, and most importantly about Christianity and the bible? This series produced by Amazing Facts will tackle those questions. Even if people aren't Christians, this is an awesome series to find out just what some believe. My church is one of the very few public showing locations in the San Gabriel Valley and being the local host for this has had my hands tied beyond belief. I will probably be at church for a good six hours to make sure the program is prerecorded at 4-5pm for our public showing at 6:30pm. Organizing something like this at such a large scale open to the public community is huge and takes a lot of planning and organization. This program runs nightly starting tonight from 6:30pm to 8pm until October 16. So if you're interested in wanting to know more, come by my church in Temple City, California tonight or go tomiqteens.com to find a location near you to check this thing out! 

On top of all of this, I am already planning for my next international mission project. This past summer I pastored a group of teenaged youth in Mexico on Ultimate Workout 20, an annual teen mission trip with Maranatha Volunteers Int'l. Two years ago we went to Ecuador. Next summer, I have no idea where we are going, but I can tell you it's somewhere God will lead us to go. Four of my youth members are traveling with me this time and I am leading out our fundraising campaign. Our first, is a pie fundraiser. We will be selling pumpkin and apple pies for the upcoming Thanksgiving holidays. In fact, today I will be going out to visit some bakeries to get quotes to compare where I will be ordering about 200 pies. Yum!

So off I go. Busy is a huge understating word to describe me. Please pray for me, my ministries, and of course, that I stay healthy through all of this! 

Thank you guys so much for your support whether through monetary contributions or words of support. It really means a lot to me -- like... you have NO idea. So thank you so much from the bottom of my heart. If you would like to keep up to date with my upcoming events and such, you can sign up at my website to receive e-mail updates or you can check my calendar frequently!

Soli Deo Gloria. To God be the Glory.

Aaron Nakamura

We are Making Music

Bottom line? Today was the best Sunday. It could not have been better. Let me tell you why!
This past week was not the brightest for me. In fact, it was quite horrible. It's hard to explain why or what made it so, but everyone has their good days and weeks and their bad ones; This past week was a bad one for me. A sinker. It wasn't the way I wanted to start my school year but in life, unexpected things get thrown our way regardless if we're ready to face them or not. And for me, that's exactly what happened: a series of events I didn't expect knocked me down morally and a little emotionally. On top of that, I didn't see any hope for things to get any better for the next first full week of classes.


It was a challenge. I was challenged spiritually, mentally, physically, and emotionally. Everyone, regardless of background, history, or current stature gets challenged. From the poorest and uneducated to the richest, most successful, and brightest minds.Everyone gets challenged in life.
With that said, today concluded my church's special two-day International Weekend with an International food festival with cultural foods from many different countries. Just yesterday, I was asked to get my music group together to perform as part of the entertainment line up for the food festival. Don't take this in a wrong, arrogant way, but I truly am fortunate and blessed to work with such a musically talented youth music group where music comes naturally. Practice is rare for each of our individual talents are quite superior. The only thing we accomplish in the very few practices wedo have is the thing every group accomplishes when they practice: to organize and put all of the talent together to perform as a group.


So we performed. The other main performance group was The Gato Band, an adult  jazz/soft rock band. By the end of the night, my band received comments we never get. Rather than the festival coordinators giving an end of the night greeting of simply a "Thank You," many complimented on our maturity in musicianship. People noticed and acknowledged that our music has matured and is "older people" friendly now.


Rather than people in the church looking at our music as 'loud, rock music,' they enjoyed our music and liked our style of play.


And I agree. Looking back from when I first started the band at my church, we were new to having "a band" and just played in a 'whatever' way. We were young, new musicians. We were just kids! Now, many of the musicians in our church praise band and in my own personal music group are getting a little older and more mature and it therefore is starting to show in our music.


Now, we are making music not noise.


I'm proud of my band. This includes those that have been in previous generations of the praise band I lead and those musicians I call up to perform with me during personal outside music gigs. We have matured mentally and it shows in our music. Although we're still growing, it's extremely awesome to receive such positive feedback about our music. I mean, music right now is exactly what I want it to be in my life. It's not my main pursuit or career choice. It's a side hobby I love doing that doesn't take too much of my time but the little time spent in it is much appreciated by me as well as others. That's all I want, to share my talent and the talent of my group with others. What good is talent if it's not shared or used? The answer is that it isn't good.
So, today was an encouraging day. An uplifting one. Something I definitely needed going into this coming week. And to receive praise from The Gato band and other great musicians in attendance? Amazing!


I'm also excited for for my upcoming mission project, there are about 5 other youth members in my youth group interested in going with me. Usually, I'm the only one from my church that goes so to see that other youth are joining me is exciting! Since I have more experience in fundraising for the Ultimate Workout Teen Mission trip (byMaranatha Volunteers Int'l), I'm heading the fundraising campaign to fundraise for my group going. I'll explain a whole lot more about this in another post but the bottom line is that I am excited that other youth are interested in giving an international mission trip-another thing I'm passionate about- a try.


Good day. Looking forward to this week!


To God be the Glory and many Blessings to you all,


AaronNak
www.aaronnakamura.com 

God's Party: "God, are You too on YouTube?"

Today’s technology makes it so easy to find out anything we need to know at the click of a button. We use cell phones and computers to connect to the internet where we can find out just about anything we want. We are so connected. But as we learned last week when talking about Myspace, it isn’t the connections we have to many things that’s bad, it is the fact that we are so addicted to the information those connections feed us. We are so plugged into the world that we don’t realize that we need to unplug in order to plug into God.

Today, we have Facebook accounts with tens to hundreds of friends. On Youtube, there are videos from every genre of our culture today. Any video about anything is there. But out of our many friends on Facebook, is God on Facebook? Out of everything on Youtube, can you too find God there? Ask God, “Are You too on YouTube?”

One more question to answer, "Do I need to go to church in order to be a good Christian?"

Find out here!