Anniversaries, a Time to Remember!!

Deuteronomy 16:1–8 The Living Bible

1 “Always remember to celebrate the Passover during the month of April, for that was when Jehovah your God brought you out of Egypt by night. 2 Your Passover sacrifice shall be either a lamb or an ox, sacrificed to the Lord your God at his sanctuary. 3 Eat the sacrifice with unleavened bread. Eat unleavened bread for seven days as a reminder of the bread you ate as you escaped from Egypt. This is to remind you that you left Egypt in such a hurry that there was no time for the bread to rise. Remember that day all the rest of your lives! 4 For seven days no trace of yeast shall be in your homes, and none of the Passover lamb shall be left until the next morning. 5 “The Passover is not to be eaten in your homes. 6 It must be eaten at the place the Lord shall choose as his sanctuary. Sacrifice it there on the anniversary evening just as the sun goes down. 7 Roast the lamb and eat it, then start back to your homes the next morning. 8 For the following six days you shall eat no bread made with yeast. On the seventh day there shall be a quiet gathering of the people of each city before the Lord your God. Don’t do any work that day.

When God Does Something Big, He Wants Us to Remember!

Through out time, there will always be milestones that we are to remember. Even in our personal lives, we remember our birth and celebrate a “anniversary” known as a birthday. We celebrate work anniversaries, wedding anniversaries, and yes, even death anniversaries or memorials. Well God wants us to remember the great things He has done in our lives!

Deuteronomy 8:10–18 AMP

10 When you have eaten and are full, then you shall bless the Lord your God for all the good land which He has given you. 11 Beware that you do not forget the Lord your God by not keeping His commandments, His precepts, and His statutes which I command you today, 12 Lest when you have eaten and are full, and have built goodly houses and live in them, 13 And when your herds and flocks multiply and your silver and gold is multiplied and all you have is multiplied, 14 Then your [minds and] hearts be lifted up and you forget the Lord your God, Who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage, 15 Who led you through the great and terrible wilderness, with its fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty ground where there was no water, but Who brought you forth water out of the flinty rock, 16 Who fed you in the wilderness with manna, which your fathers did not know, that He might humble you and test you, to do you good in the end. 17 And beware lest you say in your [mind and] heart, My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth. 18 But you shall [earnestly] remember the Lord your God, for it is He Who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day.

God Has Done Such Great Things!

There are two things we can never forget. Where we once were and where we have come because of God. If we are real with ourselves, we were really messed up before God saved us. We might have thought we were doing just fine but in reality, life without God is very empty and unfulfilling. Now that’s of course if we are really being honest. When I look back we were, well ok. But ok is another word for not good. How you doing? OK! That’s not good. But with God we are blessed and getting better each day. Now that’s something to always remember and celebrate. Do we celebrate the day we accepted the free gift of Jesus and became a child of the living God? That’s an anniversary we need to celebrate!!

Today, We Celebrate What God has Done Here!!!!!!

Kohala Assembly of God started in June 1952 when Rev. and Mrs. Merton Simpier we led to Kohala from Seattle, Washington to open a new work! The first services were held in the home of Placido Talisays. Later they rented a larger house of Mr. and Mrs. Nabesuke Yahiku, owners of Kohala Club Hotel. The Simpiers were quoted as saying, “We came to Kohala with much opposition from the plantation, but God spoke to their hearts and they gave us tremendous help in building the church. They even sent a large bulldozer to clear the land they so kindly helped us get.”

In answer to prayer, the church was able to acquire an old theater building in Hilo. They tore it down, and used the material to build the new church. The young people gave up their entire summer vacation to help on the church. In hundreds of ways God provided miracles in the building. For example, a Japanese trucker in Hilo hauled the building to Kohala. The bill came to $150 and when Pastor Simpier went to pay for it, he felt led to pray for the partners of the trucking firm. The truck driver said that he and his partner were going to mark the bill paid.

Another example was Henry Simeona, the plumber and relative of Mrs. Talisay, saved the church hundreds of dollars. He said he wanted to do the job for Jesus. God saved the Mossman Perry family in a revival meeting just in time to be such a help in building the church.

Thirteen people attended the first services of Kohala Assembly of God at the rented house of Mr and Mrs Yahiku. During the ministry of the Simpiers, attendance climbed to a high of 57 with the weekly average at 30.

After a year and a half of hard work under the supervision of Pastor Simpier, the church building and parsonage were completed and dedicated to the Lord in August 1957.

The following served Kohala Assembly of God:

Rev. and Mrs. Merton Simpier - June 1952-February 1958

Rev. and Mrs. Leonard G. Bolton, missionaries to India - February 1958-January 1959

Rev. and Mrs. James Reb of Portland, Oregon - January 11, 1959 - June 10, 1960

Rev. Dorothy Oberdorfer of Tucson Arizona - June 10, 1960 - February 1962

Rev. and Mrs. Fred Mata of Kailua, Oahu - June 1962 -January 1964

Rev. and Mrs. Likio Fukui of Laupahoehoe - March 27, 1964 - August 27, 1971

Rev. Marcial Vallespin, Sr. of the Philippines - October 1971