Dawn is a precious Japanese flower that was transplanted from Hawaii to Mexico! Her dazzling soul touches many! She is also known for those hurricane force hugs that squeeze the joy right out of you! She is another Preacher's wife at Lakeside. Dawn was born in Honolulu in 1959. She has one older brother who lives in Utah, and a younger sister that lives in Hawaii. With a wide smile Dawn shared "God blessed me with awesome parents! Growing up in Hawaii was more magical than the popular show 'Leave it to Beaver!' My mother came from Okinawa at the age of 4 to Hawaii. I am so proud of my mom, she studied hard and worked as a nurse for many years. My grandparents on mom's side were exposed to Christianity by a neighbor who took the family to a Salvation Army church. It was astonishing for me to learn that my grandparents deviated from the common Buddhist practices of their culture to a faith in Jesus." Dawn accepted Jesus as her Savior when she was just 15. "The Truth showed me that my thoughts were not His. Right after I got saved I foolishly dreamed 'I am a Christian now and life will be so easy!' Life took a few hard turns before I obtained my degree in Early Childhood Education from the University of Hawaii." For 20 years Dawn blessed many children with her teaching and example of God's mercy and love! After college Dawn chose to get married. In 1989 she gave birth to her daughter Kelli , then in 1992 her son Todd was born. Soon after her son was born, Dawn chose to re-dedicate her life to Christ. After seven years of marriage, Dawn and her first husband divorced. For the next four years, this single mom continued to work as the Director of a church Preschool. God had His plans for Dawn and while still living in Hawaii, Dawn met Ken, her current husband.
"Ken was the CEO of Habitat for Humanity and his office space was provided by the church I was working in. In December of 1998 I took my kids around the offices to sing Christmas carols. I knocked on Ken's office door and when he opened it... I thought 'who was this man?'. My kids and I sang a few songs and that very night is when our romance began." Ken and Dawn got married in April 2000. While the family took their time to adjust, in 2001 this newlywed couple moved to Grants Pass, Oregon. Blending her kids with Ken's daughter was difficult as Amanda lived in California. "I had lost my passion for teaching kids and agreed to look after our pastor's mother-in-law. Well I loved it! For the next 14 years, while living in Oregon, I was fulfilled by a career in Elder Care. Ken became the Associate Pastor in two Oregon congregations and we also conducted a "home church". In 2005 Ken and Dawn were led to open a coffee house which they named the 'Wildfire Christian Fellowship'. God provided all that was needed, but He was not done with His greater plans for this obedient couple. In 2009 Dawn's dad lost his battle with cancer, but before he went home to Jesus, it was his wish that the family reconcile their differences. "My dad's personal relationship and trust in Jesus gave him peace. John 14: 1-4 "Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in Me. My Father's house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with Me that you also may be where I am." In March of 2016 Ken interviewed to fill a pulpit position in Oregon. Ken put the word out that he was available for a few months before his new position began. A dear friend from Mexico suggested that Ken fly to Lakeside and preach for 5 weeks. Ken accepted the invite and flew to Guadalajara by himself.
On the phone with Dawn in Oregon, Ken shared that he felt the call to move and serve in Mexico. "Ken and I had colorful phone discussions and I was absolutely opposed at first! Then against my will, God gave me His peace over the move. I flew to Mexico for Ken's 5th week of preaching at Little Chapel. We visited a few small fishing villages and I fell in love with the people and the culture! I found myself saying 'Let's do this!' Ken and Dawn packed 6 giant tubs and their wonder dog Duke into their car and on October 1, 2016 they drove to Mexico.' We make our plans, and the Lord changes them! What we thought we would be doing has changed many times since we moved to Lakeside." On Mother's Day 2018 Pastor Ken and his beautiful bride Dawn established a nondenominational Christian congregation, "The Lord's Church" which is located in San Antonio, across the street from Panino's. Dawn has held tightly to the Truth of Jeremiah 29:11. Ever positive, she encourages everyone to "Trust in God, and in His plans. He never changes, but His plans for us may take us in surprising directions. Our Father shows us a few steps ahead, never all the bumps, twists and turns. That is where our 'FAITH' comes in. Today I can honestly say that I have no regrets. My life has been filled with delightful surprises! Two grandchildren and a wonderful, faithful husband who encourages me to be all that God has designed me to be!" Living in Mexico is a new exciting chapter for Ken and Dawn, and while they still maintain a strong connection to their Oregon church "family", they praise God for their new family at Lakeside. The above cutie picture is of Dawn's grand kiddos taken in Sept 2018. A happy Pickles is holding her new baby brother Kolten. "Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wing. Psalm 17:8" For certain, with good reason, Dawn is the apple of Ken's eye! Lord thank You for giving us Dawn to cherish, we see Your reflection of love in her eyes! Dawn and her husband Ken moved back to the USA in May of 2019. We pray for Ken Armstrong as he was called to run for the President of the USA on the Libertarian ticket.
Beautiful biography of an even more beautiful soul!
ReplyDeleteWhen we choose to focus on what brings us joy, a shift in our hope, our demeanor occurs. Finding something to be grateful for every single day will help increase our joy. Choosing to put on a pair of joy tinted glasses allows us to see all the good that God promised us. We can easily agree that waking up, breathing oxygen, drinking clean water, having shoes, friends and the freedom to believe in Jesus are reasons enough to be exceedingly glad. Life in Christ is truly a gift to be savored. There is always something we can be happy about--it is simply up to us to identify it.
ReplyDeleteOn one day, we may feel joy in a momentous, life-changing event such as a marriage, a birth or a baptism. THe happiness we experience may be a product of our appreciation of a particularly well-brewed cup of a tea or the way the sun shines on a leaf. If we discover that we literally cannot call to mind a single joyful element of existence, we should examine the cause of the blockage standing between us and experiencing God's Presence. Keeping a Joy journal is a wonderful way to catalog the happiness unfolding all around us. Give the joy of the Lord a welcoming expectancy! Joy then will pour in and manifest itself in surprising ways. Writing about the emotions we experience while contemplating joy may give us insight into the odd notions we have in resisting Jesus and His best for us. Pray "Here I am Lord, use me, fill me, I am willing to Your overflow, Your ambassador of Joy!"
Happiness may not always come easily, especially if you have been conditioned to believe that the proper response to unmet expectations is one of sorrow or regret. Allow God to recondition your auto response to ALL His goodness.