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[/flex_slider]Guam First Church of the Nazarene is on fire….on Fire for God that is! It is always exciting to receive a passionate report from one of the churches on the Asia-Pacific Region. Pastor Larry and Elaine Cornett sent in the following report from Guam First Church of the Nazarene, which is on our Philippine-Micronesia Field.
When my wife Elaine and I stepped off the plane for the first time in Guam on March 14, 2013, and were greeted by our new people, we knew instantly that we were in the “right place” and in for the time of our lives!
The church welcomed us on that first Sunday and we have felt the love and enthusiasm of the congregation each Sunday since. Our altars have been full every Sunday during morning worship time. Our congregation actually looks forward to Sunday coming so that they can gather once again to worship and praise our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ.
Our church is truly an international church. We have members from Guam, Palau, Chuuk, Pohnpei, Saipan, Marshall Islands, the Philippines, and the USA (mainland). We are a “blended” congregation that makes up one big happy family.
On June 9th, after completing a class on baptism, we gathered at a local beach to baptize seventeen souls in the beautiful clear waters of the Pacific Ocean. That was a glorious day in the life of our church and it has been followed by one glorious day after another.
Pastor Laura Smith joined us in time to help with the baptismal service and then to direct our Vacation Bible School (VBS), which started the next day on Monday the 10th. VBS was a huge success! We had a record attendance of 140 on our closing Sunday. Pastor Laura later led our teens in a youth retreat called “Catch the Wave.” Fifteen of our teens attended.
In June of 1968 I landed in Guam with other Army personnel on our way home from Southeast Asia. Guam was the first US soil that we saw. We knew then that everything would be good from now on, we were headed home. Forty five years later I again know that everything will be good from now on, Elaine and I ARE HOME!
Pastor Larry and Elaine Cornett, while considered by some to be “retired,” have somewhere along the way misunderstood the traditional meaning of “retirement,” as they answered the call to pastor in Guam. Their years of service have included terms as missionaries in Zimbabwe from 1983-87 and Kenya from 1994-96, as well as pastorates in Alaska, Tennessee, and most recently before arriving in Guam, at Show Low New Life Community Church of the Nazarene in Arizona.
The Asia-Pacific Region and especially the Philippine-Micronesia field are so blessed that even in retirement, the Cornetts are willing and passionate about “spreading the fire” in Guam.
Contributors: Larry and Elaine Cornett, David Hane
