shanita akana
August Newsletter
To My Friends:
Aloha to you all. The month of August is upon us and I hope you
are all doing well. As the kids head back to school, let’s
be sure to cover them in prayer each morning before they leave
with backpacks in gear. And as parents, let us trace the sign
of the cross on their foreheads and surrender our children to
God’s protection.
May I invite you also to ask our Lady’s intercession for
your prayers this month. As you know the Feast of the Assumption
of the Blessed Virgin Mary is celebrated on August 15. While the
format to this newsletter is quite the same, my most rewarding
experience has been researching information about Mary’s
Assumption. In the spirituality corner, I will share more of the
meaning of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
I can remember the 1st Hawaii Marian Conference sponsored by Saint
Michael Center held at the Waikiki Shell. I believe the year was
1994. There I learned a deeper understanding and appreciation for
the Blessed Mother. After witnessing numerous testimonies our Blessed
Mother played in the lives of Irish Catholic singer Dana Scallon
and inspirational speakers Julia Kim and Ted Flynn, I have grown
in my devotion to our Lady. She is a source of great joy for me.
I want to thank my father Ernest for being by my side that entire
weekend. (If you visit the Akana home, you’ll see in every
room there is an image of our Blessed Mother. We love her!)
Some exciting plans are underway as Thomas and I, along with a
group of young adults, brainstorm the possibility of gathering Hawaii’s
Catholic youths together. Whether it will be occasionally, monthly,
feastly, often, or few times a year is up to the Holy Spirit and
the Will of the Father. You see, typing out this newsletter forces
me to be accountable in what I share with you. I certainly don’t
want to say something and not follow through with it. Many times
my fear is bigger than my faith. Questions arise in my head and
I turn away from the task at hand. So with complete trust in God,
we move forward in faith! The best I know how to share my faith
is to sing my faith!
The SING OUR FAITH! youth event is sponsored by Saint Michael Center
and generous donors like yourself. Thomas said he will do what is
necessary to help with stage, sound, newsletter announcements, etc.
I just need to get 10 people together and we can make something
happen. So with a lot of support and prayers, we look to a future
of endless possibilities for this generation of Catholics to stand
together, united in prayer, faith, love, song and God!
-- Shanita Akana
To order
Shanita’s CDs or for bookings, please contact
JSA Enterprises
91-1144 Haiamu Place
Ewa Beach, Hi. 96706
(808) 391-4371; lyricjsa@yahoo.com
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