In My Experience

I just finished watching a video posted on another social media sight about volunteering while on vacation.  I think they called it voluntourism.  I have heard much about how trips like this hurt those who are visited and pump up those who go.  I suspect this may often be the case.

I have been on two trips to visit sponsor children.  They were expensive and we may have caused some hardship for those involved in the countries we visited.  However, the moment of meeting my children and getting to spend the day with them will live on in my heart forever.  If I go on another trip I will probably do a few things differently, however, I would still consider going on another trip.

Sightseeing in Kyoto

At the end of July through the first week of August we had a short term team visit us here in Japan.  Although it took a lot of planning and hard work, we felt the two weeks were well worth the effort.  Each team is different, each location is different, but I wouldn't rule out the effectiveness of short term missions teams and trips.

One of the biggest reasons we feel this team was successful was because of all the preparation that happened on both sides of the ocean.  First, this was not a random group who just wanted to go to Japan.  A Japanese pastor, his wife, and I bonded with this group through our time at a youth gathering in California.  We formed relationships that caused the team to want to not only visit us in Japan but also to learn about ministry and to do ministry in Japan.

Fellowship with Japanese pastors

Second, as an NAB family we have a wonderful ministry called Gateway that trains and leads short term teams, especially to NAB mission fields.  Randy Schmor not only took time to train the team, he came to Japan to train us on what to expect and what they would be doing to prepare for their trip.

The team not only learned about Japan and our ministry, but also part of their preparation included intensive Bible study and learning more about what they believe.  In their youth group for the past year they have been going through a study on the foundations of faith which has helped give them a more solid foundation.  They, also, each prepared a testimony to share at some point.  I think they all had a chance to share at least twice.

American Culture Day @ Komyo Church

Another reason the team was so effective was their attitude.  They arrived with a willingness to help us out in any way possible and a humility to listen and to learn, to observe and to try to understand.  This willingness and humility are so important.  After 20 years on the field I am still learning new things every day.  If we arrive in a foreign country thinking that we can do ministry without any help because we have read all the books and watched all the videos, then we are not ready to get our passport.  But, if we do our best to educate ourselves and then arrive ready to learn more, we are ready to get on the airplane.

I have wonderful coworkers who were willing to do everything to help make this experience a success for all involved.  We all feel that it was a success.  The team got to stay in Japanese homes both in Osaka and Chita.  They helped with ministry in three churches as well as at a denominational gathering.  They got to experience Japanese history and religion through our sightseeing days.  And, they even got to spend some time at the beach!

The whole group (picture of a picture!)

We feel the biggest reason this team was successful was prayer support.  The missionaries had all asked their supporting churches and prayer warriors to be praying for the team.  But, the team themselves had a strong prayer base at their home churches praying for them as well.  We are so thankful for all God did over the two weeks they were here!  Praise and glory all go to Jesus!

If you are considering a short term mission experience, take some time to consider these things:
*Why do I want to go?
*Do the people on the other end want me to go?
*How have I/can I prepare?
*Am I ready to listen and learn?
*Is God guiding me into this?
*And, be sure to pray, pray, pray!
There are probably hundreds of lists of things to think about when deciding to join a short term team. These are just the thoughts that popped into my mind as I wrote.


Here are a couple of resources:

Gateway Teams - NAB ministry for those interested in serving on short term teams locally and globally
Gateway Ministry

Japan Harvest - a magazine ministry of JEMA (Japan Evangelical Missionary Association)  written, edited, and published by missionaries in Japan
Japan Harvest

A little review

As I was preparing for my most recent newsletter, which will be coming out soon, I was looking through pictures from the last quarter.  I set aside several to use in my newsletter, however, I didn't have enough room.  So, I thought I'd share some here...

Our friend Shoppi sharing at our Ladies' Lunch 

Even Mrs. Naka's granddaughter enjoyed the dessert!

Origami fun- every other month at the nursing home behind our church

AGC rehearsal- Can you find me?!

At our most recent Live Gospel Cafe I got stuck in the office for the first half.
It was fun to listen from behind the singers.
This is one of the ladies who sang.
It was a beautiful night of praise.

During spring break we had a youth retreat at the newest JBC church.
Some of the youth even led the worship time.  Fun times!

Easter Sushi!!!

Yuri has returned!

Preparations

Today has been a day of preparations.

Tomorrow I will teach two Bible studies, one in Japanese on John and one in English on Mark.  I have enjoyed preparing for these studies each week.

On Sunday I will preach, so I have also been preparing for that.  Sometimes it is a challenge to figure out what to preach about.  Sometimes I am given an idea or a certain passage, but then the organizing of my thoughts takes a lot of time.  Sometimes things flow together quickly.

Although my thoughts haven't flowed smoothly today, it has been a good day of study.

Our monthly verse for April is Mark 16:15, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation."  Using that as a starting point, I have been thinking about "Go" and what that has to do with each one of us as Jesus-followers.

When looking at various websites about how to prepare for life as a missionary, I found an article by a professor at a university that prepares people for ministry.  It is a well-written article to help churches prepare people for missionary service.

 Click here to read the article.

Please take a few minutes to read it, maybe share it with others at your church, on a missions team, with a pastor, with a family member.  Consider how your church is preparing people for life outside the walls of the church-where we are all called to minister.

Coming Up

Our church plant is coming up on an exciting milestone.  We have been worshipping together in our current location for 6 years!  We have had a wonderful time learning and growing together.  I am thankful to God for His work in my life, in the life of His church, in the lives of the people who attend our little gathering.

On Sunday we will have a business meeting.  I know business meetings are generally not exciting events for most people.  However, it is exciting for us!  Members and regular attenders of Komyo Christian Church want to be involved in the life of the church, want to use their gifts to encourage one another, want to seek God and His direction for His church.  Exciting stuff!!!

Today I was looking through some old pictures and found a picture of our 'staff' from 2010.  On New Year's Day we took another picture.  Some of us have changed more than others!  (Yuri Nakano had not yet joined us in 2010 and she is on home assignment right now.  She was not purposely left out of these photos!!)

Merry Unexpected Christmas!

Christmas day is almost over here in Japan.  It has been a great day!  A completely unexpected day.  Actually, a completely unexpected week!

Sunday was an unexpected when I received a message that my coworker was not feeling well.  By 1PM it was obvious that he was not going to be able to make it to church that afternoon.  Thankfully, we had already planned the themes for advent Sundays, so planning a message in a couple of hours was not quite as difficult.  Everyone at church was understanding and helpful.  We had a good time studying about joy in the story of Jesus' birth.

Monday morning dawned with a snow squall and another not quite as unexpected message.  Influenza had taken down two more of the members of my coworkers' family, putting the count at 3.  I continued with my day off as usual which included tea time with a friend.  God prepared both of our hearts and she offered as I asked her to play piano for our Christmas Eve service at church!

With that unexpected challenge cleared, I was ready to begin preparing for the service on Tuesday.  I spent the day at church, reading, preparing, checking out the programs from the last couple of years, and enjoying delving into the Christmas story again.  My friend came to get the music and help me check the Japanese on the power point.  We had another good time of fellowship.


Unexpectedly, I had just enough cookies left at home to take to my morning exercise friends at the park on Christmas eve morning.  It was fun to see their faces and hear the "Merry Christmas" responses.


Our Christmas eve service was beautiful and full of joy.  I am so grateful for our church, the lovely people, and the wonderful celebration of our Savior's birth.

Following the service, my piano-playing friend came over and spent the night.  We enjoyed fellowship late into the night and basically all day today.  What a blessing to have a friend with whom I can spend a day sitting at the table, chatting, snacking, laughing, crying, and sharing words of wisdom.  An unexpected Christmas was just what I needed!


(Although, I missed hanging out with the Ewing family and look forward to our belated celebration!)

English Bible Study

Today at English Bible study only one student was able to attend.  We had a wonderful time talking about life and family and God's love.

As our time drew to a close, my student said, "The best present I ever received was Jesus.  I am not a good Christian, but He has walked with me and held my hand all of my life."

What an awesome testimony!  I am so thankful for those who take the time to share Jesus' love with others.  It leads to such testimonies!

I am thankful for the opportunity to study the Bible with this lady and others who share their wisdom and love for Jesus.

Here and There, Part 2

Two years ago we had our first baptism at Komyo Christian Church.  You can read about it here.

She and I have spent many hours together over the past few years delving into God's word and learning how it applies to our every day life.  I have truly appreciated our study times together, her questions, and the sweet fellowship we enjoyed.  I have grown from our times together, and I have seen amazing growth in her faith as well.

The last Sunday of July we had a farewell party for our friend as she moves from Japan to the U.S. where she will begin her new life as a Mrs.!

We miss her already!  However, it is also exciting to hear about how God is working in her life and how she is relying on Him for strength and wisdom each day.

God bless you!

For the first time

I have been learning a few things in the past couple of years about depression.  I have never experienced it myself.  However, it seems many people around me, especially here in Japan, have experienced it.

One of my friends from church is one of those people.  When she first came to church she was at one of the lowest points of her life.  Yet, God drew her to Himself.  Thankfully, we were just across the street from her apartment!

Since that time she has gone through many ups and downs.  She has learned about Jesus, His love, His sacrifice, His free gift of salvation and eternal life.  She has been quite consistent in attending church, even through times when she did not want to do so.

The transformation in her life is nothing short of a miracle.  We are all praising God together as we see the joy and peace in her life grow daily.

Last week she told me that for the first time in her life she truly does not want to die.  She is not afraid to die, she said.  But, really actually has a desire to live now.

Praise God for transformation!

A Word and A Song

 I love when we get to host ladies' lunches at our church.  Trying to break into conversations to start the testimony part of the program is always a challenge.  Even having the big blonde girl standing up front does not always get everyone's attention!

Today our friend, Kyoko, shared her testimony.  It was neat to hear how God put pieces of the puzzle together for her as she traveled through the ups and downs of life, leading her, ultimately, to Himself. So amazing how He does that!  She also sang a song for us, "You Raise Me Up."  She sang the first verse in English and then sang in Japanese.  I had never heard it in Japanese before and was really moved by the lyrics.



This afternoon was a blessed time of fellowship.  I loved hearing the chatter, watching the shared tears fall, and witnessing encouragement between friends.

折り紙は祈り紙...

When I was in the US last year I folded a large number of origami cranes.  I gave most of them away to people to remind them to pray for me.  On some I had people sign their names and I brought them back to Japan with me.  I finally got around to hanging them up around my apartment.

As I folded the cranes I was praying for Japan, for the ministry in which I am involved here, for friends, and for the people who would receive them.  As I gave them to friends and family, I asked them to pray for me.  I even left some 'flying' around my home church.  I hope when people see them around the church or wherever they were placed around homes that people will remember to pray for me.



When I am sitting in my living/dining room, bedroom, tatami room, or office and I see the cranes hanging there, I pray for the people who signed their names and gave the cranes back to me.

What a blessing to be able to pray for each other.  Even when we are not in the same city, state, or country, we can still join in ministry together by praying for each other.  And, having a visual reminder is helpful for me!  In that way, these origami cranes become prayer reminders.  (The Japanese title of this post is a play on words which basically means that.)

Thank you to those of you who are praying for me and all of us here in Japan.  Please continue.  I cannot put into words how much your prayers mean to us!

In the background is the prayer quilt the ladies from West Center made for me!

An Introduction

Yesterday I attended the English Bible study at Komyo Christian Church for the first time since I returned to Japan.  While Yuri is on home assignment I will have the privilege of being the leader of the study.

We started our time with introductions, which were fun and entertaining.  Then we sang a hymn which is a favorite of one of the students.  It is an English hymn she learned from a missionary when she was in university.  I had never heard it before, but love the lyrics!  What peace we have in Him!

Constantly Abiding by Anne S Murphy

There's a peace in my heart that the world never gave,
a peace it cannot take away;
Though the trials of life may surround like a cloud,
I've a peace that has come there to stay!

Constantly abiding, Jesus is mine;
Constantly abiding, rapture divine;
He never leaves me lonely, whispers O so kind:
"I will never leave thee."  Jesus is mine.

All the world seemed to sing of a Savior and King,
when peace sweetly came to my heart;
Troubles all fled away and my night turned to day,
blessed Jesus, how glorious Thou art!

This treasure I have in a temple of clay,
while here on His footstool I roam;
But He's coming to take me, some glorious day,
over there to my heavenly home!

One Step

Yesterday I pulled out a Bible study book I used when I lived in Texas.  The study made a great impact on me and so I have saved the workbook all these years.  I am preparing a new study with one of my Bible students and we have decided to do the same study.  I am excited to share it with her!

Because of time constraints, we won't be able to do the whole workbook cover to cover.  Therefore, I am sort of rewriting a less intense version for us to use for the next few months.

I pulled out my workbook to review and start thinking about the first lesson.  In the back of the book is the covenant we signed with our group as we started the study.  Twenty years ago, today, I signed that covenant!  As I read through the prayer I wrote when we started the study, I see God had been working in my heart to bring the possibility of going to Japan to the front of my mind.  It would still be two years before I left for Japan, but this study helped me find focus in my life and strengthen my faith in Him and His word.

I am looking forward to what God is going to do in my and my student's heart as we study together!

Oh, may my heart be as open as it was the first time I went through the study!

Thanks to being an elementary school teacher, I have school pictures from my adulthood!  This is from my first year of teaching, 23 years ago!

All Together

When I was leaving for home assignment, our staff at Komyo Christian Church was finishing up reading a book together and discussing it in our meetings.  Then, they were going to start reading another book which many churches and leaders in the NAB were reading.  I read bits and pieces of it throughout my time in the US, but did not finish it.  Yesterday I was re-reading and then reading more of the book.  It is called "Everyday Church: Gospel Communities on Mission."

As I traveled around the NAB during home assignment sharing about what is going on in Japan, in general, and at Komyo Christian Church, specifically, many people commented on how we are living out the premise of this book.  First, I was impressed by the number of people, not just church leaders, who had been reading and reflecting on this book.  Second, I was excited to hear that our hearts for the community were coming through in what we are doing in ministry.

The authors of the book are pastors.  The theme of the book is go be the church, not go to church.  Yes, they admit, gathering with believers is important, however, people who do not yet know Jesus will not just show up at church.

The buzz word 'missional' comes up many times in this book.  The authors remind us that missional is not some new program, something we tack onto what we are already doing.  It is who we are.  We, Christ-followers, are on mission with God, to be the light in the world, to live out the gospel in our neighborhoods, schools, workplaces, grocery stores, and every where we spend our time.

There is no five step process, no how to for becoming missional.  It is who we are called to be.  They suggest three core elements to every day mission: love God, love people, love life.  Simple, right?!

Two sentences I loved from this section:
You will never attract people to Jesus if you are not excited about Jesus.
Our job is to have fun to the glory of God!

Amen!

So many unformed thoughts are rolling around my head about this topic.  Probably, if you heard me speak during the past year, you have heard some of them!  This is who we are called to be, people who love Jesus and live in the world-having fun to the glory of God!

Go have some fun!

Just a thought... (again)

Pastor Paul is preaching through 1 Timothy right now.  Last Sunday he talked about chapter 2.  The first two verses speak to a topic I have been thinking about for a long time, praying for those in authority.

"I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone-for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness." 1 Timothy 2:1-2

A couple of years ago, about halfway through our current president's first term, I noticed Christians doing a lot of criticizing of him but no mention of prayer for him.  As the election approached, the comments got worse and worse, and still almost no mention of prayer.

During the last president's terms in office, I heard many people talk about praying for the president, even forming prayer groups for him.  Where are those requests now?  Why aren't we calling for prayer for the current president?

In this passage, Paul is writing to Timothy who is in Ephesus.  The ruler for whom he was telling them to pray?  Nero.  Do you remember what Nero did to Christians?  He used them as torches to light parties.  He tied them to posts, poured oil over them, and lit them on fire.  This is the man for whom Paul told the people to pray!

Why do we feel justified in calling for prayer for one man and not for another?  Not only does Paul call on us to pray for those in authority, but he also tells us to pray for everyone.  Everyone.  There are some people for whom I find it hard to think of praying, yet, Paul is not giving us a chance to choose those for whom we pray.  He tells us to pray for everyone, not to criticize, to pray.

What would happen if we took the time to pray for everyone, to pray for those in authority, to pray for our president?  How would our attitudes change?  How would our words change?  How would our world change?

Anyone up for a challenge in February?  February is when we celebrate Presidents' Day in the US, right?  For the next month, I am going to take time each day to pray for our leaders (since I live in Japan, I will pray for both countries' leaders).  Will you join me?

The Music Goes On...

On January 19th we hosted another Live Gospel Cafe.  This time our guest was Yoko Matsuoka.  She also invited her friend and protege, Rei Ogasawara.  Maki played keyboard for them and Seki san ran sound.
It was a night filled with Spirit-filled music, inspiring testimonies, and sweet fellowship-and, of course, food!  We also found out that we can get A LOT of people crammed into our church.  During the concert I had to go out into the hall and take a picture through the window to get a picture of the performers!  We are not complaining about the standing room only situation!

Rehearsal-oh, and Flat Stanley is visiting again!

The boys have fun with Stanley

Stanley is getting hungry looking at all the food!

Stanley meets Rei.

A picture through the window

Some of the guests enjoying the music.

Everyone getting into the music

Picture from sitting on the floor in front.

Oh, we forgot to take a group picture with everyone.

Thank you, Jesus, for music!  What a blessing!

Christmas Review Continued

A shopping mall near our church held a Christmas tree decorating contest.  We decided to try out for it and were chosen as one of the contestants.  We had a good time deciding how to decorate the tree, making the decorations, and then decorating the tree.

There were some great bonuses to being part of the contest.  We received a coupon to use at the mall, plus we got to keep the tree and lights.  Hopefully, we were also able to introduce our church to some new people!

Putting the tree together

Having fun!

Wrapping the tree with the ribbon Mrs. Sakamoto wrote on so nicely.

Mrs. Sakamoto arranging the ribbon and decorations.

Mr. Sakamoto adding decorations.

Our finished product!

All the trees

We didn't win anything, but this group of children won the grand prize!