Camp Photos

Oh by the way, for those of you who do not or cannot follow me on facebook, here is an online photo album for the OBC camp. Enjoy!

OBC Camp Photos

VBS Day 2

Today we had less children due to the weather. If the weather is bad there tends to be more children but on days that the sun is shining, the swimming pool wins. We had a wonderful time teaching english and playing with the children. Kai gave a bible lesson on Paul at Lystra (where he heals a man and is stoned for it but lives by the grace of God). The parents seemed to have a lot of questions for the Pastor who was with us. Normally Pastor Takahashi is very busy but this week he has been available to help with any inquiries that the parents or children might have. This is one of the main goals we have in going to Japan, to get people beyond their preconceived notions about church by showing the results of the grace and love of God in our lives. It was very encouraging to see how many mothers were becoming curious about Christianity. Please pray that God uses us to draw many to Him.

Our craft today was a bottle-holder. The children really liked designing there own. In Japan it is common to have a drink at any given moment. They have vending machines scattered throughout the country much like Disneyland has them scattered through the park. In fact, i think there might be more vending machines per square foot in Japan than anywhere else on the planet. Anyway the kids loved this craft and began using the holders instantly.

VBS Day One

The first day of VBS was crazy. There were 54 children and over 20 mothers who stayed with them. We spent the morning singing songs, playing games, learning english and doing crafts. The Bible lessons this year will follow a brief journey of the life of Paul. Today Kai spoke on Paul's conversion. Our craft was to make binoculars. The idea is that you can see better with the binoculars and Paul could see better after his eyes were opened by Ananias. (It is a stretch but it works). After the children sufficiently wore us out, they went home and we began preparing for day 2 (which you can read about in the next post).

I also changed home-stay families on Monday. I am now staying with the Shimobe family. They are a rare find in Japan - a fully christian family. Mr. Shimobe works for a japanese Christian publication company. The hours are long and do not pay much but he and his wife see the financial sacrifice as a means to help encourage the Japanese believers and reach the lost in Japan. They have two daughters who are attending the VBS program at church.

Camp day 2 and 3

The second and third day of camp went well. The youth spent the mornings in English lessons and the afternoon doing activities which mostly involved water. I devised a way to have a tug-o-war in the pool using two rafts and a rope. The students had to paddle with their hands and pull the opposing team across the goal line. The object was to get the youth so tired that they would sleep at night as opposed to staying up playing games. It worked so well that I had to wake the boys in my room or they would sleep through breakfast.

The third day we went rafting and had a campfire that evening. At the campfire the students shared what they learned in chapel time and what impressed them most about camp. Many of the students gave very favorable responses and some even expressed interest in learning more about Jesus. One of the girls who went to camp also attends the church in Tachikawa. She had only attended when her parents absolutely made her go but at the camp she expressed regret for wasting the opportunity to learn more about God. She came to church on her own on the following Sunday.

One of the students who was already Christian decided that he wanted to help work at the camp when he graduates high school. This is a great blessing as the camp is always in need of Japanese nationals to help out. Please pray that God will provide workers for the camp at Okutama.

Camp Day 1

Today was the first day of Okutama Bible Camp. We spent the morning prepping for the camp and filling water balloons. It is very hot here so we felt that getting the students wet would help them break out of their shyness (Japanese children are very shy). The students arrived around 3 p.m. and have been running full throttle all day.

We had a large relay game which involved several water games and some silly ones. The youth seemed to enjoy it a lot. Afterwards we had dinner and chapel. The speaker for the chapels is a pastor of a Christian Church in Shonan which is north of Tokyo. Pastor Yamanaka graduated Lancaster Bible College in Pennsylvania, so his english is very good.

After the Chapel we had some pool games followed by small groups. In the small groups we discuss the chapel message and go over questions that pastor Yamanaka prepared. The discussions went very well. Many of the students opened up and shared the problems and dreams that they have in life. My small group has 2 christian boys who are very open about their faith and their testimonies have been a great help in getting the other students to open up. Please pray that God will strenghten the two boy's faith and that He would call the others to him.

First Sunday

Today was the first sunday service that Albert and I attended since we got back to Japan. It was nice to see so many old friends. The church in Tachikawa always offers a Lunch to the members who wish to stay and fellowship. Today that had Japanese curry. This is a wonderful time to talk and get to know the church members better. We also used the time to talk over the plans for the summer camp with Bruce Harris. Bruce is a full-time missionary for SEND International and he is the administrator for the camp in Okutama.

Once a year the church has a cleaning day, and somehow or another they always seem to have this day when we are here, so after the camp planing we joined the church members in giving the facilities a detox.

Tomorrow Albert, Kai and I will go to the camp to begin prep work for the camp which begins on tuesday. Please continue to pray for us as we plan out the details of this great a to witness to Japan's youth.

Hot Fliers

Today Albert, Kai, Yoshie and I distributed about 900 fliers for the VBS program. The neighborhood we went to is about two stations away on the mono-rail. The church in Tachikawa is hoping to start a new church there in the next couple years. We walked to homes and apartment buildings and distributed the fliers. The heat was amazing. It was around 34°C today, plus 85% humidity.

After we finished with the fliers, Albert Kai and I began to look over our VBS supply situation and started shopping for the appropriate items. It is going to be a lot of fun. Please pray that we give a clear and strong testimony of our great God.

Japan 2010 Arrival

Albert and arrived in Tachikawa safe and sound late last night. The flight was smooth other than one 5 minute interlude which brings back memories of a six flags ride. Oddly during this period the screaming babies found it amusing and began to giggle.

We met with Pastor Takahashi and his wife Yoshie for dinner and got caught up on the church news. Today we will begin planning for the summer camp and the VBS program.

This year we face 2 immediate challenges: the exchange rate is the worst we have ever experienced and the temperature is the hottest it have ever been. If I were british I'm sure I could make some clever pun about shedding pounds.

If you did not get a chance to read my prayer letter you can read it here: Japan 2010 Prayer Letter

Fun with Mirrors

Hannah and I found a bunch of circus mirrors at the TV tower in Tianjin, so we had a little fun before our ascension to the top of the tower.

My Girlfriend and I

Hi all,

So as many of you know I now have a girlfriend. I met Hannah 5 years ago when I was teaching in China. She has been a good friend and this year we finally quit hiding our feelings. So I went to visit her for Christmas. Here is a picture of us in Tianjin infront of the frozen solid river. I have no idea what the buildings are but I do know that the bridge is very important because it is the bridge that the People's Army (communist army) crossed to free the city of Tianjin. All of the other bridges in the city are ornate or have a modern artsy design.

VBS Day 1

The VBS program at the Church in Tachikawa is called Joy English Club. The reason is so that the parents will not see this as primarily an evangelistic event but more so as a way that their children can learn english from native english speakers. We teach english through song, games, lessons and story time. We also interact as much as we can with the mothers and their children so that they have more personal interaction with us which increases their curiosity in why we would spend our vacation doing this.

The first day we played a game which helped the children learn body parts such as hands, elbows and knees. We also sang songs like: head and shoulders knees and toes and the hokey pokey which apparently will give children more energy, not less. We divided the children into 4 groups for english lessons. I helped Caroline with the youngest group, which ranges from 2 years old to kinder garden. This is the largest group due to the fact that we are competing with swimming lessons which does not cater to younger children.

After the english lessons we had snack time and story time. The theme for the day was Jesus in God over creation. The story was Jesus walking on the water. After the story we did a craft which illustrated the story. The craft was really hard, but that turned out to be good because the mothers then became more active. I think the mothers liked putting the craft together better than the children did.

After VBS we began prep for Day 2 and then a little post lunch detox time/team building time which we like to call カラオケ, after which I had an english lesson. The lesson went well and the student requested more lessons.

In the evening I changed home-stay locations from the Yukis to the Katos. The Kato family has 4 children and so I spent the better part of the evening tickling and wrestling with said children. All in all, a good Monday.

What happened Last week

As is my style, I tend to tell you about things after the fact. But due to the extremely uneventful work last week I did not give an update. But, since people keep whining I submit this morsel of goodness: Last week I went shopping for more VBS supplies and planed out the days. I walked, longer distances than God ever intended fat people to walk, and passed out fliers to every residential mailbox that I passed.

Saturday Mike, Caroline, and Andrew arrived, but I did not get to see them until Sunday. Mike and Andrew went to Japan with me in 2004 along with Jon who is a full time missionary here, so this is kind of like our 5 year reunion. Caroline is Andrew's girlfriend and she is very excited about doing missions in Japan. On Sunday Michelle joined us as well. Michelle is a girl that Yoshiet found through mutual friends on facebook. None of us knew anything about her, but as it turns out, Christians in Maine believe the same things we do. Strange How God works that out.

Sunday was also the spring cleaning for the church, which is always in summer and generally the hottest day of it. Why should this year be any different? It is amazing how sweat can bond the church together.

Sunday als

Arrival and First Day

I have arrived safely in Japan on Monday evening. For those of you who do not know, Japan is 16 hours ahead of California, so I am writing from the future. Surprisingly the temperature is cooler hear than it was in LA. God has been very merciful to me for I have a severe allergic reaction to heat - it makes me sweat.

I am staying with the Yuki Family. They are a rare find in Japan, in that they are all Christian. I really enjoy their company.

On Tuesday the work began. I spent the better part of the day passing out flier for VBS. I basically wander to all of the nearby houses and apartments and put them in the mailboxes, as well as hand them directly to any of the children that I see. The VBS hear is called Joy English Club. The Japanese are not interested in christianity but they are interested in english. So we teach english at the VBS but we use the Bible as a text and for the english story time.

At the end of the day I met with my friend Jon who is a full-time missionary here in Japan. He is almost finished with language school and he will soon have to return to America to raise more support because of the falling American dollar and a general lowering in giving to overseas missions. Right now he is working finding the best area to start a new church. Please pray for Jon and his wife Maki, that God would supply the support necessary and that they would be a strong witness for the cause of Christ.

Prayer Letter

At last I have found a way to get this thing online.

Another Year Another Post

In an attempt to create a habit of writing I started a blog. This was amusing for a little but then slowly my posts became less frequent (pretty much non existent).

Now I find myself in a situation where I need to answer the questions that many have asked and so I once again turn to my blog. I will attempt to write more frequently, especially because I need to keep you all informed about Japan.

I am planning on going to Japan this year. I will leave on July 19th and return on August 6th. This comes as no surprise to anyone who knows me, I go every year. What is different about this year is the struggle that I had over weather to go or not. As I looked at my current financial situation and the high prices of plane tickets, as well as the falling value of the US Dollar; I wondered if it was God's will that I go at all. In much prayer and heartfelt scripture searching I sought to answer my dilemma. If God wanted me to go then why couldn't I afford it? Then I got my answer in 2 Corinthians 12:9 - But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

This has been a humbling experience for me because I had planned to pay for everything myself, and in doing so I robbed the church of its opportunity to show love to the world. Not everyone can be a missionary on the field but we can support them, and in doing so they become the representation of the love we cannot present in person. (see Collisions 1:24-26) God has determined that we should work in His strength, not our own. He has given us the Church as a means of encouraging one another to love and good works. When a christian attempts to work outside of the church, while his intentions may be pure, is he not stealing the potential of sanctifying work from the church. This is what I had to come to terms with and in doing so the answer to my prayers became clear - go and make disciples.

So now I ask: Are you ready to join me once again in ministering to the Japanese? I need your prayers and support. If you would like to receive a support letter via email just write me a quick email and I will get it out to you. I will be sending out several by snail mail tomorrow, if you do not receive one in the mail it means I do not have your correct address please email me and I will make the necessary corrections. I thank God everyday for the saints he has put in my life, your ministry to me means more than words, this side of heaven, can reveal.

May the Grace of our Lord be with you, always.