Hey!
Sorry I haven't updated my blog in a while. May has been a really busy month here in Japan and I haven't had a lot of free time. On May 9 we prepared and handed out carnations to our neighbours for Mother's Day. We went around to houses and put them at front doors. Inside was a little card with a poem and an invitation to church on Sunday. On Sunday we had church and had a special lunch and dessert for the mothers. Usually on sundays the mothers will prepare lunch and clean up after but on Mother's Day we did not allow them to and made sure they didn't come in the kitchen to give them a bit of a break. After lunch we played with the children. On Monday we went to an english student's house for Okinomiyaki, which is basically like a pancake with vegetables and an egg mixed in and meat on top with okinomiyaki sauce. It was really delicious. On Friday morning we went to a student's house to participate in a tea ceremony. This student is a tea ceremony teacher and a ikebana (flower arrangement) teacher so we learnt about both. Her house is an old traditional Japanese style house. It is very beautiful and it was a very interesting experience. That afternoon I took the train to Fujigaoka and spent time at an old couples house, who are students at classes I help teach in Fujigaoka. The lady, Nako, taught me how to make paper corsages and tried to show me how to do some calligraphy, but I was not very good at it. We ate dinner together and then I took the train home to Toyota. On Sunday, the 18th, we went to church and then spent time with the youth at the church. We played worship songs for each other and shared testimonies. It was very nice to hear other people's testimonies and to hear how God has worked and is working in their lives. We then had dinner together, which was Okinomiyaki. Today we are going to visit a lady from the church and learn how to do calligraphy. In addition to this I have been helping in English classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays and teaching two classes on Saturdays. Please pray that God would continue to work in the hearts of our student's that they would be open to learning about God and the Bible and that a hunger for God would grow in their hearts that they may seek Him and come to know Him as their Lord and Saviour. Pray also for me as I have not been feeling well lately. Pray that God would heal this sickness and that He would provide me with strength and energy to keep going. Pray also for our team that we would not lose focus on what we are doing here and that our hearts would be open to the Spirit's leading. Pray that we would be able to hear and obey what God is asking of us for the rest of our time here. Pray also for our visas as we are still waiting for them to be processed. Pray that if it is God's will that we would be able to stay our full length of time here. God is continually teaching me patience and to trust in His plans even when I can't understand them. God is also teaching me more and more to trust in His timing and to wait patiently on Him. He has great things in store for me. That is about all right now. Until next time, Sayonara.
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Golden Week
Hey!
So this week was really interesting. It was Golden Week in Japan. It was our midterm retreat as well as electronics fast. For the midterm retreat other English teachers from Japan came and spent four days at the church. During the day we went to some touristy places and at night we had worship and sharing time. On Saturday we went to Otsukannon, a big outdoor shopping place, which was really cool but I was also frustrated because it feels like we were really rushed for time and I didn't get a chance to see everything. We also went to Nagoya Port on Saturday and just sat by the ocean watching the boats. It was nice to relax and enjoy the beautiful warm weather and sunshine. On Sunday we went to church and then went to Asuke and saw a traditional Japanese village. It was really cool because there they still make everything they need from things in nature and they sell a lot of it. It was a really neat place to see but I wish we had more time there. On Monday it was raining so we went to a shopping mall. It was okay but we made a big mistake going there on Golden week holiday because it was overcrowded and we had to wait almost half and hour to get a seat in a restaraunt. That night for supper we went to a restaraunt that a man, named Pak San, owns and works at. He is from Korea and so it is a Korean barbeque place. They bring you raw meat and you cook it at a grill on your table and dip it in this sauce. It was amazing. On Tuesday we went and saw Okazaki castle and a flower garden place. There I had some matcha (green tea used in a tea ceremony) and it was soo good. It was very peaceful to drink it while looking out at the pond in the garden. Then we came back to the church and the English teachers went home. Every evening we had worship and sharing times with people sharing their testimonies each night. That was probably my favourite part because I love hearing people's stories, how they came to know Christ and all the things that have shaped them. Every night tho everybody stayed at our house late so by the end of the retreat I was pretty tired and really glad to have the chance to rest on Tuesday night. Some prayer requests I have are for our team that we would stay in good health and get good rest and that we would be able to stay focused on what we are doing for the rest of our time here in Japan. Also please pray for our Japanese teacher because she got a slipped disc. Pray for fast healing and recovery. Please continue to pray for the people of Japan and our English students that God would continue to move in their hearts and that they may come to know Jesus as their Lord and Savior and come into personal relationship with Him. Pray for me that God would give me opportunities to share His love with others and that God would give me words to speak. Pray that I would have continued focus, energy and strength and that I would be disciplined in spending regular time with God. I am so excited to be part of what God is doing here in Japan. Until next time, Sayonara.
So this week was really interesting. It was Golden Week in Japan. It was our midterm retreat as well as electronics fast. For the midterm retreat other English teachers from Japan came and spent four days at the church. During the day we went to some touristy places and at night we had worship and sharing time. On Saturday we went to Otsukannon, a big outdoor shopping place, which was really cool but I was also frustrated because it feels like we were really rushed for time and I didn't get a chance to see everything. We also went to Nagoya Port on Saturday and just sat by the ocean watching the boats. It was nice to relax and enjoy the beautiful warm weather and sunshine. On Sunday we went to church and then went to Asuke and saw a traditional Japanese village. It was really cool because there they still make everything they need from things in nature and they sell a lot of it. It was a really neat place to see but I wish we had more time there. On Monday it was raining so we went to a shopping mall. It was okay but we made a big mistake going there on Golden week holiday because it was overcrowded and we had to wait almost half and hour to get a seat in a restaraunt. That night for supper we went to a restaraunt that a man, named Pak San, owns and works at. He is from Korea and so it is a Korean barbeque place. They bring you raw meat and you cook it at a grill on your table and dip it in this sauce. It was amazing. On Tuesday we went and saw Okazaki castle and a flower garden place. There I had some matcha (green tea used in a tea ceremony) and it was soo good. It was very peaceful to drink it while looking out at the pond in the garden. Then we came back to the church and the English teachers went home. Every evening we had worship and sharing times with people sharing their testimonies each night. That was probably my favourite part because I love hearing people's stories, how they came to know Christ and all the things that have shaped them. Every night tho everybody stayed at our house late so by the end of the retreat I was pretty tired and really glad to have the chance to rest on Tuesday night. Some prayer requests I have are for our team that we would stay in good health and get good rest and that we would be able to stay focused on what we are doing for the rest of our time here in Japan. Also please pray for our Japanese teacher because she got a slipped disc. Pray for fast healing and recovery. Please continue to pray for the people of Japan and our English students that God would continue to move in their hearts and that they may come to know Jesus as their Lord and Savior and come into personal relationship with Him. Pray for me that God would give me opportunities to share His love with others and that God would give me words to speak. Pray that I would have continued focus, energy and strength and that I would be disciplined in spending regular time with God. I am so excited to be part of what God is doing here in Japan. Until next time, Sayonara.
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Hoping in God
Hey!
It is a beautiful sunny afternoon in Japan. I have just gotten back from a walk. I have been thinking a lot about living a life that honours and glorifies God in everything I do. I have been pondering the power and might of God and thinking a lot about the power of prayer. If we cry out in passion to God what would happen? I have no doubt that when we cry out to the Lord in prayer He is faithful to answer. God is bigger than anything I know and to be completely honest that just goes over my head sometimes. I feel like so often I unintentionally put God in a box. I am learning not to limit what God can do. I am learning what it means to pray with power and trust God to answer those prayers no matter how impossible it sounds. I am learning what it looks like to love people as God loves them, unconditionally. I am nowhere near perfect at this but I pray that God would help me to do this more; to make me more like Him. I am seeing the power that God's unconditional love has in peoples lives. I want to live a life of love for God. I am tired of empty dreaming. I want to live passionately for God, falling more in love with Him everyday, not wasting a moment. I want to make a difference for God's kingdom with the way I live my life. I know that on my own I can do nothing but with God nothing is impossible. Tomorrow we are having a Japanese day, complete with kimonos and a tea ceremony. I am really excited to experience this part of Japanese culture. On Wednesday we are starting a week long electronics fast. That means I won't be on a computer for a whole week and this will be my last blog update for a little bit. It also means I won't be able to email or talk on the computer. The purpose is to spend more intentional time with the other team mates and learn that we don't need laptops to survive. It should be really interesting. Next week we are having a mid-term retreat. We will be spending time with the missionaries and other english teachers, taking a break from our ministry duties and seeing some sights. Please pray for safety travelling, that we would hear what God is speaking to us and that we would return refreshed and renewed. Continue to pray for the people of Japan, that their hearts would be opened to God and that they would see His glory as well as His great love for them. Pray for good health for our team as their is a cold going around our house. Pray for quick healing, strength and energy from God. Pray that God would fill us with a passion for the lost here in Japan and that we would serve humbly in whatever we are asked to do while here. God is going to do amazing things here.
Sayonara
Amber
It is a beautiful sunny afternoon in Japan. I have just gotten back from a walk. I have been thinking a lot about living a life that honours and glorifies God in everything I do. I have been pondering the power and might of God and thinking a lot about the power of prayer. If we cry out in passion to God what would happen? I have no doubt that when we cry out to the Lord in prayer He is faithful to answer. God is bigger than anything I know and to be completely honest that just goes over my head sometimes. I feel like so often I unintentionally put God in a box. I am learning not to limit what God can do. I am learning what it means to pray with power and trust God to answer those prayers no matter how impossible it sounds. I am learning what it looks like to love people as God loves them, unconditionally. I am nowhere near perfect at this but I pray that God would help me to do this more; to make me more like Him. I am seeing the power that God's unconditional love has in peoples lives. I want to live a life of love for God. I am tired of empty dreaming. I want to live passionately for God, falling more in love with Him everyday, not wasting a moment. I want to make a difference for God's kingdom with the way I live my life. I know that on my own I can do nothing but with God nothing is impossible. Tomorrow we are having a Japanese day, complete with kimonos and a tea ceremony. I am really excited to experience this part of Japanese culture. On Wednesday we are starting a week long electronics fast. That means I won't be on a computer for a whole week and this will be my last blog update for a little bit. It also means I won't be able to email or talk on the computer. The purpose is to spend more intentional time with the other team mates and learn that we don't need laptops to survive. It should be really interesting. Next week we are having a mid-term retreat. We will be spending time with the missionaries and other english teachers, taking a break from our ministry duties and seeing some sights. Please pray for safety travelling, that we would hear what God is speaking to us and that we would return refreshed and renewed. Continue to pray for the people of Japan, that their hearts would be opened to God and that they would see His glory as well as His great love for them. Pray for good health for our team as their is a cold going around our house. Pray for quick healing, strength and energy from God. Pray that God would fill us with a passion for the lost here in Japan and that we would serve humbly in whatever we are asked to do while here. God is going to do amazing things here.
Sayonara
Amber
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Surprise Parties, Roller Coasters and Amazing Grace
Hey!
So it has been a while since I updated my blog. I have been really busy lately with teaching english classes and planning. Last week two of the girls on our team had their birthdays so on Friday we planned them a nice little birthday surprise. We had a birthday dinner for them and then took them out for karaoke. For karaoke we blindfolded them and took them to karaoke not telling them where we were going. They had kind of figured out that was what we were doing so it wasn't that much of a surprise but it was still fun. At karaoke in Japan you get a private room for you and your friends and can choose from english or japanese songs. We of course chose english songs to sing along with and danced around singing loud and being silly. On Saturday I taught my travel english class and english music class. Both classe went really well. For english music class we brought the lyrics for Amazing Grace (our student's request) and when Joanna was explaining what the lyrics meant our student started tearing up. Please pray that God would continue to work in her heart and that she would be open to the love and grace of God and the message of the gospel. On Sunday we had church and then went bowling with some of the church members. A family that has their children in one of the english classes we are teaching came bowling with us. Praise God for that and pray that He would use this time to bring them back to the church and ultimately draw this family to Himself. On Monday we went to Nagashima Spaland, which is a large amusement park about an hour drive away from where we are staying. This amusement park has lots of roller coasters and other thrilling rides. It has the largest wooden roller coaster, the White Cyclone, and the 2nd largest roller coaster in the world, the Steel Dragon. We rode the White Cyclone three times and the Steel Dragon twice. The Steel Dragon was pretty much amazing. Words cannot even describe it. I am afraid that I am now ruined for any other roller coasters after this one though. This was also my first time riding on a roller coaster and I must say that I LOVE ROLLER COASTERS!!! We spent all day at Nagashima Spaland and it was really fun. This week we are going into Nagoya to apply for our religious worker visas. There is a good chance that we may not get approved because we are here for such a short time. Please pray that God would give us favour with the people processing our visas and that His will would be done in this. Please continue to pray for our team, the Hieberts, the churh and the people of Japan. Pray for good health for us and continued energy and strength from God as some of us are not feeling well and are feeling a bit weary at some times. I trust that God is going to do something amazing in Japan. We are His instruments. God will do something amazing here in His time. Until next time, Sayonara.
So it has been a while since I updated my blog. I have been really busy lately with teaching english classes and planning. Last week two of the girls on our team had their birthdays so on Friday we planned them a nice little birthday surprise. We had a birthday dinner for them and then took them out for karaoke. For karaoke we blindfolded them and took them to karaoke not telling them where we were going. They had kind of figured out that was what we were doing so it wasn't that much of a surprise but it was still fun. At karaoke in Japan you get a private room for you and your friends and can choose from english or japanese songs. We of course chose english songs to sing along with and danced around singing loud and being silly. On Saturday I taught my travel english class and english music class. Both classe went really well. For english music class we brought the lyrics for Amazing Grace (our student's request) and when Joanna was explaining what the lyrics meant our student started tearing up. Please pray that God would continue to work in her heart and that she would be open to the love and grace of God and the message of the gospel. On Sunday we had church and then went bowling with some of the church members. A family that has their children in one of the english classes we are teaching came bowling with us. Praise God for that and pray that He would use this time to bring them back to the church and ultimately draw this family to Himself. On Monday we went to Nagashima Spaland, which is a large amusement park about an hour drive away from where we are staying. This amusement park has lots of roller coasters and other thrilling rides. It has the largest wooden roller coaster, the White Cyclone, and the 2nd largest roller coaster in the world, the Steel Dragon. We rode the White Cyclone three times and the Steel Dragon twice. The Steel Dragon was pretty much amazing. Words cannot even describe it. I am afraid that I am now ruined for any other roller coasters after this one though. This was also my first time riding on a roller coaster and I must say that I LOVE ROLLER COASTERS!!! We spent all day at Nagashima Spaland and it was really fun. This week we are going into Nagoya to apply for our religious worker visas. There is a good chance that we may not get approved because we are here for such a short time. Please pray that God would give us favour with the people processing our visas and that His will would be done in this. Please continue to pray for our team, the Hieberts, the churh and the people of Japan. Pray for good health for us and continued energy and strength from God as some of us are not feeling well and are feeling a bit weary at some times. I trust that God is going to do something amazing in Japan. We are His instruments. God will do something amazing here in His time. Until next time, Sayonara.
Saturday, April 12, 2008
new english class
Hey!
So I found out today that I am also teaching a travel english class on Saturday afternoons. It should be lots of fun.
So I found out today that I am also teaching a travel english class on Saturday afternoons. It should be lots of fun.
Friday, April 11, 2008
Hey!
Our new English classes have started up this week. We have 8 different classes that people have signed up for and 1-2 students in each. I get to teach the English Music and Lyrics class and am really excited about that. There is one student in that class. There is also an English Bible Class which has two students in it, one of which is not Christian. That is something to definitely praise God for. I am also assisting one of the English teachers (Wendy) in her classes on Thursday in Fujigaoka. It is a very full day with 8 classes. I leave home at 7 am and don't get home until 10 that night. I really enjoy assisting those classes and look forward to getting to know the students better. Please pray for us that we would be able to teach English effectively and have the courage and boldness to share the Gospel with our students and other people we meet. I have been growing in my faith a lot during my time here. God has been teaching me about patience a lot and that sometimes I have to wait. I have been learning to trust God and trust that He has great things in store for me. I am really learning to wait on God. Please continue to pray for the people of Japan that there hearts would be open to God's truth and love. Pray that God will fill us with joy. Pray that we will be shining lights for God here. Pray that we will continue to grow in our faith and spend time with God regularly and spend time in prayer. Tomorrow in church one person is getting baptized and two people are coming into membership and giving their testimonies. Pray that it would go well and that the man getting baptized would not back out. Pray for the believers in Japan as well that they would stay strong in their faith and be bold in their faith. I am very excited to see how God is going to work here and in our lives. Until next time, Sayonara
Our new English classes have started up this week. We have 8 different classes that people have signed up for and 1-2 students in each. I get to teach the English Music and Lyrics class and am really excited about that. There is one student in that class. There is also an English Bible Class which has two students in it, one of which is not Christian. That is something to definitely praise God for. I am also assisting one of the English teachers (Wendy) in her classes on Thursday in Fujigaoka. It is a very full day with 8 classes. I leave home at 7 am and don't get home until 10 that night. I really enjoy assisting those classes and look forward to getting to know the students better. Please pray for us that we would be able to teach English effectively and have the courage and boldness to share the Gospel with our students and other people we meet. I have been growing in my faith a lot during my time here. God has been teaching me about patience a lot and that sometimes I have to wait. I have been learning to trust God and trust that He has great things in store for me. I am really learning to wait on God. Please continue to pray for the people of Japan that there hearts would be open to God's truth and love. Pray that God will fill us with joy. Pray that we will be shining lights for God here. Pray that we will continue to grow in our faith and spend time with God regularly and spend time in prayer. Tomorrow in church one person is getting baptized and two people are coming into membership and giving their testimonies. Pray that it would go well and that the man getting baptized would not back out. Pray for the believers in Japan as well that they would stay strong in their faith and be bold in their faith. I am very excited to see how God is going to work here and in our lives. Until next time, Sayonara
Sunday, April 6, 2008
Spring in Japan
This past week has been the week when all the cherry blossoms are in bloom in Japan. I feel so lucky to be visiting Japan during this time. It is absolutely beautiful :) The blooming of the cherry blossoms signals the arrival of spring to Japan and all this past week we have had absolutely gorgeous weather. This past Thursday we had a picnic in the park with some ladies from the church, viewed the cherry blossoms and took pictures. On Saturday we took the train to Inyuama with Wendy, one of the English teachers here, and a couple of Japanese ladies. Inyuama was holding it's spring festival. There was a parade with floats from different cities in Japan. The floats were pulled by men through the streets. There were a lot of booths selling souvenirs and food. There was also a huge garage sale/flea market. We stayed until evening when we watched the floats be lit up by a bunch of paper lanterns. I feel so blessed to have experienced this and to have seen a part of Japanese culture. To see such a different part of the world and to know that we are all created by God in His image is amazing. I have also been frustrated sometimes being here. Sometimes it feels like we are trying to plant in hard, dry soil and there is not much being produced. Japan needs the spirit of God to rain down on it. Already I feel the difference between this missions trip and other missions trips I have been on. It might be that I will come home in June and not have amazing conversion stories or anything like that. It is so different here from other countries. I can imagine how hard it must be for long term missionaries here, sometimes not seeing the fruits of their labour for months. I know that God is bigger than all this though. I believe so strongly that He will rain down here in Japan and it will be powerful. Please keep on praying for the people of Japan, that their hearts would be open. Please pray for the missionaries here, for the Hieberts, that they would continue to be strengthened and encouraged and that they would not lose heart but trust that God is working even though it is not seen. Pray also for the other believers here that they would stay strong in their faith and that they would be filled with a passion for the things of God. Until next time Sayonara
Sunday, March 30, 2008
If we have not love...
Hey!
Last night ( Sunday night Japan time) we got home from visiting Komaki Hope Chapel. It is a church in Komaki. We arrived there on Saturday afternoon and met most of the church members then. We watched the Narnia movie and had dinner at the church. Dinner was Yaki Soba. It is noodles, pork and vegetables and is absolutely amazing. We were split up into pairs and stayed in homes with families from the church. Simone and I stayed with Pastor Abe and his wife in their home above the church. That night we had coffee and fruit with them and talked with them. Sunday morning they made us breakfast and it was huge. We had french toast, strawberries with yogurt, boiled eggs and... cream of corn soup. Okay so I am definitely not used to having soup for breakfast but it was pretty good. And the strawberries here are amazing... so now I know why they are so expensive. We went to the church service there and we played a couple songs for the church and did our drime ( a kind of drama/mime done to music with a bit of dancing). We had a Japanese style barbeque for lunch. They cook meat and vegetables on a grill. It was really good except for the pork that was basically all fat. Definitely not something I enjoyed.... I thought it was eel because when it was cooked it was this grey colour. One of the ladies that goes to english class hosted by the church is a calligraphy teacher and made each of us a calligraphy thing. We found out later that she is not a Christian . It was beautiful. Mine was the character for believe and had white flowers painted on it. God is saying: " Believe that I will heal you. Believe that I have great things in store for you. Believe in the power of love. Have faith. I have made you and I know you. You are precious to me. I care for you. Let me heal all your parts that are broken." God has been showing me that he understands all my hurts and heart aches and has been through his own. He does not say " I told you so" when I get hurt but instead says " I know how it feels". I feel healed over. It is wonderful. Pastor Abe took some of us out for dinner. We went to an Italian restaraunt but it was Japanese style Italian with corn on the pizza. It was really good though. Once again I felt such a strong sense of community and family. Please continue to pray for the people of Japan that God would open their hearts. Pray as well that we would get more students for our english classes, that God would draw the right people to the classes. Pray also that God would open our hearts to hear what else he might be asking us to do during our time here. God is good and I am so glad to be serving Him in Japan. Until next time, Sayonara
Last night ( Sunday night Japan time) we got home from visiting Komaki Hope Chapel. It is a church in Komaki. We arrived there on Saturday afternoon and met most of the church members then. We watched the Narnia movie and had dinner at the church. Dinner was Yaki Soba. It is noodles, pork and vegetables and is absolutely amazing. We were split up into pairs and stayed in homes with families from the church. Simone and I stayed with Pastor Abe and his wife in their home above the church. That night we had coffee and fruit with them and talked with them. Sunday morning they made us breakfast and it was huge. We had french toast, strawberries with yogurt, boiled eggs and... cream of corn soup. Okay so I am definitely not used to having soup for breakfast but it was pretty good. And the strawberries here are amazing... so now I know why they are so expensive. We went to the church service there and we played a couple songs for the church and did our drime ( a kind of drama/mime done to music with a bit of dancing). We had a Japanese style barbeque for lunch. They cook meat and vegetables on a grill. It was really good except for the pork that was basically all fat. Definitely not something I enjoyed.... I thought it was eel because when it was cooked it was this grey colour. One of the ladies that goes to english class hosted by the church is a calligraphy teacher and made each of us a calligraphy thing. We found out later that she is not a Christian . It was beautiful. Mine was the character for believe and had white flowers painted on it. God is saying: " Believe that I will heal you. Believe that I have great things in store for you. Believe in the power of love. Have faith. I have made you and I know you. You are precious to me. I care for you. Let me heal all your parts that are broken." God has been showing me that he understands all my hurts and heart aches and has been through his own. He does not say " I told you so" when I get hurt but instead says " I know how it feels". I feel healed over. It is wonderful. Pastor Abe took some of us out for dinner. We went to an Italian restaraunt but it was Japanese style Italian with corn on the pizza. It was really good though. Once again I felt such a strong sense of community and family. Please continue to pray for the people of Japan that God would open their hearts. Pray as well that we would get more students for our english classes, that God would draw the right people to the classes. Pray also that God would open our hearts to hear what else he might be asking us to do during our time here. God is good and I am so glad to be serving Him in Japan. Until next time, Sayonara
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Missing you
So I feel kind of bad for not updating my blog sooner but I have been busy and tired this week. This past Sunday was Easter as everybody probably knows. Easter in Japan is a lot different than Easter in North America. It's not even acknowledged by a holiday by companies and there are no stores selling giant chocolate bunnies or easter candies. I didn't miss the commercialism one bit. The church we are helping at had an Easter service that day. We had a nice Easter message and our team performed a drime for the church. We ate lunch with the church, which we do almost every Sunday. That was followed by a piano concert by one of the English teachers, Sean and a telling of the Easter story for the kids. We had an Easter egg hunt in the park after for the kids and a pinata. When we got back to the house we found Easter baskets for each of us that a couple of the girls I am here with put together. They also had a surprise chocolate hunt for us. That was pretty cool and made each of us feel a bit better about not being at home for Easter. For Easter dinner we made sushi (california rolls to be exact). We didn't end up eating until 8 o clock though because the first time we were making the rice our rice cooker shut off half way through and the rice didn't turn out. It was pretty funny though and now we have a bowl of hardened rice on our counter. Apparently it serves the very useful purpose of a paper weight and holding meat down in water when we are trying to defrost it. Other than that my week has been rather uneventful. We have been handing out fliers for our English classes in April. Please pray that God would draw people to those classes and that God would draw more people to the other teacher's classes as well. This is a major ministry for the church we are helping at in Toyota. Pray for us that as we start to teach we would be able to teach effectively and for the other English teachers as well. Pray that God would guide us and give us wisdom as we teach so that our students will be able to get something out of the classes. For many of us this is our first time teaching. Pray that we would not be nervous but that we would be able to trust in God. Continue to pray for the people of Japan that their hearts would be opened to the message of God and that they would see God's love in big ways. Pray also for me ,because I am starting to feel a bit homesick now, that I would be able to keep my heart focused on God and the work that I need to do here in Japan. A big shout out to all my friends in Kelowna and everywhere else. I miss you all and you guys are awesome. Until next time, Sayonara.
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
God is moving!!!
Hey!
This weekend we went to Hirakata to visit with one of the churches there. It is called Hirakata Christ Church and it is amazing. I could totally see God moving in that church and the people there. We stayed in a house right next to the church. It was small compared to the house we are living in here in Toyota. It made me very grateful for our house here. We left on Saturday afternoon from Toyota when the pastor of the church, Pastor Fujino, came and picked us up. He is Japanese but speaks English very well. He is very passionate about God and the people in Japan. He also makes jokes tbat we don't really understand because he uses a really serious tone of voice. But he was really fun. We arrived in Hirakata after a two hour drive and were shown around our house had fellowship with the pastor and met Christina an international student from the states. She spent the whole weekend with us acting as a translator and helping us out. We went out for dinner with a family from the church. They were so friendly and their children were so cute. On Sunday we went to the service at the church we were visiting. I was so encouraged by the members joy and faith. We had fellowship with the church members and international students from a university in japan the whole day. The church members made us a special dinner and at the end of the night they sang us a song and prayed for us. It felt like we were all one big family. I felt the idea that all followers of Jesus are a family to be so true. On monday Pastor Fujino took us to Kyoto. We went and visited a castle, the Golden Pavillion and some Bhuddist and Shinto temples. What was really heartbreaking was to see the people offering their prayers to the different gods when they don't know what they are really worshipping and to see that it is so empty. I urge you to pray for the people of Japan that their hearts would be opened to the truth and that God would reveal Himself to them in big ways. That night we went to a sushi bar for dinner. These are really popular in Japan. You sit at tables and a conveyer belt with sushi on it passes around and you grab whatever you want off it. You can also special order things and there is a little plastic train that will come to your table with your special order. We went shopping in the evening. On Monday we went to Osaka and went and saw Osaka castle. Inside was a museum with displays on the history of the castle. When we were leaving two Japanese girls came up to us and asked for our picture. I think it is funny that we have instant celebrity status here because we don't look Japanese. I am pretty sure it is not the last time something like that will happen. We then met up with Pastor Hiebert and he drove us back to our home here in Toyota. His wife made us dinner and it was wonderful. I really enjoyed seeing the rich history of Japan and how God is working through His people here in Japan.
Until next time,
Sayonara
This weekend we went to Hirakata to visit with one of the churches there. It is called Hirakata Christ Church and it is amazing. I could totally see God moving in that church and the people there. We stayed in a house right next to the church. It was small compared to the house we are living in here in Toyota. It made me very grateful for our house here. We left on Saturday afternoon from Toyota when the pastor of the church, Pastor Fujino, came and picked us up. He is Japanese but speaks English very well. He is very passionate about God and the people in Japan. He also makes jokes tbat we don't really understand because he uses a really serious tone of voice. But he was really fun. We arrived in Hirakata after a two hour drive and were shown around our house had fellowship with the pastor and met Christina an international student from the states. She spent the whole weekend with us acting as a translator and helping us out. We went out for dinner with a family from the church. They were so friendly and their children were so cute. On Sunday we went to the service at the church we were visiting. I was so encouraged by the members joy and faith. We had fellowship with the church members and international students from a university in japan the whole day. The church members made us a special dinner and at the end of the night they sang us a song and prayed for us. It felt like we were all one big family. I felt the idea that all followers of Jesus are a family to be so true. On monday Pastor Fujino took us to Kyoto. We went and visited a castle, the Golden Pavillion and some Bhuddist and Shinto temples. What was really heartbreaking was to see the people offering their prayers to the different gods when they don't know what they are really worshipping and to see that it is so empty. I urge you to pray for the people of Japan that their hearts would be opened to the truth and that God would reveal Himself to them in big ways. That night we went to a sushi bar for dinner. These are really popular in Japan. You sit at tables and a conveyer belt with sushi on it passes around and you grab whatever you want off it. You can also special order things and there is a little plastic train that will come to your table with your special order. We went shopping in the evening. On Monday we went to Osaka and went and saw Osaka castle. Inside was a museum with displays on the history of the castle. When we were leaving two Japanese girls came up to us and asked for our picture. I think it is funny that we have instant celebrity status here because we don't look Japanese. I am pretty sure it is not the last time something like that will happen. We then met up with Pastor Hiebert and he drove us back to our home here in Toyota. His wife made us dinner and it was wonderful. I really enjoyed seeing the rich history of Japan and how God is working through His people here in Japan.
Until next time,
Sayonara
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Teach me , Sensei
Ahhhh. Japan is amazing. I have been here for a week and I find myself starting to fall in love with this place. This is of course the honeymoon stage so my outlook may change. I am living in a traditional Japanese style house right by the church. The houses here are really close together small. The people here are so polite. Today we had a lesson on Japanese manners. There are a lot of things that are taboo mostly relating to table manners. It was quite interesting especially when we found out that there are things that aren't good manners that we have done since we have been here. Yipes! The church that the Hieberts pastor is amazing. Even though I hardly know the people they feel just like family. And it is a church with regular attendance for services equalling 35 so everybody is really close. A really cool experience was eating lunch on sunday with the church. Even though a lot of the people don't speak much english it was really cool to share a meal together. The Hieberts are a wonderful family as well. They have such a great understanding of Japanese culture and customs and are really hospitable. The work they are doing here in Japan is great and they are so passionate about what God is doing here in Japan. They have a daughter that is a couple of years younger than our team and we really enjoy hanging out with her. There is also an esl teacher close to our age named Sean, who lives on the church property as well. We will all hang out sometimes usually at our place because it is bigger.
Today we sat in on a couple of the esl classes and it was really interesting to see how it was done. I still have one more to sit in on yet this evening. It is a bit later so that shall be interesting. We also had our first Japanese lesson today. It felt like I was back in school. I really enjoyed it though and when our teacher (sensei in japanese) pulled out the two workbooks for the two different japanese alphabets I got a bit giddy ( so I am a bit of a dork and really enjoy learning languages). I just can't wait until I learn a bit more although I doubt 3.5 months is enough time to become fluent or even semi-fluent in Japanese. So today has really been a full day but I don't have anything until 2pm tomorrow which means sleep in time. Yes! God has been teaching me a lot these past couple of days as well. It has been a really good experience for me and I am feeling lifted up and encouraged. I am feeling strengthened and ready to go. So now I will say Sayanora and bid you good night and a pleasant tomorrow.
Today we sat in on a couple of the esl classes and it was really interesting to see how it was done. I still have one more to sit in on yet this evening. It is a bit later so that shall be interesting. We also had our first Japanese lesson today. It felt like I was back in school. I really enjoyed it though and when our teacher (sensei in japanese) pulled out the two workbooks for the two different japanese alphabets I got a bit giddy ( so I am a bit of a dork and really enjoy learning languages). I just can't wait until I learn a bit more although I doubt 3.5 months is enough time to become fluent or even semi-fluent in Japanese. So today has really been a full day but I don't have anything until 2pm tomorrow which means sleep in time. Yes! God has been teaching me a lot these past couple of days as well. It has been a really good experience for me and I am feeling lifted up and encouraged. I am feeling strengthened and ready to go. So now I will say Sayanora and bid you good night and a pleasant tomorrow.
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