So for the first time since we've arrived in Japan (approximately 11 days ago), I can finally say my snow boots have served its purpose... albeit for 15min, since the snow was almost all melted by the time we were on the move. But hey, that didn't stop the joy of actually seeing a snow-laden landscape for a change. Especially for Nat who shifted from a groggy, I-just-woke-up voice to repetitive high pitch squeals.
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Since being here, I've officially boycotted watches and calenders, and relied on the sun and my hunger to tell the time. I still have no idea what day of the week it is every time I wake up until somebody tells me its not the day I'm thinking it is. But seeing how the last post was for Tuesday, I guess I probably have about 2-3 days worth of amazing tales, prayers, and thanksgiving to share with you all =D.
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Wednesday
I guess I'll begin with Wednesday using Nat's photos as my guide and hopefully it'll jog my memory of what's been going on this week. So I believe we went leaflet dropping for Harvest (the church plant in Hirosaki). Ok I lied, it actually snowed on that day too, but only for a short while and very lightly. We split off into pairs and ventured into the neighbourhood armed with invitations to a children's Christmas event at Harvest (on Saturday 11). Afterwards we went back to Harvest to prepare for english classes for the kids, making cookie dough for the kids cooking lesson. Twas great fun, the kids enjoyed themselves and lots of mess was made.
During the english classes themselves we sang a song, Pete did a nativity scene skit involving the kids. What really struck me that day was when the kids were shouting out 'KAMI SAMA' and pointing towards the baby Jesus toy. To see their excitement reminded me of matthew 19:14
14 Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”
...and it was a great encouragement!
After that we hit up dohton bori, a REAL okonomiyaki, not the falsely advertised okonomiyaki that we got in tokyo. Danny had waited eagerly for this =)
The day was ended without another bout of baking!
Prayer Points and Thanksgiving:
- Pray for the Children's Christmas event, that the local community may come with an open heart to a true message of Christmas - Jesus! Pray that God may have mercy on the townsfolk and work in their hearts to lead them home to Him.
- Thank God for all the children He's brought to Harvest church for English classes. Please pray that God may continue to reveal Himself to them.
Thursday
The day once again began at Harvest however was a complete change of pace. The men, empasis on men, did some rewarding and MANly MANual labor as we helped complete the insulation for one of the rooms of the church. It involved high scaffolding and POWER tools. My weapon of choice was the air gun, but to make it sound MANlier it was a gas POWERed nail gun.
Whilst this was going on, the ladies were doing some craft and caretaking, so now to switch to a more feminine author and quick spiel, NAT!
It was good, there were plenty of ladies that came along with around 15 kids and alot stayed back for the lunch.
Back to ROY!
We visited a 100yen store afterwards to buy stuff for our costumes for the young life (youth group) christmas party. I also picked up a nice tie for 105yen which translates to $1.20. WIN!
After that we did leaflet droppings.
That night the men (again the emphasis on men), spent some time, as pete would put it in his terrible american accent, 'in the Word'. We went through the topic of faith and were machine gunned by a truckload of references to the word faith in the bible, surprisingly faith shows up alot in the bible =p
One thing that real stuck out for me in my stay in Japan and that stay is God's sovereignty, that saving faith is a gift from God and it's by His grace that we are able to be reconciled to Him through the resurrection of Jesus. I apologize for the long sentence, please take some time to, as eug would say, 'unpack this'
So it is my prayer that - the japanese community in Hirosaki and Itayanagi may have God reveal Himself to the people. Thank God for the 2 churches that He has planted in Aomori, pray that He uses them as a beacon of light pointing to the person of Jesus.
Side note: Recently I've been having great conversations with a Japanese local called Mame. It's amazing that share so many common interests, we both love the same music and just connect so well. What's more amazing is just how open he is to the gospel, he is not Christian yet, but I believe he is seeking and he has many questions about Christianity. A few days ago we went through two ways to live, he was quite receptive to it, on Tuesday I was also able to share my testimony with him. Please pray for Mame, thank God that He has brought Mame to the church, pray that God may grow this seed that has been planted in his heart. Pray that myself and other people may have opportunities to encourage him through the bible and the Word, and guide him into a better understanding of Christianity
Friday!
This morning, we hit up some preschools to share with them the real story of Christmas, we also played games and sang songs with them (action songs!). We also gave them the cookies we baked all those previous nights. Again it's amazing being able to reach out to these children in Japan, as I reflect I can really see how great a gift children are, that God has given us. A prayer point here is for these children, that God will use these visits to plant seeds in their hearts, that they may come to know the joy that comes in Jesus.
Before the afternoon... MORE BAKING! I think all of us now have become pretty pro at baking cookies thanks to Ruth's amazing tutelage.
After the baking we had the young life christmas party! We all wore costumes and played games together. I shared my testimony and then we had dessert, we continued to enjoy our fellowship over dessert
And now for praaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayer points!
- We're all pretty tired and getting kind of sick, especially Danny, please pray that he may recover quickly and regain his energy to continue to faithfully serve in Japan-
- Also there are two kids who caused quick a ruckus during Christmas party, noise and disrupting wise, so pray for the Ghents, Naomi (their daughter) and Yudai (currently living with the Ghents) that they might be granted the wisdom in how to deal with them in a loving manner.
- Pray for our rest, we are all starting to feel physically drained, some emotionally strained. Give thanks to God for being a gracious God who gives rest, and supplied us a Sabbath on the Monday. Pray that we use it well, and that we glorify God even in our rest!
As a sidenote: Danny may or may not have scribed this blog for a very tired Roydon Wu. He expects the same favor some day =)
With this, I salute you all and bid thee farewell
I assure you I do not normally talk like this, it is getting on in the hours, from Danny
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