2012 Calvary Chapel Japan Conference

 

The Japan conference is held every year in Okinawa but this year, they decided to have it for the first time in Tokyo. It was a lot of fun meeting so many Christians in Japan. The conference was about Jesus being our Shepherd and how we are to walk as sheep. About seven pastors spoke over the two day event, from Calvary Chapels in Tokyo and Okinawa.

 

Pastor Rick from CC Okinawa speaking

 

Worship practice

 

Pastor Rich from CC Fuchu speaking

 

At the Foot of the Cross worship song... in Japanese! I almost cried, it was so good. I was moved just seeing so many Japanese Christians worshipping the Lord. There are so few Christians in Japan and elsewhere, so there's a special part of me that felt connected. Please pray for more opportunities for the Japanese to know Christ.

It's A Small World

I recently found out that a Christian friend (guy wearing plaid on the far right in the photo above) I have in the States knows the pastors at Calvary Chapel Tokorozawa and Calvary Chapel Fuchu. This may not sound unusual ("Christians know everybody, we're family!"), but it gets better.

This friend shared the gospel to one of my best friends back in 2001 and she got saved. My best friend shared the gospel to me and led me to Christ back in 2003. A few years later, the friend went to Japan for a summer and met both pastors at CC Tokorozawa. He went with one of our other mutual friends. The friend moved on with his life in the States, but our mutual friend ended up moving to Japan a few years ago. In Tokyo, out of all the other Calvaries here, I ended up personally serving at both CC Tokorozawa and CC Fuchu. And here I am living in Japan. It's neat seeing how God uses people in the most interesting ways.

Sunday Services in April

God is so good! I was super blessed to spend five weeks serving on Sundays at Calvary Chapel Tokorozawa with Aya and Hae-Young, my ministry team. CC Tokorozawa is one of the first Calvaries to open in Tokyo and is located in uptown Tokyo. My team mostly helped with the kids ministry there: they have three age groups and all meet in a church member's house that's right next door to the church.
The church body is small but its purpose is far from it. Pastor Travis and wife Dawn were some of the warmest people I've ever met. Many people have come and grown in Christ through this tiny church being here and it ministers perfectly to the neighborhood it's in. Below: bilingual worship time with the kids.

 

Almost every week, we went out to the park to play kickball and spend time with the kids. 

Little Elijah and my classmate Aya. I feel like at every church I go to, there's always a little cute boy named Elijah.

 

The elementary school kids at the church blew me away. Many of them were extremely smart and well-versed in their knowledge of the Bible. The Japanese kids would follow along with the Bible reading in English, so they could study the language at the same time.

 

One of the things I will miss about Tokyo is the people I met at Tokorozawa. God has been so faithful to teach me a lot about ministry in Japan. I got to see how to teach kids the Bible better, so they can grow up knowing Him more. I learned a lot of great stuff to take with me for the future.

San Francisco

I took time away from the Bible College to fly back to the States for my best friend's wedding. I was only back for about four days but it was a super blessed time seeing old friends and celebrating. Since I was in the wedding as well, it was a lot of fun helping my friend get ready for her big day.

 

One of the reasons I also came was to see my other best friend, her husband, and their little girl who was turning one in May. Little Immy had gotten so big and a billion times cuter :P

 

I also got to see old church friends from Calvary Chapel San Francisco, the church I was reborn at, grew up at, and left just before coming to Bible College.

  

My friend and her husband eating dinner at the married table :) I know both of them very well, so it was so sweet to see them get married.

 

Eventhough I was only back in the States for a weekend, it was nice to catch up with life and people in America. I think being gone for eight months didn't bring a reverse culture shock as with most people. I instead felt it was just a life I left a long time ago and became eager to come back to Japan and start serving the Lord again.

Tohoku Missions Trip

April 3rd to 5th was our Tohoku Missions Trip. Tohoku is where last year's east Japan Earthquake and Tsunami disaster hit. We stayed at Higashi Matsushima, a small harbor town that was completely wiped out by the tsunami. On the way, we passed through Sendai, one of the areas where the earthquake was severely hit.

The reason we made the trip out to Tohoku was to coincide with the Franklin Graham Crusade that happened about a month ago. In memory of the one year anniversary to the earthquake, Franklin Graham had put on a evangelistic festival in the area. We went out for the three days in trying to reach those who may have heard about the festival or went, and are looking for fellowship and encouragement about the gospel they heard. We stayed here: this is the home of Chuck and Yumi Robb. The Robbs came out last fall in an effort to reach out to the community in Higashi Matsushima. They live in one of the few houses that were not destroyed by the tsunami, sitting on top of this one hill.

On the way to their house, we drove by debris that is still floating in water that hasn't dried up yet.

We stayed in pre-fab homes that were built shortly after the tsunami hit. About 35 households are still living in these homes.

These homes have been abandoned because this area is forever considered a dangerous zone to rebuild.

The outreach we did went well. Chuck and Yumi spoke a little on their reason for coming to the Tohoku area. We had a time of worship, did the redemption skit, and provided dinner.

Earlier that day, we had a get together with some of the women living in the pre-fab homes. Many of them are open to the gospel, so we went in hope of sharing Christ's love to them. They enjoyed the worship we had and stayed and chatted for most of the morning.

It was a sober yet sweet time serving in Tohoku. Please continue to pray for Chuck and Yumi Robb in the Tohoku area and for the people in northern Japan who have been and are still living through the effects of the earthquake. Holy Spirit, may you open their hearts to see you and know true hope in Jesus.

Sakura

Sakura season has started! I haven't seen Sakura (cherry blossoms) in Japan since I was a child. It was pretty なつかしい(nostalgic). They are all over our neighborhood.

My Tokyo ministry team under the cherry blossoms in Tokorozawa, a nearby city in the Saitama prefecture of Tokyo.

Fuchū

The Bible College in Tokyo is located in the city of Fuchū. Tokyo spans a huge area in Japan, having a lot of prefectures. Think of Los Angeles. We're outside the main area of Tokyo - away from the famous city streets, Tokyo tower, shopping districts. etc. This makes the campus a really quiet place, but we can easily go to the hub of Tokyo on the subway if and when we want to.

I did some exploring the other day around our neighborhood and saw an old Yamazaki bread shop. Had to take a pic because my mother works at this Japanese bread and cake company back in the States. The place looked like it's been here since the 50s. On the subway the other day, I saw a touch screen vending machine! Tokyo's modernization is pretty nifty to me sometimes :)

At the Bible College here, we're located about two minutes from Calvary Chapel Fuchu. Planted by Pastor Rich Rose and led by him and his wife, the church has a small but solid fellowship. They also run a well established pre-K Christian English School called We Go Eigo (God's outreach ministry in Fuchu).

There are quite a number of kids that attend (maybe 30-40). Rich and Candace head up classes in a residential home converted into the school. Since they teach a Christian curriculum, a lot of the kids end up telling their parents about the Bible and ask them if they can go to church. So many people from the school also come to services. The photo below is worship during Sunday services (also in the same building).

The Monday after arriving in Tokyo, CC Fuchu needed some spring cleaning done at their school, so we cleaned and organized all day (I even made a friend while cleaning).

It's been interesting seeing how a Christian preschool is run and how it ministers to the community. In a place like the outskirts of Tokyo, God's really doing a work here. He is using a lot of dedicated people to build great relationships with the Japanese people.

Edo Museum

Last Saturday, we went to the Edo-Tokyo Museum. This museum, built in 1993, is an amazing display of the history and culture of Tokyo. It spans about 400 years and begins with the beginning of Tokyo as a city, called "Edo" originally.

Getting to the museum was super easy by subway. The admission is 600 yen (about 7 bucks), so it's pretty inexpensive for what they have on display there and for the experience. If you show a college ID, it's 480 yen (little over 5 bucks).

The museum has a replica of the Nihonbashi Bridge, which was the bridge that led into Tokyo and was the pathway into the city during the Edo period. There was a lot of history on the birth of Tokyo and the politics and industrial advancements during the Edo period. They also had a lot of little mini displays of life during the time of the Edo period. Some of them moved mechanically and were pretty elaborate! I LOVED these because they were intricate and because I just love miniature models in general. There were also artifacts on display of modern inventions and influences that came from Europe and America when the Meiji Period began to happen, leading into changes since World War two. The Meiji Era began when Japan began to allow outside people to come into the country and start to modernize Japan. This was around mid 19th to early 20th century.

My classmate Rie trying to pick up 10 kilo water buckets (about 20-25lbs) like the people did back in the day.

It was a really great and relaxing time at the museum. I was initially a little stressed about homework and tried to do some there, but it was much enjoyed to just kick back and check out a true, authentic, and in-depth view of Japan history. The museum is a great way to spend an aftenoon in Tokyo. I'd recommend going if you ever make the trip out here.

Spring Semester - Act 2

Greetings from Tokyo! I've been adjusting to life here in Naichi (mainland Japan), so postings have been delayed, I apologize. We arrived here on March 22 and settled in pretty quickly. Ministry work has become top priority since arriving. Even though it's been a busy two weeks, God has kept us flexible and trusting in Him. A photo below of us students and interns upon arriving at Narita Airport (photo courtesy of Anna.)

Not all interns made the seven week move to Tokyo, but some decided to come. Interns Brevick and Yoshua (below) and I all rode the two hour bus ride from the airport to the Bible College campus. We were in charge of everyone's luggage and after special arrangements with the bus company, we were able to get ALL our luggage on the shuttle bus. From day one in Tokyo, God really showed Himself to us.

We've had some pretty amazing speakers during the last few Friday Lectures. Akashi Kiyomasa spoke a few Fridays ago. He attended Calvary Chapel School of Ministry, has been a missionary in Korea, and now pastors a church in Japan.

At CCBC Japan, students know his teaching well because they listen to his expositional teaching through the Bible in lieu of our "Chuck tracks."
Classes have been continuing on as normal but since the switch, we've been having internet classes with teachers in Okinawa. A photo of me taking notes while in Prison Epistles class, live streaming from Okinawa.

Adjusting to life in Tokyo has been a challenge because of the new environment, routine, and people. To be frank, it has been a true test of faith and I've neglected God's trust on more than one occasion. But the beauty of being in Tokyo has been that of opportunity. In the Bible, God gave Abraham many opportunities of faith because He loved him and Abraham believed in that. I may not have this time to do ministry in Tokyo after this semester because who knows where God will send me next. So since the Lord has me here now, I grasp the privilege of experiencing it during this opportune time, His opportune time, now.

May the Lord continue to keep you in faith. And if you're in Tokyo, come visit the Bible College! The view from the roof is amazing (see below). Mt. Fuji is a sight to see :)

Calvary Chapel Okinawa

This spring, my class schedule gave me a lot of free mornings, so I was able to tag along with some of the interns as they did ministry work during the week. On Thursday mornings, the Bible College helps in ministering to 0-5 yr.s olds while Calvary Chapel Okinawa has their midweek woman's Bible Study. Usually we play with the kids, give a short Bible storytime, have snacks and play games.


Ellen and Molly! Here they are, matching perfectly with each other :) So cute! I was so blessed to serve with Tamiko as well. She's been leading this ministry for several years now, so it's been great to see her teaching these kids.



At times like these, I wish that I grew up in the church and got to come and listen to God's Word like these kids. But then I remind myself that the Father is gracious and favorable to all. He opened up doors such as free mornings, so I still could have a chance to listen to God's Word with these kids.


"Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it." - Proverbs 22:6