Japan Part II

January 2009 Prayer

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November Prayer

Christmas, Christmas everywhere! Christmas Choir, Christmas Bible Study, Christmas Caroling at the train station, and Christmas Decorating/Advent Coffeehouse are just a handful of the activities happening in November (we're just skipping Thanksgiving). Please pray that in the midst of the fun and activities that Jesus' light, truth, joy, and peace would flood the hearts of each adult and child as they sing songs, hang ornaments, and hear about God become man to make a way for them to know and experience His love.
Several new young adult Christians have recently come into our lives (in very assorted ways). Please pray for God to continue to encourage them in faith and connect us as brothers and sisters in fellowship and worship.

October Prayer

Children's Ministry Prayer and Planning Meeting Sat., Oct. 18 - that God would bring several Japanese Christians with excitement and vision for reaching out to the English school and neighborhood kids with the love of Christ.
English Coffeehouse (followed by Evening Worship) on Sat., Oct. 18 - that even with the change from Sundays to Saturdays that God would bring many people who are looking for love, friendship, or purpose - that they would come and discover all of those things in Christ.
English Literacy Seminar on Sat., Oct. 25 - that God would use this as a way to provide an open door for connecting with younger people (high school and university students); also for Haidee as she plans and prepares for leading the 3 hour seminar.
VYM Fall Business Meeting and Retreat (Tokyo), Oct. 28 - Nov. 2 - for health and safety as we travel together; for a spirit of unity and love as we reconnect and/or meet for the first time and talk about our sites, ministries, joys and struggles.

Thanksgiving/Praises

4 Japanese Christians joined us Oct. 18 to talk and pray about children's ministry. One lady talked to me the next day after church really excited to talk and pray more about how God wants to use us to love the kids in the area.
At least 20 people gathered for Coffeehouse, even though it was a new day and time...most of whom stayed for worship afterwards. The talk was given by a church member's daughter who just had a baby after 8 years of waiting. The theme was "patience" and her story touched many people as she talked about letting go of striving after God's blessing (a baby) and simply enjoying loving and relating to God.
Great conversations and relationships were formed at the Literacy Seminar...and they even composed a beautiful poem together as one of the exercises, based simply off of a picture of sullen children. If you would like to read it check it out on our English School's Website.
The VYM Retreat was certainly not conflict and drama-free; however, several people commented numerous times about how quickly and completely the new group assimilated into the existing group of people. It was very good for sharing, encouraging, and simply being together.

September Prayer

Church Bazaar (Sept. 28) - an event that in addition to a craft/garage sale aspect, also has a tea room, games/activities for kids, and is focused on welcoming in and connecting with people from the community. Please pray for relationships to be built and strengthened, and especially for church members to balance the busyness of the bazaar with reaching out to the people...not forgetting that the bazaar is just a tool, but that the relationships and connections with people are the most important.

Thanksgivings! (there are so many, many more, but here is just a small taste of what God has been doing!)

At the beginning of the term we were again longing to start a ministry for kids, but lacking bilingual people to help us do it. That week we got a new student out of the blue...a 9-year old boy who was born and raised in Hawaii...and who is Christian. One of his mom's first questions was "Do you have a Sunday School?". So now we have a Christian, bilingual student!
The Open House at Haidee & Lindsey's was wonderful for new connections and especially connections between students and church members.
Two jr. high girls shared that they believe in Jesus now (as of just a couple weeks ago...they have been coming to Coffeehouses and such all semester)...accomplished mostly by God himself (not surprisingly)...their story reminded me of Pastor Nomura's story...he became a Christian as a jr./sr. high student, largely because of reading Anne of Green Gables...he wanted to know the God in the story and so sought out a church...amazing the ways God works to bring people to Himself, isn't it?!
A Christian, bilingual, professional classical dancer (with previous experience in Tokyo doing liturgical dance) moved to Niigata this month and (again) thanks to crazy God directing, found Nozomi Church (and us!) just a few days after Haidee commented in a half-prayer that we really needed dance! She even has the same day off that we do...and unlike most people with great gifts that I pounce on immediately, she wasn't scared away when all 4 of us pounced on her - instead she told us that when she left Tokyo she told her pastor "I don't know who yet, but I know someone is waiting for me!" God doesn't just supply our daily bread - he gives us music and dance too!

August 2008 Prayer

For the VYM Missionaries who will be gathering for Prayer Retreat Aug. 26-29; that we would rest in God's presence, hear His voice, be filled with His Spirit.
For the Nozomi Church Camp Aug. 30-31; that all attendees would grow closer to God and to each other.
For English School Preparations and Logistics for the Fall Term - wisdom, excellence, and efficiency in putting everything together.
For Children's Ministry at Nozomi; that God would give vision, passion, and direction to at least one, preferably several church members, to partner with the missionaries in ministering to the many children who come each week to the English School

Thanksgiving!

The Prayer Retreat was not what we expected in terms of quiet, personal time with God, but was a wonderful, much needed time of confronting one another and growing together as sisters in Christ. Peaceful is not how I would describe it...but it was definitely peace bringing...and that is far better! It was good on so, so many levels and a wonderful chance to work on true community...not just maintaining peace and appearances!
Church Camp, although short (only 1 day) brought an older English student into relationship with the church body. He started attending my Saturday English Bible Study the next week, and is always asking Haidee and I questions about Jesus now...he has pages and pages of notes. One Friday before her class with him I was clarifying his notes from Bible Study (his English isn't that great) and when I drew on the board and explained that Jesus IS God he was quite shocked. Two kids (8&5 year old grandkids of church members) were there also and Haidee spent most of her time with the older boy...who has been playing piano for only a year and is playing Bach (he's pretty incredible and played all kinds of pieces during camp so that I could waltz!). Haidee started teaching him a Japanese worship song and has tagged him for kid/music ministry. (There aren't many 8-year old boys who will just sit and play a song called "Prayer" with you she pointed out.) He and his family started studying English at the school in September with Lindsey.

24/7 Prayer Week at Nozomi

July 20-27, 2008 at Nozomi Church will be a week of nonstop prayer - 24 hours a day for 7 days. A friend from Tokyo (Pamela) with a passion for prayer held one at her church around Pentecost. I was plotting how to kidnap her to help me with one here about the same time that she was trying to strategize how to get herself invited to do one here. So, discovering that neither of us needed to do any plotting or convincing we excitedly set the dates. That is the last week of English classes here so she will help out with providing direction or filling in empty slots while Haidee and I are teaching. Another friend, Victor, who lived in Japan for 3 years (he lived about 5 minutes away from me when I lived in Shirone) is back in Japan for a month helping Shirone Church and will come join us and help lead worship as well.

Nozomi Church has about 50 official members - usually about 30 people in church on Sundays. They have been excited to take on the challenge of doing this prayer week, but it will still be a big challenge as there are a lot of hours in 1 week. We are all excited though, to see how God speaks to us and changes us in this week. Please pray for the preparations and logistics, as well as for each person to experience God's presence in a very intimate and powerful way as they meet with him. If you would like to join us in spirit by praying specifically for the Prayer Room during that week that would also be wonderful. For the specific concerns or names to pray for, just email me and I will be glad to send you more details.

For more information on the 24/7 Prayer Movement check out their website. http://www.24-7prayer.com/

40 Days of Blessing

I was introduced to a wonderful book filled simply with prayers of blessing - 40 days worth. Stealing the idea from a friend, I have been sending out daily emails to those interested in participating with the theme for the day and ways to pray blessings according to that theme for the people of Nozomi Church, where I work. Below is the current blessing topic and Bible verse if you would like to join in praying blessings with us. If you would like to receive the daily emails also then just send me an email and ask to be included in the daily emails for the 40 Days of Blessing.

The book is "Blessing Your Spirit" by Sylvia Gunter and Arthur Burk if you are interested in getting the book and reading the full blessings each day. It really is wonderful and I recommend it.
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(July 23) Day #32: Strength to Equal Your Days
"...Your strength will equal your days." (Deuteronomy 33:25)

"For to be sure, he was crucified in weakness, yet he lives by God's power. Likewise, we are weak in him, yet by God's power we will live with him to serve you." (2 Corinthians 13:4)

"In Him was life, and that life was the light of men." (John 1:4)

"The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life." (John 6:63)

(July 21) Day #30: Peace with God
"But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed." (Isaiah 53:5)

"For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near." (Ephesians 2:14-17)

(July 19) Day #28: An Ambassador of Peace Sent to Reconcile

"As it is written: 'There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one. Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit. The poison of vipers is on their lips. Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood; ruin and misery mark their ways, and the way of peace they do not know. There is no fear of God before their eyes.'" (Romans 3:10-18)

"How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, 'How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!" (Romans 10:14-15)

(July 17) Day #26: Destroying Authority that Establishes Chaos

"Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints." (Ephesians 6:14-18)

(July 16) Day #25: Generational Covenant of Life & Peace

"My covenant was with [Levi], a covenant of life and peace, and I gave them to him; this called for reverence and he revered me and stood in awe of my name. True instruction was in his mouth and nothing false was found on his lips. He walked with me in peace and uprightness, and turned many from sin." (Malachi 2:5-6)

(July 15) Day #24: Hunger for God

"There was great joy in Jerusalem, for since the days of Solomon, son of David, king of Israel, there had been nothing like this in Jerusalem. The priests and the Levites stood to bless the people, and God heard them, for their prayer reached heaven, his holy dwelling place." (II Chronicles 30:26-27)

(July 14) Day #23: Reproducing Your Values

"You became imitators of us and of the Lord." (I Thessalonians 1:6)

"I know, my God, that you test the heart and are pleased with integrity. All these things have I given willingly and with honest intent. And now I have seen with joy how willingly your people who are here have given to you. O Lord, God of our Fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, keep this desire in the hearts of your people forever, and keep their hearts loyal to you." (I Chronicles 29: 17-18)

Cindy's Life as a Missionary in Japan...Again