Tell of His Wonders

Come and see.
http://thegarden.cc

More media?

Being back is hard. It's almost like the more I remember, the more I look at pix, the more I want to go back. Even hearing random Japanese quickens my heart. Will we be able to adequately convey to all you lovely folks our experiences??

***

Thanks, JeanChoi, for unloading all the pix. Hope you all enjoy them and hopefully we will add some captions soon.

I know this trip was a bit media-heavy, with pictures, emails, and blogs/Xanga, but there was also the podcast. For those of you who are a little less tech-savvy, here's a link to a site with all of our podcasts. Please be aware that the last two were done at 11:30pm on our last night in Japan, so they don't really make sense. Enjoy!

vicariously through photos

hello all!
thank you for your immense encouragements and support! we're back in good old california and we have lots of pictures!
i've officially uploaded (or as our team called it "unloaded") ALL of our pictures onto our respective flickr site. (click "Our Pictures" on the right panel) it's un-cut, un-edited, ALL of our pictures!
please enjoy!

here's one we enjoyed...the randomness of japan sometimes... oh how we miss it!

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With a heavy kokoro [heart]...

So tonight was our last *ministry* event. It was so very sad to say bye to faces we may never see again. Here in Japan, to say *see you later,* you say *Matanae* or *Janae.* But you say *Sayoonara* when you may never see each other again. A sad turn of phrase indeed, but it is true in this setting. My heart breaks with the thought of saying goodbye to this beautiful country with even more beautiful ppl. Please help us re-adjust to America by asking us loads of questions about our trip. We have a million stories to tell.

We:re off to Kyoto tomorrow and then it:s back to the USA. Matanae.

P.S. Sorry for the punctuation. Japanese keyboards have the marks in different places.
P.P.S. Sorry that I:m always the one posting. I seem to always have internet access.

breaking the mold

the amazing part is that we've been seeing God break our mold. the very insecurities and weaknesses and pet peeves we came with are slowly being broken. Praise God! it's just intriguing to see how God works, and through means of taking us overseas merely to soften our hardened selves.
where once it was a struggle to go up to pure strangers who have absolutely no idea what the heck this korean-american girl is saying, it is now only just a SLIGHT challenge. it's crazy how communication through body language and expressions work. I have never experienced that until now. they know nothing but "hello. how are you?" and us the same in japanese, except that even if they answered, we wouldn't understand! and if they know a little bit of english, in our excitement we ask them various questions in english, hoping we can stumble upon a question and answer they know, and vice versa! you don't understand how quickly and randomly our topics of conversations change! but even with that, God has been allowing us to communicate! sometimes, it's unbelievable!

it truly has been a journey. as we come down to our home stretch, please pray that God will shoot us more energy and joy so that we may pour out all that God willed for Japan to experience this summer. (because all i know is that we're being TREMENDOUSLY blessed!)

thanks!

Small coincidences

Satsuko/Satchuko // Started attending an English class offered by the church. Became a believer.

Ikuko // Liked to sing and joined the gospel choir through the church. Started attending the church and was saved.

Otake Sensei // His mother [non-Christian] was a nurse many years ago with a doctor who was a Christian. The things he taught her planted seeds in her mind, so that when years later Sensei joined a religion, she realized that it was a cult. [The Moonies] Because they were concerned about him, they went to his university to rescue him from the cult. They found a Christian who told them that oftentimes people in cults need another religion/belief to take the place of the improper one. Because they desperately wanted him out of the cult, they asked for the help of several Christians, they rented a room and kidnapped Otake Sensei to deprogram him. They sung praises, they read the Word, and kept watch over him 24 hours a day. His father even took off 2 months of work to take care of him. Eventually, he was rescued, was saved, and knew immediately that he wanted to become a pastor. As time passed, his mother was saved, his sister was saved, and his sister's husband was saved as well. His father is "almost" saved as well.

God is moving in Japan. It indeed takes longer, but you cannot deny that He is rescuing ppl left and right over here. Small coincidences in God's hand = new creation and new life.

Justin, Otake Sensei, & Soh @ Sushi Ro [the sushi boat equivalent x 1000]

SOMEN!

hey guys! thanks for checking our blog out and commenting and such! it really is such an encouragement!
first off, the food here is FANTASTIC! my goodness!
today = an incredible somen noodle experience. so they would send down clumps of noodles down a pipe and we had to snatch them up with our chopsticks! and that was our lunch!

the people here are AMAZING! so open, so willing, so generous, so hospitable.

Fighting to stay awake to combat jetlag

Me: I don't feel like blogging. Is there anything blog-worthy?
PaulChoi: You mean besides everything?

So in lieu of a post, here's a pic of what the church here [our church now] created to announce our arrival. Sugoi.

Podcasting From Japan

Konnichiwa from Japan! We`ve now been here for about 24 hrs, and i can truly say that God has been doing some incredible stuff in and through the team. Alot of new experiences and really good food is what it amounts too, but best of all we`ve been able to connect with the community through this Summer Bible school for children. It was just such an amazing time spending it with the local people. After this we had a meeting with our missionary partner Peter, in whom really enlightened us to a many different things that have really filled my heart with such joy and expectation! We even did a Podcast! For those of you who listen to Podcasts, its a podcast called "Japan Stories" So check it out as it`ll be updated from time to time! And for those of you who dont know what Podcasts are, they are voice recordings that you may subscribe to on I-Tunes for all sorts of reasons. So Please check it out! Hear about the amazing things that are going on! God bless everyone! till next time! Ja-ne!

two thoughts:

1) another reason why i adore this team: knows how to enjoy fooooood!

2) wow...so this is it! this troop is boarding the plane in exactly 36 hours and 18 minutes from the time of this post! pl ease, please pray for us! we cannot go without you!

Send-off Update

Ohayo! Our send-off time has been bumped up to 10a, not 10:30a. Please come and see us off at the American Airlines terminal.

2 more days!! I'm going delirious w/the excitement!!

Fresh

I love these shirts that we got for missions this year... even my parents said it was cool! ^_^ anyhow, i think the thing that has impacted me the most during this process would be having just experienced God's amazingly wonderful blessing! From being prayed for by a church prayer leader from Harvest Crusade to the incredible amount of support I've been given financially and motivationally (is that a word?) God has done some ridiculous things in and through me. I've been changed, and am learning the value of growth not just from trials, but from the receiving of gifts(blessings). What a powerful thing it is, to be a son of God! What a mind blowing statement! A son of God... what a weird yet profound thing we are. Amazing even, and so true. After all that God has done in these past two months, i cant help but feel eager to see how God moves our team in Japan! What a blessing it'll be im sure.

!!

Wahoo!! As of tonight, I have raised $5 more than necessary for the trip! So if you were planning on sending me money, please don't! Give it to another worthy cause instead. Or else it might go to us to enjoy some nice Kobe steak [which Hannah SWEARS will cost us pennies to get since we'll be so close to Kobe]. Mmmhmm...

Anyway, to inject some levity into this blog, who is your favorite quasi-Japanese fictional character?

1. Mr. Miyagi
2. O-Ren [aka Lucy Liu from Kill Bill]
3. Ryu from Street Fighter
4. Pikachu
5. Any of the Chinese-accented actress from Memoirs of a Geisha

in the midst of chaos...

we still meet.
so just as paul mentioned, we had our last official-unofficial training yesterday. and even after discussing how insane our weeks will be with mad overtime at work, packing, running personal errands, running team errands, pulling stuff together, we STILL squeezed in time for Team Voltron bonding! hahahhaha...i <3 you guys! God has definitely been working in and through this troop.
And again, again we thank you, supporters, for your prayers and encouragements! SERIOUSLY! we can't go without them!
so if i may, remind you once again of our prayer theme:

U.N.F.U.R.L

U = Unity

N = Natives

F = Faith

U = Unending Inexplicable Joy

R = Relationships

L = Love and Light

Blown away!

So about three weeks or so ago I took my sister to be an extra for this one television show. I forget what its called... And while I was reading my book "Intercessory Prayer" this lady came up to me and asked what book I was reading. After telling her, i found out that she herself is a Christian as well... In Fact she is one of the Prayer leaders for Harvest Crusade! Greg lourie's church! Crazy huh?... After speaking to her awhile about my vision for the future and how i'll be going to Japan, she asked me for my email address and told me that she'd be praying for me... IN fact! that she'd get her whole Intercessory prayer group to pray! Not just for me, but also for Japan, and our Japan team! Craziness right? So anyhow, I decided to email her about a week ago, to update her on what was going on with the Japan team thinking that she may have forgotten about my group. Heck she may not have ever prayed for us, but that thought was quickly banished as i recieved her email back... I only hope this serves to encourage any of you who read this... so here it is... ^_^
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Justin,

Thank you so much for updating me on your upcoming missions trip. I was so blessed and encouraged after meeting with you. I came home and shared with my husband and we've been lifting you and your vision, your schooling and your upcoming trip to Japan. I've also added you to our intercessory prayer group. Justin words can't express how excited (as well as convicted) by your desire to minister to youth and that "forgotten" age group of young adults and college students!!

I believe God is going to do indescribable works through you my friend! (Ephesians 3:20)

Be confident that you will remain in our prayers as well as the Japan trip attachment is being forwarded to our Intercessory Prayer Group. (and posted where we can be reminded to stand in the gap!)

(We just took sign ups yesterday for an increase in intercessor's!!)

If you have time I would love to hear the feedback from your Japan trip. (I haven't stopped praying for the people since you shared the spiritual battle there...)

encouraged in heart, united in love

2My purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, 3in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

Colossians 2:2-3

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These days i've been reading from Colossians and I feel like there is so much in that letter that will translate in Japan. This verse especially rings true to both what we desire to do in japan -to encourage others and be united with them in love, and also to communicate with non-believers the riches to be found in God and hope that they get to really know Him and that the words bear fruit....

to our supporters - please pray that we would have those divine encounters with people with hearts that are of fertile soil - that we could plant seeds that will take root and not wither.

(In exactly two weeks we will be at the airport getting ready to depart. It seems so far away... yet i know the time will come quickly! Crazy!)

meaning

talking about meaning...
i keep on thinking of that image again. no exact meaning or revelation or epiphany regarding it, but the image is there and alive and kickin'! maybe it's just a simple explanation, or even something that will be revealed during our journey. hmmm..

image:
cityscape, stacked buildings, skyscrapers, a mass of figures standing, sprawled across the metropolitan picture, no identity, no distinction, just pillars of ashes, colorless. as the light draws in from the upper left corner of my mind, it begins to listlessly wisp away the ashes, revealing the forehead, the brows, the eyes, the nose, and giving color and identity.

the image is apparent. so apparent.

Whoa...

I just found out that my mom's dad went to college in Osaka, Japan. I don't know why, but it just gave me chills. Some meaning or just random? I don't know. But this trip keeps getting crazier and crazier...

Rocked, Rolled, Jelly filled... Yumm...

Wow, I say Wow... Amazed by grace, torn away by mercy. Having been sucker punched to the face by the enemy's fantastic scheme's, God made quick work of the enemy by providing me more!... Amazed by grace, torn away by mercy... Last week I found out that i was going to be a little more than $400 something short of meeting my goal for Missions and $450 something short on my visa credit card because of various events... Totaly enemy influenced... I wont go into detail, but ya i was sucker punched to the Face! But in just three days after having asked for prayer and praying hard on my own... God not only provided for me the money for what i was lacking to pay for Japan and my own credit card, but also provided even more then what i had before for Japan!... PRaise God!!!... So though i was like flour mixed with yeast and water, then Rocked then rolled, God filled me with Jelly!!! Oh Joy! Oh How sweet is the Lord almighty! Can i get a Amen?!?!
^_^ Hehe...

Oops!

Haha, sorry all you lovely commenters out there! I just learned that I have to accept all your comments before they show on the blog. Sorry about that. Thanks so much for the lovin!! It's encouraging to know that you all are interested and engaged in what we're writing about and that we're not just writing it for ourselves. I am blessed because of all of you out there in Internet-land reading and sharing in our journey.

17 more days to go!!
[Oh man, a bit of nervous nausea just hit me for a sec there...]

Attacks...

The retreat this past week was just amazing! We had so much fun bonding together while eating great food. It seriously felt like a least a two day retreat since we did so much! It was in a word, a Blessing... But now after being back, I feel like the enemy has been trying to get me down with just an array of different things, using my parents, work, school and just other small things to get me down. But what am i to do? Back down? NEver! i'll never back down from being attacked. So i pray and pray for the Lord's strength and i am asking for more blessings as well. As it is, as a team i think we could all use more and more prayer, so those of you who are reading this... would pray for us regularly? prayers of protection in the spiritual, that God would foul the plans of the enemy, and would bless us as well. Thank you!

Recuperating...

The mini-retreat was a blast as you may have gathered from Jean's email. Although it was literally about 24 hours...it was the longest 24 hours ever - and I mean that in the best way possible. Our team has really grown in love for one another and just being ourselves... or so I think :)

God is really answering our prayers, that we would grow in unity. So thanks to all of you supporters who have lifted us up... He is definitely working to bind us together.

Which reminds me...people have said that they check our blog - but no one leaves comments! We want to know who you are and who reads this besides us. So drop us a comment or even just a quick "hello" - we'd love to hear from you!

bonding

hey, don't know about the rest of you guys, but the retreat was a blast! from waking up at 7:00 in the morning, to eating an insanely huge b-fast at marmalade cafe, to random toys R us and target runs (we DID spend a significant time there), to watching france beat brazil, to eating BBQ madness at "it's all in the sauce" (justin, have you checked out the one near home yet?), to seeing thrift shops for "retarded children" and "pets" (those signs were a little awkward), to justin wanting to be super dark, to knocking out at the beach, to throwing the $2 frisbee around (man, we're really not that good...), to watching A Cinderella Story (no further comment), to praying together and sharing with each other, to more eating at Freebirds (gargantuas burritos!), to zonking out, only to wake up to more good food (BUTTERY pancakes at Dupar's!), to our good old ride back, to our middle-of-the-mall/theater coffee run, and to our acronym-creating obsession! (i think this was just tj...hehe...G.O.P.C....haha....P.O.C.T....just ask us). whew...goooood and necessary bonding time! you guys just get more and more awesome!

these are my two favorite pictures:

THE LAMP:

THE ICEBOX:

Retreat

This weekened the team will be heading out for a Japan team retreat. I cant help but feel excited since we'll be able to spend some good time fellowshiping together as well as just having fun. =) My only concern is that we dont burn in the sun as we head off to the Beach!...hehe

Piggy-backing off what TJ said, I've been thinking these days about our time in Japan and what we will be doing there.

The other day I spoke with my cousin who brought it to my attention that the Japanese people are some of the most difficult to reach. For the most part they don't realize a need for God b/c they are very rich in other ways. He was saying how this is going to be a HUGE challenge - for us to somehow get the point across that they need God. I know we've talked about this subject numerous times but it hit me yesterday - this is not going to be easy. How will we get through?? O Lord - will we need help!

I know for myself i get very frustrated and flustered when it comes to getting a point across that doesn't penetrate. Throw in a language barrier and that is one huge crazy challenge. This is why we need more from all of you... our supporters. Please pray for us!! That we will perservere and relay God's message in the best way possible and that it would be communicated and received clearly.

Thank you so much again for your prayers and support...

Spy Training

So some of our supporters have been a bit baffled when we talk about our trip. Here is a typical conversation...

"So what exactly are you guys going to do in Japan?"
"Well, we're going to be working with a local church to build relationships with the local community members with the intent that they will join the church."
"Soooo, does that mean VBS? Body worship? Street evangelism with big signs?"
"It's pretty much about just meeting ppl, being an entry point for the non-believers to get a picture of who God is, who the body is. We may have parties, maybe do some English teaching, things like that."
"...So how do you train for that?"

Good question. This weekend, our team is going on a mini-retreat to train and prepare for the trip. It should include lots of arduous eating, strenuous beach-sleeping, and perhaps a burrito or two. Don't you wish you joined our team this year? =T A huge thing about our trip is our team itself. If we don't love each other, delighting in each others company, we can't be an adequate model for who God is and what a fellowship of believers look like. So part of our training is simply growing in initimacy w/God individually, with the other part being growing in intimacy w/one another. In a sense, our trainings are "easier" as we don't have millions of crafts to cut out or skits to rehearse, but in another sense, it's more "difficult" as we have a less tangible measure of our preparations. So a weekend of rest and fun is going to help us fortify our bonds and get us used to being w/each other for an extended period of time. Kinda like when "Saved by the Bell" all worked at the beach club over the summer with Mr. Carosi. Good times indeed.

Thanks for your support!

desperation

senior year of college i had a HUGE banner across my bedroom wall that read: DESPERATION. the instant people would walk in they'd either cringe or chuckle a bit. "pssshhch..desperation.., " they'd say. but it meant more to me than what they perceived to be a pathetic plea. because it was far from that. i know that the word can bear a negative connotation, but it stood on the opposite side of that. i realized, that year, that i had to come to a point of desperation to want it so bad not to let it go. a place where i had no choice, can't look to the left, can't look to the right, just look up. yeah, i could be talking about academics, exercising, what have you. but i meant God, i meant my relationship with Him, His desires, His will. and it's coming back, but in the form of prayer. maybe that's what travial means.

Unity

I'm just amazed how quickly time is clicking away until we leave for Japan. Just amazing! it seems like just yesturday i had made my decision to go. But here i am, with only about a month left to go, and i couldn't be happier. I've loved my past teams so much, God always seems to place just the right people in each group, and this year is no different. Having been able to work together to put on our We Heart Japan night, i've already been able to see just how wonderfully everything is going to be. With each new area i go to comes new challenges but im confident that with the power of the Holy Spirit we'll take ground for Christ's kingdom!

Reality Check

31 days left to go...
I wonder what it'll be like...
Today's hot and then cool breezy weather reminded me of Linda Vista in Oaxaca. And with that came the unease and discomfort of being in a new place, completely out of my element. I remember the difficulties of staying energized, of loving everyone at all times, of not feeling suffocated without my own space. Today was a reminder that missions is hard. We remember all the beautiful memories, the hilarious stories, and gloss over the self-discipline, the doubts, the tiredness. But the reality is is it's difficult. I want to be sober-minded, but do not want to lack the giant faith, the great excitement, the overflowing joy.
Thank goodness for 31 more days...

Beautiful Linda Vista with the greatest tamales.

Admin note

As per user suggestions, comments have now been activated so that you no longer need a Blogspot account to leave a comment. Just keep it clean. =P Arigatoo!

*for more pictures, click on the link "Our Pictures" on the right column of our blog! enjoy!

go missionaries!

missionaries? i'm actually not just talking about Tj, Hannah, Justin, Paul, and myself, rather it most definitely and so significantly extends out to all of our supporters out there!

we wouldn't have had as great of an evening at "We <3 Japan" Night if it weren't for your presence, your prayers, and your willingness to come (indirectly) with us on our journey to Osaka, Japan.
thank you, thank you, and arigato gozaimasu!

We Heart Japan Night!

It seemed like this day was so far away when we first planned it. Time is seriously flying by!

To our supporters - we hope you can make it out tonight, as we'd love to share with you some culture, food, and fun!

I think the main point of tonight is for our supporters to get to know us better, but also more about japan.
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These days I've been praying for a bigger burden...to really feel compassion for the lost in Japan. It's strange to pray to receive a burden but I want more than anything to really be passionate about what we're doing and what God's doing and going to do... please pray for our team that we would just be completely on fire and ready to run with what God has called us to do.

Thanks.

attitude-perspective

in agreement with paul's recent entry, it was awesome meeting up with our partnering missionary Peter! twas very encouraging and just got me EVEN MORE excited! (and for those of you who know me, i usually DO express my excitement!)
but there was one thing Peter said that has been ringing in my ears since it came out of his mouth and rolled into my heart: "Assume the best in people." this is a great motto for a missions journey, but it's also an equally great motto for our daily lives. there are so many times in a day when it's so easy to assume the worst in people, to pass judgement like so.
a wise statement, thanks Peter!

UN me

For me, the phrase that keeps popping up when I think about going to Japan is "ambassador of Christ." I never really concerned myself with that phrase since it seemed kind of out-of-touch with what I felt was how we should be. Ambassadors are normally about pomp and ceremony, and not really about being agents of change in their non-native country. However, as I think about going, I realize that we really are going to be ambassadors of Christ. More than outright evangelizing or leading ppl through the 4 spiritual laws, we are really going to respect the Japanese ppl and represent Christ in our actions and in all that we do. I don't know if that makes sense, but I gotta go to graduation now. =P I am in awe when I think about what God might accomplish in us and through us these two weeks.

LOVE

a prayer please: why is it so hard to love when God can love a sinner like me? well, easy, because God is BIG, the Almighty, the All-Compassionate, the ever forgiving. I want to love like Jesus did.

Opening

Eating dinner today with my friends lead to my eyes being opened just a little more as I found that my passion for Japan has grown even more! Totally God since i spent these past few days focused on fishing near Newport beach (Fun!) Without really realizing it, my passion and desire for Japan started to be more verberlized as I started to explain my reasoning for choosing Japan over the other trips. And though i've spoken forth my reasoning to others before, this time i felt as if God had placed a little bit more passion in me for Japan. It's just amazing how God works! ^_^ sugoi

UNFURL

Praise God - my time off for missions has been approved! I hadn't asked my director yet for various reasons and so I asked this week and it's all going to go through... even my extra week in Korea! I was worried for a while...but I shouldn't have wasted my energy b/c God gave me much favor :)

Ok, so would this be a good place to let our supporters know our prayer requests?

U nity - with team and with Japanese servants
N ative Japanese believers
F aith of the mountain-moving kind
U nending, inexplicable joy
R elationships - Spirit-filled
L ove and light of God

I feel that our team is definitely getting closer and I know God has really brought this group together perfectly with our unique gifts/talents/personalities. One of the prayer requests that might seem odd is the one of joy. For those of you who do not know, the japanese are a people who are largely lacking in hope/love/joy. By our team really loving eachother and finding joy in Him and our teammates, we hope to exemplify God's love and joy and peak their interest. I'm really excited to see what God is going to do through each and every one of the team members.

Oh! And don't forget -

We Heart Japan Night is next tuesday at our church, The Garden! Please let us know if you would like details. :)

Justin

Name: Justin
Favorite character/most like: Monkichi
Passions: The Back to Jerusalem movement
Unique trait: Likes peanut butter, jelly and ham sandwiches
In 10 years...: Pastoring a church
Chicken or fish?: Chicken
Pants or shorts?: Shorts
Pet peeves: "When in a conversation, someone repeats something back to you that you've already said as if you didn't say it just before. Poor listening skills, I suppose."
Why Japan?: "To see God's love poured down."

Hannah

Name: Hannah
Favorite character/most like: "POCHACCO! I don't know why, but I always loved that character - seemed playful and fun and not as vain or girly as Hello Kitty."
Passions: Making/having plans
Unique trait: Rubs her chapped lips; has to sleep facing the door
In 10 years...: Married, 1 or 2 kids, doing something worthwhile and that she loves, marking?, and probably not in LA
Chicken or fish?: Chicken.
Pants or shorts?: Capris
Pet peeves: When someone reads over her shoulder; when someone asks her a question and somene else answers for her; metal on teeth
Why Japan?: "Japan is an amazing country that to the world is very successful, advanced, wealthy, etc... but is ironically parched spiritually. I am interested in what God has planned for this country and am excited to be a part of what He is and will do in that land."

TJ

Name: TJ

Favorite character/most like: Batzmaru, for obvious reasons.
Passions: Cleaning, "24"
Unique trait: Subscriber of ReadyMade magazine [according to Hannah]
In 10 years...: Married, kids, house, coasting through life
Chicken or fish?: Chicken, of course.
Pants or shorts?: Pants
Pet peeves: Lack of eye contact during a conversation; asking too many questions; repeating himself.
Why Japan?: "God has given me a heart for Japan and I need to find out why."

A Silent Epidemic

An eye-opening article courtesy of Hiro. Japan is literally killing itself because of lack of hope, loneliness, depression and much more.

LORD, keep reminding us all that You are the hope of the world, and show Your mercy...

Japan-assion

Ok I dont know about Japan-assion but having a Passion for Japan is something that for me comes not just from hearing about how low the percentage of Japanese Christians there are. It comes from having experiencing God's love overflow in me to the point where I could do nothing else but share Christ's love to others. And its from this love that I understand if only a fraction of how much God loves all His people, in this case the Japanese. So this is what I call Japan-assion, a passion for Japan. haha I know it doesn't great but it's all I could come up with.

Our Troop!

.....:Justin:........:paul:.........:jean:.......:hannah:........:TJ:.....

JEAN

Name: Jean
Favorite character/most like: "Well, Pekkle was my favorite growing up, I don't exactly know why. I think it's cuz I really like the diffierent variations of the color blue. But then again, I think it's also cuz people said that I looked like a duck when I was little, big forehead, chubby cheeks and pudgy lips."
Passions: Organizing, buying new journals, walking into new cafes
Unique trait: Fingertips hurt unbearably approximately 10 seconds before she really has to pee.
In 10 years...: Passed CPA exam, working at the same company per diem, married with kids.
Chicken or fish?: "Chicken, but I love fish too, but to choose, chicken."
Pants or shorts?: Pants
Pet peeves: Touching her head; when somone points a fake gun [index finger and thumb up] at her head; talking to someone and they talk to someone else.
Why Japan?: "I want to go to Japan because my grandmother inspired me to see this particular nation with the eyes of Christ, instead of the eyes of man."

a delicacy...but to whom?

so i've read, Osaka-ians eat a lot of turtles, turtle soup, and shots of turtle blood, just as people in the region of Kumamoto eat horse sushi (basashi). are we supposed to be training for this?....

PAUL

Name: Paul
Favorite character/most like: Keroppi
Passions: Architecture, design, traveling
Unique trait: Plans escape routes as he envisions the worst case scenario [a la Jakku Bauer-san]; loves really dry, warm, windy weather [a la Santa Anas]
In 10 years...: Starting his own office in a city somewhere
Chicken or fish?: Fish
Pants or shorts?: Pants
Pet peeves: When his nose is pinched; disrespectful and inconsiderate people
Why Japan?: "I want to go to Japan because I know God is really going to change things and it seems that not many missions are sent to Japan and I don’t know why."

And so it is...

Welcome to our blog! This summer, we are going to the Kansai region of Japan [Osaka, Kyoto and Kobe] for 2 weeks of ministry and prayer. Through this blog, we hope to allow you to join in our journey from the very beginning. So take a seat and through the wonder of the Internet, join our We Heart Japan Support Community.

[By broadening the idea of "missions support" to include more than a donation or a prayer, we hope to foster a community of support before, during, and after the trip.]