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.]