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2012….where are we now

Feb 2nd, 2012 by

It’s been awhile since this blog was updated. I was thinking about shutting it down, but changed my mind, for now. The year after our prayerwalk in Japan, a friend, whose team was in Japan in 2009 when we were there, was called to be an itinerant pastor in Japan for several weeks. He truly believed that the work we did, softening spiritual ground, was integral to the preaching and pastoring he would do in 2010.

Our teammate and blogger, Josh, has become a long term missionary in Germany. He was the one who was adamant that missions was not for him. I just smiled because my experience is that whenever I say NO, God usually changes my heart. For Josh, that was so true! And we are thankful :)

Pat, and his bride, Faith, are still serving in the SE for OMF International US  as Regional Mobilizers. They do a great job sharing the needs in East Asia and sharing God’s heart.

Victoria has become a mommy of a beautiful little girl and is expecting her second with her sweet husband, Joe.

Anna is still teaching in SC and sharing her heart and impacting a new generation.

Veronica and her husband, Cliff, still live and work in MA. Veronica continues to be active in her church.

Greg continues to lead others to pray for Japan as a BridgeAsia volunteer. This was such a peaceful need in light of the events in Japan on 3/11/11. He is featured in the PRAY section of www.6ways2reach.org

And lastly, I have been on a whirlwind journey with God- we sold our home, got in an RV, and headed out to see what God would purpose in our lives for this second half. Divine Appointments left us with an opportunity to serve God with OMF International US, in Littleton, CO. So, Mark and I said one final goodbye to friends and family in New England and drove to CO last Summer. We will help to grow the BridgeAsia Program and bring the HOPE of Jesus to East Asia’s BILLIONS.

Cerca trova,

Cheryl

Doing Missions Every Day

 

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Safe

Jul 9th, 2009 by

Hey, just a quit update to say those of us from South Carolina have made it back safe and sound.  The trip was uneventful, and it actually took less time than heading out there.  Albeit, only a couple hours at most, but it felt notably shorter.  Anyway, we’ll have to await someone from the Boston group to feel compelled to let us know their status.  I know their flight out of D.C. got delayed a while, but that’s about it.

God bless!!!

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Sayonora

Jul 8th, 2009 by

Yesterday was a true blessing.  We went over to Shin-Uruyasu (sp?) and prayed in some of the residential areas, and we also went over to a Christian school in another part of town (sorry, can’t remember its name).

At Shin-Uruyasu there are about 5 very small churches (little more than small groups), that have been struggling for the last few years.  One used to be a fast growing church that reached over 50 in number, but is now down to less than 20 for a variety of reasons.

One of the most significant things about Shin-Uruyasu is that the land wasn’t even there 30 years ago.  Japan created a huge landfill and built an entire city on top of it!  This also means that there are currently no shrines or temples there!

While we were praying we met some of the members of one church that Pat knows.  They insisted that we stop in for a little bit, so we stopped and chatted, and prayed with and for them.  Over sall, meeting them was worth the trip out to Shin-Uruyasu.

Before we went to the school, we met up with another missionary couple to get a better idea on what is going on with their ministry and the work being done in their area.  The school is primarily geared for missionary kids, but they also allow others to attend.  So there are a lot of kids of buisinessmen there as well.

While today is actually a “free day” to allow us time to rest and get anything and everything we need done before heading back to the US, I know there have been some spontaneous prayers being sent up throughout the day in “mini-prayer walks” and several members went to an IHOP (International House of Prayer… not pancakes in this case) meeting.

So, in closing for the last field update from yours truly…

Please pray for the churches in Shin-Uruyasu, that they might grow. This area is still “fertile soul” as it were.  It’s a very young area, a lot, and we can still win this area for Christ.  Satan doesn’t have as great a stronghold there.

Please also pray for the Christian school.  They will partner together on occassion with neighboring schools.  So pray that the school would be used mightily as a witness to those attending the school that may not be Christians; that the school would be used to bring up strong and firm followers from the missionary kids; and that the school would be a profound witness to the area.

Finally, please also pray for us as we travel back to the US tomorrow morning.  Pray that we would have a safe trip home that goes smoothly; that we would hold fast to all that we have learned and experienced here; and that we would be able to use what we have learned and experienced to profoundly impact the world for Christ in the times to come.

We had a wonderful time here that seemed to just fly by. Thank you for making this all possible.  Without your prayers and support we know this trip would have been a a shadow of what it has been at best.  May God bless you and keep you always and forever. Sayonora, and we’ll catch ya on the flip side… of the world!

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Day of Prayer

Jul 6th, 2009 by

OK, so I have two days to cover.  So, yesterday was Sunday. I have to say, a lot happened.  Since the church service we attended didn’t start until 2:30 PM, we went for a little cultural experience and visited the Ramen museum.

Ramen

That’s a picture of the inside of the place (sorry it’s a little blurry).  They decorated the place as if it were back in time (40′s I think), and I must say that I’ve never had a better bowl of ramen in my life.  It was delicious!

But, after that we met up with a few people before heading off to church.  The uncle of one of the group members, a Facebook friend of the same group member (the friend is a member of the church we visited), and the same guy we met earlier on the trip was the third friend we met up with.

Church

This is a picture of the worship session at the church.

This church was definitely “quite the happening place.”  It is a church that is youth centered that is a church plant from Hawaii.  We definitely had a lot of fun, and it was a great blessing for us to be able to join them in worship.

After the service, the uncle and the rest of us went to experience a traditional tea ceremony (the uncle actually holds his own tea ceremonies, but due to various restraints, we went to a different place, and he joined us as one of the visitors).Height

By the way, the tea ceremony took place on the 65th floor of the tallest building in Japan.  Above is a picture from said floor.

While Sunday was less… intentional, today was very much focused on prayer.  Today was OMF’s day of prayer.  For the first half of the day we were all gathered in the OMF center to learn about and pray for the various areas of Japan.  Together we sang songs and several times broke into smaller groups for focused prayer for certain areas of/churches in Japan.

This afternoon we went out in smaller group praying that God would work His will in several areas of Japanese life.  Some prayed against materialism, some for the education system, some for the judicial system, and some against the plethora of gambling casinos.

Everyone on the team even got a chance to share with everyone some of what we’ve learned during this trip and in preparation for it. Everyone was very blessed with everything today.  It was good for both those here for a short time and those here long term to have the time to gather together and see a little clearer what all is happening.

So, in closing for this post…
Please pray for the church we visited, that their passion would continue and that the youth of Japan would be encouraged by their ministry, and subsequently hear and respond to God’s call in their life.  Please also continue to pray for those we’ve met here in Japan both Christian and non-Christian, that they would remember our time spent here, and that God would use that to encourage them and draw them ever closer to Himself.

Thanks again for all of your support! God bless! We couldn’t do it without you!

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LABO!

Jul 5th, 2009 by

“LABO” is a group. It is basically a shortened name for “Language Laboratory.” In short, they are a group of Japanese kids of varying ages that are learning English. Needless to say, that helped a lot with communicating with them! We had an absolutely wonderful time with them all. The age span really was from toddler to college student, so it was quite an interesting experience seeing how well they intermixed.

labo2
That’s a picture of us with all of the kids there.

We sang songs with them, and helped them practice their English, and we even sang a Christian song for them, in both English and Japanese!

Some of them even joined us for dinner that evening.  So, for this post’s prayer requests, please pray for everyone involved in LABO.  Pray that their studies in English would be used to draw them closer to God, and that He would bless this group, and use it all for His glory.

But before I end the post… here’s a picture of a little contraption they setup for serving everyone lunch.  They put the noodles on the top and they water would wash it down the shute, and we would grab the noodles off of the shoot and put it into our bowls.  And yes, there was a large sieve at the end to catch whatever everyone missed.

labo3

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Imperial Palace

Jul 3rd, 2009 by

Greetings once again! Whether it be morning, evening, or somewhere in between for you while you read this, I would like to wish you well, and extend the gratitude of the whole team to you for your cares and prayers! (yes, I put those two together purely for my own amusement)

We visited Yasukuni (I think that’s the name anyway…) shrine, and the Imperial palace today. I’ll see if I can update this post tomorrow with a couple pictures, but you’ll have to bear with me in the mean time.

When we were at the shrine, I don’t even know how to describe it. It isn’t as big as far as land area, so we were all over the place praying, singing hymns/praise songs, and reading scripture. It was wonderful, even though we were in the enemy’s territory. But I will say this, as I finished my circuit around the shrine, I saw a flock of doves in the trees at the end, and that was surprisingly encouraging. It was a beautiful reminder of the Holy Spirit and Him walking with us, and also it felt to me as a promise that our prayers were not in vain.

At the Imperial Palace we not only set aside the time to pray for the leadership of Japan but also for many of the “Prefectures” (the Japan version of a state, I guess) specifically. All of the Prefectures have a special stone landmark built into the sidewalk around the Imperial Palace. We stopped at a bunch of them and read some information about them, read some Scripture, and prayed for them as related to the specific needs/differences of that particular Prefecture.

As far as prayer requests, there are a couple spirit festivals coming up, and we would greatly appreciate you joining us in praying against them and their influence. Also, many of the Japanese want to bring back the honoring/worship of the emperor, so please remember to pray about that as well.

As I mentioned in the last post, we are now in the second half of our time here. Please pray that we will stay strong, and finish more passionate, and more in tune with Christ than ever before.

God bless you and keep you, all! We can never thank you enough for your prayers and support.

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Waseda University

Jul 1st, 2009 by

We went to Waseda University today. We joined with with some members of a local church (Chuo Chapel) to bring Christ to the students there. We broke into groups and talked with some students as they were available. Some didn’t really want to talk to us, but others did, and some were honestly interested in what we had to say.

We also did a prayer walk around the Christian Center in Ochanimizu (I think that’s the right spelling…). This is a multi-story building that is used as a base of operations for a bunch of different Christian organizations.

Today really marks the end of our first week here. Thus far we have been blessed to have wonderful weather every day. There has been a lot of overcast, but it hasn’t really rained, so the days have been cool instead of overbearingly hot without leaving us soaking wet either.

As we enter the second half of our time here, please continue to pray that we might finish strong, that our passion for the Japanese would continue to increase even more, and that we would pray with increasing boldness for His will. But just as much, please pray that we would continue to have more opportunities to share the Gospel with people we meet, and that their hearts and minds would be open to Him.

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Thanks and Praises

Jun 30th, 2009 by

Today the Lord of life walked the steps of the Kamakura temples to call His beloved Japanese kokomo tachi (children) to Himself. There was strong spiritual battle, particularly (for me) at the Dai Butzu, where many, who are earnestly desiring God, have been presented with a substitute from the enemy. Praise to God for fulfilling his promise that where two or more meet in His name, He will be among them. He was with us as we climbed the temple steps, He was with us as we spoke from the word, and He was with us as we sang songs of praise overthe backdrop of chanting monks. I firmly believe that the enemy is enraged at what we are doing. And well he should be; we are seeking to reclaim the territory he has stolen by deceipt, and to prevent this, he will surely do what he can to de-rail this mission. But we have (each of us) been keenly aware the we are surrounded by the prayers of the saints. Without out your prayers we would well be lost. And we are more grateful than can be expressed for the work that is being done on your knees. So we also implore you: Ganbatte! (Persevere!) The Lord is rescuing His Japanese children, and the work that He does through us here, He also does through you.

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Thus Far in Pictures!

Jun 30th, 2009 by

Hey! I think I got the hang of this all now…

Check-in Counter
This is the check-in counter for United that greeted those of us from SC when we arrived at the airport. Perhaps we didn’t need to arrive quite so early?

SIC

Here’s a picture of everyone worshipping at Saitama International Church.Fountain

Here’s a picture of a fountain in the park next to the church. One of the many wonderful sites to see.  Yes, that is a saxiphone design in the fountain, and the whole thing is even timed to music that plays over a speaker system in the area.

Temple
Here’s a picture of some of the Buddhist temple buildings. Note, all of the buildings you see here are all part of just one “temple.”Church

This a a church we happened to see on our way back from the Shinto shrine. It was a true blessing to see this church. We can only hope that it is standing firm in the midst of the shops, temples, and shrines. We made a point to stop and pray that the witness of the church continues to inspire all who pass by to seek ever more after Him.

OK, with two posts in one night, I think I may have to turn in. Good night all, and God bless!

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Kamakura

Jun 30th, 2009 by

Today we went to Kamakura.  This is an “older” suburb of Tokyo in the sense that it has many shrines and temples that have been standing since the 12 and 13 hundreds.  I’ll upload the pictures and do a special post just for them (sorry, borrowed computer with different applications plus late evenings).

While Kamakura is a more historical area, it subsequently is also a very “spiritual” center as the numerous shrines and temples attract many seeking peace and enlightenment.

Our hearts were all greatly burdened for those that went to these places to worship.  One, in particular, was a Buddhist site that held a monumental statue of Buddha.  Many were standing before the statue burning incense and bowing.  The shere magnitude of the craft demanded some recognition, but it seemed apparent to us that there was negetive spiritual oppression taking place as well.  I truly could not imagine such a place giving anyone even temporal peace, and I am left feeling ever more grateful for the surpassing peace that God gives us.

We visted only one Shinto shrine, and the atmosphere of the place was strikingly different than the Buddhist temples.  I’m honestly not sure I can properly relate what the place was like.  There was such a variety of things happening.  There was a ritual of sorts taking place that if one participated in it, supposedly they would be granted happiness.  But there were also a lot of shops even on the grounds of the shrine, along with all of the tourists.  We climbed to the top of the shrine (60+ steps) and we prayed, sang a little, and read some scripture passages.

Before we left we had a conversation with a man named Tatsuyoshi and his wife.  We actually crossed paths with them two more times after that.  So, please remember to pray for them, that they would become more spiritually hungry, and interested in learning about Jesus Christ.

So yes, please pray that the hold on Japan that the Buddhist and Shinto beliefs have would be broken.  That the people of Japan would come to see that the greatest work, worthy of true awe, was not a building or scuplture that was made, but the great sacrifice of Christ dying on the cross for us in order that we might be pure and spotless before God.  And as mentioned earlier, please remember to pray for Tatsuyoshi and his wife, that God would not only continually draw them to Himself, but that they would be open to His call.

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