Dear Blog...

It has been a while since we talked. I'm loving being here with the youth. They are very mature and passionate about living for God and are intentional about having positive attitudes. It is a joy to be around them!

The retreat this weekend was blessed by the Lord. About a dozen people came out. On Friday night we played round-robin and 4 corners and then a Japanese game that involved alot of running and freezing in place. It was fun!!

On Saturday we had a pancake breakfast... Mmmm! Then we met in the chapel to sing worship songs, hear testimonies from the teens and see them perform their mime. I can't even describe how powerful the mime is. It portrays the fall of man and the death and resurrection of Jesus and then a restored relationship with God. I was powerfully moved as were others. The teens who performed had obviously put hours and hours and hours into it. Afterward there was an explanation given in Japanese of what the mime meant and then they performed it again. And.... a woman got saved!!! She was very clear in her profession... she understood that she was separated from God by what she had done wrong. She said that she had felt the emptiness protrayed and that she knew this was the truth she had been looking for! Praise the Lord! She had never heard the gospel before and yet she was ready to accept to right then. Wow!

As a team we have done alot of work projects around the camp. A mountain of brush was moved out from the woods to be burned. Futons were aired out and the cabins cleaned, in preparation for the camping season. The teens have also visited English classes in small groups.

Last night (Sunday night) Haley and I stayed in the home of a student from one of the English classes, like when we stayed with Mickey. She is an older woman and her English is very good. Her husband is in a wheelchair. She is interested in foreign relationships and does some volunteer translation work for an international charity. This morning she took us to a shrine where she sometimes goes to pray. She wanted us to meet the shrine-master who went to Indiana State University and speaks excellent English. He showed us around the shrine. He explained how to wash with "holy water" and showed us a sacred room where they believe that the god lives. I had just read Isaiah 45 this morning. "If one cries to it, it does not answer or save him from his trouble... I am God and there is no other..." My heart was broken for his darkness. His little daughter followed him around closely. My heart was broken for the fact that she will grow up never knowing anything but this hopelessness. As I left my emotions were a mixture of sadness and helplessness, but I have to remember that God is all powerful and He is always working to draw people to Himself. Salvation is His work. I believe He wanted me to see this my last week so that I will always remember to pray for the people of Japan.

This weekend has been a emotional rollercoaster, but God gives me the strength for each day. I will be home soon. Pray for our safe travels and God's blessing on our last few days here.

-Elsbeth