As the rain...

Friday, June 22, 2007

Well, it’s about time I blogged again… hmm… words are not flowing. I will share a verse that has encouraged me in my devotions.

Isaiah 55:10-11
“For as the rain and snow come down from heaven and do no return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall My Word be that goes out from My mouth; it shall not return to Me empty, but shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.”


Mariah did a really good job summing up our time with Mickey. I felt God laying it on my heart to write out some verses to leave with her. I copied out Psalm 73:23-28 (my life verses) and explain that it described what God is to me. She agreed to read it later and let me know if she has any questions. She has no foundation in the Bible or knowledge of God. I wanted so bad to just share all my heart and God’s salvation with her, but without building a proper foundation it would not make sense. I’m just praying that the verses I left with her will intrigue her enough to create an open door for other opportunities. Please pray for the salvation of the this precious Japanese girl.

It is raining outside right now. Actually it is more of a moist mountain mist. I think that the rainy season we have been told about from our first day has finally arrived. The surroundings here at Adatara Bible Camp are green, green and more green, with some vivid flowers thrown in just for fun. You can almost feel the ground soaking in the water and the plants drinking it up. As I look at the rain it makes me remember God’s faithfulness. He is faithful to maintain the water cycle, from the little streams in the mountains and the rainy season in Japan, to the crashing waves of the ocean and the underground reserves that supply thousands of people.

He is also faithful to water the seeds of His Word in the hearts of people. I take great comfort in the promise that God’s words will not return to Him empty. He has a purpose and a task for it to accomplish. It doesn’t say it might succeed, but it shall succeed! He feeds the souls of the hungry till they thrive.

Oh, Lord when I am weary, when I feel there is no purpose being accomplished… help me to be faithful to proclaim Your Word. You have promised Lord, to give the success. Only help me to be faithful.

-Elsbeth

Crying Hearts

Tuesday

God’s Hand of blessing was so evident in our lives today. Our first goal was to reach Tama Center, about 2 hours from where we are staying. We left an hour earlier than needed since we still need the extra time in the train and subway stations to figure out the incredible maze of railways – especially since some of them have little or no English posted.

We were doing fairly well when a train we were on stopped at an underground station, a few people got off and the doors stayed open – for about ten minutes. There seemed to be a little scurrying about from official looking people on the train platform and the train announcer said something over the loud speaker… in Japanese of course. Suddenly people started waking up and started leaving the train. I asked the woman sitting next to me what was happening but she did not speak English. It became fairly obvious when we were the only ones left on the entire train that we should get off also. Everyone had lined up in neat little rows on the other side of the platform to wait for another train (we assumed). We were right, but the challenge now was that we were on an entirely different line. We had no idea where this subway would stop. Our entire train loaded on another train that was already standing room only. We were like little Japanese sardines stuffed into a can – but we were the pale fish in the can. Since we are to stay in Tama for a few days we had some luggage with us this time. We all squeezed on and underground we continued. The train stopped and started a lot after that. The first time we stopped under ground it was pitch black in the tunnel outside, and quite stuffed with people inside. I started to get a panic feeling of claustrophobia but talked to the Lord and He removed the fear.

Eventually we made it to a connecting station but by now were all turned around. We must have looked confused because a small Japanese woman walked up to us and said (in near perfect English) “Can I help you?” We told her where we wanted to go and she said she was going that same way so we could just follow her. It is always nice to have a leader who knows what they are doing! Walking down the escalator I said to her, “Your English is very good.” She smiled and said, “I actually live in America.” Can you guess where she was from…?...she had recently moved to South Carolina from Fishers, Indiana! Mrs. C. told us that she went to America as a university student, met her husband in an automotive store, married him, and kind of “stuck” in the U.S. We spent a delightful 30 minutes on the train visiting before she had to get off at her stop. She told us to wait six more stops before we got off and we would be at the right place. (No English signs on this line!) Thank God with us for Mrs. C. and pray for her spiritual needs. She said she thinks she is Buddhist.

Pastor Yuasa had just arrived at the station when we did and we did not even have to look for him. (Thank you Lord!) He insisted on taking us to lunch at McDonalds. The rest of the afternoon we traveled around the Tama region visiting universities. We met some very nice people who provided some answers for us regarding reaching the university students with the Gospel. Pastor Yuasa was a great catalyst for starting conversations with students. He would say something in Japanese and then gesture to us and the next thing we knew, we were conversing with those who knew a bit of English.

One university denied us entrance but there were about 25 students hanging out by the gate. Pastor asked if we wanted to talk to them, and of course the answer was yes. The three of us had a wonderful time visiting and taking pictures together. Pastor went back to his car and started handing out literature to them. Four took the book he offered and most of them were responsive to our questions and chit-chat. Two of them took our card with our name and website on it.

If you look at their pictures below you will probably see some crying hearts. It is written all over them. Our hearts were heavy as we visited with them, knowing that they are empty inside and are trying to fill it with anything that comes their way. This is the future of Japan – the young people who are sheep without a shepherd, heading for sure destruction unless they have the chance to hear the life-saving news of God’s redemption.

Wednesday

It is hard to capture the need on these campuses in just words and photos. We visited three more universities today. We are still trying to digest all we saw. One of universities had a junior high and high school on the same campus; another campus sent us into shock. Part of the campus looked like pictures we have seen of inner-city Bronx. While walking to meet a small group of Christians who meet weekly on one particular campus, our hearts were once again moved with the depth of spiritual need visible to the naked eye. For the second day in a row, I wept over the souls of the souls of these students. Whether in Miami, Florida or Tama Center, Japan, the hopelessness and despair of university students waves like a huge red flag beating madly in a March breeze. If we cannot hear their heart-cry with each flap of the flag, perhaps we have our fingers in our ears. If we cannot see the blazing red, compelling us to help them find the Giver of hope, we have clouded our

On Monday and Tuesday, Elsbeth and I spent time with Mickey, an English student of Pastor Tajima. Before we even came to Japan, she had asked if Elsbeth and I could spend a day with her. We went out for lunch to a Japanese Pancake restaurant on Monday. It was so fun and definitely a cultural experience. We sat on the floor and had a grill in the middle of us. We mixed all the ingredients together such as meat, egg, vegetables, cheese, ect. and then cooked it like a pancake. Once the pancake was ready to eat, we put mayonnaise, thin dried flaky fish, and soy sauce on top. It was delicious!

After lunch, we went shopping and out for coffee in Koriyama. In the evening we went to Mickey’s home for supper.. We were the first American’s to visit her home! Her mother made a great Japanese meal for us and kindly welcomed us into her home. Elsbeth and I had given Mickey’s family a card when we arrived. Mickey’s mother worked so hard at reading it out loud! It totally made my night, seeing how a simple letter meant so much to her. She later read the card again to her husband!

Tuesday, we went to see the green house where Mickey’s mother works. Her mother is a precious lady. She seemed to enjoy showing us the various plants and flowers. When Mickey brought us home today, she ended up staying the entire afternoon. We made her lunch, taught her some songs, and enjoyed good conversation.

I was kind of nervous about the time with Mickey since we were told she spoke little English and that her parents new none. But the time spent with her was wonderful. I think that it is one of the highlights of my time in Japan. She was so nervous at first, but I think that as we spent more time together, she realized that we really wanted to get to know her and practice along with her our Japanese/English. I did not know if we would be able to have any “deep” conversations with her with the language barrier. But, praise God, we had some great talks. At lunch on Monday, Mickey asked us why we were in Japan. So, we explained that we were here to help the churches. In this conversation we brought up God. Mickey explained that people in Japan do not believe in Jesus. Then between yesterday and today, Mickey continued to ask questions and we continued to talk about what we believe with her. This morning, Elsbeth was reading her Bible and Mickey noticed. Mickey explained that peoples'personal religion choice is very private here. She has never read the Bible but thinks that her older sister reads it.

Tuesday afternoon we went out for coffee and had a conversation about marriage and family. Elsbeth and I shared with Mickey that we believe that the husband and wife relationship should come first before children and careers. She agreed and then drew a diagram of how many of the Japanese families look at marriage and family. For fathers the career is first, then children, and lastly the wife. For mothers the children come first, career, then husband. Our conversation continued into talking about love, commitment, trust, and communication within a family. We also talked about counseling and the lack of communication parents have with their children. I enjoyed learning from Mickey and hearing her thoughts on these varies topics. I hope that Mickey was encouraged and challenged from our time together. I know that I was!

When Mickey dropped us off at the Tajima’s, we had a chance to sing a couple worship songs with her and try to explain what the songs were saying. Mickey tried to explain back to us what she was hearing us tell her. It seemed she understood some of what we shared with her. Elsbeth and I really put ourselves out there with Mickey. I think that a foundation was started for something more in the future. We both were exhausted after our time with Mickey, yet thankful for the door of opportunity the Lord gave us to share Him with her. Please be praying for Mickey and her family.

Tuesday afternoon was our last English class with Beverly. I have mixed emotions about it! The children and adults we spent time with were all eager to learn English. They have been an encouragment and example to me. It takes a lot of hard work to learn a new language, but it can be done!

Today the Tajima's are taking us out for lunch and then tomorrow Elsbeth and I are moving back to the camp until Monday!

"...So I run straight to the goal with purpose in every step..."

1 Corinthians 9:26

Mariah