Post Vacation

Hey everyone! I'm back in Tokyo after my vacation to Singapore! It was SOO fun!!! (Pictures to be posted soon.) Well we did so much that I'll just write a list off the top of my head of things we did:

- overnight camping on a deserted island where we chased away thieving monkeys who got away with a bag of marshmallows

- ate YUMMY Chinese food

- experienced a bit of America (tear) such as Popeyes (my first time actually) and Sephora (amazing)

- rode the tallest observation ferris wheel in the world

- got some henna done for the first time! yay!

- watched Sherlock Holmes in the theater (this was a big deal since movies in Japan come out like 6 months after America)

- experienced the Night Safari

Well being there, I missed a chance to speak to a Japanese family, and it started stirring up a sense of urgency in my heart. Then fellowshiping with other Christians and hearing stories of how God is working in their lives and surroundings, I was challenged to finish my term well!

So coming back to Tokyo was a great feeling. Tokyo has become very normal to me now, and I missed it. I missed Japanese rice, green tea, my bed, the train systems, Japanese people. I am excited to be here again and I pray that God will give me a great New Year to share Jesus and find those whom He is working in, and to continue building in my relationships with my friends here. Yay!

Love in Christ

Yup, it was officially the coldest day up to date today. Freezing. I don't recall ever having been so cold in my life. My fingers and toes were frozen stubs, and I seriously wondered about frostbite because I couldn't move my fingers. I couldn't grip my 100 yen coin to give to the McD's cashier! It was pathetic and a little scary...but no worries, all 10 of my toes and fingers are with me and warmed back to life! haha

Well so the theme of this entry is love...and love in Christ, because I sure can't love the way I did today on my own power.

Love entered my mind through my roommate Amanda's old roommate, who sent Amanda some Christmas gifts. Amanda checked the mail on our way out to the train station, and the package was sitting in our box, so she just grabbed it and opened it once we got to the station. One of them was an art project with the lyrics from the song "Hosanna" by Hillsong (I think that's the title anyways). The line that mattered was "show me how to love like you have loved me". The train arrived, and a lady stepped off with her hand covering her mouth with a hankie, and then we boarded. You could already sense something was odd because of the way people were acting, lots of weird stares at each other (and people here do not look each other in the eye normally if you're strangers). Then we saw it. The old man in front of us was wearing a black backpack, and there was a pool of throw up swimming around. It was nasty. And I just stood there shocked as I realized that nobody said anything to the man or tried to help. I was angry, thinking that if the man didn't know he had throw up on his backpack, he should be TOLD by the people who DO know. Frustration sets in. I hear a guy next to me saying "doshio?" (what should we do?) which makes me more angry because I'm thinking "DUH TELL THE MAN AND HELP HIM". Amanda and I are the foreigners, the ones whom Japanese people think are inconsiderate, etc. But these people don't know about Christ's love. They don't help strangers out, and they're not going to help out this stranger by touching another stranger's throw up. Anyways, so the Hillsong line crosses my mind, and Amanda and I look for tissues (which we have a lot of because they pass them out here for free EVERYWHERE haha) and she offers her plastic bag, which she used to protect her Bible. Then we proceed to wipe off the yuck and put it in the plastic bag. And then we sanitized our hands. There was an older lady next to us who kept talking to me in Japanese until I told her I don't understand Japanese. But I could figure out what she was saying a little, and she helped us even though we didn't communicate with each other. She explained to the man what we were doing multiple times. She was nice. Everyone else just watched. Yup.

But the feelings and thoughts that arose in me at that time, permeated throughout the rest of my day. As I stood out in the FREEZING (I promise you it was deathly cold) cold passing out Christmas CDs and Hope dvd offers, I felt the urgency and the need to press on even though I thought I'd have to cut off my toes (haha, I'm sorry I'm so dramatic, but I could NOT feel my toes for the whole time and you can't judge unless you were there - only Amanda and Jude arrowed). I loved being able to finally speak to eldery folk, who I never get any other chance to make any contact with. I loved the one time when a man came back to specifically ask about the Hope dvd offer - yes! I loved it when one person would bravely ask me for what it was I was handing out (this is rare) and then 5 people following each wanted one too haha.

There was a lot of distractions going on at this time though. I've never seen so many people in that amount of land, all competing to be over heard and to pass out things. We were one of the tissue people, except what we were passing out was far more important than tissue hehe. It was very hard to give out our CDs and Hope dvd offers amongst all of that and in the cold, so please continue to be praying for us! I have only 3 more days for this and I don't want to miss any opportunity God might have in store for me! Yay for Christmas!! This year's is extra special for me somehow :)

Christmas in Tokyo

Sooo it's officially winter I'd say. Hehe. I found online that winter here in Tokyo is from December to February. Noooo....I can't believe it has only started. It is so cold. Unless you're walking briskly and the sun is out.

Ok no more rambling. So for ministry, we started our Santa Project today! We went all the way out to Tachikawa, about 1.25 hoursish from my place, and our supervisor dressed up as Santa and we were his helpers. We all passed out Christmas music cds and also a Hope dvd offer (it's an offer for a free dvd that explains the whole Gospel in good depth but it's not too long, and it is in Japanese, AND it's really not cheesy! haha really!). Altogether we passed out over 1000 of both in a little over 2 hours! I had 2 interesting conversations. One lady, H-san told me that she was Christian too! And although she spoke all in Japanese, we somehow communicated hehe and I gave her my email, so hopefully she will email me because I gathered that she was interested in studying the Bible with me! :) She told me that her friend who is half Japanese who is also Christian shared Jesus with her and she became Christian because of her. So yay! Keep praying for Japanese Christians to continue sharing their faith with others! The second guy was this old man who was so so sweet and kind. He told me he used to be Christian but decided to be Buddhist because Buddhists focus more on world peace. Well, I told him that it was a great goal in life, world peace, but when and how would it ever be achieved? I told him that because of sin, world peace will never happen the way people want. But that in the midst of all the craziness and turmoil brought about by sin, Jesus was sent to provide peace for our souls. He is also called Prince of Peace, ain't He? :D So please pray for the Japanese Christians who are struggling in their faith, that they would be grounded in His Word, and that they would be able to find a group of fellow Christians they can share their life with.

Here is our Santa and Andrew, another journeyman.

These three pictures are of the Christmas tree in Ginza. The lights change colors as you can see :)

This is at the top of a department store in one of the train stations. Pretty Christmas decorations are up everywhere here.

Please continue to pray for the Santa Project! That people would mail in the dvd offers and their hearts would be open to the message of Christmas yay! It's also really cold outside so maybe you can throw in a prayer about that too hehe. Thanks everyone!

Some Going Ons and Personal Thoughts

So, interesting stuff has been happening around here...yesterday, me and the 2 other journeyman on my team and our 3 interns got to go to Seikei University where a Christian professor invited us to 2 of his classes. He gave us free reign for his entire 2 classes - it was amazing. We got to introduce a little of ourselves to the class, and then we broke up into smaller groups and we each individually got to talk to several of the students. I know most of us were able to share the gospel to them that way. They've had other Christian groups come spend time with them. Some of the students had been given Bibles, etc. It was so cool. There were several who were open, so that was great :) I learned that in Japan, Christmas is a time for couples. So if someone was not in a romantic relationship with someone, they were like "I hate Christmas", like someone in the states would say for Valentine's Day if they were single. I got to share with my two groups what the true meaning of Christmas was. That was awesome. My first group was a group of girls, and they were shy.

My second group was a bunch of boys, but they turned out to be hilarious. They kept cracking me up! It made me miss hanging out with a bunch of dumb boys haha. Different things happen there. Both classes were invited to Andrew's Christmas Party on the 25th. So please pray for many seekers to show up to his party! They will be passing out Messiah Mangas as Christmas gifts :)

It is definitely getting COLD here. The wind is ICY and it's STRONG and we have to walk around everywhere in it. But I think it's making me a little tougher hehe.

Well I feel like some thread is unraveling on the edges of myself (is this a dumb metaphor? haha I'm getting so lame). I think I'm sliding a little here, and a little there, and then before I know it, I'll be in a bad state. So before I get there, I want to get myself back on track that narrow road. Here is a passage from Proverbs that convicted me to work harder (I definitely am weak in the area of diligence):

"Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise! It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest. How long will you lie there, you sluggard? When will you get up from your sleep? A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest - and poverty will come on you like a bandit and scarcity like an armed man." (Proverbs 6:6-11)

Dang, the word "sluggard" definitely can describe me! I'm ALWAYS like 'just a little more sleep...just a little more rest...just one more chocolate...just one more slice of cake haha' dang always always. It's interesting though because I see the people around me, and they are all hard working people. My coworkers, my mom, my dad, Wilson, Peggy, etc. How did I get like this? lol...but I know I've always been like this. My dad would always scold me for lack of self control. Once I watched television, my eyes were glued to it and my mouth was partly open and I could just sit in front of it for hours upon hours. So my dad cut off cable for the rest of my life lol. How many times have I been late to something because I hit the snooze button 5 times? Man, the story of my life. I make excuses after excuses, to myself, to God, to my family, my friends...eh and then it'll bleed into other areas of my life that shouldn't be compromised. I rush through reading my Bible, or I think I'll do it tomorrow EARLY morning, except WHEN have I EVER woken up "early" like I wanted to? It's sad, but funny. Because then I'm left with a messy room, which I've promised myself I'd clean up for months now, a growing To-Do list, inboxes with 30+ unread messages. Sigh. And I can't really afford to be like this. I'm only here for a little over one year now. It don't matter if it's freezing outside, or I'm snug in bed, because the time here will go by fast and I don't want to have missed any chances to live my life for my Heavenly Father. Gotta love Him. <3

Wow December Already?!

I just made curry for the time with my roommate independent from my mom haha. I've always helped my mom chop vegetables, but I never did the whole thing from the beginning to the end myself, so now I can say I've made カーレー (curry). Of course, the directions were all in Japanese, so there was one part where we realized that I had put too much water. So after getting help from my neighbor, we corrected the watery curry and it turned out oishi! (yummy) That can definitely be a repeat :)

Hmm well, our other dear roommate's term is quickly coming to an end. I've been here with her the whole time I've been here (8 months now) and I can't believe she is no longer going to be here. She is leaving on the 15th and it is going to be very hard...

Our Santa Project will start on December 14th. Our supervisor will dress up as Santa, and we will all pass out Christmas cds and try to engage people to share what the real meaning of Christmas is. It should be cold but fun! :D

Speaking of the meaning of Christmas...I went to lunch with my roommate and T-san today. I got to share the gospel with her again by asking her if she knew what the meaning of Christmas was. It was my 2nd time getting to fully share the gospel with her, and this time I think it sunk deeper. More seeds planted! PTL :D

I got this article from the Tokyo big boss about a Japanese Christian soldier. You should read it if you have time.

Pictures from Halloween

Here are some pictures from the Halloween Party my roommates and I threw last month!

Girls that I invited! Aren't they cute?

The first time they carved pumpkins! :)

All the journeyman! Can you guess what we are? ;)

The girls that I invited! H-san on the left won the costume contest!

Our back porch all decorated! I think it was my favorite thing hehe...

Random Sunday Morning Post :)

So this Sunday morning, I am trying to keep the Sabbath. I listened to a Mars HIll Church sermon by Pastor Mark Driscoll. It was based off Luke's Christmas Story :) It was very good and refreshing. Something funny he said that made me laugh was something like, "even the angels, who never sinned, don't need to be saved, were praising God when Jesus was born, because at least somebody would be saved!" hehe I thought it was funny anyways. It made me think how I am not praising God as much as I should. And it's not because I should praise God that I want to do it, but because I was reminded through his sermon why I want to praise God, because He is worthy, and that is why I want to praise God more. I listened to the 2006 VBS cd, Son Treasure Island. There is something about children's praise that really resounds in my heart. It's simple, not too long and overly emotional, and just refreshing. I like the simple part. I recommend the song "pleasing to you". It's like my roommate likes to say, "Jesus should be our treasure." :)

Well this past week was pretty muddy for me. Not depressed or anything, but just needed to take a breather. I think I'm better now. I deactivated Facebook. It's kind of freeing for me right now, not having to worry about updating people, or responding to people. It's kind of an inconvenience when I want to keep in touch with someone and I realize my only connection to them was through facebook, but oh well, right now, it's worth not having lol. You can always email me if you want to keep in touch. My email is sonyakim27@gmail.com. I think I'll get facebook again, but I dunno when that might be. Might be later tonight, or later when I go back to the states. Who knows? :)

I'M ON VACATION!! :D and I love it!!! i looooove it hehe!!

Peggy and I visited Hiroshima, Osaka, and Kyoto and it was so fun and full of interesting stories! :)

pictures to come soon...

Peggy is Here!!!

AHH! Peggy is here!! :D She arrived Tuesday, so it's been one whole day now. And she will be in Tokyo for two weeks!!! I can't believe she is finally here in the flesh!!! I'm so glad she is here, but also sad because now that the time has already arrived (although I thought it was never going to arrive for the longest time before lol) I know the time will pass quickly and she will be gone. Yes, I know, I will enjoy the now! :)

Well, today Peggy joined me and our team in some of our ministry work. She and I walked out to Gakugei University, and on the way I found out from a friend who attends there that the school was off for the day. So we prayer walked around campus. It was actually a short time, but hmm I thank God for such a great friend :). She cried for the work here and for the workers here, and I just remember thanking and thanking God for her. We met up with my coworkers later for some distribution, and we walked a lot. I think it was maybe a bit more than normal, and I was worried for Peggy since it was only her first day of walking in Tokyo! We got a lot of that done though! lol

I am so thankful for Peggy. She planned carefully, worked hard, and took time out to come all the way out here to spend time with me for two whole weeks. I wonder if even I would have done so for her if our positions were switched. Especially cause I'm lazy! haha...Wow but I don't think I ever imagined that these events would have occurred as it is playing out presently. I didn't even like that girl in the beginning! haha! But I can't express how thankful I am for her now!!! ;D

Lately...

Today we had our monthly combination church. It was great! We had a good Bible study, good share time...The new M couple were there but dear Kimberly and her kids weren't there because she wasn't feeling good :( However, although she wasn't there she had baked me a surprise birthday cake! And it was so yummy!! It was so nice of her!! <3 Our members shared a lot too and that was nice :) I pray that those of our friends who are not attending church but want to, would be able to. They cannot because of their work schedules, or they are sick...

A funny and surprising thing I learned today: one of our church members, N san and I share the same birthday!!!! oh my goodness that was totally crazy!! It was so fun to find that out!! Here is a picture of us during dinner:

She has been a Christian for one year! Please pray for her! :)

So yup, my first birthday overseas is coming up. I'm not really thinking about it much, and I think I am perfectly fine about it, but sometimes I wonder...maybe I am in a shock? But for my bday, we're going to order pizza from Pizza Hut! I'm so excited about that lol!! And I already got my gift from Wilson :) and I loved it yay! It was something I've wanted for a long time!

Ok some random pictures...
a Shinto wedding at Meiji Jingumae, the biggest Shinto temple in Tokyo


Amanda and I and two of our interns at the park :)

God is Faithful :)

Dear Readers,
Dear Prayer Partners,

It's been 6 months that I've been living in Japan now. Things are not steady, smooth, or always sunny. I realize now that I've been trying to carry a burden that no human can carry. I knew to avoid that mistake, but I still fell for it anyways unknowingly. It's a journey, to recommit this life into the hands of my Lord every time I remember, but I'm loving that He is able and that He has a plan for not only me, but equally for the people I have met. It's always amazing to be reminded from time to time of who God is.

I have a friend Ri-chan :) She has been a believer since the summer and she was even baptized but we haven't been able to meet regularly. Well she invited me to her house for dinner, so last night I got to go meet her. We went shopping for our ingredients (she likes Korean food, so I was going to make kimchee-bokkum bap) and we got to her apartment. She has such a cute college girl's apt hehe. We made our dinner, she made a very yummy soup, and ate it, and we did a Bible study and had a good prayer time :) I was worried for her because she will be moving away for her new job. I wanted to make sure that she would be consistent in her walk with Christ and was concerned because I didn't know how I could make that happen with her. But when I finally spent quality time with her last night, she surprised me with many things. And all I could think of was, 'wow God has been working in her life the whole time, and here I was being a doofus and trying to make things happen on my own power.' I tell people all the time to pray for me, and I stress it a lot, and I know the power of prayer, but sometimes I am blown away by how little faith I have. It's humbling, but my heart is joyful to know that I can depend on my God, who has amazing things in store, ready all in His timing, and all in His power. You can join me in praying for her, that she will grow closer and closer to Christ, long after she has moved away. I pray God's will be done in her life :)

On a side note, something I learned from God's word this week:
Matthew 16:24 "Then Jesus said to his disciples, 'If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.'"
Matthew 19:21 "Jesus answered, 'If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.'"
Now I don't know how many times I've read or heard these verses. Yet it struck me this week, how Jesus said "come, follow me". I think many Christians think this way, but for the longest time I thought that because I was a Christian I had to take up my cross, do all these "things" that a Christian does. I realized I glossed over the parts Jesus said, "follow me". Doing all those things are important of course, but what is the point? Because I'm a Christian? So therefore I must do these things? No...that just becomes religious frivolty. The important thing is following Jesus. All that other stuff naturally follows. I thought that being a good Christian meant I had to be humble, etc. but for what? I focused on being humble to be humble. I didn't see that my focus was not on Christ. The part I underemphasized was the most important - to follow after Jesus Christ. :) I hope this made sense to someone, because I'm kind of rambling, but it's because I wanted to share.

I wish I could always remember how I can depend on God, how faithful He is...

The Man in the Dress

So in Shibuya, once in awhile there is this man who appears, and he is completely decked out in all girl clothes. He will wear a short skirt, a wig, lots of face make up, a pretty top, super high heels, and a purse - and of course everything is lacy and frilly and pink. It's the whole deal. The sad part is, that he is always standing off by himself, looking like a shy little girl, and crowds of people will walk by (this is Shibuya people) and will laugh at him, point at him, and be mean to him.

Well last night was my second time that I personally saw him. The first time I saw him I was so shocked I made a loud involuntary gasp. This time I saw him I was prepared and so I brought out my iphone and took a picture. The people I was with saw me and ended up insisting that I go share a gospel of John with the guy, and I reallllly didn't want to do it. But as I kept looking at the man while everyone was trying to get me to go, I just felt so sad for him. I was of course really dreading it, and I knew everyone around would be watching because everyone was looking at this person as they walked by, and people were making wide berths to avoid being so close to him. So out of crowded Shibuya, he had like a bubble of space around him, which is never possible otherwise. With a tunnel vision, I just walked up to him (and a volunteer, super cool rapper/pastor C-Flo, was behind me) and I offered a Steps to Peace with God track and a gospel of John. He looked at me kind of scared I think. And I introduced myself, and offered him the materials, and he kind of hesitated but then denied it. And so I tried again and got another no. And again but he said no no so I left. But man walking away from that was so hard.

I made eye contact with him the whole time, and I just realized that he was another person, confused, scared, everyone making fun of him and I had too, everyone just wanted to take pictures of him. And I felt ashamed, and sad that he didn't even give Jesus a chance. Now every time I walk through Shibuya at night I hope to remember this man and pray for him.

One of the Best Bible Studies...Encouragements for My Heart

Hello! Sorry it's been so long!

The past several weeks have been full of big ups and downs for me. Satan really knows how to tamper with us eh?

Today was such a long day (surprise surprise :P) and I had scheduled a Bible study after being out with volunteers (great volunteers btw though hehe). It was my first time meeting the girl K for a one on one Bible Study time. She is a Christian, plugged into a church; she just doesn't have many Christians friends her age. She brought her non Christian friend S. We were planning to go over Acts and I had been too busy to prepare much of anything.

Well the Bible study just went perfect. It was spectacular. I am not meaning that I had the best words to say or anything, but it was completely what each one of us needed. It's amazing. God is amazing. K asked a question about Acts 5, with Ananias and Sapphira, and I didn't know the answer. But it was a very good question. So I told her I honestly don't know, and I will try to answer but be careful because I could be making up junk. I told her I'd get back to her after I studied it and found out for sure, but I tried my best to give her some answer that was biblical. Then I came home like two hours ago, and I did some searching and it's amazing, but everything I told her so far that I know, is all correct! And it's just crazy, because through that God was reminding me of who He is. He is the ultimate provider. He makes me able at the perfect time, He knows exactly what I need.

I had shared with them this fact (that God is our abler, providing us with exactly what and when we need it), with a previous example, where I led a Korean girl to Christ in Korean last summer, not of my own knowledge, because I couldn't repeat that again on my own. I didn't know I knew the Korean words to explain the gospel to this Korean girl. I surprised myself as the speech flowed out of my mouth that summer night, and of course it is because the words were not of me. And then to realize that this whole night was again a repeat of that, of what I had so explicitly shared with them, it puts a ridiculous grin on my face because God was revealing to me His awesomeness. So that is just a part of the amazing Bible study I had tonight. The whole night was cycles of that. I mean seriously, that's not a coincidence. If you think that's a coincidence, well I don't know what to tell you. Just keep thinking I'm crazy ;) I don't really care because I know what I know.

God knows how to provide exactly when we need. I know this, but to experience this tonight in the midst of my struggles, it's amazing. My heart overflows with joy. I want to praise God!

Going to the Grocery + Pictures from Summer

Ok so I think I'm resisting the culture here a little bit. It's tiring to go outside my apartment and see how every single person I see is so meticulously dressed up. Sigh. I miss my car because I can hide my appearance from point A to point B. For example, let's say I just wanted to go to Safeway (Oh how I miss Safeway, and the amazing cereal aisle), I could just change my pj shorts into a pair of jeans hanging around my room, and then walk out in some flip flops, put on sunglasses and just drive to Safeway, and spend 15 minutes in there, and drive back home. And nobody would care how I look (well because it's America) and I could sit comfortably semi hidden in my car, and with the sunvisor down, I would be more hidden...Lol and I just miss my car :( OH but today when I went out to the local grocery store...I had to walk of course, and it's like a 13ish minute walk there. And I just wore my bball shorts, a tank top, and just tossed a short sleeve jacket thing on and walked there in my flip flops, because I'm thinking like oh whatever, it's just the local grocery store, nobody will care, and who cares anyways if I'm not all decently dressed - I'm not! But walking there I start noticing, hrm I dont ever see anyone wearing basketball shorts just walking around...and then I start noticing how pretty people are looking, all done up and matching with make up...and I just look like an American college bum student. Sigh. I miss casual Southern California.

Welps, here are some pictures! The first ones are from climbing Mt. Fuji and the last one is from when my folks from Irvine Baptist Church visited me! :)

Trying to Focus

Hi. So the interns are all gone, and the next phase of my term here is starting. It's going to be in transition mode for the rest of this month I believe. My supervisors will be leaving at the end of the month, which I'll be so sad about! Of course we have great interim supervisors who will be taking charge, but getting used to a different leadership style takes time. The rest of this month is also a rest/take a breath/catch up with life sort of time. We will be meeting with high interest contacts/friends for this time, but it's not real pursuing like it was in the summer. It's much more humane. lol.

I don't know why, but I've been having trouble focusing lately. I get really lethargic and drowsy during really important times, and i don't want to depend on coffee to get me through the day :( so I try to stay away from that stuff as much as possible. Perhaps it's because there are too many people to worry about/pray about/to spend time with, so it's all just a big mess in my head. My head feels really unorganized, and I'm trying to get it organized through tangible means, such as writing info on slips of paper, but then when I try to start a system, I forget and then I start another one, and pretty soon I end up with 5 systems i started which I keep forgetting about anyways lol! I think I need prayer in this area...like that I can have a clear head, to organize my ministry here, and to actually get things done I'd say.

Today there were 5 Japanese people at church today :) It was good. I wondered if it'd be awkward without the interns and because my supervisors are transitioning out, but it was actually fine! We got to have worship for the first time in Y-san's house. So we moved from a karaoke church to a Japanese believer's home! She offered her home, and yay it was great :)

3 career missionaries and now 1 journeyman, all on my team, are sick. With some flu. So 3 missionaries were out of church today. I hope I don't get sick!!!

Thank you for reading :)

Wow can't believe it's August. sayonara to the interns/walking with Christ/P.R./Mt. Fuji result

Wowowow I can't believe it's August!!! August 7th will be my 4th month here, and 1/4 of my term (bc of the 2 months of training)!!! wow....

Yea, so summer is coming to an end, and tonight we had the sayonara party for the Go Tokyo interns (6 week program). It made me so sad to see people I'm starting to get to know better get ready to leave. It also made me sad because they will be able to get back to Express, American Eagle, Mexican Food, Prime rib...hahaha...however but a friend reminded me it is good because then they can move on to their next stage in life :). Yes it is good, and God will continue to grow them and draw them closer to Himself.

Talking about getting closer to God, honestly, I think I am on the verge of something...on the verge of getting completely blown away by God, or on the verge of a downward spiral...I know some of the core reasons why - I have been slacking on spending time in His Word and taking time to pray about things I need to be praying about, and I'm starting to depend on my own strength, which will leave me broken in the end...these will sound like excuses, and actually they probably are I'm just not completely accepting it right now though hehe, but i have no time!!! i have 23 unread messages in my facebook inbox, and i'm not even going to mention the notifications bar on the bottom right corner of facebook...my regular gmail has untouched emails also, oops i just realized my business email account has been overlooked too...yikes...i have no time!!! and when i do get home a bit earlier (which is like 10pm for me these days) my free time is spent on quickly browsing through my emails, doing mindless things like listening to music or talking with my roommates, or opening up my Bible...but not really searching through it and putting His messages into my heart. No excuse no excuse - my walk with Christ is the most important thing ne? why the heck am i here in the first place anyhoo right? i am so needy, i am, and i know only God can fill my needs, except I need constant reminding of this...

there are a lot of people/contacts I need to be following up on...please be praying about this for me and the rest of my team that will be remaining here...

also i didn't get to climb to the top of mt. fuji. i know i suck. ahhh. i do regret it although it was so hard. i wonder if ill be doing it again next summer to try to make it to the top again hehehe...

i think my parents will be visiting me in 2 1/2 months or something. yay!!

tell me if you are willing to buy me american supplies and then mail them to me...

and tell me if my English is getting bad. please correct me. i need to know!! haha

Phew

I had a long but good day :)

Took puri kura with a couple of awesome folks :) 2 new awesome Japanese Christians and more awesome interns :)

Then I was supposed to meet a girl at 6 who was really reaching out. Except she didn't answer any of my phone calls and didn't call me back :( so I was sad and I waited for her until 6 but nothing. So I came home, and then she ended up calling me and it turned out really good. Many serious things are going on in her life but she really is open and wants to meet me so I am glad :)

Tomorrow I'm climbing Mt. Fuji and I'm climbing it all night to see the sunrise!! Ahh I can't believe it!!!

I can see an end in sight~

My only hope is in Christ Jesus

Seriously, I'm so thankful right now that I have Christ Jesus. I don't know where I'd be without Him.

I am fuming with anger right now. This might be a dangerous update. Hope it doesn't bite me in the butt.

There are SO many things going on, I wanna share, but I can't right now. I am exhausted, and it's only going to get worse, and yet I have to tell about what I saw.

Walking home with Adam after meeting a Japanese friend, it was all in God's timing, because we heard a girl's scream, and we followed the sound behind an alleyway, to find a girl being abused by her boyfriend. What a pathetic excuse of a human being he is. She was crying and calling out "it hurts it hurts" in Japanese because the guy was grabbing her wrist so tight I could tell it was painful. Her mascara was running everywhere and he was talking in a low, steady, threatening voice, saying things I couldn't understand.I was so shocked, Adam went up and asked politely if everything was ok? She said yes, yes...I don't remember much, it was a blur, I was exhausted coming home, furious at what I saw, disgusted and trying to just keep myself under control. At one point, I asked her are you alright in English several times, and made eye contact with her several times trying to transmit to her that I was safe, she could be safe with me. And I told the guy please, stop it now several times in a controlled angry voice. Of course he ignored us the whole time, never looked at us, while the girl had to tell us, it's ok it's ok, when plainly nothing was remotely ok. He ended up saying to her "are you alright" in a nicer tone of voice cause he knew he was going to be in trouble. Good thing, Adam was there, and that he speaks Japanese. We followed them for awhile. We didn't go far because they stopped behind a taxi to talk for awhile.

When they forreal walked off, I turned around and took 3 steps when 2 guys were about to walk past me. The first guy wore a T shirt that said "Jesus Died for You". I'm so angry right now because of what happened that I don't care, I just stop him and ask him if he knows what is written on his shirt. He doesn't understand right away so I read his shirt and he says no thank you and walks off. That made me more angry. How can he wear a t shirt that is so profound, life changing, and not know what it means, or not want it.

I just threw my hands up to God. I am so angry right now. I am angry with all those people, who just don't get it. Who has the truth that will set them free, right in front of their face, yet ignores it. I am so frustrated right now. What is the point of it people? Why do you reject the One who created you so lovingly, who Died to free you from your destruction? This doesn't pertain only to the people in Shibuya, or in Tokyo, but it sure is void of hope here. Man, I am getting bombarded on all sides.

urgent prayer request

Hey everyone,

Ok I know it may be boring for some of you guys to hear me constantly saying "prayer request", but I don't care, prayer is much needed right now. I'll update you on the other stuff later when I have time. :)

So many things are happening. Summer is coming to an end. There are many new believers. However, Satan is really going at his work too, attacking us. There are many spiritual attacks, many volunteers hear voices, see things in the dark, etc. that aren't pleasant. Please be praying for us. When there are many great things going on that glorify God, Satan is going to do his best to bring us down.

Please also be praying for me, that I would just be a humble servant for Him, and that my relationships with all my fellow workers will be smooth. Thanks. I'll update later whenever I have time...

audrey is saying sayonara

audrey, one of my roomies is leaving in one and a half days now. :( i am so sad. i don't know what i'll do without her in our meetings and japan. i just don't know. it's hard to see her pack up her room. and then melissa is leaving at the end of the year right before christmas. and it's months and months away but i already feel sad and lonely. of course, amanda, my new roommate is moving in when audrey leaves so i won't be alone. but it's just really weird and sad to see audrey pack up all her stuff and then leave. :( i will miss her so much.

Ahh it's been a month!

...Or 4 days shy of a month! Wow. "Time flies"? Hm...I'll try to keep my ramblings to myself ;)...hehe

Let's see, I'll start with Peggy's question: What did I eat today? haha...
- Today I ate a peanut butter and jelly sandwhich :) with the afternoon tea that you so love :). The other day, I hung out with some Japanese girls, and I was telling them that pbj sandwhiches are a staple of my diet here in Japan, and they were disgusted haha! They can't imagine what it tastes like! peanut butter and jelly sandwhich = yum i say! Then I ate a wonderful Japanese white peach, some snacks from Brian Hong's emergency snack pack from the Indo trip that he left for me (more like tossed them to the side and dumped them on me before he left :P), a tempura rice bowl with miso soup yum, and a watermelon popsicle. YUM. The White Peaches here are a taste of HEAVEN!! I promise you!!!!...I even know how to express my love in Japanese - "Nihon no momo wa ichiban oishii desu!" haha! I hope that's right...

More missionaries!
- 3 new personnel have joined us! Yay! 2 Journeymen, Amanda and Andrew, and 1 Isc, Sharon :) They are all on my team yay so I'll be working with them a lot. Please pray for our team! :)

Special Visitors:
- I got to see my old high school friend, Andrew, who is originally from Canada. Yay! :) Still the same old Andrew, just now a man haha. Jeanie beanie baby! I saw that girl for one night for like 3 hours total!!! I wish I could've spent more time with her, but it was still great to see her! And then, I saw the IBC Indo team!!!!! I had been waiting for them ever since I landed here. I can't believe the time has already come and gone, and that they've already visited and left. It was a really special time. I feel like it was just a happy happy dream. I spent like a day and a half with them, and I think I overdid it - they were dead each time i said goodbye hehe. Please come next summer!!!!!! It is a wonderful memory now tucked away in my heart. It is so special to have loving people in your life!! <3 Thank you for coming and those of you who let them come, thank you!!!!

Summer Work:
- There is less than half of the summer term left! I think there are about 3 weeks left now, until the interns go back home. Wowzers. Many people are getting a chance to hear about who Jesus is! Yay! :) There are people who don't want to hear, there are people who are very hostile, people who don't care, and people who are curious, and people who are seeking God! It's great to be able to share, especially when you find someone whom God is working in, someone who is thirsty to hear about Jesus and what the Bible says.

Japanese friends:
- I have one lady whom I meet with regularly. She is very very interested in what I have to say about the Bible, and sometimes I forget that she won't understand some things I start to share, because she isn't Christian. After our hour and a half, we both always exclaim that wow the time passed so fast!!! And it does!! I love sharing with her! Please pray for L san, that she will find what she is looking for in Christ!
- There are many others I've come to know and spend some time with, but I see them sporadically, so it's harder to develop relationships. And there are just many things I have to juggle right now being that it's summer, so it's hard to keep track of everyone, especially if I am the one initiating! Please pray for this area...

According to the Indo team, people do read my blog...so I don't know how true that is, and I know I have many other supporters and friends who are not from Irvine, but if you are someone who does read this, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting! And thank you so so much, for caring about me and Japan, and reading this blog! <3

Hey guys, I realized that I'm too informative of other people's information. SO I'm going to be more vague from now on but you can always ask me questions directly! :)

I have random friends coming in this area this week! And then in like 2 more weeks people from my church in Irvine are coming! Yayyy!!

A Bit of America through My Tummy

Aside from ministry stuff, I'll talk about my trip to Outback today. Hehehehe.......
It was definitely a special time where I had a bit of America. I don't know where to start...HAHA. But you can probably tell it was a very good time for me :D
- It started with fresh baked bread...oooh man, you guys have no idea how good you guys have it with all the fresh free bread before your meal...i REALLY want some of that bread from Macaroni Grill. But the butter for it was all crumbly - what is up with that right? :P
- Then we got a FREEEEE appetizer YIPPEEE bc they were handing out promotional coupons for that. So we got some kind of chicken wings, and I thought it'd be buffalo wings, I miss my BJ's buffalo wings SO much btw, but it wasn't. It had some spicy powdered spices that covered the chicken, not the real buffalo wings sauce, and the ranch was different...but it was still a sweet reminder of home. And it came with celery sticks :)
- Then this Outback actually had Sprite!!!!!! I have NOT seen sprite in any of the restaurants here...it almost brought tears to my eyes cuz I stay away from Coke - that stuff is poison haha. But it was $4.20 ouch. But at least it wasn't in those mini cups like usual, it was in a REAL glass and with FREE refills. You don't understand...the cup size and the refill thing is almost worth the $4.20 although those of you who know me, know that I usually never finish my drink.
- Then by the time my entree came out I could only finish half of it because i was literally STUFFING food in my face. I was so hungry. And I ordered a BBQ chicken burger. Oh baby oh baby. And the french fries were so good of course. And they had HEINZ ketchup oh snap.
And the whole time, Audrey and I were laughing like crazy ppl and being loud like American ppl but WHO CARESSS it was freedom for one hour. HEEHEEHEEEEE...

Thank You So Much for Your Part

Thank you so much for your part in God's work!!!! I asked for a fast on June 1st to pray for this summer's work here in Tokyo. And I want to thank you all for your willing heart. I know God heard your prayers, and He's answering!! Even just today, another girl accepted Jesus Christ as her Savior!! Praise the Lord!! The Holy Spirit was really working in her heart. After she made her commitment, she replied that she felt her heart was different now! We don't "make people Christian", but it is God who changes people's hearts to know Him. How wonderful that is!!! We have so many flaws and so much more to grow to be more like Christ, yet God uses us in our weakness for His Glory, and I am so thankful that God calls us to be a part of His Kingdom work! Amen, amen, amen!!!! YOU are really making an impact here, and I can't thank you enough for your efforts to lift us up in prayer, and asking God to pour His Spirit here in Tokyo. This summer is just kicking off with blessing after blessing!!!

Praise the Lord!!!

These past few days have been so tiring, with completely full days. And today started off slow and painful hehe, but today was just one of those days, where I could just see God working in the hearts of people here, putting me in the path of people who ARE searching for God, and these are the days where me being all the way here on the other side of the Pacific away from the home I've known, ALL makes sense. And I just praise God for it.

A group of summer interns and I were at a University, just checking it out for future ministry, prayer walking around the campus, and we decided to go to the bookstore. It was hard to converse with people at first, but then God just literally started dropping people in our path. It was so cool!!!! I personally talked with two people today. The first, was a guy, and it turned out his English was top notch, and he had actually visited UCI, and had even attended some Navigators (Christian club on campus) Bible study meetings. Man, think about it, out of all the people in Tokyo, and all the people in that university (and the university was so so big compared to others I've been to) I meet with this guy who had been to my very own school!!!! That is definitely God at work!!! And I asked him if he was Christian, he replied with, "not yet", which I've noticed is a kind of common answer from Japanese who are interested in who Jesus is and are interested in the Bible. Anyways I got to plant another seed, telling him my testimony, and we are going to meet up in the future! He's even going to introduce me to some of his Navigator friends who are coming from UCI for an 8 week summer missions trip I believe? Dude, what if I know some of them?!?!!? THAT WOULD BE SO AWESOMEEEEEEE!!!

Then before our conversation was even over, an intern girl brought over a girl who turned out to be a Korean girl who is going to college here. And her English wasn't that good, so I got to talking with her in Korean. And she told me she was Christian, and was looking for a church. So I was happy so I asked her for her story of how she came to know Jesus, and she told me she was Christian because her mom was Christian when she was still in her mother's womb. Well that's interesting I thought...so then I told her my story of how I came to know Christ. And afterwards, she just said on her own, "hrm I don't think I am Christian then because I don't have a relationship with Christ." And things just led from there to her accepting Christ and praying to receive Him in her heart!!!!! PRAISE THE LORD!!! Seriously, this is just so exciting!!!! Please pray for her!!!! We talked a little bit about baptism, but she is struggling with that because she said she was already baptized, but I pointed out to her that it was before she even knew Christ for herself, and she realized that it was true and said she will think about it. But praise God for her, and let's pray she will grow in Him!!!!! Thank you for your prayers!!! You are definitely a part of God's work here!!!

the train map!

the intern girls, audrey, and i made a train map for all the target train stations this summer! The summer teams are getting organized and we're getting ready to officially kick off the summer! this makes me excited!! under the train map, we will be posting up prayer requests, and encouragements for our focus areas, and i'm just so excited to see how it's going to look at the end of the summer!

oh man this week was long!!!!!! meetings up the wahzoo!!! but it's over, and i'm slowly winding down to get some relaxation time!!! i was trained for peer to peer debriefing, which ive learned is so important!!! everyone needs debriefing from life!!! haha life... i believe this will be a very important tool for not just this summer with the interns, and not just the next two years with ministry, but for the rest of my life!

on a side note: i had korean food again for the first time in a long time. it's been almost two months and I do miss Korean food. Especially my mom's dwen jang jjigae if yanno what i mean ;P and i miss driving in my own car at the pace i want and with music. i haven't had any big culture shock moments...but i'm just waiting for it bc i know it's gonna come...then you'll read some depressing posts on this thing! :P

rejection continued

My roommate Audrey showed me this video called interview with an Atheist.
you can watch it here --> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Eo_sXQ4NMk
it was challenging :)
rejection isn't something i naturally accept, i dunno who does, and i know that when i am rejected i don't need to take it personally. the point is that they reject Christ. but every rejection, i'm going to need to be reminded of this. this video had a line that i liked, that me sharing the gospel with them is good (well duh) because "i gave them a fighting chance". so when i am rejected, i will remember not to take it personally, but that "i gave them a fighting chance"...

Rejected

Yesterday during 5 Minute English (5me), a cute Japanese girl came up to talk with us. Her name was Minami and she talked with Samantha from the CBU volunteer team. They had a great conversation and it led to Sam sharing the Gospel to Minami by using Steps to Peace with God. The girl seemed interested and said she wanted to accept Christ as her Savior. Then Minami and Sam came to me and shared with me whats up. It was exciting and the girl wanted to meet up again the next day, but I wasn't sure she completely understood what she was saying. Like, Samantha asked her, where is Jesus? And the girl replied, In my heart? So I explained to her that if she believes in Jesus then she is Christian. So I've been texting with her back and forth, and usually if a Japanese person here doesn't REALLY want to be your friend, they never reply back to your texts, even if they say it and act like it in your face. Sad but true. So I was encouraged that maybe she did understand and we just kept texting back and forth trying to find a time we could meet up again. Well I asked her to come out to my area tonight because a group of Japanese non-Christians were interested in studying the Bible and I thought it would be good for her to join. She replied with a not mean rejection. It was like a stab in my heart. It was really sad for me. I've been told that I will be rejected all the time here in Japan, but for it to actually have happened the first time like this, a blatant rejection, it made me so sad. She rejected Christ. Well, at least it was a seed planted ne?

Yesterday during 5me, I got to share with a man the Steps to Peace with God from front to end. And his English was very good, and he understood me well, and was open to hear what I was telling him. That though, was my moment where I just had so much joy, to be able to share who Christ is for them! That's what I came here for ne? So desu ne! He didn't accept Christ but he took the things I gave him and later when I cast a look at him he was intently looking at the things I had given him as he walked up the stairs to the train station.

I realize I'm going to be rejected because of Christ. It's not ok because people are rejecting Christ, but it's ok because people will know I love Jesus and He is the Lord of my life ne? I think though and I accept it now, I dunno why this happened so late, that even friends from home, whether or not they are Christian, will accept or reject me because of what I'm doing, because I trust in Jesus. Once again, only for Christ, is this worth it. But I want to and I will choose to praise Him for who He is regardless!!! Thanks for you guys who pray for me and think of me and love me. :) I miss you guys.

Start of a Busy Summer

So my busy season has begun. My schedule is crazy and I have to be flexible, but I know it's actually going to get crazier as the weeks go by. My first volunteer team has come into town and it's been fun and busy. But it is hard! The team is great, I love them, but when the day is over and I'm heading home, I am completely exhausted. This work is hard.

To give an overview: we have been visiting 2 university campuses, Gakugei University and Keizai Daigaku University; prayer walking around the campuses; meeting people, making friendships and sharing Jesus; doing 5 Minute English, we do this in front of a train station with signs and we converse in English with those people who walk up to us and share Jesus if we can; and Friday night we had a really fun friendship party, where we invite people we've met to dinner and just have fun getting to know each other and also sharing the Gospel if we can once again. It was very fun, but on my way home I was purely exhausted.

Please pray for me, the volunteer teams that come, and the Japanese we meet. We need prayer that we would be bold to share our hope in Jesus, have energy, joy, confidence, and encouragement, and that we will be able to find Japanese whom the Holy Spirit is already at work in and share with them God's love. Let me tell you, it can be so discouraging. You go through many people to find someone who is interested in hearing about the Gospel. And I am just so tired.

It's May already?!?

I can't believe April is over now. It's been 3 weeks and 3 days since I moved to Tokyo. I am still settling in (yes, I'm slow at everything), but I might still feel like that a year later. Some people from the Tokyo team here have left already and more will be leaving :(. Cassandra, a big help to me, left earlier this week, Daniel a jman left yesterday, and an ISC couple will be leaving next Wednesday. Ahh!! They say that my 2 years here will probably feel like 6 months. I don't know how to believe that hehe. I'll let you guys know after 2 years!

Well the summer is about to start! Summer interns (3 months) come and then the GoTokyo team (6 weeks) come, and then summer volunteers (a week maybe) come and it is just a crazy fun time going out in the streets and evangelizing. Of course I don't know this from my own experience, just from others' experiences ;) but I'm for sure looking forward to it! It's going to be crazy busy! I can't wait to see what God has in store for us this summer! :)

Now for something I got from Gods Word ;)

"For I am afraid that when I come I may not find you as I want you to be, and you may not find me as you want me to be. I fear that there may be quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, factions, slander, gossip, arrogance, and disorder. I am afraid hat when I come again my God will humble me before you, and I will be grieved over many who have sinned earlier and have not repented of the impurity, sexual sin and debauchery in which they have indulged." 2 Corinthians 12:20-21.

- Well this reminded me of all the time and energy put on new believers or even non-believers who are interested in studying the Bible. We think that all our effort will amount to something, and we want it to like Paul did "I may not find you as I want you to be", yet they may not be where we want them to be with God. But Paul says this is God humbling him before the people, that there will be many who will not have repented of their sins. I think this will be a theme for the next two years. I will probably pour my life into some people with no fruit. How sad, discouraging, and frustrating that will be! But this is ok, because God will humble me through this, and it will be a reminder that it is in God's timing, and it is through God's grace and His power that we will be able to rejoice. When I see the fruit, I will see that it is because of God, and not because of me, and it will all be to His glory. This is all nice on paper but this is for sure going to be a struggle in my real life!

"My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." 2 Corinthians 12:9a.

- It is not by our works but by God's grace and power. We need self-discipline of course but that isn't the focus, God's grace is key, it is what makes things happen. It reminds me of being a Sunday School teacher. Being a Sunday school teacher can be dangerous I think. Because you go every Sunday and it can so easily become a routine! You think you will get something out of it because you are sacrificing your time and your energy. Eh but being a Sunday school teacher every Sunday don't make you a better Christian yo. It's not even about how many times a year you can read through the Bible if you think you are safe because of it. It's not even about being humble outwardly or humbling yourself, because you can become prideful about how humble you are. Craziness. God can see the motives of our hearts. There really isn't anything you can hide from Him. He's the potter, you're the clay, He's going to mold you however He wants. And it's about God's grace in your life, how He works in your life, not how you work in it to "be a better Christian".

Shibuya Crossing

Okinomiyaki!

Urgency

So I've been here now for one week and 4 days. And boy, I've been so tired. There is so much to take in and process!!! I am busy doing things I am supposed to do, but all the walking really really sucks the life out of me! When I think "walking" I think of something that is enjoyable, at a leisurely pace. But here (and I already knew this in my brain but didn't fully knoww until I've been immersed in it) walking is NOT at a leisurely pace, and it is NOT enjoyable! Walking here involves, LOTS of long distance endurance (which I don't have yet), constant dodging going left or right to not crash into anyone/anything, walking up and up and up flights of stairs, and just a quick quick pace - keep up! So I do have time when I get home, but usually I just crash because I'm just so tired. But mind you, it's not like walking all over Japan is my job! Lol I have other things too...that get me tired!
For example, one thing that I do not love, if I can be honest >.< is this thing called 5 Minute English. Basically, we stand outside a big and busy train station with signs that say Free 5 Minute English and try to attract people's attentions so that they will come up and speak with us in English. Then if we get a chance, we will share the Gospel with them. Now before all this, I thought hrm, sharing Jesus with people - how hard can it be? Just share any chance I get! But man, let me tell you, sharing Jesus is hard work! And out of all the people I've shared with so far, nobody has been like "YES this is what I've been searching for!" Which is normal. But wow, it's been very draining and yes it's only been one week but I've been starting to drag my legs a little.
However! Today, my partner, Cassandra, in all this reminded me of the urgency and the necessity of what I'm doing. She asked me, "Surely God would provide some way for people to go to heaven if they never got the chance to hear of Jesus?" But the Bible says Jesus is the only way to heaven...it's the hard truth. I know it took me a long time to accept it. Because it is so sad for me. You would think, surely surely God would provide a way. And that's what He did - He gave His Only Son - "the Darling of Heaven, crucified". And my partner reminded me, "well we're all sinners so we deserve hell anyways". How right she is! I guess for me, somewhere along the line, I started forgetting that because I do have Jesus. I'm saved yes, but what about others who don't have Jesus?!?!? And my partner said, "it makes me want to share all the more!" And she is so right. Shouldn't we all have this attitude? This passion? This desire? This URGENCY?!?

Pictures! I still haven't figured out how to move them around, etc...so I'm giving you just the pictures!

 

How Blessing it is to Share

So I am so jetlagging still. I'm pooped but I gotta share this. It's been four days now. It's only been four days but it feels like it's been at LEAST a week! And although it's been only four days, it's been such a blessing to me. I've gotten the chance to share Jesus with several Japanese already!! And I may look like a fool, and it may be difficult to start, but each time I've been able to share the Gospel, I am so blessed and so honored that I got the chance to share the Good News and be a part of God's Kingdom work. 

The second day I got here I did Free 5 min. English lesson outside a subway station (called train station for future references) with 3 other people. Wow it was such a great time. I was a little nervous - nervously excited to have the chance to share Christ, and nervously scared that I would actually have to do it with someone! Lol. Well I did get to share with this guy named Yohei, and it was a good time of me presenting to him the Gospel. I gave him my email, some info, and a postcard type thing where he can mail in with his info to receive a free Hope dvd. You can pray that he would follow up in any way - contacting me, getting the dvd, etc. I loved to see how one of the journeygirls who has been here for almost 2 years worked it. Wow it was so encouraging how she was so straightforward and so bold! I loved it! 

Today at the Easter party a journeyguy and an ISCer put together, I got to share the Gospel with two people who heard it presented specifically for them for the first time. Their names are Misato and Genryu (not too sure about this name!). I loved sharing with them who Jesus is, and why I love sharing with them. It was awesome. And Misato, I hope that I will be her friend for the rest of my time here...she is the sweetest thing. And then with another, who had heard the Gospel, I got to share more about Jesus with him.  

There are also so many things I've experienced and seen but I'm too tired to write about them all. I have pictures and videos too and they'll be up asap!!!

Verse

1 Corinthians 15:58 says, "Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain." Amen.

Getting Ready to GOOO ~

An update is very much in need :) Sorry to keep you guys wondering ~

So here I am, with only 3 full days left before I depart to Nihon! I am so excited!! But I am also bogged down with the worries and stresses of packing as much and as completely as I can for the next 2 years. I want to bring as many things that are important to me as I can. 

I had a week and a half to spend between training and departing for Japan, but I wonder where all that time went? I got to spend time with my Irvine family, sharing stories from FPO (training) and things I learned. I wish I could spend more time with them to share MORE, but it's ok, although it seems like it's not enough time, God will use the little time there was for His glory. Now I am in NorCal and I am trying to do as much as I can, except I'm so unorganized that I don't know what I'm supposed to be doing ;)...packing, more sharing with more people, spending time with family, and saying goodbyes. I'll be leaving right before my sister's birthday :( it's so sad. 

As I've been out and about taking care of last minute things, it's been interesting to see random strangers' reactions to my going to Japan as a missionary. Cause that's what I'm doing, if you didn't know yet :) I don't wear a sign that I'm going to Japan for two years as a missionary, but they end up asking me questions, which lead me to explain my next two years in Japan. It's actually been very encouraging. For example, at Chase the other day (I'm so sad it's no longer WaMu) I asked about using my account overseas, etc. and he asked me where I'm going, which led to for how long, which led to why? And I told him why although I didn't use the M word because it seems to have a bad stereotype attached to it for some people. Well he got it! He asked who is sending me because some church or other must be commissioning me to go, and it turns out he himself is going to somewhere in the Middle East for short term missions! Awesome. I love to see bits and pieces of what's going on with God's Kingdom work.

Well, sometimes two years seem really short and sometimes it seems reallllly looooong. So I go through these weird mood swings, where one moment I'm chill, and the next I am stressed out! I do have moments when I'm like, "What am I doing?!? Why am I going to a foreign land where I don't know anyone and I don't know anything??" hehe but my reassurance comes from knowing that God is with me, and God has been with me up till now, and He will be with me in Japan. I am so glad that God has already been at work in Japan and that there have been many before me. I hear about all the exciting news of Japanese coming to faith in greater numbers and I am super duper excited to see what God will be doing when I am there!

Let's pray that I will not miss opportunities to share my faith that someone might be brought closer to Christ :) Thanks.

quick prayer request

Hi everyone!

A quick prayer request. Tomorrow (Thursday) I am going out to witness in the Washington D.C. area. I was wondering if you guys could pray that through my conversations, as well as the conversations of all the other people here going out, that people would come to know Jesus a little better. :) Thanks.

Randoms

I finished my first newsletter!! If you would like to "subscribe" to it then let me know and I will email them to you.

I'm loving the "See the Morning" album by Chris Tomlin. Especially the songs, "How Can I Keep from Singing" and "Uncreated One". 

I think I'll miss Mexican food in Japan. I know I love Japanese food, but I didn't realize how much I love it, because before when people would ask where I would like to eat, I'd say Japanese usually. However for the week and a half that I have in California, I have to stop myself from saying Japanese because I'll be eating that for two years!!! haha yea I'll miss Mexican food and In N Out. 

I love Jesus ;)

Something Extra

This is a link to an article about the movie, Crossing

This is a video of the trailer I think on youtube.

If you can somehow get your hands on the movie Crossing, I strongly recommend you watch it.

A Japanese Saying

I keep hearing this Japanese saying nowadays - "A nail that sticks out gets hammered down." What does that reveal to you? I don't know how much I'll fit in if that is the case in Japan lol.

Something I read from a book

So I'm reading a book, it's called Why are the Japanese Non-religious? (I think. I don't have the book on me, and I can't get it right now because I get the internet in a place other than where the book is.) And I read something pretty interesting that I would like to share with y'all. 

So according to the book, westerners can't really understand how religion (for lack of a better word) is for Japanese people. The author differentiates between what he calls "revealed religion", such as Christianity, Buddhism, Islam, and "natural religion" which is basically folk religion. Japanese reject "revealed religion" for many reasons. When Japanese say they are non-religious, they actually mean they are non-"revealed religion" religious. So guidebooks came out as more and more Japanese started touring other countries, and these guidebooks recommended that Japanese do not identify themselves as being non-religious because other people would think them strange. Instead, the guidebooks recommended they call themselves Buddhists or Shintoists, but when asked what they believe, they cannot say because they don't know. Buddhist and Shintoist rituals have become secularized in Japan and therefore although these rituals are in nature religious, the participating Japanese (and it's the majority) aren't religious themselves. 

Anyways, more to come as I read. And who knows when that will be. :)

something extra ~

dude i can totally read some hiragana. the key word being some lol. it's so exciting!

Do you ever have a burden that just washes over your heart, where you just long to come into the presence of God? And you can’t concentrate on what you’re supposed to be doing, even though it’s really important? This happened to me today, and I’m just sorry that I don’t come to God as often as I should, but I thank God that he would love me and draw me to Him.

If you feel that God calls you to Him, to spend time with Him, wherever you are, I would suggest that you drop whatever you’re doing, find someway to be by yourself, and just share a moment with Him who adores you.

Prayer is Essential

Today we had a session on how prayer is an integral part of what I am to do, and I really wanted to share this with you all.

The speaker shared with us a quote that goes something like this, "Prayer is how we can win the battle, and evangelizing is just reaping the spoils of the battle."

How true it is that there is no place that I am going to where God is not already there. I mean think about it, God is God. It is God who works in people's hearts and it is God who reveals Himself to people, and I am just a tool. It would be crazy for me to think that it is I who is the first to go to these people and that it is I who makes them see truth. No no no ~ God has already been there and it is God who moves in people's hearts.

Some people will think, "Oh well since I can't go with you, at least I'll pray for you." Oh no, please erase that thought from your minds. Prayer isn't "at least", prayer is the most crucial! Prayer must be simultaneous with the work being done because prayer is the life support system, so please Pray! Don't think, "Oh someone else will pray" or "well the least I can do is pray". No your prayer is vital.

For now, please pray that during this training process, I will walk with God every day and that I will be guided by the Holy Spirit. Also that I will come to know God's vision for Tokyo, and that God will do a work in the hearts of the people there.

Hi!! I'll update soon! :)