A Sunny Day in the Neighborhood

Today was a nice and sunny day. And it was a good day for sowing seeds. I was able to share a whole lot with one girl, and also ministered to a homeless man.

I was meeting my friend Y-san, who is a believer, and E-san, her friend who is not a believer. E-san wanted to go to a shrine today to get 'power', where some celebrity shared that there was power in a pond there that would give you good luck for your work. I had mixed feelings about going to witness this, but I decided to go because 1. I was curious, 2. I wanted to support Y-san, 3. share with you all about the spiritual battle going on here, and 4. see if God would provide a chance for me to share the good news to E-san. So I found my way to a Starbucks because I had some time in order to prepare by reading God's Word and praying. I found a quiet nook where the sun shone in and it overlooked the road. It was a good time and I was better equipped to go out and meet the girls.

Well, remember my mixed feelings? Well God dealt with that right away. The tickets to enter the pond was out when we arrived, so we couldn't enter. Now this place has become really popular recently due to that celebrity. The average wait in line to get in the pond is 4 hours. They had started passing out the tickets at 8:30 am and they ran out at 11 am, but people were still in line at 2 pm, waiting for their time to enter.

I spent the rest of the day with the girls. And BOY did God give me opportunities to share! haha I shared so much that my mouth and the rest of me was physically pooped by sayonara time. E-san shared a little about her work situation; she is actually not Japanese although you could never tell, and she shared a little about feeling like an outsider amongst her coworkers because of that. I was able to share with her that I'm thankful for Jesus because He made it a point over and over again how the good news is for everyone, for all nations, for all backgrounds, for the rich and the poor, even those who have been rejected by family, friends, society, etc. She asked me good questions, and even brought up something I had mentioned the last time I met her (this was my 2nd time meeting her). I was also able to share multiple passages from Scripture too. So I can see that God is working in her heart, in her life.

Prayer R: Keep E-san in mind and pray for her work situation. It must be bad enough that she would repeatedly (this was her 2nd failed time at the shrine, and she plans to go again next mont) try to go to this pond for its 'power'. I told her I'd be praying for her work situation, and that if God decides to answer, to know that it was the One and Only God of the Bible who answered it. Please pray that God would move clearly in her life that she would know He is real and loves her.

Thank you so much for your prayers. I really do know that you are praying hard from all the ways I am able to see God working, and I am so thankful. Hontoni. Thank you so much for your sacrifices of prayer. Without it, I wonder where I'd be now.

My little nook inside Starbucks :)

The remainder of the line at ~2 pm. These people had been in line for at LEAST 3 hours.

Harajuku murals

Please continue to pray for the people in Tokyo. They are lost and looking for help. Not just for this pond at this shrine I went to today, but at many other shrines and temples, people spend a lot of money and time praying to gods who don't have ears to hear or a heart to care. Let's pray that the Japanese here will discover the God of the Bible who is alive and almighty, who answers prayers, who loves them so much that precious Jesus came to die on the cross and pay the ultimate price for their sins. "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:8

Random: Tokyo is supposed to be one big, fat, fashion metropolis. But now I'm just confused :)

Lately...

Lately, I've been good overall :) Yesterday January 26, 2010, was my 1 year since I started working with the IMB. Yay hehe. So, basically, unless things change and who knows, it was my halfway mark for this part of my life. I don't know if I can say that I have something concrete to show you that this is what all my time and efforts have produced, but that's ok because really, it's not about my time and efforts but about what God is doing through me. As long as I'm faithful to Him and His calling for me, then I know I can be satisfied and content. Of course, remembering that all the time can be a challenge... ;)

Weeellll! I'll tell you something crazy and amazing!!! I was just starting to type out a prayer request when my prayers were answered!!!!!! That can't be just a coincidence!! H-san, who had been so faithful, all of a sudden stopped contacting me and I couldn't get a hold of her for about 2 weeks! It really concerned me because it was very unlike her! So I literally typed, "I've lost contact with H-san!!" when BOOM my phone next to me started ringing and guess who it was?!? H-san!!!!!! That is too crazy it was almost creepy haha. Wowzers. Amazing. I still do have a prayer request regarding her though: H-san will be going to Korea for 2 months because her school is now on a break session. Please pray for her that during this time, God will continue to draw her close to Himself, and that she will grow in Him and His Word!!!

Now, here are some pictures from my surroundings here:

This is a residential shrine, in an area called Musashi-Koganei where I work. We were doing distribution in this area, putting an offer for a free dvd called The Hope that shares the Gospel in a very non-cheesy and pretty well made video all in Japanese into every mailbox we saw. There were many shrines and temples in this small area to my surprise actually. Please pray that people living here would be open to the Gospel! Two other areas where I work are called Nishi-Kokubunji and Kokubunji, so please keep these places in mind too as you pray!

It was one of my teammate's birthday and we had sukiyaki for her birthday!! Yummy yummy! It is kind of like shabu shabu for those of you who know, except you cook everything in sauce.

The same night we had sukiyaki, the teammate's neighbor came over to share this beautiful cherry blossom with us. It is a rare kind because as most others bloom in the spring (late March/early April), this kind blooms in the winter in December/January. It smelled wonderful, like Yuzu cha (Japanese)/Yuja cha (Korean)!

A view of Shibuya crossing around noon on a weekday. Very empty compared to the other times!

Personal prayer request: My right foot has been in an almost constant pain for maybe around 2 months. I don't need this here, especially since I use my feet to carry me almost everywhere (I have no car!). Please pray for my foot that the pain will go away and it will be a nice and healthy foot so I can go out to do His work! Thank you! :)

Your Name is Jesus

I love this song. It's been on repeat today. I'd Need a Savior by Among the Thirsty.