Hi it's beland, this is an update for you
Dear You,
Konnichiwa!I could not have gone on this trip again this year to see God’s mighty work displayed if it wasn’t for your prayers and financial contribution.I am grateful that I know people like you who are mindful of world missions and God’s eternal plan for His own people.Thank you for partnering up with me for the sake of the gospel in Japan, I would like to express my appreciation to you by writing this letter to you and updating you on theministry you have been praying for.
Dear You,
Konnichiwa!I could not have gone on this trip again this year to see God’s mighty work displayed if it wasn’t for your prayers and financial contribution.I am grateful that I know people like you who are mindful of world missions and God’s eternal plan for His own people.Thank you for partnering up with me for the sake of the gospel in Japan, I would like to express my appreciation to you by writing this letter to you and updating you on theministry you have been praying for.
THE FOREIGNERS
Let me start out by introducing our team.We are a team of believers from Grace Community Church, most of us are either attending UCLA or have graduated from UCLA.There a total of 8 of us, 4 guys and 4 girls.5 out of the 8 members have studied Japanese before and 6 out of the 8 are returning on this mission trip.As you might imagine, previous exposure to the Japanese language and culture perhaps made our ministry a bit smoother, and we felt confident as we re-entered the Land of the Rising Sun.Immediately, the LORD humbled us.
The VirusOne by one, each of us came down with Viral Gastroenteritis, also known as the stomach flu.Many of us were immobilized for a few days, but praise God we all recovered and were for the most part, able to minister without being physically hindered for the remainder of the trip.I did not catch the stomach flu while the rest of the team was sick, but I only had a cold that I caught while still in LA.Perhaps in some way the cold stopped the virus from attacking me at the time and I was healthy for the remainder of the trip because of that.However on the night before we returned to America, it seemed like I caught the more severe and intensified form of the stomach flu, and spent my first week back in America in bed.I am thankful to the Lord that again He taught us that He was in charge and He had plans.
THE MINISTRYOur ministry was twofold—share the good news to the lost and encourage the Christians in Osaka.
1.THE CHURCH
The ShepherdsHamadera Bible Church (HBC) is pastored by three men, Kondo sensei, Okada sensei, and Doi sensei.The first two men went to seminary and was trained in America.One of the team’s main purposes is to encourage these faithful pastors in the Lord and bring news and goods from home.Between the three pastors’ families are 7 children with whom we were able to play with and baby-sit while their parents labor hard in the church’s ministries.
Our partnersHBC has a college ministry of about 15 people.All of them are guys except for one girl who is just entering college.Compared to last year’s trip, we spent a lot more time together with these students this year.Even though these guys are busy with their schoolwork, they actively participated and planned most of the events that we were a part of.I had the opportunity to practice my Japanese with them while in turn they practiced their English with me; I was able to hear from them in these two languages some of their testimonies and how the Lord is growing them, it was a very encouraging experience to hear these guys speak!
The BodyHBC has around 150 members, a mega church in Japan.There are the silver-haired as well as many children running down the halls of the church every Sunday.HBC is also very unique because of its deaf ministry.There is a sign language translator present at every meeting we attended because there are many deaf members at the church who are very actively involved in the ministries at HBC, one of them is even enrolling in seminary this year to become a pastor to the deaf.
The church is also occupied by many American missionaries, most of them teach English either at the church or in schools.Aaron Bitzer, a fellow friend from UCLA, who lives at the church and teaches English there, was a very big part of our ministry this year.
Jun Minatozaki, an intern/seminary student who also lives at HBC was the ministry coordinator for our short term missions team.
Believers in HBC have encouraged us in many ways.Some invited us to their homes, some spoke encouraging words to us in Jenglish, some cooked delicious dishes for us every meal, others prayed for our ministry, etc.Christ’s love was reflected by these people and quite evident to every single one of our team members.
The Paint and The Garden
It was time for HBC’s sanctuary to be repainted and for the church’s yard to be cleaned up.Who else would be better for job than a bunch of tall and “outdoorsy” Americans?This year we had the privilege of serving HBC by repainting the interior of the sanctuary, where the worship services are held, as well as cleaning up the church’s yard/garden.We spent about a week cutting trees, killing bugs, painting the ceiling, the walls, the baptism pool, and the prayer rooms.The weather was quite hot and sticky and the constant smell of paint made some of us dizzy, but we were more than privileged to be able to serve HBC in this way.
2.THE COLLEGE EVANGELSIM
“Free Talk Time!”We visited 3 universities in the greater Osaka area this year: Osaka Prefecture University (OPU), Momoyama/St. Andrew’s University, and for the first time, Kinki University.Our ministry was geared towards the English speakers at the university, i.e. Japanese students who have an interest in English conversation.The students we met with were all members of each school’s English Speaking Society (ESS), which is a very popular club in Japanese universities.
For the most part, we had “Free talk time” when we visited the clubs.“Free talk time” is exactly what it sounds like, each American would sit down with few or several college students depending on club size, and talk about anything anybody wanted to talk about.As you can imagine, there are tremendous opportunities for the gospel and Christ to be mentioned.Praise God, we did have many conversations about the gospel and many students showed sincere attention to what was being proclaimed even if they’ve heard it from the teams in previous years.However, our main purpose was not necessarily to pack us many gospel conversations as we can with the students during free talk times.
The ConnectionSince our team was only going to be in Japan for 2.5 weeks, our job was not to conduct a “gospel drive-by” at every single ESS club we visit.Rather, our main focus was to connect the unbelieving college students to HBC, hoping that even after we depart, the church could take-over and reach out to them.We did this by inviting the students to the church meetings and special events and introducing them to the college members at HBC.
The Osaka ExcursionsDuring the two Saturdays while we were there, we were able to go on sightseeing trips with HBC college members and the ESS students.We visited the two landmarks of Osaka City, Osaka Castle and The Tsutenkaku Tower.Due to scheduling conflicts with their school events, only few ESS students were able to show up to the trips.Despite the small number, we were able to see the HBC college members getting to know the ESS students even sharing the gospel and their testimonies. We all had a great time together visiting places and buying souvenirs, but without a doubt the greatest gain was the relationships built during these trips.
THE HEART BEHIND MISSIONS Another Year, the same Sovereign GodGod opened my eyes even more this year, not so much as to see how lost Japan is without Christ, but to see God’s faithfulness again in the work He has going on there.Yes, we know that 99% of the country is spiritually dead right now and they need Christ, but from the contact we’ve had this time with even just a few people, it’s evident that God is doing great things in Japan.God’s timing will come when He will gather those in Japan who are His, but in the meantime, the little me who cannot do anything can only pray and watch God work.And Indeed we have seem Him work: heart’s strengthened, believers encouraged, the gospel proclaimed, prayers answered, heart’s humbled, God glorified!
It’s not about what I cannot do in Japan, it’s about what God IS doing and what He promises He will do in His Word!
Missions is for every Christian
Thank you very much again for your support, your prayers and your gifts. I would love to tell you more about how your prayers are answered and how great your money was for the purposes of God, but I’d much rather encourage you go on a mission trip and see it for yourself. Go to a foreign country and see God’s glory in that place, whether it be a rich or poor country, “Christian” or persecuted Christians country, they all need the gospel. The place you work at, the school you go to, your neighbors, they all need the gospel as well! We are merely sojourners on this earth, we’re all missionaries, and our mission here on earth is to proclaim Christ and point people to worship God! Please continue to pray for Japan and pray for the people around you who don’t know Christ.
Let me start out by introducing our team.We are a team of believers from Grace Community Church, most of us are either attending UCLA or have graduated from UCLA.There a total of 8 of us, 4 guys and 4 girls.5 out of the 8 members have studied Japanese before and 6 out of the 8 are returning on this mission trip.As you might imagine, previous exposure to the Japanese language and culture perhaps made our ministry a bit smoother, and we felt confident as we re-entered the Land of the Rising Sun.Immediately, the LORD humbled us.
The VirusOne by one, each of us came down with Viral Gastroenteritis, also known as the stomach flu.Many of us were immobilized for a few days, but praise God we all recovered and were for the most part, able to minister without being physically hindered for the remainder of the trip.I did not catch the stomach flu while the rest of the team was sick, but I only had a cold that I caught while still in LA.Perhaps in some way the cold stopped the virus from attacking me at the time and I was healthy for the remainder of the trip because of that.However on the night before we returned to America, it seemed like I caught the more severe and intensified form of the stomach flu, and spent my first week back in America in bed.I am thankful to the Lord that again He taught us that He was in charge and He had plans.
THE MINISTRYOur ministry was twofold—share the good news to the lost and encourage the Christians in Osaka.
1.THE CHURCH
The ShepherdsHamadera Bible Church (HBC) is pastored by three men, Kondo sensei, Okada sensei, and Doi sensei.The first two men went to seminary and was trained in America.One of the team’s main purposes is to encourage these faithful pastors in the Lord and bring news and goods from home.Between the three pastors’ families are 7 children with whom we were able to play with and baby-sit while their parents labor hard in the church’s ministries.
Our partnersHBC has a college ministry of about 15 people.All of them are guys except for one girl who is just entering college.Compared to last year’s trip, we spent a lot more time together with these students this year.Even though these guys are busy with their schoolwork, they actively participated and planned most of the events that we were a part of.I had the opportunity to practice my Japanese with them while in turn they practiced their English with me; I was able to hear from them in these two languages some of their testimonies and how the Lord is growing them, it was a very encouraging experience to hear these guys speak!
The BodyHBC has around 150 members, a mega church in Japan.There are the silver-haired as well as many children running down the halls of the church every Sunday.HBC is also very unique because of its deaf ministry.There is a sign language translator present at every meeting we attended because there are many deaf members at the church who are very actively involved in the ministries at HBC, one of them is even enrolling in seminary this year to become a pastor to the deaf.
The church is also occupied by many American missionaries, most of them teach English either at the church or in schools.Aaron Bitzer, a fellow friend from UCLA, who lives at the church and teaches English there, was a very big part of our ministry this year.
Jun Minatozaki, an intern/seminary student who also lives at HBC was the ministry coordinator for our short term missions team.
Believers in HBC have encouraged us in many ways.Some invited us to their homes, some spoke encouraging words to us in Jenglish, some cooked delicious dishes for us every meal, others prayed for our ministry, etc.Christ’s love was reflected by these people and quite evident to every single one of our team members.
The Paint and The Garden
It was time for HBC’s sanctuary to be repainted and for the church’s yard to be cleaned up.Who else would be better for job than a bunch of tall and “outdoorsy” Americans?This year we had the privilege of serving HBC by repainting the interior of the sanctuary, where the worship services are held, as well as cleaning up the church’s yard/garden.We spent about a week cutting trees, killing bugs, painting the ceiling, the walls, the baptism pool, and the prayer rooms.The weather was quite hot and sticky and the constant smell of paint made some of us dizzy, but we were more than privileged to be able to serve HBC in this way.
2.THE COLLEGE EVANGELSIM
“Free Talk Time!”We visited 3 universities in the greater Osaka area this year: Osaka Prefecture University (OPU), Momoyama/St. Andrew’s University, and for the first time, Kinki University.Our ministry was geared towards the English speakers at the university, i.e. Japanese students who have an interest in English conversation.The students we met with were all members of each school’s English Speaking Society (ESS), which is a very popular club in Japanese universities.
For the most part, we had “Free talk time” when we visited the clubs.“Free talk time” is exactly what it sounds like, each American would sit down with few or several college students depending on club size, and talk about anything anybody wanted to talk about.As you can imagine, there are tremendous opportunities for the gospel and Christ to be mentioned.Praise God, we did have many conversations about the gospel and many students showed sincere attention to what was being proclaimed even if they’ve heard it from the teams in previous years.However, our main purpose was not necessarily to pack us many gospel conversations as we can with the students during free talk times.
The ConnectionSince our team was only going to be in Japan for 2.5 weeks, our job was not to conduct a “gospel drive-by” at every single ESS club we visit.Rather, our main focus was to connect the unbelieving college students to HBC, hoping that even after we depart, the church could take-over and reach out to them.We did this by inviting the students to the church meetings and special events and introducing them to the college members at HBC.
The Osaka ExcursionsDuring the two Saturdays while we were there, we were able to go on sightseeing trips with HBC college members and the ESS students.We visited the two landmarks of Osaka City, Osaka Castle and The Tsutenkaku Tower.Due to scheduling conflicts with their school events, only few ESS students were able to show up to the trips.Despite the small number, we were able to see the HBC college members getting to know the ESS students even sharing the gospel and their testimonies. We all had a great time together visiting places and buying souvenirs, but without a doubt the greatest gain was the relationships built during these trips.
THE HEART BEHIND MISSIONS Another Year, the same Sovereign GodGod opened my eyes even more this year, not so much as to see how lost Japan is without Christ, but to see God’s faithfulness again in the work He has going on there.Yes, we know that 99% of the country is spiritually dead right now and they need Christ, but from the contact we’ve had this time with even just a few people, it’s evident that God is doing great things in Japan.God’s timing will come when He will gather those in Japan who are His, but in the meantime, the little me who cannot do anything can only pray and watch God work.And Indeed we have seem Him work: heart’s strengthened, believers encouraged, the gospel proclaimed, prayers answered, heart’s humbled, God glorified!
It’s not about what I cannot do in Japan, it’s about what God IS doing and what He promises He will do in His Word!
Missions is for every Christian
Thank you very much again for your support, your prayers and your gifts. I would love to tell you more about how your prayers are answered and how great your money was for the purposes of God, but I’d much rather encourage you go on a mission trip and see it for yourself. Go to a foreign country and see God’s glory in that place, whether it be a rich or poor country, “Christian” or persecuted Christians country, they all need the gospel. The place you work at, the school you go to, your neighbors, they all need the gospel as well! We are merely sojourners on this earth, we’re all missionaries, and our mission here on earth is to proclaim Christ and point people to worship God! Please continue to pray for Japan and pray for the people around you who don’t know Christ.