Hi! It’s Tricia. J I hope you all enjoyed the little music video Beland posted. J
Wednesday July 4th and Thursday July 5th
These two days were spent at Osaka Christian College, the girls junior college, which hosted the weekend camp at Tannowa. We were really excited to interact with these girls again, having spent so much time with them already.
Wednesday July 4th and Thursday July 5th
These two days were spent at Osaka Christian College, the girls junior college, which hosted the weekend camp at Tannowa. We were really excited to interact with these girls again, having spent so much time with them already.
Wednesday was an early morning. We met at the church before 8 and headed out to the school for a 9:00 a.m. class. We played some English conversation games with the students until lunch. All these students were new to us. Lunch was spent with the students in their cafeteria and we were able to spend some time talking to the students. Then it was off to two more afternoon classes. The first class gave presentations on Japanese culture on topics like hanabi (fireworks), anime, cherry blossoms, tatami (a type of flooring with a distinct smell (Ashley and I sleep on tatami), yakiniku (Japanese grilling), and ninjas. We were able to spend some time talking to these students, who all want to be teachers. We wrapped up the day with one more English conversation class (after an afternoon break) and left the school at about 6:00 pm. Then it was off to another round of rotating sushi bar. Yum! I love salmon!
Thursday at Osaka Christian College was interesting. We attended their chapel service, which was all in Japanese. Thanks to Beland, who translated the text given to us, we were able to understand the morning message was about the topic of abortion. Apparently, it’s a huge problem in Japan. At the end of the service, we were asked to introduce ourselves on stage. Tim gave a brief summation of why we were in Japan. Then we made our testimonies (translated in Japanese) available to them after the service. We hope our testimonies would make the gospel more clear to them. As far as we could tell, most of the students weren’t Christians.
We had lunch in the cafeteria again, but this time, we partnered up (one American with a Japanese person from Hamadera). I had the pleasure of partnering with Kana. This allowed for easier communication at the lunch table. We had three classes in the afternoon, but this time, it was with some of the students we had met last weekend at the camp. We were thankful for the opportunities to spend time with them again. We played some games and had some English conversations. I was able to share the gospel once through the question – “What is the most important thing in your life?” All the girls answered love, friends, amusement… but I was able to share with them a bit about God and the gospel. One of my girls said she was really lonely and didn’t have friends. This was a great opportunity to share the love of God and the church with her. God continues to be gracious in providing opportunities. Beland and Tim were even able to share with a girl named Ai in Chinese (who’s 75% Chinese and lived in China for many years). We are hopeful that these girls and other students will join us for the barbeque on Saturday.
We then had dinner at Etsuko's sister's restaurant and had Okinawa shoku (food). It was so good! And the fellowship with the church members continues to get better and better! And our team just likes each other so much! Praise God for the fellowship of believers.
Friday is debriefing day and team time. Please be praying for the barbeque. Okada Sensei will be giving a gospel message and we will be playing some English conversation games to get to know the students better. Pray that we will finish our trip strong and be an encouragement to the church, making the most of every opportunity to minister and serve. Thanks! We are thankful for you at home!
Thursday at Osaka Christian College was interesting. We attended their chapel service, which was all in Japanese. Thanks to Beland, who translated the text given to us, we were able to understand the morning message was about the topic of abortion. Apparently, it’s a huge problem in Japan. At the end of the service, we were asked to introduce ourselves on stage. Tim gave a brief summation of why we were in Japan. Then we made our testimonies (translated in Japanese) available to them after the service. We hope our testimonies would make the gospel more clear to them. As far as we could tell, most of the students weren’t Christians.
We had lunch in the cafeteria again, but this time, we partnered up (one American with a Japanese person from Hamadera). I had the pleasure of partnering with Kana. This allowed for easier communication at the lunch table. We had three classes in the afternoon, but this time, it was with some of the students we had met last weekend at the camp. We were thankful for the opportunities to spend time with them again. We played some games and had some English conversations. I was able to share the gospel once through the question – “What is the most important thing in your life?” All the girls answered love, friends, amusement… but I was able to share with them a bit about God and the gospel. One of my girls said she was really lonely and didn’t have friends. This was a great opportunity to share the love of God and the church with her. God continues to be gracious in providing opportunities. Beland and Tim were even able to share with a girl named Ai in Chinese (who’s 75% Chinese and lived in China for many years). We are hopeful that these girls and other students will join us for the barbeque on Saturday.
We then had dinner at Etsuko's sister's restaurant and had Okinawa shoku (food). It was so good! And the fellowship with the church members continues to get better and better! And our team just likes each other so much! Praise God for the fellowship of believers.
Friday is debriefing day and team time. Please be praying for the barbeque. Okada Sensei will be giving a gospel message and we will be playing some English conversation games to get to know the students better. Pray that we will finish our trip strong and be an encouragement to the church, making the most of every opportunity to minister and serve. Thanks! We are thankful for you at home!