Greetings again! This is Ed writing and I will be filling you guys in on our Day 3 activities. Don't worry, I'll try to keep it brief.
We had the opportunity to visit Seikyo Gakuen (Junior High & High School) this afternoon. During Mr. Morino's English class (Mr. Morino is a Christian), he had our team introduce ourselves in front of the Japanese students. After that, he had the students split up into groups and it was cool because we got to talk to some of the students in smaller groups. They asked us questions about what sports we like, what Super Smash characters we use, what kind of music we listen to, what we do on weekends, and what Japanese foods we like. One person on the team was asked if she was married (she is not) and the female students were excited to hear that she has a boyfriend. The students' English speaking level was pretty basic so we kept it simple.
We then had the opportunity to visit the ESS club, but only 3 students showed up today because the school had a dance competition going on so some of the other students were occupied with that event. We introduced ourselves to the 3 students of the club and played some games with them. Jun, a HBC staff member, had the opportunity to share a brief message with the students. Mr. Sherman, the hilarious teacher of ESS, invited us to return to interact more with the students and even bribed us with cake, though he was joking about the cake, I think. He was encouraging because he seems like he supports HBC's relationship with the school and hopes that the students have the chance to learn (and see) what true Christianity is. One of the boys was quite good at Pictionary and I was impressed at his English skill level. He was more impressed with Collin's "SUP" dance. Yes, Collin's "SUP" dance has made its Japan 2008 premiere to rave reviews, even on the streets of Osaka.
Thanks for your support in prayer, but I do ask that you continue to pray for us.
Some prayer requests are:
Here are some pictures from today's endeavors: Since Estella posted only pictures of the female team members, there will only be guys' photos today.
We then had the opportunity to visit the ESS club, but only 3 students showed up today because the school had a dance competition going on so some of the other students were occupied with that event. We introduced ourselves to the 3 students of the club and played some games with them. Jun, a HBC staff member, had the opportunity to share a brief message with the students. Mr. Sherman, the hilarious teacher of ESS, invited us to return to interact more with the students and even bribed us with cake, though he was joking about the cake, I think. He was encouraging because he seems like he supports HBC's relationship with the school and hopes that the students have the chance to learn (and see) what true Christianity is. One of the boys was quite good at Pictionary and I was impressed at his English skill level. He was more impressed with Collin's "SUP" dance. Yes, Collin's "SUP" dance has made its Japan 2008 premiere to rave reviews, even on the streets of Osaka.
Thanks for your support in prayer, but I do ask that you continue to pray for us.
Some prayer requests are:
- Focus on the trip - Many of us have things that concern us back home e.g. applications, preparation for next school year, enrollment and other misc. things. Please pray that we'll be able to offer up our anxieties to the Lord and be able to focus on the tasks at hand and not be hindered by our worries of things we have no control over in Japan.
- Trust in the Lord - It is humbling and difficult at times when we are not allowed to share the Gospel openly at the schools that we will visit, or even when we don't have Gospel oriented conversations due to the low English skill levels of the children. Please pray that we'll be humble and trusting in the Lord that He will work through what we do here in Japan, regardless of how "meaningful" we may deem it to be. Again, our team is here to help build bridges between the students and HBC that will allow the church to increase the ministry with some of the students in the future.
- Opportunities - Please pray for opportunities for us to share the Gospel with the students, whether through word or deed. Pray that all we do and say will be honoring to Christ.
Here are some pictures from today's endeavors: Since Estella posted only pictures of the female team members, there will only be guys' photos today.