Konnichiwa! (Good afternoon/Hello) This is Dan, updating for Day 6. By now, most of us are getting used to the daily life of STMers in Japan – the food, the time change, scheduling, various skills such as how to speak English in a way which they can better understand (slowly and using a Japanese accent) – except for the mosquitoes. As I write this, I am trying very hard not to scratch my newest one that I just got an hour or… too late. Anyway, God has shown Himself to be faithful again today through our student ministry at OCC and OPU. Praise the Lord for His continued goodness in demonstrating the power of His Gospel!
We met at church early this morning to leave at 8AM for OCC, the all-girls Christian college, because our first class was another one of Mr. Perry’s English classes at 9AM. We played the same games that we did yesterday, because this was a new group of students, but since Shinsuke wasn’t there and there was no one to translate, Christina couldn’t share her testimony. To make up for it, Mr. Perry wrote deeper questions on the board for us to talk about in our small groups that could potentially lead into gospel-centered conversations. This first class of girls did not speak English that well, but they were excited to chat with us which made it easier to use those questions to share a bit about Christianity. After that class, we went to the chapel again. The format was the same, except a different woman shared a message on Matthew 6:25-26 (more like a testimony about her injured hand, which then started going into some random drawings she showed on the projection screen. I lost her sometime around there). We went up again for self-introductions, because this was a new group of girls who weren’t there at our first chapel. The main difference this time around was that during our song, “Amazing Love/You Are My King”, we had the words and the Japanese translation projected onto the screen! The chapel service seemed to be quite ritualistic for some of the girls (those sitting in the back were talking throughout the whole thing), so I pray that God will maybe even use this gospel-filled song to get them to think about the words they sing in their hymns or those they read during the chapel Scripture reading.
After chapel, we went to the cafeteria for lunch and sat with random groups of students again to try and get to know them better. A few we recognized from Tuesday, which was quite cool, because this allowed us to get past the small talk and into more meaningful things such as what we did at church. We had some Japanese flyers showing our schedule that week which we could pass out to students. The goal was to get them to come to some of our other events, such as the Camp on Saturday and the Sayonara (goodbye) Party on 7/6, where we could share our faith with them more freely and also build relationships between them and the church members. Some of us left a bit earlier from lunch to go to the ESS club, where we played Fruits Basket. Unfortunately, that was all we had time for, but some of those students should be coming to a BBQ at Mr. Perry’s place Friday, 7/4, where we can talk to them more. We stayed there until the next class started (some of them were also in that class), which was basically the same as the other classes we’ve been to except this one had more advanced English speakers. The questions on the board this time were also more easy to use as transitions into sharing about Christianity. It was very encouraging to talk about why we celebrated Christmas in our group, then overhear another group share about who their hero was and still another discuss what they did when they were sad. We were able to use these topics to explain why we read the Bible or prayed or what Christ came to Earth to do for us, and the girls were attentive and could understand what we were sharing. Some even pulled out electronic dictionaries to help in translation! Please pray that some of them might come out to our events for follow-up conversations, and even if not, that God will show them their own need for a Savior.
We left OCC after that class ended and went to OPU following a short break at church. This was the ESS club again, and like Chris said, these students had the highest English speaking skill level so far out of any that we’d met. This time, the group was a bit different than Tuesday’s because their club has 30-40 members but they only meet officially on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Our “English party” with them was a special event, so only some could make it out. We first played some games which they led us in, and we were split up into groups of 5-6 which made it easier to get to know those students. Many of these students said they were going to go to Kyoto with us next Saturday, which we are looking forward to very much! A few also said they were coming to our Camp this Saturday, praise God!
After games and free time, we ate dinner together in the cafeteria. This was probably the most direct time of evangelism so far in our entire trip. I was amazed at God’s providence – after sitting down at the table, it seemed as if pretty much everyone was deep in some conversation about the Bible, or sharing a fairly detailed presentation of the gospel, or discussing sin and how God wrote His law on every man’s heart so that they are without excuse. Since these students are trained in English speech and debate, they not only understood English quite well but could also respond to our sharing and questions with very well thought-out answers. I got to talk to a guy named Shin (after Ophy talked with him) who said that he did believe there could only be one truth and that he was becoming interested in religion. After sharing the gospel with him, especially noting how Christianity is different from all other religions in the world (salvation and sanctification not works-based but by humble dependence on God alone, among other things) he said he understood everything and acknowledged his sin, but was still trying to learn about religions first. He did want to learn more about Christianity though, and said he might come out on Saturday (he’s for sure going to Kyoto and is very excited to share about Japanese culture there). Please do pray for him, that God would move his heart to seek Christ, without caring what other people may think. It is hard to make that commitment to follow Christ in Japan, as I’m sure some of you know, not only because of the culture and the tiny population of Christians but also because one could become ostracized from his or her family and friends. It seemed that many other OPU students were interested in learning more as well, so please do pray for Saturday – that more students will come (only seven are coming so far) and that God would work in their hearts cause them to come to Hamadera Bible Church, and perhaps even lead them to salvation right there. The power of prayer is becoming so evident! Praise God for being a Heavenly Father who listens to our requests for His name’s sake!
Thank you for your faithfulness in interceding for us and praying for God’s name to be glorified in Japan. Please continue to pray for us, especially for the upcoming camp this Saturday and our preparation for it tomorrow, as well as for the students we met or are going to meet. The church members have also been so helpful and loving in serving us through driving us places, translating for us, feeding us, hosting us, praying with us – all this on top of their own jobs and busy schedules. Some are sacrificing large amounts of time and sleep even to serve us and these high school and college students we meet. Please pray that God will sustain the church members in their work and their continued service, and that we can be sensitive to how we can serve them as well. Their example is so encouraging to us, especially since it is hard to be a Christian in Japan. Thanks for reading! Here are some bonus pictures for your time =)
After chapel, we went to the cafeteria for lunch and sat with random groups of students again to try and get to know them better. A few we recognized from Tuesday, which was quite cool, because this allowed us to get past the small talk and into more meaningful things such as what we did at church. We had some Japanese flyers showing our schedule that week which we could pass out to students. The goal was to get them to come to some of our other events, such as the Camp on Saturday and the Sayonara (goodbye) Party on 7/6, where we could share our faith with them more freely and also build relationships between them and the church members. Some of us left a bit earlier from lunch to go to the ESS club, where we played Fruits Basket. Unfortunately, that was all we had time for, but some of those students should be coming to a BBQ at Mr. Perry’s place Friday, 7/4, where we can talk to them more. We stayed there until the next class started (some of them were also in that class), which was basically the same as the other classes we’ve been to except this one had more advanced English speakers. The questions on the board this time were also more easy to use as transitions into sharing about Christianity. It was very encouraging to talk about why we celebrated Christmas in our group, then overhear another group share about who their hero was and still another discuss what they did when they were sad. We were able to use these topics to explain why we read the Bible or prayed or what Christ came to Earth to do for us, and the girls were attentive and could understand what we were sharing. Some even pulled out electronic dictionaries to help in translation! Please pray that some of them might come out to our events for follow-up conversations, and even if not, that God will show them their own need for a Savior.
We left OCC after that class ended and went to OPU following a short break at church. This was the ESS club again, and like Chris said, these students had the highest English speaking skill level so far out of any that we’d met. This time, the group was a bit different than Tuesday’s because their club has 30-40 members but they only meet officially on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Our “English party” with them was a special event, so only some could make it out. We first played some games which they led us in, and we were split up into groups of 5-6 which made it easier to get to know those students. Many of these students said they were going to go to Kyoto with us next Saturday, which we are looking forward to very much! A few also said they were coming to our Camp this Saturday, praise God!
After games and free time, we ate dinner together in the cafeteria. This was probably the most direct time of evangelism so far in our entire trip. I was amazed at God’s providence – after sitting down at the table, it seemed as if pretty much everyone was deep in some conversation about the Bible, or sharing a fairly detailed presentation of the gospel, or discussing sin and how God wrote His law on every man’s heart so that they are without excuse. Since these students are trained in English speech and debate, they not only understood English quite well but could also respond to our sharing and questions with very well thought-out answers. I got to talk to a guy named Shin (after Ophy talked with him) who said that he did believe there could only be one truth and that he was becoming interested in religion. After sharing the gospel with him, especially noting how Christianity is different from all other religions in the world (salvation and sanctification not works-based but by humble dependence on God alone, among other things) he said he understood everything and acknowledged his sin, but was still trying to learn about religions first. He did want to learn more about Christianity though, and said he might come out on Saturday (he’s for sure going to Kyoto and is very excited to share about Japanese culture there). Please do pray for him, that God would move his heart to seek Christ, without caring what other people may think. It is hard to make that commitment to follow Christ in Japan, as I’m sure some of you know, not only because of the culture and the tiny population of Christians but also because one could become ostracized from his or her family and friends. It seemed that many other OPU students were interested in learning more as well, so please do pray for Saturday – that more students will come (only seven are coming so far) and that God would work in their hearts cause them to come to Hamadera Bible Church, and perhaps even lead them to salvation right there. The power of prayer is becoming so evident! Praise God for being a Heavenly Father who listens to our requests for His name’s sake!
Thank you for your faithfulness in interceding for us and praying for God’s name to be glorified in Japan. Please continue to pray for us, especially for the upcoming camp this Saturday and our preparation for it tomorrow, as well as for the students we met or are going to meet. The church members have also been so helpful and loving in serving us through driving us places, translating for us, feeding us, hosting us, praying with us – all this on top of their own jobs and busy schedules. Some are sacrificing large amounts of time and sleep even to serve us and these high school and college students we meet. Please pray that God will sustain the church members in their work and their continued service, and that we can be sensitive to how we can serve them as well. Their example is so encouraging to us, especially since it is hard to be a Christian in Japan. Thanks for reading! Here are some bonus pictures for your time =)