Hello all!
So this update will be by me (Shannon) and Justine for how Monday and Tuesday went! On Monday we started off the morning continuing to make the goodie bags to hand out to the students and organizing Okada Sensei’s office. Then we went to OPU (Osaka Prefecture University) and hung out by talking and playing games in the classroom and then in the cafeteria. On Tuesday, we went to OU (Osaka University-one of the top 5 universities in Japan) and talked in a classroom then they took us shopping and sightseeing around Kobe (which is famous for their beef and Kobe Tower). We had some very, very profitable conversations and are looking forward to getting to talk to a lot of them again today (going back to OPU) and tomorrow (going back to OU).
Please continue to pray for the student’s hearts as we continue to share the great news of the Gospel and that they would see their need for the Savior. Also please pray for our team since many of us are tired today, and just that we would rely on Him for strength and that we would remain faithful.
So this update will be by me (Shannon) and Justine for how Monday and Tuesday went! On Monday we started off the morning continuing to make the goodie bags to hand out to the students and organizing Okada Sensei’s office. Then we went to OPU (Osaka Prefecture University) and hung out by talking and playing games in the classroom and then in the cafeteria. On Tuesday, we went to OU (Osaka University-one of the top 5 universities in Japan) and talked in a classroom then they took us shopping and sightseeing around Kobe (which is famous for their beef and Kobe Tower). We had some very, very profitable conversations and are looking forward to getting to talk to a lot of them again today (going back to OPU) and tomorrow (going back to OU).
Please continue to pray for the student’s hearts as we continue to share the great news of the Gospel and that they would see their need for the Savior. Also please pray for our team since many of us are tired today, and just that we would rely on Him for strength and that we would remain faithful.
So Monday we were invited to come to OPU and they were very gracious and it was our first time just sitting and talking to students for a long period of time. We were led to a classroom and they had snacks and drinks all set up. We each sat at a table and basically—just talked and got to know the students. I talked to a girl from Vietnam who was a foreign exchange student and we got along really well! She was really energetic and we were laughing the whole time just about all this random stuff like how loud American and Vietnamese people are compared to people in Japan—so glad that’s our reputation lol Then I was talking to a guy who was taller than me…so I sadly learned that I am not the tallest person in Japan like I first predicted. Then we played boom-chick-a-boom-boom (spelling?) which was a hit. The picture shows how it was set up, but yeah I don’t think it ever made a full circle, so it was a struggle to do but a lot of fun. Then they took us to the cafeteria to eat.
Justine and I got to have long talks with two girls and we talked about Korean pop (Justine and I are both fans) and learned cool Japanese slang. We have learned that to start off the conversation you go for no-fail topics like: pop music (everyone loves Lady Gaga which…is unfortunate lol), Disneyland (they have Disneyland Tokyo!), fashion and the fact that Tony’s dog is named Sushi (they all seemed to find that really entertaining). And here is Justine showing (pretty impressively I might add) a student what a Tony’s dog looks like since he hadn’t heard of a pug before (she said I could only post it if I made it small hahaha):
Besides those go-to topics, most of us have photo books of our lives we show the students–which they really enjoy. It also gives us a great opportunity, since we have pictures of ourselves at our baptisms and at bible study which allows us to talk about the Bible and that we are Christians. But in conclusion (so Justine can go for it), we had some really good conversations and one of the girls Justine and I were talking to even got a Facebook just so she could add us as friends!! So encouraging to see the relationships we are building and the opportunities it is giving us to share the Gospel. But yes, it was a great day and great seeing how faithful and diligent the team was in serving the students and in utilizing the open doors God gave them to share the Gospel. Thank you for your prayers and here is Justine sharing about Tuesday!
Now onto Day 4. Fortunately, we had a later start on Tuesday, because let me tell you….we NEEDED it. We got to church at 10:00 in the morning, and just spent some time recapping the previous day and praying. Afterwards, we left for Osaka University and spent some time in a classroom speaking to some students. That’s where my small group book came in handy (shout-out to the small groupies, holla). Pretty pictures + Bible verses = win. So, we all stayed there for a bit until we went to the cafeteria to get food. I got some curry udon (interesting) and we all hung out there for several hours. It was so awesome hearing people’s conversations about everything from clubs and majors to the gospel. All of us were very encouraged by all the many good conversations we had. A student even said she wouldn’t be able to study that night because she had so much to think about because of the Gospel message we had shared! So very thankful for the opportunities God provided.
Now onto Day 4. Fortunately, we had a later start on Tuesday, because let me tell you….we NEEDED it. We got to church at 10:00 in the morning, and just spent some time recapping the previous day and praying. Afterwards, we left for Osaka University and spent some time in a classroom speaking to some students. That’s where my small group book came in handy (shout-out to the small groupies, holla). Pretty pictures + Bible verses = win. So, we all stayed there for a bit until we went to the cafeteria to get food. I got some curry udon (interesting) and we all hung out there for several hours. It was so awesome hearing people’s conversations about everything from clubs and majors to the gospel. All of us were very encouraged by all the many good conversations we had. A student even said she wouldn’t be able to study that night because she had so much to think about because of the Gospel message we had shared! So very thankful for the opportunities God provided.
In the afternoon, we left for Kobe by train. Here are some pictures of us at the train station/on the train with the students!
Some students couldn’t come with us (bummer), but a handful could and we pulled out our list of 100 interesting conversation starters to pass the time. (Shannon said she would put a platypus in a turtle shell with flamingo legs in answer to what the ULTIMATE 3-animal combo would be. I said that Mayuu’s cheetah-panda-giraffe combo would pwn Shannon’s after it chewed through the turtle shell.) I found a fellow comrade in Kana. She is a Shinee (Korean pop band) supporter and told me that Shinee’s Japanese CD drops today! When we finally got to Kobe, we visited a manga shop with the students, and they told us about their favorite ones. Ashley and Shannon met with “horrific struggles” to find some manga. (Needless to say, they will not rest until they find this one Ramen manga and Hana Yori Dango.) Kobe was “legit – heck to the yes!” It was gorgeous, because it used to be a port through which foreigners entered into Japan (we learned from a student). This was evident through the architecture and the variety of shops. We stopped by an eerily clean Chinatown and a Korean goods shop. (Tony and Ashley ordered gyozas, buns, and sticky rice to stave off debilitating hunger – glad to report that that disaster was averted.) We ate at a nice restaurant and continued to talk to the students about their favorite movies, Christianity, school, work, etc.
Finally, we ended the night taking pictures on the pier with the students. The guys took some priceless jumping pictures. We are so grateful that we’ve been able to talk, laugh and show Christ’s love to the Japanese students. You can pray for our interactions with the students and also that they would be able to get connected with the members from Hamadera Bible Church. Thanks for all the prayers and support. They truly are our source of strength. (By the way, all the phrases in the quotation marks are commonly used phrases, courtesy of Miss Shannon Armstrong – lingo master. Fun times. Thought you’d all appreciate them.)
Memorable Quotes/Moments:
While tossing the football in the church parking lot, we all watched as Tony, who seemed to be doing well, made the hardest, fastest throw of mankind…right at one of the pastor’s cars, we allll (including Okada Sensei) were dying of laughter
Mike Dai (even though he claims he has no quotes): looking at a Big Boy sign says profoundly that “a big boy can be a little man…sometimes” ???
Mike: “what is this?” Us: “rice” Mike: “what’s in it?” Us: “uhhhhh…rice??”
Tony, Eric and I were talking to two students about chihuahua’s and then Tony shouts “I hate chihuahua’s, they’re so UGLY!!!” and then one student proceeds to show us a picture of his dog…a chihuahuh—such a fail loll
Justine made us a Question Print out with questions she found so we could get the conversation rolling (questions like the “what would the ULTIMATE 3-animal combo be” which was mentioned before)—here is probably the best/least used one: “if you could dispense one condiment from your naval, what would it be?”…and be least used I mean never used…
And to finish, here is a bonus picture! ==Mike Dai look alike on the train to Kobe
While tossing the football in the church parking lot, we all watched as Tony, who seemed to be doing well, made the hardest, fastest throw of mankind…right at one of the pastor’s cars, we allll (including Okada Sensei) were dying of laughter
Mike Dai (even though he claims he has no quotes): looking at a Big Boy sign says profoundly that “a big boy can be a little man…sometimes” ???
Mike: “what is this?” Us: “rice” Mike: “what’s in it?” Us: “uhhhhh…rice??”
Tony, Eric and I were talking to two students about chihuahua’s and then Tony shouts “I hate chihuahua’s, they’re so UGLY!!!” and then one student proceeds to show us a picture of his dog…a chihuahuh—such a fail loll
Justine made us a Question Print out with questions she found so we could get the conversation rolling (questions like the “what would the ULTIMATE 3-animal combo be” which was mentioned before)—here is probably the best/least used one: “if you could dispense one condiment from your naval, what would it be?”…and be least used I mean never used…
And to finish, here is a bonus picture! ==Mike Dai look alike on the train to Kobe