Hello!! Shannon and Justine here again (and it’s very late after a long day so we apologize for any errors/it being too short etc.) and we hope this gives you a mini-update on what’s been going on here in Japan. So today we will be writing about Tuesday and Wednesday. Tuesday we had time together as a team in the morning, went to karaoke with OPU students! Wednesday we went to OU and hung out on campus (talking, eating, playing football) then went to Umeda and shopped and ate and rode this monster ferris wheel!!!!
We had some very good follow up conversations with some students these last two days and even a great conversation with a new student that came out. Please continue praying that the team would be faithful even though some (Eric, Tony, Priscilla) have varying levels of sickness and even though the team is starting to feel the effects of our schedule and hours talking. But, like we have been talking about as a team, God has been faithful and we are very thankful!!
So Tuesday morning we all had some time to spend together as a team since we didn’t have to be at OPU till 4. So we prayed together and sang worship songs. Our morning team meetings are always a good time since it starts off our morning with a reminder of why we are here and gives us a time to worship the great God we are serving.
But after that, we went to a shopping place called Plat Plat where we were able to hang out together and spend time getting gifts, etc.
We had some very good follow up conversations with some students these last two days and even a great conversation with a new student that came out. Please continue praying that the team would be faithful even though some (Eric, Tony, Priscilla) have varying levels of sickness and even though the team is starting to feel the effects of our schedule and hours talking. But, like we have been talking about as a team, God has been faithful and we are very thankful!!
So Tuesday morning we all had some time to spend together as a team since we didn’t have to be at OPU till 4. So we prayed together and sang worship songs. Our morning team meetings are always a good time since it starts off our morning with a reminder of why we are here and gives us a time to worship the great God we are serving.
But after that, we went to a shopping place called Plat Plat where we were able to hang out together and spend time getting gifts, etc.
Some plat plat adventure pictures:
Then OPU took us straight to karaoke, we had already gone last week with OU so we had our song list ready to go: old school 90’s like N’Sync or Backstreet Boys, Disney songs, Avril Lavigne or Taylor Swift for the girls, and classics like the Beatles or YMCA type of stuff lol Our team specializes in Baby, Baby by Justin Beiber and We’re all in This Together—our team all sung them both, including some added dance moves lol
So while karaoke isn’t necessarily the greatest time/place to have a direct Gospel presentation, it does provide us with an opportunity to deepen the relationships we have formed here. We all had fun laughing, cheering on and singing with the students. One of the for sure crowd favorites was Tony and a male student singing “A Whole New World” in which Tony sang the part of Jasmine—some pretty high notes in that song is all I gotta say. I got to sing some Backstreet Boys and Avril Lavigne with different students and after an experience like standing up and performing for everyone—a bond is pretty much secured loll So we had 3 hours to bond over singing and I know a lot of people on the team were getting tired at the end and it got a little harder and harder to clap with the songs and shout along, but I was encouraged by their dedication to make sure the students had a good time! The students all seemed to really enjoy it and I know we all are looking forward to seeing them again Now here’s Justine with her Wednesday update!
On Tuesday, we went back to meet with students from Osaka University. It was great, because we had the opportunity to have more gospel conversations with some students that we’ve already met and are familiar with. Tomomi, Okada sensei and Soga sensei joined us, and it was a HUGE blessing to get the students connected with the local church.
Later, some of the guys played football with the Japanese guys, and I’m sure they noticed that when Christians play contact sports, it’s very different from how the world plays. Whenever people messed up, others would shout words of encouragement. It really seemed like everyone had a lot of fun.
On Tuesday, we went back to meet with students from Osaka University. It was great, because we had the opportunity to have more gospel conversations with some students that we’ve already met and are familiar with. Tomomi, Okada sensei and Soga sensei joined us, and it was a HUGE blessing to get the students connected with the local church.
Later, some of the guys played football with the Japanese guys, and I’m sure they noticed that when Christians play contact sports, it’s very different from how the world plays. Whenever people messed up, others would shout words of encouragement. It really seemed like everyone had a lot of fun.
Then we visited Umeda again with the students. We went to many interesting places like a huge bookstore, The Loft (a store with many stories that sells everything), and a really bomb jewelry store that was cheap (woot woot for the girls). We ate dinner at a buffet and then got to ride on a beautiful red Ferris wheel. Rico (one of the students) and I were both a little afraid of heights, so we stayed still as Shannon and Rico’s boyfriend proceeded to stand up and even shake the car we were in.
But, all in all, it was a wonderful and enjoyable day! Praise God for all the relationships we’ve been able to cultivate with the students, their willingness to listen to us, and the fact that many students seem to have RSVPed on Facebook for our big event at HBC this coming Sunday. Please continue to pray for a good turnout on Sunday, that there would be many opportunities for the students to get connected to the church, and that God would continue to work in the student’s hearts to bring them to salvation.
-Justine, out
Quotes:”’
–“I’ve never had gelato, EVER.” (5 seconds later) “Except for that one time…hmm yeah that doesn’t make sense”–Mike Dai
–Mike: “why do you need nail polish remover”
Priscilla: “…to remove my nail polish, what else can you do with it”
Tony: “CLEAN MICROWAVES!?” (said in an “of course, everyone knows this fact” fashion)–guess we all learned something new today lol
Another Mike Bonus Picture, It’s all about the shirt, many funny stories happened today because of it:
-Justine, out
Quotes:”’
–“I’ve never had gelato, EVER.” (5 seconds later) “Except for that one time…hmm yeah that doesn’t make sense”–Mike Dai
–Mike: “why do you need nail polish remover”
Priscilla: “…to remove my nail polish, what else can you do with it”
Tony: “CLEAN MICROWAVES!?” (said in an “of course, everyone knows this fact” fashion)–guess we all learned something new today lol
Another Mike Bonus Picture, It’s all about the shirt, many funny stories happened today because of it: