We went out for an adventure to Kyoto today! Some of our friends from HBC joined us: Kat, Tamie, Takashi Kondo, Takashi Higuchi, Ash, and Aimee.
Our main destination in Kyoto was Kiyomizu Temple, which is located on a mountain. Because of the altitude, the views from the top were very pretty! However, this also meant a lot of walking on a pretty hot day, but we were very thankful for good friends to talk to on the way up and ice cream. Yay friends yay ice cream.
Our main destination in Kyoto was Kiyomizu Temple, which is located on a mountain. Because of the altitude, the views from the top were very pretty! However, this also meant a lot of walking on a pretty hot day, but we were very thankful for good friends to talk to on the way up and ice cream. Yay friends yay ice cream.
We also noticed the hordes of other visitors there that day as well. It's a popular spot for tourists as well as Japanese locals. Because of this, there are many little shops with traditional-looking items for sale as well as many people walking around in traditional Japanese clothes. They sell little charms that are supposed to bring "love chance", and there's also a waterfall that is supposed to bring long life, academic success, or even more love chance when you drink the water.
What struck me most about our visit to this temple in Kyoto was the fact that people come here to pray to a false god. There are many temples and shrines in Japan, and it's typical for Japanese people to come pray for a big life event (for example, some of the students we've talked to say they come pray before they take big exams, etc.) Seeing people literally bowing before a statue, praying to it, and seemingly believing that this god will grant them a love chance or a good grade was eye-opening to the spiritual state of so many people here. |
These things were hard to look at, but also made our team see more clearly the need for the gospel here. The hope these people have in a false god is fake because it's rooted in nothing, but the hope we have in God leads to true joy (Prov 10:28) because it's based on the power of the only true God.
After visiting the temple, we went to eat dinner at Namba. The girls (Kat, Tamie, Carissa, Sophia, Lindsey) ate Hawaiian burgers and had a good time of fellowship talking about biblical principles of discipleship, and what these relationships look like both at GCC and HBC. The guys (both Takashis, Ash, Eric, Stephen, Seichi, and 2 of Takashi's friends) ate separately, and the guys were able to share the gospel with Takashi's 2 unbelieving friends Naoki and Yuya.
After visiting the temple, we went to eat dinner at Namba. The girls (Kat, Tamie, Carissa, Sophia, Lindsey) ate Hawaiian burgers and had a good time of fellowship talking about biblical principles of discipleship, and what these relationships look like both at GCC and HBC. The guys (both Takashis, Ash, Eric, Stephen, Seichi, and 2 of Takashi's friends) ate separately, and the guys were able to share the gospel with Takashi's 2 unbelieving friends Naoki and Yuya.
Please join us in praying for Naoki, Yuya, and the many many Japanese people who do not know Jesus. God has been reminding our team every day of the joys of the gospel, and it makes us very sad to think that there are so many people here who don't have the same joy that we do. We are trusting that God will bring His children to Himself with His sovereign power.
Love,
Lindsey
"Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD his God"
Psalm 146:5
Love,
Lindsey
"Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD his God"
Psalm 146:5