I don't know if I have time to write down what I want in the time I have now but it's probably all I got for today because there's always other things for me to do. It's funny how a lot of people feel like there's a lot of down time but for the leader there is never any down time. But enough about that. God is good no matter how much time I feel I have.
Indeed He has been good. Despite all my inadequacies and shortcomings He has given me strength to do the task He has called me to do. At times I've felt overwhelmed but through prayer, mine as well as from the saints, I've been able to lead this crazy team of believers who have as diverse a range of personalities as any other group I've seen. I'm not saying that I've done a great job or anything. All I want to say is if there was anything good, it was a gift from God.
I can't believe we're in the home stretch now. We have one last weekend here. It has gone by so fast. I say that every year but when you're in it, well, you just have to say it because it is so real. Anyway, I better get on with my post...
Yesterday, we passed out flyers to I junior high and high school students to invite them to a 4 night English class at the church. They were all girls. It was actually pretty fun because we kind of made a game of figuring out how to most effectively get the students to take the flyers from our hands. Some people walked and talked with the students as long as they could before giving up. Some tried speaking in Japanese while others spoke only in English. Some tried begging. We didn't have many flyers so we were only out there for about 20 minutes before we ran out of flyers. We are going back today to pass out more flyers. Please pray that many students would come out to this English class so they may hear and believe the glorious gospel of our Lord.
In the afternoon we had an extended team meeting. The bulk of it was a discussion on where each of the college students stood in relation to the gospel. It was awesome to see how God worked in each individual to get a different part of the gospel out or perhaps reinforce other parts of the gospel.
I think I will need to get off the computer now. I think I will continue this post in the afternoon if I have time.
We're back from passing out flyers now. We missed a lot of them because we got there late but we got a lot of flyers out anyway. Passing out flyers can be a nerve-racking thing as is anything that involves interaction with strangers but the best thing to do is have fun with it. I think when people see you having fun, it disarms them and makes them feel more comfortable and even want to join you. I'm still working on a theology on fun as with many other theologies. Ask me about them if you're curious.
Going back to my regular post...as Priscilla mentioned in the previous one, I've been meeting individually with all of the team members. The meetings consisted of two parts: my questions for them and my comments for them. The questions started off general and got progressively deeper. Here are the questions:
1. What do you think of the trip so far?
2. Have you had any problems with the way things have been done on the trip?
3. Have you had any problems with any of the team members?
4. Do you have any problems with me-my conduct, conflicts wih my personality, etc.?
5. What can I do to serve or lead better?
It was kind of scary asking those last questions but I decided that it would be best to find out what people really though. I often do not see my life too clearly so I figured that it would be edifying to know what 10 pairs of others eyes see. Of course, I'm not going to write about anything specific but I will say that there weren't any serious problems and the meetings were most beneficial and David King, if you are reading this, I would highly recommend that you do this with your team as well. It's a humbling thing but from what I understand, God loves humility. "...clothe yourselves with humility, toward one another, for God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." (1 Peter 5:5) "...But to this one I will look, to him who is humble and contrite of spirit, and who trembles at My word." (Is. 66:2)
Yesterday, in the evening we went bowling with some of the students from Osaka Prefecture. It was not the best setting for sharing the gospel but it was a good time to meet students we haven't met before, have fun with them, make small talk, and just build relationships. It was good preparation for the time we had at dinner when we got to share the gospel with many of them. I'm not sure how everyone's conversations went but at my table we got to share the gospel with a student named Takashi. He met the team that came three years ago and it was cool to see God's sovereignty in bringing him out again. Each year I come, I am humbled by God's goodness and His timing in carrying out His will. We often get frustrated when we don't see results immediately. God has been showing me that He is king and does whatever He pleases. Sometimes, actually oftentimes, things don't make sense because we think we know what glorifies Him best when in fact He is putting His patience or some other glorious attribute of His on display. I say with Paul, "O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!" (that's KJV because it was free and on my Palm Pilot) Takashi calls himself a Catholic which gave us a platform to work off of. He asked me about the Passion and God used that to let me share Isaiah 53 with him. Also, during the conversation at dinner, we were able to challenge Takeshi on reading the Bible and what it means to really believe-that your actions prove what you believe. John MacArthur would have been proud (in a good way). We left him with an English and a Japanese Ultimate Questions tract. He was very receptive to what we had to say and said he felt challenged and has a lot to think about. Please pray for his soul, that he would see the truth and repent and believe, so that he may join us in proclaiming the excellencies of our God and King forever and ever.
I want to take this time now to thank you all for your support-both financially and in terms of prayer, both supporters at home and the team members who are reading this. Through you all I have seen Christ's arms and feet move, serve, and glorify Him. You are amazing but that's because we have an amazing God. One last note-please pray for Adler. He's feeling sick right now and we're not sure what it is. He has been resting all morning so we didn't want to bother him and ask him. I don't think it's serious but prayer would be appreciated nonetheless.
I love it here but I am looking forward to seeing you all when I come home. I love you all. Until then, strive for His holiness and stand on His grace.
Posted by Ray
I can't believe we're in the home stretch now. We have one last weekend here. It has gone by so fast. I say that every year but when you're in it, well, you just have to say it because it is so real. Anyway, I better get on with my post...
Yesterday, we passed out flyers to I junior high and high school students to invite them to a 4 night English class at the church. They were all girls. It was actually pretty fun because we kind of made a game of figuring out how to most effectively get the students to take the flyers from our hands. Some people walked and talked with the students as long as they could before giving up. Some tried speaking in Japanese while others spoke only in English. Some tried begging. We didn't have many flyers so we were only out there for about 20 minutes before we ran out of flyers. We are going back today to pass out more flyers. Please pray that many students would come out to this English class so they may hear and believe the glorious gospel of our Lord.
In the afternoon we had an extended team meeting. The bulk of it was a discussion on where each of the college students stood in relation to the gospel. It was awesome to see how God worked in each individual to get a different part of the gospel out or perhaps reinforce other parts of the gospel.
I think I will need to get off the computer now. I think I will continue this post in the afternoon if I have time.
We're back from passing out flyers now. We missed a lot of them because we got there late but we got a lot of flyers out anyway. Passing out flyers can be a nerve-racking thing as is anything that involves interaction with strangers but the best thing to do is have fun with it. I think when people see you having fun, it disarms them and makes them feel more comfortable and even want to join you. I'm still working on a theology on fun as with many other theologies. Ask me about them if you're curious.
Going back to my regular post...as Priscilla mentioned in the previous one, I've been meeting individually with all of the team members. The meetings consisted of two parts: my questions for them and my comments for them. The questions started off general and got progressively deeper. Here are the questions:
1. What do you think of the trip so far?
2. Have you had any problems with the way things have been done on the trip?
3. Have you had any problems with any of the team members?
4. Do you have any problems with me-my conduct, conflicts wih my personality, etc.?
5. What can I do to serve or lead better?
It was kind of scary asking those last questions but I decided that it would be best to find out what people really though. I often do not see my life too clearly so I figured that it would be edifying to know what 10 pairs of others eyes see. Of course, I'm not going to write about anything specific but I will say that there weren't any serious problems and the meetings were most beneficial and David King, if you are reading this, I would highly recommend that you do this with your team as well. It's a humbling thing but from what I understand, God loves humility. "...clothe yourselves with humility, toward one another, for God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." (1 Peter 5:5) "...But to this one I will look, to him who is humble and contrite of spirit, and who trembles at My word." (Is. 66:2)
Yesterday, in the evening we went bowling with some of the students from Osaka Prefecture. It was not the best setting for sharing the gospel but it was a good time to meet students we haven't met before, have fun with them, make small talk, and just build relationships. It was good preparation for the time we had at dinner when we got to share the gospel with many of them. I'm not sure how everyone's conversations went but at my table we got to share the gospel with a student named Takashi. He met the team that came three years ago and it was cool to see God's sovereignty in bringing him out again. Each year I come, I am humbled by God's goodness and His timing in carrying out His will. We often get frustrated when we don't see results immediately. God has been showing me that He is king and does whatever He pleases. Sometimes, actually oftentimes, things don't make sense because we think we know what glorifies Him best when in fact He is putting His patience or some other glorious attribute of His on display. I say with Paul, "O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!" (that's KJV because it was free and on my Palm Pilot) Takashi calls himself a Catholic which gave us a platform to work off of. He asked me about the Passion and God used that to let me share Isaiah 53 with him. Also, during the conversation at dinner, we were able to challenge Takeshi on reading the Bible and what it means to really believe-that your actions prove what you believe. John MacArthur would have been proud (in a good way). We left him with an English and a Japanese Ultimate Questions tract. He was very receptive to what we had to say and said he felt challenged and has a lot to think about. Please pray for his soul, that he would see the truth and repent and believe, so that he may join us in proclaiming the excellencies of our God and King forever and ever.
I want to take this time now to thank you all for your support-both financially and in terms of prayer, both supporters at home and the team members who are reading this. Through you all I have seen Christ's arms and feet move, serve, and glorify Him. You are amazing but that's because we have an amazing God. One last note-please pray for Adler. He's feeling sick right now and we're not sure what it is. He has been resting all morning so we didn't want to bother him and ask him. I don't think it's serious but prayer would be appreciated nonetheless.
I love it here but I am looking forward to seeing you all when I come home. I love you all. Until then, strive for His holiness and stand on His grace.
Posted by Ray