Hi all!! It's Brandon, and it's a pleasure to be able to add to our Japan team 1 blog. It is 10:20pm, and I am in the comforts of Mrs. Takanaka's house. She is a wonderful Christian lady who continually takes in and cares for missionaries. Tim, Beland, and myself will be staying with her for the remainder of our trip. Not only do we have a place to sleep, but she also does our laundry and prepares meals for us. Her zeal for Christ and diligence in sharing the gospel with her neighbors is an encouragement to us all.
Anyway, it is such a blessing to be here. The Lord has really been working us since we got here, and we praise Him for that. This trip is in no way a vacation or leisure get-away, and it's great to labor alongside other saints who know why were here.....to serve.
Our day started today at around 8:00am with a hearty breakfast and a few laughs with Mrs. Takanaka, and then we were off to the church where we meet every morning at 8:45am for our daily team meeting. After about an hour of discussion and prayer, we started working. Today us guys scrubbed floors, mopped, and waxed while the girls prepared a skit in leiu of the prodigal son (Luke 13) that we will be performing on Friday for a camp of some sort.
At noon was lunch, where we got to eat with other members of the church. I almost got my hand bitten off when I attempted to take the finished plate from a lady sitting next to me. She kindly reminded me that.....that's their job. You don't mess with Japanese women when it comes to anything to do with their kitchen work.
At around 3:30 we headed off to Seikyo Gakuen High School for the second time this week where we've been attending various English classes/clubs for the ultimate purpose of inviting them to church so they can hear the gospel and build relationships with other church members. They claim to be a Christian school, but we've learned that just because a school claims to be a Christian school doesn't mean anything. The first class we attended a few days ago was instructed by a teacher who was a non-Christian, and the students had never heard the gospel before.....so we shared it with some of them. Today, when we attended, we met Phillip Sherman, a six-year veteran English teacher at the school. He's from Pasadena, CA.....cool, but we think he's catholic....not cool.
We left the school shortly after six, and headed out for dinner. Our place of choice was bikkuri donki...which means "surprised donkey.".....hmmmm......whatever. I mean I've heard some whacky things, but come on now. After stuffing ourselves and fighting over who would pay the bill, we headed back, and here I am.
My friends...my family...please pray for this: pray that the Lord would do a great work in the hearts of those with whom we interact, and that they would come to Christ. We have met so many people, mainly young people, who are perishing. There are many schools who won't even let us visit because they hate Jesus Christ. Pray for them.
The bible tells us that "narrow is the gate that leads to life, and there are few who find it." There are FEW who find it, but may at least one more soul believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, by the grace of God, as a result of our labor. Pray that our hearts would continue to be motivated to serve and that we would not grow lazy in heart. Pray for our team leader Tim. He hasn't been sleeping well at all. He's been waking up daily between 3-4am. Pray that the Lord would calm his heart, and that this experience would cause him to trust in the Lord even more.
Much grace to all of you.
Much love for you all in Christ Jesus,
Brandon
Our day started today at around 8:00am with a hearty breakfast and a few laughs with Mrs. Takanaka, and then we were off to the church where we meet every morning at 8:45am for our daily team meeting. After about an hour of discussion and prayer, we started working. Today us guys scrubbed floors, mopped, and waxed while the girls prepared a skit in leiu of the prodigal son (Luke 13) that we will be performing on Friday for a camp of some sort.
At noon was lunch, where we got to eat with other members of the church. I almost got my hand bitten off when I attempted to take the finished plate from a lady sitting next to me. She kindly reminded me that.....that's their job. You don't mess with Japanese women when it comes to anything to do with their kitchen work.
At around 3:30 we headed off to Seikyo Gakuen High School for the second time this week where we've been attending various English classes/clubs for the ultimate purpose of inviting them to church so they can hear the gospel and build relationships with other church members. They claim to be a Christian school, but we've learned that just because a school claims to be a Christian school doesn't mean anything. The first class we attended a few days ago was instructed by a teacher who was a non-Christian, and the students had never heard the gospel before.....so we shared it with some of them. Today, when we attended, we met Phillip Sherman, a six-year veteran English teacher at the school. He's from Pasadena, CA.....cool, but we think he's catholic....not cool.
We left the school shortly after six, and headed out for dinner. Our place of choice was bikkuri donki...which means "surprised donkey.".....hmmmm......whatever. I mean I've heard some whacky things, but come on now. After stuffing ourselves and fighting over who would pay the bill, we headed back, and here I am.
My friends...my family...please pray for this: pray that the Lord would do a great work in the hearts of those with whom we interact, and that they would come to Christ. We have met so many people, mainly young people, who are perishing. There are many schools who won't even let us visit because they hate Jesus Christ. Pray for them.
The bible tells us that "narrow is the gate that leads to life, and there are few who find it." There are FEW who find it, but may at least one more soul believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, by the grace of God, as a result of our labor. Pray that our hearts would continue to be motivated to serve and that we would not grow lazy in heart. Pray for our team leader Tim. He hasn't been sleeping well at all. He's been waking up daily between 3-4am. Pray that the Lord would calm his heart, and that this experience would cause him to trust in the Lord even more.
Much grace to all of you.
Much love for you all in Christ Jesus,
Brandon