Herroooo Everybody!
What a week it’s been already! God’s already done so much and proven Himself faithful in so many ways through this trip. It’s been an incredible for the team to experience the depth of God’s kindness in interacting with church members, chatting with students and enjoying great times of fellowship together (those of you who’ve been on STMs understand what I’m talking about).
Sleeping?? What a week it’s been already! God’s already done so much and proven Himself faithful in so many ways through this trip. It’s been an incredible for the team to experience the depth of God’s kindness in interacting with church members, chatting with students and enjoying great times of fellowship together (those of you who’ve been on STMs understand what I’m talking about).
Though our stay in Japan has been fun so far, it’s also been extremely tiring. We’ve become quite adept at taking pictures of each other sleeping during long train rides to the different schools.
Trying to talk to students for 4-5 hours each day is difficult, and thinking of conversation topics leaves us almost desperate for anything. But, despite all these things, God has blessed us with many Gospel conversations, allowing us to use talks about holidays we celebrate, things we do during the weekend, or even a student’s speech about how marriages can be improved (random right?!) to transition to the Gospel. Our team has been taking advantage of these opportunities and it’s really exciting to listen around and hear these conversations.
Nope!! Just Korinn hahaha Trying to talk to students for 4-5 hours each day is difficult, and thinking of conversation topics leaves us almost desperate for anything. But, despite all these things, God has blessed us with many Gospel conversations, allowing us to use talks about holidays we celebrate, things we do during the weekend, or even a student’s speech about how marriages can be improved (random right?!) to transition to the Gospel. Our team has been taking advantage of these opportunities and it’s really exciting to listen around and hear these conversations.
Please pray especially for one student. He’s been with us for several years now, and has heard the Gospel many times. I talked to him recently and talked about a recent family member’s death, which lead to questions about death and what happens afterwards. He sees the faults in his own logic, and seems to be on the right path. Pray that God will continue to use our conversations with him to challenge his thinking and graciously show him the truth of life. I really want him to believe and really hope that it will happen. Pray with us!!
Now for today’s news. Here’s the rundown:
Now for today’s news. Here’s the rundown:
- Korinn, Shoshee, and me went to visit Oumi-san
- Lunch at church
- Shopping at Platplat!
- More shopping at Namba!!
- Hangout with students at Namba
We got to spend a good time with Oumi-San and his wife and be able to pray for him. Keep praying for him please!! His heart is always focused on service. He wishes he could postpone the surgery so that he can spend more time with us and take care of Korinn and Shoshee (they’re staying with the Oumi’s). Also, his grandchildren are going to be attending Joy Joy, so he wants to be there to see them. Pray that this situation will grow his trust in the Lord and strengthen his understanding of God’s infinite love for him.
Plat Plat was fun! Lots of shopping and looking at cute animals. We continued our shopping at Namba, where we tasted our first “Ice Candy.” They were quite tasty!
We finished our day hanging out with students from OPU. We traveled to the the top of Osaka Tower, which was quite an experience. In the tower, there is a god that people think will give them good luck and grant their wishes. Personally, being around these idols and false religion makes me feel sick (kinda like throwing up..) but it did open up opportunities for promising conversations. These continued throughout our dinner filled with fried foods.
Plat Plat was fun! Lots of shopping and looking at cute animals. We continued our shopping at Namba, where we tasted our first “Ice Candy.” They were quite tasty!
We finished our day hanging out with students from OPU. We traveled to the the top of Osaka Tower, which was quite an experience. In the tower, there is a god that people think will give them good luck and grant their wishes. Personally, being around these idols and false religion makes me feel sick (kinda like throwing up..) but it did open up opportunities for promising conversations. These continued throughout our dinner filled with fried foods.
Keep praying for us with all the same things we’ve mentioned before. We desperately need these prayers. Most of all, keep praying that we would constantly nourish our own souls during our time in Japan, supplying ourselves with the Word so that we may be sustained as we pour out our lives to these students. May God be glorified in all!
I’ll leave you all with one more picture and a video…
-Eric
I’ll leave you all with one more picture and a video…
-Eric