Second day of Church Camp!
The camp extended from Saturday to Sunday in order to expose the college students to Sunday morning church.
The morning started with the students hobbling into breakfast at 7am. There were about 11 students who were there for church in the morning. We all sat in for first service at 8:30am. Kondo-sensei (the main pastor at HBC) preached from 1st John 3:23-24. In his sermon, he greatly emphasized what it means to believe in God. The message was very gospel centered, so it was encouraging to know that the students were hearing the gospel again.
After the service, Priscilla, Eric, and I (Akane) had the opportunity to share our testimonies with the church. On top of that, the students were there to hear our testimonies!
The camp extended from Saturday to Sunday in order to expose the college students to Sunday morning church.
The morning started with the students hobbling into breakfast at 7am. There were about 11 students who were there for church in the morning. We all sat in for first service at 8:30am. Kondo-sensei (the main pastor at HBC) preached from 1st John 3:23-24. In his sermon, he greatly emphasized what it means to believe in God. The message was very gospel centered, so it was encouraging to know that the students were hearing the gospel again.
After the service, Priscilla, Eric, and I (Akane) had the opportunity to share our testimonies with the church. On top of that, the students were there to hear our testimonies!
Right afterwards, we all moved into a time of discussion. We separated into groups and had a discussion about the sermon. Many of us were able to reiterate the gospel and clarify and answer questions concerning the gospel. The morning sermon led us perfectly into the topic of the gospel. Most of the students were engaging in the discussion and asking questions and thinking through questions we posed.
After the discussion, we had lunch together at the church. I was encouraged to see the Japanese college staff engaging the students in Christ-centered conversations.
We then headed over to Hamadera Park for some outdoor activities. There were a huge group of people that joined us at the park, including high school students that came and visited and other kids from the church. At the park, we played several intense games of Ultimate Ninja and split open a Pikachu pinata. Everyone seemed to really enjoy running for candy after the pinata was opened.
The event officially ended at 4pm but several students stayed behind to chat and hang out. We are excited that they would want to get to know us better and ask questions about Christianity!
We give God praise for
- open doors to the gospel
- the students' willingness to come to church and attend a service
- the fact that many of the students have been able to hear the gospel at least once, if not more
- deepening our team's knowledge and appreciation for the gospel by allowing us to share it
- open doors to the gospel
- the students' willingness to come to church and attend a service
- the fact that many of the students have been able to hear the gospel at least once, if not more
- deepening our team's knowledge and appreciation for the gospel by allowing us to share it
Please pray
- for us to be praying for the students
- for God to change the students' hearts
- for us to be praying for the students
- for God to change the students' hearts