Well the school year is moving forward. We have bought tickets to go to the states via driving from Toronto. It saved about $2000 on peak summer tickets between the 3 of us. I see a lot more Buddhism in the school system than 10 years ago. There was a law passed to re-introduced moral education classes sponsored by the Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito a few years ago. Komeito is the political wing of neo-buddhism known as Sokka Gakukai.
Things continue to move forward but slow at church. Everyone is waiting for the new pastor to come in a couple of months and until then everything is on hold. But a lot of good conversations are going on. I see such need here for a strong church planting movement but opportunity does not equal responsibility, we continue to seek God's will on a daily basis. The churches in Japan are in need of prayer and revival. The spiritual forces of darkness and the prince of the air are real in Japan.
Please pray for my family and marriage life. With our work changes we are just very busy. My summer vacation is less than 2 months away. That will help. All in all our Good Shepherd continues to lead us.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Monday, May 5, 2008
Planting Deep Roots
Spring has sprung and I know many of you in Michigan and elsewhere are now in the gardening mode. I planted some potatoes in a container. When the plants grew about 4 inches I covered them with dirt again and repeated the process until the dirt reached the top of the containers. I hope they will have long roots and produce a reasonable amount of potatoes.
Yesterday I spent the afternoon at the home of one of the elders of Ena Church. His name is Machino. We had a good time and talked about various things related to faith, being a Christian, and having a Christian family in Japan. We had a really nice time and were there for about 4 hours. Ena's new pastor comes in July and many of the ideas I would like to move forward are on hold until he arrives, but I see this as a season to deepen the roots. Spending time with elders and pastors is very important in Japan in order to develop deep roots of trust and cooperation.
This past week at one of the schools I teach at, one of the teachers brought up my faith. All the schools have a copy of my resume written in Japanese and it includes that I have gone to seminary, been a missionary in Japan, and been a pastor in the US. I do not remember this teachers name as I write this because I am at 10 different schools. She is a special education room teacher. She is a long time teacher in her late 50's early 60's. She asked me if I was a Christian and then talked with me about her respect for Christianity. Japanese people are very indirect so I see this as an invitation to share more with her in this area in the future. I explained where I went to church but will also get some book marks with the church's web-page on it. I see the need to start my own Christian blog in Japanese and to produce business cards with the address on it. This will probably be a summer vacation project but I will start on it a little if I have some time this spring.
Thank you for your prayers. Oh, I should mention the English School in our home has grown from 60 students to 85. Also with my work in the public school system where ever we go we are seen by one of the students from one of the schools. I teach about 1000 kids. We'll God continues to bless us but we need your prayers and support to effectively have the resources to preach the gospel. We praise God, he is giving us deep roots.
John, Kazumi, and Cherry
Yesterday I spent the afternoon at the home of one of the elders of Ena Church. His name is Machino. We had a good time and talked about various things related to faith, being a Christian, and having a Christian family in Japan. We had a really nice time and were there for about 4 hours. Ena's new pastor comes in July and many of the ideas I would like to move forward are on hold until he arrives, but I see this as a season to deepen the roots. Spending time with elders and pastors is very important in Japan in order to develop deep roots of trust and cooperation.
This past week at one of the schools I teach at, one of the teachers brought up my faith. All the schools have a copy of my resume written in Japanese and it includes that I have gone to seminary, been a missionary in Japan, and been a pastor in the US. I do not remember this teachers name as I write this because I am at 10 different schools. She is a special education room teacher. She is a long time teacher in her late 50's early 60's. She asked me if I was a Christian and then talked with me about her respect for Christianity. Japanese people are very indirect so I see this as an invitation to share more with her in this area in the future. I explained where I went to church but will also get some book marks with the church's web-page on it. I see the need to start my own Christian blog in Japanese and to produce business cards with the address on it. This will probably be a summer vacation project but I will start on it a little if I have some time this spring.
Thank you for your prayers. Oh, I should mention the English School in our home has grown from 60 students to 85. Also with my work in the public school system where ever we go we are seen by one of the students from one of the schools. I teach about 1000 kids. We'll God continues to bless us but we need your prayers and support to effectively have the resources to preach the gospel. We praise God, he is giving us deep roots.
John, Kazumi, and Cherry
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