Well my summer vacation began July 25 and lasts until September. Yes that is about 5-6 weeks. Too short. I have a private student planning to attend high school in Australia who asked me to tutor her mornings, Kazumi and I are also preparing a property we have for sale; that and 2 weeks in America this August make summer vacation short. I was hoping to kick back but that is not happening. Continue to pray for us as we seek God's will.
We praise him for all the provision that he gives us. Kazumi and I talk about staying here or moving to a location for more preparation. At the beginning of our marriage we planned on not moving or taking ministry responsibilities until after a year of marriage. That plan has stayed in place though I have almost challenged it more than once. As of September, we will have been married a year. Marriage has changed my whole decision making process that is for sure, and for the better. PTL
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Saturday, July 5, 2008
Today is Saturday and this is our Day
Well we got an email from Kimiko whom we had the opportunity to meet and share our testimony with a couple of months ago. She and her husband Kurt and daughter Julia are now living in Omaha. We will miss them as a fellow international couple we had a lot in common.
I got an email through one of the blog pages today from a young man moving to Fussa here in Japan. I used to live in that area when I was a volunteer missionary with Christian Reformed Japan Mission. I hope I can help him network and have a nice experience. Fussa is home to the US Air Force, Yokoda Air Base just outside of Tokyo.
Also I did my 3rd wedding today and it went well. I am learning a lot about non verbal communication in Japanese formal occasions. The Japanese web log is also up and soon it is hoped that the wedding ministry will be networked to this new site.
With summer vacation starting in 2 weeks we are also working on writing an application to a mission agency in the states. We are writing an application to United World Mission for long term missionaries service in Church Planting Saturization to Japan. I will let you know more about this as it materializes.
And as the Sun went down we went for a walk and saw some of our neighbors and talked with them. One of my neighbors fixed my car port while we were out and I thanked him. We met another neighbor who has a junior high student with some social problems and talked with them for a while.
It was a good day. In one way or another we interacted with about 120+ people today, through public speaking, emails, and personal contacts, etc. We thank God and please keep us in your prayers.
John, Kazumi, and Cherry Van Farowe
I got an email through one of the blog pages today from a young man moving to Fussa here in Japan. I used to live in that area when I was a volunteer missionary with Christian Reformed Japan Mission. I hope I can help him network and have a nice experience. Fussa is home to the US Air Force, Yokoda Air Base just outside of Tokyo.
Also I did my 3rd wedding today and it went well. I am learning a lot about non verbal communication in Japanese formal occasions. The Japanese web log is also up and soon it is hoped that the wedding ministry will be networked to this new site.
With summer vacation starting in 2 weeks we are also working on writing an application to a mission agency in the states. We are writing an application to United World Mission for long term missionaries service in Church Planting Saturization to Japan. I will let you know more about this as it materializes.
And as the Sun went down we went for a walk and saw some of our neighbors and talked with them. One of my neighbors fixed my car port while we were out and I thanked him. We met another neighbor who has a junior high student with some social problems and talked with them for a while.
It was a good day. In one way or another we interacted with about 120+ people today, through public speaking, emails, and personal contacts, etc. We thank God and please keep us in your prayers.
John, Kazumi, and Cherry Van Farowe
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Wedding Ministry Update
Well the wedding service went well. The local pentecostal pastor was the coordinator, his wife was one of the singers, another church's organist played the organ, and another member of the church was also a singer in the service. Kazumi and Cherry sat in the balcony and watched.
It went well. Being the first time there is room for improvement. The message was short but it was on forgiveness. There were about 100 people in attendance. Pastor Nakaoka does the counseling for the couples and it is also his goal to develop a special message for each service that reflects the counseling time. I have been asked to do 4 more services in July. It was fun.
These couples have a choice and they choose to let Christians come and pray for their weddings and give a message. This highlights the need for me to develop a Japanese language gospel page blog and I will work on that tonight before I go to bed. In Japan opportunities to share the gospel are rare so we thank God for these opportunities.
It went well. Being the first time there is room for improvement. The message was short but it was on forgiveness. There were about 100 people in attendance. Pastor Nakaoka does the counseling for the couples and it is also his goal to develop a special message for each service that reflects the counseling time. I have been asked to do 4 more services in July. It was fun.
These couples have a choice and they choose to let Christians come and pray for their weddings and give a message. This highlights the need for me to develop a Japanese language gospel page blog and I will work on that tonight before I go to bed. In Japan opportunities to share the gospel are rare so we thank God for these opportunities.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
general update
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.
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.
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
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Trials and trails
Sometimes a trial is a trail that God wants to lead us on for his greater purpose. 2 weeks ago our hot water heater went out, so we went to the public spa. There I ran into a pastor I had been thinking about working with. He had not planned on being there either. At the last minute he had been asked to take some foreign guests there. His guest had not wanted to leave so the night was becoming rather late. Kazumi, Cherry, and I came in and Pastor Niwa was sitting drinking tea. He and I had time to talk. Later he emailed me saying that he thought God had arranged our meeting. He and I will get together this coming Saturday.
Yesterday I got a traffic ticket. The whole ordeal lasted a little over 2 hours. It was not very fun. I taught at a local school and the street to the school is one way from 2 to 5 pm. No one told me and the sign explaining it was not visible from the school. A cop was sitting there and in all effect it was a trap to get the daily ticket quota. They brought me to the station where they were not very nice to me. Here is a side note about the law in Japan, they can hold you for up to 30 days with out a charge and they do. It is how they get confessions. I left the police station wanting to leave Japan for good. But then I realized that unlike my Japanese friends I had the hope of leaving. The only possible hope for my Japanese friends was that regardless of the situation God loves them and wants to have a personal relationship with them.
Then later in the evening we got a call from Kimiko who is moving to the US and had been reading some Christian daily devotionals we gave here. Her husband has already gone to the US and she was calling to give praise to God. He had gotten a good job with good benefits and found an apartment with a grocery store only 200 meters away so Kimiko would not have to drive right away. When Kazumi gave me the phone the first thing Kimiko said was "I want to thank God." Sometimes a trial is a trail God wants to lead us on. I understood the depth of her words because I understand the context of life in Japan and turning from that to trusting in God.
Yesterday I got a traffic ticket. The whole ordeal lasted a little over 2 hours. It was not very fun. I taught at a local school and the street to the school is one way from 2 to 5 pm. No one told me and the sign explaining it was not visible from the school. A cop was sitting there and in all effect it was a trap to get the daily ticket quota. They brought me to the station where they were not very nice to me. Here is a side note about the law in Japan, they can hold you for up to 30 days with out a charge and they do. It is how they get confessions. I left the police station wanting to leave Japan for good. But then I realized that unlike my Japanese friends I had the hope of leaving. The only possible hope for my Japanese friends was that regardless of the situation God loves them and wants to have a personal relationship with them.
Then later in the evening we got a call from Kimiko who is moving to the US and had been reading some Christian daily devotionals we gave here. Her husband has already gone to the US and she was calling to give praise to God. He had gotten a good job with good benefits and found an apartment with a grocery store only 200 meters away so Kimiko would not have to drive right away. When Kazumi gave me the phone the first thing Kimiko said was "I want to thank God." Sometimes a trial is a trail God wants to lead us on. I understood the depth of her words because I understand the context of life in Japan and turning from that to trusting in God.
Monday, April 7, 2008
The Cherry Blossoms are in Full Bloom
The cherry blossoms are in full bloom. April is the beginning of the new school year in Japan. Cherry switched kindergartens and had a graduation at one and an entrance ceremony at the other. My niece Riko also entered elementary school, and I started as a teacher at 11 different schools and kindergartens. Yes, eleven!!! I will visit 7 kindies and 4 elementary schools this year.
A week ago we met again with Kimiko, a Japanese woman interested in learning about Christianity. We had a great time. She is also in an international marriage and has a daughter the same age as Cherry. Kimiko and Kazumi have a lot in common so when we go visit it is an all day event and it is a lot of fun. Kazumi gave her a bunch of Daily Bread devotionals in Japanese.
This coming Sunday the church council will meet at Ena and we will continue to work on some ideas together. We will discuss the children's program we hope to start in May. It has been a very busy week or so; pray for all the transitions going on. Pray the the Lord will continue to draw us closer to him and guide us in his will for our lives.
A week ago we met again with Kimiko, a Japanese woman interested in learning about Christianity. We had a great time. She is also in an international marriage and has a daughter the same age as Cherry. Kimiko and Kazumi have a lot in common so when we go visit it is an all day event and it is a lot of fun. Kazumi gave her a bunch of Daily Bread devotionals in Japanese.
This coming Sunday the church council will meet at Ena and we will continue to work on some ideas together. We will discuss the children's program we hope to start in May. It has been a very busy week or so; pray for all the transitions going on. Pray the the Lord will continue to draw us closer to him and guide us in his will for our lives.
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