It was an early, rainy morning to drive up to Ocala, but we were welcomed by warm believers at Southwest Christian Church. This is a relatively new congregation that has been worshiping together for the last six years or so. They have a wonderful building and plans to expand to reach the younger generation in the near future. We presented during the Sunday school hour to a good crowd and then shared the 'Sword Story' with the children during their study time. That was a special blessing for us. They were excited to see a real sword and learn about the full armor of God. One boy even gave us 50 cents to help us get to Japan and we didn't even ask! There are many folks here who have a connection to Japan and we look forward to taking them in Spirit with us on the journey. After church we enjoyed a potluck luncheon that was most tasty. Shouts to Doug, Pastor Anthony and family, Dale and so many more that visited with us.
Had a great turnout for our first ever Karaoke Night with students from Florida Christian College. Ellissa and Weiling made authentic Japanese-style maki (rice rolls with crab, cucumber, orange peppers, avocado, and carrots), onigiri (rice balls), and cheesecake for dessert while watching the How to Eat Sushi video we featured here before. We did a few karaoke songs, played a round of the Bible Game on the Playstation, then retired to the media room to watch the first part of Love and Honor (too slow for most of us to finish), then Akihabara Geeks, and wrapped up with Train Man : Densha Otoko which met with much fanfare and cheering. Shouts to Samuel (for inviting everyone), David, Dane, Wes, Natascha, Draper, Chris, and Katie(hiding from the camera)
Japan Night at the Kline's included a selection of karaoke songs. You guys would be a hit in Japan.
This is Hideko. She was 9 years old when the atomic bomb was dropped on her hometown of Nagasaki, Japan Aug 9th, 1945. Weiling and I were introduced to Hideko-san by Bo and Ida. We hope to get to know her more as time allows. Please pray for a successful hip replacement surgery for Ida on Tuesday 3/31.
Continuing in the vein of "not the best job for a robot," we have the latest advancements in technology to care for the rapidly aging Japanese population. Those of you working in health care already know that bedside manner is possibly the most important element of patient interaction, and this is where robots have their biggest deficit. How comforting is a machine? [source: Japan Today]
Our visit to South Haven Christian Church has been a long time in coming, six months I believe, but they say patience makes everything taste better. Psalm 34:8 says Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him. After we shared "The Calling" during the worship hour, they held a missions gala banquet with food from around the world - and it tasted Good! Perhaps the best part of the whole weekend was an impromptu family reunion of sorts. Before we got to the church, we had lunch with Weiling's brother Weikeen and his wife Joice at the ever-popular Chick-fil-a and Joice mentioned that she thought her cousin attended South Haven. I learned that her cousin's name is Becky Sita, so you'll never guess who the first person I met wearing a nametag at South Haven was. Long story short, Joice was reconnected with her cousin Becky and her brother Scott who also attends church here, so we all 're-joiced'. The extra bonus was our kids finding out that they now have several cousins who they got to play with! Many people were prayerfully involved in making this weekend come together and we're so thankful for you. Shouts to Jedi Pastor Mike, Sara, and Lydia, Joe and Becky, Chico and Karen, Michael, and so many more who shared with us and have joined the ranks of our growing prayer warrior legion!
Thanks to the Florida Christian Convention booth we had earlier this year, we were able to connect with Betty Turner for lunch. She served as a missionary in Japan for nearly 30 years! She shared many great stories about the struggles and the victories she and her husband Bill had overseas. Had it not been for little Timmy's allergies to the heat of the Philippines, they might never have moved to Japan in the first place. Tim has since gone on to pastor Machida Church where we visited with Phil and Kim during our vision trip. Betty nowadays spends time between caring for her grandson suffering from cerebral palsy and her husband who is in hospice. She is a God's girl with a great big heart and is a gifted teacher as you'll see in the video below. I couldn't pass up an opportunity to see an old-school missionary mom sharing her secrets to learning Japanese Kanji. Betty tries to visit Japan once a year, but it's becoming more difficult. Please be in prayer that God would continue to pour out His Spirit in her life and that she may continue to be a great encouragement to others. That's Seasons 52 restaurant in Orlando if you're interested in healthy dining.
Space shuttle Discovery crew member Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Koichi Wakata, center, makes a few comments upon his arrival with pilot Tony Antonelli, back left, and commander Lee Archambault at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fl for the launch we attended. Visit my photography site to check out photos and videos of the event. [photo credit: JOHN RAOUX, ASSOCIATED PRESS / March 8, 2009]
I've only ever had to preach maybe three times up to this point, so it was a blessing to be able to do it again, and among so many strong Christians. Not only did Oceanside Christian Church welcome us with open arms (literally), they also know how to entertain guests. The music at this church is very "classy". They also took up a great love offering on our behalf and further blessed us with a wonderful seafood lunch with new friends. Shouts to Tom and Debbie for making arrangements for us to visit, to Pastor Michael and Lynn for words of encouragement, Rueben, Elena, Brad, Joseph, and to a whole host of new recruits for God's prayer warrior battalion. What an amazing weekend to lift our spirits!
Nestled around the lakes between Orlando and Eustis lies Mid-lakes Christian Church, a captivating building overlooking the scenic surroundings of Central Florida. Twelve of their passionate mission team members allowed us to share the work we'll be doing in Japan. It was fun to share our enthusiasm for mission with them and they with us. Shouts to Regina, Phil & Gerri, Rich & Jackie, Bill & Janet, Lois & Jerry, Dan & Donna, Lydia, and Wyburn and Deanna for inviting us. We hope to be an active part of your outreach to the Far East.
We surely enjoyed having lunch with Bo and Ida Sharp at the Burger King in St.Cloud today. We learned that Bo's great, great grandfather was none other than the inventor of the Ferris Wheel. Tru dat. It made it's debut at the Chicago Fair in the later part of the 1890's. Each car could hold over 100 standing people and was designed to be taller than the Eiffel Tower. There is a Japanese woman who is a survivor of the bomb dropped on Nagasaki who works at this particular Burger King, but she's been out sick recently so we weren't able to meet her just yet. Please pray for a speedy recovery. She'd be around 68 years old if my calculations are correct.
As I'm working on my MA degree in missions, one of my recent assignments was to interview a Japanese person and develop a ministry strategy based on their worldview. My respondent's favorite choice of reading material includes Saint Young Men. This gives you an idea of what we are facing when we move to Tokyo.
"What if Jesus and Buddha were living on Earth in modern times? What if they shared an apartment in Japan? Saint Young Men is a humorous manga about the daily lives of Jesus and Buddha, with each chapter focusing on some element of modern life, such as Disneyland, rush hour on the train, Christmas, the public pool, carnivals, and more."[source:onemanga]
It is with some hesitancy that I post the link to the English translation of it, nevertheless, I think we're all mature enough to handle it with care. Speaking of manga, several manga translations of the Holy Bible are gaining popularity in Japan. We'll post more details once we get a peek at it.
TED tv has a neat glimpse at some technology that is just around the corner promising to make you and me more dependent on gadgets. Admittedly, I've already succumbed to Google no longer being just a noun and a verb, but have raised its value to being nearly indispensable in my day-to-day life. I can see how this new technology will further polarize society toward a secular existence unless you and I as Christian stalwarts use this for good rather than evil. Embrace the future, but keep your eyes on Christ.
In their ongoing battle against the challenges of a declining population, the Japanese put a lot of effort into developing robots for all sorts of applications. Many are logical such as automated assembly lines and menial, repetitive labor, but other positions seem less suited for a robot. School teacher might be a questionable robot occupation because of the high level of unpredictable interaction required, but an experiment forges ahead at a Tokyo school. [source: Telegraph UK]
There's nothing like a potluck missions meeting to get things cooking. The good folks at Journey Christian Church in Apopka were kind enough to invite us to share the work we'll be doing in Japan to a crowd of about 40 people actively involved in outreach. What was a bonus for us was running into none other than Eddie Hubble the third, a Christian co-worker from Darden who is a beacon of inspiration. He and his wife Myhia were both there and we got to visit with them after our 20 minutes presentation. Journey is blessed to have them and Todd, John, Kristin, Jack, Bill, Warren and so many more including Joshua Kaminsky who has teamed up with New Mission Systems in a full time mission capacity.
Here is a breakdown of education costs for one year of schooling in Japan for one student. CAJ is the Christian Academy of Japan where we hope to enroll our children. Elementary public: $3,423.70 Elementary private: $14,084.59 Elementary CAJ : $8,118.15
Junior High public: $4,835.01 Junior High private: $12,992.15 Junior High CAJ : $8,625.84
High School public: $5,338.80 High school private: $10,705.77 High school CAJ : $8,933.296
Please be in prayer about our transition to Japan as our children's education is very important to us. CAJ's prices above are discounted 50% for missionary families and a tremendous bargain compared to other alternatives in Japan. It may be that we have to homeschool if there is a waiting list at CAJ. Our preference is to avoid homeschooling, but God knows His plans for our family.
Nate Graham invited us to present to the missions committee at Christian Church in the Wildwood. It was neat hearing about their recent trip to Haiti and how this church is actively involved in building benches for a growing number of churches there. Hands-on churches are needed all around the world. We look forward to working with them in the not-so-distant future as a potential base for our homestay ministry to Japan as well as a financial supporter of our overseas work in Japan. Shouts to Mike, Heather, Russ and Mary, Nate, Ray and Jerry. May the God of Israel continue to increase your faith and outreach in ministry.
, and wrapped up with 
which met with much fanfare and cheering. Shouts to Samuel (for inviting everyone), David, Dane, Wes, Natascha, Draper, Chris, and Katie(hiding from the camera)
