This month's get together at our place was themed around summer memories. The Kornegay family were on hand for the festivities and Weiling's parents also paid a visit. We watched two movies (The Cats of Mirikitani and Ramen Girl), both of which explored culture shock in a unique way. Everyone brought something to share including sub sandwiches, ice cream sandwiches, and Kim's traditional Japanese slaw with goma dressing. And what Japanese summer event would be complete without watermelon and sparklers? Looking forward to next month - our final Japan Night here in the States.

Labels: praises

It is exciting just being able to present the flag of Japan to a supporting church like Poinciana Christian Church, but it is altogether wonderful to be able to do it alongside our team leaders Phil and Kim Kornegay who were in town on furlough. Being a missionary in training is not without its challenges though as you can see from this video. Children are wonderful creations aren't they?

Labels: outreach

One of the highlights of our world tour this summer was getting to visit our friends and prayer warriors at First Christian Church of Newton. They were very gracious in hosting us for a spaghetti dinner and time of sharing. We're honored to be able to present their mission committee with the flag of Japan in recognition of their support of our mission efforts. Special thanks for Eddie and Sandi Wilson for opening up their house for us to stay! They used to attend church in Ocala, Florida.

Labels: outreach

We share in the joy of the birth of Suzanna Ikuyo Broaddus to her parents Brian and Yoko and sisters Naomi and Sara. They are back in the States from Japan on furlough. We're looking forward to meeting their newest addition when we all go back to Japan. Please join us in praying for their continued success on the mission field!

Labels: family, praises

One of the things I hear again and again from foreigners living in Japan is that they have terrible coffee. This isn't really an issue for me since I'm only a social drinker, but one thing that the Japanese are very good at is robots. So essentially they've figured out how to automate the process of making a bad cup of coffee. Hope you enjoy this video. It is NOT stop motion. That little robot was programmed using a computer to do those motions - a lot of trial and error I imagine.

Labels: Japan

“A mobile is far handier than a computer for Internet access -- I seldom use a PC outside the office,” said Tokyo travel agent Takeshi, 32, who declined to give his surname.
Takeshi and other pornography fans are feeding a surge in demand for movie downloads in Japan, home to the world’s first third-generation wireless network. While profiting from the traffic, Tokyo-based mobile carriers DoCoMo and KDDI Corp. say they’ve been forced to impose limits on the heaviest users as the $74 billion network feels the strain.
[continue reading:bloomberg.com]
Part of the problem in Japan is isolationism has become the new norm as technology helps numb the pain associated with lack of social skills and self-worth. This breeds indifference and a desire to please one's self thinking that it doesn't harm anyone. The trouble is that it becomes a viscous cycle difficult to break without a support group. Pray that we are equipped to deal with this issue as we seek to plant thriving churches in and around Tokyo.

Labels: Japan, prayer

Japan's Prime Minister Taro Aso on his first stop for his G8 meeting presented Pope Benedict XVI with a bit of Japanese tradition. This gesture strengthens Aso's ties to the church as he is a professing Catholic believer. No word on whether Aso's low public confidence numbers have affected Japan's interest in the Christian faith.

Labels: culture

We started this journey in November of 2007 with just a small vision of how God might be calling us to serve in a missionary capacity in Japan. Now, just 20 months later, we've received the official "thumbs up"
from our field coordinator David Atkin to make final preparations to move to Japan this August. We owe it all to God and the amazing faithfulness of our prayer warrior team who've supported us and gone beyond the call of duty to ensure we're fully equipped. Team Expansion requires a minimum of 100 prayer warriors, and given the economy, we felt better putting more emphasis on building a strong prayer support network than asking outright for money. It is so hard to ask people and churches that are cutting their missions support to partner with us, but it is easy to ask people to pray for us. To date, we have over 650 prayer partners and we know for a fact that we would not be where we are without each of them lifting us up on a regular basis. We've heard it said that, "money is important because it gets you to the field, but it is a strong prayer network that keeps you on the field." May we never take that fact for granted. It is a spiritual battle we all face. Temptation and disappointment abound where vision and a strong relationship with God are in question. Our prayer is that our relationship with God and the vision He's given us for Japan would increase, not decrease. Thank you for continuing to keep us in your thoughts, and particularly asking that the Holy Spirit would soften the hearts of the Japanese so that they might receive the Gospel with all readiness.

Labels: praises

The July edition of our monthly mission newsletter is ready to come in for a landing on your desktop.

Team Expansion hosted a 4-day homecoming event for all of their missionaries who are in the US. We were treated to a great time of food and fellowship, including hanging out with our team leaders from Japan - the Kornegays. This slideshow shows only a snapshot of the fun.

Labels: photos, praises