Playground

I found this photo online and thought it captures the essence of Japanese relationships. This is a typical scene of school boys engrossed in their handheld games. The good news - at least they are outside in the fresh air and sunlight. Are they playing a networked game? Don't their necks hurt? Do their thumbs get tired? This isn't too different from how their adult counterparts behave in public spaces such as trains and restaurants. Technology, it seems, has tricked us into thinking we are more connected, when in fact we are more isolated than ever before. Our moods are dictated by the number of Likes and comments our posts get. Pray that technology might be used in a way that strengthens relationships. More importantly, pray we can model to the Japanese how to have relationships the way God intended.

竜巻 Tornado Strikes Japan

Tornadoes are very rare in Japan, so it was a shock to hear reports of one hitting the town of Tsukuba in Ibaraki prefecture about 100 miles East of where we live. Please pray for the cleanup efforts and that people are receptive to relief efforts by Christians. Here are some photos of the destruction. Click the photo to navigate the slideshow.

 [watch a video on YouTube]

Choosing Forgiveness

It's no secret that Korea has a history filled with bitterness as it relates to Japan. Hatred ultimately hurts the one who harbors it more than the one it is directed towards. This short documentary made by friends of ours highlights the growing pains felt by both nations as they seek and offer forgiveness. There is a movement happening in Asia right now. Pray God's Spirit continues to purify hearts refined by His love and grace.
[watch on Vimeo]

Tohoku Celebration Draws Record Crowd

Close to 12,000 people poured into the Grande 21 Arena last weekend after snow that blanketed the area Friday began to melt and the sun burst forth. Nearly 900 others watched from satellite locations elsewhere in Japan. More than 400 people made commitments to Jesus over three days.
[read full article on BillyGraham.org]

Franklin Graham Shares a Message of Hope

Franklin Graham is visiting Japan

Our good missionary friend Andrew who's been serving in Tohoku since the earthquake last year tells us over the next two weeks many will be having special services for those who passed away in the tsunami.  To coincide with this time, Franklin Graham (who run Samaritan's Purse, Billy Graham's son) has come to Japan and is going to be speaking at an arena in Sendai over the next 3 days (Mar 2-4).  Many tens of thousands of people have been invited throughout the disaster area and other areas, too.  Many living in temporary housing units will be  bussed from the disaster area to the arena in order to attend the event.


Please pray for strength and wisdom for all of those involved, and that the simple gospel message of Jesus and His salvation could be clearly presented each night, and that all of those attending will listen and participate with open hearts, and that the Holy Spirit will work in everyone's heart to bring forth fruit.

New Yellow Belts

We're proud of the 12 students who tested and passed their test for yellow belt in Garry's Taekwondo class at Horizon International School in Karuizawa. Students learn discipline, self control, respect and confidence all the while having fun and making new friends. It is our desire to see this program continue to grow, creating new outreach opportunities in the community later this year. Please pray God would continue to bless this ministry.

Tohoku Churches planted in Street View

Google has updated their Street View feature of their popular online mapping application to include more recent views of the devastation in the Tohoku area of Japan. They drove over 44,000 kilometers of affected regions, in the quest to capture 360-degree panoramic imagery of the affected areas. If you want to, the same images can also be viewed over at a special website called “Build the Memory,” letting you compare before and after shots of the towns which were affected by the mind-numbing events. For folks who want to experience the maximum effect, just start off inland and venture in the general direction of the coast – see how the idyllic countryside changes dramatically in time. Pictured above is the Be One House where Chad Huddleston and family moved in November to facilitate a church planting network in Ishinomaki, literally right around the corner from where we did cleanup a week after the tsunami. Please continue to keep the Huddlestons, all the volunteers and those touched by their efforts lifted up in prayer that the Spirit would continue to move in miraculous ways.
[Google Maps]

Nagano to Fukushima

Garry got to have lunch with Kobayashi-san and Eiko-san today. Afterwards, we went shopping for more food items to send back with Ikapi-san who was returning to Iwaki tonight. We filled his car with bags of rice, instant noodles, diapers, and other goods still not available in areas as far north as Iwate. Teams from Iwaki continue to make trips to Iwate Prefecture to provide relief items. We are blessed to have such a great network of Christians across Japan. Continue to pray for the several dozen new churches being planted in the disaster areas.

Fukushima to Nagano

We enjoyed spending time with many Japanese Christians at Mikio-san's house. Ikapi-san made his monthly journey from Iwaki to Saku and shared with us his most recent trip into the 10km evacuation zone around the nuclear plant in Fukushima. You can watch his video here. In this photo, many hands make light work of sending out Ikapi's gospel radio program on CDs being mailed all across Japan. Pray his ministry continues to encourage people. We also used this opportunity to promote the CPI church planting conference coming up in November.

Today we got to visit with Betty Turner and her family and many Christians who helped the Machida Christ Church in Tokyo celebrate its 30th anniversary. Betty and her husband worked with the Pratts who started this church in 1981. Her son Tim Turner is now the resident pastor of this growing congregation. Our prayer is for their continued growth and for a successful Bible camp being held in our area this summer.

Movie Night

Tonight we had two Japanese families over for a meal and movie night. It was a great chance for everyone to get to know each other better. Because Japanese people typically lead isolated, busy lives, this outreach is one way we're living out our Christian faith through fellowship. We are very encouraged that Moriya-san wants to be a part of the praise band playing bass and guitar. We also pray that the children can be a part of the upcoming sports/music camp we're doing in June.

That's So Funny!

Today we said "goodbye for now" to Janelle and her dad who are returning to the United States so she can finish high school. Janelle has been a good friend to Ellissa and has been a regular member of our family when her dad has presided over out-of-town weddings. It is our prayer that she continue to be surrounded by faithful Christians and uses her God-given talents in a way pleasing to Him. We wish them all the best and hope to continue to stay in touch.

More Earthquake/Tsunami Relief Workers Needed In Japan

Samaritan's Purse is a relief organization that we were blessed to work alongside in Sendai. They are asking for your help in getting volunteers to come to Tohoku (north-east) to help with relief work. 

Samaritan's Purse (SP) will provide the following:
1. Room and board (We have hi-tech tent cities where workers can stay. Proper meals, showers, etc. are all provided.)
2. Work orders - SP will send you to the church or neighborhood where you will work. (Leave our camp at 8 am and return at 5 pm)

They have many jobs lined up. They can use you for periods of 2-3 days, 1 or 2 weeks, or longer. They need volunteers (Japanese and foreigners in Japan). Please help us by getting this word out.

For details, please visit http://www.samaritanspurse.jp/en/
Contact:
info@samaritanspurse.jp
Ayako Lawrence, Volunteer Coordinator, Samaritan's Purse

Emergency Supply Distribution

Here is a brief look at what our team did in partnership with Samaritan's Purse and CRASH Japan serving the churches in the earthquake and tsunami regions of Tohoku. Please continue to pray for the grief stricken, the hurting, the lonely and all of the volunteers united in bringing the hope and love of Christ to Japan.

[watch the video on YouTube]

40 Days

For the next 40 days, we are praying as a family about God's will and our desire to serve Him whole-heartedly. The past year and a half have been instrumental in becoming accustomed to life in Japan, so the decision that comes after this time of supplication will give us a clear vision for our future in Japan longterm. Please join us in petitioning God for the clarity we seek.

Psalm 32:8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;  I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.

Bullying Led to 12-year-old's Suicide

Aikiko Uemura was a 6th grader attending a school in Gunma prefecture neighboring ours. For the last year, it seems that she had been the target of bullying by her classmates. They repeatedly called her dirty because her mother is not Japanese (though her nationality is not known), and ultimately forced the girl into isolation. Though her Japanese father encouraged the school to look into the matter on several occasions, things came to a terrible end when Akiko's mother found she had hung herself with a scarf; the scarf originally intended to be a present for her mom.

We as parents take an interest in what is going on in our children's lives, so when there are issues at school or with other kids, we don't wait for the school to handle it. In the parenting class we've been leading, we've learned that children respond to life's influences out of their heart. It is sad and appalling to think that a child feels so unloved that they would resort to suicide. Many experts point to the growing social concern of Japan's xenophobia that is against anything foreign, yet that is the world we live in. Though people are not taking responsibility for this, ultimately, it is the child who has to make the choice between right and wrong. Even in our own city, there are similar rumblings of bullying. Our desire as missionaries to Japan is to demonstrate there is a better way. Please pray for the Uemura family, the faculty at Akiko's school, and the students who may have had a role in Akiko's final decision. Sadly, this is not an isolated incident. Finally, pray that Horizon International School where our children attend would continue to reach into the community to help troubled students and show them their purpose in Christ.
[video link: YouTube]
[source: Mainichi Japan]

Today was Coming of Age Day here in Japan, the day when all people turning 20 years of age are recognized as entering adulthood. It was also the end of the New Year festivities in which the decorations that were on display are collected and burned ceremonially. But we rejoice in even greater news that a close friend of the mission community, Katsumi-san, is one step closer to becoming a Christian! After 60+ years of being apart from God's Word which she had been exposed to as a child at a local church, she decided today would be the day that she would burn all of the idols she had in her house. This comes after much prayer on behalf of Christian friends, missionaries, and pastors whom she's interacted with, in particular Jodi Davis at SYME who led an English Bible study with her as well as Keiko-san, our dear friend and language helper. What's most encouraging is that Katsumi's non-believing husband was a major proponent of her decision!

Please join us in covering this family in prayer that their decision for salvation would come soon. There was talk about baptism in her near future.

We invite you to watch this short video that documents this rare step of faith in burning of their idols:

[video link:YouTube]

Eyes That Cannot See

I am a god that you will not see,
yet I demand you still worship me.
For protection, health and good fortune,
Just clap and ring the bell.
But if you forget to pay me coin,
Your soul you just might have to sell.
Mite imasu ka? Neither can I. This video is a collection of photos I took at the local Shinto shrine at the top of the mountain near our neighborhood.
Pray for the nation of Japan

Reaching Hikikomori with the Gospel in Japan

Hikikomori is a term that has become something of a silent epidemic in Japan. Meaning outcast or shut-in, we've briefly mentioned it here before, but thanks to Jon Junker for his excellent presentation on how to bridge the cultural gap using the gospel, we would like to share some of that insight with you. On the surface, it appears that institutions are blaming poor parenting skills as the source of the problem, while frustrated parents put the blame on bullying and poor school environment. If we dig deeper, the true source of the problem stems from a cultural glitch that is rooted in several hundred years of "self" deprecating attitudes. It is not merely one million people in Japan that suffer from hikikomori tendencies as the media would have us believe. It is more likely 60-90% of the population that experience side effects of the post modern Japanese society. Here are links to two videos produced by HarvestTime TV, one of the foremost producers of Christian material in Japan. They invited noted Japanese behaviorist Yuichi Hattori to speak on the subject.
Hikikomori & Social Collapse
Bringing Christ to Social Collapse
To believers and pre-Christians alike, those that have seen this presentation agree for the most part on the real cause of the state Japan is in today. Please pray that we are further equipped to build strong relationships with Japanese people who may suffer or have family affected by this social disease.

Sure Beats a Gas Mask for Class

Due to the recent increase in swine flu cases in neighboring towns, the children's school has delayed starting classes until now. Ellissa, Julina, and Aaron had their first day at Horizon Christian School today and were required to wear the trendy fashion masks. Whether it improves their listening skills remains to be seen. Nevertheless, all but Aaron fared well on their first day. Apparently he decided he was hungry and wanted to have lunch before the appointed time. Fortunately, it was a half day session, so the drama was cut short. Please pray that all the kids would be good students, make friends, and begin to sponge the language and culture from their Japanese teachers - including COokie Monster.