2 Amazing Things to Report

Greetings! My life has changed in many ways since I got back from the states- accessibility to the Internet and time being one of them. I wanted to write today about two things that I'm praising God for recently.

The first is a student, in first grade. He's always been one of my wildest children and the least likely to pay attention, and then last spring, my site partner Cindy witnessed him sitting in meditative positions, as if doing yoga. As summer came, be began acting stranger and stranger, until he couldn't make it through a class without crying hysterically. One week he came in completely in a trance, and was non responsive to absolutely everything I said and did, his eyes unable to focus on anything. Cindy's nephews were here that week visiting from China, and one of the boys, not much older than my student, came and sat next to him and prayed for him. The other students were clearly frightened by his markedly strange behavior. This particular week though, it was only one other student, so I scrapped the lesson plan of colors and shapes and opened up a children's Bible and did my best to give a bilingual account of the English story. It was only during this time during the class- especially at the point in the story where I spoke of Jesus' death and resurrection that he spoke up and became responsive. From that week on, I began to play worship music in the background during every class- and a miracle happened! From the first class he was better, and he has continued to stay focused to the point that he is accelerating beyond the other students in the class and is now the top student. I shared this news with his mother this last week and even got him to show off his skills in front of her. She was absolutely amazed!!!! "But what about before... he was always crying and hysterical!" I told her about the worship music, and how it calmed her son. She was speechless other than to hug her son and tell him how happy it made her. I continue to learn and grow in my Christian walk... may it always be so! I've always heard how powerful prayer is, and experienced it at times too- but worship... there is so much more going on here than first meets the eye. I have a lot of learning to do about it. But what an amazing thing that simply the power of God's word sung in worship could do such things in my little English class. Please pray that this family will one day join in true hearts of worship with such music and with a body of believers!

The second thing happened just today. I've been thinking about my last months here- how to spend them, and where to invest time and energy. I've spoken with others about this too, and we all agree that there would be nothing worse than for us to leave without having shared the gospel clearly with every person we know, and giving them the chance to respond- one way or another (that part's all God's work!). So I decided to waste no time, and I shared a book in one class today, Heaven is a Wonderful Place. It is a children's story, using simple words and pictures, and it gives such a beautiful explanation of the Gospel and what we have to look forward to- Heaven!!! After reading it, a student commented on one of the final pages (a paraphrase in kids-ese of 1 Cor. 13) by saying that just last week she had felt very angry, and so she opened her Bible to that passage (because it'd come up in class a few weeks earlier) and read it. She felt so much better afterward, calmer, more in control.

God is so amazing! I feel so blessed to be able to watch the way He is using His word to open people's hearts to His message of love, forgiveness, and salvation for all!

Seasons

In the two years that I've spent in Japan, I haven't gone a 6 month stretch without some major change occurring. I came back from a time of visiting friends and family and giving presentations to supporters in the states to find that these next six months would be following suit. God was so gracious in His timing to allow for a time of worship, prayer, and fellowship through a prayer retreat at the end of August. It was then end of the time of ministry in Niigata for my roommate and the time of beginning of ministry and transition for the new missionary and English teacher, James, who arrived just a week ago. Endings and beginnings always seem to be back to back, if not overlapping. Such waves of emotion accompany it all! The image of God as a rock and a fortress has been especially meaningful to me through these times.

Yesterday was a full day, and I specifically remember praying at the beginning of it, thanking God for all the opportunities, interactions, and joys He had planned for it. I met Cindy for lunch and from there went and ran a few errands. Upon returning to my house, many church members showed up to help James move furniture that had been stored in my garage into his new apartment. From there I met a friend, a woman who I met at the train station randomly one night out in Sanjo. She'd invited me to make a guest appearance on a radio show her and her friend host. She picked me up and we discussed the script over dinner. A friend of hers showed up and when he heard I was a missionary he gave me an earful about how Japanese people aren't religious anymore- not since WWII. "They don't even think about religion.... we don't like to talk about deep things... I can't remember the last time I had a serious conversation like this," were among his sentiments.

The broadcast went okay and I was quite relieved when I learned that we were pre-taping the interview, and that it would later be edited and aired, and that we could rerecord should the need arise. Because it was all in Japanese, I was quite relieved to hear this. I was able to share about my experience teaching in Japan, techniques I use in classes, and share about the English opportunities we offer at Nozomi Lutheran Church!

From there we went to an Italian Restaurant that host an open-mic night on the first Monday of the month. I was blown away by how many foreigners I saw in one place! I don't even know how to describe the feeling there, other than to say that foreigners can feel very lonely here- and the often come to Japan because they are running from something back home. I got the feeling that everyone was scoping out and sizing up everyone else, identifying them as potential friend or hook-up, competition, or insignificant. I felt so uncomfortable, but I know that God wanted me there in that place, at that time. As I was walking through the crowd, my eyes briefly made contact with a young woman and we smiled and greeted each other and I kept walking. After I was away, I had this strong urge to talk to her- but I wasn't sure why. I followed up on the urge, but it wasn't so hard because she'd made her way over to my direction and we had a more formal introduction. At this point- I have to just say that sometimes I am amazed at how much complete strangers or people I've just met will share with me. She shared about just having heard people were gossiping and saying unkind things about her. We talked a little about it, and she thanked me, saying she felt better already. She then asked if I was a christian because I'd told her I worked at a church. I said yes and asked her if she was looking for a church. She responded by saying that she was, that she felt like she'd lost God, and wanted to find him. She shared a bit of her story about having grown up in the church, but like many people who leave their faith when they grow up, she was turned off by the way scripture was being interpreted and lived out by those around her. But she's open, and searching. We had a nice conversation in the midst of all the noise.

I feel like God moves things in seasons- from one to the next. Just last week Cindy, James, and I were talking about starting up small groups with the young people God's been bringing in- we left it at "let's pray about it". What does God have planned??? I don't know, but I am confident He's leading us somewhere and I am overjoyed to be on board and for the opportunity to be used for His kingdom!

Sexual Harassment

Just sitting down to dinner now after a full day at the kindergarten in Sanjo. It was a bit of a rough day, but there were also many blessings in the midst of it. The one incident today that sticks out most in my mind happened when I had just arrived at the station in Sanjo. I exited the bathroom at the same time as a group of young men and as I was walking a little ahead of them and could hear them talking. I realized they were calling out; trying to get my attention. They were saying something over and over- and I soon realized it was in English- it was the "f" word. I turned around and made eye contact with one of them. "F*ck you," he said in a very matter-of-fact tone. I continued walking forward and when I got to the train gate, I said sternly in Japanese, "Stop! You're really rude!" as I swiped my train pass. I could hear them mocking me as I walked out of the station. I cried a few tears behind my sunglasses- frustrated over the incident, frustrated over other situations of similar natures that I've encountered in my time living here, and tired of standing out and all of the negative things associated with it. Their words made me feel dirty and defiled.

But as I was walking to the kindergarten I was struck by the power of the truth that God loves these young men- and that as God does weep along-side us when we are hurting, how much more must He grieve for them because they don't know Him; they don't know His love; they are living so contrary to the way He intended them to live and the purposes He created them for as He knit them together in their mothers' wombs. Created in God's image and with the law written on their hearts, their fallen state has calloused over the revelation of that truth. Only in Christ can it be removed. It reminded me of another conversation I had recently with a Japanese teacher who is openly seeking God. She was relating to me the story of a student who kept asking her why things were bad- like murder, suicide, and stealing. Though she was certain these things were wrong, she was frustrated over her inability to articulate why. "It's not just because the school handbook says things are wrong that they are wrong; but I just don't know why." (This lead into a really good conversation, but it's too much to share in this blog.)

Romans 10:14-15 says, "How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!"

"Ahhh.... that's right. I'm actually here for these people," came the revelation. Rather than wanting to run from them, my frustrations, and this country I remembered that all of these things are why I'm here- why God brought me here. He's called me to be the light of the world, shining like starts holding out the word of truth, the salt of the earth, the fragrance of Christ- the aroma of death to those perishing and the aroma of life to those who are being saved, an ambassador for Christ and a minister of reconciliation, all things to all people, a foot-washer, a fisherman, a sower, more than a conqueror, transformed and not conformed, and He's called me His-own (among other things :) )

From this change of heart God enabled me to pray in genuineness and sincerity, "Father, forgive them. They don't know what they are doing. Make yourself known to them, and who they were created to be in You."

Silence is Golden???

This last week has been interesting in light of my last blog post. The theme for this month is "family" in our English classes, and in talking with my students about how love and communication occur in Japanese families, they quoted to me the old adage, "Silence is golden". So it's not just in the church here, but an attitude and approach to life.

Saturday night I attended a modern dance performance in which a friend is apprenticing. True to form, it was very modern- but another word I used to describe it to my friend was "dark". The third and final dance was my friends favorite, so I was looking forward to seeing it. But after watching it I began to wonder why. It was a story of a man, a silent figure, who went around choking, suffocating, and imprisoning the people around him. The people he controlled eventually stopped struggling and gave in and began to act in similar ways to the other dancers on stage. There was a woman in a pink shirt who throughout the dance, maintained a posture of fear, trembling, shaking violently in place, in some sort of trance. She'd come out of it from time to time, and tried to show another frightened dancer a view of something outside of that scary world, but in the end, in one such moment, the play ended when the girl in pink stabbed the frightened girl while she was looking to the outside. The girl in pink then stopped shaking and adapted a new composure all together. She calmly walked off stage, turning a stage light off as she did. Whatever evil or fear or force she'd been struggling with throughout the dance had clearly won her over. All the while, throughout the performance, a hooded man in black sat with his back to us. He never stirred or moved, but clearly had an important role in what was happening.

So I asked my friend why it was her favorite- it seemed so dark to me. But for this 23 year old Japanese Christian girl, it was something she could relate to. She said that she often feels the emotions the dancers portrayed- gripped with fear, wanting to scream, but nothing comes out. It was a bit of culture shock for me to realize that the Japanese people in the audience with me liked it not for its darkness, but because it expressed what they are feeling inside. Silence. It can be deafening, and as the dance portrayed, is torturous, agonizing, and hopeless, and certainly not golden.

Many things I have observed or wondered about in this culture- things that the church struggles against and things that people live enslaved to- things I haven't been able to put words to- were illustrated and reinforced through the medium of dance; those struggles and more.

My Most Recent "Mountain-top Experience"

In addition to being Pentecost, Sunday was also "The Global Day of Prayer". Originating from a church in South Africa, people from every country of the world on this day every year pray for the people of the world http://www.globaldayofprayer.com/strategy.php. So I found myself on the top of a mountain on Sunday with three other American missionaries, the church president, and an unbaptized believer who has only recently been attending church. As we climbed the mountain, it seemed to be that the higher we ascended, the less of the valley below we could see. Once on top, we were enshrouded in a cloud and could see almost nothing of the view below. We began to pray together the "Prayer for the World" from the prayer guide, and as we did, the clouds seemed to evaporate around us and lift themselves up off the other mountain range off in the distance. By the time we had finished reading the prayer, we could see beyond the distant mountain range, all the way to the Sea of Japan. The silhouette of Sado Island was also visible, and everything was cast in a pale orange light. Cindy and I were pulling out so many good metaphors for faith from the experience!

After that, we broke off and began to pray individually and read passages of scripture. I wandered off to a higher area away from the view-point, to a view of the other side of the mountain. As I was praying, I saw a Japanese man sitting under a shelter at the top of the mountain (as it was a rainy day) and I decided to pray for him too. A little later I ran into him again at a different overlook. He asked me if we were reading poems. I said no, that we were praying and reading from our Bibles. He told me that he prayed too, but that he wasn't religious. I told him I'd heard similar sentiments uttered by other Japanese people. I then asked him if he thought prayer worked. This launched us into a very interesting conversation about God and prayer, human weakness and limitation, and our need for God.

He then told me that he worked with people who were Christian. I was surprised to hear this as less than 1% of the population here is Christian. I asked him if they were Japanese. He said yes, and that he knew they often talked to each other about their faith, and that they would admit to being christian, but that they never talked to him about their faith. I didn't know how to reply to him. Here is this young man whose open to and interested in hearing about Christianity, and the Christians who are in his life won't talk to him about Jesus. I felt like my heart dropped to my feet. This is by no means an uncommon attitude and belief held by many- if not the majority- of the church here. This same stronghold dates back to the time of the first missionary to land on the shores of Japan, Francis Xavier, a Jesuit priest in the mid 16th century. There is even a book written about that time called, "Silence" by Shusako Endo. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silence_(novel)

It just compels you all the more to pray for both the church here to wake up and be the light of the world, the city on the hill, and the salt of the earth that Christ has redeemed them and enabled them to be. It also causes me to pray Matthew 9:37-38 Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field."

Coincidences and Confirmation

This week at our church we've been participating in the "10 days of prayer" leading up to the global day of prayer, which is Pentecost. We've been meeting for an hour of prayer every morning with church members from 6-7 am and in the evening for a "joy hour" or in Japanese "yorokobi ji kan" in which we pray, worship, share ways we see God working, write our own psalms, spend time in silence listening, etc. There's a booklet that goes with it- and I took an English copy to my neighbor, whose an American. We've been talking a bit about faith from time to time when we see each other, and it has been in the last two months, I learned recently, that he has felt a strong desire and hunger for God's word and christian community. He's searching for God's purpose in his life. There's a pastor in the states whose been mentoring him, and recommending books for him to read, and chatting over skype. So on my way to the Bus stop Saturday, I stopped by his house to drop it off. He thanked me, and I left.

Then, on Monday, I was having a day like no other- everything was happening in perfect time- the trains I'd get on getting me to the next train or place just on time, catching the right bus at the right time to get to the seminary just in time, not knowing where to go- but arriving at precisely the moment when Dr. Sack arrived and hearing him yell my name across the quad, meeting our director on the way to Starbucks just as he was about to get lost and go the wrong way, making it to the christian bookstore to buy my bilingual bible (I can't get them in Niigata) in time before closing and there happened to be a subway sandwich shop next door (silly, I know, but its the only place you can get a turkey sandwhich in this counrty! I think God spoils me!!!) These are all small things- but they show the significance of what happened next. I returned to Niigata by Shinkansen. I decided to take the train home from the station, and saw that that too- was just on time. I ran quickly down the stairs to catch the train, and made it to the platform just in time to see the doors closing and the train pulling away. "What??? God, this is not consistent with how this day's been going!" I thought. But then, I thought again. "Maybe God wants me to take the bus- it is a shorter walk from the bus stop to my house than the train station, and my bag is heavy." So I went outside to the bus stop, and, sure enough, the bus that goes along my route home was just pulling in. But, to my surprise, there also was my neighbor!!! Whoa! OK, God definitely wanted me to take the bus. We had a great conversation all the way home about faith and community and a book he's reading now called, "The Shack." I'm not sure what God's intention is in all of the relationships he brings into my life, but I know He has a purpose in them and I pray I'll be his instrument of light and love in them. We are currently praying about starting an English worship service. Maybe there's a connection... :)

For more information about the 10 Days of prayer at our church, check out the website!
http://sites.google.com/site/nozomiprayer/

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Whoever said "The way to a man's heart is through his stomach" was on to something. I started the day off with a run, and then rolled up my sleeves and whipped up a batch of chocolate chip cookies. Every Saturday I attend a prayer group; and, as with most gatherings of church people, there is always food. I usually don't have time to bake- but made a point of it this week as I have a short holiday from teaching. Anyway, the batch made so many that I put them in many containers and went about distributing them to neighbors as well.

Prior to today, I haven't really been able to have good conversations with the older men in the congregation- I think they just don't know what to do with me. One man in particular, who works closely with the English school, won't even make eye contact with me when I say hello and only talks to me when its absolutely necessary, but always interrupts whatever conversation I'm in the middle of with another church member to do so. But today was different. Today he ate my cookies! The transformation was like the stuff of fairy tales! He smiled, laughed, was warm and genuine- all quite suddenly. Now I know you may be suspicious of the ingredients I used in trying to formulate a reason for this change- but I can assure you that I used only FDA approved products (I can't actually back this claim as I'm living in Japan and can't read food labels!)

Anyway, in meeting with this group, I continue to see God's presence and work in the lives of these individuals- and I'm so thankful for it. As my language ability increases and I can understand more of the conversations around me, I am increasingly touched in my own faith by the stories of these people and one woman, in particular's, ability to take life situations and struggles back to scripture and reveal God's design or desire in each circumstance.

Also today I met up with a woman I originally met at the train station a few weeks ago on my way back from teaching at the kindergarten in Sanjo. She is a vocalist, and asked if I'd be willing to help her with her pronunciation of the English songs she's hoping to record this summer. She had her 5 year old son with her, who was less than bashful and initiated the initial greeting with me in English! She turns out to be somewhat famous in this area, singing at jazz clubs and local events, as well as traveling to Tokyo. I don't know how I meet these people sometimes, but trust that God has his reasons and intentions in bringing me into relationships with the people that he does. At the end of the night, she invited me to come and be a guest on a radio program she's involved with- IN JAPANESE!!!!! I was flattered to be asked, but my goodness, speaking Japanese on the radio for lots and lots of people to hear is pretty intimidating- but I think I'm up for the challenge! Back to the cookies- I sent her home with some for her son who was sad not to be able to join us because, well, he's 5 and we were having a meeting. I could tell she was surprised, but also that the gift was well received. Cookies- such a simple thing. But with only one batch, relationships were changed, love was communicated, and stomachs were satisfied!