Grandparents are here!!!
Grandma and Grandpa Strutz are here for a week! Cameron and Chloe have already been testing their book reading and story telling skills, so far they have passed...
We will be having a mini- Christmas with them before they leave, Chloe and Cameron are already excited about the "surprises" that Grandma mentioned. I don't think think they will be spoiled at all while Grandma is around...
Under the weather...
Cameron and I have been sick this past week so we didn't do much of anything. It rained about every other day so we couldn't get out much anyway. Winter means cloudy and rainy in Nagashima apparently.
On to more cheerful news, the GRIT team from this summer ordered about 17 wooden swords from a factory in Miyakonojo. Chris Sadowitz, the missionary we were helping in the area often takes groups on a tour of the factory so they know him well. Many of our group had "God is Love" of part of another verse carved into the handle of their swords. The lady who did the carving recently wrote Chris a 3 page letter pouring out her heart to him. She discribed her worries and fears and how carving "God is Love" all those times had given her something to think about. It is amazing how God can use something so simple to open a door to someone's heart!
Susan's parents arrive in Japan wednesday. They are in Korea with Susan's sister Merilee now. Chloe and Cameron have been anticipating this visit for a long time! They have been asking at least once a week for months, "Do they come tommorrow?" And now, finally, we can say , "Yes!"
The Joy of Origami...
You might remember that on our vacation we went to the world origami exibit. I bought a couple of books and have been enjoying trying some of the ridiculously difficult models. I first learned about origami in elementary school, I still remember 3 or 4 things that I could do back then.
Origami is interesting because every piece starts with the same flat blank paper and progressively becomes a piece of art. It is alot like the work that God does in our lives once we trust in Christ. Our sins our wiped away and we start with a clean slate, however, we aren't finished at that point, we are only beginning! In the same way that the origami enthusiast envisions the final prodict as he makes his first folds, God sees the final product in our lives even as He teaches us the first, basic lessons of what it means to follow Him.
The ant I folded took 3 pieces of paper and about 30 minutes to fold, it's a real process! God's work in our lives is a process as well. Be patient! God's work is always perfect!
Kagoshima Prefecture Blowgun Competition!
I participated in the prefectural sports blowgun competition this weekend. I joined the local club in the spring of this year and have been really enjoying it. I have a competitive nature : )
At the competition this weekend I placed 4th overall in the individual contest, and our club placed 2nd in the team contest. Not bad for a club that is only about 2 years old!
The thing I really like about this kind of evert is that it gives me several hours traveling and time at the event to continue developing relationships and getting to know new people. Someone always asks a question about Christianity leading to a discussion and an opportunity to share Christ. This time the question was , "What is the difference between Christian and Protestant." This was soon followed by, " Jehovah's Witnesses have been to my house, so that's different?" Ummm, yes.
Days like this highlight how little Japanese know about Christianity. But, days like this also give a handful of people something to think about and the Holy Spirit something to work with in their lives. It is always sad to see how far people are from the True and Living God, but it is exciting to know that some people are still searching for Him!
Planning for the future...
In the last year I have spent quite a bit of time planning for and preparing for our future ministry in Japan. I hae taken multiple survey trips to different cities, made a nuisance of myself asking pastors and missionaries questions about ministry in Japan, and read many books about church planting and Japanese culture. In all that time, as I ask questions, read books and compare it all to God's word, I think I can summarize everything I have learned in one word - relationships.
There are many different types of relationships to think about, but the primary three are 1)our relationship to God, 2) our relationship to other believers, and 3) our relationship to the world. This three relationships can be restated in terms of the actions that are associated with them. 1) Bible study and prayer, 2) encouragement, fellowship, discipleship; and 3) evangelism.
Today, Susan and I were talking about our core values for life and ministry. As we think about the process of helping Japanese men and women grow in their spiritual lives, these are the values we will emphasize. We summed it up as love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength and love your neighbor as yourself. As a guiding principle you can fit just about everything else under that one statement. Study your Bible - because it you truly love God, you will desire to know Him intimately. Share Christ with friends - because if you love them and see them as God sees them, you will want them to have the same joy that you have in knowing Christ.
So..., how are your relationships today?
Special Meetings in Nagashima...
Sunday, we had Pastor Oogawa from Osaka as the guest speaker for our outreach and revival Sunday. He has been the Pastor of Sendri Newtown Baptist Church for almost 40 years! He began pastoring at Sendri straight out of seminary at 24 and lead the church to grow from a handful of members to over 300 today. He preached on our "Certain Hope." We had over 30 in attendance Sunday morning, maybe closer to 40 but I lost count. There were a few new people and several who had not been to chruch in quite awhile. Mrs. Yamamoto was thrilled because her husband came to church with her for the first time. They are in their 60's and she has beed a Christian for a looong time.
Pastor Namba from a chruch in Kagoshima has cancer and will have surgery on Nov. 29th. This is the second time he has gone through the surgery and chemo process so he is already weak. Everyone is concerned for him and praying for him, when you add the fact that there is no pastor to replace him, we really need to pray for God to work in Pastor Namba's life and in the church in Kagoshima.
testing
I haven't been able to get through to the blog so this is a test to see
if Norman is a good blog master.
Vacation!!!!
We took our first vacation since getting married this week. Even before returning home we decided that we wouldn't try that again until the kids are older. It almost killed us. Chloe and Cameron had fun although they were really tired and got a little crabby every night. Melodie was generally happy but carrying around her diapers made us generally unhappy.
We went to Aso Farmland for two nights. You can see pictures on our Family page. The painted cows are most impressive.
On the way home we stopped in Minamata for diaper changes and stretching, when we returned to the car it wouldn't start. It seems our started came apart on the interstate. We were close enough to Nagashima to get someone to carry the kids and Susan home (after a 3 hour wait) I waited an additional 3 hours to get the car to Nagashima. It was the vacation that wouldn't end. The day after returning home I don't think I moved any more than was absolutely necessary. It was an exhausting trip.
On the road to Shimonoseki...
Friday, I went with 6 members of the church to a new building dedication in Shimonoseki, about 5 hours drive North of Nagashima. We spent a total of over 10 hours in the car for a 1.5 hour service and 45 min of fellowship! I enjoyed it but it was really tiring! A Japanese pastor from another church gave a message with three points; the authority of the chruch, the power of the church and the mission of the church. I had the opportunity to meet people had had heard about but not yet met face to face.
The new building held 45 folding chairs in the main room with an extra 10-12 in a side room. It is a small building by anyone's standards but will give the new church a place to meet. At present they have around 10 people attending.
On the drive back home, I used the opportunity to quiz Pastor Ohara about Japanese culture. I asked everything I could think of about the function of "the group" in Japanese society. Relationships are the basis of the society here and the groups to which one belongs have a strong hold over everyone actions. Your family is a group, your job provides you with another group, evern the community in which you live gives you an identity as a member of that group. Because to the resposibility to the group, it is sometimes difficult to get someone to join a new group, such as the church. It's a topic I really need to continue to learn more about!
Drawing ever closer...
Today I spent about 6 hours with Ryouji in Kagoshima. He is understanding more of the big picture and today mentioned that he understand that at some point in time he has to make a decision of some kind. I don't think he really understands what that means yet. He is reading the New testament that I gave him. Today we had a long talk about the Old Testament and how it leads to the NT. I gave him a copy of a book about the basic teachings of the Bible, very loosely translated I would say it is titled, " You should want to know at least this much." It covers basic teaching about the Bible, God, Jesus, Sin, Man, Salvation, etc. I'm praying it will tie some things together for Ryouji and answer some of his questions.
Ryouji wanted to see the World Trade Center movie today. As it ended I thought it was a good analogy to the spiritual struggle Christians face today. As the last policeman was pulled from the wreckage you saw hundreds of men and women cheering and helping get him out. I'm sure that all of them felt that the effort was worth all the time and money that it cost to get him out alive. And yet, in our spiritual equivalent, too often the rescure efforts are left in the hands of the two marines desperately struggling to find a survivor in the rubble. These marines, our pastors and missionaries on the front lines, are left to find and rescue the perishing with sufficient funding and prayer support, but without the constant encouragement and support of a fellow soldier to rely on when the going gets tough. The results of our spiritual search mission are even more important than that depicted in the movie. Rather than saving a life that is temporary, we draw people into a relationship with a Holy God who provides them with eternal life! Now that is worth all the time. money and effort we can give it!
Grandma and Grandpa Strutz are here for a week! Cameron and Chloe have already been testing their book reading and story telling skills, so far they have passed...
