G.R.I.T.

Week 5 Blog Notes

Caleb:
More Japan facts: Only in Japan do watermelons cost $35 (fruit in general is very expensive here). Only in Japan are the chances of finding a napkin on the table less than finding water in the desert. Only in Japan is mountain hiking a common activity for 70 year-olds.

We are entering week six as part of the GRIT commune ("commune" due to the gobs of time spent together, shared cleaning, cooking,chores, and exercise). This coming Thursday we will see our second exercise test consisting of a timed 5k run, and the maximum number of sit-ups and push-ups in 2 minute intervals. We are in high spirits that the hours of toil spent in exercise will pay off when put to the test.

The last half-week saw a change of pace for the whole team. The 9 guys (including Pastor Lee and Norman) split off from the girls for our own mini 3-day retreat. We hiked and climbed the Japanese mountainside. One highlight for our "Fellowship of the Ring" was hiking a 1700-meter inactive volcano (knowing we began our accent at 1200 meters lessens the impressiveness of this feat). The cloudy weather prevented an otherwise spectacular view of the surrounding landscape. Our mission: climb around the summit crater, descend the far side, and ascend a more distant peak. As we began our descent from the summit peak, the rain began. At first we determined to go on, but the reality of tiny mudslides and fast-forming streams drove us back. The return ascent and descent included lunch eaten in haste, repeated slips in the mud, getting soaked to the bone (our rain ponchos only did so much), joyous splashing through puddles once our shoes had surpassed the saturation point, observing one of Japan's poisonous worms from a distance, and feeding four wild deer. In the future we will remember to leave all paper products behind, wrap our cameras in plastic, and bring more chips in case of further deer sightings.

Pastor Lee and Norman brought several teaching times relating to guys topics such as purity, relationships, women, and family life. Shared experiences forged a common bond that allowed more fertile learning. Lessons were absorbed while lying on a hardwood floor before a fitful night's sleep (for some reason I was put in the snorers cabin :-), over supper in a Japanese restuarant, waiting for shoes to dry at the laundrymat, and relaxing in a Japanese hot tub after conquering the mountain. I imagine that the Twelve learned many things from Jesus in similiar circumstances: sitting in a boat, walking along the road, eating at a guest house. Our current leadership materials have begun to speak of mentoring. A good mentoring relationship will include initiative, proximity, friendship, example, commitment, responsibility, knowledge, trust, evaluation, goals, and empowering. This is what Jesus practiced and what I want to pattern in my life. Many of these elements realisticlly will never occur in a Bible college setting. It will take individual students and Christians to answer the call fo Christ to take up the mantle of mentoring and pour their lives into others. It's about developing people, not programs. It's about creating a movement, not more administrations.

Edo:
Think about it... In the Bible, most of the handsome males and beautiful females have an issue with God. Either the handsome males are disobedient (Saul, Adonijah, Absalom, etc..) to the Lord or beautiful females make God's children forget God (Delilah with Samson, Solomon's many many wives) or commit sin (Bathsheba with David, Tamar with Ammon, etc...). Therefore I propose: We must not be good looking... LOL!
WARNING: this is not to be taken seriously and for fun. In the Bible that description was mention only to show that the Lord judges the heart of the people while humans judge the outward appearance of people. This is not really new, but at the same time this is something that really hard to learn and do - to have wisdom to discern and judge people's heart-. Oh well, this is really nothing to do with GRIT Japan but I write it anyway (since Caleb beautifully summarize our trip!).

Jacob:
Thank you for the letter Brittany. I got it last week but haven't been able to blog since then. I really appreciate it and hope you have a great time in Costa Rica.

So things have been busy around here. Imagine that. It's difficult to say what's going to happen next. We've been working so very hard and just all over the place. We had a men's and ladies' retreat this week. It was good to focus on things that Jesus wanted. Not that the opposite sex is bad, but with just guys (or, for the women, just girls) you can be 100% open and nothing is really taken differently than you mean it. I think that we all need that sometime. The guys climbed Kirishima and the girls went shopping.

I preach (again) in two Sundays in Miyakonojou in the morning so pray for me there. Personally, I'm growing a lot and managing my time better. I can't wait for this next year of my life. However, there's still so much more that we can accomplish together. It's kind of sad to think that things are halfway over, but I really think there are several members of the group with whom I'll keep interacting once things are over.

The primary goal, as has probably been discussed before, is discipleship. It's the primary goal of Jesus Himself. This needs to be applied more closely to our lives, starting with those closest to us and using that as investing deep in the lives of a few, not shallow in the lives of many. This is our calling. Pray that we (GRIT) and none of the people over here in Japan as they are learning don't lose sight of this.

"For greater things are yet to come, greater things are still to be done in this city..."
Jesus, You are our God. May we do as You did and want us to do.-jct

posted by Norman @ 8:31 PM