Awaiting Japan

So I finally figured out how to use this thing, although it took many hours of helplessly starring at my computer screen! But I'm here now and very excited to be sharing with you about this trip to Japan.

What a mystery the nation of Japan is! It still blows my mind when I think of how advanced they are in technology, fashion, transportation and so many other things! Yet, under that facade of wealth and prosperity is a nation that is broken and desperately needs the love of God.
In our meeting today Colin spoke about the harsh realities that we will be facing as we step into the Japanese culture in less than 2 months! (49 days to be exact).
We were informed about the staggering suicide rates among the Japanese people with a record 2, 645 suicides committed in the month of January alone. This statistic completely broke my heart and made me aware of the pain, anger and hopelessness that plague Japanese society. My prayer is that God would replace each of those things with His love and peace and in the midst of the desperation there would be an inexplicable hope!

On a brighter note, the first copies of the Japan Missions Team CDs were sold this week. I think I'll make a shamless plug and say they are truly amazing. They are 10$ each and include original tracks from Perry, Colin and Adam, as well as short testimonials from each member of the team. If you would like to purchase a copy come find one of us! We'd be more than happy to get you one, or two, or twenty even!
Keep praying for our team as we continue to raise support for this trip. Raising such large amounts of money can be a daunting task, but I believe that each member of our team has been called of God to be a part of this trip, and because of that I have a tremendous amount of faith that He will provide!

God is good and I am completely in awe of His provision up until this point. I'm so looking forward to seeing the wonderful things He has in store for our team from here on!
Thanks so much for all your the support and prayer!!!
May God bless you,
Rebecca

Prayer

If we are to make an impact in Japan, we must pray. If we are to make an impact in our own homes, never mind a different country, we must pray. I think that I have underestimated the power of prayer. As a team, we need to be seeking out the Lord to determine what His will is, but more importantly, that we will be willing and ready to submit to His will. On our own, we must be seeking out what God wants of us on the trip. We pray into the preparation of our hearts and minds. With all this said, here are some prayer requests:

1. Pray for the People we will come in contact with, that they will be like the good soil by which the seeds will fall on

2. Pray for our group, that the Lord would continue to unify us in Spirit as well as friendship

3. Pray for our safety, as the devil will have many attacks for the work of which we have been given

4. Pray for our ministries, that they would come together, and be ready to serve

5. Pray for our finances, that the Lord would provide the necessary funds to send us overseas

6. Pray for our health. 

Thats all for now, Go in Peace

So, the time has come everyone, I finally began my support raising stint, and I think I will be successful in raising the amount of money. Of course there is a great deal of faith that goes into that statement alone, but HE has carried me thus far, and HE will lead me home right?!

If you are reading this blog, please pray. On the weekend our teams were bombarded with so much information (at Missions Team Training), about how the world desperately needs the gospel of Christ. This is sad fact, and a fact that should bring every participant of this Japan trip, as well as their supporters to their knees, asking of the LORD to guide us in every way possible. Pray that we would have wisdom and discernment, and that we would go in power and love.

God Bless you all.

Addy

10 Weeks to go...

It's hard to believe that we will be in Japan in less than 3 months!

While the memories and lessons from last year's trip are still fresh in my mind, I am so excited for the team God has called to return to the Itayanagi Chapel in 2009.

Last year, God called 6 of us from Tyndale to serve in Japan, a nation that is only 1% Christian and starving for the hope of Jesus Christ. In the short two weeks we were in the Tsugaru Peninsula, we had the opportunity to visit a number of preschools, elementary schools, and highschools, sharing songs of hope and promise. Through these visits, we were able to encourage students and their parents to come to one of the many evangelistic concerts we held at the Itayanagi Chapel and various community centres. We saw God move in so many ways and witnessed an abundance of miracles.

When we first arrived in Tokyo, one of the first things we learnt at our orientation was the intense difficulties involved in a Japanese person deciding to live for Christ. Many of the Christians we met had been abandoned by their families when they made the decision to be a Christian. Our training cautioned us to not be discouraged if attendance at our concerts was low. It is a great thing if there are even 1 or 2 new people coming to an evangelistic event.

Our first concert saw 12 new people come......by our last concert, there were close to 70 new people at our outdoor concert in a park right beside a new church plant.

When we left, the missionaries we were with, Martin and Ruth Ghent, along with various members of the Itayanagi Chapel told us to come back next year and bring as many people back with us as possible!

The team this year has increased to 10 members and we are SO excited for what God has in store for us.

Our team has been meeting on a weekly basis since January and have begun to prepare and organize music, puppet shows, and different presentations that will be used during our time in Japan.

It would mean a great deal if you could pray for us as we continue to prepare and seek financial support!

~Colin<><