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 ther
e 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<><
Sensei... good word!
ReplyDeleteBLESSINGS to you team!
ReplyDeleteCherish every moment and pray that God will use you in any circumstance, whether through song or smile, let Him use you to show love to His people!