#181
Said goodbye to the team this morning. Definitely sad. But then again, all the ones who came out from Hawaii are stickin around socal for a few days before heading back to the island, as is the one from washington, and the rest are from socal so it'll be easy to see them again soon. In fact, most of them are going to Knott's tomorrow, then we're all hanging out in LA/Hollywood on Sat night, then we're headed to an Angel's game on Sunday after church, and then they're all coming over to my mom's place on Monday for 4(h of July! Yaaaay
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Joyful Night
#180
Seriously, I love my job. At our very last meeting of debrief, the speaker talked about how to stay involved in the mission. It was such an encouraging, visionary time, and we even got to cap it off by hearing that, through our teams (Tokyo, DR, East Asia) this summer, the Lord brought 141 people into a relationship with Himself! And this is what I get to do as a job- be a part of that by sharing Christ with people and training/equipping students to do so on their campuses and everywhere they go. It's really, REALLY fun.
Seriously, I love my job. At our very last meeting of debrief, the speaker talked about how to stay involved in the mission. It was such an encouraging, visionary time, and we even got to cap it off by hearing that, through our teams (Tokyo, DR, East Asia) this summer, the Lord brought 141 people into a relationship with Himself! And this is what I get to do as a job- be a part of that by sharing Christ with people and training/equipping students to do so on their campuses and everywhere they go. It's really, REALLY fun.
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
NO Idea How I Stayed Awake
#179
Considering the fact that I woke up at 4am today, I did ok! By God's strength, and I'm guessing God's strength alone, I got through a full day of debriefing meetings (which included a good chunk of time working on closing out finances) without really ever feeling too tired. Right now though, I'm ready for some goooood sleep!
Considering the fact that I woke up at 4am today, I did ok! By God's strength, and I'm guessing God's strength alone, I got through a full day of debriefing meetings (which included a good chunk of time working on closing out finances) without really ever feeling too tired. Right now though, I'm ready for some goooood sleep!
Planes, Trains, and Automobiles
#178
I tell ya... that trip from Hakone to Narita and then to LAX and Vanguard is a pain! I remember it from 2009 when Heather and I led together, and it was just as awful this time around. But again, our team impressed me with how swiftly and joyfully and peacefully they loaded and unloaded our bus, two trains, plane, and shuttle (which was much needed since we had really short connection times between a lot of the legs). The day one flies from Tokyo to LA turns into a 40 hour day, which means that we are EXHAUSTED, but I'm really praising God for how smooth our trip back here to the US was!
I tell ya... that trip from Hakone to Narita and then to LAX and Vanguard is a pain! I remember it from 2009 when Heather and I led together, and it was just as awful this time around. But again, our team impressed me with how swiftly and joyfully and peacefully they loaded and unloaded our bus, two trains, plane, and shuttle (which was much needed since we had really short connection times between a lot of the legs). The day one flies from Tokyo to LA turns into a 40 hour day, which means that we are EXHAUSTED, but I'm really praising God for how smooth our trip back here to the US was!
Soaking in Coffee
#177
What a relaxing day... Our whole day was spent at Yunessun, which is basically like a Disneyland of baths. You walk around in your swimsuits all day and enjoy a coffee bath, a green tea bath, a charcoal bath, etc, and have a nice big buffet lunch. It really was a great way to spend our last full day in Japan together- just relaxing together and enjoying each other's company. Leaving Japan tomorrow...
What a relaxing day... Our whole day was spent at Yunessun, which is basically like a Disneyland of baths. You walk around in your swimsuits all day and enjoy a coffee bath, a green tea bath, a charcoal bath, etc, and have a nice big buffet lunch. It really was a great way to spend our last full day in Japan together- just relaxing together and enjoying each other's company. Leaving Japan tomorrow...
Gotta Start the Day Off Right!
#176
Before we went on our adventures around Hakone today (buses, cable cars, ropeway gondolas, pirate ship tours, water shrines and more!), we started off the day with a nice long team time. It was a powerful time of clearing the air (resolving team conflict), praising God together through song, and listening to the Lord in the Word. Good stuff!
Before we went on our adventures around Hakone today (buses, cable cars, ropeway gondolas, pirate ship tours, water shrines and more!), we started off the day with a nice long team time. It was a powerful time of clearing the air (resolving team conflict), praising God together through song, and listening to the Lord in the Word. Good stuff!
Proud Parents?
#175
I was so proud of our team today. It was move-out day, which is always a hassle, and we had given them very strict, specific instructions on how to move out, when to be ready, etc. When JCCC staff showed up at 11am to check each apartment out, every single person in every single room was completely ready! They were so impressed and Jamie and I were so proud :) It was a great way to start off a long day of moving out and heading to Hakone for end-of-project retreat.
I was so proud of our team today. It was move-out day, which is always a hassle, and we had given them very strict, specific instructions on how to move out, when to be ready, etc. When JCCC staff showed up at 11am to check each apartment out, every single person in every single room was completely ready! They were so impressed and Jamie and I were so proud :) It was a great way to start off a long day of moving out and heading to Hakone for end-of-project retreat.
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Best and Worst
#172
One of the best parts of Project is becoming good friends with Japanese people. One of the worst parts of Project is also becoming good friends with Japanese people, and then having to say goodbye. Hideo, my new friend from Tokyo Disneyland, and I got to hang out tonight with a few friends, and he and I had some AWESOME conversations. It was SO good and God is so pursuing his heart it's not even funny. But then it was goodbye and it's just super sad!
One of the best parts of Project is becoming good friends with Japanese people. One of the worst parts of Project is also becoming good friends with Japanese people, and then having to say goodbye. Hideo, my new friend from Tokyo Disneyland, and I got to hang out tonight with a few friends, and he and I had some AWESOME conversations. It was SO good and God is so pursuing his heart it's not even funny. But then it was goodbye and it's just super sad!
Monday, June 20, 2011
Will You Go Out With Me?
#171
Seriously, Date Night with Jesus is one of the best things ever. It's a staple of most summer project experiences- once a week, there is a two-hour block set aside for every one on the team to go off alone and have some solid time with Jesus. For the third project in a row (of 3 project that's I've done) my Date Night spot has been Mr Donut. Man, tonight's Date Night was so needed. Every single year, it just reminds me how much we need some specially set aside chunks of time to get romantic with the greatest love of our life. Now if only I could get myself to do it back in the US...
Seriously, Date Night with Jesus is one of the best things ever. It's a staple of most summer project experiences- once a week, there is a two-hour block set aside for every one on the team to go off alone and have some solid time with Jesus. For the third project in a row (of 3 project that's I've done) my Date Night spot has been Mr Donut. Man, tonight's Date Night was so needed. Every single year, it just reminds me how much we need some specially set aside chunks of time to get romantic with the greatest love of our life. Now if only I could get myself to do it back in the US...
Sunday, June 19, 2011
I Heart Student Leaders
#170
Today kicked off our last full week in-country, and our last week on campus, which is CRAZY. But we got to start it off in a super encouraging way as Jamie and I got to meet with Ryan and Abi, who are our campus evangelism leaders, to have our weekly time to see how they're doing and explain to them what the upcoming week is going to look like. We're pretty excited about these last four days on campus that start tomorrow. Praying that we would keep our hearts focused on loving the Lord and loving each other as we reach out to the students with whom we get to interact.
Today kicked off our last full week in-country, and our last week on campus, which is CRAZY. But we got to start it off in a super encouraging way as Jamie and I got to meet with Ryan and Abi, who are our campus evangelism leaders, to have our weekly time to see how they're doing and explain to them what the upcoming week is going to look like. We're pretty excited about these last four days on campus that start tomorrow. Praying that we would keep our hearts focused on loving the Lord and loving each other as we reach out to the students with whom we get to interact.
Saturday, June 18, 2011
I Love Disney Parks
#169
Man, Tokyo Disneyland was so refreshing... I mean, I love going to Disney parks no matter what, but today was special. 9 of us from our team went but we were also joined by three Japanese friends that we'd met in different places. One of them was Hideo- a guy Abi randomly met at Waikiki a while back when he was on vacation with some friends. He and I got to talk a good amount, and I loved it! He's a great guy, we were able to have some great life/spiritual chats, and it was great to speak in Japanese for a while. Being a director for Project is really different from being a student- you really don't get as much hardcore interaction with Japanese people, so it was super refreshing to get to know a new friend. Praying for him!
Man, Tokyo Disneyland was so refreshing... I mean, I love going to Disney parks no matter what, but today was special. 9 of us from our team went but we were also joined by three Japanese friends that we'd met in different places. One of them was Hideo- a guy Abi randomly met at Waikiki a while back when he was on vacation with some friends. He and I got to talk a good amount, and I loved it! He's a great guy, we were able to have some great life/spiritual chats, and it was great to speak in Japanese for a while. Being a director for Project is really different from being a student- you really don't get as much hardcore interaction with Japanese people, so it was super refreshing to get to know a new friend. Praying for him!
Friday, June 17, 2011
Stats Rock
#168
I know it's not about the numbers... I know it's about individual relationships, and the glorious work that the Lord does through them. But every so often, taking a look at the stats really helps us celebrate as we put things in perspective. Today, at the end of our Slaying the Giants week, we realized that JUST THIS WEEK, our students were able to meet 107 new people, have spiritual conversations with 62 students for the first time, shared the Gospel with 28 students who were given an opportunity to respond for the first time, and saw 5 Japanese students accept Christ into their lives!
Praise God for the awesome work He is doing and is allowing us to participate in!
I know it's not about the numbers... I know it's about individual relationships, and the glorious work that the Lord does through them. But every so often, taking a look at the stats really helps us celebrate as we put things in perspective. Today, at the end of our Slaying the Giants week, we realized that JUST THIS WEEK, our students were able to meet 107 new people, have spiritual conversations with 62 students for the first time, shared the Gospel with 28 students who were given an opportunity to respond for the first time, and saw 5 Japanese students accept Christ into their lives!
Praise God for the awesome work He is doing and is allowing us to participate in!
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Refocus
#167
Today was a pretty cool day! We decided halfway through our day to pull our team off of campus early, because we felt the need as a team to refocus ourselves and put our relationship with God as priority over ministry. We each got to then spend some one-on-one time with Jesus, which was pretty awesome.
At night, we had a SWEET men's time which involved all-you-can-eat meat and poop stories. CLASSIC.
Today was a pretty cool day! We decided halfway through our day to pull our team off of campus early, because we felt the need as a team to refocus ourselves and put our relationship with God as priority over ministry. We each got to then spend some one-on-one time with Jesus, which was pretty awesome.
At night, we had a SWEET men's time which involved all-you-can-eat meat and poop stories. CLASSIC.
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Fellowship
#166
Jamie and I got to take a nice long lunch break during our admin day today to meet up with our friend Tomomi for lunch. I first met her back in 2008, when I visited the USC kids who were on the Tokyo project that year and went to Disney Sea with them. Tomomi recognized one of the students from having seen him the previous Sunday at church! Turns out that she goes to New Hope Tokyo (church that most PSW Tokyo SPs attend) and works in management at the Disney offices at the park, and has to do walkthroughs of the parks every so often. We've been friends ever since, and we finally got to sit down and spend some time encouraging each other. It was such a refreshing, wonderful time that the three of us got to enjoy today.
AND, another guy came to Christ today on campus at Waseda!
Jamie, Tomomi, Me
Jamie and I got to take a nice long lunch break during our admin day today to meet up with our friend Tomomi for lunch. I first met her back in 2008, when I visited the USC kids who were on the Tokyo project that year and went to Disney Sea with them. Tomomi recognized one of the students from having seen him the previous Sunday at church! Turns out that she goes to New Hope Tokyo (church that most PSW Tokyo SPs attend) and works in management at the Disney offices at the park, and has to do walkthroughs of the parks every so often. We've been friends ever since, and we finally got to sit down and spend some time encouraging each other. It was such a refreshing, wonderful time that the three of us got to enjoy today.
AND, another guy came to Christ today on campus at Waseda!
Jamie, Tomomi, Me
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
No Such Thing As Too Much Dessert
#165
Got to have a great dinner in Shibuya with two students Jamie and I met at Waseda. They took us to an all-you-can-eat dessert place, and then helped us experience Purikura haha (google it to find out). Junko is a super fun, sweet girl from Kamakura (two hours from Tokyo) who loved showing us around. Danbee is a Korean international student who is a believer. Hanging out with them and talking about life, travel, and God has been a blast :)
Got to have a great dinner in Shibuya with two students Jamie and I met at Waseda. They took us to an all-you-can-eat dessert place, and then helped us experience Purikura haha (google it to find out). Junko is a super fun, sweet girl from Kamakura (two hours from Tokyo) who loved showing us around. Danbee is a Korean international student who is a believer. Hanging out with them and talking about life, travel, and God has been a blast :)
Monday, June 13, 2011
BEAT!
#163
Got to go to Kesennuma Bible Baptist Church today before we drove back 8.5 hours to Tokyo. Encouraging to worship with Japanese believers in the Tohoku area. But the drive was draining... Super fun times of bonding in the car though!
Got to go to Kesennuma Bible Baptist Church today before we drove back 8.5 hours to Tokyo. Encouraging to worship with Japanese believers in the Tohoku area. But the drive was draining... Super fun times of bonding in the car though!
Man...
#162
Today was intense. The physical aspect of the labor got a lot harder, as we hauled literally hundreds of bags of mud and sludge that we dug and scraped off of a couple's driveway. And this house was more in the heart of the damaged area, so driving through the area was a wiiild experience. I mean, we were a couple of kilometers inland from the most inland part of the bay, as in quite a few kms away from the actual coastline, and yet almost everything was destroyed and there were huge ships and barges strewn about the residential areas. It was kind of an emotionally wrecking day between seeing the devastation, getting physically exhausted, and really developing a heart for the people there as we got to interact with more victims.
Today was intense. The physical aspect of the labor got a lot harder, as we hauled literally hundreds of bags of mud and sludge that we dug and scraped off of a couple's driveway. And this house was more in the heart of the damaged area, so driving through the area was a wiiild experience. I mean, we were a couple of kilometers inland from the most inland part of the bay, as in quite a few kms away from the actual coastline, and yet almost everything was destroyed and there were huge ships and barges strewn about the residential areas. It was kind of an emotionally wrecking day between seeing the devastation, getting physically exhausted, and really developing a heart for the people there as we got to interact with more victims.
Sludge
Going back to fill in the days where we didn't have computers...
#161
Today was our first day of relief work. The area we went to doesn't look that bad, but as soon as you go into a house you see that it was completely flooded- muck on the floor, walls gutted because of mold, all around yuckiness. We spent the day shoveling out sludge. Got to hear some crazy survival stories from people who lived there, including a man who survived by hanging on to a tree overnight!
#161
Today was our first day of relief work. The area we went to doesn't look that bad, but as soon as you go into a house you see that it was completely flooded- muck on the floor, walls gutted because of mold, all around yuckiness. We spent the day shoveling out sludge. Got to hear some crazy survival stories from people who lived there, including a man who survived by hanging on to a tree overnight!
Relying on God's Strength
#164
One day into Slaying the Giants week... Setting faith goals, spending extra time on campus every day, waking up early, pushing ourselves. Already tired, but already excited!
One day into Slaying the Giants week... Setting faith goals, spending extra time on campus every day, waking up early, pushing ourselves. Already tired, but already excited!
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Hands and Feet
#160
Headed up to Kesennuma today to do some relief work through the weekend! The whole team is very excited about this opportunity.
Prayers are appreciated and requested! :)
Headed up to Kesennuma today to do some relief work through the weekend! The whole team is very excited about this opportunity.
Prayers are appreciated and requested! :)
Halfway...Almost
#159
It's hard to believe, but this Friday is the halfway mark for our Project. Normally, there is a mid-project retreat somewhere around now, but since we're going up to the Tohoku region to do relief work tomorrow through Sunday and then going right into our most intense week of ministry on campus on Monday, we decided to just do a mid-project day off today. It was a super fun day- more restful for some than others, but I'd definitely say we're all excited to go up to Kesennuma and see how the Lord uses us up there :)
It's hard to believe, but this Friday is the halfway mark for our Project. Normally, there is a mid-project retreat somewhere around now, but since we're going up to the Tohoku region to do relief work tomorrow through Sunday and then going right into our most intense week of ministry on campus on Monday, we decided to just do a mid-project day off today. It was a super fun day- more restful for some than others, but I'd definitely say we're all excited to go up to Kesennuma and see how the Lord uses us up there :)
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Lunch Fun
#158
Jamie and I had a great time at Waseda today- we met two girls at the cafeteria- a Korean girl and a Japanese girl, who both spoke reaaaaaally good English! We got to talk about a lot of things, including God, and I'm looking forward to meeting up with them for dessert next Tuesday night :)
In other news, Ryan got to lead a guy he met at Gakushuin last week to Christ today!
Jamie and I had a great time at Waseda today- we met two girls at the cafeteria- a Korean girl and a Japanese girl, who both spoke reaaaaaally good English! We got to talk about a lot of things, including God, and I'm looking forward to meeting up with them for dessert next Tuesday night :)
In other news, Ryan got to lead a guy he met at Gakushuin last week to Christ today!
Monday, June 6, 2011
Japanese Spaghetti
#157
HAPPY BIRTHDAY DYLAN! As we were celebrating Dylan's 19th over some pasta, I got a call from Cam (JCCC staff guy in charge of receiving teams from overseas) telling me that we officially have clearance to go to the Tohoku region this weekend for some relief work! We are so excited about this opportunity to go and serve in one of the hardest hit areas in the area. Please pray for us as we prepare to leave on Thursday- it's a looooong drive, it'll be a lot of hard work, and I'm sure it won't be easy seeing the total devastation in Kesennuma. We want the Lord to shine His love through us!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY DYLAN! As we were celebrating Dylan's 19th over some pasta, I got a call from Cam (JCCC staff guy in charge of receiving teams from overseas) telling me that we officially have clearance to go to the Tohoku region this weekend for some relief work! We are so excited about this opportunity to go and serve in one of the hardest hit areas in the area. Please pray for us as we prepare to leave on Thursday- it's a looooong drive, it'll be a lot of hard work, and I'm sure it won't be easy seeing the total devastation in Kesennuma. We want the Lord to shine His love through us!
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Saturday, June 4, 2011
Slow
#155
Today was such a refreshingly slow day. Saturday is our day off, and I took full advantage by sleeping in til 1pm, having a long time with the Lord, enjoying a sushi lunch with James, and hanging out with the team at night. Feeling rested and ready to go into a another week of ministry!
Today was such a refreshingly slow day. Saturday is our day off, and I took full advantage by sleeping in til 1pm, having a long time with the Lord, enjoying a sushi lunch with James, and hanging out with the team at night. Feeling rested and ready to go into a another week of ministry!
Thursday, June 2, 2011
More GREAT News!
#154
Today, we were invited to two classes at Jikei Medical University, taught by a Christian professor from Hawaii. He didn't do a lecture- he just introduced the 6 of us (the other half of the team was at Waseda) and then just let us break up into groups and have conversations with the students for the entire class period (an hour and a half each). It was EXHAUSTING, as the students there didn't have the highest level of Japanese, but what a great opportunity! Many students got to hear about the gift of salvation in Christ too.
Ryan had a pretty tough first class- the students he talked with spoke VERY little English, and he was pretty discouraged during lunchtime because of how hard that convo was. So he/we prayed that he would have better English speakers during the 2nd period. Well, not only did he get two girls that spoke much better English, but through their conversation, and Ryan sharing the Gospel with them (with a bit of translating help from Ron, the professor), BOTH of them ended up accepting Christ!! YAAAAAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
That makes three new sisters in Christ this week here in Tokyo! Please be praying for them, as this is a vulnerable and crucial time for them.
Today, we were invited to two classes at Jikei Medical University, taught by a Christian professor from Hawaii. He didn't do a lecture- he just introduced the 6 of us (the other half of the team was at Waseda) and then just let us break up into groups and have conversations with the students for the entire class period (an hour and a half each). It was EXHAUSTING, as the students there didn't have the highest level of Japanese, but what a great opportunity! Many students got to hear about the gift of salvation in Christ too.
Ryan had a pretty tough first class- the students he talked with spoke VERY little English, and he was pretty discouraged during lunchtime because of how hard that convo was. So he/we prayed that he would have better English speakers during the 2nd period. Well, not only did he get two girls that spoke much better English, but through their conversation, and Ryan sharing the Gospel with them (with a bit of translating help from Ron, the professor), BOTH of them ended up accepting Christ!! YAAAAAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
That makes three new sisters in Christ this week here in Tokyo! Please be praying for them, as this is a vulnerable and crucial time for them.
Fun With Dylan
#153
Another great day at Gakushuin today. Even though it was raining all day, we all got to make some great friends on campus. And Dylan and I especially had a blessed time as we got to become good friends with a guy named Reki. After a fun conversation that included getting to share with him the basic points of Christianity, I had to take off, and so he and Dylan went off to have coffee for like an hour and a half, and they got to go a lot deeper and Dylan got to share his testimony and such. Keep the prayers coming! It's been a sweet Project so far, and we wanna fight against the enemy trying to get us down! Claiming continued victory in Jesus' name.
Another great day at Gakushuin today. Even though it was raining all day, we all got to make some great friends on campus. And Dylan and I especially had a blessed time as we got to become good friends with a guy named Reki. After a fun conversation that included getting to share with him the basic points of Christianity, I had to take off, and so he and Dylan went off to have coffee for like an hour and a half, and they got to go a lot deeper and Dylan got to share his testimony and such. Keep the prayers coming! It's been a sweet Project so far, and we wanna fight against the enemy trying to get us down! Claiming continued victory in Jesus' name.
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
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