Benjamin McBloggerson

2010-01-09T08:45:00.002+09:00

THIS BLOG HAS MOVED!!

After much deliberation, I have decided to switch blogging servers. My new blog address is:
http://dribbleandpass.wordpress.com/

So...come on over! I've already added some new blog entries and hope that you won't find them too dull. I guess that starting a new year just inspired me to freshen up some things in my blog-life. Look forward to hearing from you, and I pray that you have a great new year!

Ben

2009-08-09T07:53:00.004+09:00

Reconciliation Book Reflections #3: Exclusion and Embrace: A Theological Exploration of Identity, Otherness, and Reconciliation, by Miroslav Volf

I feel significantly impacted in a number of ways by Volf's powerful material. Like many (all?) of us, I inhabit a number of narratives -- two of these narratives that often clash with one another are the story of late modernity and the Christian story. From the beginning of Exclusion and Embrace, Volf helps me gain a piece of clarity between these two stories when he addresses the two dangerous myths I’ve inherited from modernity: “the world can be healed,” and our hope lies in "social control and rational thought.” It is a sobering starting place as we come to realize that both time and the cross reveal the inadequacies of these myths. The importance of this for me is an increasing willingness to let go of humanistic Utopian hopes and to place greater stock/faith in the self-giving love displayed at the cross and in the resurrection of the Crucified.

In regard to Christian mission, I think this has the potential to sharpen our identity and purpose. First of all, as Christians, our identity is not drawn primarily from what we do or how “successful” we are. Rather, our identity is fundamentally rooted in being children of the Triune God who gives of himself to us and who will bring all things to completion in his world of perfect love. In other words, this world is in the hands of a profoundly loving and sovereign God. And therefore it may not be our purpose then to “reach the world for Christ in this generation,” as this is a profoundly modern idea. Rather, we can set the even more challenging goal of practicing self-donation as a community of God’s people called to walk worthy of our calling.

One particular insight in Volf’s chapter on “Exclusion” continues to resurface in my mind during quiet moments and it is this: “Most of us are unwilling to make space for the other because we are so intent on shaping them into who we want them to be. This is violence and exclusion.” I struggle with this thought on a least two levels. First, this characterizes so much of the tension that I experience in my relationships precisely because I become hyper-aware of what I perceive to be character flaws or weaknesses in the other person. Especially when I think of people who are close to me (i.e. immediate family members) I become despondent when I see the futility of my efforts to shape them into who I think they should be. My desperation to shape them indeed leaves little to no space for the other. And yet though I realize this proclivity toward violence and exclusion within myself, I struggle for a new approach and attitude toward these people that I am so intent on changing. How should I strike a balance between “being real” with people and not letting them “walk all over me”?

In struggling with these thoughts, Volf’s suggestion of “double vision” becomes an increasingly attractive, though still very challenging, option. Instead of making change in the other a precondition to embrace, I must begin with a desire to embrace the other. “Double vision” allows me to stand here and there where I reverse perspectives and allow the voices, ideas, and experiences of others to find room for empathy, contemplation and consideration. I will see them and myself from their perspective. I learn about the other and learn what I may have neglected within my own relatively narrow confines of life experience. It is this profound theology of the cross in which Jesus embraced his godless oppressors where I find hope and power to be open to receive others and to see things from their perspective. My willingness to embrace the other will actually lead to a deeper sense of identity since our identities are co-constitutive of each other.

What implications does this have for Christian mission? When in Christ God intends to reconcile all things, not only is he talking about the big picture, but about the small and the local as well. Christians so often get starry-eyed thinking about how they can do great things for God and yet neglect the places of brokenness in their own families. And maybe we neglect to position ourselves for reconciliation in our own families because we know just how truly difficult it will be -- we have intimate, first-hand knowledge that that kind of reconciliation can’t be done. We have become unwilling to make space in ourselves for the other family member because they’ve refused to be shaped into the person we want them to be. However, if we, precisely as Christians, allow the vision of Jesus’ embrace of sinners on the cross to shape us, then learning to practice double-vision within our own families without intention to mold others in our image can become a channel for healing and reconciliation.

2009-08-09T07:49:00.003+09:00

Cover via Amazon

Reconciliation Book Reflections #2: The End of Memory, by Miroslav Volf

Before reading The End of Memory I never thought very deeply about the subject of memory. On a somewhat superficial level I conceded with those whose cry to remember atrocities simply meant that in doing so we were honoring the victims and protecting future victims. However, in reading Volf’s book I have become convinced that, as he says, memories are morally ambiguous and must be redeemed, not just put up with. In chapter three Volf explains that an important component of remembering is remembering truthfully. When we fail to remember truthfully we also commit injustice.

As God’s people who locate ourselves especially with the weak, marginalized, and oppressed of the world, I think that Volf’s work is helpful because it reminds us that solidarity and liberation is only one aspect of the mission God has called us to. If we forget the theological importance of positioning and intervening for reconciliation among the victims of this world, then our attempts at liberation can easily tend toward oppression once then weak have gained power. In our lives with the oppressed, it is the Passion memory that can shape our interaction with those who oppress. The Passion memory teaches us a number of things: 1) to extend unconditional grace, 2) to affirm as valid the claims of justice (these first two translate into the pursuit of forgiveness), 3) to aim for communion, 4) for victims to see themselves also as sinners embraced by God, 5) that any wrongdoing committed against me is already atoned for, and 6) in light of the anticipated final reconciliation, every wrongdoing can be remembered in light of future reconciliation with the wrongdoer. If the Christian community in solidarity with those who suffer live out this story then new communities of reconciliation can be born and cycles of violence will be broken.

Finally, Volf’s explanation of the not-coming-to-mind of wrongs suffered in the world to come is a beautiful vision of hope and freedom, I think. This eschatological vision of the world of perfect love, though speculative, is truly beautiful and something to anticipate. If we know that the memory of wrongs suffered will one day not come to mind, maybe this helps us to release our greedy hold on such memories. I have learned that we remember so that we can forgive and reconcile, and we forgive and reconcile so that we can let go of those memories. In God’s world the purpose of memory is a community of perfect love and embrace.

2009-08-09T07:34:00.007+09:00

Reconciliation Book Reflections #1: Reconciling All Things: A Christian Vision For Justice, Peace and Healing, by Katongole & Rice

Even in the secular world, where most do not live into God’s grand narrative, the desire for reconciliatory studies, programs, and commissions is greatly increasing. Though modernity has promised new levels of peace as our understanding increases this has patently not materialized. Instead we see ever deepening divisions across racial, economic, cultural, religious, and familial lines in such alarming ways that people are crying out for some sort of reconciliatory procedures. But, as the authors point out, without a coherent narrative framework our definitions of reconciliation will lack clarity. And thus we find some of the most prominent notions of reconciliation today to be: 1) reconciliation as individual salvation, 2) reconciliation as celebrating diversity, 3) reconciliation as addressing injustice, and 4) reconciliation as firefighting. The first of these focuses completely on the reconciling relationship between God and humanity without concern for social realities. The second, celebrating diversity, fails to offer a higher vision than of simply celebrating one’s own uniqueness. Reconciliation as addressing injustice is limited when it does not cast a new vision of former enemies restored and living together. And reconciliation as firefighting, often done by “experts,” cannot offer a long-term alternative vision for victim and victimizer embraced.

In contrast to these distorted understandings of reconciliation the authors propose that the concept should be understood as something that emerges out of and is sustained by the story of “the living God of Israel who raised the crucified Jesus from the dead” (42). This story reveals a God who gifts reconciliation to humanity as well as enacts transformation in the world and lives of people. Reconciliation is God’s mission in the world and he calls his church to join him in this costly journey of intimate relationship, worshipful community, belonging to places of pain, forgiveness, and living in the gaps where bridges between former enemies can be built.

The journey toward God’s new creation requires a community that is steeped in the story of Scripture and the life of God. While the church itself is flawed and does not perfectly represent the new reality of all things reconciled, in its life, ministry, and practices it is nonetheless called to be a demonstration plot that points beyond the conflict to an alternative way of living in communion together. If the church is to properly play her role in “reconciling all things,” she must join in conversation with others and be a voice that points to God’s realities beyond the visible (interrupting church). Moreover, the church must have a constant openness to be interrupted by the stranger and the needy. This all points to the fact that the church belongs very much in the material realities of everyday life, revealing that reconciliation is inexplicably tied to incarnational living.

Christian leaders, though they may not even call themselves leaders, also play a significant role in the ministry of reconciliation because they have radically dedicated their lives to the lordship of Jesus Christ. These are men and women who are inspired by a vision of God’s future, see and are disturbed by the gaps of injustice and pain that exist, and then go out of their way to respond to these gaps. One cannot point to the marks of “normal” leadership for these people: efficiency and control. Rather, it is their determination to be faithful, remain in the gaps, respond to the Holy Spirit, suffer with others, and be continually transformed by God in the process that makes them so indispensable for God’s work of “reconciling all things.”

After reading Miroslav Volf’s two works, Exclusion and Embrace and The End of Memory, I found this book to be much more accessible to the “everyday” reader. Although this is a much less “academic” piece of writing I was still a bit surprised that they did not engage any of Volf’s material -- especially his exegetical work regarding the Passion. However, I feel like Katongole and Rice still offer excellent introductory insights on what a Christian vision for reconciliation should and can look like in our world today, a vision that is cogent and accessible enough for passionate followers of Jesus. My guess is that the authors are targeting ministers who are awake to the growing interest in the subject of reconciliation so that these ministers can get this book into the hands of their people.

In their argument the authors do well to show that many prevalent notions of reconciliation are watered down and lack the vision and power that God’s new creation of a community enveloped in shalom inherently evokes. Yes, reconciliation needs a narrative framework, and the authors provide theological grounding for their arguments throughout, using such stories as Creation, Ramah, and the Passion. Still, I would have liked to have seen at least a small bit of work explaining why reconciliation is so central to the biblical narrative. Overall, their argument is strong, though now having read The End of Memory, I feel like the section on “no reconciliation without memory” needs to be nuanced with the insight that there can be no reconciliation without remembering rightly, as Volf would say.

I found the section on the discipline of lament to be especially instructive and powerful. Before we can point out all of the great things about God and a future hope, we must “learn the anguished cry of lament” (77). In order to learn the practice of lament the authors say we need to unlearn three things: speed, distance, and innocence. In unlearning speed we begin to see the places of brokenness, attend to our own local places of pain, and pursue peace and reconciliation without the boastful talk of great deeds. In unlearning distance from suffering we allow ourselves to be “interrupted” by the suffering of others in our daily lives. And when we unlearn innocence it teaches us that the church is also a part of the problem and that we too must be transformed. The practices of pilgrimage, relocation, and confession can help us to engage the discipline of lament. These concrete examples help take reconciliation out of the realm of the esoteric and into simple yet challenging practices that everyone can grasp.

I also appreciate the way that the authors remind us that reconciliation is central to God’s mission, and that God’s mission has a church -- a group of people dedicated to embodying his story of new creation. We need to remember that reconciliation is not just something that individual believers decide to take on. The community of believers is a “demonstration plot” that the world can observe and see that an alternative way of living is possible. If the authors do indeed desire for this book to get into the hands of more and more laypeople, I will be right there along side of them, encouraging others to read this important book.

2009-05-19T10:39:00.008+09:00

Image by Pink Sherbet Photography via Flickr

Reconciliation as Mission

I'm taking a one week summer intensive course called "Reconciliation as Mission" with six other graduate school friends and a great professor who graciously made the trip down from Michigan. We've only just finished day one and I know this class is going to make a life-altering impact on me. One of the books that we have the opportunity to read for the course is titled, "Exclusion and Embrace: A Theological Exploration of Identity, Otherness, and Reconciliation," by Miroslav Volf. Tonight, before I head off to bed, I want to share a passage from this book that I found to be particularly poignant:

"Forgiveness is necessary, but will it suffice? Forgiveness is the boundary between exclusion and embrace. It heals the wounds that the power-acts of exclusion have inflicted and breaks down the dividing wall of hostility. Yet it leaves a distance between people, an empty space of neutrality, that allows them either to go their separate ways in what is sometimes called "peace" or fall into each other's arms and restore broken communion. "Going one's own way" is the boldest dream many a person caught in the vortex of violence can muster the strength to dream. "Too much injustice was done for us to be friends; too much blood was shed for us to live together," are the words that echo all too often in regions wrecked with conflict. A clear line will separate "them" from "us." They will remain "they" and we will remain "we," and we will never include "them" when we speak of "us." Such "clean" identities, living at safe distances from one another, may be all that is possible or even desirable in some cases at certain junctures of people's mutual history. But a parting of the ways is clearly not yet peace. Much more than just the absence of hostility sustained by the absence of contact, peace is communion before former enemies. Beyond offering forgiveness, Christ's passion aims at restoring such communion -- even with the enemies who persistently refuse to be reconciled.

"At the heart of the cross is Christ's stance of not letting the other remain an enemy and of creating space in himself for the offender to come in. Read as the culmination of the larger narrative of God's dealing with humanity, the cross says that despite its manifest enmity toward God humanity belongs to God; God will not be God without humanity. "While we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his son" writes the Apostle Paul (Romans 5:10). The cross is the giving up of God's self in order not to give up on humanity; it is the consequence of God's desire to break the power of human enmity without violence and receive human beings into divine communion. The goal of the cross is the dwelling of human beings "in the Spirit," "in Christ" and "in God." Forgiveness is therefore not the culmination of Christ's relation to the offending other; it is a passage leading to embrace. The arms of the crucified are open -- a sign of space in God's self and an invitation for the enemy to come in." (125-6)

Volf, Miroslav. Exclusion and Embrace: A Theological Exploration of Identity, Otherness, and Reconciliation. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1996.

2009-05-05T04:34:00.006+09:00

Give the Paper to the People

My tall, energetic, funny, and Flight of the Conchords-loving friend, Steven Gist, regaled all of us at Yukari and Daniel's wedding yesterday with his engaging rendition of the song, "Sello Tape." It's a beautiful piece with some moving lyrics:

"Lives are like retractable pencils
If you push them too hard they're gonna break
And people are like paper dolls
Paper dolls and people, they're a similar shape"

The humorous song ends with a flourish:

"People people
People people
Pencil pencil
Pencil pencil
Paper paper
Put the pencil to the paper
Give the paper to the people..."

I suggest you take the time to hear it for yourself and be inspired. I was inspired. I don't have any "paper to give to the people" but I do have some pictures from our life here and thought that'd be a good thing to give to the people.

Our church out in the wild for a weekend camping get-away (above) and worshiping with some friends at a local nursing home (below).

Good times in Abilene with family: Jenise, Jon & Sherwin (LaShae is inside) (above), and hanging with the niece & nephew (below).

Hitting the Austin, TX scene with our "Urban Immersion" MRNA crew, 2009

Erica & the GST Ladies Intramural Volleyball Championship Team

Celebrating our friends, Yukari & Daniel's Wedding

There's been some wonderful times this semester, though it hasn't all been "get-aways" and championships: we also managed to fit in a full load of grad classes and a full time job. It has been a blessed semester and we get to finish it off with a flourish...Cami and Aaron are gonna be stuck together with the tape of love!

2009-04-20T04:23:00.003+09:00

Education is a marvelous thing. Some of us remember our studies better than others, though. Take Barney Fife, one of Erica & my favorite TV characters, as a prime example. What a memory! Maybe this little clip will bring you some joy and remind you that even if you don't remember every thing you study in school, if you have a good friend to read and laugh with you, you're doing okay!

2009-01-14T07:25:00.003+09:00

The One has become Two, and the Two have become One

Different cultures think about the concept of TIME in different ways. In general, Chinese people have a past-orientation when it comes to time. For them, all the great achievements of the world occurred in their history. Also broadly speaking, Mexican people view the world with a present-orientation. This means that more than the past or the future, events that are occurring RIGHT NOW hold the most meaning for them. There are other cultures, such as that of North Americans, who live in the world with a view of time that focuses on the future. We are always looking forward to something, or making plans for some event that has yet to happen. We find it difficult to enjoy the present, and we're constantly told NOT to live in the past. "Time" is a fascinating subject (to me, anyway).
As time passes, it invariably carries CHANGE in its luggage. Allow me to unpack two of those big changes in my life.

The first change is that "the one has become two." My first year as a graduate student studying MISSIONS has come to a close, and I am now beginning my second year. It's hard to believe. This first year in the program has been fantastically challenging and formative. I find myself full of hope as this year begins. My classes are: 1) Theology of Mission, 2) Growth Strategies for Established Churches, and 3) Field Education. In addition, Erica and I will again join the Japanese student Bible study group that meets every Wednesday.

The second, and most exciting change, is that "the two have become one." Erica and I were married this past December 27th in the Prayer Chapel at York College! It was a perfect day, surrounded by family and close friends. Joel Osborne performed our ceremony, which, if I may say, was absolutely beautiful. We hope to make pictures available for people to look at as soon as possible. We want to solicit your prayers as we begin this journey together. We know that it is because of our God, families, friends, and faith community that we have made it this far, and hope that all of you will continue to pray for our marriage even as we are praying for yours.

Finally, know that we are continuing to pray about returning to Japan. Our vision for mission work in Japan is continually shaped and refined as we keep praying and studying. And this is how it should be. Incarnational and cruciform living is far from easy, but it will always be worth the effort. And it is always TIME for us to submit to God and to CHANGE. In this new year, I hope we will all commit to that, together.

Blessings,
Ben

2008-10-08T07:29:00.005+09:00

"Celestial Emporium of Benevolent Knowledge"

What is your favorite animal? I will bet that your favorite animal falls neatly into one of our six animal groups: amphibians, birds, insects, fish, mammals, or reptiles. How convenient! How tidy! But what if we categorized animals differently? ... our categorizations are, after all, human constructs that we've imposed on the world to make sense out of it. In fact, other ways of organizing the animal kingdom do exist. For example, the "Celestial Emporium of Benevolent Knowledge." How's that for a title?! This title represents an ancient Chinese taxonomy of animals. In other words, this is the order in which they categorized animals:

1) Those that belong to the Emperor
2) Embalmed ones
3) Those that are trained
4) Suckling pigs
5) Mermaids
6) Fabulous ones
7) Stray dogs
8) Those that are included in this classification
9) Those that tremble as if they were mad
10) Innumerable ones
11) Those drawn with a very fine camel hairbrush
12) Others
13) Those that have just broken a flower vase
14) Those that resemble flies from a distance

A couple of comments here. First of all, what in the world does #8 mean? Second, common sense would tell me that the category "other" would come at the very end. Hmm. Not so in this case. Finally, if we think that all people organize/categorize the world in the same way that we do here in white, middle-class America we are in for a rude awakening. People organize the world in ways that boggle the mind and frustrate our own categories. The world is a wonderful, fascinating and diverse place. And I just broke a flower vase! Doh.

2008-10-06T02:13:00.004+09:00

Which Comes First?

Here's a little poll for you all to participate in, and give some of your thoughts. There was a little living room gathering I was a part of last week and this question came up, "Which comes first, community or mission?" Hmm. Take a few minutes that ponder that question and its implications for life. Then, place your vote on the cute little poll to the right and leave a comment. Start/join the conversation!

共同体　　　
Community

OR　　

宣教
Mission

2008-08-21T01:43:00.005+09:00

Japanese Students Take Abilene!

Students from Japan's Ibaraki Christian High School descended upon the Abilene Christian University campus this last month in order to practice English and learn American culture.

During the day, the 23 students took classes on subjects such as English conversation, American culture and word processing, as well as received conversation tutoring and attended a daily Chapel service. My job was to organize these chapels from 11:30-11:55 each weekday. These 16 and 17 year-old students describe their experiences of chapel at school as, "boring," and "make me sleepy," so I wanted to engineer chapel in a way that would be interesting and relevant to them. We had several engaging speakers who came, and we had some great conversations about the nature of God, Jesus, the Bible, as well as our own identity. Almost every chapel was crafted around a memorable activity.

Their evening and weekend activities included swimming, movies, miniature golf, the Abilene Zoo, and cook-outs at the park.

High school students from Ibaraki Christian High School, located in Hitachi, Ibaraki, Japan, have been coming to ACU each July for eight years. This year's batch of students are back in Japan now, but I hope to see them the next time Erica and I make the trek across the sea!

2008-07-23T06:11:00.003+09:00

Persecuted as Christians (History cont.)

"The exact motives for the persecution of the Christians are a little difficult to fathom. In part, the position of the Jesuits had been weakened by the arrival of the Franciscans and Dominicans from Manila, and by the manifest lack of unity among the missionaries themselves, still more by the arrival of the 'red heads', the Dutch and British, who lost no opportunity of carrying forward in Japan the feuds which divided their nations in Europe. The most remarkable of the British, Will Adams, who arrived in 1600, lived for many years in Japan and was employed by the shogun as the builder of his fleet. The Jesuits roundly blamed the Spanish Franciscans for the violent reaction against Christianity, and there is reason to think that the rash talk of the latter did suggest to the sensitive Japanese that they were there as forerunners of an army of conquest, and that Christian infiltration would be followed by political occupation. But, when all is said and done, Christians were persecuted because they were Christians and had introduced into Japan a law which turned the world upside down." (136-7)

Neill, Stephen. A History of Christian Missions. London: Penguin Books, 1990.

2008-07-01T11:21:00.004+09:00

Super Sister-in-Law

Erin, my fabulous sister-in-law, had her birthday this last Friday. So this short little tribute is a bit belated but nonetheless heartfelt. Although we've never been able to spend that much time together, I have observed that one of Erin's best qualities is her absolute determination to love people no matter what. Even though people may disappoint her or let her down, Erin is never one to give up on them. It's that sticktoitiveness that, for me, genuinely reflects the character of God that I especially see demonstrated again and again in the Hebrew Bible.

When it comes to being a wife, I've seen that Erin is also tremendously gifted at that thing the NT calls "submitting to one another." Their marriage is and will continue to be a blessing to their children and to so many people who need a living example of a healthy marriage. Erin is also a loving and dedicated mother. All I can say is, "wow." Without spoiling her children she still manages to lavish them with love.

I'm thankful for you, Erin, and I hope you had a great birthday ... you're a super sister-in-law!

2008-06-24T08:49:00.007+09:00

Share Nicely

We should all share. That's why I've added a new section to my blog called, "Ben's Shared Items." This section (found in the right hand column) is dedicated to the sharing of interesting articles especially related to Japan. You may see a few in there unrelated to Japan, but those will be rare. So avail yourselves of this nifty way to stay up-to-date on the happenings of our friends in the Far East. どうぞ、お読みください！

2008-06-22T05:24:00.007+09:00

Some Background on Japanese Missions (Part III)

Xavier stayed some twenty-seven months in Japan. He left behind him three little groups of converts; how much they understood of the Gospel is questionable - they probably imagined themselves to have accepted a new and superior kind of Buddhism. The great thing, however, was that a beginning had been made and the way had been shown. A French scholar, Claude Maitre, has summed up in the following terms what Xavier had achieved:

With remarkable penetration he had grasped the social and political situation in Japan, and had settled on the methods which could ensure success. He had realized that it was both impossible and useless to gain access to the emperor or to the Shogun (Mayor of the Palace); and that on the other hand conversions among the lower classes would never be able to produce a great movement towards the Faith. The only way to secure permanent results was to win over the local rulers with their almost complete independence - this is what the daimyos were at that time - nothing, therefore, must be neglected with might help to win their favour, their confidence, and if possible, their conversion. He had understood that, if this proud, intelligent, logical people, with its passion for disputation, was ever to be won, it would be necessary to send missionaries of the highest quality, flexible enough to adapt themselves to the customs of the country to the limit of what was permitted by their faith, but strong enough in character to fashion their conduct according to the most rigid requirements of the faith which they taught.

Until 1593 the evangelization of Japan was entirely in the hands of the Jesuits. The number of missionaries increased rapidly, and their work was crowned with notable success. The first converts had been from among the poorer classes. In 1563 began the conversion of the daimyos; the first to receive baptism was Omura Sumitada, who remained faithful and active to the end of this life. His example was rapidly followed by others, and in many cases the conversion of the daimyo was followed by that of the majority of his subjects. This did not always take place immediately; in 1571 Sumitada had only 5,600 Christian subjects, but then the mass movement set in , and by 1575 the whole population of the region - amounting in all to more than 50,000 - had become Christian. Of the depth and sincerity of these conversions it is hard to judge. As in the case of other mass movements there were no doubt many weaknesses and shadows, but unquestionably there was in Japan an elite of convinced and devoted Christians.

Daimyo: feudal lords of the provinces, and generals of the Samurai class

In 1579 Japan was visited by Alessandro Valignono (1539-1606), and Italian Jesuit who had been appointed Visitor of all the eastern regions. He left his impress on the Japan mission in three remarkable ways.

He held very strongly the view that in all possible ways, especially in external matters, missionaries ad Christians must adapt themselves to local customs and prejudice. The then Superior of the Mission, Francis Cabral, did not see eye to eye with the Visitor on every point; the crucial issue - one that may seem utterly trivial to the Western reader, unfamiliar with the importance that may attach to such details in an Eastern country - related to the dress of the missionary: should this be of cotton or of silk? Cabral held that cotton was more in accordance with evangelical poverty; Valignano decided in favour of silk, and there can be little doubt that in the circumstances of the time he was right, since a missionary dressed in cotton was inevitably associated in local opinion with the poorer classes and denied access to the wealthy and the influential.

Secondly, Valignano decided that the time had come when selected Japanese should see for themselves the glories of the Christian world of which they had heard from the missionaries. Four young men of noble family in Kyushu were selected to make the hazardous journey to Europe, and set out in 1582 under the care of Valignano and of a Jesuit Father who travelled with them as their tutor. It was not until the year 1590 that they returned to Japan. In the course of their travels they were received by King Philip of Span and by Pope Gregory XIII; such an unusual group of travellers attracted great attention throughout the Christian world.

In the third place Valignano held the view that the time had come for Japanese to be admitted to the priesthood. IN this, needless to say, he was opposed by the redoubtable Cabral. The Japanese, affirmed Cabral, are naturally proud; if they are put on the same level as the Europeans through admission to the priesthood, they will be swept away with intolerable arrogance. But Valignano had his way. A seminary was opened; the statistics for the year 1593 show that in that year fifty-six European priests and eleven lay brothers were active in the mission, and that the seminary had eighty-seven students together with five novices. Most of those who had attached themselves to the Jesuit Order served as dojuku, catechists of a higher order; only those were admitted to this rank who had taken the vow of celibacy and had pledged themselves to serve the mission till the end of their lives. In 1601 there were no less than 250 dojuku, but none had yet been ordained to the priesthood, for the simple reason that there was no bishop in Japan. A Jesuit had been appointed Bishop of Funai in 1587, but had died on the way. His successor, Pedro Martinez, arrived in Nagasaki on 14 August 1596, but found the mission in such confusion, through rivalries between between the Portuguese and the Spaniards who had recently come in from Manila, that he decided to return to Rome and seek guidance, and died on the voyage. Fortunately he had been provided with a suffragan bishop, Luiz de Cerquira, and it was he who on 22 September 1601 carried out the first ordination of Japanese priests. One was a secular; two were Jesuits - Sebastian Chimura, and Aloysius Niabara from Nagasaki; of these the former died as a martyr on 10 September 1622.

Tokugawa Ieyasu

For in the meantime a complete change had taken place in the political situation of Japan, and also in the situation of the Christian Church, which by the end of the century was reckoned to have 300,000 baptized believers. The chaos of the period of the daimyos was about to pass away. By about 1590 the first of the new centralizing rulers, Hideyoshi, had managed to subject the whole of Japan to his control, and was thus the first ruler for 500 years to bring the country once again to unity. He was followed after the brief reign of his son Hiyadori, by Ieyasu (1542-1616) and Iemitsu (1603-51), under whom persecution of the Christians reached such a level of ferocity that the flourishing work of half a century was demolished and the Christian problem solved by the death or apostasy of almost all the believers." (134-6)

Neill, Stephen. A History of Christian Missions. London: Penguin Books, 1990.

2008-06-10T08:38:00.005+09:00

Some Background on Japanese Missions (Part II)

"The missionaries suffered severely from the cold -- they had no idea in advance what a Japanese winter could be like. They had difficulty in getting enough to eat. They wrestled with the daunting difficulties of language:

Now we are like so many strange statues amongst them, for they speak and talk to us about many things, whilst we, not understanding the language, hold our peace. And now we have to be as little children learning the language.

They gradually became aware of the imperfections of Yajiro's translations, in particular of the harm wrought by his choice of the wholly inappropriate Buddhist term Dainichi to represent 'God' -- a difficulty the missionaries then dodged by simply introducing Portuguese terms into Japanese to represent the Christian ideas. And yet friendship and understanding did develop, and in spite of all disappointments Xavier never lost his feelings of respect for the Japanese. In a letter of 5 November 1549 he writes:

Firstly the people whom we have met so far are the best who have as yet been discovered, and it seems to me that we shall never find among heathens another race to equal the Japanese. They are a people of very good manners, good in general, and not malicious; they are men of honour to a marvel, and prize honour above all else in the world.... They are a people of very good will, very sociable and very desirous of knowledge; they are very fond of hearing about the things of God, chiefly when they understand them.... They like to hear things propounded according to reason; and, granted that there are sins and vices among them, when one reasons with them, pointing out that what they do is evil, they are convinced by this reasoning.

These early contacts with the Japanese produced a change in Xavier's understanding of the nature of Christian missionary work which was to be of the greatest significance for the whole future of the enterprise. In earlier years he had been inclined to accept uncritically the doctrine of the tabula rasa -- the view that in non-Christian life and systems there is nothing on which the missionary can build, and that everything must simply be levelled to the ground before anything Christian can be built up. This was the general view of the Spanish missionaries in Latin America and the West Indies; in his dealings with the simple and illiterate fishers in South India, Xavier had seen no reason to modify it. But now that he was confronted by a civilization with so many elements of nobility in it, he saw that, while the Gospel must transform and refine and recreate, it need not necessarily reject as worthless everything that has come before. This new idea was to be fruitful in results -- and also in controversies." (132-3)

Neill, Stephen. A History of Christian Missions. London: Penguin Books, 1990.

2008-06-06T23:23:00.005+09:00

Some Background on Japanese Missions (Part I)

"Basque Francis Xavier (1506-52) was to become the most famous of all Roman Catholic missionaries. To a passionate but disciplined nature, profound devotion, and an eager longing for the salvation of souls, Xavier added the wide outlook of the statesman and the capacity of the strategist for organization on a large scale.

Xavier, whose commission from king and Pope extended to the whole of the East, spent some months in this region (Malacca) in 1546 and 1547. But his eager mind was already ranging onwards, and was filled with thoughts of Japan.

Japan had for some centuries been unknown to the West only through the somewhat imaginative eyes of Marco Polo, who had never been there:

Chipangu is and Island towards the east in the high seas, 1,500 miles distant from the continent; and a very great Island it is. The people are white, civilized, and well-favoured. They are Idolaters and are dependent on nobody. And I can tell you the quantity of gold they have is endless.... Moreover all the pavement of the Palace, and the floors of its chambers, are entirely of gold, in plates like slabs of stone, a good two fingers thick; and the windows also are of gold, so that altogether the richness of this Palace is past all bounds and belief.

It seems that the first contact in historical times was made by a group of Portuguese mariners, who in 1542 were driven far out of their course by a storm and found themselves on the shores of the unknown land.

A certain Anjiro (Yajiro), who had killed a man in Japan, had escaped from justice and by devious ways had made his way to Goa (India). There Xavier met him in 1548, and learned from him something of the was of his country:

I asked him whether, if I went back with him to his country, the Japanese would become Christians, and he said that they would not do so, until they had first asked me many questions and seen how I answered and how much I knew. Above all they would want to observe if I lived in conformity with what I said and believed. If I did those two things, answered the questions to their satisfaction and so demeaned myself that they could find anything to blame in my conduct, then, after knowing me for six months, the king, the nobility, and all other people of discretion would become Christians, for the Japanese, he said, are entirely guided by the law of reason.

It is not surprising that the soul of Xavier became inflamed by the desire to preach the Gospel to this superior people. It was with high hopes that at last, on 15 August 1549, after many perils passed, he landed - together with two Jesuits and Yajiro and his Japanese attendants - at the port of Kagoshima, Yajiro's native town.

Mt. Kaimon-dake, Kagoshima, southern Japan

Yajiro proved indeed to be a broken reed: he had very little knowledge of his own country; he was not a highly educated man; his efforts at the translation of Christian terms into Japanese was to lead the missionaries into errors, which they were later to sorely rue, and his character was far from being altogether admirable. But the moment of the arrival of the missionaries was on the whole propitious. Japan was passing through a period of grave political disorder; there was no central authority, and the land was divided up among 250 daimyos, local rulers, each of whom claimed full authority in his own dominions. The country was open to the foreigner. The Japanese were eager for trade, and were especially interested in guns, which, once acquired, they set to work to copy in their own arsenals, with the remarkable Japanese capacity for imitation. Buddhism was in discredit; there was no strongly established form of national religion to resist the preaching of the Gospel, and there was genuine openness to new ideas." (127, 131-2)

Neill, Stephen. A History of Christian Missions. London: Penguin Books, 1990.

2008-06-04T03:56:00.004+09:00

My Sister, Jenise

This is my sister, Jenise and her husband Jon Henri and their son, Malachi. Jenise continues to ride the wave of time and has landed herself another year older. Happy Birthday, sis!

I am so proud of my sister. Where others would have become bitter and angry, Jenise has persevered through trials and become even more beautiful, kind, loving, generous, hospitable, and full of faith.

She also graduated from college this year, another testament to her persevering spirit. I remember that I used to make fun of her drawings as a child (what a brother!), but she never gave up and finished with her degree in graphic design! After being out of the country for so long I'm so thankful to be living close to Jenise and her family. You're amazing, Jenise, and I love you!

2008-06-01T08:53:00.004+09:00

Time to Towell Off?

Nope, it was time to Towell on this past week (and weekend) with Erica's family coming down to visit us in Abilene. Our friends were wonderfully hospitable and hosted Jay and Melanie, while Nathan crashed at my bach pad and Cami and the dogs rested their weary bones with Erica. We enjoyed house church, toured campus, swam in Erica's pool, went to Hurricane Harbor in Dallas, had a photo shoot at Jacob's Dream, and had good ol fashion lazy hang out time together. Good times!

"Welcome, welcome one and all to the Williams Performing Arts Center at Abilene Christian University!" - Jay Towell

Erica braves the "million mile drop off from the sky" ride at Hurricane Harbor. If you don't cross your ankles on this one, you are in for a major wedgie.

From L to R: Ben, Melanie, Jay, Erica, Cami, and Nathan. There are also some angels in the background but I'm not sure what their names are.

After the water park, we definitely had to towel off ... but when we had to see the Towells off, we were not ready to let them go. But, if Jay follows his own traveling advise, which is, "drive really fast," then we know they got home soon and most likely we'll see them again before we know it. Miss you guys ... thanks for coming!

2008-03-20T01:33:00.005+09:00

The Wednesday Night Gang

Wednesday night is a gathering of Japanese friends (and some white people, too). We studied a little bit about the covenants of the Old Testament recently, and acted the stories out. It was a lot of fun and interesting to see the tremendous acting skills of the people in our group!

2008-02-22T11:29:00.003+09:00

The Life of Study

Going back to the classroom is a strange yet invigorating feeling. Strange because I'm in the world of books, notes, lectures and homework again. Invigorating because I am learning things about Scripture and ministry that I have never known before. It is a stretching, challenging and wonderful time. My professors are extremely knowledgeable and caring. I am encouraged by my classmates' passion for learning.

Just as I had hoped, a fascinating aspect to my studies is the filter through which I apply newly acquired knowledge. I can see through the lens of my experiences in Japan. I am better able to understand what we did well, what could use improvement, and what we need to change completely. Even this is a simplistic explanation, but point is that I have a filter that gives significant meaning to the courses I am taking, and for that I am extremely thankful. Once again, here is a list of my courses this semester:

Introduction to Graduate Studies
This course is designed to introduce the basic tools of theological research and to promote the basic writing skills necessary for the presentation of scholarly research. I can't imagine taking graduate courses without first acquiring these tools. It has been extremely helpful for research and writing.

Advanced Introduction to New Testament
Special introduction to the books of the New Testament. At this point we have explored Mark, Matthew, Luke, Acts, I & II Thessalonians and I & II Corinthians. The rich background material of these books illuminates these beloved works that we have based our lives on.

Narrative Evangelism
This course provides a theological orientation to the task of evangelism. The class builds on the assumption that the gospel has certain instincts with regard to evangelism and its interaction with culture. Special attention is given to the implications of gospel and culture for the presentation of the gospel.

As some of you may have heard, Erica is now working in as an Administrative Assistant in the Graduate School of Theology. She is really loving her work (and doing a great job, too!). We are so thankful to God for providing in this way!

I am also a part of a Wednesday night Japanese Bible study that Erica Towell, Jonathan and Michiko Straker are also a part of. There have been about 10 Japanese students that attend each week. We are studying the major covenants that God makes with the Israelites in the Old Testament.

Holy Father, we praise you for who you are. Thank you for your matchless love and for your kingdom. Thank you for Jesus and for your church.
Be glorified as we follow the guidance of your Holy Spirit and are faithful to the gifts and calling that you have given us.

2007-11-22T13:25:00.000+09:00

House of Prayer

Read a short little thought-provoking article on prayer the other day. I know which category most of the churches that I've been a part of fall into, and not only that, but also on a personal level how my own prayer life has at times looked like each one of these.

The guy who wrote this article, Jonathan Graf, says, "When I consider the typical prayer levels in various churches, I see most fitting into one of three models.

Church A: is a church that hardly recognizes the importance of prayer to its ministry. It may give lip service to it by opening meetings in prayer, having a pastoral prayer in the worship service, and holding special prayer meetings from time to time for important issues. Prayer, however, is largely outside of the ministry. There may even be a few people praying for the church and its ministries, but they are not specifically given requests and are not recognized as a ministry of the church.

Church B: recognizes that prayer is important. It wants to see things prayed for and wants to provide die-hard intercessors with a place to plug in. It recognizes prayer as a ministry of the church, much like youth or music. People who have an inner burden for prayer are involved, but not many others.

Church C: believes that nothing lasting will happen apart from prayer. It believes that prayer needs to permeate every ministry of the church. Every ministry must be prayed for, and prayer must be a significant part of each ministry. Virtually everyone in the church is involved in prayer."

(Compiled and Edited By Jonathan Graf and Lani C. Hinkle)

Do you recognize your church somewhere in these descriptions? This article is part of a book called, "My House Shall be a House of Prayer." It was sitting on the back of the toilet of a dear friend. I flushed when I read it. Why? Because I want my life and my church to be just like "Church C."

2007-11-11T10:57:00.001+09:00

"A Furlough Note"

The streets and lawns of York lie beneath a blanket of gold. The colors, the smells, the weather and the feelings of this season fall upon my shoulders lightly, like the arm of a good friend. I am content and full of thankfulness. It has been a wonderful furlough thus far. My travels over the past month have taken me through Texas, Washington, Ontario, Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma and Nebraska. Time with friends and family has been rich. Though sharing about what God has done through us in Sendai is often difficult to fully explain, many people have been eager to listen, to encourage, and to continue to catch the vision for sharing the gospel with the Japanese. What a blessing.

Several people have asked if I've felt any reverse culture shock. The answer is "yes," and "it's coming." Although it hasn't been bad, there are times where can tell how much I have adjusted to life in Japan and that I will need to re-adjust to communication styles and patterns here in North America. Trusted mentors have shared with us that reverse culture shock is more difficult that "regular" culture shock. I'm not really looking forward to that, but knowing that it's coming is half the battle. And culture shock really isn't that bad when you are with loving and trusted friends, sharing life over a cup of hot java!

Today I will be traveling from York to Hastings, Nebraska. Tomorrow I will teach a class and preach/report on the Sendai work. From there I'll head to Bettendorf, Iowa to see family and report to another congregation. After about 10 days I'll travel up to Janesville, Wisconsin and then on to Woodbury, Minnesota. I'll then hop in the car and scoot on down to Longmont, Colorado to pick up Erica and we will make our way down to Abilene, Texas. Whew! Please pray for my safety in all of these travels.

Prayer Requests

a. Travel & Reporting: Please pray for safe travels and that I can clearly communicate to supporters what the Lord has been doing through us in Japan.

b. Debi & Sasha: Debi is teaching kindergarten in Sendai and Sasha is settling into life in Japan. Please pray for them in this transition, that God will strengthen and encourage their hearts.

c. Jon, Michiko & Hijiri: They will be in Abilene the 16th of this month. Pray that God will help them transition to a new life in Texas, and that He will guide them with wisdom and bless them with joy and strength.

d. Erica: Ask God to bless, renew and empower Erica. Petition the Father that He will help her in her work and use her as salt and light in the work place. Pray that He will prepare her heart and her family for her move to Texas.

e. Joel: Petition God for peace and safety for Joel. May the rest of his time State-side be blessed, and may God use his time of Asia-based training to bless the nations.

f. Crimsen: May God be her constant rock of strength and salvation. Pray for her mother's health and recovery. Pray for continual encouragement of the Spirit and for God to be glorified in their lives.

g. Sendai People: Pray that God will give the wisdom and guidance of His Holy Spirit to the Christians in Sendai. May he strengthen them in their inner spirit. May He use them to His great glory. And pray for the non-Christians as they continue to seek the God who seeks them.

h. Financial & Prayer Support: Many of you understand that the mission God has called us to in Japan is not finished. This period of study and training is simply a part of the whole. For that reason I'm requesting that people and churches will continue their faithful prayer and financial support. I praise God for all of you who have supported me through these years ... you know that our work in the Lord has not been in vain! Thank you. Our God is so awesome and faithful. Pray that people, and that may include yourself, will continue to partner with me to extend the gospel to the beautiful unreached of Japan.

i. Graduate School: Please pray for me as I will be transitioning from full time ministry to student life. I will be beginning a 54 hour Masters of Missions this coming January.

2007-09-14T20:52:00.001+09:00

GRE: Guiling Recondite Examination

Recently released research indicates that studying for the GRE is not as thrilling as some in nerdy circles have assumed it to be. It is simply noisome. Well, it may not be that bad, but for one who hasn't had his nose in any book besides something relating to Japan, the Bible, or Harry Potter for the past few years it's acting like a soporific agent upon my mental faculties.

Therefore, I have decided to take a short break and share with you a sampling of the vocabulary with which these GRE test makers delight in torturing us with.

LACONIC

MISANTHROPE

DESICCATE

ameliorate

INCHOATE

panegyric

RECALCITRANT

eRsAtZ

PUSSILLANIMOUS

Well ... how'd it go? If you know at least one of those monsters up there, I'd say you're doing pretty well (sorry if I underestimated you!). I surely don't pretend to have mastered all these words yet. Let me tell you, still remaining are copious amounts of vocab to cram into my cranium. My test date is set for three weeks from today. Still to be studied: the quantitative and analytical test sections. Maybe I'll give you sampling of those too, when I get there. Are you agog at the prospect?!

2007-09-13T22:40:00.001+09:00

He'll Do Whatever It Takes

I was out running in the gray-green shadows of my neighborhood this evening, listening to worship music on my ipod shuffle and hoping that I could make it to the top of the hill without keeling over. It turned out to be a wonderfully intense time of worship. As I was showering up afterward, several different people that I love came to mind, and then, for whatever reason, this song began to stir in my soul. I don't know the current situation of all those I was thinking of, but I do know that we all need to be reminded of God's relentless love quite often. The song is called, "He'll Do Whatever It Takes."

Verse 1
"You don't know just how far away from home I've been,"
She said as she looked into my eyes.
"Could it be I've strayed behind mercy's outstretched hand,
And now His grace no longer stoops to hear my cry?
You see, I just want to know, tell me how far will He go?
Will He still reach to me in spite of where I've been?"
And I told her...

Chorus
He'll do whatever, whatever it takes
His grace reaches lower than your worst mistakes
And His love will run father than you can run away, my friend
He'll do whatever, whatever it takes
He'll do whatever it takes.

Verse 2
"They say His love is patient, that He always hears a prayer,
And that His love will follow you despite the miles.
My best years of life I've wasted - why would He even really care?
What have I to give that He would find worthwhile?
You see, I just want to know, tell me how far will He go?
Will He still reach to me in spite of who I am?"
Let me tell you...

(Chorus)

Bridge
He'll just keep reaching, until He finds a way
To bring you back to where you belong.
Come on back home.

(Chorus)

If this song has spoken to you, don't let it end there ... run into Mercy's outstretched arms, and let Him bring you back to where you belong.

Grace and peace to you.

2007-04-03T20:14:00.002+09:00

"Angkor of Faith: Share our Story & Sing to His Glory"
Christians from Japan, Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Canada, U.S.A., & Australia descend upon Siem Reap, Cambodia, for an International Christian Camp & Street Children Outreach.

Eyes opened. Hearts impacted. Lives changed. Without a doubt, taking a group of twelve Japanese young adults (four of them non-Christians) to Cambodia for what we called, "Angkor of Faith: Share our Story & Sing to His Glory," was by far one of the most incredible things that God, in His wisdom, put on our hearts to accomplish.

First of all, some of the "specs" of this mission trip:

*70 people, 8 countries represented.
*Daily Equipping Sessions: ("Preparing Your Hearts For This Week: Character is not a Surface Issue," "Missions 101: The Basics of Mission Work," "Let's Run the Race Together: Envisioning Asians to Expand the Kingdom Together," "Returning Renewed: Applying this Experience to Our Lives & Churches Back Home," "Knowing Who You Want To Be For God: Being Intentional About Growing & Helping Others Grow.")
*Street Kids Outreach: Ranging in age from 7 years to 18 years old, these are children who generally have homes and families, yet spend hours and hours each day on the street selling books, postcards, and bracelets to help support their family or so they can attend English school. Communication with them was in English, as most of them can at least speak a little. The Cambodian missionaries made a flier that we handed out to the children, inviting them to come and eat free food and enjoy some fun activities with us.

*Home Groups & International Groups: "Home Groups" are the people from your home nation. The purpose is to speak within your own heart language what you are experiencing and to discuss how you will apply these things upon returning home. "International Groups" are people from each of the different countries getting together to share the story of their faith & lives.
*Singing Class: For an hour each day, Jonathan & Joel taught us four songs (Shout to the Lord, God is Here, I Praise You Lord, and Ode Yen Koh) that we took to the streets and sang for the children & all the passersby (click here for the recordings: http://www.eggma.org/music/S2S4A/ ).
*Cultural Spots: Visits to Angkor Wat, Tonle Sap Lake & The Landmine Museum gave us a deeper appreciation of the Cambodians history, living conditions, and current challenges. Some of us were also able to visit children's homes and one of the schools.
*Evening Devotionals: Young adults lead these devotionals, as we focused on the theme, "Lord, I Want To Know You More." Surprisingly, some of the street children began to come to the devotionals from the second day on. They became regulars with us in just about everything we were doing.

Secondly, a story:

On the first day, we went out and met the street kids, gave them fliers and told them to invite their friends. There was lots of just hanging out and trying to get to know them. Some of them remembered those of us who came last year. They especially remembered Robert. That touched me. Of all the thousands of tourists that come through, how did they remember Robert? When we were in Siem Reap for the Asian Missions Forum, Robert would go down to the market to meet the kids. There he would talk with them, affirm them, and spend time with them. Is that so rare -- for someone to cut through all the "shop talk" and get to know who they are?

These children experience an adult life – a business of selling from noon to 1am, and most of that rejection from tourists. The rejection is easy to understand because these children are relentless in their tactics to get you to buy their “something.” People that come to Siem Reap simply want to buy a souvenir or relax in a restaurant, not be bothered by these children. I even saw one guy violently shake off a kid who was hanging on his arm as he yelled, “Get away from me!” Can you imagine being one of these children? And in the midst of all that, someone comes and talks to you. He has all kinds of questions about you. He compliments you, “Your English is very good!” He tells you that you have great potential. He says that you don’t have to sell books your whole life. You can be a tour guide, or work in a fancy hotel someday. He laughs with you and plays a game with you. He comes back the next day and the two of you talk. He talks to the other kids, too, and seems to enjoy them. He buys shirts for everyone and everyone wears their shirt from “Uncle Robert.” It’s a cup of cold water to a small child. You don’t forget something like that. They didn’t forget Robert, and since Robert brought some of us along, they remembered us too. For some reason last August, some of the children called me “Harry.” When we went back this time, a girl was asking Robert, “Where’s Harry?” Robert, in turn, asked me, “Who’s ‘Harry’?” And I remembered. Wow! How could they recall after so many people had been in and out of their city? Later I shared these thoughts with my Home Group. It occured to me: although many had been through their city, only a few people had been in their lives.

Our time in Cambodia was dwindling to a few precious hours. Ten children joined us in the upper balcony of our lodge for one final devotional together. "What song do you want to sing?" we asked. "Number one!" they said, and started to sing it, "Lord, I want to know you more...." There was crying from the very beginning. Ray, a young boy from Vietnam, tried to keep it light by making jokes, but it just turned into a strange mixture of tears and laughter. One boy was holding on to Joel, sobbing. Another little girl, Srey, collapsed into Judith's arms, a continual stream of tears running down her face. Earlier, one of the girls had said, "I miss you all. When you come back?" Now, emotions were raw because parting was so near. Jonathan said to them, "You know that we didn't come here just to buy something. We came here for you." "We know," a couple of kids managed to say. "We have to leave tomorrow," Jonathan continued, "but we want you to know that Jesus loves you and he will never leave you."

Thirdly, and finally, more on Cambodia:

Jonathan began a website called, "Shoulder 2 Shoulder 4 Asia." This is a place where you can see more stories from Cambodia, hear our song recordings, see pictures, and so much more! To view, click on http://s2s4a.com/ and continue to be inspired by what God has done, is doing, and will do! Thank you to all who were so diligent in prayer for this life-changing mission.

"Then Jesus declared, 'I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.'" John 6:35

2007-03-23T19:19:00.001+09:00

Angkor of Faith & Share our Story 2007: Pictures

First stop of the trip, Singapore. Arrival time, 1:00am! Here we have from L to R, Yoshinori, Takeshi, Joel, Ben, and Hikaru.
Since we had a five hour lay-over in Changi Airport (Singapore) we made the most of our time by chatting and sleeping (see Jon sprawled out in the back and the girls below ... no, they're not praying! Ha!)

Gaku and Akira doing their best to stay awake!Finally made it into Cambodia! Here we are walking out of Siem Reap Airport ... Hikaru, Takeshi, Akira, Jon, Yuko, Gaku, Akiko, Erisa, and Yoshinori. The words, "Cambodia" and "hot" will forever be linked in my mind!

Our first meal in Cambodia, and boy is Yoshinori pumped! My International Group: Kind of hard to see everyone, but, we have Hanna (Japan), Jenny and Ghan (Thailand), Kong Jo & Charlotte (Malaysia), and Jacob (Singapore). This group rocked! We called ourselves the "Baby Booya Team."

Ooh, is it time for the leader's meeting in the morning already? It was an honor to work with such a talented group of people who long for God to be glorified. Thank you all!

This man was one of the hosts at our guest house. He is getting our daily water supply ready. They were always working hard for us.

On Wednesday, it was the Thailand team's turn to prepare the lunch meal for everyone (including the children). Ghan, Jenny and Pui are enjoying the work!

And then, before you knew it, the children were upon us! We went out into the street to invite the kids to eat with us and play games. As the week progressed, many of these children became our friends.

Erisa and a young boy enjoying food the Japan team prepared.

Akiko was especially gifted with the quiet children. In the "coloring corner" there were always lots of kids showing their artistic talent.

Cows being driven along is a daily sight in Siem Reap.

On our sightseeing day we had the opportunity to visit places like Angkor Thom and Angkor Wat.

This lady is offering prayer incense to Sara-chan so that she can use it to worship at the idols. We kindly refused such offers and prayed for these people instead.

During some free time I was able to seek out a friend I made at last year's AMF. This is Kon Keah (in the green shirt). He remembered us and we had an enjoyable reunion.

On our day to Angkor Wat, one of the kids took me to see his home and meet his family. His school was also nearby, so we stopped in for a peek at the daily lessons.

Some of us also had the chance to visit Rey's family. Rey is the little boy right in front of me. Rey's father is a builder and Rey sells books after school to provide for their family, who is actually from Vietnam.

This was a common sight ... surround by the beautiful children of Cambodia. Moak, on my left, and Mun, on my right, are especially tender-hearted boys. I miss them!

If you look closely you can see that these children have been crying. It was our last night in Siem Reap, and a tearful one it was. It was so hard to say goodbye. We had no idea that God would bond us together like He did! Father, protect and bless these dear children. Reflections from this trip are still to come. Just wanted to post these to give you an idea of some of the things we experienced. Stay tuned and also check out Joel's blog for more!

2007-02-21T17:21:00.001+09:00

A Cornucopia If You Will

CORNUCOPIA

Etymology: Late Latin, from Latin cornu copiae horn of plenty.

1 : a curved goat's horn overflowing with fruit and ears of grain that is used as a decorative motif emblematic of abundance

2 : an inexhaustible store : ABUNDANCE

The word cornucopia resounds with color and meaning. I love the images of fruits and grains, shapes and textures, abundance and variety. The Giver of Good Gifts has abudantly blessed me with laughter and rich life experiences. Why don't you go ahead and take a look at a few of the blessings that have spilled out of my cornucopia recently?

HIJIRI GIDEON STRAKER

Jon and Michiko's beautiful baby, Hijiri, is one of the most wonderful blessings in our lives! We were able to celebrate his first birthday this past January up in Hokkaido. When Hijiri got his first bite of cake (first bite of sugar!) he was forever ruined for the ordinary!

Crawling around!! This cute little tyke can take about five steps on his own now.

Talking to friends on the cell phone. He's actually called me a couple of times!

Hanging out with the monkeys at Yagiyama zoo.

OXYMORON?

"How funny is that?!" I said to Joel on the way to our neighborhood
7-11.

"What?"

I pointed to a guy in white clothes meandering down the sidewalk. "That doctor. See? He's smoking! Is that an oxymoron or what? A smoking doctor. Ha!"

Joel didn't miss a beat. "Yeah, that is funny. I guess it's kind of like a sinning missionary!"

FRESH TOWELLS
Erica's family came for two weeks in November and boy did we have a blast! Not only are Jay, Melanie, Cami and Nathan just really great, but it was so cool to see Japan and the mission here through their fresh perspectives. We did so much stuff together I can't remember it all ... but, I do remember that we laughed A LOT and enjoyed some really special moments together. And I guess that's the key word, together. They love being together with one another, and together with others. I'm glad I could be together with them.

It's a family thing: if there's not enough room on the chair, they sit on each other!

Erica, Cami & Melanie - The ladies in blue, surrounded by green, in Matsushima.

Jay loved this. He's pretty much taller than any doorway and constantly had to be avoiding "mishaps." We took several of these types of pictures ... here's one at our front door.

Saying goodbye at the airport. It's so hard to say goodbye, yet they look so happy!

INTERNATIONAL CHRISTMAS

No one could say it wasn't unique. Trying figuring that sentence out if you're not a native English speaker. And several of our Christmas guests weren't. They were Swedish, Chinese, Thai, and Japanese. (We also had Canadians and United Statesians.) 12 people. Hours of food, fun, and fellowship. Presents galore and hearts full of thanks.

Rumiko (Japan), Hijiri (Japan and N.America) and Gae (Thailand). It's Christmas morning!

Above: Bjorn the Bear. Also known as "Our Swedish Friend." Some say he's my twin.
Next Picture: Shi (China) and Erica (US). Sisters in Christ sitting in the sun.

Dan (US) and Joel (Canada) neighbors geographically and neighbors on the couch.

I think that this could be a Christmas card, Michiko (Japan), the Xmas tree, stocking and cell.

Jon (Canada/US) is about to find out what he got for Christmas ... it's ... ski goggles!

And here we have our other Canadian friend and fellow missionary, Judith.

WRAPPING IT UP
Well folks, that's about all I can pull out of the horn of plenty for now. There's definitely more. So I'm going to ask you to stand by while I go eat some delicious lasagna! It's eatin time!

2007-02-08T20:58:00.000+09:00

I Worship You

I worship you, Almighty God
There is none like you.
I worship you,

O Prince of Peace
That is what I want to do
I give you praise

for you are my righteousness
I worship you, Almighty God
There is none like you.

"Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks."

Father, draw us deeper, deeper, deeper into your heart. We long to be true worshippers. As we worship you for who you are, may your Holy Spirit set our souls aflame, and may you feel the heat of our awe, contrition, love, joy, obedience, and adoration. In Jesus name, amen.

2007-01-23T22:33:00.000+09:00

What a crew! (We miss you, Crim!) This was Joel's birthday night (Dec.30) in Sapporro. Here's some "traditional" Japanese culture for you ... pri-cula (no, not dracula). It's short for "picture club," or something like that. We squeezed into this little box that takes our picture. Who says missionaries can't have fun?!

2007-01-23T22:20:00.000+09:00

Pictures of the Living
The hazardous, adventurous life of the Thessalonian believers and us

Thessalonica, founded in 315 BCE, was the chief city of the Roman province of Macedonia (now part of Greece). At the apostle Paul’s visit, about 200,000 people lived in this thriving center of culture and trade. After getting out of prison in Philippi, sometime in the year 50, Paul and his companions made their way to Thessalonica. The book of Acts mentions that Paul was there only three weeks and that his main activity was teaching in the Jewish synagogue. The Christian converts were some of the Jews, a large number of God-fearing Greeks and quite a few prominent women. Both the book of Acts and this letter to the believers in Thessalonica reveals that Paul suffered some sort of persecution and had to leave Thessalonica suddenly. Going on to Athens, Paul sends Timothy back to Thessalonica to check on the community of believers. Timothy then returns and meets up with Paul in Corinth. Responding to Timothy’s report and their questions, Paul now writes this letter sometime in late 50 or early 51. First Thessalonians is significant, therefore, as the earliest document in our New Testament and as the first letter, a form of communication that became important in our collection of New Testament writings.

The other night, I sat down on the couch and turned the TV on to the National Geographic channel. There was a very interesting show on about people who work in hazardous occupations. My favorite person was the adventure photographer. She is a small German woman who is smart, determined and tough. I don't remember her name, but I will call her Brigitta. Brigitta will only attempt the most exotic and dangerous expeditions in order to take the rare photos that she loves. The narrator of this TV program informed us that Brigitta loves her work so much that she actually invested 100,000 euros of her own money for a special photo-shoot opportunity in Papua New Guinea. You see, Brigitta had heard about the unique burial rituals of one particular tribe that uses smoke to preserve the bodies as long as possible. The bodies are left hanging in wooden cages right within the village! After months of research and preparation, Brigitta packs her bags, ready for her newest challenge. As she enters this world-out-of-time, she faces time set-backs, malaria-infested woods, camping in an environment with poisonous snakes and spiders, raging rivers, and the possibility of hostile natives. Brigitta was challenged not only physically, but mentally as well, since no one actually had hard proof that the people she's looking for truly existed! In the end, it was her deep love for her work that compelled her to continue her quest. Though she was lead down several false paths, Brigitta finally found what she had been looking for – these fascinating people. And you should have seen the look on her face! Every last euro, every last hardship and danger had been worth it. The TV camera showed Brigitta with a great big smile on her face, snapping picture after picture. She had her treasure!
I want to use Brigitta's story to highlight three themes that are so important to us and that Paul brings out in his letter to the Thessalonians. In 1 Thessalonians 1:3 it says, "We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ."

1. The first major thing is Faith – faith that produces action.
Somehow Brigitta had heard about the unique tribe in Papua New Guinea. She was so fascinated that she decided to take months to research and prepare for this incredible adventure. Although this was something she had never seen, she believed it was there and all of her subsequent actions were a result of her faith.
If you truly have faith, then you will have purposeful action. Your faith will move you to action, and your action will show that you truly have faith. James 2:17, "…faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead." Do you know how important faith is? In these five short chapters the word faith is mentioned 8 times. Paul didn’t ask how many people were in the church, he didn’t ask if they had a preacher or not, and he didn’t ask about their social status. He wanted to make sure that they were standing firm in their faith. And although the faith of these believers had become well known, he was worried that in the face of persecution their faith would become weak. What if the social pressure was too much? What if they forgot about God’s awesome power and became afraid to witness to their family and friends? He wrote, "For this reason, when I could stand it no longer, I sent Timothy to find out about your faith. I was afraid that in some way the tempter might have tempted you and our efforts might have been useless (3:5).” Paul wants to know about one thing – the state of their faith. In the next verse he says, "But Timothy has just now come to us from you and has brought good news about your faith and love... Therefore, brothers, in all our distress and persecution we were encouraged about you because of your faith. For now we really live, since you are standing firm in the Lord." 3:6-8

The Thessalonians were so deeply changed by the love, truth and grace of Jesus that 1:8 says, "The Lord's message rang out from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia—your faith in God has become known everywhere." This wasn't something that they believed and hid in a closet somewhere. Their faith came out in action such as turning away from idols to serve the true and living God. And it was so good that they were telling everyone about it, and people were seeing the purity and love that was the mark of their new life in Christ! Their belief in God had become known everywhere. Everyone knew they believed in God.
A question for your church family: has your faith in God become known everywhere? Why or why not?

2. The second major thing is Hope: Endurance inspired by hope in Jesus Christ
I wish you all could have seen Brigitta in this show! Her adventure was very dangerous! Yet this little woman was so inspired by the hope of finding her treasure that no amount of spiders, snakes, or mosquitoes could stop her.

When you have hope in something, you can endure anything. The Thessalonians had hope in the second coming of Jesus and that enabled them to endure severe persecution. Just as Brigitta had to overcome many dangers, these new Christians faced violence, hatred, and being socially outcast. In 1:6 it says, “You became imitators of us and of the Lord; in spite of severe suffering, you welcomed the message with the joy given by the Holy Spirit.” And then in 2:14-16 it says, “For you, brothers, became imitators of God's churches in Judea, which are in Christ Jesus: You suffered from your own countrymen the same things those churches suffered from the Jews, who killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets and also drove us out.” Why would they be willing accept such difficulty? The reason is because they were so inspired by their hope in Jesus. This was the hope of salvation, the hope of eternal life in heaven with the One who loves us so much. At the end of every chapter, Paul says something about the Second Coming. They really believed that at any moment Christ could come back. And this was power to overcome any obstacle.
What persecution are we experiencing as Christians? As I heard someone on television say recently, “There’s a chance of dying, but look what you’re dying for!”

3. The third major theme is Love: Labor that is prompted by love
Why in the world did Brigitta attempt her adventure? It's because of her love for photography. Ever since the age of three, Brigitta has been in love with photography. What would motivate someone to invest 15,090,000 yen of their own money and risk their very life just for some unique photos? Love.

When you truly love something or someone, it gives you power to do even the most difficult things. The Thessalonians were responding to the greatest love of all time – God’s self-sacrificing, unconditional love.

1 John 4:9 says, “We love because he first loved us.”
All of us have worked hard because we love someone, like our families, for example.
Their love especially showed itself in their relationships. In 4:9,10 Paul says, "Now about brotherly love we do not need to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love each other. And in fact, you do love all the brothers throughout Macedonia. Yet we urge you, brothers, to do so more and more." We need to ask ourselves if love is just a nice idea to us or if we are showing love in action and truth. Is our love directed toward our brothers and sisters in Christ? It’s not easy! That’s why Paul calls it “labor.” Real love is a mark of true discipleship and an indication of a spiritual life. Here is a prayer: "And may the Master pour on the love so it fills your lives and splashes over on everyone around you, just as it does from us to you. May you be infused with strength and purity, filled with confidence in the presence of God our Father when our Master Jesus arrives with all his followers."

At the end here, I want to remember that Brigitta’s story and the Thessalonians story is also our story. At the end of 1 Thessalonians Paul summarizes by returning to these three words, faith, hope and love. "So let's not sleepwalk through life like those others. Let's keep our eyes open and be smart. People sleep at night and get drunk at night. But not us! Since we're creatures of Day, let's act like it. Walk out into the daylight sober, dressed up in faith, love, and the hope of salvation." (5:7-8) Our lives as Christians are exciting, adventurous and even dangerous. If you are not experiencing that as a Christian, I want to challenge you to re-dedicate your life to living for Jesus every day, not just on Sunday. If you are experiencing it, I hope that you are encouraged by the Thessalonians, and that you will encourage your fellow Christians. If you’re not a Christian yet, God is inviting you into his great love and salvation. It is the greatest joy and greatest challenge of all. But when this life is over, no hardship can compare with the everlasting love, joy, rest and peace that we will experience in Heaven. As it says in Romans 8:18, “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing to the glory that will be revealed in us.”

2006-11-21T00:47:00.001+09:00

SENDAI GOSPEL SINGING FESTIVAL

This last Saturday our team put on our special singing voices and became the group known as "Offering." Every year for the past few years, Sendai City has been hosting the Sendai Gospel Festival. There were 54 groups that sang in various areas downtown. People can walk around listening to different groups. We sang twice this year; once at 3pm and then again at the "Final Stage" at 5:30pm. I'd say that at least 60 gathered to hear us both times. Here's a few pics.

One more thing. Erica's family got into Japan tonight. Their flight was delayed 6 hours! Anyway, thank God, they got in safely and they're staying at a hotel near Tokyo tonight. They'll take the train up to Sendai tomorrow. I'm excited ... Erica's REALLY excited!!

2006-11-09T20:47:00.000+09:00

Isn't that Iron-ic?

Or is it iron-ish? Iron-esque? Not sure. Last week, the conference in Nagano was one of the most spiritually encouraging, inspiring and refreshing times that I've had in a long time. One of the themes was from Proverbs 27:17 that says, "As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another." Love that verse. The beauty of that scripture came home to me as I came to learn about all the creative and passionate ways all those people are serving Christ. And on top of that, ever since the conference my relationship with my dear friend and co-worker, Joel, has been re-energized. I know God has placed us together not only to serve the Japanese, but to encourage each other. Just tonight we were able to share about the ways that the Lord is speaking to us through His Word. Just like iron, baby! Here's a picture from the conference of "iron and iron."

2006-11-07T20:21:00.000+09:00

Van Go

Yesterday we waved "bye-bye" to this massive monstrosity. A couple of years ago we received this beast from the church in Tachikawa because they had to get rid of it - you see, Tokyo doesn't allow diesel vehicles anymore. She was a very roomy machine and really helped us out several times. But, she was also expensive and so ginormous that she wouldn't fit in most parking lots. After her insurance and "shyaken" expired she was just a large eye-sore on the church property. Finally we made arrangements and had her taken to be "put down." On the side of the van it says, "God is love." But, can you ever really wave good-bye to "God's love"? I don't think so!

2006-11-03T17:28:00.000+09:00

Face Plant Yu

Dude, today was way extreme sports day. I joined the mountain bikers, a group of about 12 guys. We practiced all your basic stuff - turning, changing gears, shifting body weight, etc. After about an hour we hit the trail. It was a pretty good challenge for us beginners. I absolutely loved it. To me, the coolest part of the ride was when our guide took us to a part of the trail where there was a jump. It was actually a pretty small jump, but a little intimitading for us newbies. But, Yu didn't flinch. He just took that jump, cranked on the front brake, and went sprawling face-first. Phil, this guy from the UK who was standing next to me, said it well, "Gotta respect that." Apart from a few scratches, Yu was fine. He just picked himself up and headed right back down the trail. Just goes to show us once again that a face plant on the mountain biking trail is totally boss!

2006-11-03T09:01:00.000+09:00

Waterfall of Grace

It's another beautiful morning in the mountains. This is no ordinary minister's retreat/conference where you wake up at 6:00am and shove loads of information down your throat until 10:00pm. Nope, Joel and I are down in Nagano at the NorthStar facility for a youth ministry conference, and not many of these folks are early risers! Which is fine with me! It's been an amazingly relaxed schedule with lots and lots of time for networking, great worship and personal renewal time, provocative speakers, incredible nature, and rivers of coffee. All of these guys have tremendous hearts for the youth of Japan, as is especially evident in their prayers and in the various works that God has given them.

All of us took a little hike to Ushidome Waterfall yesterday afternoon in the misting rain. Yutaro, or "Surfer Dude" as I like to call him, and I were walking together and talking about some of the problems Japanese youth are facing. What I love about Surfer Dude is that no matter how big the problem is, he always sees God as bigger. The issues are real, but so is our God. No matter how destructive suicide, depression, sexual immorality, and social pressures are to these children, our God has the awesome power to redeem, heal and save. Finally, we made our way to the waterfall. The Creator made this waterfall -- a reminder to me that He is still the One who has creative power to rescue the youth of a nation.

2006-11-01T23:40:00.000+09:00

Points to Ponder

Reformation and revival has almost always started with prayer and with people asking difficult questions. In Luke chapter two we see twelve year-old Jesus listening to the teachers in the temple and asking them questions. Here are four questions that people have wrestled with over the years, and are still worth asking.

What can't I read a Bible in my own language?
Why do I have to go through a "holy man." (In other words, is this really applicable in my daily life? How is it real?)
Why do I have to join a religious system that makes no sense? (What makes sense and what have we invented to make us comfortable around non-Christians?)
What about hypocrisy in the church? (We have to be honest about our failures and wrestle with them. I have to look at hypocrisy in my own life.)

2006-10-29T19:33:00.000+09:00

Dinner at the Dive - October 2006 Report

I'm a sucker for dives. You know, those dilapidated old joints that are covered in grease but the food has a down-home taste that just hits the spot? I find a certain kind of ironic charm and friendliness in these kind of places. Our friend, Daiki, a contact through Let's Start Talking, is a cook at a little dive on the corner, not too far from our house. The other day, Joel, being the great people gatherer that he is, rounded up some of our guy friends to go and visit Daiki and eat at his shop. There were five of us: Joel, Michiaki Onodera, Yoshinori Hashimoto, Kazuhiro Tsubo, and me.

Since the restaurant was kind of full, the five of us ended up sitting at the counter. It's pretty much impossible for five people sitting at a counter to have a conversation, you know? So Joel was talking with Michiaki and Yoshinori, while Kazuhiro and I sat down at the end, consumed large portions of garlic ramen, and shared deeply about life and faith. No wonder Jesus often shared meals with people.

As we were slurping down our noodles (it's actually polite to slurp in this country!) Kazuhiro shared some of his dreams with me. Mostly, he just wants to be someone who helps those who are less fortunate. And he said he thinks that people need to believe in something. Kazuhiro asked some really great questions, like, "If everyone in the world were Christians, I'm sure that there would be peace and happiness. But, if everyone believed the same thing, I think it wouldn't be very interesting. What do you think?" and "Christians really like to talk about their faith. Why?" When I explained some of my thoughts and experiences with the gospel, Kazuhiro was really tracking with me and said, "That is exciting!"

God blessed us with an amazing time together that night. And I can't help but think that in that very dive, Jesus was sitting with us.

Father, what good news you have for your people! Please protect the seeds that were planted in Michiaki, Yoshinori, and Kazuhiro's hearts that night. Continue to open their hearts to your message. Continue to show your love and salvation through your servants.

Church Side
"Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God." 2 Cor. 9:10,11

A/ Bible Study - Through "The Purpose Driven Life," the focus has been on the importance of being immersed in God's Word. The study and discussion has been rich, but attendance has been low. Please pray for church members to make this a real priority for their faith.

B/ Worship focus on 2 Cor. 8-10 - Continuing to read through Paul's letters together, and really striving to let the Word penetrate our individual lives and community as a whole. To me, the major emphasis in this section for us are: the generosity of God, our need to repent of "quarreling, slander, gossip, arrogance," the stimulating encouragement of "strength in weakness," and making sure that we examine ourselves to see if we are in the faith.

C/ Guests - Thankful for our guests this month.

D/ Church News/Prayer Requests - 1) Keep the guests that have attended in your prayers. 2) Please continue to pray for the Hosoi family (it was Megumi's birthday this month), and for the Nagakura's who lost their father. 3) Petition the Father for faith growth in this community.

Father, may we be Your community of wounded healers. Help us to couple faith with obedience. Teach us to worship you with our whole lives - including every creative ounce of our being.

Mission Side
"Then Jesus told them this parable: 'Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says,'Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.''" Luke 15:3-6

A/ Cell Group - This month began our first ever "Cell Group," which is comprised of Rumiko and Akiko (Christians), Gaku and Yoshinori (non-Christians), and Joel and myself. During our first gathering, we ate together, had an ice breaker, some worship time, and then introduced our study. The study theme is "Seeking God." As the second week was Canadian Thanksgiving, Joel and his mother prepared a feast for the cell group members, the Strakers, and Debi and Erica. The third and fourth weeks we finally got into the study material and each person has really opened up about where they are in their faith journey. Right now we are studying who God is, and how He is searching for each and every one of us.

B/ Guys Night Out - Joel and I are now hosting "Guys" on only the first Monday of each month. Before we were putting in a lot of effort without much consistency from the guys. This way, we hope to connect all together at the first part of the month, and hang out with the different guys as much as possible during each week. Our theme for this season is, "The Noble Man," based on Isaiah 32:8. Our first class was attended by Gaku, Yoshinori, Michiaki, and Daiki.

C/ Watage - Two highlights from this month, 1) Joel's parents came to visit, bringing pumpkin pie for everyone to enjoy as we shared the things that we are thankful for, and 2) The opportunity to get close to a young guy named Shunki. He's planning to come to our Fall Harvest Party at the church building next week. Pray for him!

D/ Coffee Shop - A continuation from LST this summer, Jonathan has been running the coffee house each Friday from 2 - 10pm. People come to enjoy good coffee conversation. In the coffee house, Erica and Debi lead "English Hour" from 3-4pm and 7-8pm. At 8pm, Jonathan leads a devotional time.

E/ Singing - 1) Can you believe it?! God blessed us with the opportunity to sing in Sendai Station! Out of 54 groups who are signed up to perform at this year's Sendai Gospel Festival, we were one of three groups asked to sing ahead of time to advertise for the event. On stage for about an hour, we were able to share the gospel in song with hundreds of people. 2) Shokei College Chapel. After the concert, we read some of the comments from the students. One said, "We should have this kind of chapel every time!"

F/ Intern Classes - God's hand is evident in the work that Erica and Debi are doing. They both have 12 LST students that they are following up with, they teach a singing class and a "Ladies Night Out" class on alternate weeks, they lead English Hour at the coffee house, and organize a gathering event each month. All with all of this they continue to study Japanese diligently, and are making wonderful progress.

G/ Cooking Class - Joel's class this season is called, "Bye Bye Boring Breakfast," with the Bible study theme being, "Breakfast with Psalms." I had the opportunity to join a class for the first time and saw what great opportunities there are for bringing people together and bringing them into contact with God's Word.

H/ Meeting of the Needles - Michiko has begun a small group in her home for ladies who like to sew. During the sewing time, she is trying to incorporate spiritual conversations.

I/ Bible Studies - Besides the cell group, my only other current Bible study is with one of the church members. I feel like this is a very important study because of so many things going on in this person's life. This person truly needs a lot of guidance right now.

J/ Hachinohe - This month we celebrated the season with our "English Fall Harvest Party." 19 people attended! On the same evening, we (Joel and I) got together with Chieko, (church member) Masayo (LST contact) and Tomomi (Masayo's friend) to begin studying the Bible together. We studied for three hours! On Sunday we worshiped with the body, continued our discipleship study in the Gospel of Mark, and came back to Sendai.

Thank you for your amazing work in people's lives! Father, you are so generous and faithful. Find the lost, place them on your shoulders and bring them home.

Team Side
"The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body." 1 Cor. 12:12

A/ Joel's parents and brother - Our home was blessed this month with a great visit from Joel's parents, John and Sharon. Sharon even cooked for us! When I stepped in the door one evening to a flood of delicious smells, I remarked to Joel, "Ah! It smells like a real home in here!" We (especially Joel) truly enjoyed their company and love. After they had gone back to Canada, Joel's brother, John, came for some business in Ibaraki. The two of them were able to spend a little brother time together.

B/ Strakers to Canada - The Straker crew left for Canada - a sort of mini-furlough - on the 17th and plan on coming back November 10th. Please cover their travels and health in prayer.

C/ Hiking with Jon - Mountain men. We probably don't get out there enough (try twice in four years) to call ourselves mountain men, but Jon and I took our days off to hit the mountain trails, sleep in a tent, and experience the grandeur of God's creation this month. It was one of the best things I've done in a long time -- tiring, but oh so refreshing!

D/ Dealing with Culture Shock - Erica and Debi have entered their fourth month as interns in Sendai! It's usually around this time that people start to get over the "honeymoon stage" and experience culture shock. They're doing such an amazing job, but don't forget to uphold them in your prayers. Thank you!

We praise you for your wisdom -- you have created us for community that reflects you. Please protect our team unity and may the world see how we love one another because you love us. In Jesus name, amen!

2006-10-26T22:23:00.000+09:00

This is the thing that sicked me out the most today. You see, they have so many bugs in Japan it's not even funny. For those of you interested in language, the word for "bug" in Japanese is "mushi." When the common grasshopper mutated, it became what they call the in this country the "piyon-piyon mushi," a kind of big-bodied, hairy eye-browed bug made for jumping over your head in a single bound.

Upon leaving my office today and slipping on my shoes, I noticed that there was a bit of a bump in the toe of my shoe. At first I just thought it was my sock bunching up at the end, but then it struck me that something might be down there. I took of my shoe in a hurry and pounded the heal down on the ground. Sure enough, the carcas of a huuuuuge piyon-piyon came tumbling out. Oh, it was so nasty ... an oshy gooshy squishy mushi!

2006-10-26T20:46:00.000+09:00

Fear for Fruit?

How in the world does my laundry stack up so fast? I even wear the same thing two days in a row sometimes! By the time I've got to travel somewhere I look in my drawers and all that's left is usually about three socks and an undershirt that I used to wear four years ago. Anyway, all that just to say that I threw in a couple loads of laundry this evening for Joel and my trip up to Hachinohe this weekend. I'm just happily driving along, listening to music when out of nowhere a gray cat makes a dead blot for my front tire. Needless to say, I was mildly alarmed.
Okay, now we're getting to the point of this blog. I'm shooting for a key word here to introduce my real topic which isn't "alarm," but rather, "fear." I wasn't afraid of that cat. But I am afraid of some things.

I've been reading Proverbs lately, and my neat-o chronological Bible conviently organized the passages about the "fear of the Lord" for me. Here they are as they appear in said Bible:

"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. For through me your days will be many, and years will be added to your life. If you are wise, your wisdom will reward you; if you are a mocker, you alone will suffer." 9:10-12

"The fear of the Lord adds length to life, but the years of the wicked are cut short." 10:27

"He whose walk is upright fears the Lord, but he whose ways are devious despises him." 14:2

"He who fears the Lord has secure fortress, and for his children it will be a refuge. The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, turning a man from the snares of death." 14:26, 27

"The fear of the Lord teaches a man wisdom, and humility comes before honor." 15:33

"The fear of the Lord leads to life: Then one rests content, untouched by trouble." 19:23

"Blessed is the man who always fears the Lord, but he who hardens his heart falls into trouble." 28:14

I once heard someone say, "If you don't fear the Lord you will fear everything else. But, if you fear the Lord, you have nothing else to fear." These verses reverberate in my soul, yet I still want to plumb the depth of their meaning. If you have a thought on these verses, won't you share it with me?

At times I wonder if, like the cat, I'm more alarmed or suprised by God than truly fearing him. Though it may be a dangerous prayer to pray, would that God would teach me to what it means to truly fear him. And, as these verses are sown on my soul, may the Holy Spirit protect them, that they will grow and bear the fruit of wisdom.

2006-10-26T00:39:00.000+09:00

Today I am Thankful for...

Soft warm bed.
Hot shower.
Health.
My roommate.
Ability to read and write.
Material blessings.
E-mail.
My family.
My girlfriend.
Driving around town.
People.
Beautiful autumn colors.
Answered prayers.
Time spent with good friends.
Pizza Hut pizza.
Making cookies at night.
Friends who drop in unexpectedly.
God's Word.
My warm bed, waiting for me.

(A picture up at the Sendai castle site.)

2006-10-25T09:52:00.000+09:00

Bye Bye Boring Breakfast!

That's the theme for Joel's cooking class this season. The Bible study part of the class is called, "Breakfast with Psalms." I'm not sure how many times now that Joel has offered this class, but last night was my very first time to join in the fun of fellowship through creative cooking. Thanks to the expertise of our teacher, we (Erica, Atsuko, and I) fried up some pretty delicious mexican dishes: chorizos, huevoes rancheros, and tropical fruit smoothies. Yum!

When the cooking part was finally finished, we sat down to a mountain of food! Even pregnant Atsuko wasn't able to finish it all! After that, we began our "Breakfast with Psalms" time. We each shared what our image of God is, read Psalms 103, and then compared David's image with our own. Atsuko said, "I think I have about the same image of God as David." It was really really neat for me to see how God is revealing Himself to Atsuko. Our conversation ended and we cleaned up for the night.

It was a pretty low-key night, but oh so fun! I have a new appreciation for the way Joel ministers in this class, and what a good teacher he is. There are great opportunities for people to connect to each other as well as with the Word of God. Can't imagine that there will be a bored student in this class!

2006-10-24T00:41:00.000+09:00

Good Parts

I'm one of those people whose love language is words of affirmation. Words mean a lot to me. Unfortunately, a lot of people, like myself, dwell on negative things that are said about them. It's easy to complain about it and blow steam off on others when that happens. I'd like to be allowed to celebrate the good things that are said. I want to celebrate the fact that God has been good to me, and that He has given me certain gifts. Tonight, in our cell group's "one another time" each of us wrote something we appreciate about the others. These are the words that were gifted to me:

"You are so gifted at making others feel comfortable , loved and welcomed. This is why you're so good at the ministries you're in. Thank you for doing this for me." Joel

"Ben! I love Ben's warm heart! I really appreciate that your way of talking and your attitude shows how you care about people, and it really shows that you think of others first. It's also true when you are explaining difficult things from the Bible. Thank you!" Akiko

"I love how you are able to make people enjoy themselves. I think that's your gift. I always admire your fun part, but not only fun but you are also good at listening, so that people can talk to you. Thank you for being my brother and friend." Rumiko

"I think you're really natural. You're able to help people have fun and you're kind. Recently you've listened to me a lot and it's really helped. Thank you!" Gaku

"You're always joyful, and able to help people have a good time. And, I'm really glad because we can also have serious conversations." Yoshinori

Each of us have strengths and weaknesses. Today as I thought about each of my friends, I was so thankful for each of them, and in turn touched that I could bring a blessing into their lives as well. Thank you God for love, community, and hearts soft enough to build each other up.

2006-09-17T22:21:00.001+09:00

PLANET OVERBOARD!

It's cold out there in outer space. And last month it just got a little colder. Pluto, our beloved ninth planet, has been given the astronomical boot and demoted to the status of "dwarf planet." Come to find out recently that there are three main conditions for an object to be called a "planet", according to the International Astronomical Union (IAU), passed August 24, 2006.

1. The object must be in orbit around the Sun.
2. The object must be massive enough that it takes on a nearly round shape.
3. It must dominate its orbit around the Sun.

Pluto fails to meet the third condition. That's right, the IAU didn't mince words when they stated that Pluto will now be considered a dwarf planet. I know that this has really affected some people. In fact, people like astronomer Alan Stern, in regards to the definition of "planet" said, "The definition stinks." And there is even a "Save Pluto Movement" going on out there. Textbooks and toys must be updated and mnemonic devices reworked so that they make complete sentences.

Michael Shara, curator of the American Museum of Natural History in New York reported, "We had enormous numbers of telephone calls and I would say things that verged on hate mail from second-graders - very angry children who said, 'What have you done? This is the cutest, most Disney-esque of the planets. How could you possibly demote it?'"

Yes, our solar system is now down to eight planets: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. In 1930, while the US was suffering the horrible effects of the Great Depression, Pluto was busy celebrating its new found status as "Planet of the Year," and boasting to next door neighbor, and as yet undiscovered dwarf planet, "2003 EL61." But, the years took their toll and Pluto grew complacent. Although scientists have urged Pluto for years to take dominion of its orbit much more seriously, Pluto's apparent lack of motivation coupled with our solar system's reputation for being "planetarily hard to break into," has found Pluto once again in the dark.

Clyde Tombaugh was the man who discovered Pluto. Though he is no longer living, his widow, Patricia, says the discoverer, like any good scientist, would have accepted the demotion as inevitable.

"Clyde would have said, 'Science is a progressive thing and if you're going to be a scientist and put your neck out, you're apt to have it bitten upon'," the 94-year-old said from her home in New Mexico. She adds a small amount of her husband's ashes are now on a spacecraft bound for Pluto.

I haven't even begun to enumerate all of the implications of this dramatic move by the IAU, however, I would like to leave you with this deep thought by J. Handy.

"I don't think I'm alone when I say I'd like to see more and more planets fall under the ruthless domination of our solar system."

2006-05-18T18:15:00.001+09:00

Jenise Berry weds JonHenri Grottis
April 27, 2006

2006-05-07T18:06:00.001+09:00

Blogspot Confessional

I think that a confessional would be something useful for families with children. The purpose wouldn't necessarily be to confess anything (though, you could do that too, if you wanted), but rather as a sort of intensive conflict resolution therapy where each child (or parent, I suppose) is placed in his/her respective side of the confessional until proper negotiations have been safely secured. Why use a confessional you ask? Well, there's that nice wall between the persons that hinder such activities as biting, punching, hair pulling, eye poking, atomic wedgies, and body slams from the top rope.

My guess is that the confessional "chamber" itself costs somewhere in the ballpark of a lot of money. How is the average family with multiple children supposed to afford such a luxury? Now, I haven't fully researched this yet, however, using basic common sense, and lots of commas, my educated guess would be that in this day and age of out-with-the-old-and-in-with-the-new there are constantly old confessional chambers being thrown out for some of these new fangled confessional chamber 2000s. Have you ever gone to grocery stores and asked for cardboard boxes? In similar fashion, why not simply go and ask for these left over confessionals? It is worth a try. The other option is, of course, eBay.

My conjecture is that, for people who really and truly go to "confessional," the experience is different for each one. I'm almost completely and totally most of the way positive that there are people, who, in going to confessional hem and haw until they finally get to what they want to say. That may appear to be what is happening with this particular blog entry, but I assure you it's not. I do have something to ... er ... "confess," I guess you could say.

In my previous blog I wrote about forgiveness. I've been thinking a great deal about the subject lately. Though my thoughts more often than not whistle to the tune of the above ramblings, one thing that has come to my attention is my unforgiveness towards STARE-ERS (people who stare...particularly at me.) And not just stare-ers, but people who want to talk to me just because I am white and speak English. The long and short of it is that feelings of resentment have slowly crept into my heart toward these kind of people. Thoughts of ungrace like, "Why are you looking at me?!" and "You don't really want to be my friend, you just want to practice English!" have rumbled up within me more times than I'd like to admit. Not the prettiest attitude, especially for someone who wants to share and show people Jesus. It might sound funny, but, now my goal is to daily forgive these people. In Japanese, another translation of forgive is "allow." I want to allow them into my life. Or, if that doesn't work, do you know anyone with a confessional chamber they're not using?

2006-05-05T13:46:00.001+09:00

FORGIVENESS

Jonathan made fun of me recently for trekking back to the States so frequently (twice in one year!). Before heading to the States this last time, I read a quote by Henry Nouwen that goes like this:

I have often said, "I forgive you," but even as I said these words my heart remained angry or resentful. I still wanted to hear the story that tells me that I was right after all; I still wanted to hear apologies and excuses; I still wanted the satisfaction of receiving some praise in return - if only the praise for being so forgiving!
But God's forgiveness is unconditional; it comes from a heart that does not demand anything for itself, a heart that is completely empty of self-seeking. It is this divine forgiveness that I have to practice in my daily life. It calls me to keep stepping over all my arguments that say forgiveness is unwise, unhealthy, and impractical. It challenges me to step over my need for gratitude and compliments. Finally, it demands of me that I step over that wounded part of my heart that feels hurt and wronged and that wants to stay in control and put a few conditions between me and that one whom I am asked to forgive.

What honest words! And how aptly they applied to me! Along with Nouwen I could say, "I have often said, 'I forgive you,' but even as I said these words my heart remained angry or resentful ... It (divine forgiveness) demands of me that I step over that wounded part of my heart that feels hurt and wronged and that wants to stay in control and put a few conditions between me and that one whom I am asked to forgive." Children don't understand time, but it keeps on ticking. I hadn't understood this unforgiveness in my heart, but I came to realize that my resentfulness and wanting to stay in control in certain areas of my life was silently ticking away precious hours of my life. Once the truth was out in the air, it was either cling to my "rights" to be resentful and conditional, or with God's help let forgiveness be forgiveness. Mmm... time to let go. Through prayer and a lot of grace, I'm experiencing a new patience and freedom of soul.

At the 9pm service this past Sunday, one college student stood up and said, "People here know me. And they still look at me. People know what I've done. And they still look at me." With an emotion-filled voice she finished, "Christians forgive."

Yes, Christians forgive. Thank you, Jesus, for forgiving us first.

2006-05-05T12:35:00.000+09:00

SAYURI

Sayuri is the name of my waitress at lunch today. Though I've eaten at this restaurant close to our house many times, this was my first time to meet Sayuri. Lately, I've been engrossed reading, "What's so Amazing about Grace," and I intended to pour over a few more chapters while downing some fried pork cutlets. But, the girl behind the counter looked bored and the Spirit was prompting me to start some conversation. "What's the name of the cook?" I asked. "I always forget."

"His name is Fushimi."

"What's your name?"

"My name is Sayuri."

"I'm Ben. It's nice to meet you. Should I call you Sayuri, or should I call you by your family name? In Japan, you usually use the family name, right?"

"Yes, but you can call me by my first name. Where are you from?"

Pretty soon, Sayuri asked me what I do for a living. Like most times, when I say, "missionary," people ask questions about Protestant, Catholic, Mormon, etc. But God's message of love and grace is so mindboggling good that I wanted to skip over all that stuff and just cut to the chase. "Sayuri, we're all the same - Protestant, Catholic, Mormon, Buddhist, Atheist - we're all sinners and failures in need of grace and love. I have the best job in the world because I get to tell people that there is love and forgiveness and healing and freedom AS A GIFT from God through Jesus Christ! I have experienced God's FREE gift of life - what is better than sharing that?!" And pretty much the rest of the time was spent sharing the gospel with Sayuri. What was it that I saw in her eyes? Philip Yancey loves to say that "the world thirsts for grace." Was it hope in those eyes? Longing?

In the course of our conversation I came to find out that Sayuri began working here in January. Standing at only about 5'5" behind the counter, she does a good job of being unnoticed and only coming out when necessary to serve the guests. She's studying accounting and trying to make some money. She's never been overseas. She likes the taste of nattoh (fermented soy beans) but not the smell. Sayuri always looked me right in the eyes when I spoke of God's lavish generosity.

As I paid the bill, I invited Sayuri to church. I think that I used the word "tanoshii," which means "fun" or "enjoyable," so much in regards to sharing the gospel, that Sayuri's response was, "Yeah, I'd like to come and hangout (or literally, "play") sometime!" She caught herself when she remembered that she was talking about church.

"Don't worry, Sayuri. Please, come and hangout!" I said, and walked out the door with the receipt in my hand and a prayer on my lips. Mike Rush often told us that our job is to simply sow the seed. Oh God, please protect this seed.

2006-03-12T21:04:00.000+09:00

I'm singing! I'm in a car, and I'm SINGING!

Joel and I bolted out of the pink church building because it was snowing. That sounds a bit dramatic, but we really wanted to get back to Sendai without slipping & sliding all over the highway.

In the car, Joel and I moved our voices up and down a lot. That's what you need to do if you want to sing. We sang one of my favorite songs (ha ha ha! not, The Right Stuff), Halellujah to the Lamb. Here are the words:

Lord, I stand in the midst of a multitude of those from every tribe and tongue;
We are your people, redeemed by your blood, purchased from death by Your love.
There are no words good enough to thank You, there are no words to express Your praise;
But I will life up my voice and sing from my heart with all of my strength.

Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah to the Lamb;
Hallelujah, hallelujah, by the blood of Christ we stand.
Every tongue, every tribe, every people, every land;
Giving glory, giving honor, giving praise unto the Lamb of God.

Lord, we stand by grace in Your presence, cleansed by the blood of the Lamb;
We are Your children, called by your name, humbly we bow and we pray.
Release your power to work in us and through us, 'til we are changed to be more like You;
Then all the nations will see Your glory revealed and worship You.

Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah to the Lamb;
Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah by the blood of Christ we stand.
Every tongue, every tribe, every people, every land;
Giving glory, giving honor, giving praise unto the Lamb of God.

2006-03-10T21:49:00.000+09:00

Delaware "Omiyage"

On Wednesday I woke up at 2:45 am to a dark youth hostel room in the center of Washington DC. Climbing out of bed was like trying to get out of a jar of tar. I tore myself from the top bunk, put my effects together and took the rickety elevator to the lobby. Yukie and Goto were already there waiting with similar forced-out-of-bed-faces for our 3am shuttle bus to the airport.

The roads were open and quiet. It's that hour of night that, if you're up, you feel the whole world belongs to you. I think that DC herself must have been awake (or talking in her sleep) because she softly implored me to come back. I whispered my own good-bye with no promises, but with a hope.

Travel from DC to San Francisco, from San Francisco to Narita, and Narita to Sendai went on without event. Mostly the three of us slept. I watched one movie, "Elizabethtown," where the main character learns that what the world calls "success" isn't the end all of life, but rather our relationships with people who see beyond "success" and "failure" is what truly matters. I pulled out my journal and wrote for a while.

When we arrived in Sendai we said goodbye to Goto who was continuing on to his hometown. Yukie and I waited outside of Sendai Station for Joel to come and pick us up. A couple of years ago, Yukie and I had a conversation about what it means to be a man. Standing there in front of the station, Yukie said that she had long remembered that conversation and continued to think about it. "On this trip, I realized two important things that make a man a true man," she said. "One is the ability to honestly share what he is feeling. And the other is the ability to admit his mistakes." A few moments later Joel appeared and we packed our things into the van.

Finally, Thursday the 9th, I was back in sweet home Yagiyama. It felt good. In my room I spread out all my clothes, books and souvenirs on my bed. Now, I do the same with my memories: pulling them out and spreading these past eleven days before me. Yukie shared one of her "omiyage" thoughts with me. "Omiyage" is any souvenir (usually food) that a Japanese person brings back to give their friends and family that couldn't go on the trip with them. God brought us back safely from our adventure in America. It was an incredibly challenging and blessed project ... And there is a lot of "omiyage" to share! Jetlag has still got the best of me, so see you tomorrow for more Delaware Omiyage.

2006-02-20T20:22:00.000+09:00

Wayne's World

First of all, I have to say that my wise and lovely girlfriend told me never to craft a lesson/spiritual point around a story or joke, but rather start with the main message and then add your spiffy-spicy anecdotes for clarity and flavor. So, I'd just like to say for the record that the "serious stuff" came first.

For those of you who saw the title to this blog entry and immediately started spewing out quotes left and right--get a life. Do you remember that part where Wayne and Garth are traveling through time and space, enjoying themselves way too much, and commenting on the exotic places of the world? Parading around Paris, basking on the beach, skydiving in Saskatoon, loving life in Las Vegas! And then they end up in Delaware? They look around kind of confused/bored-like and say, "Hi, I'm in...Delaware." As if Delaware were the most bland and despicable place on earth! Maybe it is, I don't know, but ladies and gentlemen, I'm about to go there.

Wayne and Garth probably never saw this in Delaware. A white guy traveling around with six Japanese people. I have been volunteering at "Watage no Kai," an institution specifically for people suffering from social withdrawal, for about a year now. I play soccer with the kids on Thursdays, and teach an English conversation class on Friday. As we have slowly gotten to know one another, a quiet trust has developed. Several months ago the staff informed me that they would be going to Delaware (sister state of Miyagi prefecture) in order to learn how American's deal with this issue of social withdrawal. As they were explaining things I knew a question was lurking around the corner - will you come with us? I agreed, and now, after a lot of hard work and preparation, it is only a matter of hours before we set foot on the airplane.

Since I'll be doing a fair amount of translating during our research work, I decided to interview some of the staff in order to get a clearer picture of what they think of Watage. I was talking with Kenichi, a 28 year old staff member, about why he is working with these children. With tears in his eyes, he told me that each child has a sort of "gasoline tank," a place that needs to be filled with love and confidence and many experiences. He said, "My tank is full. I hope they will have a full tank." I was moved by their geniune care for these children. Indeed, they have a tremendous amount of influence in many many children's lives. A further reaching influence than I could ever have. They want these children to understand that they are valuable, that they are loved. If the staff only knew Jesus! What a deep, real, and enternal impact they could have on so many lives! More than anything, this is where my prayers lie during this journey.

I would ask this of you:
"Pray diligently. Don't forget to pray for me, that God will open doors for telling the mystery of Christ, every day that we're traveling together. Pray that every time I open my mouth I'll be able to make Christ plain as day to them."

Pray for the staff: Takashi Akita, Kenichi Akita, Katsumasa Harano, Akira Sato, Goto Sensei, & Yukie Chiba.

As they say in Japan, "Itte kimasu!" (Lit. I'm going and coming back!)

2006-02-20T20:06:00.000+09:00

COLOSSIANS 1:15-20 (The Message)
We look at this Son and see the God who cannot be seen. We look at this Son and see God's original purpose in everything created. For everything, absolutely everything, above and below, visible and invisible, rank after rank after rank of angels--everything got started in him and finds its purpose in him. He was there before any of it came into existence and holds it all together right up to this moment. And when it comes to the church, he organizes and holds it together, like a head does a body.
He was supreme in the beginning and--leading the resurrection parade--he is supreme in the end. From beginning to end he's there, towering far above everything, everyone. So spacious is he, so roomy, that everything of God finds its proper place in him without crowding. Not only that, but all the broken and dislocated pieces of the universe--people and things, animals and atoms--get properly fixed and fit together in vibrant harmonies, all because of his death, his blood that poured down from the Cross.

2006-02-18T20:18:00.001+09:00

You Are There

"We live in a continuum of identities in relation to God, ranging from the most separated to the most united. The lifetime process of spiritual conversion involves God's slow purging of our sense of separatedness and illumining of our true nature on the way to union with God and with God's loving will in the world." - Tilden Edwards in Living in the Presence

"Where can I go from your
Spirit?
Where can I flee from your
presence?
If I go into the kitchen, you
are there;
if I make my bed in the
afternoon, you are there.
If I'm working on the computer, you
are there;
if I make time for a random
conversation, you are there.
If I go to cut the grass, you
are there;
if I shovel mountains of snow in the
winter, you are there.
If I brush & floss my teeth, you
are there;
if I make myself a microwave
dinner, you are there.
If I double over with laughter, you
are there;
if I cry bitterly in the darkness,
you are there.
If I rise on the wings of the
dawn,
if I settle on the far side of
the sea,
even there your hand will guide
me,
your right hand will hold me fast."
Psalm 139:7-10 with a twist

2005-12-30T23:50:00.000+09:00

A NOTE TO MY FAMILY

Almost New Years!!

For us, tomorrow is New Year's Eve. Wow, how the time passes. It was so good to get to talk with all of you on Christmas. It just reminded me again how much I miss you guys. As we're about to usher in this new year, I pray that God will give us a renewed sense of oneness in heart and purpose. I'm excited for what this next year may bring. But are we ever truly prepared for what could come our way? Although we make plans, we have no idea what unexpected things will crop up. Tragedy could strike in an instant and leave the landscape of our lives changed forever. I don't mean to say these things in a negative manner, only to stress our need to fully cast ourselves on the daily grace and love of God. May we go into this new year expecting great things of (and attempting great things for) God, as well as trusting in His Sovereignty. May the depth and breadth of our love for one another expand in new and courageous ways. And may the Lord's glory be magnified through this family in the year 2006.

With Much Love,

Ben

2005-12-26T23:26:00.000+09:00

What Did You Get?

It's a Sendai Team tradition to read "The Greatest Christmas Pagent Ever" on Christmas evening. There's one part in the story where the Herdeman kids ask, "What if the wise men would have snitched on Jesus and told Herod everything?" Then the narrarator remarks, "It made one stop and think: a world without Jesus." That simple line always stops my heart for a moment. I can hardly imagine it - a world without Jesus. What did we get? We got God's very best - Jesus.

2005-12-20T00:58:00.000+09:00

LIGHT SHINING IN THE DARKNESS

"The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it." John 1:5

My brother in Christ said to me, "It won't be a merry Christmas this year, will it?" A member of his family had died and the "happy happy! joy joy!" of the holiday season was obviously wearing on his weary heart. Truth be told, I wasn't feeling too enthusiastic about Christmas myself. My parent's divorce was finalized several years ago on Christmas Eve and the pain of that memory clashes with all that Christmas seems to be about. I told my brother as much, and added, "Yes, it won't be 'happy! happy!' for me either."

I want to leave this story for a moment and share with you another story. In Isaiah chapter 9, Isaiah the prophet speaks an extraordinary messianic prophecy. "Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those who were in distress. In the past he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the future he will honor the Galilee of the Gentiles, by the way of the sea, along the Jordan-- the people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned. For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this." Isaiah 9:1,2,6,7

I want to tell you today that this prophecy has a very special and powerful meaning as it relates to Christmas and to our lives. If you will carefully listen to a little bit of the history and the meaning of the words of this prophecy, I believe that the meaning and power of Christmas can truly come alive for you.

HISTORY: About 2900 years ago, the balance of power in Palestine was about to be turned on it's head. The once invincible nation of Israel was splintered in two, and the Assyrian and Egyptian Empires were vying for which nation would become the greatest. Israel in her weakened state would be no match for the up-and-coming new power of the Assyrian Empire. During the reign of Tiglath-pilezer King of Assyria the northern kingdom of Israel was carried off into captivity. Then the King of Assyria returned for a second visit at the invitation of Ahaz, King of Judah. It was then that the King of Assyria devastated all the land of Galilee and of Gilead and removed the remaining people into captivity in 731 B.C.. The King of Assyria was no teddy bear. History tells us that in the destruction of Galilee, those who were not killed were subjected to excessive violence, torture, and rape. Among other extremities, they are known to have frequently skinned their captives alive. The land and the people were completely annilated. Isaiah the prophet predicted that because of Israel's unfaithfulness to the Lord this affliction of darkness and doom would come upon the people through the nation of Assyria (Isaiah 8:6-8). The Jewish people lived in the shadow of fear -- not only in fear of the cruel King of Assyria, but of the wicked reign of their own Kings. Their situation could be well summerized by Isaiah 8:21,22 "Distressed and hungry, they will roam through the land; when they are famished, they will become enraged and, looking upward, will curse their king and their God. Then they will look toward the earth and see only distress and darkness and fearful gloom, and they will be thrust into utter darkness."

TRANSLATION: Let's take a quick inside look at the King James Version of Isaiah 9:1. "Nevertheless the dimness shall not be as was in her anguish, when at first he lightly afflicted the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, and afterward did more grievously afflict her by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, in Galilee of the nations."
In comparison with other versions, this translation says that the first "dimness of anguish," is light anguish, and the second is greater "anguish," not glory. Jesus' visitation to the same area was the beginning of his "striking the earth with the 'rod of his mouth' and 'slaying the wicked with the breath of his lips.'" (Isa. 11:4) So great is the destructive forces of Immanuel, to the wicked, using the "Sword of the Lord" that it is seen in contrast, as much greater than the destruction wrought by the King of Assyria which utterly annihilated the inhabitants of Galilee and Gilead in 731 B.C. This series of contrasts between the visitations of first, the Assyrians, and afterward, the Messiah, emphasizes the spiritual nature of the Messiah's coming and not physical destructive force which, God says, is not to be compared with that which is inflicted by the Messiah.

Now, if we fastforward approximately 900 years in Jewish history, we will find that it is the Romans who are ruling over the Israelites. When John the Baptist is born, his father Zachariah prophesies and says, "because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace." Historically speaking, the "darkness and in the shadow of death," refers to the cruel reign of Rome's Herod the Great. The historian Josephus tells us that he was "a man of great barbarity towards all men and a slave to his passions". His ruling passions were jealousy and ambition, which urged him to sacrifice even those that were nearest and dearest to him: including wives and sons. It was Herod who gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem two years and younger. Yet as cruel as this slaughter may be, it disappears among the cruelties of Herod.

It was into this context of dark hopelessness that Jesus Christ was born. The birth of Jesus was a full-scale invasion, an all-out attack on the forces of evil and darkness. Isaiah boldly prophesied that Assyria's destruction of Galilee would be "a light affliction," compared to that which the Messiah would bring. Yet, the "heavy affliction" of the Messiah would be that of a spiritual nature, rather than physical. "The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it." It's the promise that the light, the glory, and the goodness of Christ's kingdom would overcome the evil, darkness and death of Satan's kingdom. "For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this." In contrast to the King of Assyria and King Herod, notice the characteristics of Christ's reign: wonderful, mighty, everlasting, peace, justice and righteousness. Just as Isaiah said, "the people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned!"

It's here that I want to return to my first story - the conversation between my Christian brother and I. As we were feeling very sad that we couldn't join in everyone else's "happy! happy!" Christmas, Crimsen, who was patiently listening, said something that hit me like it never had before. "Christmas isn't about 'happy! happy!'," she said, "it's a message of hope." This is what Isaiah and Matthew are screaming at us: that although there is darkness, it will not overcome the light. Christ has come into the world and not only taken on the darkness, but has annilated it's power. It's the promise for all of us who experience sadness, loniless, fear, and loss - that though there is darkness, for those of us who trust in the mighty reign of Christ there is tremendous hope. 1 John 5:5 says, "Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God."

The message of Christmas is that even in the darkest of times, God is with us and His kingdom of light will not fail. The darkness that you and I may experience right now is not the end. The light shines in the darkness and the darkness WILL NOT overcome it. You're right, Crimsen, it IS a message of hope.

"...the darkness is passing and the true light is already shining." I John 1:8

sources
*www.ao.net/~fmoeller/index.htm
*www.newadvent.org/cathen/07289c.htm

2005-11-21T21:58:00.000+09:00

DAISHIPPAI
In Japanese we say, "daishippai." It means "huge failure." Roommates were scoffing, neighbors are laughing, dogs are barking, leaves are falling, milk is spoiling... "four hours a night?!" comes their collective mocking voice. Okay you guys, so maybe I have averaged 7 hours a night since my rash decision to vastly reduce my quantity of sleep. So what?

2005-11-16T22:32:00.000+09:00

FRIENDSHIP BISCUITS
Golly, it's been forever since I posted something on this blog. I only have four entries so far - I'd better start hauling some major gravel here. I mean life is flying by at something like 14,000 miles per hour. I didn't make that number up. Today, I was mildly chastised by my friend that I'm having a Bible study with; he implied that I sleep too much. Yes, it was an implied chastisement. I don't think that Japanese people would ever directly chastise someone. When I happened to mention that I try and get 8 hours of sleep a night he told me that a person really only needs four hours. Then he proceeded to lay a proverb on me that went something like, "Each person is given 24 hours a day. It is what we do with that time that makes all the difference." And I thought to myself, "Hey, I'm leading this study! I'm the one who's supposed to dole out the wisdom, pal!" Actually, I didn't think that, but it did get me to thinking. Could I get used to sleeping for four hours a night? Is it worth the experiment? Would we be making blogging history here? I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that the answer to all three of these questions is 'NO.' However, for some sick and twisted reason I am tempted to do it. My guess is that my little experiment will result in several of the following:

More naps.
More prayer and worship time.
More propane to heat our livingroom.
More naps.
Four meals a day.
More naps
More blogging.
More reading.

I'm really bad at forseeing the future. But I am fairly good at guessing. Ask my girlfriend. Anywho, let's see how it goes. You know how you get psyched up for new stuff? This is one of those new things that I don't feel especially psyched up about. I think it might be worse in the morning. But the crazy thing is, I AM excited. Way down deep (waaaay down). This could be the start of something beautifully, bountifully and brilliantly bathed in friendship biscuits. (In case you're wondering, "friendship biscuits," is a metaphor for tasting the richness of life through new experiences.) Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeere we go!!!!!!!!!!!

2005-11-01T21:59:00.000+09:00

GUY IN THE TREE
He was cutting the tree down and we were pumping plastic. He was actually up in our next door neighbor's tree with a direct view into our livingroom where Joel and I were sculpting our bods with some help from the Power 90 DVD exercise program. I'm sure this guy enjoyed a rousing rendition of "I've seen a lot of strange things on this job, but you'll never guess what I saw this morning..." with his family over dinner this evening. I wanted to shout, "Zaccheus, come down from there!" but somehow I don't think he would catch the Biblical reference (let alone English), and if he didn't fall out of the tree the first time he saw us, that would probably do the poor fellow in.

Later this morning, during our team meeting at the church office, our old (and I respectfully mean old) friend, Kei Sato, dropped by the church to say hello. I can't tell you how much I love this lady. We're talkin' I was body surfin' big 'ol waves of joy when I saw her walk up the church driveway. Don't ask me why, but it seems to me that Japanese people's illnesses are kept so top secret that I think the doctors don't even know what they're supposed to be treating. That's why people stay so long in the hospital here. The doctors have to keep giving the patients all kinds of medicines and surgeries until there's no possible way the person could be sick any longer. One of my friends went in with a cold can came out with a new kidney. Okay, that's not true, but, the point is that Kei was in the hospital for several months and even though we inquired about her health numerous times, we had no idea what was wrong. So when I saw her through the window today, I just wanted to sweep her up and have a banana party right then and there.

Joel and I also had some good news from our girlfriends today (man, they're good singers) which will remain top secret until further notice. However, that has been the golden shining frosting on my cake today. The four of us got to talk and pray and laugh together. What a gift.

2005-10-31T22:09:00.000+09:00

HIROSE-KUN
I was in a tornado. A tornado of four year-old Japanese children. At any given time there had to be at least eight children touching me - two on each hand, two in the back, and at least four future rock climbers trying to scurry up my front. Japanese people aren't usually renown for big eyes, but you would never know it with these children. They were wide-eyed with wonder and all-out with more questions than any mortal can handle. "Ben-sensei, Ben-sensei! Why are your eyes blue?" "Ben-sensei, Ben-sensei! Will you sit by me at lunch?" "Ben-sensei, Ben-sensei! I tooted!"

One cute little boy, his name is Hirose-kun, held onto my hand almost the whole time I was with them. We played tag, sang songs, and ate lunch together and the whole time he held on tight. There was definetely no letting go. One other boy tried a coup on my right hand - Hirose-kun's hand- but there was nothing doing. Incredibly, something about me fascinated them. My guess is the simple fact that I'm a foreigner and they don't get many of us around here. But whatever it is, they wanted to know all about me, climb all over me, and generally get any piece of this strange white guy that they could. What they don't know is that I want just about the same thing - to crawl back inside their world, or simply take their hands and go for the first star on the right and strait on till morning.

2005-10-15T21:34:00.000+09:00

RANDOMNESS
Reading and reflection time almost always brings life. Passages from Isaiah pulsating with the truth that God is not soft on sin, yet He is passionate about restoring His people. As Jim McGuiggian says, "The wrath of God works itself out of a job." Will we ever learn? Will we ever grow, change, mature? God's answer is yes. He is bent on doing you and me good, says McGuiggian. Maturity is a slow but, in the capable clay-crafting hands of God, sure process.

The cell phone e-mail that I sent my Japanese buddy was probably long enough to fill two pages (double spaced, courier new). In fact, it didn't even fit on his phone. It didn't really matter because he called me up and we went out for a little curry rice action, followed by a couple games of darts. We connected. It was real life talk - you know, fears about the future, big life decisions, ways of thinking and believing.

There is a curly-haired girl who lives half a world away. I talked to her on the phone for 36 minutes (about) and that too was an infusion of life. She is incredible. I am blessed.

I took a book to a church member who is in the hospital. Though the temperature inside the hospital is already quite warm, she is covered in blankets up to her chin. She said it hurts to move.

When the York College Concert Choir was here Megumi Hosoi was killed by a drunk driver. Today is her birthday and Crimsen is having dinner with the family. It's been about five months but the pain is still very near, like low lying clouds.

2005-10-14T21:03:00.000+09:00

"WALK THIS WAY!!"
I stuck out my rear end and thrust my chest forward. Asuka, Toshi and Mochi did the same. A little laughter, a little embarrassment and it was Toshi's turn. "WALK THIS WAY!!" Toshi waddled like a wounded, overweight duck and we all followed suit laughing way too hard. Next it was Asuka's turn, then Mochi's and around and around it went. We were passing out fliers for Watage's coming festival in what some might consider an unorthodox fashion. Mochi was extremely embarrassed. Toshi was a little bit lost, and Asuka could have made a career out of this game. On the way back to "headquarters," Asuka and I sang "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes," "Ten Little Indian Boys," and "If You're Happy and You Know It." An hour under the Sendai sun passing out fliers with these three guys - it was the most life-giving part of my day.

On these days there's nothing that takes life from me more than my inability to understand as much Japanese as I would like to. Trying to overcome the barriers of language and culture can drain physical and emotional life - but there is surprising redemption in expending this life because it is poured out into the hands of God. I wait on tired knees to be taken up to higher things.