Yesterday we dropped off all 123 students from the Texas Super Summer team at the airport. They were an amazing team. We all thoroughly enjoyed each and everyone of them. I had a trek of 13 high schoolers and 1 adult chaperon. I couldn't have asked for a better trek. I think by the end of the week they all really got what this life is about. God doesn't need us anywhere. It's not about us. He chooses to use us for His glory all around the world with all kinds of people. It was beautiful to hear how God has change and ruined their lives in their time here. The Orange Trek was a great last team to go out with. These next three days will be spent either climbing Mt. Fuji or going to the Disney parks here. I chose Disney haha. After that we have a Sayonara Party, debriefing, cleaning, and leaving. This summer has absolutely flown by. It has been a great two and a half months. The team that I have been blessed with has been beyond my expectations. We had no drama. We didn't have any huge personality clashes. We got along and worked well together. We were able to stay focused. I believe all of that was possible because of your prayers. By the power and grace of God my job as team leader has been easier than I ever thought it could be. Several of the leaders of the TSS team affirmed my co-leader and I a lot. It was great to hear that what they are being told on the other side of the ocean is positive. We can't take any credit for anything good and positive this summer. We have to point that all back to the Lord. He held us together and stifled our pride enough for us to point back to Him and His power and mercy. I am thankful for the M's we have gotten to work with and how much they have poured into us. We really feel like a part of their family, we really feel loved. That in and of itself is a blessing.
As I write this, I have exactly 9 days left in Tokyo. I has definitely not hit me completely yet. As much as I don't want to, I have to start preparing myself to leave this place that has definitely become a home for me for two summers. I have no idea if and when I will be back. I love this place, I love these people, I will miss my brothers and sisters I have had the privilege to live with. It's weird to think about. I feel like I have been here forever, yet at the same time I'm not quite sure where the summer went exactly. A part of my heart will always be in Tokyo, Japan for the rest of my life. I am astounded and extremely grateful that God has given me this opportunity, twice. If you would have told me after I graduated from high school that in two years I would be finishing my second JSI summer in Japan and everything that has come along with that, I don't think I would have believed you. God has taken me on an adventure that I never expected, and I know we have a long way to go. I am excited to see what God has next for me, my fellow interns, and Japan. Just this week we have two new sisters and a new brother in Christ. That makes 7 or 8 for the whole summer. That may seem like a small amount, but they are true, genuine conversions. I would gladly take that than 100 iffy or possibly false conversions. God is at work. The ground is so much softer than it has been. Keep praying for Japan. I don't know what God has next for these people, but something is definitely building up. Who knows, maybe a great Japanese awakening will happen in our life time. How incredible would that be?! I have no idea that it is coming. I anxiously await the day it breaks out, whether I'm around to see it or not.
Please pray that we all finish strong. I know that we are tired. Ministry is technically over other than meeting with contacts, but just because it's not on a schedule that doesn't mean we shouldn't still be looking for divine appointments. Pray for the people we have met, the seeds we have planted and watered, and especially our new brothers and sisters. It is hard enough to be a Japanese person, it is really hard to be a Japanese Christian. Constantly keep the Church here in Japan in your prayers. God is definitely working.
Pray that we will all be able to process everything God has done in and through us this year. Pray that as we head home we wouldn't get lazy, we wouldn't let Satan fool us into any traps. Pray that we wouldn't have a "Japan high" but that we would be genuinely changed from who we were. There are a couple of interns who have had family members die this past week. Pray that the would cling to the God of all comfort and hope in this time.
One thing God has really been teaching me since last night is that my strength isn't enough. I have to depend on Him. I have been running hard without much of a break since last May. I am exhausted spiritually and physically. I know that I need this breaking point. As I was praying last night, God brought me from a aching tiredness to a joy and warm and peace in a tiredness that comes from running with Him. I am tired, but joyfully so. Pray that I would seek the Lord in this time and let Him fill me back up. Pray that I would stay focused on the interns God has entrusted to me for this last week. I don't want to quit now. This is my last chance to really love on them, and there is nothing I desire more. Thank you for your prayers. I cannot express enough how they make this work, and all mission work, possible. I love you guys.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Saturday, July 17, 2010
I am nothing.
Wow, I am so sorry it has taken me so long to blog! A lot has happened, so I'll just jump right in.
On Tuesday, we will have a team of 123 high school students from Texas here. We are all excited, even though it is going to be a crazy and exhausting week. Pray for them as they are going through base camp to prepare to be here. Pray for the adults who are leading them here, especially the iGo staffers and they are getting all the last minute stuff done.
A week or two ago we were at the big temple with a team of 12 college students from all over. As I was reading through Isaiah, God brought Acts 17 to mind where Paul is in Athens. I flipped through and found verse 24-27 underlined. Under than in the margin I had written "Theme for summer '09". I hadn't read those verses since last summer. They are so powerful. God made the heavens, the earth, and everything in them. He does not live in temples made by human hands. "He is not served by human hands, as if He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything." As I was reading that, the climax of the Chris Tomlin song "Our God" was playing on my iPod. Wow. I just wanted to proclaim that our God is greater than all other gods at the top of my lungs. I had been discouraged, Jesus reminded me that He is greater though. I was reminded in His Word that He is greater, higher, and more powerful than anything. He will accomplish His purposes. As I was looking around, praising God in the midst of the darkness of the temple I saw an elderly woman digging through her purse. I prayed desperately that she wouldn't find her money so she couldn't pray to Buddha. I have no idea how far this woman travel to throw her money to Satan. After digging for a while longer, she found her coin purse. I was dismayed, then I stopped and listening to the song that was playing. I heard, "You alone can rescue. You alone can save." We cannot heal ourselves, or anyone else for that matter. We are fools to think otherwise. Paul planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. I am nothing. Those who came before me an those who will come after me are nothing. God alone brings growth and salvation. We are all working together not because He needs us, but because He chooses to us us. And it's not like we are better than those worshipping idols of this world. We are saved by grace, through faith, neither of which we can claim on our own. We would be incapable of faith if God has not given it to us. Nothing, absolutely nothing good comes from us. Anything good or worth while in us who are Christians comes solely from the Spirit dwelling withing, working on us continually. I am thankful for those reminders. I am nothing. He is everything. He is awesome in power and healer. He is for us, we have nothing to fear. The whole experience refreshed, renewed, and reminded me why I am here. God is at work and He has invited me to jump in with Him. I am so blessed. As this summer nearing its end, I feel like there is so much more I could have done. I am afraid I have been plagued with a bad attitude off and on. I don't know why, I love the Japanese people, I love this city, I love my team, I love what we do. I think I just let Satan get me distracted and didn't even realize it. I hate how he is so good at tricking me into the same things over and over again. As much as I want to beat myself up, I know that there is nothing I can do about the past. I can only focus on the future and set up defenses to things I struggle with. Like Paul said in Philippians 3:13-14, "...But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead. I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." I have roughly three weeks and a huge team left this summer. There is still a lot things I need to learn and a whole lot more things God is going to do. I am excited to see what it all is.
Please be praying for our team. Pray that we would use these next two days wisely and rest up for the Texas Super Summer team arriving on Tuesday. Pray against whatever Satan has up his sleeve. This summer has been amazingly smooth thus far, but this is our biggest week. I know he is not just going to let 123 people jump in with us without resistance. Thankfully our God is greater than he who is in the world. Pray for unity, health, rest, wisdom, and patience.
Pray for all the missionaries we are working for. Pray the same thing for all of them. They have been absolutely wonderful and helpful. Pray for refreshment for all of them. They have blessed me all so much. My friend Hunter and I got to go with our lead missionaries, Jeff and Kimberly, to Costco a couple days ago with them and their three boys. It sounds silly and small, but I think he and I both really enjoyed it. We got to just talk to Jeff and Kimberly as well as kind of step back into America a little bit. They really treated us like family, like they have all summer. As goofy as it sounds, that will probably be one of my favorite memories from this summer. I just love their family and everyone else we get to work with here. I will be very sad to leave them all.
Pray for divine appointments over these next three weeks. Pray that our friends will not be too busy to meet with us one or two more times. Pray for salvations, there are SO many that are so so very close to believing. I don't even care if I get to see it, I just want my friends to have abundant, eternal life. I want them to be in heaven with us.
Thank y'all for praying continually. I assure you that we feel every single one. We depend on prayer to keep us all going.
On Tuesday, we will have a team of 123 high school students from Texas here. We are all excited, even though it is going to be a crazy and exhausting week. Pray for them as they are going through base camp to prepare to be here. Pray for the adults who are leading them here, especially the iGo staffers and they are getting all the last minute stuff done.
A week or two ago we were at the big temple with a team of 12 college students from all over. As I was reading through Isaiah, God brought Acts 17 to mind where Paul is in Athens. I flipped through and found verse 24-27 underlined. Under than in the margin I had written "Theme for summer '09". I hadn't read those verses since last summer. They are so powerful. God made the heavens, the earth, and everything in them. He does not live in temples made by human hands. "He is not served by human hands, as if He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything." As I was reading that, the climax of the Chris Tomlin song "Our God" was playing on my iPod. Wow. I just wanted to proclaim that our God is greater than all other gods at the top of my lungs. I had been discouraged, Jesus reminded me that He is greater though. I was reminded in His Word that He is greater, higher, and more powerful than anything. He will accomplish His purposes. As I was looking around, praising God in the midst of the darkness of the temple I saw an elderly woman digging through her purse. I prayed desperately that she wouldn't find her money so she couldn't pray to Buddha. I have no idea how far this woman travel to throw her money to Satan. After digging for a while longer, she found her coin purse. I was dismayed, then I stopped and listening to the song that was playing. I heard, "You alone can rescue. You alone can save." We cannot heal ourselves, or anyone else for that matter. We are fools to think otherwise. Paul planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. I am nothing. Those who came before me an those who will come after me are nothing. God alone brings growth and salvation. We are all working together not because He needs us, but because He chooses to us us. And it's not like we are better than those worshipping idols of this world. We are saved by grace, through faith, neither of which we can claim on our own. We would be incapable of faith if God has not given it to us. Nothing, absolutely nothing good comes from us. Anything good or worth while in us who are Christians comes solely from the Spirit dwelling withing, working on us continually. I am thankful for those reminders. I am nothing. He is everything. He is awesome in power and healer. He is for us, we have nothing to fear. The whole experience refreshed, renewed, and reminded me why I am here. God is at work and He has invited me to jump in with Him. I am so blessed. As this summer nearing its end, I feel like there is so much more I could have done. I am afraid I have been plagued with a bad attitude off and on. I don't know why, I love the Japanese people, I love this city, I love my team, I love what we do. I think I just let Satan get me distracted and didn't even realize it. I hate how he is so good at tricking me into the same things over and over again. As much as I want to beat myself up, I know that there is nothing I can do about the past. I can only focus on the future and set up defenses to things I struggle with. Like Paul said in Philippians 3:13-14, "...But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead. I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." I have roughly three weeks and a huge team left this summer. There is still a lot things I need to learn and a whole lot more things God is going to do. I am excited to see what it all is.
Please be praying for our team. Pray that we would use these next two days wisely and rest up for the Texas Super Summer team arriving on Tuesday. Pray against whatever Satan has up his sleeve. This summer has been amazingly smooth thus far, but this is our biggest week. I know he is not just going to let 123 people jump in with us without resistance. Thankfully our God is greater than he who is in the world. Pray for unity, health, rest, wisdom, and patience.
Pray for all the missionaries we are working for. Pray the same thing for all of them. They have been absolutely wonderful and helpful. Pray for refreshment for all of them. They have blessed me all so much. My friend Hunter and I got to go with our lead missionaries, Jeff and Kimberly, to Costco a couple days ago with them and their three boys. It sounds silly and small, but I think he and I both really enjoyed it. We got to just talk to Jeff and Kimberly as well as kind of step back into America a little bit. They really treated us like family, like they have all summer. As goofy as it sounds, that will probably be one of my favorite memories from this summer. I just love their family and everyone else we get to work with here. I will be very sad to leave them all.
Pray for divine appointments over these next three weeks. Pray that our friends will not be too busy to meet with us one or two more times. Pray for salvations, there are SO many that are so so very close to believing. I don't even care if I get to see it, I just want my friends to have abundant, eternal life. I want them to be in heaven with us.
Thank y'all for praying continually. I assure you that we feel every single one. We depend on prayer to keep us all going.
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Retreat and So Forth
Sorry it has taken me a while to update y'all. We got back from our retreat and just hit the ground running again.
Speaking of retreat, it was awesome. It was exactly what we needed. We traveled out of the city into the mountains to Okutama Bible Chalet. It felt just like camp. It was awesome. There was a river, a pool, hiking trails, American Dr. Pepper, and so much good fellowship. We left here Tuesday morning and got back Thursday evening. Wednesday was probably one of the greatest days ever, minus a hour or so of attack from Satan. He's such a jerk. That morning I read through James, something I hadn't done in a really long time. God just opened it to me so beautifully. Especially verses 4:7-8 which say "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double minded." That was everything I wasn't doing. Instead of embracing accusation or letting God's truth fill me where the lies were taking things away, I accepting everything Satan told me. I wasn't walking in the freedom I had been given. I was silly. I had a huge God moment earlier in the summer, then didn't prepare myself for the aftershocks. At the retreat the Lord really reminded me of the freedom I have in Him. I am free. Free from all the things Satan was using to keep me down. I need nothing more than my Creator and Savior. He is all powerful, all knowing, and He is completely at work in this world. His world.That reminder just set me up for a fantastic day. Jeff, our M, preached and we had worship, just like camp. The OBC even cooked for us. It was pretty much the greatest food ever. It was American, home cooked food. That in and of itself is retreat enough. We played a lot of team building games which were really fun. We also had a huge chunk of free time. We played in the river, swam in the pool, hiked, napped, pretty much did whatever we wanted. It was glorious. That night after we had worship we had a share time around a camp fire, then we had smores. It was so great to hear what God is doing in the lives of a few of my teammates. Smores were great too. I mentioned a attack that day as well. It was hard, but it was short lived. I had a great talk with God and my friend Sarah. God really hit me at that point that of course Satan was coming hard, if we fully understand our freedom in our Heavenly Father then we start to really live for Him. The devil wants none of that. Too bad he loses. Our God is greater, He is stronger, He is higher. Nothing can stop us because He is with us.
Tonight I have really been struggling with fear, fear of the future and what praying that this summer would change Japan would really mean. Am I really ready to count it all as lose in the name of the Gospel? I want to be. Last night I finished Through the Gates of Splendor by Elisabeth Elliot. It is about 5 missionaries who were killed but a South American tribe they were called to reach and the story leading up to that and what happened afterward. I think all 5 of their wives and families stayed in Ecuador to continue the work their husbands were doing. Elisabeth even moved into the village of the men who killed her husband and lived there for 2 years with her young daughter sharing the Gospel, and seeing the whole tribe changed but God. Reading that challenged me so much. They all knew that they belonged to God long before, after, and much more than they ever did to their husbands. Their calling was to serve Him, not men. They really got it. I think that will be a book I read over and over. I want the Gospel to impact my life like that. God has really been showing me that when we really get the Gospel, when we really let it hit our hearts, minds, souls, and lives, we are completely transformed and nothing but Him and His glory matter. How I long to be at that point! Hopefully this summer, and the continually breaking down of everything I hold dear, will help me reach that point. I am so thankful for His everlasting love and patience with us. I feel that I am prone to wander, even though the very thing I would be leaving is the very thing that I need more of than I will ever comprehend. I am blown away by His goodness, mercy, and bigness. We will never reach the end of Him, we will never stop learning. I am reminded of a conversation Aslan and Lucy have in Prince Caspian. The second time Lucy is in Narnia she keeps seeing Aslan but no one else is. The first time the two are really reunited Lucy tells Aslan that he has grown since the last time they met. He tells her that it's not him that has grown but her. She asks how than can be. He says, "Every year you grow, you will find me bigger." Isn't that so true? Every time we grow, everything we begin to see more of God's character, He gets bigger and more complex, not smaller and more simple. Japan is called the "Land of 8 million gods". Not one of those "gods" can do a single thing our Living God can. Let that sink in. Our God is able. He will accomplish His purpose. Not maybe but WILL. We are so unworthy of such a magnificent Holy Father. But still, we can come to Him and He will save us, restore us, love on us. I can't stop thinking about how wonderful He is. There really is NOTHING that really comes close to even thinking about comparing to our God.
Thank you for all your prayers. They are working more than you know. We have about 4 weeks left. That's not very long in the scheme of things. Pray that we would continue to pray big things, that Satan wouldn't hinder us with fear but that God would remind us that we have been given a Spirit of power, love, and self control. Pray that we would live in a manner worthy of our calling, and that we would do everything possible to maintain the unity. Pray for healing of sicknesses and wounds, as well as safety for the rest of the trip. Pray for the volunteers that are here or will be here within a few weeks. Pray we would focus on God and His goal, not us or our homes.
I love y'all all. Thanks for everything.
Speaking of retreat, it was awesome. It was exactly what we needed. We traveled out of the city into the mountains to Okutama Bible Chalet. It felt just like camp. It was awesome. There was a river, a pool, hiking trails, American Dr. Pepper, and so much good fellowship. We left here Tuesday morning and got back Thursday evening. Wednesday was probably one of the greatest days ever, minus a hour or so of attack from Satan. He's such a jerk. That morning I read through James, something I hadn't done in a really long time. God just opened it to me so beautifully. Especially verses 4:7-8 which say "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double minded." That was everything I wasn't doing. Instead of embracing accusation or letting God's truth fill me where the lies were taking things away, I accepting everything Satan told me. I wasn't walking in the freedom I had been given. I was silly. I had a huge God moment earlier in the summer, then didn't prepare myself for the aftershocks. At the retreat the Lord really reminded me of the freedom I have in Him. I am free. Free from all the things Satan was using to keep me down. I need nothing more than my Creator and Savior. He is all powerful, all knowing, and He is completely at work in this world. His world.That reminder just set me up for a fantastic day. Jeff, our M, preached and we had worship, just like camp. The OBC even cooked for us. It was pretty much the greatest food ever. It was American, home cooked food. That in and of itself is retreat enough. We played a lot of team building games which were really fun. We also had a huge chunk of free time. We played in the river, swam in the pool, hiked, napped, pretty much did whatever we wanted. It was glorious. That night after we had worship we had a share time around a camp fire, then we had smores. It was so great to hear what God is doing in the lives of a few of my teammates. Smores were great too. I mentioned a attack that day as well. It was hard, but it was short lived. I had a great talk with God and my friend Sarah. God really hit me at that point that of course Satan was coming hard, if we fully understand our freedom in our Heavenly Father then we start to really live for Him. The devil wants none of that. Too bad he loses. Our God is greater, He is stronger, He is higher. Nothing can stop us because He is with us.
Tonight I have really been struggling with fear, fear of the future and what praying that this summer would change Japan would really mean. Am I really ready to count it all as lose in the name of the Gospel? I want to be. Last night I finished Through the Gates of Splendor by Elisabeth Elliot. It is about 5 missionaries who were killed but a South American tribe they were called to reach and the story leading up to that and what happened afterward. I think all 5 of their wives and families stayed in Ecuador to continue the work their husbands were doing. Elisabeth even moved into the village of the men who killed her husband and lived there for 2 years with her young daughter sharing the Gospel, and seeing the whole tribe changed but God. Reading that challenged me so much. They all knew that they belonged to God long before, after, and much more than they ever did to their husbands. Their calling was to serve Him, not men. They really got it. I think that will be a book I read over and over. I want the Gospel to impact my life like that. God has really been showing me that when we really get the Gospel, when we really let it hit our hearts, minds, souls, and lives, we are completely transformed and nothing but Him and His glory matter. How I long to be at that point! Hopefully this summer, and the continually breaking down of everything I hold dear, will help me reach that point. I am so thankful for His everlasting love and patience with us. I feel that I am prone to wander, even though the very thing I would be leaving is the very thing that I need more of than I will ever comprehend. I am blown away by His goodness, mercy, and bigness. We will never reach the end of Him, we will never stop learning. I am reminded of a conversation Aslan and Lucy have in Prince Caspian. The second time Lucy is in Narnia she keeps seeing Aslan but no one else is. The first time the two are really reunited Lucy tells Aslan that he has grown since the last time they met. He tells her that it's not him that has grown but her. She asks how than can be. He says, "Every year you grow, you will find me bigger." Isn't that so true? Every time we grow, everything we begin to see more of God's character, He gets bigger and more complex, not smaller and more simple. Japan is called the "Land of 8 million gods". Not one of those "gods" can do a single thing our Living God can. Let that sink in. Our God is able. He will accomplish His purpose. Not maybe but WILL. We are so unworthy of such a magnificent Holy Father. But still, we can come to Him and He will save us, restore us, love on us. I can't stop thinking about how wonderful He is. There really is NOTHING that really comes close to even thinking about comparing to our God.
Thank you for all your prayers. They are working more than you know. We have about 4 weeks left. That's not very long in the scheme of things. Pray that we would continue to pray big things, that Satan wouldn't hinder us with fear but that God would remind us that we have been given a Spirit of power, love, and self control. Pray that we would live in a manner worthy of our calling, and that we would do everything possible to maintain the unity. Pray for healing of sicknesses and wounds, as well as safety for the rest of the trip. Pray for the volunteers that are here or will be here within a few weeks. Pray we would focus on God and His goal, not us or our homes.
I love y'all all. Thanks for everything.
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