June 30, 2007
Today we met in Setsuko's room since it was very hot and humid outside. We were blessed to have Nagisa, Youka, Yuki, Yuki (same name), and Miki. We began with our usual song and then we had an English lesson about sports. After the lesson, we had our Bible lesson which was about lost sheep based on Luke 15:4-6. During this time, Setsuko asked the children what they would do if they had 100 sheep and one them was lost. Would they search for the one even though they already had 99? The children were quick to say that they would search for the one! Then Sesuko told them that Jesus would also search for the one lost sheep. She told them that we are also like lost sheep and that Jesus wants to find us because He loves us. It was a privelege to see the children begin to gain a personal understanding about the way Jesus feels about us. Praise the Lord!
Niimi Bible Study/Outreach
This week Darren, Shu, and I were unable to meet. However, Shu and I were able to get together during an adventure to Kurashiki. We reviewed what we had been studying and talked about our personal walks with Lord. Shu told me how he had recently shared his faith with a fellow classmate and that afterward, his friend emailed him and said, "Thank you for Jesus" in the subject line. It seems that the Lord is using Shu to share the Gospel with his classmates. Praise the Lord!
THE GOOD SAMARITAN
June 23, 2007Today was a beautiful sunny day in Yorishima, and it was also very humid. As a result, the children asked that we do Joy Time inside today. We were blessed with the presence of the faithful Nagisa, Yuki, and Youka. We began with our usual song and studying the English names of animals. We played the karuta game using the animal flash cars and then Setsuko read today's Bible story. She began by reviewing last week's theme, "Hearing and doing." It was a great blessing to see that the children are comprehending. They were quick to mention "Iesu-sama," which means "Lord Jesus." ("Kami-sama" literally means "God," so you can see how Iesu + sama work together to say, "Lord Jesus"). Praise the Lord for these children who have been given ears to hear! Today's story was, "The Good Samaritan." Setsuko read from Luke 10:25-28, 37. In correlation with last week's theme, "Hearing and doing," this week's theme was, "Go and do." I cannot say enough how exciting it is to see these children faithfully attending each week and attentively listening and comprehending God's word. Praise the Lord! After story time, we played animal pictionary. It was a blessed time for us all! Praise the
Niimi Bible Study/Outreach
This week in Niimi Shu and I got together for Bible study and what a blessed time it was. We studied John 2:1-5. The Holy Spirit led us into greater understanding, specifically in verse 4 when Jesus said to Mary, "My hour has not yet come." It was a blessing to go over Jesus' reference to His crucifixion in this statement. It allowed us to go over what it means to be a Christian and what had to happen so that we could be reunited with our Lord! What a pleasure it is to share in the knowledge of God's Word and to see Shu, who is very new to studying the Word, begin to understand. Then, to hear him say (after we finished our study), "I really want to study the Bible more!" May his hunger continue and the Holy Spirit continue His great work in our lives! As for the outreach at Niimi college, I was able to go on campus this passed Wednesday, however, recently it has been hard to breakthrough and to reach the students. Of course, it has been raining, so that makes it difficult to talk to students. But overall, it just seems as though they are not interested even when we have been able to talk. So, I will continue to pray for the Niimi College students and see where the Lord leads. Nevertheless, I am very thankful for the men's study that has developed in Niimi and will be content if that is what the Lord has purposed for me for the duration of my stay there. Praise the Lord!
HEARING AND DOING
June 16, 2007
This week at Joy Time we were blessed to have Nagisa, Youka, and Yuki in attendance. They are regulars of Joy Time and it is great to have them with us each week. Praise the Lord! Also, we were blessed with the attendance of Pastor Mori from Takeshima Chapel! He has a very busy schedule and so we were very thankful that he had time to fellowship with us today. Praise the Lord! We began in our usual way by singing our good morning song and then having our English lesson. Today's English lesson was again on colors. We went around and asked eachother, "What color is it?" and "What color do you like?" Then it was story time. Today's story continued with the theme, "Who is your teacher?" The story today was called, "Hearing and Doing," (taken from the book, A Child's First Story of Jesus). The story was taken from the Sermon on the Mount and emphasized Matthew 7:24-25 (hence the title). The children listened attentively while Setsuko read in English and translated into Japanese. After the story we played Bingo. Yuki was the first get bingo and she received the top prize...a battery operated fan! "Woo-hoo!" What a blessed time it was. May these children be hearers and doers of the Word in the future!
Niimi Bible Study Outreach
This week I went to Niimi college and talked with students. It seemed that this time was a time for on campus prayer in between meeting students, since I was not able to directly share the Gospel with any of them. Also, our Thursday night Bible study did not meet, since both Shu and Darren were busy. This is a good time to wait upon the Lord for His timing, to rest, and to give thanks.
LOVE YOUR ENEMIES
June 9, 2007
Today at "Joy Time" we were again blessed with some new faces! Setsuko's high school friend Miyuki Ueda brought three children; her son Tomokazu-chan, and two daughters, Nana-chan, and Yuina-chan. Overall, our students included the Ueda family along with Youka-chan and Yuki-chan. Praise the Lord for our time together! We began in our usual way, singing our song and having an English lesson. Today's lesson was about colors. It was review for some of the usual students, however it was good practice for all. Continuing with our theme from last week, we again asked the question, "Who is your teacher?" The students shared the names of their elementary school teachers and then we reminded them that Jesus is the ultimate teacher. So, continuing with the theme, (the teachings of Jesus), Setsuko read and translated, "Love your enemies," from the book: A Children's First Story of Jesus. It was a simplified version of Matthew 5:44. As shown in the picture, the children listened attentively. Afterward, we played our usual sugoroku game using the colors we had learned. When we finished sugoroku we had snack time and enjoyed hanging out together. Once again it was a blessed time for all who attended.
Niimi Bible Study/Outreach
This week was very challenging for me. Beginning on Saturday in Yorishima, I was very sick after I caught the flu and had a 100.9 fever! I barely had enough energy to teach my classes on Monday as I began my work week in Niimi, but God strengthened and I made it through. Praise the Lord! My energy was very low throughout most of the week, so I decided it was wise to rest and recover when I could. As a result, I did not reach out to the Niimi college students after work on Wednesday as I had planned. Nevertheless, by Thursday, I was able to prepare the study. Praise the Lord! Shu was not able to attend so Darren and I were able to finish up the first chapter of the gospel of John. We were blessed as the Holy Spirit led our time together. John 1:43-51 proved to be very edifying and interesting, particularly in verse 51 when Jesus spoke prophetically to Nathanael and the rest of the disciples, referencing Genesis 28 and Jacob's prophetic dream. Overall, we had a great study and great fellowship even though it was just the two of us. It was a truly blessed time. Praise the Lord!
WHO IS YOUR TEACHER?
June 2, 2007Today at Joy Time we were blessed with the presence of some new people. Praise the Lord! The new people today included Sayaka-chan, who is a friend of Youka-chan (pictured together on the right), along with the Masuhara family. The Masuhara family includes 9 year old Minami-chan and 3 year old Hajime-chan, along with their father Masuhara-san (not pictured) and mother Michiru-san who is holding Hamjime-chan in the picture. The Masuhara family are Christians who attend Takeshima Chapel. What a blessing it was to be among other family in Christ! Overall, we were blessed with the attendance of 6 students; Nagisa, Youka, Minami, Sayaka, Minami, and Hajime! Once again, Praise the Lord!
In addition, Setsuko's new job at an elementary school in Fukuyama city is the same school that Minami attends! Furthermore, nine year old Minami is a believer (who was baptized some time ago) and she visits Setsuko everyday when school is in session. They are definitely an encouragement to one another while being in the world (but not of the world). Praise the Lord for our family (of all ages) in Christ!
As usual our Joy Time began with our good morning song and an English lesson. For our English lesson we continued in our study of the days of the week. After studying the days of the week, we read our Bible story. Today's Bible study theme was, "Who is your teacher?" So, we asked the children to name their teachers at their elementary schools and then we told them about Jesus, who is the ultimate teacher. Therefore, today's story was about Jesus teaching the people, entitled, "True Happiness," (from the book, A Child's First Story of Jesus). The story was set with Jesus preaching to the people. Basically, it was a simplified version of the Sermon on the Mount and the children listened attentively.
Next, we played Sugoroku using the days of the week. We had a blast! Once again, the Lord brought us students and His name was glorified! Praise the Lord! I can't say enough about how much of a privilege it is to serve Him!
Niimi Bible Study/ Outreach
This week in Niimi the Thursday night Bible study included only Shu and I, since Darren was busy and could not attend. Also, it was raining on Wednesday, (the day I usually reach out to students at Niimi college), so I was not able to talk to/invite students as planned. Nevertheless, the Thursday night study continued. Our study was in John 1:28-42 and the Holy Spirit lead the way! Praise the Lord. Typically, Shu has trouble understanding some of the English, and even some of the Biblical Japanese for that matter, since it is generally not taken from the Japanese lexicon, so translation is sometimes necessary. Thus, since Darren was not able to make it, we were short a translator. Nevertheless, for this study we did not need a translator as the Holy Spirit gave us understanding in full effect! The Lord continues to prove Himself to me, reminding me of John 14:26. Even Shu was surprised and made the comments, "I understand!...This is very comfortable... We can study like this in the future!"
GOD TESTS ABRAHAM
May 26, 2007Today we were blessed with Yuki and her sister who joined us for Joy Time. We began today's lesson in our usual way by singing our good morning song and reviewing the previous English lessons. We reviewed greeting one another and the the days of the week. Also, we continued with our review of colors but we put them in the context of likes and dislikes. It was an enjoyable lesson with lots of laughs. Today's Bible story was about how God tested Abraham by asking him to sacrifice his son Isaac. As shown in the picture. We emphasized that Abraham obeyed God even though he didn't want to sacrifice Isaac, and that God blessed him for obeying. Ultimately, we wanted them to know that God loves us and that His plan is always the best even though we may not understand it. As shown in the picture, Setsuko read the story in English and translated into Japanese for the first time today. As the Lord leads, we are getting her prepared to do Joy Time by herself in the event that I will not be available. By God's blessing, she is becoming more comfortable and I am confident she will be able to do it. After the story we played the card game "Uno". As we learned last week, just hanging out and talking proved to be a blessing. The children asked probing questions which led to further conversation about God and His Word. Once again, it was a privilege to serve Him.
Niimi Bible Study/ Outreach
This past Wednesday I went to Niimi College campus to reach out to students. I brought my guitar and some Japanese/English tracts and was able to share with a few students. There were mixed reactions; some friendly and some not so friendly. Nevertheless, some people heard about Jesus for the first time. One of the funny things that happened to me was being expected to play guitar for a group of girls, despite forgetting my song book. I was able to remember the song, "Jesus is the Answer," and fortunately they seemed to have enjoyed it. I invited them to the Bible study the next day, but they were all busy with night classes. Nevertheless, I told them I would be there next Wednesday doing the same thing and they agreed that we'd meet again then. May the Lord use that time for His glory. The next day Bible study was a blessing. Shu and Darren came and thus it was a time for men's fellowship. We continued in our study of the first chapter of John studying 1:18-28. Darren has proved to be a real blessing; translating the English that Shu doesn't understand into Japanese. I am really honored to lead these men in the study of God's Word and I pray that the Lord may continue to use me for His glory. May the Lord lead us men as we seek Him together and increase the group if it be His will
THE PROMISED LAND
May 19, 2007 This week at Joy Time we were blessed with the presence of three students; Yuki, Yuki, and Youka. Each of them had attended Joy Time gatherings before, so we were happy to see them return. Praise the Lord! We began our English lesson with our usual greeting and good morning song and then we reviewed the days of the week. We decided to play sugaroku again using the days of the week since Yuki and Youka had not played with us before. It was a hit and we all enjoyed it. For our story we read from the Children's Bible about God's promise to Abraham. We told them how God said to Abraham, "Leave your country and go to your people. Leave your father's family. Go to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you. I will make your name great." We shared how God blessed Abraham as the father of many nations and with a son named Isaac. We summed it up to the students by telling them, when you obey God, He blesses you. Afterward we all just hung together. It has become apparent that they need time to relax since they have a busy schedule during the week. So, we will be accommodating to their need for rest in the future. While we were resting, just hanging out, the children began to ask about the children's Bible story. So, this rest time seems to be a time when they are willing to open up. May the Lord continue to guide and use this time to plant His seeds.
Niimi Bible Study/ Outreach
This past Thursday I was blessed to lead another Bible study in Niimi. We met at Shu's house and Shu and Darren attended. It was Darren's first time attending the study and so I was thankful to have him. He is a high school teacher from Arizona. Ayano was out of town so she could not join us. In preparing for this study the Lord emphasized that by His Spirit we shall understand His Word. "But the helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things I said to you." (John 14:26) Both Darren and Shu are believers, so it was a blessed time of fellowship in His presence as we gathered in His name. The Lord is faithful and He most certainly did speak to our hearts and all who attended were richly blessed. Praise the Lord! I remember speaking and feeling the Lord directing my words and directing me to certain scriptures. It was such a blessing to see His Spirit in action and His Word upon our hearts! We agreed to meet next Thursday and perhaps, if the Lord leads them, more students may join us. I will be going to Niimi campus this Wednesday so we will wait and see what happens. Also, I have been attending a Monday night Bible study lead by an American lady named Jenny. Her husband is a native to Niimi named Hiroshi and they have a son named Gin. Together, the Horai family reaches out to the Niimi community via English and Japanese Bible studies and are part of Niimi church. So, as a result, after reaching out to the students, I am then able to refer them to the Horai family and Niimi church, whereupon they can also begin attending the Niimi church and get plugged in with the Niimi Christian family of believers! The Lord is working in Niimi and it is a privilege to be used. Hallelujah!
DAVID AND GOLIATH
May 12, 2007
Today was an interesting day. At first, "Joy Time" (the name of our Saturday Sunday School), seemed as though it was not going to take place. I sat outside on the deck of the Sumida family residence and waited. I prayed that if it was to be, that the Lord would bring the students, and so I continued to wait. I knew Nagisa was not coming today since she had already called. On top of that, Setsuko is out of town right now, so if anybody came I was going to do it by myself today. Fortunately, Setsuko had already given me the consecutive Japanese translation for the story of David and Goliath, so if anyone came I would be ready to read in English and then to read the translation in Japanese. Well, just when it seemed that nobody would come, Yuki and her mother came! Praise the Lord! Also, Setsuko's parents decided that they would join the lesson too! I was amazed. Now, there was Yuki, and three adults. The Lord had provided 4 students! Hallelujah! We began the lesson by reviewing the days of the week. We drilled the English names and then used them to practice saying our likes and dislikes. Yuki said, "I like Monday." I was surprised, since I don't like Monday very much. Then Yuki said, "I don't like Wednesday," perhaps because of the classes at school she had that day. We all agreed that we liked Saturday and Sunday. Then it was story time. I read the story of David and Goliath taken from the children's Bible. As I read, I was so thankful because for the first time I was not only teaching children, but I was teaching the parents too. The Lord really encouraged me through this. After the story, we all played Sugoroku using the days of the week. We all had a great time! Yuki's mother thanked me and even asked if I would be here during the summer. So, it seems there might be a need for longer summer program. I will surely be praying about this. We'll see what happens.
Niimi Bible Study/ Outreach
The past few weeks the Lord has put it upon my heart to reach out the the people in Niimi, the city where I work and live during the week days. So after work on Wednesday, I went to Niimi college to reach out to the students. I brought a basic guide for students to understand the Gospel and become saved if they should choose, and a copy of the New Testament in both English and Japanese. I spoke with a few students on campus who walked by and even shared the fundamentals of Christianity with a girl who claimed to be Buddhist and had never heard the Gospel. During this time a Japanese man approached me. His name is Shusaku, "Shu" for short, and he is a new student at Niimi college. I told him that I am a Christian and that I am here to share about Jesus and he replied, "I am also a Christian!" It turned out that Shu had accepted Christ about 6 years ago, but since then has not read much of the Bible. He said he prays and that God has helped him through some really difficult times such as with his illness. Shu has a brain disease and is prone to having seizures 2 or 3 times a year. But, he is here in Niimi studying to be a nurse to help the poor children around the world. I was amazed. What faith he must have to simply believe in Jesus without much Biblical understanding. Then as I went home, I ran into another student named Ayano who lives in the same apartment building as I do. I recognized her from a Bible study I had attended a couple of weeks before at a local teacher's house also in Niimi. Ayano is not a Christian, but the Lord has led her to the company of other Christians through the teachers at her school, so she has since showed great interest in understanding. Therefore, upon meeting her again, and having already agreed to meet with Shu on Thursday to study the Bible (the next day), I also invited her to the Bible study and she was excited to come. So, as of now, I have begun teaching/discipling a Thursday night Bible Study. Our first study was from the book of John and it was a tremendous blessing. We began with a song, "At the Cross." First, we translated the difficult words of the song from English into Japanese and then we sang in English together. Then we prayed, in both Japanese and in English. My prayer in Japanese is pretty simple, but the Lord has blessed me with the ability that I was not sure I had. Hallelujah! Then we dug into the first chapter of John. Next week we will be studying creation and the Ten Commandments and perhaps other things if the Lord leads, since ultimately I am trying to paint a clear picture of what it means to be a Christian and how to live the Christian life. The Lord has shown me that Shu needs to be discipled and Ayano is very close to receiving Christ and I am honored to be used in the furthering of such life giving processes. Praise the Lord! I will continue to reach out to Niimi students and may the Lord bless us with more students!
THE STORY OF JOSEPH
May 5, 2007
Today we taught about Joseph and how he was sold by his brothers into slavery and into Egypt. Nagisa was our only student today. Praise the Lord for her faithfulness! We began our time together with prayer for the first time. Obviously Setsuko and I pray for this time constantly through out the week, but today the Lord put it on my heart for us to pray together with Nagisa and so we did. Praise the Lord! Then we sang our usual good morning song and reviewed the English names of colors. We played the "slap" game with the color flashcards and then we read the story about Joseph. As usual, I read in English and Setsuko translated. When Joseph's multi-colored coat came up, we made reference to the colors we had studied. We told about how Joseph's brothers hated Joseph since he was Jacob's favorite son and how they ultimately sold him into slavery and told Jacob he had been killed. Then we told of the famine that came over the land and how Jacob sent his sons to Egypt to get food. Finally, we shared how Joseph forgave them despite their hatred for him and that God had allowed for Joseph to undergo such suffering so that he could ultimately be used by God to save many people. The theme was forgiveness and after we told the story, we reviewed the story and talked about how God gave Joseph the ability to forgive. Then we went to the beach. It was a beautiful day despite the usual Spring haze which made for a rather overcast sky. As we sat on the pier and looked down at the water I asked Nagisa if she remembered the story of Noah and the Great flood that we had read a few weeks ago and she did. So after some more talk about the flood and imagining the earth having such a great amount of water during the flood, I made sure to remind her of God's promise that He would never flood the earth again. It was a blessed day and am so thankful Nagisa. Praise the Lord and may the seed being planted in her begin to grow.
THE TOWER OF BABEL
April 28, 2007This week we taught the children about the tower of Babel. We began our lesson with our usual Good morning song. Then, we told the story about the building of the tower of Babel and taught them that our way is not God's way. We reminded them about God's love for us and how He reaches us despite our efforts (such as the building of the Tower of Babel). Then we shared how God mixed the languages of the people in the world and used that to introduce the various places of the world, primarily Israel, as we explained the the geographic locations of the Bible stories, and America. Then, we went "sightseeing" around the Sumida family household and visited various pictures of popular sights in the Western U.S. that we had placed for the children to see, such as the Golden Gate Bridge, Grand Canyon, etc. It was a "grand" time! Then we played an interactive English learning game with dice called, "Sugoroku" (as shown in the picture). Once again this week proved to be a blessed time with the children and we are thankful that the Lord has continued to bring Yuki and Nagisa each week. May they grow to know the Lord in the near future!
GOD"S CREATION
April 21, 2007Today we taught the kids about how God created the world. We began singing our usual good morning song accompanied by guitar. For our English lesson we taught them to say the days of the week. We ran around playing follow the leader while saying, "Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday..." Then we told the story of how God created the world. How He created the earth and all the animals, and finally Adam and Eve. The children we very attentive and listened well, (there were only two this time). Afterward, when asked what the story was about, Nagi-chan said, (flashing a peace sign in the picture) "It was about God creating the world!" How wonderful to know that these little ones are hearing the truth. To end our time together we played balloon games. We had a "balloon stomp!" We all tied balloons to our ankles and tried to stomp on each other's balloons. Then we hit a balloon back and fourth between us while saying the days of the week and counting 1-100 in English. There were only two children who came this week. But the Lord encouraged me and put Luke 15:4 on my heart. "What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses ONE of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the ONE which is lost until he finds it?" Once again a truly blessed time. Praise the Lord!
April 14, 2007
Yesterday we had five neighbor children come to our "Saturday Sunday School". We taught them about animals and the great flood. We taught them the English names of animals like the elephant, monkey, bear, and the pig. We sang a song to practice saying the animal names in English. Setsuko flipped through the cards as we sang the names of each animal and I played guitar. Then we read them the story of the Great Flood from a children's book. I read in English and Setsuko translated into Japanese. First, we told them that after the beginning of creation and Adam and Eve, there came a time when God was very displeased with mankind and so He decided to destroy the whole world with a great flood. Then we told them that God was only pleased with Noah and so He told Noah build an ark that would hold his family and the animals. At this time we made sure to mention the animals we had learned in English. Then we told them how the flooding stopped and the earth began to dry up and Noah and his family and the animals came out of the ark. We told them that God was very sad because of the destruction He had caused with the flood and therefore He promised never to flood the earth again. We told them how God created the rainbow to remind us of His promise. We emphasized that God loves us and wants the best for us. After sharing the story of Noah and the Great Flood we made balloon animals and played animal Pictionary while listening to various children's Bible songs. It was another blessed time with the children. Praise the Lord and may the Lord begin moving upon the hearts of these little ones so that one day they may truly know Him
RESURRECTION DAY
April 7, 2007This past Saturday on Easter weekend we were able to share about Jesus with the children of Yorishima town. We began our time together with an English lesson, teaching them how to say "Good morning," "How are you?" and "Fine. Thank you." Afterward we told them the real importance of Easter (more accurately Ressurection Day). They knew that we had planned an Easter egg hunt, so we used that to share with them that Easter eggs are not what Easter day(more accurately Ressurection Day), is all about. We told them the story about how Jesus died and rose again so that we could have eternal life. This was the first time all seven of them had heard the Gospel! Praise the Lord! Afterward, we went to the park hunted for eggs. Then we came back to Setsuko's house and colored them. Praise the Lord that these little ones are beginning to be reached!
