Little Drummer Boy (take 1)

Today we had our usual time with the "Joy Time" kids. Nagisa, Youka, Yuki, and Natsu came. It was Natsu's first time, praise the Lord! For our English lesson we practiced the alphabet and then we sang songs. We sang "Aisarerutame" which has become a favorite among the children and then we began our rehearsal for the Christmas program. We will be singing for the Yorishima senior citizen's home in December, so today we began rehearsing "Little Drummer Boy." Then we all sang and Setsuko played piano and I played snare drum. Then Setsuko told them the story behind the song, hence she told them about the birth of Jesus. Afterward, we continued playing instruments. During my summer vacation in America I was able to bring back a small snare drum, so I will definitely be putting it to use here, especially since Setsuko has an electric piano and the kids enjoy playing percussion toys with us.

Vacation Bible School (August 28-29)

"JESUS LOVES YOU!"
We held Vacation Bible School at the community center in Yorishima. Our overall theme was "Jesus Loves You." We were blessed with the attendance of Youka, Yuki, Mana, Nagisa, Fubuki, Arashi, Fua, Tomoki, Eichi, and Riho. Eichi's parents joined us along with Riho's mother and even Pastor Mori and his wife joined us too! The first day we had a bowling alley with the theme, "With Jesus you can 'knock down' the challenges you face!" We sang "Jesus loves me this I know," and "Aisarerutame" which means "You are loved by God." Then we told the story of Jesus' birth and had the students match the pictures with the
parts of the story we had cut up and handed out. We had a craft table where we decorated plates which became picture frames when we placed our pictures in the middle of them.

TOMOKI and ME (Best Buddies!)

The next day we had an obstacle course with different stations such as origami, a puzzle, scripture reading (John 3:16), bowling, and a soccer challenge. We sang "Jesus loves me this I know," and "Aisarerutame" (You are loved by God) again and then had the kids perform a skit based on John chapter 21:1-11 where Jesus told Peter to cast his nets to the right whereupon Peter caught 153 fish after he had caught nothing the night before. Then we had a scavenger hunt.

PETER and JESUS (played by Arashi and Tomoki)
For most of the kids it was their first time to hear about and/or read the Bible. Yuki told us that her sister Youka was singing "Aisarerutame" in the morning at her house before she came on the second day. The kids really enjoyed singing both songs, (hopefully they'll remember the message). Also, everybody was excited to take part in the skit, although usually kids here are hesitant to participate. Hence, it was great to see them willing to participate. We hope and pray that the hearts of the children will be open to receive Jesus in the future. God's will be done.

"BOWLING FOR JESUS!"

We used PET bottles and a rubber ball and the kids just loved it! It was a big hit! We all had a great time...Praise the Lord!

"Cast your nets to the right side..."

Alright, I am back from a nice summer spent in the U.S. It is very hot and humid here. This past Saturday we got together with the Yorishima kids as usual. It was nice to see them again after having been gone for a few weeks. We continued in our usual way; songs, English lessons, and Bible stories. We took a new approach with the Bible story this time, instead of Setsuko reading and the kids listening, I read and they helped me read when I had trouble. The Lord has put it on my heart to learn Japanese so that I can be as Paul wrote, "...all things to all men." So, it seems this interactive approach to reading Japanese Bible children's stories is good for everyone. Today's story was from John 21, about when Jesus told His disciples to throw their nets back into the water after they had fished all night and caught nothing. When they obeyed, they caught many fish. In summary, we told the kids that when Jesus tells to you do something and you obey, you will be blessed in some way. I have come to see that "Joy Time" has become somewhat of a hang out time, and the kids don't really care about the formality of the lessons. They just like being together.

You Are Loved...Precious Ones!

Updated by Setsuko

This week was extremely hot in Japan. It was record-breaking! Despite the fact of this hot weather, kids came back! Youka&Yuki, Mana&Nao, and Nagisa. I have a chance to talk to Youka and Yuki's grandparents, yesterday, and they said they enjoy coming to Joy Time, Praise the Lord. It is yet a small gathering, but it is very important for my home town. There is no Christian church in my home town. God saved me for reasons. He knew that I will be here to share His love a long before I was born. At Sunday service this week, Pastor Mori spoke about Esther. The famous verse from the book, "...Such a time as this..." in 4:14 vividly came upon on my heart. There is a clear purpose of my life in God. The good news has come to the town. For this reason, I am still living, living for Jesus. Even though I am facing some difficulties of my life in Japan, God is encouraging me to stand up.

This week, I started with songs. We sung "You Are Loved" in Japanese. After the song, I shared how much God loves them. They like the song, but I hope that they get the message within the song. On August 28&29, Tyler and I are planning "Vacation Bible School in Yorishima Town". I made flyer last week and handed it to Children. Please pray for VBS. It may be the first VBS in this town. There is no story time today, but I explained about what is the Bible. Since VBS flyer has a word "Bible", and no one knew what that means, I wanted to explain the Bible. I also told them that the stories that I told them in past weeks were from the Bible. I also did survey game called, "Who is a good boy/girl?" I challenged them with some of "Ten commandment" questions. For instance, "Have you ever told a lie?" They were so honest and there was not anyone who think herself/himself is a good person. They want to know the answer why they are not good. I told them "Come to VBS!" They are ready!

Please continously pray for the precious ones.

Summer is not over yet...

Updated by Setsuko

For this week Joy Time, we have Youka and Yuki, Mana and Naotaka, and Nagisa came back. Children seem to enjoy coming to my place to hang out.Today's lesson was the new one. I brought Math Lesson in English. I presented number cards, plus, minus, and equal cards. They picked up the numbers and signs to showed me, and then said the equation in English. It was a quite advance for the first grader, but Youka (1st grade) used to learn English and she is good at, so everyone enjoyed. "Three plus two equal five!" Kids were very interested in doing the new lesson. They were so creative bringing numbers to match.

We tried the new song called "kimi wa ai sareru tameni umareta" In English, "You are Loved". Since I have piano, I can teach some songs, yet my piano is not really good. Kids love to sing and they requested song time twice the day.

Then, we called Tyler again through Skype. Everyone called him, "Tyler Sensei" (sensei means teacher in Japanese) When I told them, what would you like to do next? Would you like to talk to Tyler? Their eyes were shining, and responded "YES!!!!" They miss him... After they have talked on the PC phone, I showed the place where Tyler is in now on the map. Country side kids are becoming more international!!!

Today's Bible Story was continuous story of Jonah. I read the summary of Chapter 4 of Jonah. There are ways to understand how the story ends in the book, but I included the powerful God could do anything before our eyes. God provide anything and take it away. Children were not interested in listening to the story because I did not have a visual thing to present. Next time, I will prepare something that catches their eyes while I talk. Thank God for this learning experience through Joy Time.

We enjoyed Snow Cone Parlor again. While they have snow cone, they are so quiet! The ice freezes brain, hehehe! It is still hot in Japan, and they really enjoy the cool treat!

I am not sure how God is leading me for this, but week by week, the precious kids and I have more bonding as friends. Besides the Bible Story time, they are willing to learn English. I am asking God for the help. I am not quite comfortable doing all this by myself. It is hard for giving up the hope of this ministry, but this is definitely a battle field here, and tell you the truth it is really hard for me to survive here alone. Joy of the Lord is my strengths... I know it, but I am experiencing weakness lately.

The Story of Jonah, Summer Specials!

Reported by Setsuko:

Our usual time on Saturday morning, God brought children again, Praise the Lord. There were three set of sisters(one brother);Youka and Yuki, Mana and Naotaka, Miwa and Rino (new comers). I started with our usual song, Good Morning, How are you... I have a new elec. piano, so I used it for backing up our singing. It took them a while to warm up. They did not start singing until 3rd time round. God encouraged me to continue. I am still doing review of English lesson. This week again, animal. They love to remember the name of the animals. In last week Joy Time, they picked the animal flash cards that they know. I added more animals this week for them to remember. Then, find me... game. This week is getting harder for them because more number of animals. I called the name of the animal, and they pick it the right one. I even called the name of the animals which were not not limited the ones they chose, so they tried to listen to me carefully to get the right ones. They enjoyed a lot.

Summer Special (part 1)

We Skyped (Internet Phone) to Tyler during Joy Time. Children miss him. They often asked me when he will be coming back. They were so interested in hearing Tyler's voice through my computer. Our new friends introduced themselves on the phone, and we also sung the usual "morning song" to him. It was precious moment for all of us. Thank God for the technology we have!

For story time, I read the story of Jonah again. Last time, I only read the story to Youka, so decided to read the same story again with all of them. I also explained to our new friends that I always read the Bible story at Joy Time. I stopped the story after Jonah got to Nineveh, so I am planning to conclude the story next time.

Summer Special (part 2)

I prepared Snow Cone Parlor. I got a shaved-ice machine and some flavours, and let them try making Snow Cone. It is very fun to make it and cools them off in the summer heat. They loved it so much, so I should try it again. After eating the snow cone, Youka asked me why dog is made so cute. I told her, "God made the dog so cute, Youka." I continued, " God made you so special, too, Youka." Then she asked me "Where is God?" I told her, "God is within my heart." She replied me with very cute answer. She said, " I go find him taking airplane." Her God is still far away from where she is now, yet she started to quest for the truth. I usually walk back to Youka's house together, so on the way back to my house, I prayed her and other children who came to Joy Time, today. Thank you, Jesus!