Dear Friends, We’re at the end of our second week in Ishinomaki, Japan. As is typical on a project like this in the second week we start to find our rhythm in terms of learning to live here and working with our Readers. We have 14 people we’re working with on a regular basis in Ishinomaki. Since many of them come quite often we’ve stopped doing any large advertising efforts to bring more in. Still, we encourage our new friends to bring in any of their friends who might be interested. Craig’s Reader Zama brought in one such person this week. He’s taking a separate group-language class with another organization in town. However, he keeps telling his classmates about what we’re doing at LST, and so far two more of his classmates have signed up! Many of our Readers have virtually no faith. It’s always such a pleasure to read Scripture with people in this kind of situation. Everything is new to them and the stories from Luke really pique their curiosity. Zama and his friend Yuko are coming together to the LST sessions. After reading about the angel Gabriel’s announcement to Mary concerning the coming birth of Christ, both of them told us at the end of their lesson that they really wanted to know more about this story! Our first LST party was really good. Several Readers attended along with a few local Christians and a number of visitors from other short/long-term groups. Speaking of other groups in Ishinomaki during our stay, keeping track of them is almost dizzying. After the 2011 earthquake and tsunami there was a huge in-pouring of support from people around the world. Still, two years later, groups move in and out of Ishinomaki to continue the reconstruction process. This week alone the following groups were around: two small youth groups from US military bases in Japan, a group of men from Canada who are building temporary housing along the coast, a small group from Seattle church doing short-term work, several women from California doing short-term work, and a group from our host’s supporting congregation who were here to encourage him and learn more about his work. And that’s just the ones we know about! Most of them have been using the building we’re in for sleeping and occasional meals. Added to that are the regular/seasonal events that local Christian groups lead at this building such as outreach to children, music programs, and missionary team meetings. So, we’ve not been lacking for any people-time! In fact, because sleeping space was such a commodity this week at our work site we have spent the last few nights at the home of Chad and Jennifer Huddleston, long-term missionaries to Japan who just left for a three month furlough. Joshua, Matthew, Andrew, and Kolby (Walker) are doing great. They continue to help with Readers as opportunities arise. Andrew spent part of a morning picking strawberries with Leslee’s Reader. Kolby and Andrew visited “cram school” for a second week in a row (an afterschool program for kids to get ahead (or just keep up!) in school). Their teacher (one of Leslee’s Readers) has given them quite a bit of Japanese homework! Matthew lead a reading session this week Craig’s Reader Ayumi. He of course did a wonderful job! Joshua finished off his sessions and headed home on Wednesday. We’re already missing him! This past Sunday at house-church we met a Japanese Christian from Sendai, a much larger city about and hour south of here. The story of how she became a Christian is a good illustration of the seed planting work so many are doing in Japan. When she was a student at a university in Sendai, one of her professors told her about a visiting LST group and asked her to give it a try. She wanted nothing to do with Christianity; indeed she thought it was probably a cult. The next year another LST team was visiting and that same professor asked her to try it out again. This time, she agreed. Her primarily interest though was in English. She didn’t really care for the spiritual aspect of what she was reading. So, now the third year comes around and yet another LST team is in Sendai. She registers for the project and now God moves her heart such that she has growing spiritual interest in what she’s reading and what she’s witnessing in the lives of visiting and local Christians. Yet another year passes, her fourth LST project, and finally she’s at the point that she desires an actual Bible study in her own language. Soon after that she became a Christian, and she’s been following Jesus since. In the span of time four years amounts to very little. Yet, to those nurturing Yuko’s nascent faith at the time the future of her walk with God was unclear at best. There was no guarantee her heart would hold the seed so prayerfully being planted. This is no place for microwave Christianity. The church here grows, but over time and with great effort. We’re capturing just a glimpse of what God is doing here. We’re humbled by those who have chosen to give years of life to God’s Kingdom work in Japan, and we’re thankful to have some small part in planting seeds in this soil so rich in culture, tradition, and suffering. Thank you for your encouragement and support. Our best, Craig, Leslee, Joshua, Matthew, Andrew, and Koby (Walkter)
Posted on: Sat, 22 Jun 2013 04:34:47 +0000