Please Pray

Tonight Justin and I will be meeting with one of his contacts A-san. She is high school student and we will be meeting with her tonight to begin a Bible Study. Please pray for wisdom and guidance and that we would be sensitive to the Holy Spirit.

Please pray for our team as we go out today, it is very rainy and dreary so it is difficult for us to do our normal ministry activities.

I can feel your prayers here, God is already at work here and He is going to do an amazing work this summer! Please continue to pray with us and for us!

Answered Prayers- God knows what He is doing!

Well, we are very busy here in Tokyo, alot is going on! All the rest of the interns have arrived. The Cave(our apartment) is completely full! Today is a full day of orientation. It is raining outside and kind of cool, very nice, but dreary.
Yesterday was half a day of orientation, we had half of the interns here for orientation, the rest of the interns arrived last night. But after orientation we took the interns out for 5 Minute English in 3 different stations. My group went to Tachikawa. I was hoping to meet Miki, but he was not able to meet yesterday. So I was kind of discouraged about that yesterday. I was really tired yesterday and I was constantly praying for energy and strength to keep going. We started doing 5ME and it was kind of slow. The first person came up to me and his name was Ken. He had great english but he was not interested in hearing about the Gospel. He had traveled all over the world doing photography, and he said that he believed in all religions, he claimed to be a chrstian, but he claimed to believe in many gods. So from that I knew he was not a Christian, he did not understand what it meant to be a Christian. So I asked him if I could share with him my story, how Jesus Christ had changed my life. But he said "no thank you" and went on to say thank you for practicing English and he left. I was very discouraged, just hearing him say he didn't want to hear anymore, broke my heart in half. I was just prayed that one day his heart might be open to hear the Gospel.
Last week I shared with you that I met a lady named Yoko. She was interested in the Gospel, she listened as I shared the Gospel with her. But so far I have not received an email from her. So yesterday I prayed "Lord, please send Yoko back today so I can talk with her." About 15 minutes after Ken had left, a woman with her daughter passed by me, then she turned around and came back. The woman was looking for someone to teach her daughter english. So starting soon I hope I will begin teacher the child. She was about 7 maybe 8. I asked her mother to write down her information and I would give her mine. The woman wrote down her name. Her name was Yoko and her daughter's name is Seiko. What an answered prayer. This situation reminded me that God does answer our prayers, in ways we hoped for, in ways that are different than what we thought would be best. But He always answers our prayers, He hears us.
So please be praying that I can exercise what I have learned in school to teach this precious child. I hope to use the Bible to let her practice reading English. I hope to talk alot with Yoko and share Christ with her.
Please also pray for Hiroshi, a guy I met yesterday who has seen the Passion of Christ movie and he asked me why did they beat him. I got to share Jesus with him. He is interested in him and his friends meeting foreigners. So hopefully this will be an open door to share Christ!

God is working in amazing ways. Please pray that God would break down the strongholds here in Japan. That God would draw people to Himself. Please pray for boldness and that we would share the Gospel fearlessly.

Please pray for Miki. Pray for more questions.

Please pray for Yui, my friend from a few years ago, that I get to meet with her soon and that she would want to know more about Christ.

Please M-san, he met with Jessica yesterday and they had Bible study and he really wants to believe, he just wants to try to understand better.

PRAY PRAY PRAY

Please pray for the interns as well that the Lord would bind satan from this place. Especially in telling them they should not be here this summer. that is very discouraging for everyone.

Getting Ready

Today (Monday May 25th) we had a little more training. Now we are getting ready for interns to arrive tomorrow and some to arrive Wednesday. Wednesday and Thursday we have more and more training! We got our schedule for the summer and it is going to be busy! But I see the Lord's hand already at work! So please be praying for safe travel for interns this week and patience as we get ready for their arrival. Please pray that we as the ILT will be given an encouraging spirit for the summer because satan is really hittin' people hard already this summer...

Mysterious Ways

So yesterday was just wonderful! Relaxing, but stressful in some ways, but God works through all those times!

Yesterday was my day off, and I was able to catch up on my sleep, I was able to relax and read a book for a while, and spend some great time in the Word. We (the ILT) made pancakes and all ate together, it was a great time of fellowship.

About 2 some of us girls began making a sign of all the targeted train stations for the summer. We decided to be creative and make something really neat for the wall.

After making the sign, it was time for me to get ready for the friendship party at Kokubunji station, where I was to meet Miki. I had asked a friend, well a teammate to meet with Miki and I. I wanted someone who had a little bit of Japanese to meet with us so that he could have someone explain the Gospel at least a little in Japanese. He had told me the night before he would go with me. Satan decided to use something very small to get me frustrated and changed my focus quick. 15 minutes before it was time to leave, he told me he didn't think he wanted to go. Immediately I was frustrated. Not because he wasn't coming, but because he told me 15 minutes before leaving. So I quickly grabbed my things and left, I just wanted to pray about it and I asked some of my teammates to pray that this would not affect my conversation with him tonight.
All the way to the train station I prayed for the Lord to help me refocus and most of all to prepare Miki's heart and give me words to say to him so that he would understand.

When I met Miki at the train station, Justin met us at the light while we were walking. He was able to talk with Miki and I and it was great. After eating a burger and talking for a while, Miki, Justin and I went to get some ice cream. We had great conversation about the Bible. Most of Miki's questions are "WHY?" He has said that he does not really care about religion or anything like that but he still wants to meet. So I told him we do still want to meet with him, but we have a Bible study that I think will really help him, and help answer some of his questions. So please be praying that he will continue to be willing to do the Bible study, and I really feel like the Lord is really working in his heart, because he still wants to meet with us. Miki loved hanging out with Justin and I, Japanese people are not usually very touchy feely people, but when we left Miki gave Justin a big hug... We will be meeting with Miki again soon! So pray for his heart to be soft and open, and curious! But God gave Justin and I an opportunity to minister together as a team, so I praise God for how He worked in this situation!

• Please pray for our Karaoke churches that will be starting this summer. We have 3 we are trying to start. 1 church today had I believe 5 Japanese people (Buddy' station- Kokubunji). The 2nd church had 1 Japanese person (Jeff's station-Musashi-sakai). Today was the first day for the church at our station (Tachikawa station), so we are praying for at least 1 Japanese person next week. PJ is in charge of the church plant, but him and I will permanently be at the church every week.



• This week the rest of the interns are coming in, so pray for safety and unity and we will be have a lot of more training. So please pray for rest and time and energy to meet new people this week.


• We have a few unspoken issues that will need to be dealt with in the next few days. Please pray God's guidance and words...


• Also, today we were suppose to do Park Evangelism, but it was raining. So we went to the arcade to try to meet people . We met two girls and did purikura and at lunch together. It was quite difficult to get into the Gospel, we did not know enough Japanese and they did not know English, so please pray that they order the HOPE DVD so they can hear about Christ in Japanese.
  

He has given me a new song to sing, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see hwat He has done and be amazed. The will put their trust in the Lord.

Psalm 40:3

Mighty to Save

Everyone needs compassion
A love thats never failing
Let mercy fall on me
Everyone needs forgiveness
The kindness of a Savior
The hope of nations

Savior, He can move the mountains
My God is mighty to save, You are mighty to save
Forever, Author of salvation
You rose and conquered the grave,
Jesus conquered the grave

So take me as you find me
All my fears and failures
Fill my life again
I give my life to follow
everything I believe in
Now I surrender
I surrender Lord

My Savior, you can move the mountains
You are mighty to save, You are mighty to save
Forever, Author of salvation
You rose and conquered the grave
My Jesus conquered the grave

Shine YOUR light and let the WHOLE world see
We are singin for the Glory of the Risen King

Zephaniah 3:17
"The Lord your God is living among you,
He is a MIGHTY SAVIOR
He will take delight in you with gladness
With His love He will calm all your fears
He will rejoice over you with joyful songs."

• Please pray for Miki, Adam, a team member and I will be meeting with him, hopefully sharing the Gospel and he will practice his english by reading the Bible.

God Almighty

Yesterday (Wednesday) was a long day for many of us! We have bee through 3 days of constant training, which has been good, informational and will be helpful in the future. It was vey hot yesterday and we have been doin a lot of walking. But God has showed up everytime we have gone out to do ministry.
Yesterday we finished training a little earlier and went out to eat with some new team members. Then we went to Tachikawa station to do 5 Minute English. Our prayers were all " God we are exhausted, please give us energy, and a cool breeze while we do 5ME. Please send us persons of peace(those who are willing to listen to the Gospel *Luke 10) " But I must say yesterday we saw God move yesterday!
I met an older man, who just walked up to me and said Hi (real big and loud HI) but he didnt have very good english at all, it was difficult to understand him. But I could tell he just wanted to say hi! I was able to give him a HOPE tract. A few minutes later a precious little girl, she was all by herself, she was about 7 or 8. * In Japan it is common to see children all by themselves on the rains on their way to school.* SO it wasnt out of the ordinary for me to see this little girl alone, with her precious little purse. She wanted to talk in english, but she was having trouble understanding me. So we just practiced reading in english. I would read it and she wanted me to read it so she could hear how I said the words. We talked for a few minutes, I gave her a HOPE tract as well. For her I felt like taking time to practice with her is what the Lord had for me to do, because it was difficult for her to understand. She waved goodbye to me several times. I watched her walk away and I prayed for her that one day she would come to know Jesus Christ. I believe her name was Saruka.
About 10 minutes after talking with Saruka I met Yoko. She was a little bit older she had good english. She told me she used to go to church and she asked me if I was a missionary. She knew about Jesus, not a lot but she had heard of Christ before. I was able to go almost all the way through the Gospel with her. I got to a part where we read Revelation 3:20 "behold, I stand at the door and knock..." and Buddy (missionary) has told us when we get to this verse ask, what "door" is Jesus talking about? If they say your heart then you know they are following you. I asked Yoko this question and she said your heart! I was so excited just praying for God to help the rest to be presented clearly. She had to leave, but she asked me if she could take the tract with her and so she has the HOPE Tract (to order a DVD about Christ), the Steps to peace with God(The Gospel) and a Gospel of John(The book of John). She could not remember her email, so I only have her name.

God is truly the Almighty God. I am so thankful for the opportunity to be used by Him here in Japan. What a privilege to see His hand at work right before my very eyes.

• Please pray for The older man I met that he would send his address in the receive the HOPE DVD. Also that Saruka would do the same!
• Please pray for Yoko that she would email me so that we can have Bible study together so that she can understand the Bible and the Love Jesus has for her.
• Please pray for my leg, it has been hurting me for a few days now, and I am not really sure why. But it is hard to walk alot with it hurting like this. Please pray for healing.
• Please pray for energy. We( ILT- Intern Leadership Team) have a lot of little projects to get done in the next few days. The rest of the Interns will be here on the 27th!

I appreciate your prayers!

Day 1

Today was a long day, we started with Intern Leadership Team (ILT) training. We were given a lot of information that will be very useful in the near future!
After training was over we went to Tachikawa to do 5 minute english. At first it was a little slow. The first person I talked to had told me that he had already received the HOPE dvd. So we talked a little bit about it, but he had to go kind of quickly for work, but I did get his contact information so hopefully he can meet with a guy on the team to practice English, and hopefully learn more about Christ.

• Pray for Daichi that he would come to know more about Christ, and that we would be able to keep in contact.
• Please pray for Miki, we had over an hour long conversation today, he was asking some difficult questions, it was very difficult to understand WHY most of all about God. "If HE is in control, why doesn't God stop war, sickness..." His question was mainly WHY? He wants to meet again, so we hope to meet soon.

I want to say thank you for praying, God is definitely working here in Tokyo already! Please also be praying for unity amongst the team of interns here!

Konichiwa

Justin and I made it safely to Tokyo today around 2:30! The flight was interesting, but it went by quickly for the most part. I praise God for getting us here safe and sound! It is about 9:30 p.m. right now we just had dinner with some other interns and are getting ready to sleep, it is quite difficult right now to keep my eyes open. It is hard to be still and concentrate on something.
From my understanding we will be having church (Bible Study) in a park tomorrow. Please be in prayer for this service that people will be drawn by the Holy Spirit. Also, for the California Baptist University Team (CBU) that is here now. Not sure of what else is instore for tomorrow, but I will definitely keep you updated.

Today I received an email telling us to be in prayer for our four new brothers and sisters in Christ this week, that they will follow through with their commitment to follow Christ now matter what. One man that is now a believer in Christ, used to be a mormon so we are praying for him as he studies the Bible it will be clear to him, and he will not confuse truth with the lies of satan.

Thank you for yours prayers and support! Please keep on Praying!

Trust

I have loved getting to be home for a few days. I got to see both of my nephews, Parker and Camden, who have both grown and changed so much! I have loved getting to spend time with my parents and my sisters, even if it is a small amount of time. It has been good to visit with my gram also and see my aunts and cousins! God has been so gracious to allow me time with my family these few days I am home.

Preparing for Japan has been such an experience for me and still is an experience. God is really teaching me about trusting Him, completely. I found myself today praying that I needed God to help me to believe what I was praying for, and trust that He can do so much more than I could ever ask or imagine. I am so thankful that God is always faithful, He has showed me little glimpses of His faithfullness all throughout this semester in preparing for Japan.

The other day I was in need of encouragement, I spent time that night just really pouring out my heart to God on different things going on, and the next morning I woke up with an email from a girl at school that I have never met. Her email said that she prayed for me, she prayed for my smile, my words and my actions, for any troubles I was facing, she prayed God's strength and peace over me. My jaw just dropped to the floor. It was from someone I have never met before and God really encouraged me through this girls' email. I praise God for being Faithful and that His blessings are far greater than anything I could have ever imagined. God heard my plea for help and He encouraged.

The time is drawing near, and satan is usuing anything he can think of to attack me. But my God is so much bigger than that!

Please be praying for...

• The flights over to Japan. All of us interns are leaving within the next 3 or 4 days. I leave Friday morning.


• The jet lag- that I can handle it well. Usually the first few days are difficult.


• The missionaries as they prepare for our arrival


• The Japanese people. Pray for curiousness about the One true God, pray for God to break the strongholds in their lives. Pray for soft hearts. Pray for God to bind the enemy.

As my first post on this blog, I just want to share with you how the Lord has worked in my life to bring me to the place I am today. I started praying about going to Japan this summer about a year ago. I knew it would be the last time I was most likely able to because of school and trying to finish up. But I began praying about going, and there came a point where I thought I was not going to be able to go because of various reasons. But as the year went on, I knew that God had called me to go to Tokyo this summer, and I would go no matter what it cost. The Lord impressed upon my heart Isaiah 61:1"The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners..." God has called me for this specific task this summer.

God began to open doors for a leadership position. I was first offered the role of a Prayer Coordinator. I prayed about that and felt I should accept this position. Probably 3 to 4 weeks later, I received an email from our head missionary, explaining to me that he had prayed about this role he had that had yet to be filled, and he felt that God was leading him to ask me if I would fulfill this position. The position was the Lead Ladies Intern (LLI). I had about 5 days to pray about this decision. I prayed about this decision earnestly, begging God for clear answer. In the missionary's email, he said he felt as "if God had raised me up for this very hour." ("for such a time as this" Esther 4) After lots of prayer, I decided to seek wise counsel and just someone to pray over me. On my way to school that mornin' I prayed for God to give me some sort of sign, even if it wasn't written out clear as day... I then went to my mentor, who when I told her I needed prayer about making a very big decision, and as soon as I said something about a leadership, she placed her hands over her face and said "it's my fault" she went on to say that in her reference letter she had said that I should be in a leadership position, and she proceeded with words of affirmation. I felt that I should accept this position, it will definitely get me out of my comfort zone, it will challenge me in my walk, and give me a chance to pour into the girls that I am serving alongside this summer.
So, I am very grateful for this opportunity the Lord has given me, May He receive all the glory, honor, and praise! Please join with me in praying for my team members, for unity among all the team members, for the missionaries, and of course for the Japanese people, that the Lord would soften their hearts to be open to hear the Gospel.