November Update!!!!

So its the end of November and God is great...all the time! It has been a tiring month, but I praise God that everything that is done is not in vain when we put our trust and on our lives in His hands.
A lot of things have happened in this month, here's a few that I can speak of and get into detail with:

Campus ministries:

It has been a really big joy to go out into the campuses and make new friends and share about the gospel. Though I still get nervous when it comes to giving out flyers (I don't know why, I just feel weird giving out flyers, especially on school campus), I'm starting to learn that rejection is part of the game...so to speak. I was taught early in the beginning of my term here that we'll probably get rejected 95% of the time that we're here, I should know this already, but experiencing it on a daily basis and also it being a part of the job, it takes some getting used to. No one likes to get rejected, but I'm quickly trying to put into my mind set that when I get rejected or in my mind, "don't get very far" in ministry, then its still a good day.
Anyway moving forward, I've met a few friends here and there and the rest of the J-soldiers and I have also brought some to Sunday worship and our other worship events! Praise God! It may sound like an easy thing to do, but it actually is very difficult to get the students here even remotely interested into coming to church or even just our normal "chill out" events. The only time we know they will actually come, is when they make a promise that they will come lol. But I praise God for the relationships that I have made on Campus, and I'm hoping that the seeds that are planted in the hearts of who I speak to, that God will water them and make them grow. Two of the schools that I go to, I have made a very loyal circle of friends who I hope will accept Christ as saviour one day. The Jesus-Soldiers and I try to always go out of our way to show God's love to them, even just by going out and hanging out on days that we don't go to campus, or even to talk to them when they're having trouble, we have faith that our efforts are never in vain!

I spoke to someone I had just met last week on Campus named Akihisa, and we had a very interesting conversation. He was a student taking Christian Studies. I asked him if he was christian and he said he wasn't. So asked him why he was taking a Christian studies course. He told me was very interested in finding out why Christians believe in what they believe in and it was a very difficult concept that, since he was interested in difficult studies lol, he wanted to take up the challenge in finding out why. within our conversation he gave me some very interesting insight about Japanese people and religion; That today's Japanese people, even though statistics say that Buddhism and Shintoism rule in Japan, don't really have a religion that they wholeheartedly believe in. They believe that there is a god, but don't know who he is. I guess this would be a little of his own personal opinion or by his own experience on religion in Japan, but I could see some truth in what he's saying, That people build shrines for unknown gods and worship beings that they THINK exist, but they just don't know what it is they worship and why they worship. It kinda reminds me of when Paul went to Athens in Acts 17 22-23, where he addressed an altar that said "to an unknown god". At the end of my conversation with Akihisa, I let him know what I did and where I lived and he was welcome to come and talk and that I or any of the other J-soldiers give him a little insight on why we believe in what we believe.....and also convince him that Jesus is the way to go!

Church and Jesus-soldier ministries:

We had a couple of events just past November. We usually hold events and invite as many people as we can (preferably non-christian). Last month was the new Missionary welcome party. This month we had American Thanksgiving. I'm happy to say that I did not miss out on Thanksgiving! I was able to celebrate the American Thanksgiving, although a bit earlier then usual lol. We had a thanksgiving party on the second week of November and I would have to say was the biggest party we've had so far. We we're only expecting about maybe 50-60 people to come, so we went to Cost-co bought 3 turkeys (only about 20 dollars! yet a little smaller then what i'm used to in Canada), a ham (a lot more expensive about 50 bucks?), mashed potatoes, gravy, and we got about 5 chickens, just encase the food we had wasn't enough. We also got 100 disposable paper plates thinking that it should be enough to handle everyone without having to wash dishes. We got more then we expected though, about 100+ people came, finished all the papers plates, ham and Turkey and nearly all the turkey. Thankfully we had enough food to accommodate everyone. if was a lot of work but It was a good event and we were able to invite some of the students we befriended and apparently people that J-house hasn't seen in a long while. 
We also had our monthly open worship event just this past Friday, we had a good turn out even though we didn't have any new people come out. This is only the second open worship event that came up and we're hopeful that as we continue, God use it to work his wonders!
I have also joined the Gospel choir playing guitar, well not officially yet, but its a start I guess. J-house members are really into Gospel music, really surprised me actually, and they are really good at singing too! The second service at J-house on Sundays incorporates the Gospel and I'm really impressed at how they lead worship using the choir!

Other ministries

I have been kept busy even during my off times (other then monday). As I have said, I teach an English Bible study session on tuesdays with one the members of the church. I have also started an english bible study on Thursdays with 4 members, but at 2 different times depending on the days and the schedules. I am also continuing my Japanese lessons on saturdays so that I am able to converse in the language. One day I will get it all....but for now I'm taking it slowly :)
I wanted to start a discipleship with some of the members that I know, but its sort of difficult because of work schedules and the lifestyle of a worker/family man in Japan. The one thing that saps spiritual growth in Japan is the work culture. Work schedules are crazy here. Some of the members of the church here that I know work 12 hours a day and don't even get paid for the overtime. The working culture in Japan is a problem that I see that takes away from families and from other activities. But its also on the person and where priorities lie, especially for the men.

Prayer Requests
- For God's protection and safety on my fellow missionaries and I, it's getting even colder these and some of us are not used to cold climates (especially those of us who come from warmer countries.
- For those members in J-house to grow spiritually, there are still a lot of baby Christians in J-house, pray for spiritual growth and maturity in the Gospel and for those to put the Gospel first over everything.
- Also for J-house's Christmas events coming up, for those working hard to not lose focus on Christ, and that those that we invite will be lead by Jesus to J-house (and even make a life decision to follow him!)
- For the students that I have befriended and even for the students I have yet to encounter, for their eyes and hearts to be opened to Christ, and for Jesus to reveal himself to them in miraculous ways!
- For a revolution in Japan! for spiritual eyes to be opened in Japan and that the 0.5% of Christians will increase!

Thank you for your Prayers, love and Support! Till next update! Here are a few pictures!

                                                                    Kangaku Friends!

                                                                 Kansai Gaidai Friends

                                                                   Open Worship event

                                                                    Street Evangelism

                                                                  Thanksgiving event

First full month!

Konnichiwa mina! (Hello Everyone!)


I'm back with another update! Its been my first full month since I've been here and I'm quite surprised how fast it went by! But since I've been here, I've learned and experienced so much that it makes me excited and a bit anxious to know whats in store for the next 2 years plus!

This month and a bit of September marked the beginning of the second college semester. As I've explained in my last post, The main bulk of the ministry that I do here is go out into the local university campuses (well not sooo local, each university takes at least 30-40mins to get to) and reach out to the students using various means depending on the university. I go to 2 out of 3 of the universities a week. The first university that I go to is called Kwansei Gakuen, "Kangaku" for short. The second university is called Kansai Gaidai. Both are international schools so its normal to see a lot of foreigners walking around and just hanging out. Both also have different policies. Kangaku being built on Christian values, is a little more relaxed on the activities that we do while we're there. Gaidai on the other hand being a Buddhist school, prohibits our activities to the point of kicking us off campus and warning students on bulletin boards about J-house activity. I have not yet experienced getting kicked off of Gaidai campus, but some of my missionary buddies have told me that it has happened to them. so we need to be a little more careful when entering the campus. It has been a big joy of mine to go on both campuses to reach out, and even with the language barrier, i'm able to do just that, thanks to the fact that a lot of the students can understand english and even like it. That still doesn't stop me from learning and trying to use Japanese from time to time.

With other activities in the church, We had a welcome party for the new J-soldiers, that would be me and 2 others from Korea. We also marked the start of Street evangelism, and it is what the names says folks! Every Saturday, unless it's raining, we pick a spot in the city and we set up shop with a guitar, mic and a speaker, play songs and evangelize to random people walking about doing their daily business. It was sort of weird for me at first, I mean just going outside and playing guitar and singing worship songs, i've never done it before, but after a time I just didn't care anymore. It was great fun just going out and proclaiming the gospel without shame. We've actually only done it once though since we started, it rained the last couple of Saturdays, but we're all raring to do it again every next Saturday that comes up.
J-house also had its first Open Worship session, held on a Friday. It's kind of a smaller version of worship service, in the J-house Chapel area instead of their sanctuary and it had more of an acoustic feel, Acoustic guitar, keyboard and Bongos. I was asked to lead the worship set and it was the very first bilingual set that I had led. I was nervous because J-house does worship a little differently from what I do, but God blessed the set with a very creative and motivated team, ready to worship, so I in turn was very blessed and humbled by the experience at the same time. and I look forward to working with them again!

I've also started a few "extra-curricular" activities on my spare time. Some of the members of my team and another church member have started a little english/bible study session on tuesdays that I teach, I've also been taking Some Japanese lessons every Saturday....little by little, i've given myself at least 8 months to a year before I start conversing in Japanese, I'm determined, yet taking my time still and re-saturating myself in the country, culture and language. I'm also still exercising! Though I have stopped doing heavy weights at the gym, I've still resorted to doing a lot of cardio workouts through cycling, running, and jump rope, plus I have my own make shift weights since weights in Japan are super expensive (50-60 bucks for a 30lbs dumb bell, crazy!). I want to be physically ready just encase anything physically demanding comes up. I've also started playing my guitar more frequently, delving back in to songs that I already know and learning more music as a I go. I realize that I need a new repertoire just encase I'm asked to present something. I'm usually used to playing in the background and adding back up vocals for someone, but now that things have changed, I'm back to soloing, so getting myself back into the groove and learning new grooves will be necessary for me.

Well that was my first month in a nutshell, I will continue to update as I go along, I realized that maybe a months update is too far apart, so I may start updating more frequently when I have the time. Again, I'm eternally grateful for everything up till now and it's only the beginning. So please continue to pray for the following:

1. That God continues to open up hearts and minds to Jesus in Japan, as The rest of the Jesus Soldiers and I continue to reach out to the lost in Japan, pray that God gives us Wisdom and leads us with his Will, and pray that those we converse with and make relationships with start see the truth about their world and how they are living. As easy as it is to make friendship and talk to people, sharing the gospel in Japan is a long process. Many here are like the Seeds planted in the weeds. There's so many worldly pleasures to offer that have the ability to choke the Word out of them. Still less then 0.5% of the population know Jesus, it's high time that Japan experienced a revolution.

2. Energy and Health. I'm busy almost everyday and again being still human, I get really tired. So pray that God continues to give my friends and I the energy to keep going. Also, the weather is starting to change where I am, its getting colder (though I'm pretty sure its a lot colder in Canada, its still in the +20s here) and some of us are getting health issues because of the change. Pray that we stay healthy and ready to continue serving, and if we do get sick, the wisdom to rest and recover.

3. Innovation, wisdom and flexibility. Pray that Jesus will continue to show us new and innovative ways to reach out to the lost. Also pray for flexibility, though my journey here so far sounds fun and exciting, it isn't without its frustrations. pray that we stay patient during those times. I know that during the years that I am here, there will be times when I just don't understand whats going on, but pray that God continues to give patience and peace that transcends all understanding.

4. Again, Continued financial support. I cannot do this without you. I need at least $400/month to sustain myself here so please continue to support. Thank you for the contributions that you have made so far, and I hope you continue to help me out here for the next couple of years. If you have any donations to give, please give it care of Mississauga Family Baptist Church (MFBC)

SOOOOO until next time! Matta ne!

Chris

First week update!

Hey everyone, it's been a week so I guess would be time for me to give everyone an update on how I'm doing and everything that's been going down with ministry and just the going ons about Japan and J-house!

Of course I'll go back a bit for those of you who are just tuning in. I have recently just moved to Osaka to become a missionary for a church called J-house for about 2 years. My main ministry would be to reach out to the students at a few of the local universities, but there are also other various tasks I would be doing to help the church out.

So I have finished my first week here and I would have to say it's an experience, something familiar and different at the same time. First off, God has blessed me with a wonderful church family away from my home. I'll admit, I was feeling a little anxiousness and fear knowing how long I'm gone for. I know I should be used to it, but knowing I'll be gone, 2 years minimum, it still put a little anxiousness in my heart. But God is faithful and he has cured that with the missionary family that he has brought me into. I work with 6 other missionaries here doing the same thing as me, all from different parts of the world. Some from Korea, America, Indonesia and soon, the UK. I've had no problems getting along with them all even though there are some language barriers. So I'm very thankful for that!

I am also grateful for the church that I work with. J-House is a God fearing church with qualities more reminiscent of Canadian churches that I know, not really like the typical Japanese church that I'm use to going to. The church is also bigger then most Japanese churches that I know, maybe about 50+ consistent members, and that is a rare thing in Japan. The Head Pastor is Iida Katsuya. He was actually saved in Canada, went to seminary in the USA, brought what he learned and planted J-house in the middle of Osaka in 1999. He is a very enthusiastic Pastor, but also one of sound mind and very organized. The church members that I have met are also very enthusiastic about serving and worshiping the Lord. All very nice people, well those who I've met so far, despite the language barrier. The church has, besides our missionary activities, other various ministry activities also. Their are 2 worship services on the sunday, a power worship session on Wednesday and they also have a Gospel Academy! I find that you will never have nothing to work on here and thats a great thing!


My typical week would be sundays is worship services, 2 to be exact, and there are various responsibilities that we are put in charge of, from the PA system to welcoming church comers at the door. Mondays are my day off, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday around 11am to 4pm are reserved for ministry activities. That is when we go to the University campus' and reach out to the students. It's kind of intimidating for me to go out there and meet people despite the language barrier, but God provides interesting ways to break that, so trusting Him is the most important thing when going out there to reach out to the students. Wedsnesdays are Power worship session days, so sort of like a worship service, but not as formal as on Sunday, at 7pm at night. Saturdays are usually mixed days, I've been given the opportunity to learn Japanese from one of the members of the church, but other activities could include cell group and bible studies.
Aside from Monday and Saturday, all the other days we have morning Prayer and devotion time. So I need to be up and ready by 7am.

It's been awesome so far, and God has been teaching me a lot of things about myself and a lot of new things about ministry in Japan. Again I'm very grateful for Him leading me here and opening the door to do ministry here, so I will continue to do my best while I'm here! If there is anything you can pray for, my prayer request list would include:
-Open hearts and minds to the Gospel here as my mission team and I continue to share Christ to the students on Campus that we meet.
- Strength and perseverance, still human, so still get tired at times. pray for strength to carry on.
-vision and innovation, different and inventive ways I can improve and use to reach out.
-last but not least, continued financial support. Again I need at least $400 a month to sustain my living here. it's not much and without you, I cannot go on. again we are all in this together, this is not just my mission but the church. Thank you for the contributions that you have made so far, and I hope you continue to help me out here for the next couple of years. If you have any donations to give, please give it care of Mississauga Family Baptist Church (MFBC), Arigatou Gozaimasu!

well that is my "basic" update for now. My writing probably does suck, but I hope you all understand it! I will update at months end and get into more specifics about how the month of September went! God bless!

A new day

So it's been a week and a bit already since I've came here, but since i only started at J-house today, I'm not too late to start this Blog!

Hello everyone! This is my new blog about my exploits, adventures and updates about the ministry and mission I will partaking in for the next 2 year min. I will try and update regularly when I have the time to do so, but It's probably going to be in monthly installments just to make it a little easier to just put all my exploits in one blog.

Right now, I'm thankful for all your prayers and support that I have been given to get here. Being here for the last week just resting before the work starts has been a blessing. I have been able to do a few visitations to friends and family in Atsumi, Nagoya and Tokyo and have also met a few new friends. I'm in Osaka right now and I have started ministry just today. I will update again after one week to be able to get into more detail.

Again I thank you everyone for your support through prayers and finances. I will still require about $400 a month to be able to sustain my living here. So please if you have anything to give, it would really help ministry here in Japan. We as Christians are all in this together, there are no missionaries without the church and no church without missionaries. If you have anything to give, please give it care of Mississauga Family Baptist Church (MFBC). Thank you and I will continue to Update as I continue.