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!