February/March/April Update!

こんにちわ!!　みんな！！ or Hello everyone, in English :)

So sorry everyone for this super late update on whats been going on! I had meant to actually send it after my Birthday in March, but just forgot about it :S My Apologies! But here i am now giving you an update on everything that has been happening, and I have to tell you, I have a LOT of things to update everyone on so this might be a long one, but PLEASE read to the end, a lot of BIG things happening and I'm very excited to be apart of it!

Campus Ministry

So in February and March, the school year was ended and Spring vacation was going on. But though I was not on campus for those 2 months, surprisingly I was very busy meeting with students that I already knew. Whether it was from our planned events or just me meeting up with students to have lunch with, I was always moving each and everyday or every other day, so it was still very busy and tiring. But I'm thankful to God that he has finally revealed to me people who were interested in the Gospel, so I'm always happy and joyful to share with them even at the cost of food or even my own well being. It has also been a challenge trying to answer the questions that come at me and my colleagues, but through the grace of God and the leading of his Holy Spirit, we've never had a problem answering even the most difficult questions. I think for us here in J-house, we're always given the attitude of "Plus 1" everyday. So we want to work hard to see the plus ones happening for Jesus.

So now in April, My Colleagues and I are back on Campus, but now we only are on once a week. Reason being is that we will be busy with more things to come within our weeks, and Pastor Katsuya doesn't want us to be burnt out. But that doesn't mean we're making campus ministry less of a priority. Its actually even now more urgent for us to work hard and talk to more students since our time on campus has been changed.

J-House and J-Soldier Ministry

So our team has changed yet again. 2 of our team members have went back to their respective homes to pursue other goals and other opportunities. And as we have already bid them farewell, we have gained 2 more team members, from Korea and from Texas. Actually, the Korean person served here for a year and 7 months and only went back to Korea to finish off his schooling. But he's back now and we are thankful for his willingness and heart to stay in Japan to do ministry.

Also have entered a new season of serving, within J-house and outside of it. As I have talked about in the last email, we had plans on planting 2 new churches in the cities of Kobe and Kyoto, and everything has already been under way! We started in Kobe and we had a few Pre-worship session first to get our hearts focused and ready and now just yesterday we had a our first real worship service! and it was great! We actually go out in the streets of Kobe to do street evangelism for about an hour, then we take whoever we find (if they are willing of course) and bring them to the place we hold the worship service. Sounds simple, but in reality, still very difficult. But we trust God will bless our efforts and use his Holy Spirit to lead people to him as we proclaim his word! We also have these churches so that students that we talk to on campus that live in the areas of Kobe and Kyoto can come with no difficulties to worship. We have also just done Kyoto on Saturday too, doing the same thing and we got at least 5 new people there also! It's exciting and I'm happy to be apart of the great plan that God has in store for Japan! Please pray for these churches as we work towards leading people to Christ, that Jesus will use our efforts to build his church!

Also within J-house Osaka, my Duties have changed also, I am now the leader of a GT group (or Cell group). This particular group is the foreigners group in J-house, so Christians that have come from different countries who reside in Osaka and come to J-house. The Vision of the group is to be able to shine as Christians from different countries in Japan and evangelize and make disciples of the nation using the fact that we are foreign as a tool for that. I have just started leading this group so please pray that the Holy Spirit will lead me with a sound mind and heart.
I also am starting to work more closely with the kids groups, doing English songs, stories and games with them every Sunday, now THAT is a challenge, well maybe for me if you know me well lol. But I think i'm getting the hand if it...ALL FOR JESUS!
 I also still lead worship once a month for wednesdays worship nights, and with Kobe and Kyoto, I'm leading at least 2-3 times a week. But now and get this, and I never knew that it was possible, but I now play drums lol...on  a regular basis (maybe 2 to 3 worship sets a month). It seems that they were looking for drummers, so they asked one of the Jesus soldiers who, before she left in march, played drums to teach some of the J-Soldiers to play drums....and I was one of them. It's actually not as difficult as I perceived it to be, and I actually enjoy playing drums. Hope hearing that makes you happy Sid lol.

I am also still discipling a few members of the church, its been going well. I currently have 3 that I am discipling; 2 Japanese and one american who just recently joined the church. Pray that we will all be able to grow and move forward in our faith.

Other Activities:

As with other activities, I still have been working out. I caught a cough and cold a few weeks earlier so it kind of stifled my progress, but I have since gotten over it with a few days of rest and have gotten back in the swing of things.

The English classes that I have been leading with my colleague is still going on. the day has been changed from Tuesday to Wednesday though and my colleague and I have kind of taken a break and given the responsibility to the new  J-soldier. Not to say that I didn't like teaching the class, but we felt that it was better for him to take it because he's experienced and has english teaching credentials, so naturally it would be better.

As for learning Japanese, I just started to get back into my tutoring. I took a break for a month because all that was happening with the 2 new church plants and some other responsibilities which get priority. But since getting back into it, I hope to learn and have it stick in my brain (I hope).

Upcoming Events

We will be having a few more mission teams coming to J-house to help us out this coming summer. I think about 3? Starting this coming May, CFC from Chicago will be sending a team for about 15 days. The rest of the teams, I dont know the dates yet. Pray that God will use them in ways they never thought and that they grow a heart and compassion for the country and its lost peoples.

Also, starting next week will be my vacation. My colleagues and I will have a good weeks rest :D

Prayer Requests

- for the students that I have met and befriended this semester and the last, that God will continue to reveal Jesus to them. Pray that God will use his Spirit to lead them to Christ and Pray that God will Continue to use J-house and each member to do so.
- For My colleagues and I to continue to be faithful to our jobs as missionaries. and to grow with each other through the Spirit and grace and love of Christ
- 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.
- For the church plants that we are going to do. Pray that God will lead us and help extend his church to other cities so that the Gospel will exponentially grow within Japan! We REALLY NEED YOUR SUPPORT! We need all the spiritual support we can get on this one, because we know we cannot do this on our own for sure! and if you are moved to want to support financially also, you make donations at the J-house website: J-House website. We want to be able to partner with all of you Spiritually and prayerfully through this!
- For a revolution in Japan! for spiritual eyes to be opened in Japan and that the 0.5% of christians will increase!
- For God's plan in my life, that things will be revealed for me in the upcoming future

Again I just want to thank you all for the support you have been giving me! I have to say that without all of you I wouldn't be able to live here both spiritually and financially, seeing that Japan is very Spiritually dead and very expensive to live in. It would be very hard to live here without your prayers and financial support! I am able to be content in all that I do and simply because God has provided me with you all. Also wanted to say thank you for all the Birthday wishes, I'm 32 years old now, but its funny. Everyone here still thinks i'm about 23 or 24 :D, I may be 32, but I'm still feeling like a 20 year old and still ready to move forward! Again please continue to pray for all that is happening here, you are a part of this also! Also I will be back in July/August for the special "it was a long time comnig" wedding! lol so I look forward to seeing everyone and updating you on my exploits in person!

December/January Update!

Greetings all!

It's been awhile I know, but here's my January update! Before I go ahead with the update, I just want to say Happy new year for anyone I had missed. It's 2013 already, time moves by soo fast, and I have already been here for more then a year! God has been doing great things in that past year and I'm very humbled to have gone through it all through his power. Makes me excited for the rest of this year coming! Part of December and January were very busy months. J-house had 2 big Christmas events and January we saw 2 short term mission teams come and go from Korea. Just now has everything kind of calmed down.

Campus Ministry

This month marked the end of the semester for the university campuses that we go to on a weekly basis. The students have 2 months of spring before the new year begins, but during that time, it is My team and I's responsibility to keep up with the students that we have befriended and are sharing the gospel with. During the last month before the spring break, we had help from the 2 Korean teams that had come to J-house, it was like mini Korea in J-house lol, but they were very helpful for us in bringing the students out to j-house with events.
Right now, I'm caring for 7 students in sharing the gospel and it seems that all 7 are doing well in wanting to understand the bible and the gospel. I'm hoping and praying that God will open their eyes to Jesus more and more. One of them said that his goal this year or new years resolution was to "become christian", it was encouraging to know that God is working in the hearts of the students, and I want to do my best to share Jesus' love as much as I can and with whatever abilities and gifts he has given me.

J-House and J-Soldier Ministry

I have suddenly become a lot busier in terms of my duties within J-house. The main part of my duties as a J-soldier still remains to be campus evangelism and discipleship, but serving within the church is also up there and it prepares me for what I will face out there. I have been leading worship now monthly, and even the past Christmas/New years holiday, I have led 3 times in 2 weeks :S. Not that I mind of course, I still like to lead worship, and even though its a challenge having to lead worship in sometimes 70% Japanese, its a good experience. Also a lot of things will be changing within J-House which has my team and I more busier then usual. 2 J-Soldiers will be finishing up their term in March and one will be coming during that time also from Texas. Our leader also will be moving out to live with his in-laws, so there will be a lot of transitioning on the way we do things. I hope everything is smooth though.
Also, remember how I was talking about a J-house Extension back in my last update? it was just supposed to be a kind of extending ourselves to people in we know in other cities without being planted because they couldn't come to J-house on Sundays or Wednesdays? Well, Pastor Katsuya has changed his mind, he decided that if we're going to do this, we will go all in! So it is now an official church plant! The first place we will be focusing on is Kobe. Pastor Katsuya and some of the J-Soldiers and I have scouted the city to look for a venue, and God showed us the perfect place on the first place we have scouted! It's not too far from the train stations, its big enough to hold about 30-40 people and it has a sound system we can use, so we don't have to get our own lol, all for the price of about 40-50 dollars an hour. We're still planning other logistics, but as of now, we are starting this March 22nd. I'm excited and nervous at the same time, but I'm very happy to be apart of this and I have faith God will use this for his glory and bless it! and if it goes well in Kobe, we will also start one in Kyoto as soon as we find a place to hold it in. That one will probably start in June, so basically 2 church plants this year lol. Please pray for these 2 plans that God will really bless and use it all for his glory!

Other Activities

I am still learning Japanese and trying to use it when I find that I can. The possibility of me staying here for a very long period of time is highly inevitable (at least right now that's what I'm seeing) so I want to be able to speak as much Japanese as I can.
My english classes on Tuesdays are going really well, they have now changed into an english/bible study/evangelism tool class lol. Many of the church members that have become my english students bring in their friends and colleagues, so my colleague and I have decided to use it to teach the gospel to the new ones that come in, and to teach biblical values and reading to the church members when there aren't new people. I'm happy to see that God has been evolving the class to glorify Him in the end.
I have still been discipling some church members. I do admit, it is a little frustration. Japanese tend to prioritize their work and other "important" things first. So I kind of get the short end of the stick sometimes. I've been learning patience and humility ever since I have started here, so its my responsibility to exercise them. I do have hope still that those who are being discipled will be strong committed christians though. So I will continue to be faithful to them just as God is.

Upcoming events:

February will be a month of many events, the next weekend from the 8-10 we will be having a retreat for the students. we're hoping that we'll get a good amount of students that weekend. Also another Korean team will be coming to J-house for short term missions. Upcoming in March, I will be going to Korea from the 1st to the 4th on a special missions trip for the J-Soldiers and members. We will be scouting for new recruits to be a J-soldier lol.

Prayer Requests

- for the students that I have met and befriended the last semester, that God will continue to reveal Jesus to them. Pray that God will use his Spirit to lead them to Christ and Pray that God will Continue to use J-house and each member to do so.
- For My colleagues and I to continue to be faithful to our jobs as missionaries. and to grow with each other through the Spirit and grace and love of Christ
- 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.
- For the church plants that we are going to do. Pray that God will lead us and help extend his church to other cities so that the Gospel will exponentially grow within Japan! We REALLY NEED YOUR SUPPORT! We need all the spiritual support we can get on this one, because we know we cannot do this on our own for sure! and if you are moved to want to support financially also, you make donations at the J-house website: J-House website. We want to be able to partner with all of you Spiritually and prayerfully through this!
- For a revolution in Japan! for spiritual eyes to be opened in Japan and that the 0.5% of christians will increase!
- For God's plan in my life, that things will be revealed for me in the upcoming future

I think that is all for now. Also J-house is always looking for missionaries, workers that are willing to give their lives to evangelism and discipleship for a year or 2 (preferably 2 lol). So if you like to joint us here (or know anyone that would be interested) please check out the J-house missionary application site: http://www.comejapan.org/ if u have any questions, or interest, also let me know so I can put in a good word


Thank you again for all of your support! I am really thankful for having a supporting church in missions with me on this. Please continue to pray for me and my colleagues as we work here, We are continually always feeling the urgency and the need of the Gospel and the Love of Jesus for the Japanese people.

ありがとうございます！！！　
私たちはイエス様に礼拝をささげましょう！！！

November update! Please Read!!! it's worth every word!

Hey All!

it's been a while since I've updated my blog or even given everyone an update by email, but I figured since my coming back to Canada for a week last month, I decided to use that as my Sept/Oct update. But now is pretty much the end of November and going into December, so here is my update from this month and then some. I will try and update as best I can, but starting next year, more likely in a quarterly basis. Things here are starting to pick up and as of next year, I'll probably be even more busy by the way things are going to play out, but I'll explain all of that in this update!

Campus Ministry

Being on Campus has of course, continued to be the main ministry that the Jesus Soldiers and I have been doing. A lot of things have changed in terms of who goes where this semester partly because of the coming of 2 new missionaries, one from California and one from Indiana, and partly because one of my teammates has went back to home country to get married. So new teams and team leaders have been instituted for sake of structure. I have been charged this semester to lead of the groups to campus every week, and it is a privilege, but also a big challenge, to lead my teammates into ministry. It's a privilege for me because I never expected myself to be a leader of a group while I was here, I just came here with the mindset of "I just want to serve and do my best". But God in his Authority has placed me here for the reason to lead people, and I want to be able to be a humble and faithful servant to what he has given me to do. On the other hand, it has been a challenge for me. Feelings of inadequacy creep up as I look at myself and compare myself to the one before me, which the question in my mind always comes up to "am I doing a job?". But I know I shouldn't be comparing myself to anyone else, and I should just remain faithful to what has been given to me to do, with everything that I have.
This semester has been a little less fruitful in terms of students, which has led me to the conclusion that it's time things we did on campus changed. Of course I still keep up with some of the faithful students that come to meet with me. And I'm still praying that God will open their hearts to what Jesus is telling them, and I'm happy to see what God is doing inside their hearts and the changes in their minds about the gospel. But the parable of the Great Banquet in Luke chapter 14 convicted me one day. Far too many students/friends have made excuses, lies and just stopped contacting me for unknown reasons. I guess it was a reminder that I was not the one changing people, but God was, and if they chose to leave, then so be it, it's time to find new people! Of course, I am always there if those who leave decide they want to contact me again, but rejection and letting go is also part of this job, so it's time to move forward.
I've also had run ins with a few "adversaries" to the faith. Those who in 2 Timothy are the ones described as "useless and meaningless" argument producers and ones that try to destroy the faith others, if for no other reason then for fun and their own fulfillment. It takes a lot of me to just leave them without venting out my full fury. But at the same time I look at the lives that they live and still feel pity for them because of the emptiness and loneliness. Continue to pray that Jesus will reveal himself to them and they will "come to their senses", as Paul says in 2 Timothy.

J-House and J-Soldier Ministry

This month has been a very busy one in terms of Church events and ministry within. It has also been one of many new ideas and breakthroughs, all which I am excited about and happy to be apart of and can't for next year!!!! We've recently had a mission team from Korea come for a week. They are part of an Organization that J-house originally had ties with and received missionaries from in the past, but for certain reasons had a a small falling out with. Now, we are trying to fix those severed ties and it looks like things are on the up and up again with the Organization. And we are looking forward to continually building our relationship with them from here on. Also this month is a month of many conferences. Some of my teammates and I have joined the Global Leadership Conference here in Japan. The conference was started by the Pastor of Willow Creek Community church, Bill Hybels, from his church in Illinois, and has spread out worldwide. A few of us are attending the conference now while another few of us are attending a conference in Tokyo by a Hillsong branch church called Jesus Lifehouse and hosted by Brian Houston. And still another one of us are attending another Leadership conference in another Prefecture of Osaka. So pray that God will keep my team and I learning and applying so that we can be more effective on the field.
Also, I guess I have the go to let everyone know, but Pastor Katsuya and the J-soldier team have been working hard on Campus every time we go and through no lack of effort on our own (as my Leader and friend would say), we kind of hit a plateau and were looking for a breakthrough in the ministries that we are a part of. We go to 3 campuses and we've met many students, we've seen a lot come and go, but even for the ones that are still here, they receive the word with piqued interest, or have received Christ into their lives, but they don't go to church! A lot of the students feel it's too far, and rightfully so, as some of the campuses that I go to take a fare amount of money to get to, and Students are not rich. But anyway, whatever the problem or excuse, we have been praying about it and the solution is, if its too difficult to come to J-house in Osaka, we will bring J-house to them in theirs. Right now we are praying about 2 locations, Kyoto and Kobe, a lot of the students that we know come form those cities and they are a good distance away from Osaka. The idea we have is called the J-house extensions. We use the word "extension" for now because it's not starting as a church plant, but if it's successful then would become a church plant. We will begin with a Saturday night worship in one of the cities, and if it works well, we will also do Friday night in another city. We are still praying about it and setting things up for it, we have no Official date except that it will start next year. But I'm really excited and can't wait to see what God has in store for j-house and Japan next year!
Also I have been put into Rotation on wednesday night worship leading! I know I said I don't lead anymore and hardly pick up a guitar for leading, but when I got back from Canada, suddenly that all changed lol. I at least will be doing once a month on wednesday nights. and I have a feeling it will be for getting me ready to do worship services for the extensions. But either way, I'm glad to be back into the worship leading mix. It's a little different because I have a new team to work with and new (japanese) songs to learn also :D. But I welcome the challenge and hope that I can be of service through music again! :)

Other Activities

I have still been reading, but not as frequently as I want to, but I'm still trying when I can. Also the english conversational class I have been teaching has "evolved" if you will, into an English bible study, with it turning into english class evangelism at times lol. But I'm glad God is using it to further his kingdom. I find that too many of the church members do not know the basics of what they believe in, and its a good opportunity to go through that and more with them when they are willing, and also when they bring non-christian friends, to be able to share the gospel to them. I also have been formally discipling a few church members that have become leaders in the church. I know that they have the potential to lead, but because of some the tendencies to stay "Japanese", they lack the skill and confidence to carry out leadership decisions. So with a little learning, I know they can become good leaders in Christ.

Upcoming Events

Next week we are having the annual BIG USA thanksgiving event. I was only here for the one last year, but it was the biggest event we had, with almost 110 people coming in. We we're glad that we had just the right amount of food! We're hoping we will be better prepared for this years and also hoping many students will be able to come out for this one too. Also Christmas is coming around!!!! and we are holding the annual SUPER CHRISTMAS event! It's held on 2 days, the 15th and the 24th and we are hoping that we will be able to spread the true meaning of Christmas in Japan.

Prayer Requests

- for the students that I have met and befriended this semester, that God will continue to reveal Jesus to them. Pray that God will use his Spirit to lead them to Christ and Pray that God will Continue to use J-house and each member to do so.
- For My colleagues and I to continue to be faithful to our jobs as missionaries. and to grow with each other through the Spirit and grace and love of Christ
- 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.
- For the J-house extension projects for next year, Pray that God will lead us and help extend his church to other cities so that the Gospel will exponentially grow within Japan! We REALLY NEED YOUR SUPPORT! We need all the spiritual support we can get on this one, because we know we cannot do this on our own for sure! and if you are moved to want to support financially also, you make donations at the J-house website: J-House website. We want to be able to partner with all of you Spiritually and prayerfully through this!
- For a revolution in Japan! for spiritual eyes to be opened in Japan and that the 0.5% of christians will increase!

I think that is all for now. Also J-house is always looking for missionaries, workers that are willing to give their lives to evangelism and discipleship for a year or 2 (preferably 2 lol). So if you like to joint us here (or know anyone that would be interested) please check out the J-house missionary application site: http://www.comejapan.org/ if u have any questions, or interest, also let me know so I can put in a good word

Thank you again for all of your support! I am really thankful for having a supporting church in missions with me on this. and I was really glad to see everyone back in Toronto! Please continue to pray for me and my colleagues as we work here, We are continually always feeling the urgency and the need of the Gospel and the Love of Jesus for the Japanese people.
I'll be back again for another Update! but in due time, Adieu!

PS, sorry I have no pictures this time, but I will for the next update, stay tuned!

July/half of August Update!

Konnichiwa!

Hello all! I'm back for another update! Sorry, I meant to send this update a little earlier during the month, but I have been really busy this first half of August accommodating missions teams, preparing for summer camps and organizing other events. I now have some free time so I'm able to get on and update what has happened in the last month and a half.

Campus Ministry

Last month marked the end of the semester for campus ministry. Most of the students had exams during that time, so it was hard to get a hold of the students that we knew, and even hard to speak to new ones because of the study time that they devoted themselves to. Also the ones that did not have exams, were already on their summer vacations, going places and doing other things then, of course, going to school (which is what I would do to). But though we weren't able to talk to the students that we knew, the connections that we have made have been very fruitful the past semester. we have seen at least 3 or 4 students accept the Gospel, now we continue to pray that God will move their hearts so that they may grow and "work out" their salvation, as it says in Philippians. God also blessed us the past 2 months with excellent missions teams to help us out, and I'm very thankful to have met all of them and worked with all of them.
We've recently had one girl accept the Gospel, and her faith is genuinely seen! We have actually been in contact with her for a long time (since last year i think). and everytime we shared the gospel with her, she seemed to think "i have a good family, good friends, why do I need God?" kind of mindset. Only recently has the spirit started to move in her, which was really surprising to me because she disappeared for a good 3 months (doing job hunting), but it was really evident that something in her heart started moving because she started coming to j-house almost literally everyday. She just recently accepted as a I mentioned about 4 weeks ago? and she is already thinking about being baptized (praise God!). But it kind of humbled me in a way where, sometimes we think God is not moving because of the our impatience. I know I have been discouraged at times because one thing I have learned about this job is that rejection everyday is part of it. And its not the kind of outright, obvious "get out of my face" rejection that we can experience in North America. Japanese people like to avoid conflict. and if they see that what they say or do will cause conflict, they will just not do anything! So the amount of indirect rejection that me and colleagues face is numerous, and it can take a toll on you, making us ask ourselves "what did I do wrong?" or making us think that its personally against us that the people we call "friends" that we meet, don't want to talk or hang out or even answer our emails (I just recently had a dose of that with a friend that I think genuinely accepted, but then just suddenly stopped contacting me for a good month now). But time and time and again I am humbled by the fact that it is God that moves hearts and it is God that saves. We just have to continue to remain faithful to the things that he has given to us to do. We give glory to God by remaining obedient. So no matter what happens now, rejection or acceptance, I just want to remain faithful to the work. After that kind of realization, I love this job and the people even more and will continue to work harder to see souls saved and a revival in Japan!

Church and J-Soldier ministry

Been very busy at j-house the last month. Preparing events for students and having the missions team over. I think we have had people over almost everyday since that time. Just now is everything starting to die down. But we also just had our summer camp, and it was a great blessing just getting to worship and fellowship and get to know the j-house members even more. It was a good refresher from the busyness that is Japan. Unfortunately though, Pastor Katsuya could not come to the camp because he picked up a virus and was hospitalized for a week. He really wanted to come and tried to get out early, but proved to be impossible so he was not present. So continue to pray for his that he will recover and be back at 100%. This month also, 2 of the J-soldiers have finished their tour of service (we are soldiers lol) and are going back to their respective country...I say country because they are both from Korea. One has already left in the beginning of the month and the other is leaving in 2 days. It is sad to see them both leave (well the other one is coming back in 5 months....he loves this country THAT much! lol) but I can say that the bonds that we have all built together will not be broken that easily *sniff*, and God willing, we will see each other again. Other then that, everything has been as it is, church services are still great and street evangelism as also been great! we have been getting some more people from the streets of Osaka to come to J-house. We were actually thinking if it was worth doing every saturday because we didn't see anything coming out of it after 1 year. But again, we wanted to stay faithful in doing the jobs we are given, so that's what we are doing, and we trust God will do what he promised to do and be glorified.

Other Activities

Recently during my free time, I have been studying the bible a lot more then usual. I have been also reading a lot more which was my goal in the first place because I didn't want to spend my time doing idle and pointless things. I actually got 3 free e-books by Francis Chan (Thank God for free books!) so I have a lot of reading to catch up on! I also still hold my english conversational classes on tuesdays and its proving to be a great tool for either evangelism OR bible study growth! Study bible AND learn english at the same time! 2 birds, 1 stone! lol I'm also still studying Japanese....I think though its time to start learning a lot more seriously because the 2 that are leaving this month were the 2 or 3 soldiers that could speak Japanese! And we need people that can speak Japanese, so pray that God will move me also to learn the language....and that I can learn it quickly lol.

Upcoming Events

next week will mark the starting of the J-soldier vacation! God knows we do need a vacation and rest sometimes lol. So we, of course, welcome it! Also, though we are losing 2 J-soldiers, we are gaining 2 more in the end of september, both from America, so God is still providing other workers for the mission :D other then that, there are no other events coming up here for the time being

Prayer Requests

- for the students that I have met and befriended this semester, that God will continue to reveal Jesus to them. Pray that God will use his Spirit to lead them to Christ and Pray that God will Continue to use J-house and each member to do so.
- For My colleagues and I to continue to be faithful to our jobs as missionaries. and to grow with each other through the Spirit and grace and love of Christ
- 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.
- For a revolution in Japan! for spiritual eyes to be opened in Japan and that the 0.5% of christians will increase!

Soooooooo Wow! its been almost 1 year! Its actually gone sooooo fast! I'm glad for this year, God has continued to show me a lot more and revealed to me a lot more. Again I thank you all for joining me in this mission. My love for the country and the japanese people has grown even more, so to me, the urgency to see more Japanese souls saved has grown. I think you all for your prayers and your donations, and I hope that you will continue to join me in Support of this mission. Again, here are some pictures of the events that have just passed, enjoy!

April, May and June updates

Hello all!

It's been a long time since I've updated everyone, I'm sorry I couldn't get the chance to do so earlier, the last few months have been busier then usual, getting back into Campus ministry, preparing for retreats and especially this past June having another team from the US here for month and getting other events ready. It's hard to find time to relax these days so when I do get those times, I totally get lazy in writing my updates to catch up on sleep or read, or walk around Osaka to get refreshed. But I shall try and be more consist on a monthly basis with my updates, Hope no ones angry or nothing! anyway, on to business!

Campus Ministry

Campus ministry has been very very interesting to say the least since we started up again in April. We have seen God working in many of the hearts of students that we thought were unreachable at the time. And though it's a struggle everyday at times (keeping our energy and hopes up), I and the rest of the J-soldiers want to just continue to be faithful in the work that God has given to us to do. Right now, I have been keeping up with 7 or 8 different students from 2 different campuses. Sharing and ministering to them as much as I can and hoping that God will continue to speak to their hearts and open their eyes to Jesus. One in particular has shown great interest to the point of asking me questions initially and letting me know what he's learned while reading the bible (his own I might add) on his own. And though he is a student that I speak to about the gospel,  I want to be able to also be a friend to him and go out of my way to let him know the love Christ has given, not just make him an evangelism project. So one day I went out of my way to walk him to the train station even though I wasn't leaving yet, and later on he thanked me for the kindness. I know we we're all given the task to preach the gospel everywhere we go, but I like to remind myself of 1 Corinthians 13:1 and Matthew 22:37-39 and continue to grow in love with the students that I have come in contact with and preach to. So really in the end, they aren't just students that I talk to, they're also my friends! So that's how I view them now. Past April and May we have seen many come to J-house, whether events or Sunday Worship, and we continue to pray to God that he will work in them. This past June, a mission team from CFC (Covenant Fellowship Church) has come from Chicago to help us out for a month. They have been a great help getting events and just expanding the campus ministry. It's been really busy since we changed up the schedules so that we could staying longer on campus to get to meet and talk more to students that we have met, and even meet new ones. But the last 3 months have been a real blessing and encouragement and I'm excited to see what will happen next!

Church and J-Soldier ministry

Things at J-house have also been very exciting. The past months we have seen many new comers (at least 30-40 a month), 4 people get baptized and 10 people get inducted as new members of the church. So it has been a major blessing! Also with the Mission team here our jobs have been a little bit lightened so we get to focus on a few other things right now. I and my J-soldier family have preached a couple of times to help Pastor Katsuya out. I can say though that I really don't have the knack of preaching infront of people, So only by the grace of God it was done well haha. In May, a few of the staff members of J-house and the J-soldiers went to a camp near Mount Fuji to relax and meet other churches and christians to fellowship with. J-house is apart of a network of churches called New Hope. They are from Hawaii and they have come here to plant churches in various parts of the country, most of the churches are in the Tokyo/Yokohama area. It was good to meet them and get to know that there are many just like us in Japan working for a revival in the country. I also met a former strongest man competitor/Dallas cowboy football player from Samoa named Pastor Joe Onosai. Biggest man I have ever met, won a super bowl AND the strongest man competition 2 years in a row, but has a great testimony and even greater passion for the lost.
Right now, The Chicago team is only here for another week, so they are working their hardest and doing their best to be stay faithful, and this Saturday coming up there will be a concert at J-house called Hope United, to raise money for those in the Tsunami/Earthquake disaster area. It's a Gospel choir music concert, and the members have been practicing very hard to get this underway. I will be playing bass and Guitar for a few of the songs. Pray that it will be a blessing to those that come through!
Also we have been continuing Street evangelism every Saturday. it has become a little bit more difficult to go out there and play music because we have been stopped a couple of times by the actual police this time. Though we praise God because everytime we have been stopped, it's always AFTER we're done for the night lol. But we're hoping that God will still continue to give us new ways if we're ever stopped before we can start.

Other Activities

As for my Extra activities, they remain the same for the most part. I have been continuing to study Japanese under the tutelage of one of the Church staff members. I hope to get my listening skills a lot more improved by the end of the year and start actual usage of the language for the next. But all in all I will get the language, or at least a good part of it, that is my promise ;). I have also started a new English conversational class every tuesday night. I don't really teach anything new, I just have the class so that those who want to practice their english have a chance to. So we really just talk about anything in our lives to start up the "lessons". I haven't been reading much lately, which I probably should get back into soon. If not, starting August when things die down a little bit. I haven't really had time to just relax at a coffee shop and read. But I hope that will change soon. oh yes in May I got my first visitor from Toronto. TJ came to visit me and it was really good to hang out with someone from Canada and just show him the ropes in Osaka. Even though it was a short time, I'm glad we were able to just chat and catch up with things (and be filled in with others lol). Sooooo if y'all have the time and money COME VISIT ME, is what I'm saying.

Upcoming events

For the Month of July, The Chicago team will be leaving on the 11th, but the very next day, a team from Orange County, California will be coming for the month, so we hope the transition will be a good one. We need to clean a lot of sheets in a short amount of time, so we're hoping things will be smooth and fast lol. Other then that, no real major events that I can really think of for the month of July. I'll let you know if there is later.

Prayer Requests

- for the students that I have met and befriended this semester, that God will continue to reveal Jesus to them. Pray that God will use his Spirit to lead them to Christ and Pray that God will Continue to use J-house and each member to do so.
- For Energy and strength each day, since rainy season has come around I have been experiencing a few headaches here and there, maybe because of change of weather and just constant business, also pray that I continue to keep my focus in check.
- 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.
- For the mission team and their remaining time here. That God will continue to grow their hearts for the people that they minister to.
- For a revolution in Japan! for spiritual eyes to be opened in Japan and that the 0.5% of christians will increase!

Again I Apologize for the lateness of my update. I will try to update more frequently and consistently. Also Thank you for your donations in this endeavor. I know that this isn't only my ministry but given to all of us as a whole! So I thank you for those who have shown kindness through monetary support. It has been a great help especially during the past few months. Also I have heard about Pastor Brian, and I'm saddened by the loss. He was a real inspiration to me when it came to missions and I will miss him. But I also rejoice because he is with our Creator and Lord enjoying his presence and no longer suffering on this world. I also hope that the missions team for this summer will go well in the name of Jesus. As long as we continue to be faithful, no matter what happens, God will provide and work! A few pictures on the bottom on campus and within the church! enjoy!

Until next month!

March Update!

Hey all

I'm back with another update! I hope everyone still read this stuff that I'm writing, lol. But yeah, March was interesting month even though I wasn't on campus, The birthday past and got older by another year, by the way, thanks to everyone that greeted me on my birthday. really appreciate it for sure! And even though I'm 31 I still feel like I'm in my 20's (and look like it apparently, thank the Lord for the asian blood!) and still ready to do ministry without slowing down! Anyway, down to the update!

Student Ministry

As I mentioned in February, the Students are on their break until the next semester starts, so we had a lot of time on our hands, but again, still on the job so it was more difficult to come with ways to meet up with students that we already knew. But I would say this March was though challenging, very fruitful! We have had 2 (hoping to be 3) people convert to Christ and one (hoping to be 2) getting baptized on easter day! It may not seem much, but again, even when one turns to Christ, the heavens rejoice (Luke 15:7). So we praise God just the same when we get one or 2 that come to Christ, it's not about the numbers of course!
Again, the J-soldiers are always on the job and we have continued to work and challenge ourselves during the vacation time, as so not to get idle and lazy. But to be ready for the month April when classes start again, so that we will be ready to face the challenges and situations that we come across with faith and courage! I promise for next month for sure, there will be more to put in this section!

Church and J-soldier Ministry

So we have been very busy here at the church as of this March. Pastor Katsuya wants to implement new changes to the systems of doing things, so there have been a lot of changes within the leaderships like with certain ministries and cell groups. The main focus for this year is Discipleship, and I completely agree with the move he has made. A lot of the church members are still young christians, and it's important that they all start growing in knowledge and wisdom of the Gospel. Japanese people unlike western culture, were not taught to think critically and for themselves, so it takes longer for them to be catalysts in their communities and for them to even be motivated in reading and studying their bible. So we have been mobilized to start discipling members of the church so that they can become strong men and women of the gospel. I have been teaching a few here and there, and have been given the task of discipling a few members. it's been a little difficult because, with the kind of work schedules that Japanese men have with their work, they hardly have time to meet at all sometimes. The only thing I can do right now is keep praying and pushing to meet with them, and take advantage of the time I do have.
Also the J-Soldier lineup has changed a little bit somewhat. One of the J-soldiers has ended their term here. But he has decided to stay in Japan to continue to help J-house. He is Actually getting married to one of the members here also. But even though we "lost" him during campus ministry, we have gained 2 other j-soldiers this March. A Japanese man in his 40's to help out with building a kids ministry within J-house which would include afternoon programs and games for children around 4 to 10 years old, and an american girl from Tennessee! Shes here for a year to help out on campus and with the j-soldier responsibilities. So a little bit of a change in the roster, but its been interesting to say the least!
As for me I have been given more responsibilities within the church, working with the P.A./lights/Pro Presenter/Power Point for worship services and also leading church clean up teams, and though its sometimes mind numbing, it's still good work and I'm happy to do it! I have also been singing/occasionally playing guitar for the worship team and still also continue to lead worship when we go out to street evangelism every Saturday.

Other Activities:
I have been continuing to read more, finishing off another book which equals about 4 books in the past 4 months? The last book I have been reading is called Jesus + Nothing = Everything. A very nice book that helps you understand that nothing you do or obtain in this life can ever satisfy or even get you into good graces with God the father, but that Jesus is everything that we need and has already done everything for us, from taking and keeping our probation under the law to defeating sin and death on the cross. It was very enlightening and very eye opening for me to know that even if I fail, he's always there to pick me up to keep going. Also I have been learning every day that I cannot keep thinking like a westerner when it comes to Japanese people. Though I'm in an international church, I still deal with Japanese people who have different mindsets and different ways of doing things, not to mention different perspectives on their surroundings and how they perceive certain gestures and actions. So God has been humbling me and correcting me constantly during this month and though it hurt to realize those things, I'm happy to know it and to given the chance to correct myself. God has been mercifully watching over me everyday so that I may be able to effectively serve and love the Japanese people.

Upcoming events

So Easter is coming up and we will have a baptism that day (rejoice!). One of the students that I was co-discipling has decided to come to Toronto under my suggestion to studying english for 8 months. So before she goes, she has decided that she wants to get baptized so that she can show everyone that she is a follower of Christ (hallelujah!). Also again, Campus ministry has started again, and there are a lot of new freshmen to talk to and get to know! So please pray for Jesus to use us and to reveal himself to the students that we talk to!

Prayer Requests
- For the new The new semester, that God uses the J-soldiers and I to the fullest of the abilities that he has given us and to open the hearts and minds of the students on campus to who Jesus Christ is and what he has done for them.
- For the J-soldiers to adjust to certain changes that happen in J-house regarding ministry and duties and even for the new j-soldier to adjust to Japan, and even for me to just continue to under the Japanese mind and to use that understanding to love them and share more.
- 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.
- For a revolution in Japan! for spiritual eyes to be opened in Japan and that the 0.5% of christians will increase!

Again I would like to thank everyone for their support, and also for the monetary support for last month! It has been very helpful especially with all the events that we need to use money with. I hope you will continue to Pray with me in this venture because it is not just me but I'm with all of you while I'm here.

Matane (see you later)

February update!

Hey everyone!

I'm back for the monthly update! I hope everyone had a good February! I certainly had a good, yet challenging time this month. Definitely things are always interesting here as I continue to minister to people and to serve at J-house, but I enjoy every moment I have good or bad, easy or difficult! Anyway, on to my updates for the month!

Student Ministry

At this moment, I Think I have mentioned in the last update that the students are on vacation until April, so that means we are not going on campuses. But though we don't go on campus, we are still working and ministering to the students that we have come to know and communicate with. The rest of the J-soldiers and I are challenged every week to try and meet up and continue to deepen the relationships we have made on campus and to share the gospel with them. we have also created many events so that we have opportunities to hang out with them. It's actually a lot more difficult then it sounds, we have many students that we talk to so it was hard to keep track of how we were doing and the progress we were making, so we created a spread sheet in order to "map" the people we were talking to that we check every week. Also the students are also looking to do other things and go other places, so getting a hold of them is a difficult but continuous task every week of emails, phone calls, text messages and facebook messages. We have had good progress so far though through Jesus. One of the students that had come to visit us has prayed the prayer of acceptance! Praise God! But of course it doesn't end there since we also want to make sure that he understands everything that he has done, and also to keep up with him to help him grow in Christ! But it's very encouraging to know that God is working in the students that He leads us to talk to, all we have to do is follow! Also one of the students that my colleague and I are discipling is looking to get baptized in the next few months! She's taking the classes to help her understand the meaning behind being baptized, and I'm very happy that she has decided to take the step of faith and to proclaim to the world that she is a follower of Christ! I'm very blessed and humbled to see how God is working even when we are not on campus.

Church and J-Soldier Ministries

February was also very busy month for the Jesus Soldiers and I. We have been asked by Pastor Katsuya to give messages this whole month so that he can also focus on writing his new disciple book for the church. as I mentioned in my last update, I was charged to speak at our Wednesday Power worship session the first wednesday of the month. It was a bit of a challenge because I had to consider timing with Japanese translations. Translation basically doubles the time of the message, so I had to think about how to make my message fit in a 20 minute time slot. But by God's grace, it went well, though I was really nervous. We also continue street evangelism every Saturday. we have been blessed to have a few teams from YWAM help us during those times we go out and proclaim the Gospel. Though I still think this month for us was the most difficult. On even one Saturday, we we're kicked out of all 3 locations we were singing at by security! It was a strange thing because we had always played in those locations, yet on that night, security chose to kick us out lol! But again we continue on as God directs us every Saturday to go out and proclaim the Gospel in Osaka, and it is still always a blessing to do so! We have met many people and by God's grace, some of those people have come to J-house to hear about the word! So we ain't gonna stop now haha! This month we were also graced with another mission team from Korea, I actually never saw them much though. Their church is called the Davidic Generation, and they were a much younger group then the last mission team that came. I didn't know much about what they did in Osaka since they only used J-house as a base of operation, but they were a nice bunch of kids and they help a lot during the times when we did collaborate and do ministry together!

Other Ministry and Daily Lifestyle

This month during my times when I'm not too busy, I'm reading and studying a lot more. I have invested in an Amazon Kindle (electronic book) because buying books here is sort of difficult....especially when I'm trying to find english titles, so having the Kindle helps me get the books I want to read. Right now, I'm trying to only read Christian literature so that I may be able to build up my knowledge of the word and get insights from other Pastors and teachers. I find that my knowledge, though I may be here, is still lacking, and I want to be able to grow so that I may be able to combat the challenges that come ahead. I'm also continuing my Japanese lessons. It still goes slow for me, but I want to get up to a point where I can actually converse to people in Japanese and get deeper into other topics. God willing, I will be able to do so by the end of my first year!

Upcoming Events

We have a few more upcoming events for March. More student get togethers such as Ice Skating, an International Party and a talent night. So please pray for those events and wisdom on how we can reach out to the students. This is the last month before school starts, and we want to be able to use this time, now that students aren't busy with studying, to hang out and minister to them. Pray that Jesus reveals himself to them and opens their hearts to the gospel.

Prayer Requests
- For the new year and the things to come. We have many things planned for this year in J-house, but we are continuing to pray that God has his way with us and our plans to give him the all the glory in everything that we do.
- For the next month we are not on campus, for us to be able to make connections and spiritual encounters with the students, and that they may open up their eyes to gospel
- 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.
- For a revolution in Japan! for spiritual eyes to be opened in Japan and that the 0.5% of christians will increase!

again I want to thank you all for supporting me in this venture, I hope that you continue to support the mission that is happening here. I appreciate everything that is being done to back my up and I want to assure you that I'm praying for everyone back home too! I also saw Jerry and Jasmines baby and that everything is well, Praise God! thanks for the updates! I have no pictures of anything last months, I failed to take any,  but I'll make it up to everyone next month! till next time! I actually would probably do good to invest in a good camera! this Iphone can only take me so far lol