If anyone is reading this blog...sorry about the previous post... That post was supposed to go to my Japan Teams' Blog. Sorry for any confusion! I assume the Kobo cottage visitors made it back safely.
Once again, thank you for all your prayers and support. Praise God for the lives that were changed and the seeds that were sown.
in Christ
kevin
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
First day
We Made It!
Hey everybody! Just wanted to let you all know that we arrived safely. We were supposed to be at a youth camp today, but that event got scratched due to a typhoon that missed
Anyways, this is a short post because we are off to Higa Sensei’s church. They evacuated all the kids from the camp because there was a possibility that there would not be ferry service for the next few days. So, the camp fire that we were supposed to have at the camp is being held at Higa Sensei’s church.
Tomorrow is a relatively light day, so someone should be able to make a more detailed post.
Thanks for all your prayers and support!
In Christ
Kevin
Tuesday, August 7, 2007
The Last Days :)
Daniel promised more posts, but now he's out of town, so here is an update on what has happened since the last post. :)
After a very creative and turbo scrapbooking session (they brought materials home with them to finish the project in Japan), everyone went to Kevin's house for a "home party" (not to be confused with a "house party" ha ha). We had dinner, played games, and shared testimonies. There was lots of time for thoughtful discussion about spiritual things (thanks to Michele Lin) and relationship building (thanks to our God-given goofiness). Christianity is so new to our Kobo friends, and sometimes we have to step back and remind ourselves that they are not only hearing many things for the first time, but they are also interpreting what we say according to a different point of view. I know I learned a lot about the Japanese mindset and worldview from our time together that night. I am even more convinced and convicted now of how much He loves those He created in His image.
We ended that night with a "birthday party" for Mr. Goto, who had just become a Christian the night before. Yes, we're kind of cheesy that way (I take full responsibility for the suggestion), but it was lots of fun. :) He expressed a desire to be baptized, so plans were made to do so the next day.
The next day, after the high school Sunday school class, we went to Evergreen LA to worship with our brothers and sisters there. Afterwards, we brought the group back to the SGV office for lunch, and Pastor Cory presented the gospel via a bilingual 4 Spiritual Laws tract. From there, we went to Kaz and Terri Tanaka's home for a final pool party/BBQ. (Thanks, again, Tanakas and everyone who helped out!) We enjoyed a musical performance by our Kobo friends and testimonies from two of the Kobo youth and Kaz Tanaka. After dinner, Mr. Goto was baptized by Pastor Cory in the swimming pool (just like at Rio Hondo!). Throughout the afternoon/evening, we also had time to write notes of blessing and encouragement to our Kobo friends, which were then given to them...
...on Monday, when we met at the SGV office to take them to LAX. We sent them off yesterday. Well, most of them -- Aki and Mikiko get to stay a few extra days to make up for lost time due to Aki's little mumps adventure. Garrett and Liz took them shopping after we saw the rest of the group go through the security check point. Aki and Mikiko will be leaving on Thursday, so please continue to pray for their time here. We're blessed to have the extra opportunity to share Jesus with them.
Praises and Prayer Requests:
*God has done so much in the last 10 days, even though we might not be able to define all of it! We trust that He has used us to prepare the soil, to plant seeds, and to water them. We fully expect that He will produce a harvest in His perfect timing.
*God has watched over each person involved by giving us energy and good health and allowing us to enjoy serving Him in this way. Who else can make serving so satisfying?
*For the seeds that were planted, that He will provide the follow-up care in Japan for our Kobo friends.
*For stumbling blocks and blindfolds to be removed so each of our guests will come to a place where they can fully receive and embrace Jesus as their Savior and Lord.
*For Mr. Goto, as he begins walking out his relationship with God in Japan. It can be difficult to find support as a Christian there, so please pray that God will provide him with a solid home church and fellowship of believers to encourage him.
*For each person who came, that God would bless their lives.
Since I'm pretty new to all of this blogging technology (last time I blogged was 2 years ago for another Japan ministry!), I don't have any pictures to post. Or I just don't know how. I couldn't even figure out how to make text bold! So, one of the other team members will post pictures later. :)
Thank you so much for your prayers and encouragement! It's truly been a pleasure serving our incredible God with you.
blessings, josie
After a very creative and turbo scrapbooking session (they brought materials home with them to finish the project in Japan), everyone went to Kevin's house for a "home party" (not to be confused with a "house party" ha ha). We had dinner, played games, and shared testimonies. There was lots of time for thoughtful discussion about spiritual things (thanks to Michele Lin) and relationship building (thanks to our God-given goofiness). Christianity is so new to our Kobo friends, and sometimes we have to step back and remind ourselves that they are not only hearing many things for the first time, but they are also interpreting what we say according to a different point of view. I know I learned a lot about the Japanese mindset and worldview from our time together that night. I am even more convinced and convicted now of how much He loves those He created in His image.
We ended that night with a "birthday party" for Mr. Goto, who had just become a Christian the night before. Yes, we're kind of cheesy that way (I take full responsibility for the suggestion), but it was lots of fun. :) He expressed a desire to be baptized, so plans were made to do so the next day.
The next day, after the high school Sunday school class, we went to Evergreen LA to worship with our brothers and sisters there. Afterwards, we brought the group back to the SGV office for lunch, and Pastor Cory presented the gospel via a bilingual 4 Spiritual Laws tract. From there, we went to Kaz and Terri Tanaka's home for a final pool party/BBQ. (Thanks, again, Tanakas and everyone who helped out!) We enjoyed a musical performance by our Kobo friends and testimonies from two of the Kobo youth and Kaz Tanaka. After dinner, Mr. Goto was baptized by Pastor Cory in the swimming pool (just like at Rio Hondo!). Throughout the afternoon/evening, we also had time to write notes of blessing and encouragement to our Kobo friends, which were then given to them...
...on Monday, when we met at the SGV office to take them to LAX. We sent them off yesterday. Well, most of them -- Aki and Mikiko get to stay a few extra days to make up for lost time due to Aki's little mumps adventure. Garrett and Liz took them shopping after we saw the rest of the group go through the security check point. Aki and Mikiko will be leaving on Thursday, so please continue to pray for their time here. We're blessed to have the extra opportunity to share Jesus with them.
Praises and Prayer Requests:
*God has done so much in the last 10 days, even though we might not be able to define all of it! We trust that He has used us to prepare the soil, to plant seeds, and to water them. We fully expect that He will produce a harvest in His perfect timing.
*God has watched over each person involved by giving us energy and good health and allowing us to enjoy serving Him in this way. Who else can make serving so satisfying?
*For the seeds that were planted, that He will provide the follow-up care in Japan for our Kobo friends.
*For stumbling blocks and blindfolds to be removed so each of our guests will come to a place where they can fully receive and embrace Jesus as their Savior and Lord.
*For Mr. Goto, as he begins walking out his relationship with God in Japan. It can be difficult to find support as a Christian there, so please pray that God will provide him with a solid home church and fellowship of believers to encourage him.
*For each person who came, that God would bless their lives.
Since I'm pretty new to all of this blogging technology (last time I blogged was 2 years ago for another Japan ministry!), I don't have any pictures to post. Or I just don't know how. I couldn't even figure out how to make text bold! So, one of the other team members will post pictures later. :)
Thank you so much for your prayers and encouragement! It's truly been a pleasure serving our incredible God with you.
blessings, josie
Saturday, August 4, 2007
Scrapbooking!
Hi Everybody!
Right now, our guests are scrapbooking about their week here, thanks to our very able scrapbooking team, led by Josie. We are providing them with all the materials and photos. They will also receive transcripts (in Japanese) of the testimonies they have heard this week, so they have the gospel message with them to bring back to Japan to remember and show their friends!
Pray that as they look back upon their experience, God would continue to work in their hearts to show them His love through what we have done and said.
More update tonight!
-Daniel Eng
Right now, our guests are scrapbooking about their week here, thanks to our very able scrapbooking team, led by Josie. We are providing them with all the materials and photos. They will also receive transcripts (in Japanese) of the testimonies they have heard this week, so they have the gospel message with them to bring back to Japan to remember and show their friends!
Pray that as they look back upon their experience, God would continue to work in their hearts to show them His love through what we have done and said.
More update tonight!
-Daniel Eng
Praise God!
"In the same way, there is joy in the presence of God’s angels when even one sinner repents."
Luke 15:10
Hello everybody! It's your friendly Director of Transportation, Logistics and Supplies, posting to the blog again. And, much like the previous times, it's late at night...why break the routine, right?
Let me just say, today was amazing. It started at the Japanese American National Museum. The Kobo Cottage guests said they had not heard that much about Japanese American history. Once we finished, we went to Nijiya Market to purchase bento boxes for dinner.
We headed back to the church office for lunch and much needed rest time--for both guests and core team! Some of the boys took a much needed nap while the girls played guitar hero.
At 4, we headed off to the Harvest Crusade, which was held at Angel Stadium in Anaheim. Worship was led by the Harvest worship band, Phil Wickham, and the David Crowder Band. However, the highlight of the evening (and the whole day) happened when Greg Laurie (the event speaker) gave the invitation for those who wanted to accept Christ to come forward. Mr. Goto, the Kobo Cottage administrator, said he wanted to go forward to accept Christ! Michelle (our translator), Daniel Eng and myself gladly accompanied him down to the field where he was led in a formal prayer. Praise be to God for a life that has been changed!
As we look forward to tomorrow there are a few prayer requests that we have. But first, let me list some of the praises...First, Mr. Goto accepting Christ! Second, Aki was able to join us at the Harvest Crusade!
Prayer requests...Tomorrow we are going to have a time of sharing testimonies and discussion tomorrow evening. This is going to be a time where we present the Gospel and hope to answer any questions that they may have. Pray that they would be open to hearing the Gospel and that God would speak through us.
Second, continue to keep our health in your prayers (especially Aki's).
Third, pray for God to give everybody energy...we have all had some late nights the past few days and are beginning to feel the effects of the lack of sleep.
Thanks everybody!
in Christ
kevin
Friday, August 3, 2007
Disneyland!
Hey everybody! It's your friendly Director of Transportation, Logistics and Supplies again! Just wanted to keep you updated on the happenings of the visitors from Kobo Cottage. Just FYI, the disclaimer in my first post applies to this one as well =].
There was no update for Wednesday, because our guests spent the day with Evergreen LA! I think a couple of them went fishing while the rest went shopping, along with some other activities.
Today we went to the happiest place on earth...no, not Azusa Pacific University (although I would have to say that it is pretty happy there)...we went to Disneyland! It was a pretty hot and HUMID day, but we survived, and managed to have fun at the same time! Let me say, it is quite hard trying to rally 30+ people (a 3rd of whom didn't speak my language), and get them to all go to the same place. But we managed, and we didn't lose anyone =]. Hopefully we will be able to upload pictures from Disneyland on tomorrow's post.
Tomorrow we are planning on going to the Japanese American National Museum in the afternoon and the Harvest Crusade in the evening with some of the youth from EBCSGV.
Prayer Requests:
-Strength: Today was a long day for everyone, core and guests alike. We are definitely going to be tired tomorrow.
-The Harvest Crusade: The Harvest Crusade is much like a Billy Graham Crusade. However the thing is we are providing our own translation. So, pray that our translator is able to speak clearly and quickly. Pray that our translation devices (walkie-talkies) do not malfunction. But most importantly, pray that our guests hearts would be open and that God would give them ears to hear and eyes to see.
That should do it!
Thanks everybody!
in Christ,
Kevin
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Day Five!!
Hello everyone who reads this blog! This is Daniel Saechang having the great opportunity to post about the wonderful day the core team was able to spend with our Kobo guests from Japan!
We begin our full-packed day with a quick meeting and prayer at the church office. First stop, Pink's in Hollywood.
Now, if you haven't heard of, or been to Pink's, you my friend are missing out. These delicious, juicy, flavor packed Hot dogs are amazing. Just take a look at the size of them! Our guests definitely enjoyed these delicious treats, especially Mr. Goto.
After the wonderful meal at Pinks, we were off to walk around at the Hollywood area. We got to enjoy the interesting environment at the Hollywood and Highland Center (Kodac theatre, Chinese Theatre, etc). The Kobo Guests were able to go shopping for souvenirs and gifts for friends back at home.
Mr. Inouye was able to get us a backstage tour at the KTLA/Tribune studios! Thanks to Mr. Inouye, we were able to walk around the huge lot that Hannah Montanna is being filmed, along with Judge Judy, and Family Feud!
As our legs began to grow weak of walking around the area, we decided it must be time for us to head out to the DODGER GAME!! So the Los Angeles Dodgers were playing the San Fransisco Giants tonight, with a possibility of Barry Bonds breaking the home run record!
Sadly to say, the Dodgers lost against the Giants, 1-3. Barry didn't even come close to breaking the record tonight, but the best of luck to him in his next game. The Kobo Guests enjoyed the game as well as the food. Another hot dog, garlic fries, and hamburgers washed down with a cool drink of soda. It seems like they happen to enjoying the food in America; especially Mr. Goto.
Tomorrow for the core team is supposedly a day off, however some of the core members actually have lots of things to take care of tomorrow! So if you could keep that in prayer!
After this super packed day, the Kobo Guests were totally wiped out. They have another long day, deep fishing with EBCLA tomorrow! Things are going great with the outreach so far, if you guys could help keep us in prayer regarding the following:
Energy: Even with the great 5-7 hours of sleep we get each night, we still become a bit tired throughout the day. If you guys could help pray that the Lord would grant us energy to be able to stay alive and be able to minister to our guests.
Words: With the great language barrier that we have between us, we are still able to communicate through simple words and body language. If you guys could help pray that the Lord would provide opportunities for us to use our limited language to minister to them.
Health: Aki is still sick at home, if you guys could please help pray for her health that the Lord would lay His healing hand upon her. Also that she would feel better emotionally (it must be hard to travel and then get sick for days!). The core team seems to be doing alright in this area, praise God! If the Lord would continue to protect us from any sickness and keep us in the game!
Above all else, may the Lord be glorified in all that we do. Thanks for all your support and all your help everyone!
Daniel
We begin our full-packed day with a quick meeting and prayer at the church office. First stop, Pink's in Hollywood.
After the wonderful meal at Pinks, we were off to walk around at the Hollywood area. We got to enjoy the interesting environment at the Hollywood and Highland Center (Kodac theatre, Chinese Theatre, etc). The Kobo Guests were able to go shopping for souvenirs and gifts for friends back at home.
Mr. Inouye was able to get us a backstage tour at the KTLA/Tribune studios! Thanks to Mr. Inouye, we were able to walk around the huge lot that Hannah Montanna is being filmed, along with Judge Judy, and Family Feud!
Sadly to say, the Dodgers lost against the Giants, 1-3. Barry didn't even come close to breaking the record tonight, but the best of luck to him in his next game. The Kobo Guests enjoyed the game as well as the food. Another hot dog, garlic fries, and hamburgers washed down with a cool drink of soda. It seems like they happen to enjoying the food in America; especially Mr. Goto.
Tomorrow for the core team is supposedly a day off, however some of the core members actually have lots of things to take care of tomorrow! So if you could keep that in prayer!
After this super packed day, the Kobo Guests were totally wiped out. They have another long day, deep fishing with EBCLA tomorrow! Things are going great with the outreach so far, if you guys could help keep us in prayer regarding the following:
Energy: Even with the great 5-7 hours of sleep we get each night, we still become a bit tired throughout the day. If you guys could help pray that the Lord would grant us energy to be able to stay alive and be able to minister to our guests.
Words: With the great language barrier that we have between us, we are still able to communicate through simple words and body language. If you guys could help pray that the Lord would provide opportunities for us to use our limited language to minister to them.
Health: Aki is still sick at home, if you guys could please help pray for her health that the Lord would lay His healing hand upon her. Also that she would feel better emotionally (it must be hard to travel and then get sick for days!). The core team seems to be doing alright in this area, praise God! If the Lord would continue to protect us from any sickness and keep us in the game!
Above all else, may the Lord be glorified in all that we do. Thanks for all your support and all your help everyone!
Daniel
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