Hakone Pictures

These are from and around a shinto temple in Hakone. The nature was beautiful, but it was sad to see all of the unwanted fortunes people tie to a wall, and the rituals they do (throwing money in a well in order to ask for a prayer, for example).










On the trail to the temple




The girls on a "pirate ship" cruise:




It was windy...




Mt Fuji from our rope car in Hakone:

Time is Flying By!

In case any of you saw this story on cnn.com:

http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/asiapcf/06/19/spa.blast.ap/index.html

I wanted to let you know that we're all okay. One of our teams of students heard the explosion from their campus, and some of them were a little shook up until they knew what it was, but everyone is safe and sound!


Our trip this weekend was a lot of fun! We went to Hakone:

http://www.odakyu.jp/english/sightsee/hakone/index.html

We got to see beautiful views of Mt. Fuji, spend a day at an amusement park of sorts (it was all spas! Green tea, coffee, red wine, flower, honey, sake, salt, etc.), visit an onsen, ride on a cable car up a mountain, rope cars up and down it, and a pirate ship across a lake! We had a great time of fellowship (such a Christian word).

Today I'm headed to Toyo University and a group of us will be visiting an English club on campus to speak with more than 100 Japanese students! Pray that we would have opportunities to share our faith and/or our testimonies with these students! And that we would all have fun and be safe on our campuses today :)

A Small Update

We're leaving in the morning (Saturday) for a two-day vacation! It's a surprise for the students, so I'll have to write about it later, but here are some highlights from this crazy week!

-In total, we've seen 20 students pray to recieve Christ since we got here!
-I was able to share with Mifuyu, a freshman girl at Rikkyo, who Japan staff and STINTers had been praying for and talking to since school started two months ago. She shared with me that she had been feeling lonely lately, and she'd gone to a chapel on campus that morning to try and talk to God. It was so amazing to hear her say that she wanted Jesus, but she didn't know how that could happen or what to do, and then to be able to explain it to her! We were able to pray together, and Naomi, Japanese CCC staff who knows Mifuyu already, is going to start a Bible study with her and another few girls who just became believers at Rikkyo! I got to see Mifuyu tonight at our second "Discover Friends Party" outreach, and she even gave me a wedding present!


Okay, I just had my Skype call with Misty, my coach for the summer, and now it's 1am, so I should head to bed! Sorry for the random post--next week should be more calm and I'd love to write more then. Have a great weekend and father's day!

Nami & Ayaka

This post is a bit long, but trust me, it's worth reading to the bottom!



This is Kaori, Japan CCC Staff, with Nami and Ayaka, two Japanese students at Sophia University. I was on their campus today to help with an English lunch. I met up with Kieko, another friend of mine:



Going in to today, I was really praying that I would be able to have a good conversation about God with Kieko, and that she would accept Christ this summer. She is an incredibly kind, shy girl, who is always smiling! She's a chemistry major, and so, after lunch and a little time to hang out in the cafeteria afterwards, she had to go study for a big test. I was sort of disappointed, but I started talking with Ayaka, Nami, Sarah and Aya (a Sophia student who became a Christian one year ago today). Honestly, our conversation was pretty boring. I was exhausted and poor Sarah had been feeling sick all day. I was sort of counting down the minutes until I could pull Sarah away for discipleship, when Nami asked Sarah and I what we talked about with our friends. This was a great introduction to the Bible and God, and somehow I ended up trying to explain the Trinity. Aya helped out with Japanese translation and used Koala Yummies as visual aids:



Ayaka was very interested to learn more about who God was, and so I began to talk to just her, and Sarah started to talk to just Nami. Aya scooted back and forth to translate anything that wasn't getting across. As Aya and I talked Ayaka through the Gospel and Jesus' sacrifice for us, she breathed, "It's perfect..." By the time I explained to her how to invite Jesus into her life, she was gesturing hurredly for Aya to come over to pray with her in Japanese. At the same time, Nami was excitedly asking Aya to help her with the same thing! So the five of us sat together and prayed in Japanese, and then in English, and now Ayaka and Nami are my new sisters in Christ! The girls had to run off to class, but we already heard from them tonight; They're planning to come to church with us on Sunday and Ayaka will be at our outreach tomorrow night!

It is amazing how God uses people who are tired and struggling and so obviously imperfect for His perfect plan. Now Sophia University has FIVE known Christian students! Thank the Lord that even in a place with such "hard soil," God is able to touch people's hearts with His love and forgiveness!

Please pray for Ayaka and Nami that they would be able to connect well with other believers in Tokyo, and that they would find time in their incredibly hectic schedules to learn more about God. Pray that Sarah and I would have many opportunities in the next three weeks to encourage them and answer their questions. Take a moment and celebrate, too :)

The Girls

This is me at the Gakshuin campus with Cherie, Christina and Ayumi. Cherie is one of my roommates. She is going to be a sophomore at NC State next year and just has the biggest heart! Everyone is described as "precious," which is completely her! Christina just finished her freshman year at USC, so I didn't know her before I graduated, but she is an amazingly sweet person! She LOVES talking to Japanese students. Ayumi is on staff with Japan CCC in Tokyo, but she actually lived a couple of years in Orlando :) It's been wonderful to have her and her staff team on campus with us for encouragement and teaching!




During the guys' and girls' time, the boys made us acrostics and left them with a bouquet of flowers for each of us. They were very proud of themselves for coming up with the "M" and "A" for mine :)




Here's everyone at the women's time at a cute little coffee shop in Koenji. I absolutely love our time together! We are a very similar group of women in terms of our leadership and intelligence, but in other ways, such as personality, we are very different from one another. It gives us a lot to talk about :)



Heather (From Texas, goes to USC) & Christina




Kristin (From Hawaii, goes to USC) & Cherie




Sarah (my other roommate, goes to USC), Me & Maria (goes to UC Berkeley and has a huge heart for prayer)

I ADORE the women I get to serve alongside!

Prayer Request

My roommates, Sarah, Cherie, and I have been having very strange dreams ever since we arrived in Tokyo. They aren't nightmares in the traditional sense--no monsters or people chasing us, or anything like that--but they are very vivid and usually sad or upsetting. Nearly every morning since we've been here, we talk over breakfast about our weird dreams. This morning, after waking up from another one, I checked my email and had a note from a co-worker who led a summer project to Japan a few years ago. She let me know she had been praying for our team, and one of the things she mentioned praying for was that we "would have normal dreams." Apparently, on her project, people were having very vivid, disturbing dreams. It might just be changing to a new environment, but since several people on our team are having this problem (and even some people we left back home), if you could pray for us when you think of it, we would appreciate it!
I realized when I got the email this morning that it is rarely my first instinct to pray. I would rather try and handle things on my own and, when I inevitably fail at that, then I go to God. Pray for me as a leader this trip that I would always seek the Lord first, rather than rely on my own strength!
As it nears bedtime for you back home (well, at least those of you on the east coast), I pray that your sleep would be restful and that you would be able to take a few moments and thank God for all of the blessings in your life! Thank you for being a blessing to me!

One Week Later...

The past seven days have been quite eventful, but we made it! Let's recap:

-Just before leaving, our team raised more than $15,000 in two days
-When we got to LAX, David realized he'd left his passport on the copy machine back in Irvine
-We lost, and recovered, all 17 of our passports after running for the train from the airport to Koenji
-Maria, who has a Malaysian passport, almost didn't make it through customs because we didn't know she needed a visa
-Kris lost his wallet--complete with a month-long train pass, cash, ID, etc.--at the movie theatre
-Several of the campuses we were supposed to be on this week were closed due to measles
-Bo took a trip to the hospital today after re-injuring his ankle playing basketball with students

...Wow, it looks like quite a list when you write it all down!

Despite all of this, it's been an amazing week! We're meeting incredible students and having great conversations. The English lunches are a hit with staff, students, and summer project participants. No one has had severe culture shock, and we've even all been able to find food we can eat. God is pretty great :) I can't imagine leading this project without His grace and peace. Flexibility and patience are our keywords this summer, and although those have already been tested quite a bit, there still seems to be enough left to go around! It's astounding!


Bo, Heather, and me on the train to the Imperial Palace




We all had waaaay too much fun trying to catch ourselves mid-jump at the park by the palace!






Look at the beautiful Tokyo skyline! This is actually from the rooftop cafeteria of Sophia University. Views of downtown LA from Hoover and Jefferson never looked this clear!

Thunder Storm

It is POURING outside right now as Sarah and I sit at our kitchen table. We've had a great, but tiring, week on campus. Today I went to an English Lunch Circle (a circle is like a club, and the English Lunch is put on by Japan CCC). I sat at a table with eight Japanese girls who asked me lots of questions about American food and Jon :) I got to hear all about their lives and travels, and when they left for class they all got my email address, so hopefully we can meet up again!
In the afternoon we got the chance to attend an English class put on by a Christian professor from Candada. It's actually a pretty big deal for the students to be able to talk to a native English speaker, and I think they were a little nervous; I know I would have been if the same had happened in my Spanish classes! The girls in Japan are just adorable! They are hands-down the friendliest people I've ever met and they are so open to talking with us. I have been so blessed to get to know a few this past week and I hope to meet more and become better friends with the ones I already know :)

Okay, now for some pictures:

This is Jon and me before I left. He was trying to make me smile since I was a little sad, and I think I went a bit over the top :) I mostly put this up because I know it will embarass him...



In case you were wondering, here is what a box of Kellogg's Corn Flakes looks like in Japan.



I've tried some different foods, but there is something to be said for the familarity of home :)

I miss you all and I hope you're doing well!

Pictures!

Our team at Briefing in Orange County!




The 15 students are split into three teams of five, and Greg and I go with a different team to campus each day. My first day on campus was with the team at Sophia University: Sarah, Maria, Dave, Joseph, and Steve.



This one's for you, Mom! The Disney Store in Shibuya :)



We had so much fun on our savenger hunt game in Shibuya! I'll have to get the picture from Sarah of all six of us crammed into a telephone booth!

Konnichiwa

Wow. I can't believe I'm actually in Japan. I especially can't believe that my entire team is in Japan. When we got to briefing a few days ago, the team as a whole was down more than $15,000! The students hit the phones and raised the first half within 24 hours! As of dinner the night before we were set to leave, it looked likely that two of our students wouldn't be able to get on the plane the next morning because of support. In the next four hours, we managed to raise more than enough for all 17 of us to board a Singapore Airlines non-stop flight from LAX to Narita Airport. Of course, that was after one student's passport had to be rushed to the airport when it was left on a copy machine back in Orange County.

When we got here, STINTers Emily and Joe met us at the aiport and we literally RAN to catch the train (the next one left an hour later). We made the train...unfortunately, our passports did not. The people we've met in Tokyo are so nice! An employee boarded the next train to bring us our passports and actually came all the way to Koenji (where we live--several different train rides away)!

Tonight was dinner cooked by the STINT team at the Mitaka Center. That's where their offices are. It was great to hang out and get to hear more about Tokyo. Tomorrow is our first day on campus and there's definitely a mixture of anticipation and nervousness. Pray for our teams as we begin to "decode" three college campuses tomorrow!

One Chapter Closes

This is my last week in the office and it seems sort of strange. It's certainly gone by quickly. I remember getting here for my first day in August and meeting Kara. She and Cathy became my best friends at the office--even hanging out outside of work. They contributed a lot to my enjoyment of where I worked. While I will miss the people and the opportunities there is also a part of me that is ready to take what I've learned and continue on. This year offered challenges to my pride, to my emotions, and to my walk with the Lord. Hopefully through all of that I've learned and grown. I think if a first job out of college can facilitate that, then it was a winning endeavor.




I really appreciate all of the women on my original HR team. They are each filled with such wisdom and grace; From each of them I learned how to have an honest assesment of myself (good and bad) as well as how to "enter in" to another's experience. They threw me a wedding shower last weekend and got to share their thoughts, experiences, and insights into biblical marriage. It was such a blessing!

Three Weeks to Go!

In just 22 short days I, along with sixteen awesome college students and my co-project director, will be boarding a plane at LAX headed for Tokyo, Japan! So in honor of three weeks before we leave, here are the top three things I'm looking forward to:

1. Discipling the six girls going on project (that means doing Bible studies with them, training them in how to share their faith, and talking with them about life!)
2. Learning an entirely new culture through activities, meeting students, working with Japan CCC staff, etc.
3. SUSHI!


I get to meet my team May 22nd at briefing in Costa Mesa, California. I'm nervous and excited to see the amazing mix of students God has brought together for this six week project!