Reflections : Joanne

Although the time seemed to fly by, I am still thinking and praying about everything that happened and everyone we met during our two weeks in Japan. This is my second time on the Agape mission trip, but this experience was totally different and opened my eyes even more to the challenges that arise from reaching the Land of the Rising Sun for Christ. The trip was filled with illuminating events and amazing encounters, but I will just focus on one that really stood out to me.

On our second day at Oecho church in the Yamagata prefecture, four members of the team went to spend time with local kids while Sato and I passed out fresh produce to a neighborhood in the disaster area. It was heart-breaking to see empty fields where there once had been houses, stores, and trees; the seashells that littered the ground beyond sight of the shore were evidence of how far the waters reached. As we went door to door, sharing lettuce and potatoes and God’s love, we often were greeted with the recipient gratefully accepting the vegetables with surprise and a deep thankfulness. We were told that Christians are the only ones still visiting and asking about how the locals are doing. I was struck with the thought: What makes Christians different from any other relief organization? What makes me different? I was confronted with the idea that God’s love extends past what a normal person might be expected to do. I struggle with how to express love in a way that shows I am a follower of Christ, and this helped me see in a concrete way that His love is faithful and persevering even when others have given up.

I am very thankful for my church family. This could easily have been just a fun trip where I got to meet lots of nice people. But God opened my eyes to see how wonderful it is to have such a large community of believers praying for our health and safety, how blessed I am to know that I have the support of so many who know what it means to be free in Christ. It is only through God’s power that we could experience so much love, and I hope that everyone we met was likewise blessed through us. Thank you for praying for the team and for Japan!

Just for Fun Video

July 29, 30, 31 Recap Video

AGAPE mission trip part 2

BBQ at the river

The people at Koganei Church planned a BBQ hangout by the river for us. We drove about an hour and a half to the outskirts of Tokyo where we ate BBQ meat and veggies. Although it was hot and humid outside, the water was perfectly cool! The current was swift, but most of the guys and some of the girls got in to swim and play. The Iidas brought some people from Sakuragaoka, and there were other people that we met for the first time who were invited by someone to join us.

I think it was Makito who said that church may be the only place where such a diverse group of people get together. Most people only hang out with people they meet at school or at work. But because of Jesus, people who wouldn’t usually be friends are brothers and sisters in Christ. I think that's so true!

Several of the prayers today thanked God for bringing us together, despite the language barriers and whether or not we live near or far. I am very thankful to be a part of God’s family!

VBS @ Yamanakako Day 2

Day 2 was full from wake-up time at 6 AM until I went to sleep past 10 PM. I think most of the team was exhausted, but it was all worth it because we did so much in just one day!

The team shared our first skit about a curry restaurant before Nobu-sensei’s message in the morning. It was based on the story of Jesus feeding the 5,000 with 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish. We tried to teach the kids that you can pray to God for help when you are in trouble or in need. After the message, I was able to have a one-on-one counseling time with one of the girls while the rest of the team helped the kids with workbook pages.

This is the fourth time I’ve had the chance to counsel one the the kids, and every time, I am amazed at their stories. They may only be third, fourth, fifth, and sixth graders, but many of them have a strong faith that withstands the pressures of their family, friends at school, and the larger Japanese culture. The girl I talked to doesn’t have a father and often times goes to church on her own without her mother. We prayed together and I thank God for letting me be able to communicate with her, despite my lack of Japanese vocabulary.

After lunch, we walked down to Lake Yamanaka for games and fun one the beach. The sun was out so it was a little hot, but we all enjoyed playing games, feeding the koi, and wading in the lake. Bradley was the only team member who got pushed into the water, but Brandon jumped in on his own.

The rest of the afternoon was spent working on team skits and playing with the kids at the cabin. After dinner, it was finally time to present the skits. One team did a skit about Jesus’ first miracle of turning water into wine. Another team did a skit about Jesus feeding the 5,000. And the last team, who ended up winning the contest, performed a skit about Jesus’ birth. The winning team was announced and individual winners were awarded prizes!

At the staff meeting at night after all the kids had gone to bed, the staff members talked about each part of the program and what they thought worked and didn’t work. They also talked about ever single one of the kids and what the staff members discussed and learned during the morning counseling session. These adults truly care about these kids and want them to know they are loved.

Koganei Church Sunday Service

Today we were blessed in so many ways at Koganei! During the first service, Yuuki shared his testimony and Nobu sensei gave the message. We were already super excited to see old friends from Peninsula who came on Friday night, but on Sunday we got to see even more! The Okada and Ishimaru families visited, as well as Aya and Genta Takemoto and Tomoko Kanda. We were even surprised by the Hattori family and Sanshiro Kaneko!

After the first service ended, we split up to share in the youth and children's Sunday School. Bradley got to share his testimony with the youth; Sato, Hitomi, and I taught "Everything Will Be Alright" to the kids. For the second service, we sang "Oceans" again and I shared some stories about school and how I see God through my students.

We had a delicious hiyashi (cold) udon lunch during which we shared about our experiences in Yamagata at Oecho church. When it was finally time to end, we said goodbye and headed to a VBS meeting to find out what we would be doing for the next three days. Even though there were only 16 kids and almost the same number of staff, the church members put a lot of thought and prayer into every moment of the camp. Each message and activity is carefully discussed because there is such a driving need to help these kids come to Christ; some of them have no Christian community to encourage them to grow. This could be the only time they hear the gospel!

We finished Sunday by finding out that we would be helping with worship for the VBS, so we buckled down and practiced four songs. We spent a long time learning the melodies in hopes we would be ready by Monday!