Week One

Hello hello all!

Well here we are-- we've made it one week in Japan.  Exactly one week ago right now, we were about an hour out from Tokyo and were getting situated in the airplane to be able to land.  It was at this time that I finally became a little sleepy and caught at 15 minute nap at the end of a 12 hour flight.

Figures.

Anyway, we made quite a spectacle, with a baby and a stroller and 10 loaded suitcases.  We had to have an airport lady help us push the carts through and out of customs.  We were quite literally a caravan.

There are still moments where we can hardly believe we're here.  But people were looking forward to our coming, which is always encouraging.  Rosalyn, as if you had any doubts, is well loved here.  Certainly the star of the family, she has adapted pretty well to the time difference (thank you for praying) and to the cold and to being carried in the "carrier" a lot.  We see more Japanese women carrying/wearing their babies as compared to pushing them in a stroller.  It's certainly easier than carrying a stroller up and down from the 3rd floor.

Our two practical accomplishments this week:
-We found an apartment we like love.  Well-- we're waiting for an answer, which we hope will be received tomorrow.  Sometimes landlords do not like to rent to foreigners, and some families here have been rejected in their application of renting a certain apartment.  Still we know that God has the perfect place for us, and if it's not this place, it's something better.

-Vicente got registered to start school in January.  Some of the other team members are going to the school so it seems we are well known as being part of the church group.  :)  It was awesome to see my teachers from the past-- I was surprised some of them remembered me!  They were excited to meet Rosalyn as well.

My Japanese is coming back surprisingly well!  I've been able to manage a lot of situations on my own and carry on conversations.  I even made a new friend on the airplane who lives about a half-hour away and we plan to have a play date sometime next week or the following week.  But I am thankful to God, who I know is the one who is helping me to recall words that I didn't often use in Japanese and now can quickly remember how to carry on.

We've went to the Fuse Leadership Training, church service, small group, prayer meeting and have had lunch/dinner with different members of our team.  So, we are getting involved here slowly, but are excited at the doors that God is already opening.

Will be writing more later!

Undervalued and Overlooked

'How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?  And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”' Romans 10:14-15

I was sitting on a huge double-decker plane some 2..2? 3? days ago, my daughter in her car seat next to the window, my husband and I holding hands.  We had shed tears... heavy tears... in saying goodbye to our loved ones, in packing our belongings and our hearts to move to a place far, far away.  Even as the plane backed away from our gate, we were still sniffling and wiping our eyes.

As the jet began racing down the airstrip and taking off into the air, our fingers were still intertwined, trepidation in our hearts.  How would it be?  Would we be successful at what we were setting out to do?  Would we adjust well or struggle?  Would we make good friends? Would we have a great connection with our team members? Would our support base hold up? How would our families do during our absence?  Lots of questions as up, up and away we went.

In the few moments as we ascended into the clouds in silence, I became alert to my surroundings. I was looking up at the plane Christmas decorations hanging above the windows.  Overhead, we listened to a wonderful piano Christmas music.  Not just any music... a hymn.  I cannot for the life of me remember the name of it, but it was one of those you'll be guaranteed to sing during the Christmas service at church. 

All of a sudden, it hit me that this was what it was all about.  Going to a foreign land, becoming Japanese to Japanese people with the purpose of sharing the wonderful news that Jesus Christ did the same thing for us.  He became human to bring us the Good News-- to BE the Good News.  He died in our place, gave His life for us that we might have a relationship with our heavenly Father.  And we, in a very very small sense, were heading to a foreign land to give our lives so that others may hear.

Over the last few weeks, I've had the chance to talk with many people who said, "Oh you're so brave", "Oh, you're doing such a great work,"... We don't feel particularly brave, certainly not the caliber of brave that missionaries centuries ago possessed.  But, to these people, I have attempted to communicate that:

We are unable to go without you. 

There is absolutely no way that we would sitting in Asia today without senders.  Perhaps that is the most undervalued and overlooked part of the verse quoted above.  Yes, we need go-ers.  But the go-ers need the senders.  The senders are like the fuel for the car.  The car is great in an of itself, but the car goes nowhere without gasoline.  Gasoline is very useful in and of itself, but without being put to purpose in the car, it doesn't produce anything.  Together-- together we accomplish so much.

In anything accomplished here that gives glory to God, you share in that.  May the Lord be praised in Japan, through all of us.

So, as I am sitting all jet-lagged out some 5000+ miles away, please know that you, as a supporter, are an absolute necessity, a completely vital part of Mission Japan-- of bringing the Gospel to Japan.  We don't forget that.  If it was not through the Lord bringing us together, we would not be able to accomplish this purpose of sharing Jesus with the Japanese who really need to hear it.

So thank you.  We miss everyone already, but we are excited to see what the Lord will do.  Please continue to pray for us as we get settled and learn, learn, learn!

Learning to Follow

The other day, I was following my husband to a friend's car lot where we were going to sell our car, to my great relief.  I was happy to finally wipe the dust off my hands and the sweat off my brow in regard to the thing that gave me the most stress as far as preparations were going for Japan.

We pulled out of the parking lot with the understanding that I would follow behind my husband.  I knew the way there at any rate, but I just casually mentioned that I would follow him. 

Following directly behind him, we continued down streets that I knew, got on the highway and I sped up, getting into the next lane allowing him space to get in front of me.

But he didn't get in front of me.  He turned on his blinker to indicate to me that I was to get back behind him and in the exit lane.  I frowned.  Why is he doing this? 

I got back over and followed him off the highway and turning onto a street that I couldn't figure out why he was turning on.  As we were stopped waiting to turn, I made signs to him as he looked back in his rearview mirror.  Why did you get off the highway, I mouthed.  No answer.

He turned, I followed.  I was somewhat familiar with the roads, though I wasn't sure why were going down them and how we would arrive at our destination using these roads.  Besides, the highway is more direct, I thought. 

At one yellow light, he raced through and I had to stop.  I squinted my eyes following him as he pulled over to the side to wait for me.  As I was finally allowed to proceed and caught up to him, he pulled out in front again.  Eventually he led me to streets completely unknown to me.  I had no idea where I was, was doubting that he knew where he was and was completely dependent on him.  I had no idea how to get back where I came from, and no idea how to get where I wanted to go.

But as we were driving back roads, I suddenly recognized something in the distance and realized we were within seconds of our destination.  But how did he do that?  Why did he take this way?

I never found out the answer.

But I learned something.  Sometimes, the Lord takes us down unknown paths because we have to be dependent on him.  Had I just went on down the highway as the way I knew, I wouldn't have even needed him or paid that much attention to him.  In fact, as I pulled over allowing him space to "lead" on the highway, I showed that I was leading in a backhanded sense.  But the Lord wants us to follow Him, to trust Him on unknown streets.  To trust Him in the way that He chooses to take us, as compared to what makes sense in our own understanding.  He will get us to our destination-- we need not doubt.  He has His better paths, sometimes to teach us new ways and sometimes to protect us from danger.  Following is a choice.

Luke 9:57 As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.”

Snowflakes and blessings

Sometimes I hate the word busy.  It sounds like too good of an excuse, even though it's the truth.  Busy, we've been busy. 

Selling a car (PRAISE the LORD), moving out of our apartment and in with some great friends, cleaning and turning over keys to our old apartment, having a massive garage sale, planning visits with our friends and supporters in St. Louis, trips to LA to get our Japanese visa taken care of, the collecting of medical records to take with us, mail forwarding, etc., etc., etc., etc.,... you get the idea.

OH, and traveling half-way across the country with a 7 month old.  Who knew how exhausting that would be??

But, praise the Lord, He has been with us each step of the way-- He has allowed us to take care of business, get what seemed like the impossible accomplished, and somehow gave us the endurance to make it through a few weeks of minimal sleep and extensive use of our mental and physical energy.

We are now in St. Louis, where I promised my dear husband that it would not snow in November.  However, snow is scheduled for the weekend.  I'm secretly excited, while at the same time commiserating with my tropical-blooded husband. 

Yesterday, I spoke at my alma mater North County Christian School.  I shared the story of how the Lord began calling me to missions, in Mrs. Pugh's Freshman Bible Class, some 15 years ago next month.  I shared how the Lord used me and other teenagers, who had not gone to seminary or Bible college, we had no PhDs, were not pastors or anything of the sort.  We were just teenagers with availability, a love for Jesus and a humble heart to be used of God in ways we hadn't imagined.  But He did use us.  Praise the Lord, His glory and power was magnified as the Lord met us there and healed the blind, the deaf, the paralyzed, the possessed.

We talked about how Abraham was the first missionary-- called from a land he knew (surprising how many people are called away from lands they knew in order to be used of God), who revealed the Lord to others as he went.  He was given an astonishing promise-- land, generations to carry on, protection, fame... amazing benefits. 

But, that wasn't the point of the blessings.  The Israelites as a whole missed it... the purpose clause:
and through you, all nations of the earth will be blessed.

Abraham was blessed to be a blessing.  We are blessed to be a blessing.  It's something we see carried through to Revelation, where all peoples of the earth are praising the Lord in heaven.

The Lord blessed Abraham, Abraham blessed others, Others bless the Lord. 

The blessing is to end back in praise to the Lord as we imitate Him and bless others.  We bless others so that the Lord might receive glory-- might receive the honor He is due.

When our focus becomes receiving the blessings of the Lord, it is easy to become self-centered.  It makes us focus on our privilege and forget (or at least make light of) our purpose.  The Israelites, consumed with the idea that they were the precious and chosen children of God (as indeed they were), eventually made laws to avoid associating with the very people they were to be a light and a blessing to.  They could have been used of the Lord for greater purposes than they were, but they incapacitated themselves by refusing to share the blessing.

So, especially as we head into the holiday season, we are challenged, as we encourage you to be challenged, to consider the blessings in your life.  And the things we are thanking the Lord for, consider how we might bless others through them.  To God be the glory!

We are blessed to be a blessing!

The Lifestyle Challenge

Pray, Give or Go.  Those are typically the options you have in regards to missions. 

 

I’ve been writing lately on something I saw on Facebook regarding  the need for missionaries to live simplistic lifestyles.  But I’m not sure it’s so much an “on the field” issue as it is a home issue.  While 1 Timothy 6:10 talks about the love of money being the root of all evil, we often don’t recognize how a lifestyle of excess is the offspring of the love of money Perhaps that explains our country's problem with debt... and our personal problem with debt?  Everyone is always talking about debt. We buy more than we can afford and more than we really need.  Our eyes are bigger than our wallets.  J

I was particularly challenged by an article I read in the Perspectives Course by a great missiologist named Ralph Winter...  In his article Reconsecration: To a Wartime, Not a Peacetime, Lifestyle, Winter talks about our country's preoccupation with itself: 

"The essential tactic to adopt a wartime lifestyle is to build on pioneer mission perspective and to do so by a very simple and dramatic method... But others can stay home and deliberately and decisively adopt a missionary support level as their standard of living and their basis of lifestyle, regardless of their income.  This will free up an unbelievable amount of money-- so much, in fact, that if a mission average Presbyterian households were to live within the average Presbyterian minister's salary, it would create at least two billion dollars a year.  But what a mighty gift to the nations if carefully spent on developmental missions!"

If we are all called to reach the nations and to make disciples, and we are, then we must all acquire a lifestyle that reflects it.  It's interesting that there exists a disconnect between what we view is an appropriate lifestyle for ministers and what's appropriate for everyone else. 

If we are all working toward the same goal (world evangelization-- no matter where you are), then why do so many have the idea (or even mental image, which is what I used to have) that for missionaries, poor is the appropriate  lifestyle all the while excusing themselves to go out and buy the newest everything?

Winter talks about what a blessing it would be to have an influx of money going toward spreading the Kingdom of God.  His purpose is not to shame anyone nor to impose standards on people, but to say—hey, let’s deliberately slim down our lifestyles, with the purpose to reach out even more so by pouring into the Kingdom of God (similar to how the church started in Acts 2).

There must be a balance of course. Extremes are never helpful.  But perhaps it may be a good time to lighten our ideas of an appropriate “lifestyle” for others (thinking here of the harsh standards some seem to have for missionaries because they live on support) and perhaps tighten our own ideas of what is an appropriate lifestyles for “me”.

If we have different standards for ministers/missionaries and ourselves, then we are giving into the concept of clergy vs. laity: Clergy does everything and laity receives everything.  Laity is not responsible, Clergy is. That is NOT what the Bible teaches.  So to speak, “laity” (aka believers)  is to do the work of the ministry, clergy is to train them (Eph. 4:11-13). 

Anyway, I'm getting off-subject.  The challenge of this article is to put into check the lifestyle that we are living. Instead of looking at others, let’s just look at “me”. Is ours a lifestyle of peacetime-- excess... whatever we want [read: focused on ourselves]?  Or is it a lifestyle of wartime-- cutting back so that we can focus on what really matters [read: focused on a purpose or others]?  If we place standards on others of what is appropriate for others who minister to people to live by, then let's live by them as well because we are also called to minister.

The challenge is to cut our budget back to what is simple and necessary.  Not to be poor or not own nice things and never have fun. But to put our money where our mouth is and really live dedicated to the Gospel message.  What income we have that goes beyond what we need (do I really need another pair of jeans when I have 5 pair?) and some of what we want (it’s not good to give into all our wants immediately: that’s called impulsiveness), give to the highest priority of mission you believe is out there. Where is it that you see is strategic mission in reaching the world?  Start there. (I am particularly excited about missions that reach international students here in the US—I think that’s strategic because they go back to their unreached nations.  Or missions that train Hispanics or Africans to be missionaries in places where Americans can’t usually go. That’s strategic. Again, off subject.  Sorry.)  It’s a challenge—not a law.

This is dual-purposed.  It's not merely for the sake of not letting ourselves become self-consumed and distracted. It's for the sake of the Gospel going forth.  Did you know that less than one dollar of money given to missions (that's not even our own programs/church needs) goes to the unreached peoples?  If we're actually serious about reaching the world, then we need to be serious about it in all areas of our personal lives.  If we think reaching the world is important, then let’s change that number.  And let’s let the change start with “me” (aka “you”, but I’m not supposed to say “you” because it’s too confrontational.  J)  Because that’s where all relevant change in this world starts anyway.

Let's shake off our excess, the things of this world that really entangle us.  Let's shake off our concept that our money is our own-- it's the Lord's. That’s what we say anyhow. We are merely His stewards. If we are working for His glory, then the income we generate ought to go to His purposes.

You Should Know (English) Video by MUP.ORG from Mustang International on Vimeo.

Have you seen this yet? Take 3 minutes to learn about what you need to know.

Update

Pause from previous theme.  I still have a couple more posts in the works, but I wanted to take a break to update ya'll on what's going on:

-Praise God we are around 67.5% of the way funded to get to Japan.  So, that's about 2/3.  We still have a few events planned over the next couple of months, so we are believing that we should be ready to go by November.

-We just sent over Rosalyn's docs to Japan for translation.  As far as I know, we've done everything we need to do.  Every once in a while, we get an email back asking for a change of phrasing, etc., on the various paperwork we sent over.  PAZ Japan is hoping to finish translation (it's a lot of docs!) by the end of July and then it should take about 6 weeks to get our answer back from the government for our visas.  Please pray that we can get an approved visa!  And for 3 years too.

-We have a Missions Café Night planned for August 29 at CCEA.  It should be a great evening-- we have a harpist and we're trying to get a guest missionary speaker.  Please pray that all the details will flow and that we will be able to raise awareness that evening.

In the meantime, Vicente continues at his job and Break Free ministry opportunities.  And I am taking care of little Rosalyn and tutoring in Spanish and ESL on the side.

We are so excited to get to Japan.  We keep thinking and talking and praying about it (of course).  But now that the time is approaching we are ready to get to the details of getting over there!  Well, I am more of the detailed person of the two of us, but we both are thinking about what all will need to be done and coordinating everything to be able to launch out.

We can't wait to see what God is going to do in Japan.  We pray He uses us to glorify Him and to expand His kingdom in Japan.  Just as a reminder of what we'll be doing, we're going to be working with PAZ Japan Mission in Noborito (a suburb of Tokyo) in evangelism and discipleship.  We will be working with a small young church, seeking to help build it up and see more churches planted.  Only 0.4% of Japan's population has heard the Gospel and believed.  But we believe through loving patience, God will show us the way to speak to His lost Japanese children's hearts.  Japanese are very committed people once a decision is made-- and because of the group mentality in Japan, they need a strong community of believers to surround them to "go against the flow".  But we believe the Lord will change the tide of Japan.  We want to see a vibrant community emerge to effectively influence their culture and win Japan for Christ!

According to JoshuaProject.net, a people group isn't considered reached until 2% of the population are believers.  At that point, the church is considered strong enough to be really self-sustaining and grow themselves.  Still, that's a very small percentage!  But Jesus said in Matthew 24 that the Gospel would be preached in every nation (people group) and then the end would come.

We are so anticipating every people group hearing the Good News of Jesus Christ.  And for the Japanese, we are praying fervently and believing for more than just the 2%. 

Ok, sorry for the cheese fest, but I can't help it: we want to give our 100% for their 100%.

Let's hasten the day of Christ's return!