Wednesday, July 31st

Dear Friends, Sisters & Brothers - It's 3:30PM in the afternoon; all the kids form EEC have been gone for over an hour; some of the gals have taken our t-shirts to the laundromat so we don't smell tomorrow when we wear the same shirts; all the young people, except for me, have gone out to do some sightseeing and shopping; and I'm one of the few people left here at the church.  It's a good time to write down some of my thoughts so I can get to sleep earlier tonight.
     We began the day again with another message from Kawano-sensei - the scripture was John 6:27 - "Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you.  For on him God the Father has set his seal."  This is the seventh mission and the kids await something special each year.  The t-shirts change each year and the kids always say, "This year's shirt is the best."  They anticipate what next year's shirt will look like.  The adults on the mission await the food - it is always special, just like last night's meal with the Yumotos.  Our t-shirts, there is no other shirt like it.  Our food, there is no other food like it.  In Japan, it is not common for people to go to a church.  The number of people who attend church and have heard the Good News of Jesus Christ is very limited.  In the past seven years more than 400 Japanese people in Chino have had a chance to hear the good news - a rare opportunity in Japan.  Kawano-sensei says this mission is worth 3 years of labor.  Sensei says that God concentrates His purpose in this mission.  And God prepares food to nourish the spirit of the people.  30 of the 70 are new participants at this year's EEC.  This may be their only experience to be nourished.  The "sister" that was baptized last year before passing away, first heard the message about Jesus 60 years ago.  We must make sure our food will nourish us for everlasting life.  We give thanks to God for providing us with the opportunity to nourish with food for everlasting life.
     Today we finally began EEC.  We've been planning for this for nearly 4 months, now.  All the activities seemed to go well and all of the groups had plenty of people to oversee the kids.  There were people form the Chino church who have been helping for many years and others who are helping for the first time.  We have a seminary student from Tokyo here to help us with EEC who will then return to Tokyo when EEC is over  There is Ryoko Kashiwagi, now living in Japan, who will be coming to help us the next two days - she attended SFVHC while attending school in the U.S. and was part of a couple missions with us.  We have a young mother helping out, Minori, who speaks English very well. She attended UC Santa Cruz a few years back.  I wonder if her parents knew UCSC's reputation before sending her there.  This does not seem like a school Japanese would consider for their children.  Oh well, the experience did not seem to cause any lasting problems for her.  There is Mr. Egawa, the husband of the woman who died recently form cancer - a non-believer but trying his best to understand and believe in Christianity.  He is the leader of a group of about 18 kids.  Egawa-san has kept a friendship with Stan Date from SFVHC - it is easy to see why.  He seems to have the same "drive" as Stan.  He carries a map of the San Fernando Valley and has the location of Stan's home marked, as well as the home of Roland Hazama, pastor of SFVHC.  I understand that Egawa-san suggested to Stan climbing Mt. Baldy as training climb in preparation for climbing Mt. Fuji in Japan.  The people of the Chino church would easily fit into the family of the San Fernando church - their hospitality and generosity matches that of our church family, and there seems to a few quirky characters as well, just like...I'm going to lie down and rest for a while now.  I'll continue the report to you later today.
     It's 9:30PM and we've just gotten back form the...you guessed it the sento.  Everyone's sitting around just relaxing now and things are winding down.  Have a wonderful day - it's 7:30AM in L.A. now.  God bless you all.

ごちそう

今日は７月３１日（水）の朝、６時２０分。
教会のインターネットは一度に一人しか使えないので、きのうはブログのアップができませんでした。
午前中に大正琴のコンサートがあり、１０名ほどのボランティアのメンバーが来てくださり、茅野ミッションチームのために演奏してくれました。７年前から始まったこのミッションのために、毎年コンサートをしてくださっています。懐かしい日本の曲や賛美歌、アメリカでも親しまれている曲など、選曲もいろいろと考えてくださっていました。３０分ほどの演奏のあとは、体験演奏の時間をとってくださり、私たちも大正琴をさわったり、簡単に弾けるアメージンググレースの楽譜（？）を用意してくださっていたので、曲の演奏もできるようになっていました。弾いてみると、ピアノとギターを合わせたような感じ？？とても楽しい時間でした。大正琴は日本で考案された数少ない楽器だそうです。
今年は、詩吟をされている方が、特別に詩吟と踊りも披露してくださりました。日本の伝統文化に触れるひと時ともなり、感謝でした。
メンバーの中に、お母様が茅野教会の最初の受洗者という方も含まれていました。朝のデボーションの時間に、河野先生が教会の歴史をまとめた本を見せてくださり、その中の写真に写っていました。演奏をしてくださった娘さんは、クリスチャンではないのですが、小さい頃はサンデースクールに通っていたと、話してくれました。
コンサートのあと、チームから私、教会から野口兄がそれぞれ救いの証しをさせていただきました。大正琴グループのみなさんの心に、どのような形でそれぞれの証しが響いたかはわかりませんが、きっと種まきがされたことと信じます。

午後からは、明日からのEECに向けての飾り付けをしました。会堂はベツレヘムに変身！入り口にも飾りをして、いよいよミッションも山場です。。。チームメンバーは教会に泊まらせていただいてますが、その部屋もいろいろと飾り付けをして、盛り上がってきました。

夕方は、教会メンバーの湯本ファミリーが自宅に招待してくださって、ごちそうタイム！！なんと、たくさんの種類の食べ物が用意されていました。教会のポットラック並みのごちそうの数でしたが、それをほぼ一人で用意してくださった早苗さんには心から感謝です。（チームの他に、仙台から参加されている中田牧師一家や、神学生も含めて総勢２５人分！！！）EECを控えて、できるだけチームの負担をなくすために（通常は食事の準備や後片付けなどみんなで手分けしているので）、ただごちそうを食べて準備に専念できるようにとの心遣いなのです。。。決して広いとは言えない日本の一般的な台所で朝から準備をしてくださった湯本ファミリーに、チーム一同ただただ感謝です。。。
そして、食事を堪能したあとは、後片付けをすることもなく温泉へ直行です。いつもの温泉がお休みなので、なんと露天風呂がついている温泉でした。縄文土器が発掘される地域なので、名前も「縄文の湯」、まわりはのどかな水田や畑が広がっていました。地元の人との語らいも楽しみですが、何と言ってもお風呂上がりの牛乳がおいしい！
９時からは、最終的なミーティングとなりました。リーダーのDianeがダウンしてしまい早目にベッドへ、サブリーダーのDonを中心にみんなであれこれと打ち合わせ。
大分みんな疲れがたまってきているので、夜９時からのミーティングはかなり厳しいです。暑さは思ったよりもひどくはないのですが、それでもカリフォルニアの気候とはかなり差があります。Dianeも疲れはもちろん、リーダーとしていつもみんなを率先しているので、精神的な疲労もあるようです。ひどくならないでEEC初日に備えられるようにとみんなでお祈りして一日は終了しました。

みなさんのお祈りのサポートを心から感謝します！いよいよスタートするEECについては、また次回にお知らせしまーす！！！

Tuesday, July 30th

Dear Friends, Sisters & Brothers - It is 11PM Tuesday night - I think I got it right this time - and everyone is getting ready for bed or already there.  It's been a day of final preparations for the beginning of EEC tomorrow, and also a little relaxation.  As always, the day began with a message from Kawano-sensei, with the Bible passage from 2 Corinthians 13:5.  "Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith.  Test yourselves, or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you? - unless indeed you fail to meet the test!"  Kawano-sensei reminds us that this is the 7th Chino mission with the focus on EEC.  There are many programs planned for EEC by the three churches; SFVHC, SBJCF, and Chino Christ Church - planned with God's leading.  Through the mission, each member of the Chino church examines themselves - sensei asks, "Is their faith in the right place?  The Bible tells us that God is with us, but is it happening in our lives?"  Kawano-sensei sees the expansion of the Chino church as a mission for them right now.  The church is 88 years old, with the church building constructed 83 years ago.  He showed us a picture from October, 1927 of the first baptism of this church.  That woman's daughter came with a group of women to give us a mini-concert today.  The church has faced persecution - they had to stop for 5 years during the war while their building was used as a factory to make military uniforms.  They had to go by the river to meet and pray during that time.  The building was returned to the church members after those 5 years.  There were other times when the church was threatened with being disbanded.  This mission has been a great encouragement to the Chino church.  Noguchi-san, the senior member of the church who has witnessed all these events said after Sunday's worship service that he is ready to go to heaven because of what he has witnessed happening with his church.  I pray that God will allow him to witness even more and greater things.  Koike-san returned to the Chino church during one of our missions after being away for 25 years.  Mrs. Egawa came to this church and was baptized, in part, because of this mission's work.  Our mission has been a big part of the revival of Chino Christ Church, according to Kawano-sensei.  It is so very humbling to think that could possibly be true.  On Monday, Nakada-sensei and his family came to work with us during EEC, and for Nakada-sensei to observe how the EEC is conducted.  His church in Sendai is declining and he wants to open English conversation classes at his church to bring children in.  He hopes to have this type of mission in place at his church next year.  If Sendai sounds familiar, it is one the places hardest hit by the tsunamis.  He even hinted that it would be nice to partner with one of our churches.  Keep Nakada-sensei and his church in your prayers.  Do we act as if Jesus Christ is in us?  Do we act as if God can do great things through us, or do we simply go through life and kill time?  Look what has happened with the Chino church - what can happen with your family and friends?
     This morning after breakfast, a group came to give us a mini-concert playing their Taisho-kotos.  They have come every year of our missions.  Kawano-sensei is the only male member of this group and he is also its youngest member.  The ladies average age is about 75 years old.  After the concert they allowed us to try our hands at playing their instruments.  Tsuguru and Shizuka picked it up quickly and played a duet for us.  Shizuka also shared her testimony with all of us.  To say that her sharing was touching does not describe it adequately.  We then shared lunch with them and had a wonderful time of fellowship.  After they left, we set about getting ready for EEC - putting up decorations, getting teaching aids and supplies ready, getting the sanctuary ready for the children to arrive.  Afterwards, some of us went to the nearby laundromat to do some wash.  Some of you may recall from previous reports from Chino, the wonderful washing machines they have.  There are a couple of machines there that you simply put your clothes into, shut the door, and put in your coins.  After one hour, your clothes have been washed and dried.  No adding softener or detergent, the machine does that for you.  The only thing you really need is a wife to drive to the laundromat to stick your clothes into the machine.
     For dinner, we were invited to the home of Hajime & Sanae Yumoto - church members.  They, along with their children, Aina, Nozomu, and Hikari, hosted about 20 of us to a fantastic dinner.  Their home is about 15 or 20 minutes away from the church, going up into the hills above Chino.  What a feast we had!  Their daughter Aina, 18 years old, will be one of the helpers at EEC, while daughter Hikari will be one of the participants.  We have gotten to know this dear family better and better every year.  After dinner we went to...you guessed it, the onsen.  This public bath was close to the Yumoto home and had the baths indoors like the other public bath we had gone to, but also had an outdoor bath.  Yes, there are walls and fences to guard our privacy.  It is so much better than it probably sounds to you.
     When we returned to the church we had a meeting to make sure we were prepared and ready to go tomorrow.  We seem to be ready and everyone is excited - looking forward with great anticipation for the children to arrive.  Diane has a headache tonight and has been in bed trying to recover from it.  Keep her in your prayers - things don't go nearly as smoothly when the Number 2 leader, me, is in charge.  Your prayers make all the difference in the world - our sincere thanks - and don't stop.  Time to go to bed and turn out the lights.  God bless you all.
    

Correction

Dear Friends - Changing time zones and late night writing have gotten me confused.  The previous blog was written on Monday night - not Tuesday.  You'll get Tuesdays tomorrow.  Good night.

Monday, July 29th

Dear Friends, Brothers & Sisters -  It is Tuesday night, 10:30PM, and everyone's gone to bed.  It is not often when you can experience silence with so many people staying in the church right now.  We started the day with another message from Kawano-sensei with the reading of 2 Corinthians 12:9-10.  "But He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.'  Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.  For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities.  For when I am weak, then I am strong." Kawano-sensei has been the pastor of the Chino church for eight years now and the members are not used to giving testimonies, a story about their life and how God has impacted them.  The testimonies from our team during yesterday's worship service touched the hearts of the Chino church members.  But they think and say that they can't give a testimony like that - sharing their faults, weaknesses, and failures in life.  We are all afraid of exposing ourselves - afraid people will think less of us when we do.  But Jesus tells us that His grace, His forgiveness and love, will make us strong in those moments and times we feel weakest.  So Kawano-sensei feels the notion of God's sufficiency is not in the Chino people, yet - but he is thankful for the sharing of the mission team members to help the Chino members to better understand this scripture and take it to heart.
     Later, a group of four members went to visit members of the Chino church, Mr. and Mrs. Gomi.  Mrs. Gomi, who is in her 90's, is living in a nursing home.  They talked with her and sang some songs to her.  It was clear they had brightened her day as she responded to the presence.  The team then went to the Gomi home to visit with her husband Mr. Gomi, who is also in his 90's.  He is in better physical health than his wife and better able to communicate with them.
     After lunch we had a crafts/English class for children and a parenting meeting.  The crafts class was attended by about 15 children and was enjoyed by all.  Two moms came to talk with our panel of 2 parents and 2 young adults - it was supposed to last one hour but they stayed for four.  People's concerns for being good parents are the same everywhere.
     Later in the afternoon, four of the team members went to a church members home for a lesson in calligraphy.  Brushes were used to write on a wooden plaque and on paper.  It is not an easy thing to do.  We saw some of the samples of our hosts artistry - it was very impressive.  One sample must have been about 8 feet tall and 5 feet wide.
     The members of the Chino church have been very gracious hosts in bringing us meals and driving us to shop and visit the sento (public bath) each night.  Another pastor arrived last night and is visiting the Chino church to observe the EEC program.  He hopes to get ideas for setting up a similar program at his church.  It would be a great blessing if he sees things that we are doing that he would like to copy.  Well I should turn off the lights so that the guys up in the loft can sleep without being bothered by the bright lights.  Thanks once again for your prayers.  God bless you all.      

雨降り

今日は雨の音で目が覚めました。朝からずーっと雨降りでした、今もまだ降っています。
きのうはきれいに見えた山並みにも雲がかかっていました。一日中雨が降っているというのは、なかなか経験できないことなので、ある意味で新鮮でした。
茅野教会は、昔ながらの家屋なので、部屋の前に廊下があります。雨がしのげる軒下もあるので、雨が降っていても窓を開けておけます。なんだかのどかな日本の風情を体験できるのも恵みです。

茅野教会のメンバーの方々は、みなさんとても暖かく歓迎してくださって、毎回美味しいごちそうを届けてくださいます。今夜の食事もおいしい揚げたての天ぷらと共にそばをいただきました。
そして、近所の方々も、茅野ミッションを楽しみにしておられるようで、普段は教会に足を運ばない方でも、差し入れに来てくださったり、わざわざ挨拶に来てくださったりしています。遠くアメリカから来てくれたということで、ずいぶん感激しているようです。
教会の方々にも「毎年、親戚が海外から訪ねてくるような感じですよ」と、言われてとてもうれしくなりました。
７年間続いているミッションが、本当に着実に地域にも根付いているのを感じます。

午前中は、Tsuguru, Danny, Shizukaの３名のチームメンバーが、介護施設に入所されている教会員の８８歳になられるご婦人を訪ねました。河野先生によると、普段はあまり受け答えをされないとのことでしたが、部屋に入って行った私たちを笑顔で迎えてくださり、あいさつを返してくださいました。ウクレレを持参し、賛美歌などを５曲ほど賛美しましたがとても喜んでくださり、ウクレレにさわったり、Dannyの筋肉もりもりの腕に触れたりして、ニコニコされていました。そして、最後には「また来てくださいね」と声をかけてくれました。短い訪問でしたが、私たちもとても心が温かくなったひとときでした。
その足で、ご主人が独り住まいされている家をお訪ねし、同じように賛美歌を歌ったり、お話をしたりとまたまた楽しいひとときを過ごせました。

午後からは、英語クラスとクラフト、子育てのクラスが持たれました。今回も２０名ほどの子供たちが参加して、クラフトクラスは大にぎわいでした。子育てクラスには２名のお母さんが参加され、親の立場から、子供の立場からのいろいろなことを話すことができました。とても興味深く話を聞いてくださり、積極的に質問も出て来たりして、１時間の予定をはるかに超えて、４時間近くも交流を持つことができました。教会に対しても興味が出ているようで、明日は何のプログラムがあるかと、尋ねてくださいました。どちらのお子さんも英語キャンプに参加される予定なので、またこの方たちとも会う機会があると思います。今日の関係がもう少し進んで、もっと深い話ができるようになれるといいのですが。。。

夕方には、Don, Monica, Erica, Tsuguruの４人が、お習字にトライ。硯や筆、お手本、用紙などすべてを教会の方が用意してくださって、楽しくお習字を教えていただきました。親切な手ほどきのもと、半紙のほかに色紙と板に「神は愛なり」「世の光」と書いて、お土産に持ち帰らせてもらいました。とても貴重な体験をさせていただけて、感激しました。

メンバーもみんな疲れ気味ですが、雨のせいか、お昼寝も人気（？）の一日でした。。。
明日は大正琴のコンサートがあります。雨が上がって、恵みあふれる一日となりますように。望さんがやはり疲れがたまって、不調気味です。みなさんのお祈りをお願いします。

いよいよミッションがスタートしました！！
金曜日のお昼頃に無事茅野に到着しました。東京に比べると、湿気が少し低い？感じで、思っていたよりも過ごしやすそうです。。。
駅での熱烈歓迎（ちひろちゃんたちが、手作りのかわいいバナーでお出迎え♩）を受けて、その日は茅野市役所などを案内してもらいました。茅野市役所は、日本一標高が高い場所にあるそうです。北アルプスや南アルプスなどが展望できるようになっていて、本当にきれいな山並みが広がっていました。たくさんの緑にあふれて山が間近にあり、とてものどかな街です。
教会は、住宅街の真ん中にあります。白い壁に赤い屋根のかわいい教会で、８０年以上の歴史がある木造２階建て。なんと、２階の階段はドアがついていて、まるでトトロに出てくる家のような造りです。近くを小川（側溝？？）が流れる音がして、時々聞こえる電車の音が、のどかさを増している感じです。

土曜日は、朝のお祈り会から一日がスタートしました。時差ボケの関係で、みんなかなりの早起き。７時からのお祈り会には、すでにほとんどのメンバーが個人のデボーションを済ませていました。朝ご飯は、みんなでトーストやコーヒー、サラダなどを用意しましたが、とにかくおいしい！！特に茅野は高原野菜が有名なので、トマトやレタス、キュウリなどがおいしいのです。そして、日本のジャムは種類が豊富で、おいしいものばかり。サラダドレッシングも同様ですが、迷うほどの種類を用意してくださっていて、本当に感謝です。
午後からは、最初の英語クラスがスタートしました。小さな子供たちを対象にした「英語で遊ぼう」には２０人ほどの子供たちが参加して、みんなで歌ったり踊ったりと楽しいひとときを過ごしました♩その後のクラフトや、英語レッスンにも大人も含めて、３０名弱が参加してくれました。子供たちはとにかく元気なので、スタッフも汗だくでしたが、また次にも参加したいという子供たちもいて、とても恵まれたひとときでした。

教会には、お風呂場が一つしかないので、近くにある温泉に連れて行ってもらっています。銭湯ではなくて温泉なので、お風呂上がりはお肌がツルツル！きっと茅野に滞在している間に、みんなお肌がピカピカになるかもしれないです。。。

今日は、日曜日の礼拝をチームメンバーでリードしました。まずは９時からのMEBIGからスタートです。これは、子供のためのサービスで、ゲームをしたり歌ったりしながら、暗唱聖句やお祈りなどをするものです。きのうの英語で遊ぼうのプログラムに参加した子供たちも何人かやってきました。みんな、生き生きしていてとても楽しかったです。そして、きのう同様にスタッフは汗だくになりながら奉仕しました。びっくりしたのは、子供たちの吸収の早さです。ゲーム形式で進める暗唱聖句は、なんと一度だけスクリーンで読んだだけで、覚える子供が何人もいるのです！チームにヘルパーとして参加した、Timothy
が救いの証しをして、Ericaがショートメッセージを担当しましたが、みんな目をキラキラさせながら話に聞き入っていました。

礼拝は１０時半からスタートで、教会メンバーの中には信仰生活６０年ほどの方や、高齢のご両親と一緒に参加されているご夫妻などがいらっしゃいました。サウスベイ教会で奉仕した時と同様に、証しを久美さんとつぐるが担当し、メッセージはDonが担当しました。
賛美は、最後の頌栄も含めて、英語と日本語の両方で行い、ピアノの奏楽に、カフォン（箱形のドラム）とギターも加えました。
証し、メッセージ共に、メンバーは２度聞いているのですが、とても心に響いてきて、本当に満たされた時間でした。
礼拝に続く愛餐会は、ポットラック形式となっていて、みなさんがそれぞれ心を込めて作って来てくださったごちそうがたくさんありました。４つのグループに分かれて、食事をいただきながら、楽しい語らいの時間を持てました。
アメリカスタイルの礼拝は、初めてという方がほとんどで、英語の賛美も初めてという方ばかりだったのですが、みなさんもとても恵まれ、心を満たされた礼拝だったとおっしゃってくださっていました。
夕方からは、中高生を対象にした英語と交わりの時間がもたれました。残念ながら参加した人数は少なかったのですが、とてもいい関係作りができたようで、予定外の夕食フェローシップもできて、参加した高校生もとても喜んでいました。

毎日、朝からびっしりのスケジュールで、夕方になるとぼーっとすることも多いですが、忙しい中にも本当にひとつひとつのスケジュールに神様の祝福にあふれています。
きのうは、雨が降ったり雷がなったりという不順な天候でしたが、今日は朝から青空が続いていました。
Donが少し体調を崩して、頭痛が続いていましたが、今日は守られて元気になりました。きのうから、チームに加わってピアノの奏楽を担当している望さんも少し疲れ気味です。どうぞ、メンバーのひとりひとりの健康も守られ支えられるようにお祈りください。

明日は、高齢のために教会に来ることができない教会メンバーの方を訪問に行き、午後からはまた英語クラスがあります。
さあ、どんな一日が待っているでしょうか？主に期待して、おやすみなさーい。

Sunday, July 28th

Dear Friends, Brothers & Sisters - Today is Sunday and it began again with a prayer meeting led by Kawano-sensei.  His Bible passage was Jeremiah 33:1-3.  Verse 3 reads, "Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known."  The birth of our mission and the birth of the Kawanos daughter, Chi-chan, occurred at the same time in August of 2007.  God has instructed us to call on Him, for there are things unknown to us but known to Him - things that He will use us for, thins that we don't see or know.  When the mission began in 2007 it was aimed at bringing in children to the church.  But since then it has expanded to families and other individuals.  In the time that we have served in Chino, a person who was away from the church for 25 years has returned.  A woman, a dear friend of the team, who helped at EEC and passed away in this past year, was baptized. Her husband, a non-believer, attended the Chino church after her death.  A person who attended the church 60 years ago was baptized.  None of these things were imagined when the mission began in 2007.  God has given us the privilege to witness these things.  But what else does He have in store?
     We helped with the MEBIG program before the worship service this morning.  MEBIG stands for memory verses, Bible stories, and games.  The games were fast-paced and thoroughly enjoyed by the children.  There was Bible story given by our own Erica dressed as Minnie Mouse.  And then the children recited a verse from the Bible, each on their own.  From youngest to oldest, they all recited the verse - it was very impressive.  (I have difficulty remembering what day of the week it is)  Then, I believe, the children were introduced to the next verse to memorize.  All of these activities were led by a darling young woman - for SFVHC people, think Amy Date on fast-forward.
     We then led the worship service - the same one I described in a previous blog entry.  Everyone did a great job when we presented it twice to the South Bay Japanese Christian Fellowship, but there was something very different as we worshipped with our dear brothers and sisters in Chino.  I don't know if it's the acoustics of this wonderful 80 year old building, but all the voices of the three churches sounded great together.  We were then treated to a welcoming luncheon presented by the members of Chino Christ Church.  The home-made food was great.  There were two plates of eggplant that were delicious - and I don't even like eggplant.  We went around the room and everyone introduced themselves - there were many familiar faces that I remember from 3 years ago.  Lastly, we exchanged gifts.  The Chino church gave plaques to our two churches.  We, in turn, presented the people of the Chino church pot holders made by a small group of women from the San Fernando church.  I hesitate to list names because I know some of their names would be omitted.  The potholders were very well received - people were amazed that they were home made.  They look better than what you can purchase at the store.  There was then a short meeting for people who will be helping out at the EEC, beginning on Wednesday.  The average age of the volunteers is probably 30 years older than the volunteers at San Fernando's VBS.  It may strike you as humorous, at first, but it makes a great statement about the hearts of these church members - wanting to serve alongside of us to reach out to the families of their community.
     There is a lull right now until the next activity, for middle school and high school students.  Daniel, Tsuguru, and Erica will be leading the activities and they will go out afterwards to tour the city and have dinner with the students.  Louis and Don will go out for dinner with men from the church.  The sacrifices we must make to serve God.  It seems that the ties between the churches grow stronger and stronger each year - what a great blessing it is.  Once again, it seems we are the recipients of far more blessings than we can ever hope to give.  God bless you all.

Saturday, July 27th

Dear Friends, Brothers & Sisters - It is Saturday night and we've had a very full day.  We started with a prayer meeting led by Kawano-sensei.  I with I could understand Japanese so I could more fully receive his message to us.  What I was able to catch from the translation touched my heart and reminded me of his wonderful messages from the past.  He started by having us read Joshus 6:1-7.  The story tells us how the LORD had Joshua march the Israelite soldiers around the walled city of Jericho once a day for six days.  On the seventh day, the soldiers marched seven times around the city, trumpets sounded, and the soldiers gave a great shout.  The walls tumbled down and the people of Jericho were captured by the soldiers.  Kawano-sensei told us that the city of Chino is in ways similar to Jericho.  It has been protected by miles and miles of land, not walls from the influence of outside influences, unlike other cities in Japan closer to the coast.  This protection has perhaps prevented the influence of Christianity to take hold in Chino, which has a lower percentage than places closer to the coast - less than 1% of the Japanese people are Christians.  Kawano-sensei noted that this is the seventh year we are serving in Chino - and we are like the Israelites trying to break through to reach the people of Jericho.  We are at the second stage of the story of Joshua, where the soldiers shouted out at the walled city.  We are here to shout out to the people of Chino, break down there walls, and capture their hearts with the message of Jesus Christ.  The instructions God gave the Israelites did not make sense and seemed unable to help them reach the people of Jericho.  With so many millions of people in Japan who have never heard the message of Jesus Christ, what can ten people from the L.A. area do to make a difference.  Perhaps that is not for us to understand or even see in our lifetime.  But we trust that we are doing His will by being here these eleven days.
     In the afternoon, we had a program "Having Fun with English" where we presented English lessons through singing with children preschool and elementary school aged.  We then offered English conversation classes to adults and craft activities to their children.  It was a great time of interacting with these people and I believe there are some who said they would come to the worship service tomorrow.  This is the reason we are here in Chino - to share the love of Christ with the people and to invite them to learn more of about Him at Chino Christ Church.  After dinner, many of us went to the public baths again - which I incorrectly called the onsen yesterday.  It is a sentou.  It is great to sit in a giant tub with a bunch of naked people you've never seen before - relaxed and very at peace.  No, the tubs are not coed.  That would remove any hope for being relaxed and at peace.  It is now 10:30PM and most of the team is in bed.  We want to give great thanks to everyone who has been supporting us with your prayers.  There will be many stories for you to hear when we return.  Good night and God bless you all.

Friday, July 26th

Dear Friends, Brothers & Sisters - Greetings!  We are now in Chino, having arrived at 12 noon today.  Members of the Chino Christ Church welcomed us at the train station and then escorted us to the church a few blocks away.  Once in the church, Kawano-sensei (the pastor) greeted us and we were treated to watermelon - sweet in flavor with the sweetness of love from those who prepared it for us.  We went around the table and introduced ourselves - it was a wonderful time of new friendships beginning and old ones being renewed.  We took a walk to the Chino City Hall and went to the top floor where we could admire the community to which the Chino church belongs.  Kawano-sensei gave us a brief description of the Christian community in Chino - about 100 members at the three Christian churches.  We concluded our time by praying for the EEC (English Experience Camp) which begins on next Wednesday; praying for the members of the Chino Christ Church; and praying for the people of Chino and all of Japan.  After finishing there, some of the team stopped at a nearby convenience store for snacks - because everyone is being underfed so far.  Right!   We rehearsed some of the songs we will do for the EEC program and made sure all the activities are set for tomorrow's activities for English classes and Free Conversation, which are opportunities for people to just drop in and practice their English language skills through conversation with us.  After doing that, most of us headed off to the onsen, the public baths.  It felt good to shower and then soak in the hot baths.  It is so very relaxing to end the day with a visit there.  Most everyone is in bed or getting ready, now.  It's time for me to do the same.  Sweet dreams, and God bless you.

日本上陸！

今は朝の6時です。時差ボケのせいか、5時前から目が覚めた。

昨日は、バタバタと移動の日。12時半に空港に集合し、満席の飛行機で成田に到着したのが、夜10時頃。。。やっぱり日本は蒸し暑い！

空港のそばのホテルに一泊で、本当にシャワーを浴びて寝るだけですが、快適なベッドとそば殻が入った枕で、なんと浴衣みたいなパジャマが備え付けてあって、さすが日本はサービスが行き届いているなーと感心。ま、最近はパジャマがついているのは多いらしい。6年ぶりの日本はとなる私にはびっくり。

朝ホテルの窓から外をみると、霧が一面に！今日も蒸し暑くなりそう。。。

みなさんのお祈りで、今日もみんな朝から元気です🎵

Thursday, July 25th

Dear Friends, Brothers & Sisters – We have landed at Narita, sent our baggage on to Chino, and are finally all settled into our hotel rooms.  It is 10:15PM Thursday here – 6:15AM Thursday in California.  I’ve been up nearly 24 hours now and am fading fast.  Please excuse typing, grammar, and thinking errors.  Thank you to everyone who came out to LAX to see us off.  It is always a great blessing to be with everyone there and to leave with your love and prayers.  The plane ride was great…except for the two wailing babies…and the lady behind me who forgot to use her indoor voice when talking to the person next to her…throughout the entire trip.  But the plane ride was very, very good for me.  The food was good and the attendants brought us plenty of snacks and drinks.  The past few days I was busy preparing for the trip, buying some last minute things that I needed.  So me head and heart have not been focused on what we go to Japan to do.  After dinner, I decided to watch a movie – Les Miserables.  For those of you who know the story or have seen the movie, you’ll have a better idea of what I will be talking about.  The main character, Jean Valjean (I believe), has been serving a 20 year sentence for stealing bread to feed his starving nephew.  The soldier overseeing his stay in prison has tortured and tormented him brutally.  Valjean escapes from his probation and is a man on the run.  A priest takes him in, and shows great compassion in feeding and housing him when no one else will.  Valjean slips away during the night,  after stealing silverware and such, but is caught by the police who return him to the priest.  The priest shows compassion once again by saying Valjean had permission to take the stolen items – preventing Valjean from probably spending the rest of his life in prison.  Because of the mercy and forgiveness of the priest, Valjean turns his life around and his raging anger is replaced with a desire to help his fellow man – to show the same mercy and kindness shown to him.  But in the midst of this new life, the jailer reappears, sees Valjean and attempts to arrest him again.  At one point, Valjean has the opportunity to kill his jailer, but refuses, and lets him go unharmed – unconditionally.  It is not hard to compare the forgiveness shown by the priest as the same forgiveness we receive as Christians from God.  As I continued watching the movie, the comparisons of the priest to God, and of Valjean to every Christian touched my heart more and more.  It’s a good thing I was watching the movie in the dark – so no one could see how much it moved me.  But what struck me most was the reality that this is why we go to Chino year after year – to share that great compassion shown to us by God.  His love has been life altering to everyone who has received it.  This forgiveness that we receive allows us to remain in the presence of God forever – and less than 1% of the people in Japan have received Him into their hearts.  I took a break from watching the monitor after the movie – to reflect upon what I had just seen.  When I tried to watch another movie, there was no sound coming through the headphones.  I played around with the dials to see if I’d pushed something accidentally to turn off the sound, but could not get the sound to return.  I sat there wondering what to do for a while, when it finally hit me – I need to continue sitting there in silence – away from all the visual and audio stimulation and distractions I usually have that cause me to kill and waste so much of my time.  I then spent time reflecting upon the movie, time to ponder and meditate, and most importantly – time to pray.  Instead of trying to cover up the crying and screaming of little babies, and the loud conversations behind me, I was able to spend a very blessed time in silence – blocking out all the noise around me unconsciously. 

                  All of this has been to say that “God is good!”  He knows what I need when I don’t have a clue – and gives it to me in great abundance.  I need to get ready for bed, and also to let Daniel get some sleep, too.  All this, and we haven’t even gotten to Chino, yet. 

                                                                                          God bless you all

P.S. – It’s now Friday morning and we’re sitting in a Starbucks at the Narita Airport.  I’m able to download this message to the blog, because of the free wi-fi here.  We’ll be taking a train into Tokyo shortly, where we’ll buy bento (boxed meal) to eat on the train when we transfer to another express train into Chino.  We’re going to have a short team meeting now – I’ll be back, later.    

あっという間に、もう２２日です。あさってには、飛行機に乗ってるというわけ。準備がどうのこうのということとは別に、確実に時間は過ぎていく～！

こんな調子の私たちですが、教会の仲間たちは、本当によく祈り、ヘルプしてくれている。ものすごーい感謝なことです♪

今日も、忙しい仕事の合間をぬって、字のない絵本のミニフェルトを一生懸命仕上げてくれたり、スティッカーを届けてくれたり、メールで励ましたくれたり・・・と本当に大きな力です。
みなさん、本当にありがとうございます！

さて、毎日いろいろなメールが飛び交っています。打ち合わせのチェックや、スケジュール、荷物の確認などなど。私たちのメインの奉仕となる、英語体験キャンプに、今年は過去最高の７０名が参加するそうです。決して広いとはいえない茅野教会内でどう対処するかも、課題になったわけですが、今日はその参加者リストをちょっとチェックしてみました。

なんと、２．７歳から小学６年生（１２歳）までと、すごい楽しそうな年齢層の幅（笑）そして、何よりびっくりしたのが、参加する子の名前。
・・・読めない！そう、読めない名前が多すぎるのです！！男の子も女の子も、漢字難しすぎ。。。ローマ字で確認しないと、全然無理。
これは、覚えるのも大変そう！名札ついてても、ローマ字じゃないと絶対に読めなそう。

ということで、あらたなチャレンジが与えられて感謝だなー（笑）と思ったのでした。
でも７０名の子供たち、すごいパワフルだろうな、かわいいだろうな、みんなが集まったらすごい楽しいだろうなぁと、期待も膨らむのでした！

みなさまのお祈り、よろしくお願いしまーす。

いよいよ茅野ミッションへ向けて出発する日が迫ってきました！
なんだかんだと、あっという間にあと１週間後です。
というギリギリになって、日本語版のブログもスタートです（笑）
今は、とにかく最終準備に追われて、チームのみんなバタバタと慌しい毎日を送っています。
今年のメンバーは総勢１０名、１７歳の高校生からベテランの６０代まで、幅広い年齢層と、ユニークなキャラクターが売り（？）です。生まれ育った環境も性格も、みんなバラバラなのに、何故か和やかに打ち解けて、いつもホッとする雰囲気になります。やっぱり神様によって選ばれたのだと実感するメンバーです。
この写真は、教会のサポートメンバーと作っている、ミニフェルトバージョン「字のない絵本」とお土産ギフトにつける「サンキューカード兼しおり」。ミッションチームメンバーだけではなく、こうして陰で支えてくれる仲間たちがいてくれるのは大きな励ましです。献金や実践的な準備、お祈りなど、みんなのサポートがあるからミッションが成り立っているのです。そんな仲間たちにも、心から感謝です！
次回は、詳しい奉仕内容などをご紹介しますね。引き続き、ミッションのためにお祈りをお願いします！

Chino 13 Preparations

The past three Sundays our team has had the opportunity to present lessons and share with the San Fernando and South Bay churches.  On June 30th and July 7th we took over the Kid Venture (Sunday school) time at San Fernando Valley Holiness Church.  We led the kids in singing and movement to songs and participated in games and craft activities with them.  It was good for us old folks to loosen up our joints a little before doing the songs with the kids in Chino, and it gave everyone an idea of the types of things that might work well with kids and things we may need to be better prepared for.  Then on July 14th we presented the service at South Bay Japanese Christian Fellowship.  It is the same service we will present to the Chino Christ Church our first Sunday there, July 28th.  We actually presented the service twice - first for the Japanese-speaking service and then for the English-speaking service.  Daniel was the chairman for the service; Kumi and Tsuguru gave testimonies with Louis translating for Tsuguru; Monica giving a prayer with Erica translating; Don gave the message with Fumi translating; Shizuka did a great job of leading our singing, with Nozomi Yang from last year's team accompanying us on piano; and Diane shepherded us through all of this.  The services went well with the speakers sharing of how God has been faithful in caring and providing for them and their families, and the singing was wonderful.  We had only a couple of opportunities to practice singing together and we have mostly practiced individually with recordings of the songs.  But I thought our voices were strong and blended very well together - indicative of how God has blended the ten people on this team to be so much stronger than any of us can be as individuals.  The strength of the voices together covers up my voice cracking, squeaking, and being off-key.  Together, God can use us in spite of the differences in our talents and abilities to make a strong and powerful presentation.  After the service we practiced the four songs we will sing at the second service in Chino, on August 4th, and then went out for a wonderful lunch (Japanese food, of course).  It was a great way to complete the day's activities - sharing a meal together and enjoying the fellowship of one another.  I'm sure that everyone will say that we are much more of a team - much more united in our hearts and our efforts than we were before Sunday.
     The mission is coming upon us very quickly - we leave from LAX on Wednesday, July 24th.  We depart @ 3:45PM on Singapore Air on flight SQ 0011.  The team will meet at the Singapore Air counter at 12:30PM to check in at 12:45.  We will hang out with friends and family at the 2nd floor food court at the Bradley terminal until we go through security at about 2:15PM.
We would greatly appreciate your prayers during these last few days before leaving for Japan.  We ask for God to help us use our time wisely and efficiently to complete any last plans and preparations that have to be made; we want our hearts to focused upon serving our God and the people we will encounter in Japan;  and we ask for a blessed partnership with Kawano-sensei (the pastor of Chino Christ Church), his wife Chihoyo-san, and the people of the Chino Christ Church in Japan.
     God bless you all.