Good morning. It’s a great blessing to be able to share with you this morning about our recent mission to Chino. First of all, thank you for your support, both prayer and financial, that made this trip so blessed. Your financial support allows us to focus on the planning of our sharing and the programs we will be involved in without the stress of having to raise funds. And it is your prayers that help us prepare for the mission and allows the Holy Spirit to guide and sustain us while we are in Japan.
This
was my third trip to Chino, having gone in 2009 and 2010. The passage of four years since first
going allows me to see some of the changes that have occurred in this
mission. When I first went, I
believe there were about 50 children attending - this year there were 70 with
some more on a waiting list. The
Chino church members have become more plentiful in helping out with EEC, their
VBS-style program that is at the heart of our service to the Chino church - and
they have become much more active in their participation. The MEBIG program - a type of Sunday
School session before the worship service has grown in size and the manner in
which it is presented. The leader
is a young woman, not that dissimilar to our own Amy Nagatoshi, who is in
charge of our KidVenture program, and she is a ball of energy. What a great role model for the
children with a servant’s heart for reaching out to them. We were invited into the homes of
church members twice this trip for dinner. I had never been in anyone’s home on either of my prior
trips. What gracious and generous
hosts they were to invite so many of us into their homes. Team members were also invited into one
of the member’s home for a calligraphy lesson. This woman actually teaches calligraphy and her home is set
up to conduct classes. She had
samples of hers and her husband’s artwork on the walls of their home. But the biggest change that I see is
the quality of the time spent with the members of the Chino church. More than just bringing us meals and
transporting us around town, it is the time spent with them in conversation,
sharing meals, bathing at the onsen, and activities like playing with fireworks
that will always be deep within my heart.
We
have also seen the growth of our team to include South Bay Japanese Christian
Fellowship. Last year there were
four team members from South Bay and this year there were six - over half of
the Chino team. I thought this
might mean that I would be more of an outsider to this team, but I was very
wrong. Just as with other teams I
served on, we became very cohesive and very close. I would gladly serve with this identical team again. The hard part is that I won’t see six
of the team members very often in the future - unlike when the entire team came
from San Fernando.
What
is in store for the future relationship between San Fernando, South Bay, and
Chino Christ Church? My guess is
that Kawano-sensei will want to continue this program and this partnership for
some time to come - it seems to have been successful so far. And with the certification from the
Chino Education Department, it allows for even greater publicity for the EEC
program, directly to students in Chino’s public schools. This certification reminds me of the
growth in the ZOE ministry in Thailand, and the opening of doors in our service
to Montague and Sara Coughlin elementary schools. While we were there this year, a pastor from a church in
Sendai (the region hard hit by the tsunamis) came with his family to observe
and participate in the EEC program.
He hopes to begin a similar program next year after talking with
Kagiwada-sensei, who started this program six years ago, while he was the
nichigo-pastor here at San Fernando. So this modest
program has seen growth each year in Chino and is possibly the model for a
similar program elsewhere in Japan.
I don’t know if anyone could foresee this when we first went to Chino in
2007.
With
such a rosy picture for this mission’s future, what are you going to do? First of all, I ask for your continued
prayer support. There are things
that occur that are not because of our talents or desires. They happen because God has placed us
there and has prepared our hearts and the hearts of the Japanese people for
that occasion. Your prayers ensure
that our minds are unburdened by the world’s woes, our hearts are focused upon
God alone and not our own selfish desires, and our bodies are rested and free
from illness or aches that bring our focus back to ourselves. And your generous financial support
year after year has been fundamental to sending a team these past seven
years.
But
more than thinking about your support for future teams, I want you to give
serious consideration to going to Chino.
We have a church full of people who would be fantastic ambassadors for
Jesus. We need young people, full
of energy to match that of the children who come to EEC. We need mature people with the life
experiences and the Christian experiences to share with the Chino church
members - and not just the super-Christians. On the last Sunday we were in Chino, a member who came to
our parent workshop and brought her young son to EEC and helped out with the
pre-k group, gave me a warm hug as she left the service and said good-bye. I thought it was just my radiant
personality that charmed her, but I later learned that she had been away from
the church for a while and had recently returned. My sharing at the first Sunday service we were there, was
about the Prodigal Son and my own return to the church. I assume that was part of the reason
for the hug. But it wasn’t my
perfect life that connected with her - it was the real-life experiences that we
all share with one another as forgiven sinners. You never know who is going to connect with your story - and
I know that we all have a compelling story to share with others.
There
will always be reasons and excuses for not going and serving on a mission. Probably all of them are valid and
reasonable. But the thing you have
to ask yourself is, “Does God want me to go?” “Is God calling me to serve Him?” Those are the most important questions of all. I would love to see all of us go to
Chino and have the blessing of serving our Lord and Savior, and to receive the
abundance of blessings that all the team members in the past have received -
but I will settle for ten of you next year. Will you be one of those ten? Thank you.
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