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.
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