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.