• Japan Community Meetup
• Sunday, May 22nd
• 11:00am to 12:30pm (during second service)
• in the Lounge (second floor), Newsong Irvine.

Hope you can join us as we share what God did, and what we learned, during our time in Japan last month.

There is so much to process, I don’t even know where to begin.  Just thinking about the people we encountered, the ways God revealed Himself, and the people I served with brings tears to my eyes; I think that God expanded my capacity to love tenfold through this journey.

Our team will share our experiences at an upcoming report night (though there’s a lot we can’t share due to the prayer team guidelines that we have in place in order to protect people’s privacy).  For now, all I can say is that God loves Japan- it’s evident in the amazing ways He showed up during this trip.  He loves these people; many of them just don’t know it yet because maybe no one has really shown them what it looks like to be loved by a gracious God.

Please keep the people of Japan in your prayers.  Pray for the disaster victims who are still shivering in the cold because relief supplies haven’t gotten to them yet due to the threat of radiation.  Pray that the people would have hope instead of the despair that leads to depression and suicide.

And please, pray for each and every one of our team members to get back home safely, ease back into the lives God interrupted with this trip, and be protected from the “post-missions” blues. (Clockwise from left) Tina, Melody, Mark, Jenn, Amy, Steve, Sarah, Jacob, and Kevin…  I love these guys dearly.

This isn’t the end of the story.  This is just the end of the prologue to a story that God is still writing.

Greater things are yet to come for the people of Japan.

Signing out,

Stephen Bay
Team Leader- treX Japan- Spring 2011

I was introduced to a young man Saturday night.  He was invited by his English teacher to the chapel, where our team was staying.  I was somewhat nervous when asked to sit with him, thinking “what am I going to say?”  We really had a wonderful time talking, the conversation was going quite well.  Although I thought that the language barrier might make things difficult, but our time together seemed to be like meeting an old friend.  I felt led to ask him about what he and his family will be doing on Sunday.  He shared that the Japanese have a custom to visit their relatives grave site during certain seasons and Sunday just so happened to be that time.  Ok, “I’m going to ask if he would like to bring his family here on Sunday.”  As I asked the question, I also asked God that He would touch his heart.  The evening drew to a close as everyone on the team was feeling the jet lag, I ended our time together with a hug and deep sincere eye contact was felt.

Sunday morning as the team was beginning to get ready for service, I saw the English teacher and she had a huge smile on her face.  I glanced over to the direction where her head was “pointing” my heart was suddenly filled with tears of joy.  God’s love knows no boundaries.  My friend and his family was standing in front of me with a big smile. 

Steve Lu

“Nah, that’s kind of weird,” I countered.  “We’re at a train station, I’m in a different country, I don’t know if that’d be acceptable here,” etc…  I was trying to negotiate my way out of a prompting of the Holy Spirit, as I often do.

“C’mon.  Go ask him if his name is John.  Just walk up to him and say ‘excuse me, are you John?’ If he says no, all you need to do is apologize and say you thought he was someone else you were supposed to meet.  Go, try it.”

I hesitated for a moment.

“Nah, that’d still be weird.”  I glanced over at this person to scope him out.  He was alone, in his mid 30s, and had fear written all over his face.

He glanced up at me.  I said hello.  He nodded and said “hi” back to me.  I resolved to at least go over and talk to him.

He told me that he was in Tokyo during the earthquake and had gone down to Kyoto with his wife to get as far away as they could.  They were now on their way back to Tokyo to catch a flight to the US, where he was from.  They were fleeing in fear.

I introduced myself and said, “By the way, I’m Stephen.”

He extended a handshake, smiled nervously, and replied, “I’m John.”

D’oh!

If only I had obeyed the promptings of the Spirit, I thought.  He might have been blown away that I knew his name, he’d ask how I knew, I’d tell him that God really wanted him to know how much He cares about him, I’d lead him to salvation and baptize him at the water fountain, etc.  The whole “what-if” scenario played out in my head.

But since God is still in control, I needed to trust that this was playing out exactly as it needed to.  A teammate later mentioned that John might have been freaked out if I had gone up to him and called out his name cold; John was already stricken with fear as it was.

After John told me where he was headed, he asked me where I was headed (and he kept glancing at my cross and “hope” T-shirt).  I told him that my team (I pointed out the others wearing the same T-shirt as I was) and I were heading up to Tokyo to serve with the relief effort.

He lit up; something had been stirred in him.  “Wow, that’s great!” he said.  His wife, a Japanese woman, came by and John introduced me to her.  He excitedly told her, “These guys are going up to Tokyo to help with the relief effort!”  She glanced at my T-shirt, read “hope” out loud, smiled at me, and said “Thank you.”

I had been hoping for a chance to offer to pray for him, but since they had to go, I could only tell him that I’d pray for them to have safe travels.  They thanked me and we parted at the train station.

Lessons I learned out of this encounter:

• Don’t be afraid to take a risk when the Holy Spirit moves you to.  The only thing I had to lose by asking a stranger what his name is was my dignity, and that all boils down to pride.
• Sharing God’s love with people doesn’t always require words.  In this case, our witness to John and his wife might have simply been the ministry of presence: we were there in Japan when many others were trying to leave, and we were heading into Tokyo when many others were heading out.

God is good.

-Stephen

1. Pray for those in need of rescue that it will come swiftly.

2. Pray for the rescuers – safety, rest, encouragement, in the midst of horror and unrelenting pain.

3. Pray for families that have witnessed the unthinkable, are worried about loved ones, and fearful for their own safety.

4. Pray for children who need comfort and safety, hugs and reassurance – even if they are physically “fine.”

5. Pray for governments and authorities that all red tape would dissappear and corruption would cease.

6. Pray for relief agencies to have wisdom and compassion to make a lasting difference.

7. Pray for those around you that they would respond not just with what they can do, but with their heart.

8. Pray for yourself that you would have a heart of compassion – start now and it will grow.

A true heart of compassion is not just ready to give when the need arises. A true heart of compassion seeks out ways to help even when no one else notices that there is suffering. A true heart of compassion will allow itself to continue caring long after the world has lost interest.

Once you finish praying, ask yourself two questions.

* How can I become personally involved with helping the people?
* How can I financially support someone who is personally involved?

It is important in the early stages of a disaster to fill up the coffers of those organizations that do rescue and relief work. They will use that money to stay ready for the next disaster that comes. But in the age of Twitter and Facebook, find someone who is giving their time, energy and life to help those who are suffering and give generously or become that person and give your heart to those who need it most.

• number 48
• blue and orange
• sports jersey
• radio
• laminator
• silver fern

We started looking for these clues but didn’t find anything for a while.  Along the way, one of our team members decided to get some digital photos printed at a shop, and the shopkeeper asked us to come back at a later time to pick up the printed photos.  While we waited, we started talking about clues and made the connection between the word laminator and the print shop.

We went back to the print shop to pick up the photos.  I wandered outside and noticed for the first time that the store sign was blue and orange.

Our team member paid for his 2 prints, which cost 48 Yen a piece.

A radio was blaring inside.

Though the clues seemed clear, the shopkeeper didn’t seem that open to us, so I went outside to take some pictures.  That’s when I noticed a shop right across the way named Silver, which was part of a clue that another team member had gotten the day before.

I pointed this out to the rest of my team, and as they took a peek inside, someone ran out to welcome us in.  This young man’s dream is to go around the world as a chef and learn how to prepare dishes from different parts of the world.  When we offered to pray for him and his future, he not only welcomed it, he got excited about it.

And when one of our teammates handed him a handcrafted cross pendant, this young man asked, almost in disbelief, “for me?” He immediately put it on, happily posed for pictures, and asked for contact info so that we could send him a copy of the photograph.

Please keep this young man in your prayers.  He’s the treasure that the LORD wanted us to find today.

-Stephen

Another announcement stated that an emergency nurse had been dispatched to the scene; I learned that this probably meant that someone had jumped in front of the oncoming train. I couldn’t believe we were already experiencing this on our first day in Japan.

It was even more disturbing to me that the train started moving again after what felt like only 2 minutes. Did they simply pull the body off the track and let the train continue its way? Have suicides become that common? Just minutes before the incident, the announcer warned that the train might make a sudden emergency stop near Shinjuku. Maybe that area is a hotspot for jumpers?

What would drive someone to such a point of hopelessness, and more importantly, how can they find the hope that they so desperately need?

-Stephen

I can’t even begin to describe how incredible our first 2 days have been here- ministry is happening without us even trying.  A partial list of highlights:

• On Saturday morning, a few of us set out to deliver donated laptops and emergency supplies to CRASH Japan, wearing the “hope” T-shirts that one of our team members designed.  During our multiple train stops, we had people read our shirts, smile at us, give us thumbs-up signs, and even thank us for coming to Japan.  It’s amazing what impact a simple message on a simple T-shirt can have.

• We connected with CRASH, where volunteers worked at a fever pitch to get the operation up and running in time for their official launch today, March 21st.  One of the leaders told us that Japan is not allowing NGOs to come in, so CRASH mobilizes a network of existing churches, ministries, and missionaries in Japan to execute relief efforts on the ground.

• As our group waited at the train station to board the Shinkansen to Kyoto, one of the station workers approached the women on our team to ask what our shirts were about.  After a brief chat, the women offered to pray for her.  She accepted, and received prayer right there in the middle of Tokyo station, even though she was in uniform and on duty.  It was an awesome sight.

• On board the bullet train was a blind man and his family.  They, too, asked us why we were wearing shirts that said “hope,” and when we started to engage him in conversation, he shared that he’s been seeking truth for his entire life.  (This family was fleeing Tokyo and heading as far south as they could go.) Later, he said “I might be blind physically, but my heart isn’t blind.”  No coincidence that earlier that day, one of our teammates was reflecting on the passage in John 9 about spiritual blindness.  We offered to pray for this family.  The blind man knelt on the floor of the Shinkansen and accepted, tears streaming down his face.

One of our team members later gave this family some cash out of his own pocket.

• On Sunday, we attended services with our host church, Kyoto International Chapel.  One of our team members shared his own personal story of waiting upon God and having hope in Him.

• We had lunch after the services, and towards the end of it, we were stunned to see the blind man from the train coming into the room, along with his wife.  He had come back to Kyoto from Osaka to find the team member who gave him money and ask why this happened.  This turned into an opportunity to share the the gospel with him and explain that forgiveness is also a free gift that he need only receive.  He was definitely open to hearing the message, and he’s supposed to come back today to meet with one of the local pastors to talk more about it.

There were even more incredible experiences that we had during our first two days here.  We’re so thankful that God is definitely showing up in amazing ways.

Thank you for your prayers- you’re helping fuel what’s happening here.

-Stephen

Arigato.

Sent from my iPod

Please pray that they will get TRUCKS and VOLUNTEERS to meet and distribute supplies. Supplies that are not picked up will be forfeited.

Sent from my iPod