A Cup of Cold Water

At the beginning of this month I had just arrived in Singapore to begin a time of learning and serving. I spent a little over a week in Singapore (with a quick overnight trip to Malaysia) before I attended the Angkor of Faith camp in Siem Reap, Cambodia. I am overwhelmed by the way that God has blessed the experiences I have just had, and I would like to share as much of that feeling as possible with you.

In Singapore we spent a great deal of time visiting temples, shrines and churches to learn about the religious and cultural history of Singapore. I was struck by how strongly I felt darkness in so many of the places where people gather to worship idols. And I was so encouraged by God's peace and His presence in the places where people gather to worship him.

I was blessed by the time that we spent worshiping with the Geylang Church of Christ on our first Sunday in Singapore. We were also blessed by the love, joy and generosity of the youth of the churches in Singapore. The youth from several churches meets together for a time of worship and fellowship on Saturday evening; we had the chance to join this group. I was amazed by their passion for serving God, loving one another and praising our Savior -- it was definitely an encouraging time for me.

On our second Sunday in Singapore we worshiped with the Bedok Church of Christ. I was so nourished by my time with those brothers and sisters. After services our group shared a little about God's work in Japan, which was hopefully a time of encouragement for our Singaporean family.

Our time in Siem Reap was amazing! The theme of our camp was "a cup of cold water" because it is a simple thing, but also something that everyone needs -- like love. With that in mind we tried to share a cup of cold water with the kids that we met there. We provided lunch and activities for over 100 children for 3 afternoons.


The biggest surprise for me was to find that the most obvious need that these kids had was not for food or clothes or money, but for love. They asked for those materials things, but what kept them coming back everyday was hugs, smiles, kind words and love. The surprising part of that realization was when I remembered that those are the same basic things that bring people to Christ in Japan, in America, in Europe -- God's love is what everyone wants the most, even if they don't know how to ask for it.

I am sure that somehow God will use the time that our group spent in Siem Reap serving those kids as a blessing for them, maybe a seed of faith in their hearts. I also saw God using the time to build relationships among the young Christians and seekers from Japan, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Cambodia and North America. But more than that, I know that God has used this camp to grow my faith, refresh my spirit and draw me closer to him.

Please pray . . .

~that God will provide the children of Siem Reap with some source of his perfect love to fulfill their most important need, and that he will find a way to lead each of them to their place in his family.

~that God will make a way for the people of Cambodia to overcome the historical, political, religious and personal obstacles that stand between their hearts and his.

~a praise to God for the time that our group of youth had to fellowship and serve together, and that he will continue to use that memory and our relationships to bless each of us.

~a praise for and a blessing on all the wonderful people in Singapore who took such good care of me, Judith, Michi and Gaku (Anne, Patrick, Meagan, Krystal, Pak Fook, Kevin, Kenneth, Joel and many more).

~that God will use the experiences I have just had to make me stronger in him and in the work he wants me to do.

~that God will continue to pursue each of the hearts of the people in Japan and that they will hear his call.

Forgotten February

This is really going to be a short one, but I thought that I should not let February go entirely unnoticed.

February, though not a long month, was a very full month. At the beginning Debi and I attended a Young Adult camp in Ibaraki, where we learned about building community in our ministry. My heart was touched and stretched by the information and testimonies that were shared.

During that weekend, Debi received a message from her family that her grandmother had passed away so she left early and returned to America to spend the week with her family during their time of loss.

On the 21st I visited Debi's kindergarten class to help with a morning field trip and shared a little about German culture with them in the afternoon. Those kids are such a blessing, and I enjoyed the opportunity to spend time with them.

We also had a movie night that Friday for our monthly LST activity. We watched The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. Since February is a very busy month for many university students, there was only a small group, but we all had a good time.

I spent a good deal of time wrapping up my first "term" of LST lessons, spending time with my students who will not be able to continue LST and preparing for my trip to Southeast Asia. However, I did get the opportunity to accompany Debi's class on an ice skating field trip the day before I left -- it was definitely a lot of fun for me and the kids.

Please pray . . .

~a praise to God for a wonderful, busy and full month.

~that his wonderful blessings will be continually showered on his work in Japan.

~that Debi's family will continue to receive God's perfect comfort as they remember that her grandmother is home with him now.

Not Creative Title of January Blog

Hello dear friends!!

It's blog time again, and January was full of wonderful things to tell you all about.

Joel, one of my supervisors, was with us for about three weeks in January on his way between furlough and his time in Singapore. We had time to talk about how things were going so far and how things will look over the next three months. It was a wonderful time of encouragement! He also had an opportunity to show me many new places around Sendai and help me get my bearings, I am excited to be able to drive to more and more places.

On the 14th, Debi, Joel and I went to Mito to attend a church meeting on Christian leadership. Since I still know very little Japanese, I was unable to understand most of the message, but it was a good time for meeting and renewing acquaintances with Japanese Christians and many foreigners that are working for the Lord in Japan.

The 21st was Haruna's birthday -- she is a member of our cell group so we had a wonderful time celebrating her with a special dinner.

Our January LST activity was a Soup 'n' Games party; however, the party ended up being more of a Soup 'n' Chatting party -- none of our board games seemed to hold much interest. But everyone enjoyed the food and really enjoyed spending time together, so the party was definitely a success!

At the beginning of January, I resumed my one on one English/Bible classes after the Christmas/New Year break. They have all been going well, and I still enjoy each and every one of my students. God has certainly been blessing those times that I have to build friendship and share his love.

I want to share with you about something one of my readers told me. She has a great deal of interest in the Bible and a strong desire to experience the power of God. One of her great obstacles is the memory of her father -- he was a devout Buddhist, and since he passed away she has been able to believe that he is in Buddhist paradise. However, she shared with me that if she believes in God, then she knows she can no longer believe that her father is in paradise. Please join me in praying for Akiko, that she will be able to see God's truth and to feel his power in such a way that any obstacle to her faith in him will seem small, however painful it may be to overcome.

In March I will be spending about three weeks in Singapore, Malaysia and Cambodia. During that time our group will be observing and serving many churches and missionaries. In Cambodia we will be joining a bigger group of young Christains and seekers from many parts of Asia that will be part of the Angkor of Faith camp. I am looking forward to seeing the ways that God is working in Southeast Asia -- please join me in praying that God will use that time to stretch my faith, and also that he will use me to bless the people I will come in contact with, especially when we will be serving and loving the street children in Cambodia.

Please pray . . .

~that God will continue to pursue the people of Japan, that he will work in mighty ways in the hearts of Akiko, Kayoko, Haruna, Marina and Michiaki.

~that God will comfort Debi and her family as they are feeling the loss of her grandmother, and that God will bring Debi safely back to Japan.

~that God will continue to strengthen my heart and grow my faith and use me for his mighty work in Sendai.

~that God will protect those seeking him from the distraction and deceit of Satan.

~that God will bless the preparations being made for the Angkor of Faith camp in Cambodia.

~that God will begin to guide me in what I should prepare for after this first year in Japan is finished.

~that God will continue to bless my language study.

Christmas in Japan

Happy New Year Friends!!!

As I enter 2008 I am thinking a lot about the amazing things that God has done in my life in the past year. God made 2007 a very surprising year for me! One year ago I had begun to think that God would not open the door to Japan for me again -- I was still feeling called to get onto the mission field, but maybe, I thought, God wanted me somewhere else. Now I am a little over two months into my life in Japan, and I can hardly remember how I got here; I just know that God's hand has been over me the whole way. And I never would have imagined the ways that God is already growing my soul, stretching my mind and pulling me closer and closer to Him.

I want to tell you everything that happened in Decemeber, but as it was a busy month, that would make for a really long blog. So here are the highlights of my December:

At the beginning of the month I got to visit the Mukaiyama Kindergarten Christmas Flea Market. One of my readers has her son enrolled there. It is a Christian school, so it was fun and encouraging to catch a glimpse of how God is working there. Debi and I went with our friend Akiko; we had a wonderful time of fellowship.

On the 16th I had the opportunity to share a testimony with some of the church members in Sendai. God led me to share about the centurion in Luke 7 -- verse 9 says that he had faith that amazed Jesus. I don't know if God used what I said that day to move in anyone else's heart, but God has been using what he taught me that week to grow in me a burning desire for faith that amazes Him.

We hosted a Christmas party for all of our LST readers on the 20th. We had a good turn out and lots of fun -- and I learned a lot about planning parties.


The most encouraging blessing that I received in December came in the form of a huge pile of presents from the Cheyenne Church of Christ -- I love you guys!!! I received enough hot cocoa to last . . . well, probably forever -- and lots of other cards and goodies that made me feel really, really loved. Thank you to anyone who sent cards or packages to our house -- we are so grateful for all the encouragement and love!

For Christmas, I was blessed to be able to spend the whole week in Ibaraki with Judith. I tagged along for all the Christmas festivities and had a great time. We got to visit several churches and attend a couple of Christmas parties, which included some gift exchanges that inspired hilarity, and I even ended up with a couple of good presents. I was filled by God with the blessing of time to talk about Him and to Him with several friends.

I was especially touched by Michi, one of Judith's roommates. She is a young woman who has not committed her life to Jesus yet, but she is seeking God and He is drawing her to Him in a way that is amazing to see. I was so blessed by some of the conversations that we had while I was visiting. She is already doing work for God's kingdom with her desire to share what she knows about God and Christianity.

When I returned to Sendai, my friend, Dan, accompanied me on the train so that he could visit friends here. Then, because Dan was staying at their house, one of my readers invited us both to have dinner with him and his wife. It was a great evening of fellowship. Dan and I also got to spend New Year's Eve with Mawatari family (Mawatari-sensei is the retired preacher for the church here and also one of my supervisors). It has been interesting and a lot of fun to experience the holiday season in Japan.

Next week, I will be starting up English lessons again. Debi and Joel will return to Sendai in a couple of days. And 2008 will have begun to pass as quickly as 2007 already did.

Please pray . . .

~a praise to God for the comfort and joy with which He filled my heart throughout my first Christmas away from my family.

~a praise to the Holy Spirit for the ways that He is working in Michi's heart. And please pray that He will continue to grow a faith in her and continue to use her to lead others to Him.

~a praise to the Lord because of the ways He is using Judith for His work in Japan and for teaching me more about Him. Please pray for Judith as she is transitioning over the next few months into a time of training for God's new plan for her in mission in Japan.

~for my reader, Michiaki. Pray that God with give him faith, that He will soften Michiaki's heart and open his eyes so that he can believe.

~for safe travels for Debi and Joel.

~a praise to God for all the Japanese I am learning -- please continue to pray that I will remember more and more. I am desperate to be able to communicate.

A very full November

Hello Friends! Sorry this is so late -- I want to tell you all about November. It was a blessed and busy month, so I'll try to give you the abridged version . . .

I spent a great deal of November getting settled into a routine, renewing old friendships and starting new ones. Near the beginning of the month, Debi and I had the opportunity to go to a weekend retreat with a group from the church that our other roommate, Emiko, attends. They had rented a house in Takayama (just about an hour away from Sendai), and we had a wonderful time worshiping and studying God's word together.

The following week I traveled to Ibaraki to visit Judith (a missionary working with a church there). She had invited me to attend/help with an LST follow-up weekend camp. It was a great opportunity to meet many of the Christians and seekers from that area. I made some really awesome new friends and got to visit with Dan, my friend from college who now teaches there. I was blessed and greatly encouraged by the wisdom and experience that Judith shared with me while I was there -- I am looking forward to seeing our new friendship grow and learning more about missions from her.


Every week on Monday we have a group that comes to our house for dinner, fellowship, singing and a Bible study. This cell group is made up of Christians and non-Christians that have either been part of Debi and Erica's cell group (this past year) or part of Joel and Ben's cell group -- since Joel and Ben have left Sendai this fall, the two groups have combined. In November we were studying the beattitudes -- for now Debi leads the group, but I have helped a little in the preparation. Cell group is truly a blessing in my week, and I believe that God is doing great work in the hearts of those who are part of the group.

On Tuesdays Debi and I attend a Bible study at Starbucks that is led by Emiko. We get together, read from the book of John and share our thoughts. I am so encouraged by a woman named Yumiko, who comes every week -- she has been studying Christianity for some time now. Even though she has not yet decided to make a commitment to Christ, she invited a new person to our group and encouraged her to study the Bible. I am so stunned by her willingness to evangelize before she has even made the choice to commit to Christ.

On Friday nights we attend a devotional that is led by Akira, a church member at our congregation. We sing worship songs in English and, of course, have some time for fellowship -- it is always a blessing to worship God with brothers and sisters! And on Sunday evenings Debi and I usually attend an English worship service at a church near downtown Sendai. We have made some new friends there -- and for me (and my extremely limited Japanese vocabulary) it is encouraging to hear a message from God's word in my heart-language.

In November I also began my language study. Every Monday, I have a volunteer tutor that visits my house for a two-hour lesson. Two or three times a month I meet with another lady who is teaching me "survival Japanese" -- like vocabulary for ordering food or buying stamps. I have been attempting to get in an hour or two of personal study every day, but as my schedule fills that has proved to be more challenging than I imagined.

At the end of November I began my one-on-one English lessons. I am teaching English using Luke, John and Acts. Some of my readers are very interested in learning about the Bible, which is so encouraging -- there is nothing so exciting to me than to be with someone when some basic truth about God finally makes sense to them. I am so fortunate to get to do this work for God! Some of my readers are only interested in the English at this point, but I enjoy all of them -- they are all blessings in my week!

Thank you for all of your prayers -- I know that there are so many of you praying for me, because some of you have told me that you are, but also because I can feel God blessing me, filling me with strength and love in answer to your prayers. So please know that God's power and your prayers are sustaining me as I try to do His good work.

Please pray . . .


~a praise to God for Yumiko -- for her willingness to share Christ with others.

~a praise to God for Marina -- one of my readers who said, "I want to know more about the Bible and more about God." Please pray that God will bless her with understanding of His word, belief in His truth and faith in His power.

~that God will open the hearts of my readers to His truth.

~for safe holiday travels.

~that God will bless me with comfort and peace as I spend my first Christmas away from my family.

~that God will help me remember all the Japanese words that I am trying to learn.

~for strength and healing for Crimsen's mother and for her family.