Hello Everyone,

It`s currently Wednesday morning in Japan and we are planning on leaving from Tokyo tomorrow.  We are scheduled to arrive Thursday morning in the US.  We can`t believe that two weeks have already passed - the time flew!  Several of the women at the church have shown an interest in Christianity, and a few are even asking to be baptized!  We praise God for His work in the hearts of the Japanese - it is so encouraging to see His hand at work so clearly!  Please continue to pray for these people, that God will continue to water any seeds that may have been planted during our time here.  Also, please pray for our travels home - that we will have safety and ease.  Thank you!

 Today we had a great time in Tokyo with the Korean missions team. We went to Shinjuku and toured NHK (Japanese broacasting station) and then Akihabara (Tokyo electronic town) for dinner.A Japanese christian friend who works for NHK arranged the tour for us. For the most part it was a fun filled day. On the train going back to Chiba, Michiyo translated an announcment to us, saying that a train would be delayed due to a "human related incident". ) 99% of the time this means someone jumped in front of the train in an act of suicide. It was a very sobering time. It reminds us all the more how much Japan needs the light of the gospel in their hearts.

Tomorrow, we are planning on spending time with a missionary family who lives outside of Tokyo. The father is the one who drove our team to Tohoku, the disaster area, last year.

 Thank you for your prayers! God is taking good care of us.

~ｔｈｅ　ｊａｐａｎ　ｔｅａｍ

ｙｅｓｔｅｒｄａｙ　ｗａｓ　ｏｕｒ　ｌａｓｔ　ｄａｙ　ｏｆ　ｓｕｍｍｅｒ　ｂｉｂｌｅ　ｃａｍｐ　ｉｎ　ｉｃｈｉｈａｒａ　２０１２．ｔｈｅｒｅ　ｗｅｒｅ　ａｂｏｕｔ　１２０　ｐｅｏｐｌｅ　ｔｈｅｒｅ，　ｉｎｃｌｕｄｉｎｇ　ｋｉｄｓ，　ｐａｒｅｎｔｓ，　ａｎｄ　ｈｅｌｐｅｒｓ．　ｉｔ　ｗａｓ　ａ　ｇｒｅａｔ　ｗｅｅｋ！　ｐｌｅａｓｅ　ｐｒａｙ　ｔｈａｔ　ｔｈｅ　ｓｍａｌｌ　ｓｅｅｄ　ｔｈａｔ　ｗａｓ ｐｌａｎｔｅｄ　ｉｎ　ｔｈｅ　ｈｅａｒｔｓ　ａｎｄ　ｍｉｎｄｓ　ｏｆ　ｔｈｅ　ｃｈｉｌｄｒｅｎ　ａｎｄ　ｐａｒｅｎｔｓ　ｗｈｏ　ａｔｔｅｎｄｅｄ　ｗｉｌｌ　ｏｎｅ　ｄａｙ　ｇｒｏｗ　ａｎｄ　ｂｅａｒ　ｆｒｕｉｔ．ｗｅ　ｗｉｌｌ　ｔｒｙ　ｔｏ　ｓｅｎｄ　ｐｈｏｔｏｓ　ａｇａｉｎ　ｓｏｏｎ。

Photos!!!!! :D :D :D

Hello from Japan!  We finally were able to gain access to a computer, and are uploading photos for the first time.  We hope that you enjoy them, and that you will be able to witness God's work here in Japan.  Tomorrow will be the final day of VBS, which means our last day to share the Gospel with the parents of the kids that attend.  Please pray that God will give us strength and energy, and that He would give us the words to say, despite the language barrier.  God is good, all the time.

Japan Update

We're sorry that it has taken us so long to update the blog - our past few days have been full of activities! Tuesday and Wednesday we visited Honda Chapel for a shortened VBS after a morning of VBS with Pastor Han's church. We were with Pastor Han from 9-12 and then raced over to Honda Chapel for lunch and VBS from 3-5 (We didnt get home until 9:30 tonight!) The team led singing as the Go Fish Guys and split into different age groups to work with the children. About 50 kids showed up at Honda, and they have asked us to come again next year. We will also be working with Pastor Han at his church until Saturday. 70 children have signed up, and about 50 came today. A very large portion of these kids are not church members - the Lord has given us such a great opportunity to share His love with the children. On Monday we visited the daycare and spent a couple of hours playing with the children outside. I don't think there was a moment when there wasn't a child in our arms or on oour back! Please continue to pray for us, as we have been so busy. Prayer for strength and endurance, along with good health, would be so appreciated. Also, please pray for the children and mothers we have been (and will be) interacting with this week - that the Lord will use us, despite the language barrier, to spread the Good News of Jesus Christ! We can't wait to see what God has in store for us in the coming days! Thank you so much for your prayers! We hope to post some pictures tomorrow! -The Japan Team

First day.

Hello from Japan! We have arrived, and are beginning to settle in here at the church. Our flight from Philly was delayed, and we had to sprint in Detroit to make our flight. But God was with us, and we arrived at the last minute, huffing and puffing, ready to leave the country and land in Tokyo. We had no trouble getting through customs in Japan, again a blessing from God, and after reuniting with Michiyo, sprinted to make our 11:20 PM bus ride. God's blessings seem to be a reoccurring theme for our trip. Our theme for VBS this year is "Countries of the World", and our passage for the week comes from Acts 2: the Pentecost. While there are teams from Japan, Korea and the US, and although there are three different languages being spoken, God's power knows no culture differences, and His grace and mercy knows no language barrier. Pray that we would build strong relationships with each team, that we would interact with the children at VBS, and that we would bring glory to the God of the whole world.

Japan Team leaves tomorrow

We'll meet at the church at 12:30 pm on Thursday for prayer/send-off.  All who can make it are welcome to join us.

Todd