Burning the Night Away: Part 3

"The fire must be kept burning on the altar continuously; it must not go out..." This verse from Chapter 6 of Leviticus was one of the primary motivations that spurred on the Moravians who started one of the most influential movements of 24/7 prayer the world has ever seen. One of the greatest missions movements exploded from this prayer movement, with hundreds of missionaries being released to the world, including some who sold themselves into slavery in order to take the good news to the slaves! The current ratio of missionaries to laypersons in the Protestant church is 1:5000, but within the Moravians, the ratio was closer to 1:60! This began when 24 men and 24 women covenanted together for 24/7 prayer, a prayer meeting that last at least a 100 years, one source even stated it lasted 120...

120. It is a simple number really in comparison to all the other numbers in the world. 10 times 12, or even 5 times 24. 24. 24 hours makes up 1 day. So 5 times 24 is 120, and 24 hours equals 1 day, so 5 times 1 day equals 5 days, which also equals 120 hours. Is this confusing enough yet?

Well, about a week and a half ago, I sat in the prayer room with several others as we concluded our second prayer burn of the fall. It had been a long, hard, but good week for myself, but it seemed like everyone else who had passed through the prayer room doors had really enjoyed it. My friend Chad had been reading something from the book "Until He Comes" by Billy Humphrey, and he asked if he could share it with everyone. I read it myself, noticed it was about the Moravians, and gave the green light. As he read it

Burning the Night Away: Part 2

When I began my last post, MY desire was to share about our first prayer burn in November, but as you can see, I never got to it. No, I find my last post much more important than any recap I could have shared with you at the time. In fact, if you look hard enough, I believe anyone can see where it was that I stopped and prayed, asking God to say and share what He wanted to say and share, and the results were incredible. The vision and principle of the Church joining together for 24/7 prayer is the foundation of our prayer burns, and without being able to grasp that, one cannot grasp the prayer burns and the happenings not just in Starkville at MSU but across the world.

24/7 prayer is sweeping the world right now. Prayer burns, prayer weeks, prayer rooms, prayer furnaces, houses of prayer, and whatever-other-crazy-name-you-can-think-of-then-made-plural are popping up all over the world. The Church is grasping the need for prayer and the desire of the returning of Christ by dropping to our knees for His justice to be shown. The Lord even said He had posted watchmen on the walls to cry out day and night until He made Jerusalem the praise of the earth! This truly is the desire of God! So a big part of our vision with the prayer burns is if we can champion the vision and principle of 24/7 prayer, it does not matter what we do or where we go, we can carry this with us, impacting all of those around us, carrying on our role as the royal priesthood!

So with such a foundation laid, I feel released to share about the 68 Hour Prayer Burn! While carrying the vision for prayer in Starkville, I did not know what it would look like exactly,

Burning the Night Away: Part 1

This fall has proven to be a crazy busy one. It is always hard to explain that to others (at least I think so). How do you tell someone who works full time that things are busy when you do not have a job nor are in school? Sounds hypocritical to me. Yet this fall has been busy (and restful, too. That cannot be denied).

When people ask me what I have been doing, the first two months I replied, "I have been meeting with guys on campus doing discipleship and trying to make it around to visit people." Yet this was always an incomplete answer. There was always a third vision and goal I was pressing in for: fostering a vision for a prayer movement on campus. The Lord gave me a vision for prayer here in Starkville and at MSU before I left to return home, and upon returning, He started providing for it!

One crazy story:

The Southeast Trip pt. 5 - Nashville, TN

Upon leaving Cumberland Gap after breakfast with Bruce, I set my eyes upon my last destination: Nashville, TN! I had the opportunity to stay with another good friend, Joe Chen! He is actually a brand new uncle very much like myself, but I didn't give him any pointers on that... He is attending school at Vanderbilt, and while he might not be a missionary (the link goes to his really cool and fun photo blog!), he is a great man of God who desires to see the Church, the Bride of Christ, to be readied for Christ's return, so that makes us kindred spirits!

The three days spent in Nashville all were very different, all were very good! After arriving on Tuesday and spending the evening eating dinner with Joe and conversing with him, I traveled down to Franklin to meet with another guest lecturer from the DTS, Chris Dupré! Chris was the first speaker at my DTS, and his one week made my DTS all that it was! He is a man who carries the Father's Heart, who shares will all he meets how much God loves them! I arrived at his home that morning, spent time talking with him and his beautiful family, ate lunch with a contact from New York, visited a lovely prophetic couple, and ate dinner with another friend who works with the Nashville House of Prayer! It was a packed day, but it was actually incredibly chill, time also spent running errands like paying bills and buying a book from Target. We were able to discuss more Father Heart, share vision for my future, talk on dating/courting/pursuing a potential wife (which left me with a great peace :), and just plain goof off! It was such a treat to have had this opportunity, and he gave me a copy of his new book, "The Wild Love of God," which you can find on his website. I read it within the following 24 hours. It was very good!

The next day I was able to meet another good friend from home, Drew Cole! We were going to get breakfast together, and we chose to eat at the amazing Pancake Pantry! We had a great time discussing what I experienced in both Japan and the Philippines, sex trafficking holding a large part of our conversation because his sister is attending law school in order to become an advocate against it. Prostitution is prominent in both Japan and the Philippines, yet it is very hidden and covert in Japan while open and overt in the Philippines. But we also talked about other things, had fun, and shared the love of Christ with one another.

That night, I was able to be a part of a Bible study with Joe and some of his friends. We discussed Matthew 21, seeing Jesus entering Jerusalem in fulfillment of the prophecy of the Messiah. The people were expecting Jesus to rise up and go to war soon. So when it seemed crazy that a crowd could change so quickly and crucify him days later. I can imagine the pharisees going among them saying, "Here is this man who mocked God by entering in the city according to the prophecy, yet what has he done? Let us kill this impostor!" And that is what they did. But we discussed that maybe it was that Jesus came in and by His death, He made war upon Satan, defeating him, and removing the power of death forevermore! How amazing! Because of His sacrificial death, we do not have to suffer death! May we believe and give ourselves to Him! Afterwards, we went to the Loveless Cafe and dined on some delicious food! It was a great time!

I decided Friday morning I was ready to go home, but before leaving town, I was able to have one last pleasure of enjoying a cup of Starbucks with my cousin Rachel! It was great to get to sit and talk with her about what was going on with her and also share about my adventures. I was able to tell her about how it came about that I went to Japan with YWAM, and it was really good to share on the faithfulness of God working through it. Before leaving, we got to pray together for the future, and I jumped in my car to head home!

What a trip! I was so blessed to have had the opportunity to take time to visit so many wonderful people! My experiences along the way will be something I remember forever and will return to Japan to share! One important detail about this trip has yet to been mentioned, though. In september, another cousin approached me about driving him to Memphis before leaving for England for the next 15 months, and he said, "And your mom said you were going to take a trip to Virginia. You are more than welcome to take my car." I had prayed while in Japan that the Lord would provide a car for me to use while back so I could sell mine for support money to go back to Japan, and here it was! How amazing is that?! God is so good!

Return to Part 4: Cumberland Gap, TN!

The Southeast Trip pt. 4 - Cumberland Gap, TN

Five years ago, I was a sophomore in college, and I had the most fortunate pleasure of meeting a young gentleman. At that time, he had aspirations of being a doctor. Unfortunately, those aspirations never changed, and he is now locked away at a small medical school in Northeast Tennessee called Lincoln Memorial University. He only escapes the beautiful landscape of Cumberland Gap and Harrogate, TN (the school is actually in Harrogate), every blue moon, but when he does, you probably catch faint wisps of his legend riding upon the air. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, it is true. I am, in fact, friends with the one and only, Stephen Hull.

Stephen (who will now be referred to as "Bruce" for the remainder of this post) and I did in fact meet my sophomore. It was decided that he would be my little brother, and he was the only little brother I ever had. I cannot begin to relate to you of all the fun things (and not so fun things) we have done together: we took road trip to visit my mom in Northeast Georgia (fun); we both got food poisoning the same day while at a friend's house for his send off for the summer (not fun); we played hours of Dr. Mario together (fun); we rode bicycles to the end of the peninsula near his family's beach house in Pensacola (fun for him; not for me); we did a double date for the BYX Date Auction, which cumulated with a high speed chase of a deer on a John Deere Gator until we ran over an unseen ditch. Shortly thereafter, the ride ended upon hearing the phrase, "We lost Bruce!" (I will let you decide who had fun and who didn't)

Bruce has a very special place in my heart, there is no doubt about it. It was a welcome visit to get to see him once again after it being almost a year since the last time. I drove almost the entire length of Virginia the Sunday after Zach and Leigh's wedding to arrive in Cumberland Gap for dinner. Unfortunately, with all of the scheduling changes, my visit fell during a test week for him, so he had to spend the evening after dinner studying. I spent it washing my clothes from the past week!

After his test, we took a short trip down to Knoxville to chill out post-exam. We went to Best Buy, Guitar Center, and Dick's Sporting Goods, and wrapped up the trip by eating at one of the best food establishments ever: Chick-fil-A (gotta get that spicy chicken sandwich)! Upon our return, we went to his friend Glenn's house to sit by his fire pit. I met Glenn during my first visit to Cumberland Gap the year before, and it was really good to get to visit with him again. Glenn is one of the nicest, coolest, and calmest people I have ever met. That afternoon before leaving, we had stopped by his place, and I also met his brother, and honestly, just speaking to them emanated friendship and welcoming. I do not really know how to explain it, I just know it was good.

Even though the trip was short, we all were able to have some good conversation about Christ, the Gospel, and missions, hopefully encouraging to all parties. It was really great for me to see Bruce once again after being away from him for so long.

But this trip offered another great revelation for myself and others I would say. I had said earlier in the conversation with Bruce's friends that I was a missionary, but it was afterwards when only Glenn and Bruce remained that I shared this: "You know, I don't know what to tell people when they ask what I do. I really don't like calling myself a 'missionary', for it comes with labels and ideas that may not necessarily apply to me, and it might give people the idea that I can be this way or that way while they cannot. What I would rather say I'm doing is 'chasing Jesus'. Cause anyone can chase Jesus. They can chase Him here, there, in this way, or in that way." I do not do the things I do because I am a missionary; I do the things I do because Jesus loves me, and in response, I want to love Him back. Anyone can do that!


Return to Part 2: Greenville, SC!
Continue on to Part 5: Nashville, TN!

The Southeast Trip pt. 2 - Greenville, SC

As I shared in my last post, I had originally planned on going through Tennessee first, but the reasoning for my trip flipping occurs during this leg of my journey. It all started in May when one of our guest speakers, a man named Jeff Reid, came to Tokyo. While he was with the school, he told us about these crazy guys in Greenville, SC, who started a house of prayer when one guy posted a sign up outside of his shop saying "Prayer/Free Coffee" along with some other radical stories about their ministry in the area. So good!

But I remember thinking, "South Carolina isn't too far from Mississippi..." So upon return, I reconnected with Jeff about trying to meet up with these guys in South Carolina. In doing so, Jeff informed me that he would be visiting them as well in late October, so I planned my trip to be there then. However, his plans changed, and when they did, so did mine! It lined up that he would be there the night before I left, and he would be the first person I met in Japan for me to reconnect with.

What I realized (and remembered) after arriving in Greenville was I did not come to Greenville for Jeff. I came to meet the Greenville guys. It was a bonus that Jeff was going to be there (not to diminish Jeff at all), but when I first planned on going there, I was unaware of Jeff's plans. I make this point because I absolutely love the people I met in Greenville! I had talked to this guy Jed who is kind of the front man I guess, and we had emailed back and forth. I had already changed my plans on him once, and I was very anxious to not cause him trouble, for he has willingly opened his house up to a "complete stranger." That was until I arrived.

The plan changed once again, and I was supposed to meet them at their new community house they were preparing. I pull up the driveway, and they walk outside as I step out of the car, and an immediate spirit of familiarity hits us, and one would have felt we were long lost friends. I was prepared to share my life with these people! It was amazing how the common bond of Jesus Christ connected out lives to one another in a split second!

I ended up spending three days in Greenville hanging out with Jed, his wife Melodie, her sister Kristin, Jesse, his wife Jill, and Ian, all of which are incredible people! We prayed, worshiped, visited, "settled" (Catan), and even searched out a new range and installed it in Jesse and Jill's house! They shared their time, homes, family, food, their very lives, with me while I was there! I also was their first guest in the new community house, which was being prepared for their new school, the Fascinate Transformations School, which will be starting this spring. Most of them had participated in the Community Transformations DTS with Jeff at some point, and all of them are committed to bringing revival to their local spheres of influence and to America by living their lives in a Christ-centered fashion! That is what community transformations is all about!

I have never experienced such authentic community in my entire life than I did in Greenville for those three days. I believe it is a true return to the early church we see in Acts 2:42-47. Jeff, who is currently based in South Africa with his wife and three children, spoke to us about what was taking place there, telling us about the community house they were preparing inside the township of Masiphumelele. He was saying something like this: we have three regular meetings a week; one on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, but then we are constantly gathering to do other things as well the rest of the week, too. But there is not a time when we gather together that someone ends up coming into the house, gets radically touched by Jesus, and gives his or her life to him.

Friends, revival is a reality. It can happen. May we all commit our lives to Jesus and to seeing His name proclaimed on the earth no matter the cost. For I tell you, there is no cost or sacrifice that is great enough to repay Christ for what He did for you and me, so we give it all.

Return to Part 1: Clarkston, GA!
Continue on to Part 4: Cumberland Gap, TN!

The Southeast Trip pt. 1 - Clarkston, GA

SO... like I said in my last post, I want to tell about some of my most recent adventures. Honestly, it is difficult, for it seems that every time I sit to write, another, more recent adventure has taken place! So I must start being more disciplined in my blogging if I ever desire to catch people up on my life. Otherwise I will be writing about my journeys from January 2012 in December 2013...

One of the big things God gave me vision for upon returning was a grand big Southeast trip, where I would leave for almost a month, stopping in different places to visit different friends. I absolutely LOVED the idea of it while I was in Japan and in the Philippines. However, upon returning from Japan and beginning new discipleship relationships, leaving for a month was not very appealing. I only have a few weeks here in the States, so missing four weeks, missing four meetings, with these guys was a lot! It made me sad! But based on the schedules of those I was wanting to go visit, that was what it was going to take.

However, there was a change of plans, and the entire trip got flipped around (quite literally). I had originally planned on leaving and going north to Nashville to start, but because of a change in scheduling (which I will discuss in the next post hopefully), I was now leaving for Atlanta first. It actually worked out really well, for it shortened my trip down to two weeks! So I was only going to miss out on two meetings now.

The original plan was to leave Starkville on Thursday, October 6th, but the night before, my mom brought to my attention that BOTH my brothers and their wives were going to be in Starkville that weekend (not to forget my super cute nephew Nicholas as well!). Considering this could be the last time all three of us would be in Starkville together for quite some time, I decided to stay home until Sunday.

Had I left when planned, I was going to visit my friends G & R for two days in Clarkston, GA. They are attending a missionary training school based there, and I was hoping to see and hear about what the Lord was doing in the area during this time while also visiting with others I had met on previous trips. Unfortunately, the new leaving date could not afford this. However, we did have a good visit and time while I was there!

We first ate dinner at their apartment which was Stromboli's Pizza, which is always delicious! But afterwards, we were looking to go visit a refugee family in the area, and apparently without my knowing, they prayed about who to visit, which I am totally okay with. I mention this because when we show up, we are immediately greeted with a situation. One of the family members has been in an accident while in South Carolina, but they do not know where. We start looking up hospitals, calling hospitals, talking to hospitals (personnel, not the actual buildings. We did have some sense). Eventually, after a scare with confusing another patient who was in critical condition, we discover our man is okay! But during this whole ordeal, we were able to pray for and minister to this family who are not yet believers. But they recognized the power, life, and peace that Jesus Christ brings, and I believe that they will come to a knowledge of Jesus Christ soon!

Soon after the resolution of the situation, I returned to the road for my next stop. It was great to see my friends G & R, but the short trip definitely left a great deal to be desired.

Not long after leaving Clarkston, I encountered some strong spirits, but that story will have to wait till next time!

Continue on to Part 2: Greenville, SC!

I Don't Even Know What To Title This Post

So life has been interesting since my return from Japan. It was not long after the beginning of the DTS that I knew I wanted to return to Japan as a staff member (much longer to decide if it was what God wanted). One of the big things that God impressed upon me, though, was beginning this new journey in faith, and one big area was in finances. Things were going to be different in preparing for my time as a staff. Let me explain.

I spent two months last fall really seeking the Lord on my future, what it looked like, where it was going, particularly in the area of missions. During this time, the Lord transformed my heart (any person's heart being transformed is a miracle), and when November rolled around, I was ready to go where He wanted me: "Japan". After spending some time praying it through, I told my parents about this choice, not really sure how I would provide for it. Well, less than a week later, I had received a phone call from a local accounting firm in Houston, MS, from people I had met a year and a half earlier, and they pretty much offered me a job! How crazy is that?! That job ended up supplying over half my support, not including the gifts from those I met there. There is no doubt in my mind that the opportunity was divine.

However, in returning from Japan, I knew I had some time before going back, and I would also need to raise support for two years away... Very daunting task, indeed. Yet I felt like the Lord was calling me away from working for it like I did last time. It was very difficult coming to this conclusion although it might not seem that way. In working, I could both provide for myself while also showing a proactive effort towards obtaining my support goal to any potential supporters. It would not require as much faith because I could do it without as much faith in the Lord to provide. It would move me towards obtaining my CPA license, which seems like wisdom. There would have been many benefits from it.

But I felt like working was not the direction to head. I am not saying working is faithless, for the Lord definitely provided for my first trip in this way. No, I felt like the Lord was calling me to a new place of faith while also being more relational in my support raising efforts. Because I chose not to work, I have been able to spend time in regular discipleship relationships throughout the week I might not have been able to. I have had the freedom to engage individuals I might not otherwise seen. I have had the opportunity to meet and encourage people I would have missed. I have been able to take trips and make visits to people I have longed to see.

To be honest, when I sat down to type this blog post, I did not plan on writing this. I hope was to tell you about my trip around the Southeast before I forgot it, then to tell you about my encounter with a group of Italian students I met two weeks ago. And I assure you, these stories are coming (they are great stories; will I tell them well, I do not know)! But this is my heart: my heart longs for people and for them to know that they are loved, not just by me, but by their Creator. And not this distant love, but a love that will get down and dirty with you, hands messy, clothes dirty, trenches fighting love. This love went to a cross for each and everyone of us. That is the love, that is the power we carry. That is what I want people to know. That is what I want to take back to Japan.

Before we left Japan, we were saying goodbye to some of our friends at the Japanese high school ministry we have participated in (Hi-B.A.). One girl, who is from Japan, said to me, "JP, I hear you are one of the special ones who are coming back to Japan." I replied, "Yeah, I am." Something like that. "That's good," she said. "Japan need some more of the Father's Heart!" I about turned to stone. Father's Heart? How did she know? Had we talked about it? I cannot remember. But she saw it.

That is what Japan needs. It is what we all need. And it is not about me. To be honest, it is not about the Japanese people. Going back to Japan is about God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, receiving the glory, honor, and praise they deserve! My hope is to go back to Japan to do it. Where are you going to do it today?

Re-entry and Refreshing

So I have been stateside for quite some time without updating the blogosphere recently. Actually since coming back. So hello again! Sorry for the silence!

Re-entry has honestly been very good for me. Since returning, I have tried to be very intentional with my time, and I am currently in several relationships where I am meeting with guys on a regular basis. I have also had several opportunities to meet with other guys for conversations here and there, always trying to make the most of every opportunity. It has been such a blessing for myself and very encouraging, and I hope these individuals feel the same way about our relationships.

But the past two weeks have been very challenging for me. I have found myself slipping into an old way of thinking: I must continue to do a certain thing in order to please God. I have tried to do things on my own strength instead of resting and abiding in him. I have had unbelief instead of having faith. Scripture says it is impossible to please God without faith, and when we try to do something to make God like us or to please Him, we are ultimately not having faith in the fact that a) He already likes us; and b) Jesus did everything necessary to please God!

Wow! Everything is out of our heads! All we have to do is believe! How crazy is that! There is nothing we could do to make God love us any more or any less than He already does! He says “Nothing can separate you from My Love! It is perfect! Stop thinking it is imperfect! I delight in you! I rejoice over you! You are rooted and established in love! Stop living to obtain my love; just receive it!” If we would live FROM a place of love instead of FOR love, the world could not help but be changed! I learned all of this the second month of the DTS, but I am having to recall and call on all of it right now! We cannot forget His perfect Love for us!

I encourage all of you to stop thinking about how you are failing God every day. Stop condemning yourself; there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. He does not condemn you, so neither should you. When we continue to condemn ourselves when God does not, we are raising our judgment above God’s. I do not know about you, but He is WAY over my judgment. Instead, start thinking and focusing on how much God loves you! He does! I promise! Once we come into a place of intimacy with the Lover of our soul, He will change us. He will make us new! Know He loves you!

I hope to share about the time I am having in Greenville, SC, right now! I have been here two days now, one more to go, and I have loved every minute of it! I hope to post again soon and share what the time has meant to me!

Trip to Tohoku

This past Friday, we returned from a ten day trip to Ishinomaki, Japan, within the tsunami disaster area. When we first arrived, to my fresh eyes, there did not appear to be that much damage, but our driver who was making his fifth trip up was telling us about how bad it was. As we drove further into the city, there were more signs. Then we crossed the river.

The river was lined with sand bags in the event of it overflowing its banks, and the far side had far more damage. There were no active stop lights and policemen were directing traffic. Buildings were missing huge chunks of their bottom floors. Boats laid grounded hundreds of feet from the river. Rubble was everywhere.

It is really hard to describe what it was really like. As we drove in further in, the destruction was found to be untouched. One day we drove towards the coast, and we came across ginormous piles of rubble, scrap, and debris like a common landfill back home. It is something uncommon to see here in Japan. Vehicles left behind look like a toddler's favorite toy sent to hell and back in a trash compactor. Foundations laid bare with no traces of former homes. It was interesting to see how some buildings remained while others did not.

We worked with a group of volunteers called Team Kobe, and most of our work was spent shoveling dirt out of drains along the sides of roads in different neighborhoods. While uneventful, it afforded a camaraderie among the volunteers and our group, helping build relationships. We honestly did not get the chance to talk with the residents that much, but we were able to pour into the lives of the volunteers and plant some seeds for the future. As our DTS leader told me today, "When we are still going up there in five years and building houses, those people are going to have to ask themselves the question, 'Why do they keep doing this?' And the simple answer is Jesus." Something like that.

Unfortunately for myself, I developed a great case of strep throat in Ishinomaki, which incapacitated me several days, but it ran its course before we finished working there, so I got to get my hands dirty for a couple of days. We also prepared a huge feast the last night and invited the Team Kobe people "over" (to our end of the evacuation center) for dinner. We were able to serve them a semi-traditional American meal and just love on them, which was a huge blessing for both parties. One of our team members ended up staying up talking with one of the volunteers for four hours about Christ! Even though the guy did not accept Jesus, I heard he said "pray for me everyday to have an encounter with Jesus." The people are hungry for truth, for life, for answers, and Jesus has them all! He will get him!

Another small blessing we had was a festival in Ishinomaki. One night they lit lanterns and put them in the river for the lost family members. The next night was a fireworks show, and it honestly was the best fireworks display I have ever seen in my life! We Americans have a long way to go and a lot to learn about how to do fireworks from the Japanese... I took a couple of pictures during the show and some video, but after a half hour (and half way through the show), I decided to just sit back and enjoy. Many of the people with me said the best part of the show was my reactions. I am not going to lie, I acted like a little school girl. What can I say? They were pretty, and they were cool. I got excited!

Here are just a couple pictures from the trip. No one really has that many pictures of us working. We all were working...

One of those "toys"...

Fireworks!

The pool house at the evacuation center (formerly a middle school). Most of the clocks in the school are stopped at 3:50, I believe marking when the tsunami hit.

Ishinomaki

The tall building against the mountain is the middle school where we stayed.

Most of the area visible in this picture is continuing life as normal.

David Crabb (left), Spencer Lamer (right), and myself sitting in the park as we waited for our "Be Blessed" lunch at a local yakiniku restaurant. To get an idea of what this meal was like, watch this.

Derick Domae, a Japanese American who has been serving with YWAM Tokyo for a little over two years, led our team. This was his fourth trip up north (I think). He is such a great guy! I love him.

Another blessing of the trip was multiple hours in a car to see the Japan countryside. I was fortunate to get to ride in the front of the van with Dave McDaniel, the DTS leader, for the ride back. I also love that man, and I look forward to running with him in the future here in Japan!

When they say that Japan's land area is only 25% inhabitable, they do not lie. Most of the island is mountainous, and houses are packed into the plains right up against the mountains.

Since I said it in one of my captions, I will be returning to Japan next spring as staff for the DTS! It is a two year commitment, and I look forward to the time. I will have to make another blog post in the future about my future plans, so be watching in the future! Wow, I just said "future" too many times...

Pictures from Hi-B.A. Camp 2011!!!!!!

This is Eric Matsumoto. He was one of the leaders for the team from Azusa Pacific University (APU). He is Japanese, but since he is also like 4th or 5th generation American, he does not speak Japanese. Neither does his parents. But during camp, God has called him not only to learn Japanese, but back to Japan for ministry!

These are the girls from APU! They were fun, super cool, and just a joy to be around. The girl in the white actually is not a team member but grew up in Japan and attends APU. The whole APU bunch was just a swell group of people!

Yep, that's all the pictures I took at camp.

But camp was a great experience. It started off rather trying because we had just returned from the Philippines Wednesday night at 11:00 p.m. Less than 48 hours later, Friday night, we were at camp, trying to get settled again. I know I was out of it the first couple of days; fortunately, the campers did not arrive until Monday, two full days after we arrived.

While I really thought I would be prepared for camp since I had worked at one in the past, this was SO different. These kids... When they had nothing else to do, they were inclined to pick up a guitar and play worship songs. They asked great, intentional questions. They loved Jesus. Back home, you would not dream of leaving kids alone for half a minute. These kids, you never worried about leaving them alone except it might make you look bad for not participating.

So with that said, my camp experience really seemed like all I did was hang out, play games, run around, worship God, talk about Jesus, and have fun. I felt like I did not really do anything to contribute, which afterwards I realized to be an attack of the enemy for me to condemn myself. I had a great time altogether.

So now we head out for the last time on "Outreach", yet outreach is far from over. While life is still the same as when I left, my view has shifted so much! Jesus is returning; He said He would. Why are we not like David, who swore an oath to not rest until a dwelling place for the Lord was prepared? If we are now the temples of God, should we not be preparing places for the presence of God to dwell in the nations by bringing people to Christ? It is hard, that is certain. But can you tell me what on this Earth is worth keeping in comparison to the insurmountable riches that await us in eternity with Christ? You know what is even more amazing? That we receive those riches now, our inheritance now, when we pursue the Kingdom of Heaven while on Earth! It is incredible! I tweeted this earlier:

Do you realize that if God never did another thing for you the rest of your life, He is still worthy of an entire life of praise from you?

He is that good, that holy, that worthy. That is the God who loves us. Each and everyone of us with perfect love. Love that took Him to the cross. To the grave. And all He wants is for us to love Him back! So let us return to the first command: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind." This is our calling! This is our purpose! Amen!

Photos from the Philippines!

Back in Senzoku!

Kon'nichiwa! It is good to be back in Senzoku! For the past two weeks, we have been working with International Hi-B.A. (pronounced high-bee-aye) with a program called Gospel Team. Everyday, teams would leave before 6 a.m. to take trains to different stations to hand out flyers to Japanese high school students with invitations to rallies that would be held in the nearby area. Afterwards, the day would be spent in quiet time, practicing, planning, and participating in the rallies. As DTS students, we played two roles: we were either "students" or "support team". Students were considered the same as the Hi-B.A. students we were working with and were asked to hand out flyers and participate in the rallies; the support team took care of the teams by doing laundry, providing a small prebreakfast before the teams left to "tract", charge the train passes, and clean up the locations we were staying in. Although I was serving as a support team, I also was able to go tracting several times, see some of the rallies, and hang out with my team. Our team had an amazing chemistry, and one of the most enjoyable things from the two weeks was seeing the hunger inside each and every one of them! I fully expect to look them up in a few years and see how "dangerous" each of them are! I am unsure of how many students accepted Christ after the two weeks, but I do know several did! How exciting!

A lot of the staff made GT out to be a very rough experience, but a big difference between this year and past years was we have some many more DTS students than in the past. The support team members honestly did not have enough work for all of us. So in my experience, all of the problems I had during GT were not GT issues but personal issues for myself.

At the beginning of the second week, God spoke one of the hardest words I have ever received, if not heard. I had stayed behind the team to clean up some more at the church we were staying at in Hiratsuka, and I got to the station a little before 7. The next train leaving for my destination was leaving at 7:11, so I made my way to it and was luckily able to find a seat. I sat down, and waited, but at 7:11, nothing happened. I looked around, not really sure what was happening, so I watched everyone else to see what they were doing, which was waiting patiently. So I stayed. Then an announcement in Japanese came on over the train and out in the station, and afterwards, a few people would get off the train and walk to the other side of the platform. But some stayed, so I stayed. This would happen about every 6-8 minutes, and finally after an hour and a little frustration, I said, "Okay God, what is going on?" He replied: "JP, you are willing to sit and wait on a train for an hour, in faith that it is eventually going to move, watching to see what everyone else around you is doing and doing the same, yet you are not willing to wait on me?" Wow. Ouch. It was super cutting, yet so dead on. So I asked, "Alright, God, what do you want me to do?" "Get off the train." "Okay." So I got off and asked, "Do you want me to get on the other train?" "Sure." So I got on it, did not even look at the time at this point, even though I was supposed to meet my team leader at 8:45 and the train ride took 30 minutes. I would be cutting it close, but I was following the Lord. I knew He would take care of everything. So fast forward: I get to my destination, it is 8:45, and I ask God, "Alright God, how am I going to find Aaron?" I look up, and there he was walking through looking for me. It was pretty crazy.

Waiting. Waiting can be so difficult. I know I am an impatient person; I want a quick fix to all of my problems. Yet that is not who God is. He knows that when He gives a quick fix, you become focused on the fix instead of on Him. He wants to "know" you, just like any other friend wants to know you (at least good friends, that is. And I assure you, God is good!). He wants to walk with us. He does not want us to be like the child who is trying to ride a bicycle, keeps falling off, runs home for the band-aid, and runs back out to try again with no better idea on how to ride. He wants us to teach us how to ride! And I need to work on this so much! My life depends on it!

Fortunately, in three days we will be leaving for the Philippines for two weeks. We will be working in bar ministry, traffic-proofing young girls, and doing other manual labor at the YWAM base in Olongapo. There will be some structure to our schedule, but for the most part, time will not be a consideration. To explain, if someone says to meet up at 2 p.m., it will probably be at least 3 before they show up. It will be interesting experience, and I am looking forward to it! I am sure I will be updating y'all on it once we get back! Until then, God bless!

I Want To See Mountains Again, Gandalf!

So this past weekend brought out some things that were important to deal with before these upcoming weeks, so this post will be based on two quotes: the first you already have seen, and I will explain later; the other is "I feel like butter spread out over too much bread." Great way to start a post, right?

But it was truth. Undoubtedly one of the biggest strongholds in my life is striving. I have always been a hard worker, doing more than necessary, taking on responsibility that is not mine to take on, trying to find identity in what I do. You know what sucks about that? It is sin. Yeah, crazy, huh?


Our world is very much performance-based, but we are called to be in the world but not of the world. Those in Christ no longer have to serve American culture or Japanese culture, but we get to participate in Kingdom-culture, which is not about earning our salvation but resting in it! Romans 4 says, "Now to the one who works, wages are not credited as a gift but as an obligation. However, to the one who does not work but trusts God who justifies the ungodly, their faith is credited as righteousness." Without Christ, we have no ability to do anything good and all of our righteous acts are filthy rags. So this is the thing: if wages are what are credited to us when we work, then all we are owed is death because of our unrighteous acts. But when we rest in God, trust in God, put faith in God, it is credited as righteousness! How awesome is that!

Matthew 11:28-30 also tells us about rest: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Christ tells us that when we take His yoke, we will find rest. What is better than finding rest in Christ?


Now, the catch is resting does not mean we do not do anything. The pure fact of taking on a yoke is work, but what we must understand it is about partnering with the Father to accomplish His purpose. Christ Himself partnered with the Father to do the Father's work. Satan wants us to be performance-based, to either be passive and do nothing or strive and try to do everything. But the Father calls us to rest, to abide, to not be anxious about anything, but to trust Him. And when we do that, we allow Him to move!


With that said, I was in need of a "holiday", so yesterday, I went to Mount Takao (pronounced taco) by myself, and hiked to the top. It was a great way to spend the day, and I got the needed break from the DTS House. The train ride there was about an hour and a half, about thirty miles away from the house. It is still considered to be within the metropolis, yet you can actually see trees and mountains! Here are some pictures from the trip:

View from the next to last station from the mountain.

 

The building in the back is the station for the chairlift up the mountain. The trail-head for the trail I took is to its left.

 

The trail I took was about 3.1 km and supposed to take 90 minutes to summit. I am not sure how long it took me, but I had to stop for people a lot. It was crowded. The summit is almost 600 meters above sea levels. Mount Fuji is more than 6 times as high.

 

Mount Takao has been a center for mountain worship for the past 1000 years for Shinto-Buddhist gods, so it was covered with shrines and temples. I took this picture while walking by.

Although this is not a picture of them, I am pretty sure I passed the local hiking club on their way back from cleaning up the trails. I did enjoy how nice the people were on the trail!

Nature!!! And not concrete!!!

 

It was sunny when I left the house that morning. You are supposed to be able to see Fuji from here...

 

The natural thing to do after summiting a mountain: eat ice cream! It was deliciously cool. And super expensive...

This cat is drinking water.

And the group that gathered when the cat did so. They freaked...

 

The Chacos did well!

 

 

 

 

This picture reminded me of the Matrix. Either that or it looks like they are farming apartment buildings.

I took the chairlift back down the mountain. It was worth it!

Do you like the hazy effect? I had just blown something off my lens!

Very direct. And helpful.

Yes, I enjoyed utilizing it! (Since this is an example of a "mistranslation", another one I saw that day was "Impossible is Nothing" on an Adidas shirt. I cracked up! I have also seen a shirt with each spelled as "ehich"...)

Back at the foot!

The day was a really active day for me honestly! After waking up that morning and jogging ~6 km to Shibuya Station, I went to the mountain and hiked over 4 km (3.1 km up on Trail #6, at least 1 km down to the chairlift), but I loved it! I totally fell asleep on the train coming back for a few minutes (the train I was on was awesome, too. It only stopped like 5 times over the course of an hour. Most trains I am on stop every 2 to 4 minutes). Hopefully I will make it back with some friends on a clear day, or better yet, I'll go to Mount Fuji!!!