tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19989767323689888242023-11-16T00:07:31.741-06:00the accounta loved child of God trying to tell others that they are a loved child of God tooJPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00337966731415476098noreply@blogger.comBlogger50125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1998976732368988824.post-11846333230612813392013-08-07T04:31:00.001-05:002013-08-07T04:33:10.369-05:00Hunger in Japan<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR_SeZ97HTo6DyCa2kxQHi7eRjAd4q-tlxIc4a19I-fQGPIk5lf-p8U8ONOMx2dmfzJZCfV3BP3Sza-7oCQFMoTa77xS7ympuYX5cecQB_M8j8cRCU2tW1500lYGgAQJqIGbxB431Tj2M/s1600/Talking+with+Seiji.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR_SeZ97HTo6DyCa2kxQHi7eRjAd4q-tlxIc4a19I-fQGPIk5lf-p8U8ONOMx2dmfzJZCfV3BP3Sza-7oCQFMoTa77xS7ympuYX5cecQB_M8j8cRCU2tW1500lYGgAQJqIGbxB431Tj2M/s320/Talking+with+Seiji.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Talking with Seiji one Friday evening</td></tr>
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This past spring, our base started having a weekly gathering every Friday night for us to go to a local park to worship, pray, and evangelize, this last part usually done by launching out from the park in small groups to go initiate conversation elsewhere. It was during one of these evenings that we met a man named Seiji. When we first met him, he was spending time with two Chinese ladies who were part of a cult because he was trying to learn Chinese, but he himself professed to be an atheist. However, such a label falls very short of accurately describing this man.<br />
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From our first meeting, he has asked some of the greatest questions, from the difference between Catholics and Protestants, what is predestination, where does sin come from, is it possible to read the Bible on my own and understand it, and more! He says he is an atheist, yet he is on a journey of coming to faith, longing to believe in Jesus! He has returned almost every Friday night, even when he has been very tired, and visited with us, sometimes leading to dinner afterwards! One evening after meeting several times, He told Katie and I that meeting with us has put a desire in him to have relationships with people again when he had decided years earlier that he no longer wanted to! So good!<br />
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A week ago, he attended our weekly open meeting where we have worship and a message (which I gave)! During the worship, I saw him looking around, seeming confused, so I sat down and asked if he was okay. He said, "So many voices... They sound holy!" I personally do not think he was just hearing the voices of the people in the room but angels singing along with us in worship to Jesus! (But I didn't get a chance to tell him... ;) Later on after the message, we talked about what I had shared, and he confessed that it was something he dealt with, one of the reasons he wanted to come to faith in Jesus believing that God would help him in this area of his life! Before the night was over, he said, "I will have faith one day in the not-so-distant future"!<br />
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Please be praying for Seiji as we continue to meet and disciple this not-yet-believing Japanese man! I believe he will be very influential in reforming the Japanese government and education system to lead to a more free and powerful Japanese spirit from individuals, giving them hope and a future! Pray that he would encounter Jesus and would come to trust Him even without understanding everything!JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00337966731415476098noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1998976732368988824.post-38740863581314109382013-06-23T06:29:00.002-05:002013-06-23T06:31:14.604-05:00Breaking the IceMy last post was on October 26th, which, oddly enough, is the day that Katie and I will be getting married this year! Crazy! So how do you follow up something like that? It's almost been eight months since I last wrote a blog post. Is it possible to just jump back in and start from where things are now? So much has changed: at that time, we were not running a DTS but pursuing ministries on the base; I was dating Katie, not yet engaged; we were only preparing as leadership for the season that is going to be over in two months. There is no way to recap it all, so I am simply here to<a name='more'></a> break the ice.<br />
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This past season has been incredibly busy, and it has made it difficult to continue posting and writing emails. Yet I wish to be thankful for this past season. I have too often been looking at what could be or what once was and been disappointed at myself for not doing more. Yet there is no doubt that God has been at work here in Japan in this DTS. Students seeing radical financial breakthrough when they thought they would be going home; others encountering the Father's heart for them, realizing that God not only has a plan and a purpose of them, He wants to fulfill their dreams and desires for themselves, too; some are being set free from bitterness and unforgiveness, a poison within their veins. Dreams fulfilled, vision casted, lies broken, plans remade! It has been an incredible time for them, and it has only just begun!<br />
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So this is a simple breaking of the ice. There is so much more to share about this season, not just about the DTS but outside of it, too! So I hope to do so more regularly now. Until then!JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00337966731415476098noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1998976732368988824.post-30620727230575795312012-10-26T05:20:00.000-05:002012-10-29T06:50:48.822-05:00Ministries at YWAM Tokyo<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px; font-family: Helvetica;"></span><br />
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About a month and a half ago, we as YWAM Tokyo sat down to discuss different visions each of us as staff had to see the Kingdom of God come to Japan! It was exciting to see the room come alive as each of us began to share our passions! Through these talks and prayer, several different ministries were birthed within our base to pursue, and we have divided up into groups to see them come to pass!</div>
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The four main ministries in action currently are:</div>
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- Café</div>
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- Arts</div>
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- University</div>
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- Prayer Room</div>
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Cafe - There has been a long standing vision to establish a cafe here in Tokyo that can provide an intimate environment to minister to people while also offering quality products. Tokyo, being the most populated city in the world, offers many options of everything: beauty salons, ramen shops, convenient stores, and... cafes. The Japanese seem to love cafes, and we believe that a cafe would provide an incredible ministry context allowing people to relax while we love on them, develop relationship, and share the Gospel! Currently, the staff are looking for small ways to offer coffee, hot cocoa, and treats to people as an outreach, but until we obtain a space of our own, it will be difficult to fully pursue this vision.</div>
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Arts - We also as a base hope to see the arts used as a medium for ministry. There was a time in the history before Japan became a truly Buddhist nation, and Christianity even had somewhat of a presence, but it was through the use of the arts that Buddhism spread and gained popularity here in Japan, eventually leading to the power that was able to make the nation hostile towards Christians until after World War II. The Japanese have such a love for beauty, which has been attacked and perverted by many things, but we know that God, the creator of the universe, the most creative being alive, has things He wants to show to the Japanese, and by His Spirit that dwells in us we can release them to this nation!</div>
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University - University ministry has been something we have been active in for the past few years, but in this season, we are specifically targeting one university in particular: Rikkyo University. There is a rich, Christian roots in this university, beginning with the founder, Bishop Channing Moore Williams, who started the school to teach English and Bible studies even when Christian missionary activities were still prohibited in Japan! To read more on the background, click <a href="http://english.rikkyo.ac.jp/aboutus/philosophy/spirit/foundation/">here</a>! Also, here is a blog <a href="http://www.ywamtokyo.org/2012/10/27/why-rikkyo/">post</a> written by one of our leaders at YWAM Tokyo about Rikkyo as well! We hope to tap into this well of Christian heritage here in Japan and see people released to change this country! </div>
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Prayer Room - While a few of us are focusing on this ministry in particular, we as a base are spending time every week in the prayer room ministering to the Lord! Jesus said the first commandment was to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, strength, and mind, and we believe it is vitally important to accomplish this before trying to fulfill the great commission. We believe that doing the former will lead to the latter! We gather as a base three days a week to spend time worshipping, praying, or meditating on Scripture in order to draw close to the Lord and love on Him, and four afternoons of the week are optional times for those not devoted specifically to the Prayer Room ministry to stay with us in the prayer room as we continue this precious work.</div>
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These are the current ministries taking place here at YWAM Tokyo! I love to give you more detailed information if you would like, and if you would like to give towards any of these ministries in particular, please let me know!JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00337966731415476098noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1998976732368988824.post-80318422125682636762012-07-26T06:54:00.002-05:002012-07-26T06:54:51.586-05:00Outreach Phase: The PhilippinesIn continuation of sharing about the outreach phase of the 2012 YWAM Tokyo DTS, the next stop would be a two week trip to the Philippines!<br />
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Last year when attending my own DTS, we traveled to Olongapo City where we partnered with a YWAM base there that works specifically with women in the sex trade, trying to pull them out, teach them practical life values and steps, help them earn an education, and hopefully ending with the girls never returning to prostitution again. It was such a blessing to get to meet and stay with them last year, so I was excited when I was chosen to lead our team there again this year!<br />
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The trip itself was jammed packed with ministry opportunities<a name='more'></a>, from going to the bars to talk with the girls to holding open air worship services, from partnering with a local church and house of prayer to hiking into the mountains to be a part of a tribal church! Of course, one of the greatest parts of this trip is also getting to meet and pour into the lives of the girls at the base and their children. There are at least seven teenagers and nine or so children ten and under, including a one year old (his mother was pregnant last year when we were there)!<br />
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As I mentioned, a large part of our ministry was going to the bars in Olongapo. We specifically focused on an area called Barretto where there is a strip of road lined with bars. I would like to share some about my experience from the night I went. During that night we traveled to two different bars, one of which is called Escape. Since we had traveled there last year, one of the staff at the YWAM base has managed to organize a Bible study for the bar girls every Friday, meeting in Escape. When we entered, there were no clientele there, so we had full freedom to move about the bar without worry (most of the bars have become used to the presence of missionaries and allow us to enter and converse with the girls as long as we are not interrupting a "transaction". During this time, some of the girls in our group sat on the stage with the dancers and talked with them while myself and another spoke with the girls/lady boys working the floor. In fact, we even taught them a dance and did the Cupid Shuffle!<br />
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However, the tranquility of the evening was stopped when all of the sudden there was a buzzer sounding. It was crazy to see the bar go from relaxed to full motion: the dancers hopped up and started to move again, life devoid from their faces, while the floor girls ran to positions to look "natural". Within moments, the client walked in and took his place on the bench along the wall. Before he entered, flurried words traversed through the air about whose client had arrived to be followed by comments of disgust from the lady boy who was to serve him. I was amazing and appalled to see the environment to shift so much so quickly. And saddened by the sight before my eyes.<br />
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It was at this time I also saw something beautiful. Along the bar was another girl who no longer worked there but was visiting. She said she had moved in with her boyfriend, but she did not have a job and was bored. So she would come back to the bar because that is where her friends were. I took the chance to affirm the loyalty within her.<br />
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Before we left, I was pleased to see "the client" leaving again. Alone.<br />
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When I think about all I saw during this trip and the last, there is much to share. Like how that same night, we visited a bar from our rounds last year right before we left when we ran into a girl we met last year who just happened to be passing by on her way to a friends. She was wearing a modest dress, and she informed me that she was no longer working in the bar. "Do you miss it? I asked. "No, not really." Another girl from last year had been promoted from the floor to working as a waitress. A third girl ran out of the bar upon being informed that we were there, running to come speak to us! "-------, get back in there and get to work!" "Shut up, I am talking with my friends!" When the second person came out and yelled at her, she returned to work; apparently she had a client inside that she ran out on to speak to us. All of these people we met in two weeks time last year, too.<br />
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Before leaving, we held a party for the bar girls to attend where we had lunch, snacks, and drinks, and we had games, worship, a testimony from a former bar girl, and a teaching by one of our students. A great part of the time was just spent talking, treating these girls and boys like what they were: people instead of sex toys. I remember noticing how one of the girls came back to the base with us, speaking with one of the staff. Well, about a half hour later, we were informed that she wanted to leave the trade, move into the base, and accept Jesus as her Savior!!! Praise God! This was our last day, along with one of our student's birthdays. That morning, another student had prayed that as a birthday present someone would get saved! What a great present! And we got to celebrate it all that night at our going away party!<br />
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What an amazing trip! I thank God that I got to go! Also, here is a <a href="http://destinywithamission.com/">link</a> to the website of our dear friend Destiny who has been working in the Philippines for the past year. It is because of her that we got to do most of the amazing things we did! She is a true hero of the faith, loving these girls, selling everything to go suffer for the Gospel! Check out the video on her website to hear testimonies from some of the girls we met and see some of the things we saw. It is worth it!JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00337966731415476098noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1998976732368988824.post-61800158605483860462012-07-19T04:32:00.001-05:002012-07-19T04:36:06.147-05:00Outreach Phase: Gospel Team 2012Greetings! Oh how long it has been since I have last posted! Well, I will spare you the whines and complaints about that.<br />
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For the past six weeks (including this one), the DTS has been in what is called the Outreach Phase. Normally, the first twelve weeks of DTS is spent in the Lecture Phase were we have speakers from within and outside of the DTS come teach on certain topics. The YWAM Tokyo DTS is slightly different in that we split our lecture phase into two parts, ten weeks before outreach and two following. But for where I am going, these details are unimportant (but interesting to know nevertheless).<br />
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The first outreach for us to participate in is<a name='more'></a> called Gospel Team/Let's Be Friends. For two weeks, international high school students who attend <a href="http://internationalhiba.org/home/">International Hi-B.A.</a> (High School Born Again) along with staff volunteers travel around the Tokyo area and beyond inviting Japanese high schoolers to come to rallies that are hosted by Japanese Hi-B.A. These two weeks are some of the fastest paced weeks of the summer, groups waking up at 5:00 am to take the train sometimes upwards to an hour away to hand out tracts/invitations, preparing for the rally, host the rally for the Japanese high schoolers, become friends, and travel home in order to do it all again the next day! However, the fruit that one gets to see in the lives of the high schoolers both ministering and being ministered is far worth it!<br />
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While I helped with this outreach last year as a support team member (wash clothes, clean, provide food, charge train passes, and other odds and ins), I was designated as a team leader with another YWAM staff named Lindsey Hollands. I served Lindsey's team last year, so it was fun to get to serve together as leaders for the outreach. It was a wonderful two weeks of leading, ministering, and discipling multiple people, from Japanese high schoolers to other leaders!<br />
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I would like to share one story from the two weeks, and I hope to make sense without too much explaining. Before every rally, a few people go out to do some last minute tracting, but the true goal is actually draw some students into the rally that evening. So the day of our first rally, four of us left to do this, and while out, I saw a group of six male students. I stopped them and said hello, and I asked if they were busy that afternoon. Throughout the whole interaction, their numbers grew as more friends walked by before moving along to their next destination, but the initial crowd stayed with me. I was trying to convey to them that I thought they would really enjoy coming to our event, and if they were not busy, they should. Even though their was a language barrier, not all things are stopped by it, and I could tell there was some essence of mocking me taking place. Eventually this group left, and we walked back to the rally location without any accompaniment.<br />
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Later on, though, Lindsey brought two high school boys up to the room we were meeting in, and I thought one of them looked familiar. Apparently, of all of the guys I talked to in the group, two of them decided they would come! In fact, one of them told Lindsey that the reason he came was because his friends had kind of mocked this guy who had talked to them (me), and he felt sorry for me. Before we all left for the station, I stopped one of them and told him that he had a gentle spirit that had probably been insulted as weakness, but Jesus Himself was called gentle. So that was super encouraging.<br />
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Well, a week later, we were working with the same Japanese Hi-B.A. staff as we were at that first rally. He shared with the groups there about these two students who had come back after the previous week's rally, and he asked them why they came back. They told him two reasons: one) the other regularly attending students made friends with them; and two) Gospel Team. They continued on to talk about how they had met "JP" and how when "JP" talked to their friends, "JP" talked with a passion about whatever he was saying. I keep using "JP", for this is how the story was described to me; Tsugaru-san said they kept mentioning me by name, talking about my passion and how seeing me was one of the reasons they not only came to the first rally where they got to meet Christians, make friends with them, hear the Gospel, hear testimonies, and have life spoken over them, but it was a reason they CAME BACK too!<br />
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Who am I that I would be used by God in such a way! I am blown away with how even with a language barrier, love and passion can pass through... Such simple efforts, for this is the truth: when I approached those students, I believed that if they came to that rally, if we loved them, and if they listened to the Gospel, they could be saved. That is how simple it is to me: I believed that the Gospel is "the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes". That is all it takes; will you believe it too?<br />
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This is a <a href="http://internationalhiba.org/home/?m=20120614">link</a> to the blog post from this rally!JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00337966731415476098noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1998976732368988824.post-23172263364656670212012-05-19T06:01:00.000-05:002012-05-19T06:02:43.776-05:00Edogawabashi!So since arriving almost three months ago, the base has "moved" to a new part of town. We felt like the Lord has called us to locate ourselves in a specific part of Tokyo called Ikebukuro, which happens to hold the second busiest train station in Japan. I have now become one of millions who travel through its passages everyday. Interesting.<br />
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Anyway, I do not live in Ikebukuro. In the move out of Senzoku, which took place the day before the majority of DTS students arrived, three of us moved into a house in Edogawabashi. The house is also occupied by our male students. With one bathroom. That has the toilet, shower, and washing machine. Welcome to Japan!<br />
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While I do not have pictures of the house (and probably won't), I do have a few pictures from the surrounding area! So here is a simple little tour!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoH0hZCjlsAW11bp0409x4KirEL2u1oWtLms12vBZnRoQ1-xD2a5rGYXO62P969dFPDuyvgsSa-MvKpvDl_iB8Z_usa5_i5WE7GOXlDdLpWeoLBmYdkqoZ87GuuL2BEBu-sUd6cS22oBU/s1600/IMG_1340.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoH0hZCjlsAW11bp0409x4KirEL2u1oWtLms12vBZnRoQ1-xD2a5rGYXO62P969dFPDuyvgsSa-MvKpvDl_iB8Z_usa5_i5WE7GOXlDdLpWeoLBmYdkqoZ87GuuL2BEBu-sUd6cS22oBU/s320/IMG_1340.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is our house! Below us is a bento shop (single serving meals prepared in boxes; also used to describe packing your own meal like a sack lunch). I do not know if any of us have purchased anything from there yet. They deliver, though, which is cool.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The stairs to Narnia! Aka our house.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is a shot further down the street. That is our house on the right.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is the area at the end of the street where we turn for our house. We sometimes purchase produce from the small market to the left. The older gentleman who works there seems nice. He laughs with us when we have to buy things while it is raining hard.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_1GWxZYI_mGfjvp1hvXDvQeZdUOaaJc-Iq0LvcIKGuIY0Gk-b_TlJ8EAgFrJH84b_ArsjQ1lR-PmvIlcICXHa_h7uuMERHJ9PmJ2ep-V1-psDw88VOGvoXPkOb1IIWKjsjdIVquYfrHk/s1600/IMG_1344.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_1GWxZYI_mGfjvp1hvXDvQeZdUOaaJc-Iq0LvcIKGuIY0Gk-b_TlJ8EAgFrJH84b_ArsjQ1lR-PmvIlcICXHa_h7uuMERHJ9PmJ2ep-V1-psDw88VOGvoXPkOb1IIWKjsjdIVquYfrHk/s320/IMG_1344.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We walk this street everyday! At is a grocery store on the left, but it is really expensive. We walk a few blocks to a cheaper one.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3Nmqesiy7VT3EQzTrlPFygYefP0m-kUt1e-ng-xIcGZjpnhR1VTg8sV6X5BI-L-fwxEO5KMzDZcsDjckL3wpEZEvfgEGytIM9UqGlSHAJdSj7VT69yP-b_OvClhDVHIvFO3KiFQOnpoY/s1600/IMG_1346.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3Nmqesiy7VT3EQzTrlPFygYefP0m-kUt1e-ng-xIcGZjpnhR1VTg8sV6X5BI-L-fwxEO5KMzDZcsDjckL3wpEZEvfgEGytIM9UqGlSHAJdSj7VT69yP-b_OvClhDVHIvFO3KiFQOnpoY/s320/IMG_1346.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A side street off the main road to our house.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIGACxPCxqcS7jdttj6XrMsRr3xGeeHlw3ICqh_7nz3sBtQBaiFN-Lvz7EsjBYvENQ83stJMjoSE4w4xPg1CkBwoA3lPto6BMQA7toIp8wL4ll57ZnpH2rHr0DoRvRMC-lzxniFXYjQKw/s1600/IMG_1347.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIGACxPCxqcS7jdttj6XrMsRr3xGeeHlw3ICqh_7nz3sBtQBaiFN-Lvz7EsjBYvENQ83stJMjoSE4w4xPg1CkBwoA3lPto6BMQA7toIp8wL4ll57ZnpH2rHr0DoRvRMC-lzxniFXYjQKw/s320/IMG_1347.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is a toy store opposite of the previous side street.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaAb040Tws7RnrT8rVsbjcLVxM_opcSvE8gnbqrY3y-tC1El_BBxQAh71sSsIf4c5JG-SkGkQ9Q8NXA2IVEKfobQBoGk_yyreJyPU_srHxmQBmWSkrBokoiRFrTdffcRt1CB_Jrbknd-8/s1600/IMG_1348.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaAb040Tws7RnrT8rVsbjcLVxM_opcSvE8gnbqrY3y-tC1El_BBxQAh71sSsIf4c5JG-SkGkQ9Q8NXA2IVEKfobQBoGk_yyreJyPU_srHxmQBmWSkrBokoiRFrTdffcRt1CB_Jrbknd-8/s320/IMG_1348.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is our neighborhood playground. Not much to it.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9u0YkEbPHG04quLFV2aLPbkCVBmUguWgbt8hmTabh7ZTh8aONlPKFZIcvdBOwGbWevE138rXFLsFOlvQKEXmjvdGbi8Q6tOFvjTVqlf3k-38AwOfFiO-I0RIInIrd0o-wxMpG8V0AB58/s1600/IMG_1349.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9u0YkEbPHG04quLFV2aLPbkCVBmUguWgbt8hmTabh7ZTh8aONlPKFZIcvdBOwGbWevE138rXFLsFOlvQKEXmjvdGbi8Q6tOFvjTVqlf3k-38AwOfFiO-I0RIInIrd0o-wxMpG8V0AB58/s320/IMG_1349.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Another shot down the main road towards our house.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD81v8GpUenZyR5j-OqK_oGHvlAHawFUfQ6izA3eVqDi3BWk5P-RcrOKoydgL0BiTVFa_gYXwPfSnm25bzz-PwvKgZT-FGEHaLTpev6Cx0yTEAVZSdcbOv8D6c49AdqD-I0uQrfaVYQq0/s1600/IMG_1350.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD81v8GpUenZyR5j-OqK_oGHvlAHawFUfQ6izA3eVqDi3BWk5P-RcrOKoydgL0BiTVFa_gYXwPfSnm25bzz-PwvKgZT-FGEHaLTpev6Cx0yTEAVZSdcbOv8D6c49AdqD-I0uQrfaVYQq0/s320/IMG_1350.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is the main road heading away from our house towards the station. The combine on the right has my new favorite ice cream: Cappuccino-flavored Coolish!<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2qWb-e1hatcWhEQ3iygEdJb3pGHhB-Wkm6UiwEEMJlERzn-EdW8MOnQmdNyKpRWHCZFqReHCFNUCk8Fa2mjeq-3exoFNl6J8zZMw6ZOWWldi7OIojlw6oT_C143Iq0TG4WAvUTcnJ8no/s1600/IMG_1351.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2qWb-e1hatcWhEQ3iygEdJb3pGHhB-Wkm6UiwEEMJlERzn-EdW8MOnQmdNyKpRWHCZFqReHCFNUCk8Fa2mjeq-3exoFNl6J8zZMw6ZOWWldi7OIojlw6oT_C143Iq0TG4WAvUTcnJ8no/s320/IMG_1351.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Edogawabashi Station</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNn81MeQVPXsv260ucpW25y0b_1wLckgZvJ8lUelfXXXX7u2vxjai3WvjPUqPZKb2c6vxhnM9VLSyYkKsbV0RgSo-2YR73b5re4cLkVoFCStDPJZ1tT6fuRxBtZVpXWbl8-SjK57v4Mi8/s1600/IMG_1352.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNn81MeQVPXsv260ucpW25y0b_1wLckgZvJ8lUelfXXXX7u2vxjai3WvjPUqPZKb2c6vxhnM9VLSyYkKsbV0RgSo-2YR73b5re4cLkVoFCStDPJZ1tT6fuRxBtZVpXWbl8-SjK57v4Mi8/s320/IMG_1352.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is exit 3 from the station. It comes up right at the main road to our house. Take the train, walk up about 75 stairs, take a left, and you end up a stone's throw from the house.</td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIcVM4TXx2kZWYm6SDoKWPnzStSc3teGvsS_ESKA0trKxqwwjH23fYhZ9-NFPul0Ufy3rgFSGXzFCKCPD79VuxTuYGU9YgWPXO-klDanQv1fatZ_IJBm3c6w-Uxv3TusQiM7JPeL7ayZQ/s1600/IMG_1353.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIcVM4TXx2kZWYm6SDoKWPnzStSc3teGvsS_ESKA0trKxqwwjH23fYhZ9-NFPul0Ufy3rgFSGXzFCKCPD79VuxTuYGU9YgWPXO-klDanQv1fatZ_IJBm3c6w-Uxv3TusQiM7JPeL7ayZQ/s320/IMG_1353.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4uRGfYyXhZuzpb3ixAmbCaoAH_eqMEmWPNc4QBdNTkdZwQf7m3QgpAxUWeBtSXUjIA1qiN6zgrh13oo2r_A9suVxTypmx8CtwRHwkAS9pVczPDXWSq0KANF9VE3H2LlsVJkevUXCH4dI/s1600/IMG_1354.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4uRGfYyXhZuzpb3ixAmbCaoAH_eqMEmWPNc4QBdNTkdZwQf7m3QgpAxUWeBtSXUjIA1qiN6zgrh13oo2r_A9suVxTypmx8CtwRHwkAS9pVczPDXWSq0KANF9VE3H2LlsVJkevUXCH4dI/s320/IMG_1354.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It is around this intersection that three of the other exits to the station come out. Across the street in the background of this picture is a nice park along a canal. Some of us frequent it; it is nice.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeUUScVzu5KvqPCk8egkuHs3ULfzO1ILgbmaxphGwGgUhS_nTA4VRjlljvUKMHKAqJK-0VT94x3dwYNiSBNR2dJMt39p3ZUr7NXpL268hNK8iOwh1zmBjumBtn0VEnLbc463Fg7Igcz18/s1600/IMG_1355.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeUUScVzu5KvqPCk8egkuHs3ULfzO1ILgbmaxphGwGgUhS_nTA4VRjlljvUKMHKAqJK-0VT94x3dwYNiSBNR2dJMt39p3ZUr7NXpL268hNK8iOwh1zmBjumBtn0VEnLbc463Fg7Igcz18/s320/IMG_1355.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">If you walk up this road from the intersection from the last picture, you come back to the street that is in front of our house.<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG1HmO1PFk1qcri8QYJhA_Bqo30Ay8KuKOp7yYCWLQLLSPEyIWkbTDYgR4XMNfwWeDbqHv2ssPX-xLXuNd3yNJ-G0zZO0_Z5dYKcVTQbHz_2S11qWEhzH6HxlW8s106_GLIjSEb15ZG4A/s1600/IMG_1356.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG1HmO1PFk1qcri8QYJhA_Bqo30Ay8KuKOp7yYCWLQLLSPEyIWkbTDYgR4XMNfwWeDbqHv2ssPX-xLXuNd3yNJ-G0zZO0_Z5dYKcVTQbHz_2S11qWEhzH6HxlW8s106_GLIjSEb15ZG4A/s320/IMG_1356.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is the Denny's that my roommate took me to for my birthday (my choice). It was delicious!<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIWzWELYR7Fn8XEH42P5ZN8oWzB9rdeCy7r78u8JBoZJpl1XFO3CYf_Wbf5YUE1jXBpEBQBFPUjFnVVNL0uteI568NeorAD5Rlte9dJ20fnGX4W6oO7Ts3ZR7_m83g4E1ElgGZNjhMNXo/s1600/IMG_1358.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIWzWELYR7Fn8XEH42P5ZN8oWzB9rdeCy7r78u8JBoZJpl1XFO3CYf_Wbf5YUE1jXBpEBQBFPUjFnVVNL0uteI568NeorAD5Rlte9dJ20fnGX4W6oO7Ts3ZR7_m83g4E1ElgGZNjhMNXo/s320/IMG_1358.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">If you took a right out of our house, you would end up here. If you were to walk down this road, you would eventually come to Waseda University, one of the top universities in Japan. We have a outreach team who goes every week for relationship building and prayer walking. Also, if you know where to turn, you can take it to Takadanobaba, where the nicest Mister Donut I have been to is! However, it does take 40 minutes to walk there...</td></tr>
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So this is where I live now! I hope my "tour" makes sense!JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00337966731415476098noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1998976732368988824.post-14318028030790392982012-03-18T07:00:00.000-05:002012-03-18T07:01:37.710-05:00Japan, Fuji-san, and Building Houses!Greetings from Japan! For those who did not know, I returned three weeks ago, coming back on the Word of the Lord and in faith without full support for my two year commitment with YWAM Tokyo. Honestly, the past three weeks have been absolutely wonderful! We have spent a good amount of time in worship, prayer, and fellowship with one another while also preparing for the upcoming DTS and the annual YWAM Japan staff conference. I have been sending emails covering some of the weekly happenings for the past two weeks, and if you would like to receive them, please email me at jpcorhern@gmail.com, and I will add you to my email list!<br />
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Honestly, with all the things that have been happening, it would be hard to recount all of them now. However,<a name='more'></a> I wanted to share some from the conference this past week! Every year, YWAM Japan holds a staff conference hosted by one of the bases, and we had the pleasure of hosting this year's! We traveled to a conference center at the foot of Mount Fuji (Fuji-san) this past Tuesday, and we were there until Friday afternoon. It was a wonderful week of worship, prayer, and unity for the entire organization as we spent time together, getting to know one another, sharing our hearts, and leaning into the Lord. Honestly, it was honestly like a huge family gathering (without the disagreements!).</div>
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Honestly, most of our time seemed to be spent in worship, and I do not know of a better place to be! Often times we become so focused on doing things for the Lord when we fail to spend time with the Lord, loving the Lord, ministering to Him! When Martha was reprimanded for her work, it was not because she was working but because she had become distracted with it!</div>
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One man who truly understood what it was like to minister to the Lord was King David. In 2nd Samuel 7, David shows interest in wanting to build a house for the Lord (check out Psalm 132:1-5 to grasp an image of David's heart!), and the Lord replies, "Are you the one to build a house for me? I have not asked this of anyone yet!" The Lord's heart is moved by his offering! But you know what happens instead? God tells David that He will establish his line forever! He will a House for David instead! Instead of David getting to build a house for God, God came to dwell with him! All pre-Holy Spirit!</div>
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Today, we now have access to the Holy of Holies, the intimate place with God! We are the temple He chooses to dwell in! Who is this God that He would dwell with us! Oh, how great and worthy He is!</div>
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I felt like the one thing God desires from us is for us to say "Yes!" to Him no matter what comes in the way! Paul says he is convinced nothing can separate us from His love, yet we tend to disqualify ourselves from being able to receive His love! Who are we to stop His love? Who are we to cheapen the cost of the Cross? Who are we to say, "You cannot love me?" His grace and love is free, and it covers all! All we need to do is say, "Yes" and receive it!</div>
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Wow! Is not God good? He blows me away so often! Anyway, to close, I would like to share some pictures from this week!</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc-3-CC0aJcehfgm7M4B0-l2j-8fJWb1MndKpyzqEJifFLGpVmpeXDPvkB6civbyi6z_odV3PiglusiFKZPcJUxRSdqeBgieeBEeS9ErtMjdtT922CpsSmJHxU1H9ssAHbepJ8kXBZomk/s1600/Kaare+and+I+at+Fuji.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc-3-CC0aJcehfgm7M4B0-l2j-8fJWb1MndKpyzqEJifFLGpVmpeXDPvkB6civbyi6z_odV3PiglusiFKZPcJUxRSdqeBgieeBEeS9ErtMjdtT922CpsSmJHxU1H9ssAHbepJ8kXBZomk/s320/Kaare+and+I+at+Fuji.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is Kaare. He was a fellow student with me during our DTS last year, and he has come from Canada to bring revival fire to Japan!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX3YllXck6a4_qXVcXG-QAevQ_IS3SJArlKrjx1zCM9c2YdMvjB0J4byesLUpCx3yV4Y5grQkYNG6bzdETgnRksZti2r-lfOP4pQL98wfWPwid-6B1cjusaI7gir-tHS8BZahMYWTZRoA/s1600/Fuji.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX3YllXck6a4_qXVcXG-QAevQ_IS3SJArlKrjx1zCM9c2YdMvjB0J4byesLUpCx3yV4Y5grQkYNG6bzdETgnRksZti2r-lfOP4pQL98wfWPwid-6B1cjusaI7gir-tHS8BZahMYWTZRoA/s320/Fuji.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Every morning and evening we would do "stretches" to warm up in this gathering area!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzLuMxe_HORgpOECn6VesIu55f9wMi-23BifIeBnGPTe1hwKy3idgFhcZlJqW-R_mKVDuwyUtZwFrKqE-vPXer7_-0rPrICF7SlaKLBUjAktTlXg1p1h-KtK6cv1pI-Yss0l-4CGoEjDc/s1600/Samuel+and+I.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzLuMxe_HORgpOECn6VesIu55f9wMi-23BifIeBnGPTe1hwKy3idgFhcZlJqW-R_mKVDuwyUtZwFrKqE-vPXer7_-0rPrICF7SlaKLBUjAktTlXg1p1h-KtK6cv1pI-Yss0l-4CGoEjDc/s320/Samuel+and+I.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is Samuel. He is a staff with the Osaka base, and he is going to change the nations with his voice and heart for the Lord!</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheeTEe2cDmGliB4uxcJv7zeXN1FTdNFamzrylxPv-arhtIUL2ec-O-BwIxQ-9XQ2Y11T4lFC3174n0_ftG9twWHyhQbcbhGyNFkt8CG-QwAfAD1aTSOpDteDyw5wUzaRq9gs4SSmIaFEo/s1600/Fujisan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheeTEe2cDmGliB4uxcJv7zeXN1FTdNFamzrylxPv-arhtIUL2ec-O-BwIxQ-9XQ2Y11T4lFC3174n0_ftG9twWHyhQbcbhGyNFkt8CG-QwAfAD1aTSOpDteDyw5wUzaRq9gs4SSmIaFEo/s320/Fujisan.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGEDlBgof4s_xqkmgxhNRwpOuY_quoAsUnBYsUf2-QGJytRlVh40QioCWajDKX4fHwTBQKiHtIA4IZZAYHFOssPQbNq5R41kmA9WWMCq2eJBwu3sutQSnRTz1hE3vfAK2eV6FxF9V9jU0/s1600/Fuji+at+sunset.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGEDlBgof4s_xqkmgxhNRwpOuY_quoAsUnBYsUf2-QGJytRlVh40QioCWajDKX4fHwTBQKiHtIA4IZZAYHFOssPQbNq5R41kmA9WWMCq2eJBwu3sutQSnRTz1hE3vfAK2eV6FxF9V9jU0/s320/Fuji+at+sunset.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beautiful Fuji-san at sunset</td></tr>
</tbody></table>JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00337966731415476098noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1998976732368988824.post-64489581164415197892012-02-16T15:48:00.001-06:002012-02-16T15:48:52.507-06:00Information Galore!While it is not my desire to just push, push, push giving and where you can give and how you can give and how much you can give and what you can give and if you can give hanging upside down and give, give, give, give, give, I do wish to notify anyone who is interested that the Finances for Japan page does contain most of this information. It might have passed by unnoticed, so I wanted to give the poor page a shout out. Please never allow me to be someone who only ever asks and asks and asks - that would be much appreciated.<div>
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But more notably for this post is my recently posted newsletter! I just finished it last night, and I have posted a digital copy of it on the upper left hand side of the site! Some of it might be old information, but I thought readers might enjoy reading something else, especially since it has a few pictures! Speaking of pictures, I should probably do more of those...</div>
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Also, I will be leaving for Tokyo, Japan, in one week! Super exciting!</div>JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00337966731415476098noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1998976732368988824.post-86016287258975494192012-02-10T17:23:00.002-06:002012-02-10T17:29:01.721-06:00No Revelation, No ControlGreetings readers! Life continues to remain interesting I would say. Hmm... To say that on a blog. I am blogging, yet life is interesting. You would think if life was interesting, I would not be here blogging. Oh well.<br />
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No, seriously, two weekends ago, I was in Atlanta, GA, for the IHOP Atlanta's Praying Church Leadership Summit. (A mouthful, I know. Imagine if I had said the International House of Prayer Atlanta's Praying Church Leadership Summit! Wait a second...) The conference itself was very enjoyable, the content invaluable. We had speakers from all over the States and the World, and I took a great deal of notes. Some of them apply specifically to having a house of prayer and others just simple leadership, yet there was a definite theme of what Jesus is doing through the Earth, building a yearning for His touch and His return.<br />
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As I think about it, it really ties into something I have wanted to discuss since this past fall. In November, I had a great revelation<a name='more'></a> concerning vision and self-control. I had been making my way through life, staying plenty busy, preparing for prayer burns, discipling, debriefing from prayer burns, visiting people, planning the next thing, yet I found myself "wandering aimlessly" through things. Things were happening, yet I was not really all that sure where I was heading. I found it impacting other areas of my life, and things that had not bothered me in months prior started to be a struggle.
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In conversing with a friend, he mentioned a proverb I had heard before: "Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint; but blessed is he who keeps the law." Proverbs 29:18. Revelation. Some translations say vision, even prophetic vision. Without this, the people cast off restraint; are discouraged; are unrestrained. They have no control. So the vision is necessary for self-control to follow.<br />
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Later in my most recent trip, I was staying at the home of several young boys, and they had a ton of Legos. So my first night, I decided I wanted to sit down and play with them, yet I had no instructions. After struggling for some time, I gave up, leaving behind a partially completed "spaceship" with a king holding two swords while riding a horse in the cockpit! Now, that was kind of what I was aiming for, yet I did not know exactly what I was wanting to build, and I gave up. When we try to do things without knowing where we are going, it is hard for us to see why we need to do it. I think any parent could relate with trying to convince a young child why they should brush their teeth every night. Without understanding where we are going, why go there? Self-control without vision is pretty worthless.<br />
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And the opposite stands true as well. Have you ever had that friend who was the "dreamer"? He always comes up with these amazing ideas, really impressive ideas, great ideas, yet they never happen? Maybe they were completely unfeasible. Maybe he did not see the worth in them. Maybe he just lacked the self-control to move towards action, and once again we see that vision without self-control has little value.<br />
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Stick with me a little longer. During this time of initial revelation, I was reminded of the Garden. God places Adam and Eve there and tells them: do not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. What did they do? They did it. Now, this is what I find interesting. God did not say, "Hey guys, eat of all the trees! It does not matter, if you screw up, Jesus will pay for it anyway!" He is not lackadaisical about it. On the other hand, he does not say, "You cannot eat of any tree in the garden because if you just happen to eat of the one tree, everything is screwed up!" He does not look at the possible evil and banish the possible good with it, unlike what we so often tend to do. No, he invites them to eat of any tree in the garden except one. What is this? Self-control.<br />
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God created man for self-control. He gave them this option: Obey me. Do not eat of the one tree, and you can remain in my pleasure, in unbroken communion with me. I delight in you. I created you last of all things, and you are very good. Not just good; very good. I long to walk with you. I have the angels to serve me and praise me, but you; you are special. He gave them a choice. Obey me or do not obey me. C.S. Lewis captures the mood of this well in his book "Perelandra" where it is discovered that the greatest form of love is obedience when you do not received a direct benefit nor have a reason to necessarily obey other than out of love. The scene itself is rather powerful.<br />
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His invitations is the same today! He has given us the prophetic vision for our future already! Revelation 19:7 says, "For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready." That day is approaching, the wedding day of the Lamb, and the Bride will have made herself ready! She will have made herself ready! If we could only see this is where we are heading, a day once again with unbroken communion with Jesus, then we could begin to align our lives with this! We were made for self-control! Galatians even says self-control is the fruit of the Spirit! If we have the Holy Spirit inside of us, then we have self-control! Jesus died to the flesh; we have been crucified with Him; so we have died to the flesh as well! We do not have to serve it any longer! He has been revealed to us, and as Peter says:<br />
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"Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy." 1 Peter 1:13-16<br />
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Do not look at this and enter despair! It is by the blood of the Lamb that we are able to look Satan and his temptations in the face and say, "NO! I serve one and one only, the one true God! I will not be an adulteress any longer! I have been promised to One, and His name is Jesus Christ! So in the name of Jesus, flee from me! I resist you!" God is inviting us once again; "Come, be holy as I am holy. This is who you were created to be. Come and drink. There is enough. Come, drink your fill." Brothers and sisters, this is for us all. Come, let us approach the throne together and drink until we can drink no more! Let us grasp the vision God has for our future and know we have self-control to complete it by the blood of Jesus!JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00337966731415476098noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1998976732368988824.post-76199795319227491302012-01-25T20:21:00.001-06:002012-01-25T20:30:35.331-06:00An International Experience!Even though the deadline of support raising is coming close, I find myself wanting to recap an event from this past fall that is one of my favorite memories since returning from Japan: meeting the Italians! I had such a fortunate opportunity to spend time with some of the most passionate, most friendly, and most beautiful people I have ever met, and it was a great learning experience.<br />
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One day in November, I was sitting with a few friends in the Union on campus when I noticed a group come in. I do not know if I owe it to my international experience or just plain observation skills, but I could tell this group was not from nearby. Eventually, I approached one of their leaders and asked, "Excuse me, I was wondering where your group is from." He replied, "I'm sorry. I am not from here. I cannot help you." I laughed and<br />
<a name='more'></a>explained how I had noticed that and how I was wondering where they were from, and he told me Italia! I went back to my seat with my friends, but I desired to go speak with the bulk of the students, not even considering the fact that they might not speak English, honestly. Long story short, I mustered up some more boldness and ended up getting to sit and talk with them for about an hour!<br />
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Our conversation went from the tables of the Union to the steps outside, from state politics to free refills at Chick-fil-A. (Which blew their mind!) But I could immediately recognize their friendliness and welcoming demeanor because they offered me some of their drink and continued to talk with me! I discovered they were visiting MSU for the next 8 days, so I mentioned that I would love to hang out with them again before they left, and we exchanged contact information.<br />
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Before they moved on to the next leg of their trip (Memphis, TN), I was able to spend time with them on four different occasions (including the one just mentioned). I know I am a bit weird, but they always welcomed me whenever they saw me, always seeming sincerely excited to see me! One particular night, they had ordered pizza (from Pizza Hut - they did not care for it all that much; it was too thick), and when it arrived, they offered me some. I had just finished eating dinner, so I thought, I can eat A piece. Well. As I walked to my seat with my one piece, I was told to come over and three more huge pieces were put on my plate! I was like, "How am I going to eat all of this lest I make sport at their hospitality!" Fortunately, I was saved of eating more than one slice.<br />
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And their hospitality... If I got off my seat, it was almost like they pushed me back down. They got me a drink, silverware, food, plate, napkins, whatever. And when I tried to help clean up! I thought they would have killed me for trying! I was so impressed. They were also a people of passion where even their normal conversations going your blood pumping. (Of course, when volumes start rising, I think of a fight. When you do not know what they are saying, you never really know what is happening.)<br />
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But one thing that totally blew me away was how I was never seemed unwanted. They never sent me away; in fact, they invited me along with them their last night when they were going out. While I do not know if it could be called such, but their love for me seemed rather unconditional. They took care of me, treated me nicely, fed me, offered me drinks, whatever they could think of. So often individuals withhold love, waiting for others to break their hearts by wronging them or leaving them. Yet we knew from the beginning that our terms for friendship were short, yet I think we both allowed all to be poured out, knowing things would end soon.<br />
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Two memories will always remain the highlight from their visit: the first being a greeting from the second time we hung out. Culture clash: Americans shake hands; Europeans kiss on the cheeks. But when they do that, they might put their hands on your shoulders. So I approach hand out while this girl approached with her hands spread. Third culture clash: Southerners hug. I see this, so I spread my arms. She pulls back. I end up patting her shoulders before shaking hands. One of the most beautifully awkward moments of my life!<br />
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The second occurred with the same girl the last night we hung out. They had taught me how to kiss on the cheeks by this point, so no big deal. So when she says she is about to pack and go to bed, I get up to say goodbye by kissing her on the cheeks. Instead, she hugged me, to which my only reply was "Aww..." That moment really meant a lot to me.<br />
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Four days. Two languages. One love that can transcend it all and break down the strongest of barriers. May we all learn to love wildly and boldly, knowing we are all loved by God first!JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00337966731415476098noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1998976732368988824.post-5491469857813329202012-01-14T17:44:00.000-06:002012-01-14T17:45:47.316-06:00Back to the Grind(stone) pt. 2So I absolutely love blogging. I find during the time of writing, I am able to reflect upon my heart and reexamine the things I wanted to say. Usually I gain another insight. Sometimes I just stop writing altogether because I decide it does not need to be shared. (This happened more in the Xanga days. I am glad those posts did not get published...) And sometimes I find myself going off on a tangent, a good one, that should be followed through upon. This last post was kind of a victim of that, so I separated my thoughts so I could 1) provide ease for the reader in length of post (which must be a joke), and 2) I myself could stop typing because I got tired. Yeah, it happens. You now know my heart.<br />
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Part one of this "series" hits more on the title's "Back to the Grind". Things are picking up once again. Life that rested over the holidays is once again in full swing. Soon enough, we will see creation reviving itself as it does annually, launching us into the beautiful, warm, pleasant, temperate, not cold, Chaco-weather, I-can-stop-freezing-to-death season of the year.<br />
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I find this introduction rather prophetic for this post, for when I started my last, the title was accurately stated for my heart:<a name='more'></a> Back to the Grind(stone). I love keeping people updated on my life and ministry, and I felt like this was to be the title of my next post while I was praying one day. Back to the Grind(stone). Back to the grindstone.<br />
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Historically, one type of a grindstone would be used in the sharping of metals. Pressure and friction between the stone and a piece of metal sharpened the object; the sharper you wanted it, the more grinding it would take. This holiday season provided some grinding moments for myself. (And not because of family. I mean this sincerely. No one get any ideas.) I began to notice how the lack of discipline in one area would provide a lack in another. What seemed okay at the time I realized by the end was the very reason and open door to the attacks I was encountering. The big one: video games. Video games, I believe, in and of themselves are not evil, but when one allows themselves to be sucked in and become passive and apathetic to the world around them, it is bound to cause issues.<br />
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The lesson I learned is already stated: the lack of discipline in one area will lead to a lack in another. We must realize that we cannot separate our lives into pockets. I remember this illustration from Freshman year about emotions in the two genders: females are pancakes, and males are waffles. When you put syrup on pancakes, it runs everywhere (unless you poke holes in them like me), but syrup stays in the little compartments on waffles.<br />
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Now, I do not wish to discuss any truth to that, but let us use the same illustration having the syrup being the love of God. Honestly, it's like an infection. The authentic love of God should be absolutely contagious and run over and into every part of your life like a pancake. However, we are a people coming from a broken background but now being perfected by God; often times we have built up walls to protect ourselves and compartmentalize everything, so when the love comes, it only impacts a few spheres of our lives. But let us remember, this is the love of God! It's big and boundless, so He is going to press upon those walls, those compartments until we break and let him into the other areas of our lives.<br />
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Now, I like syrup. Love it. I used to eat pancakes with my syrup (trying to cut back a little as I grow older). I know some like eating pancakes and waffles without syrup, but I would say the baseline is syrup makes them more enjoyable. So imagine the compartments of the waffle that have yet to feel the love of God enter them? Imagine eating that dry, bread-like substance. I do not like it. I do not find it very good. That is how it is when we do not allow the Father to have full access to our lives!<br />
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It is ironic: a broken people must become more broken so they can be perfected. We were made for perfection. We are called God's masterpiece! Wow! Yet we have been deceived into thinking we can rebuild ourselves, building our walls so we do not have to hurt, feel pain, or deal with the things we do not wish to.<br />
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God stands at the door and knocks, longing to come in. If you let Him, He will come and repair all the brokenness, but you first have to recognize that it is broken, you cannot fix it, only He can, and ask Him to do it. It might not be easy, it might not be fun, but in the end, you will feel better than you have ever felt in your life!<br />
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(I cannot think of a way to explain how this process feels than how C.S. Lewis says it in two different books: <i>The Great Divorce</i> and <i>The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the </i>Dawn Treader. Both of these are great reads, albeit very different, and the specific stories can be found at the end of Chapter 11 and the end of Chapter 7 in the respective books.)<br />
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<br />JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00337966731415476098noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1998976732368988824.post-47264232237112290972012-01-11T16:26:00.001-06:002012-01-11T16:27:24.942-06:00Back to the Grind(stone) pt. 1Happy New Year! Welcome 2012!<br />
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As I was just looking at my old post, I could not believe it had been over three weeks since I last posted! I am sure all of you have been sitting on pins and needles waiting to hear what has been happening with me since my last post. I apologize for this, and I soon hope to disclose this!<br />
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My last series of posts were covering the prayer burns we hosted last fall, the one before that my Southeast Trip. There is so much to mention between these two events, not even including the South Mississippi Trip I made after the semester ended!<br />
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Yet before moving back into recording and reporting past events,<a name='more'></a> let us look forward for a moment at several things on my heart for the future. Living in a college town, we revolve around the university schedule, and as a former student, my life definitely is still running on the frame set and terms associated with it. Fall semester, spring semester, Spring Break, and so forth. Well, as this semester begins, I have a desire and burning in my heart. The 2011 Fall semester ended with so much momentum for the future, and some of us believe that there is no going back to older ways. The Body is maturing, the Believers are maturing, and life as we have known it is no longer going to satisfy.<br />
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But here is the catch and where my desire comes in. I desire to see radical commitment in 2012 and onward to the End. I desire to see the people starting to pray everyday to commit to praying everyday no matter what comes up. I desire to see people meeting in homes on a weekly basis to commit to meeting together no matter what. I desire to see the discipleship springing up to continue and to commit to learning and growing with one another no matter what. There is no test that is more important, no concert, no game, no event more important than the pursuit of the Kingdom.<br />
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While things might be returning to the grind and our routines are being built, look at what is absolutely important. What can you not live without? What activities will be the first to fall away when things get busy? Do not let your activities of daily scripture reading, daily prayer, daily fellowship, daily worship, and daily time with God suffer because your schedule got more full than expected. Set a time. It is just like setting a date with your girlfriend, fiancé, or wife. Except this is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Why do we always think these things can be the first to go? If you made an appointment with the President (no matter who it might be), would you keep it no matter what? I promise you, the God you meet with everyday will one day rule EVERYTHING, not just a small nation called the United States of America.<br />
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Now, the last thing I want to make you think is "I just have to be sure to do these things" in a rote, religious way. It is not the things we do that gain us access to the Throne Room and to the inheritance of God. However, Jesus has done everything! He has gained access to the Throne Room and shares it with us! He earned His inheritance and shares it with us! No, it is because of these things that we are faithful to the One who is forever faithful! He bought us with His blood - who are we to withhold from Him what He deserves!<br />
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Father, redefine within us what sacrifice means. There is no cost too great, no price too high to pay for you to receive your reward! You paid for me, bought me with Your blood, and You want all of me! You are not willing to share my affections with the lesser beauties, the lesser gods, the lesser things that take up my time! Have it all, Father! Have it all! Amen!JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00337966731415476098noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1998976732368988824.post-51532283769760001942011-12-20T09:45:00.003-06:002011-12-20T10:31:22.504-06:00Burning 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...<br />
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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?<br />
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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 <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Until-He-Comes-Understanding-End-Time/dp/0982326238/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1324393647&sr=8-2">"Until He Comes"</a> 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<a name='more'></a> after the ending of our 120 hour prayer burn, the excerpt mentioned the 120 year prayer meeting of the Moravians. I had sat there listening, excited about sharing the story of the Moravians with this crowd, but when I heard him say "120 years", it was as if God had winked at me.<br />
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This second prayer burn, the 120 Hour Prayer Burn, the 2011 Fall Finals Prayer Burn, or just the prayer room (even I do not know what to call it), was much more of a personal challenge for me than the first one. The idea to hold another prayer burn during finals came in the simple passing of a friend towards the end of the first one: "Hey, we should do this again during finals." I thought it was a great idea, so I pocketed it with the intent on praying about it later. Three days later, I was talking to a friend about the <a href="http://www.ihop.org/">International House of Prayer in Kansas City</a>, telling him about the facility, describing the Global Prayer Room which has the Higher Grounds Cafe right next door. Then I thought, "Prayer room, coffee shop. The bakery, empty room next door. Hmm..." Two days after that, while discussing with Chad about hosting another burn, Claudia, another friend who had joined us in Starbucks, posed this question: "Why wouldn't God want you to do it?" I looked at Chad and said, "She has got a good point."<br />
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The prayer burn really did come together easily other than the schedule, and this is where my difficulty came. The first burn's schedule was nearly filled by the time we started. This one took much more effort (especially after some technical difficulties due to my own fault). But that was not the real issue. The issue was in my heart. Instead of looking upon a schedule with 20 of 120 spots filled and seeing 20 hours of prayer, all I could see was 100 hours unfilled. I had lost the purpose, the vision, and it was killing me, even wondering if this was truly what God wanted.<br />
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I once heard this quote: "A lover always outworks a worker." God is not looking for a working people but a loving people. He longs to bring us into His sabbath rest, the promise for His chosen people, the one thing the Israelites missed out on when trying to enter the Promised Land. They stood on the borders yet they chose to not enter because of their unbelief that God was big enough to defeat their enemies. They had lost sight of their loving God who had delivered them, thinking they were the ones who would have to take the land themselves, already forgetting everything God had done. I, too, had lost sight, and realizing this was very difficult to face.<br />
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I had viewed my times in the prayer room as work, trying to do what needed to be done when all God wanted was for me to come, love Him, and receive His love. With our society being very much performance-based, it is an easy trap to fall into, but we must grasp this truth: there is nothing we can do to make God love us any less, and there is nothing we can do to make God love us any more; He loves us perfectly! Our sin can never keep Him away, and our performance for performance's sake cannot draw Him closer. What He desires is a people who will choose to rest and abide in Him for His love!<br />
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So at the end, after having God work on my heart the entire week, God confirmed His desire for us to pray in those moments while Chad was reading. 120 hours, slightly arbitrarily picked because of the schedule of finals, had turned out to be exactly what God wanted! Even in my doubt and disbelief, He showed Himself faithful. And I learned something important: when pursuing God's vision while not hearing clear direction, there are three things one can ask:<br />
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1) Is it Biblical?<br />
2) Is the attitude of the heart right?<br />
3) Is God telling you to do otherwise?<br />
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- If one is unsure what to do next, looking to Scripture is going to be a pretty safe bet.<br />
- In performing the activity, one has to make sure he or she is not doing it to gain God's favor (duty-/obligation-based) or to gain favor for one's self (pride of life). Performance should be to purely touch God's heart.<br />
- If "A" is Biblical, but God is saying to do "B", then do not do "A"! Do "B"! God desires obedience over sacrifice! (Check out 1st Samuel 15) And I think disobedence in this question would reveal something within the heart, forcing one to return to question 2.<br />
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These questions were not developed until everything was said and done for us, but they will be something I return to later. You cannot force God into a formula, but I think this process could be helpful. And at the end, I agree with what another friend said: "Always seek God on each step. Be at peace if you have made your requests known to God!" Looking back, I failed to be at peace, and I struggled through the week, but by the end, I was confident that it was what the Lord wanted. I believe His heart was blessed through it along with all of those who participated, and I expect to see some incredible things happening in the future here in Starkville and at MSU!<br />
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If you would like to see pictures from the 2011 Fall Finals Prayer Burn, then click <a href="http://jpcorhern.blogspot.com/p/2011-finals-msu-prayer-burn.html">here</a>!<br />
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Return to <a href="http://jpcorhern.blogspot.com/2011/12/burning-night-away-part-2.html">Part 2</a>!JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00337966731415476098noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1998976732368988824.post-9556283505712827242011-12-16T22:50:00.002-06:002011-12-20T09:46:32.026-06:00Burning the Night Away: Part 2When 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.<br />
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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!<br />
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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, <br />
<a name='more'></a>but before heading on the Southeast Trip, I had the vision of doing a prayer burn the weekend of Bulldog Bash and the MSU/Alabama game. It seemed perfect to have a large influx of people coming into Starkville for the weekend. What if somehow through the prayer burn their lives were radically touched by Jesus Christ, and they returned home to tell of His majesty! Come as a fan; leave as a missionary!<br />
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While "dreaming" about the prayer burn, I thought, "we could start Thursday night to lay a prayer covering over Bulldog Bash then continuing through the church hour on Sunday since the churches need prayer. I figure if we stop at three then people could come to our closing worship hour at two after finishing lunch... Okay, that is 67 hours." Now, I do not remember exactly what happened. I guess I asked God if that was good or not, for I heard, "68."<br />
"68?"<br />
"68 Hours. Isaiah 6:8."<br />
I looked up Isaiah 6:8 which says: "Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, 'Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?' And I said, 'Here am I. Send me!'" Wow! Prayer leading into missions! That was exactly what I wanted to see! Apparently it is what God wants, too!<br />
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Now, I am unsure of how to describe the prayer burn to you, but I shall try. We posted the schedule on the Monday before, and by the time we started, we only had 2 slots out of 68 open, of which both filled up before I left the prayer room that night. Most people I talked to spent more time in the prayer room than they signed up for. Some found that they did not want to leave or kept coming back to it! One group felt moved to go out and do some evangelism during Bulldog Bash with a sign that said "Free Prayer"! People praised God, repented of sin, prayed for people, met one another, learned about the character of God, and who knows what all else!<br />
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Two stories I want to share. First, the team doing evangelism. Before they set out, they prayed for people in particular to pray for, for clues to be on the watch for. One was a girl with blue hair. Well, they encountered a girl with blue hair, so they stopped her, asked if they could pray for her. While the girl on the team was praying for her, another team member happened to have his eyes open and noticed the blue-hair girl nodding her head with what was being prayed. That was until anger and bitterness was mentioned. At this point, the blue-hair girl looked at the other girl in amazement as if wondering how she knew that. When she finished prayer, another team member felt prompted to tell her that God could wash away all the hurt and pain. She feigned to run away while saying, "Oh, just STOP it!" Before the team left, she asked if she could give all three team members a hug. I have no doubt that the Holy Spirit was working on this girl!<br />
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The other story is somewhat shorter, but it has such an impact. A couple of us had just finished discussing the sonship we have through Christ, and one guy sat down and started to worship. As he began, he sang this lyric:<br />
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"I came to wage warfare, but You showed me that to wage warfare is to run into Your arms!"<br />
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Wow! I immediately lost it in that very moment! I was absolutely wrecked with this truth! We are called to wage warfare in the Spirit, yet the only warfare we can accomplish is to run into the refuge that is our Father, to hide in His name! The stronghold of our lives! That night after worshipping for about an hour, I returned to the Junction to try to hang out, but after such a real encounter with God, you cannot return to the world so easily. The world has no taste in comparison. We have allowed it to numb our tastebuds towards the Holy One, the One whose smallest touch will leave us with an insatiable desire for Himself, leaving us chasing after Him for the rest of our days! This is how it is supposed to be!<br />
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If you would like to see pictures from the 68 Hour Prayer Burn, then click <a href="http://jpcorhern.blogspot.com/p/testing-out-possibilities-of-another.html">here</a>!<br />
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Continue on to <a href="http://jpcorhern.blogspot.com/2011/12/burning-night-away-part-3.html">Part 3</a>!<br />
Return to <a href="http://jpcorhern.blogspot.com/2011/12/burning-night-away-pt-1.html">Part 1</a>!JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00337966731415476098noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1998976732368988824.post-76942874237251998602011-12-11T15:45:00.001-06:002011-12-17T12:19:30.685-06:00Burning the Night Away: Part 1This 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).<br />
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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!<br />
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One crazy story:<br />
<a name='more'></a>the Tuesday after I returned, I met with a friend I felt like the Lord guided me to in pursuing this vision. That evening while driving home, I was incredibly excited about what the Lord had already done in the past two days, having had several conversations with male friends which proved to me that the Spirit was already at work here. So while I was driving, I said, "God, this prayer thing cannot be just guys! We need some girls, too, if we are going to do this! So send us some girls!" That was pretty much the simple prayer I prayed. The following morning, my friend Zach calls. He asks, "What's going on?"<br />
I reply, "I feel like the Lord is calling me to start a prayer thing here."<br />
"If you are going to do that, I have three names for you."<br />
"Wait. Are any of these names girls?"<br />
"Actually, all three of them are."<br />
I was absolutely blown away by the Lord provision in that moment, answering such a simple prayer from the night before. Less than a day later!<br />
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However, it was always daunting sharing this vision with others. What if it did not work or not happen? It was such a big idea! My desire was not to start something new but to establish something with the people here. Connect all the groups already meeting, the churches already praying, joining together for continuous prayer. Yet everyone knows that the more people involved, the more difficult it is.<br />
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Yet this is not what I desire but what God desires! If we look back at the early Church days found in Acts 2, they were a people who "devoted themselves to the apostles' teachings and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer." Before the Holy Spirit was poured out on the disciples, it says they "all joined together constantly in prayer". When facing hardship and persecution, they "raised their voices together in prayer to God."<br />
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This thought entered my head last night: why is it so easy to find people for a Bible study yet so difficult to find people for a prayer meeting? One friend replied to this question with: "'It's awkward to pray out loud' is the number one thing I've heard. It's saddening."<br />
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Imagine yourself in Acts 4. The disciples just received the Holy Spirit, and they are carrying out amazing ministry to the people, seeing people healed and preaching the Gospel to all. They are brought before the priests and teachers, and they threaten them to stop. They had just spent the night in jail. So when they are released and return to meet with the believers, what do you think is going through their mind. Personally, I cannot imagine the disciples worrying about the awkwardness of praying out loud. I think they had no choice but to turn to God in prayer and cry out to Him. What else could you do in this situation? "God! We are doing what you called us to do, yet they are trying to stop us! Help us! Give us strength! We cannot do it without you!"<br />
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I think one big reason I used to not pray is fear that God would not answer. "What if I pray this and He does not answer?" So I "protected" myself from God not coming through. I lacked the very faith that God is looking for on the Earth. He is drawn to this kind of faith! What did God do in Acts 4? He shook the meeting place, and "they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly."<br />
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Church, may we all begin to pursue the Lord in prayer, both individually (we see Jesus leaving the people to seek the Father on His own) and corporately (as seen in Acts). These things are incredibly important in seeing the Bride being prepared for the return of Christ. The next time someone says, pray for (fill in the blank), stop right then and pray for it. I call it a lifestyle of immediate prayer. I always find that I will forget to pray later, but if I pray then, I know God hears, and He will be faithful to respond. Instead of spending all your time watching TV with friends, stop for a minute to pray for one another. I assure you it will be more edifying than the next episode of whatever show you are watching.<br />
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In Luke 18:7-8, Jesus says: "And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?" May we not be found without faith when He returns! Come, let us pray!<br />
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Continue on to <a href="http://jpcorhern.blogspot.com/2011/12/burning-night-away-part-2.html">Part 2</a>!JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00337966731415476098noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1998976732368988824.post-56894640739410789082011-12-01T10:24:00.001-06:002011-12-17T11:42:30.429-06:00The Southeast Trip pt. 5 - Nashville, TNUpon 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, <a href="http://joechens.tumblr.com/" target="_blank">Joe Chen</a>! 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!<br />
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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, <a href="http://chrisdupre.com/" target="_blank">Chris Dupré</a>! 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!<br />
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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.<br />
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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!<br />
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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!<br />
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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!<br />
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Return to <a href="http://jpcorhern.blogspot.com/2011/12/southeast-trip-pt-5-nashville-tn.html">Part 4: Cumberland Gap, TN</a>!JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00337966731415476098noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1998976732368988824.post-7260335567003871772011-11-29T19:43:00.001-06:002012-04-30T17:45:28.271-05:00The Southeast Trip pt. 4 - Cumberland Gap, TNFive 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.<br />
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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)<br />
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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!<br />
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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.<br />
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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.<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">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!</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Return to <a href="http://jpcorhern.blogspot.jp/2011/11/southeast-trip-pt-2-greenville-sc.html">Part 2: Greenville, SC</a>!</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Continue on to <a href="http://jpcorhern.blogspot.com/2011/12/southeast-trip-pt-5-nashville-tn.html">Part 5: Nashville, TN</a>!</span>JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00337966731415476098noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1998976732368988824.post-71539539299813874642011-11-25T10:57:00.001-06:002012-04-30T17:44:56.430-05:00The Southeast Trip pt. 2 - Greenville, SCAs 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 <a href="http://www.followthereids.com/" target="_blank">Jeff Reid</a>, 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!<br />
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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.<br />
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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.<br />
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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!<br />
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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 <a href="http://www.fascinatedts.com/" target="_blank">Fascinate Transformations School</a>, which will be starting this spring. Most of them had participated in the <a href="http://www.commtransdts.com/" target="_blank">Community Transformations DTS</a> 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!<br />
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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 <a href="http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Masiphumelele,+Cape+Town,+Western+Cape,+South+Africa&hl=en&ll=-34.129995,18.376007&spn=0.080994,0.154152&sll=33.4504,-88.818387&sspn=0.16328,0.308304&vpsrc=6&hnear=Masiphumelele,+Cape+Town,+Western+Cape,+South+Africa&t=m&z=13" target="_blank">Masiphumelele</a>. 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.<br />
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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.<br />
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Return to <a href="http://jpcorhern.blogspot.com/2011/11/southeast-trip-pt-1-clarkston-ga.html">Part 1: Clarkston, GA</a>!<br />
Continue on to <a href="http://jpcorhern.blogspot.jp/2011/11/southeast-trip-pt-4-cumberland-gap-tn.html">Part 4: Cumberland Gap, TN</a>!JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00337966731415476098noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1998976732368988824.post-26561164420099487112011-11-22T20:27:00.001-06:002012-05-19T19:19:09.316-05:00The Southeast Trip pt. 1 - Clarkston, GASO... 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...<br />
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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.<br />
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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.<br />
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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.<br />
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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!<br />
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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!<br />
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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.<br />
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Not long after leaving Clarkston, I encountered some strong spirits, but that story will have to wait till next time!<br />
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Continue on to <a href="http://jpcorhern.blogspot.com/2011/11/southeast-trip-pt-2-greenville-sc.html">Part 2: Greenville, SC</a>!JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00337966731415476098noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1998976732368988824.post-28485711862355232132011-11-08T20:58:00.002-06:002011-11-08T20:58:53.953-06:00I Don't Even Know What To Title This PostSo 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.<br />
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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.<br />
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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.<br />
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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.<br />
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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.<br />
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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.<br />
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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?JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00337966731415476098noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1998976732368988824.post-91804501146298449432011-10-11T20:39:00.000-05:002011-10-18T17:06:27.714-05:00Re-entry and Refreshing<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">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!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small; letter-spacing: 0px;">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.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small; letter-spacing: 0px;">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!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small; letter-spacing: 0px;">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!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small; letter-spacing: 0px;">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!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small; letter-spacing: 0px;">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!</span></div>
</div>JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00337966731415476098noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1998976732368988824.post-23231270211225268652011-08-07T06:04:00.001-05:002011-09-25T08:29:10.753-05:00Trip to Tohoku<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>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.<br />
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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.<br />
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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.<br />
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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.<br />
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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!<br />
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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!<br />
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Here are just a couple pictures from the trip. No one really has that many pictures of us working. We all were working...<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of those "toys"...</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fireworks!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisWXl2w3gZvaLOWrMQZbQldRJQA9ZCHVt2OVGocKAg7nBamUMG3T0JWcQLhRzw4PJUtAOsP4HdoF9mu-4Lr2nUHA4Kc0E0wbM0NLnDvMuaIt_WcQcYDbItqkgXOxFGJGOWEGgMJdIF934/s1600/IMG_1026.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisWXl2w3gZvaLOWrMQZbQldRJQA9ZCHVt2OVGocKAg7nBamUMG3T0JWcQLhRzw4PJUtAOsP4HdoF9mu-4Lr2nUHA4Kc0E0wbM0NLnDvMuaIt_WcQcYDbItqkgXOxFGJGOWEGgMJdIF934/s320/IMG_1026.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">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.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ishinomaki</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The tall building against the mountain is the middle school where we stayed.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Most of the area visible in this picture is continuing life as normal.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">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 <a href="http://youtu.be/obPA67NFxvw">this</a>.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0YxSYYZqAscOi7nDVmNAGECCUVOWL2pJGJ1WvQAJye9ZRn2ckHzbXUDWe6t_nuPAF9fnZ0kouGqNCFP8ZQhJyPOSOqG1nsTKChLz3jX7889kXg6XkRn-BzfKosVsraT9yTD87gh_fx8k/s1600/IMG_1058.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0YxSYYZqAscOi7nDVmNAGECCUVOWL2pJGJ1WvQAJye9ZRn2ckHzbXUDWe6t_nuPAF9fnZ0kouGqNCFP8ZQhJyPOSOqG1nsTKChLz3jX7889kXg6XkRn-BzfKosVsraT9yTD87gh_fx8k/s320/IMG_1058.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">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.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4YEKuY0mEZvspP_5W1Y4NklxyLwbdfXp8-G5dmllQLg4Wg5RQ6AgKoISckwpAGVaRXY1TLtsv4QaWFtmNm3_LRphKuFest8sFMtZdCJzf69BiUUGHczRNnUoUcXRLEwQhu1tIXwirexU/s1600/IMG_1069.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4YEKuY0mEZvspP_5W1Y4NklxyLwbdfXp8-G5dmllQLg4Wg5RQ6AgKoISckwpAGVaRXY1TLtsv4QaWFtmNm3_LRphKuFest8sFMtZdCJzf69BiUUGHczRNnUoUcXRLEwQhu1tIXwirexU/s320/IMG_1069.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">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!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit4AmbARPPIntkYEc753E5s-_0IfLTgqZR4nZj0NeoMomYCnB_pVYdmJrIFjjaD3reIJ9hxmy8vYSz_iaoK-e9dW7jlJBKxez1JMMJSojn0FBTtSFPKWOmiApmA1Wy6RQGTiwbcuVDiO0/s1600/IMG_1074.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit4AmbARPPIntkYEc753E5s-_0IfLTgqZR4nZj0NeoMomYCnB_pVYdmJrIFjjaD3reIJ9hxmy8vYSz_iaoK-e9dW7jlJBKxez1JMMJSojn0FBTtSFPKWOmiApmA1Wy6RQGTiwbcuVDiO0/s320/IMG_1074.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">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.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>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...JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00337966731415476098noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1998976732368988824.post-67819512869037827492011-07-26T10:07:00.000-05:002011-07-26T10:07:33.478-05:00Pictures from Hi-B.A. Camp 2011!!!!!!<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWcDwQ2EInIbcfLkKVbXK_hJKX-j5y0usUI2OQJB2HISdc_aEGktqX8Z6wkMh_cebYpw4qmjG894zGY3Y9akOOK8TZe8KauQ8noo_kGiqK7mic1QLurp75OYdwztctQPTEKiixfQVyVdc/s1600/IMG_0952.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWcDwQ2EInIbcfLkKVbXK_hJKX-j5y0usUI2OQJB2HISdc_aEGktqX8Z6wkMh_cebYpw4qmjG894zGY3Y9akOOK8TZe8KauQ8noo_kGiqK7mic1QLurp75OYdwztctQPTEKiixfQVyVdc/s320/IMG_0952.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">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!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbL_-BAdYKHPU2nIyCNiwOk8byjJe8y6XVKSc5gT1Pl9Y2QRtf-BrWzTLpWqWyNy7t39lNoSE9NWvrRENrCaQljnIRKZZAyJY0hTDbvPILR_cwzyzAX8CuDHEYXeeg9NH4I0wZbqZ-IoI/s1600/IMG_0953.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbL_-BAdYKHPU2nIyCNiwOk8byjJe8y6XVKSc5gT1Pl9Y2QRtf-BrWzTLpWqWyNy7t39lNoSE9NWvrRENrCaQljnIRKZZAyJY0hTDbvPILR_cwzyzAX8CuDHEYXeeg9NH4I0wZbqZ-IoI/s320/IMG_0953.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">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!</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
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Yep, that's all the pictures I took at camp.<br />
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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.<br />
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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.<br />
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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.<br />
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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:<br />
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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?<br />
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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: <span class="woj">"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!</span>JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00337966731415476098noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1998976732368988824.post-75419546789481061742011-07-15T01:30:00.000-05:002011-07-15T01:30:13.917-05:00Photos from the Philippines!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFGO8Ig-UiCk_tcxEAuzDFxtNIJ1JAQy3mmqB9dzI5HiT63b1fS-tajEfmr1MgzaSwnb6RtPIzF14tqXmLIN33Qh9rMp5sz79xVC2oFVbbguKbNxn3omy3Jc-5s9cmSKCtbB0HEPuJp0M/s1600/IMG_0763.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFGO8Ig-UiCk_tcxEAuzDFxtNIJ1JAQy3mmqB9dzI5HiT63b1fS-tajEfmr1MgzaSwnb6RtPIzF14tqXmLIN33Qh9rMp5sz79xVC2oFVbbguKbNxn3omy3Jc-5s9cmSKCtbB0HEPuJp0M/s320/IMG_0763.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1CN9e7KB_uriCLEKGjeS7MGl-htDSzhwASJcFnOIq96luQMHY4MO1A772-xLzdk4ZjNoG5GhC0pqs3m9EhnWvgABz4AHXSPJhl9wpe-kPkzjDxknJbtxcrn3hKvEEEVhfInCSb9HAp0c/s1600/IMG_0946.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1CN9e7KB_uriCLEKGjeS7MGl-htDSzhwASJcFnOIq96luQMHY4MO1A772-xLzdk4ZjNoG5GhC0pqs3m9EhnWvgABz4AHXSPJhl9wpe-kPkzjDxknJbtxcrn3hKvEEEVhfInCSb9HAp0c/s320/IMG_0946.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00337966731415476098noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1998976732368988824.post-7653280990238969032011-06-26T01:43:00.000-05:002011-06-26T01:43:52.216-05:00Back 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!<br />
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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.<br />
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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.<br />
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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!<br />
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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!JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00337966731415476098noreply@blogger.com0