Rivers.

"I will open up rivers for them on the high plateaus.
I will give them fountains of water in the valleys.
I will fill the desert with pools of water.
Rivers fed by springs will flow across the parched ground.
I will plant trees in the barren desert—
cedar, acacia, myrtle, olive, cypress, fir, and pine.
I am doing this so all who see this miracle
will understand what it means—
that it is the Lord who has done this,
the Holy One of Israel who created it."
-Isaiah 41:18-20

Takinogawa, Kita-ku - Tokyo, Japan

Before I go into what I've been up to over the weekend, I just want to pause and talk about how good God is for a moment. He has been showing me some overwhelming grace while in Japan. I haven't been scared. I sleep like a rock and wake up early, ready to begin the day. Jetlag hasn't been a problem. The food is delicious and my picky tastes seem to have disappeared for the time being. I have an awesome place to stay with good people. My Machida and Tokyo church families are pretty amazing.

I pray, more than ever, that God's love would flood Japan. People, especially the young people, are searching for something more. There is an emptiness that I recognize, because haven't we all felt it before? We are lost without Him. He desires us, loves us - covets our attention and our praise. His perfect love begs reciprocity. I love what He says here in Isaiah, that He will bring life giving water to the land so that the people will understand that it was He who created it. I pray He continues to open our hearts and our eyes to the truth of His love.

A lot has happened over the weekend. We spent Friday morning teaching English to the mothers of J.O.Y. Club students. I love kids, but I felt more comfortable in this class. We were expecting about 4 or 5 mothers, but 12 came! Praise God! It's a big thing for all of these women to come to the church, even just to come to an English class. It was a lot of fun, my students Mari and Naoko were awesome. Ladies from the church cooked us lunch. They were so good to us at Evergreen Chapel! After lunch, we piled into some cars and went on a prayer walk and campus tour of Obirin University. It's a private Christian university. Our tour guides were Reiko and Saki. Pray that there is a greater openness to Christianity on that campus, so much ministry could be happening there! From what I hear, Keiko and Saki came to Evergreen on Sunday - so that's pretty cool. As soon as we returned, Robert and I got our bags and headed into Tokyo. Our luggage was kind of a nuisance in the train stations, but we got to where we needed to be. Debbie picked me up at Ikebukuro station and took me on to Itabashi station, where I'll be living for the summer! Debbie took me out for curry later that night and I met Megumi! Such a sweet dog. Saturday, Susan had class to teach, so I walked around a bit on Saturday afternoon. Sunday, we took the subway to Tokyo Urban Church, which is where I want to be in my timeline here.

To get to Tokyo Urban Church(www.kyoukai.org), I take the Shin-Itabashi line to Jimbocho. Here I change over to a local train to get to Higashi-Ojima. I'm telling you this more for myself, I confess. I want to remember. From there, its about a five to ten minute walk. The church has a real contemporary design and there are quite a few people there around my age. We came for morning prayer, which was a really powerful time. The people of this church are so passionate! It was really amazing to see, and refreshing for me. I'm looking forward to my summer with this church. Anyways, after prayer Naomi, the worship leader, and Susan translated some of the songs into romanji(roman characters) for me so I could sing during worship then Susan and I went to Sakai Sensei's office and he preached his message to me in English. He is so annointed! The message was good and I really took a lot from it and I learned a few new Japanese words and some kanji along the way! He spoke about the difference between knowledge and Godly wisdom and how we should be seeking God's wisdom in every situation, especially in crisis, instead of relying our our own knowledge and instead of seeking the reason for the crisis. The reason you will see in hindsight, we should always first seek His wisdom. It was so good. I learned about the words for purpose, wisdom and knowledge too. In kanji, the characters for mokuteki, or purpose, mean "eye" and "target." The characters for knowledge, chishiki, mean "know" and "judge." For chie, the wisdom we get from God, the characters mean "know" and "grace." Isn't that awesome?

Ok, so after church in Japan, pretty much everyone just hangs around for the rest of the day. I went to the store with Nobue, Mariye and Mika to get lunch then we brought it back to the church and ate before cell groups. Naomi, the worship leader, is also in our group. She's only 22, but she's a church leader and she's very strong. Susan had some meetings so we were there at the church for a long time but it was really fun. They are going to a church in Singapore at the end of this week, so Susan will be preaching next Sunday.

Today, I slept in for the first time! Well, I woke up around 5 a.m. but I forced myself back to sleep and got up around 10 to get ready. Susan took me to the Assemblies of God Bible college here in Tokyo. It's also the Japan Assemblies of God headquarters. Beautiful campus! From there, we walked through the park and looked at a shrine there. Back at Ikebukuro station, we stopped at this awsome bakery called Little Mermaid, had some sweets, then came back to the apartment to wait for the staff meeting tonight...

...which brings me to right now! 3:36 p.m. on Monday afternoon! We start campus ministry tomorrow at the University of Tokyo, and will be going to Waseda University on Wednesday. Be in prayer for us! Pray for boldness for Robert and I(as well as the rest of the team!), and pray that God gives us favor on these campuses. Also, please pray for understanding for the Japanese students we talk to and that we develop close relationships to the students we meet. Praise God for the work He's doing in Japan!

Thank you for helping make this journey possible for me! I'll keep you posted!

Then the Lord said to me, “Look, Jeremiah! What do you see?”
And I replied, “I see a branch from an almond tree.”
And the Lord said, “That’s right, and it means that I am watching, and I will certainly carry out all my plans.”
- Jeremiah 1:11-12

Evergreen Chapel - Naruse-dai, Machida-shi - Tokyo, Japan

Orientation is winding down to a close for some of us. Tuesday, Sensei taught us about Japanese culture during our morning session. After that, we joined Joy in the J.O.Y.(Jesus, Others, Yourself) Club classroom. This is where Joy teaches English to over 76 students in Machida, in groups of 8 or less. She taught us a lot about teaching English to children and fun things we could do with our classes. All the summer workers, except for me and Robert, will be working in English learning classrooms at churches across Japan. After morning sessions, we had lunch. My first real Japanese meal! It was so good. We all ate together, then went exploring before we went to our J.O.Y. Club assignments. We went to some convenient stores and just walked around the neighborhood a little. Liz and I worked with the youngest class, and then the whole team helped with the Jr. High class before dinner. They were so sweet! It was a lot of fun and Joy is just amazing with her students. She's so full of energy and excitement, the kids just love her. Dinner was great, Sensei has definitely been spoiling us! Also, we were joined at dinner by Fujimoto Sensei from Nagoya. He bought us some watermelon, which was so nice! Watermelon is kind of expensive here - so, it was very nice of him to buy us some. We definitely ate it up, then played some ping pong and Uno before bed. I couldn't help but think that it was a little ironic that I was halfway across the world and still watching boys play ping pong...I guess some things never change!

Thursday, we started sessions with Susan. We learned more about the culture and about our positions as short-term missionaries and as teachers. It is exciting and kind of scary at the same time. I will be here with Susan and Robert, but the rest of crew go to their assignments on their own. They will all have the guidance and direction of their host pastors, but I know its a little unnerving to not really know what's going to be expectd just yet. God will be with them and be their strength though! A woman from the church cooked us lunch(she also made us tempura to go with our noodles on the first day!). She is so sweet. She has really gone out of her way to show this kindness to us, and we have definitely been grateful. She's a wonderful cook. Other things we tried that afternoon, rice balls with fish eggs(kinda salty, but pretty good) and C.C. Lemon! C.C. Lemon is a lemonade drink and it's really good. After lunch, we finished the orienation manual with Susan, went to the super market down the street, then went back to help with J.O.Y. Club. Also, Sarah started packing to leave for Nagoya. We found out earlier in the day the Fujimoto Sensei was the pastor at Sarah's host church. We all ate dinner together again, Sensei's awesome cooking, had a few arm wrestling matches then played some more Uno while we waited for Sarah's pastor to come pick her up for the four hour drive to Nagoya. It going to be hard to let each other go...

And today is my last day in Machida at Evergreen Chapel. It's hard to believe I've only been here for a little over two days. I've learned so much here and I've had so much fun getting to know people and this church. It's encouraging to be around people who are called to a similar purpose - who all share the same heart for Japan and its people. It is also comforting to be around each other, but I think we all know God called us here not only to minister but to stretch us as well and build our trust and faith in Him like never before. So, today Robert and I will pack our bags and head to the other side of the city with Susan!

Which is exciting. I get to work with Chi Alpha...in JAPAN! It's amazing. Next week I'll get to go to the University of Tokyo and Waseda University for Bible study. We'll get to spend a lot of time on these two campuses. I can't even wait...I just believe God is going to do some pretty amazing things during our time here.

Again, thank you so much for praying for me and for reading this! I'll keep you updated!

Ohayo gozaimasu, Tokyo!

Good morning!

So, needless to say, I made it. I didn't get lost in LA or anything! The flights were actually really easy. I met some really nice people along the way. My aunts were on my flight to Dallas? Yeah, God works in mysterious ways but He kept me going. I even slept a little on my flight between Dallas and LAX, which is weird because it was definitely the most uncomfortable. On my first and last flight, I had a window seat so that was pretty nice...and Singapore Airlines? Amazing. I was in economy, but it didn't feel like it. The service is just amazing. They were all really nice too. I don't think I slept much on that ten hr. flight but we did get into Tokyo an hour early. Customs and immigration stuff went very smoothly and very quickly. Before I knew it, me and my suitcase were reunited, I was going through my last airport security check and then Susan was giving me a hug and welcoming me to Tokyo. The rest of the crew was very happy to see me there and to see me there early. We exchanged currency, grabbed our bus passes and began making our way to Machida to meet the pastor of Evergreen Chapel. There are a lot of bridges and ferris wheels in Tokyo. Big, giant, well-lit ferris wheels. And they drive on the opposite side of the road than we do, which was kind of unnverving at first. After we met him and Tatsu, they took us to the church.

Which is amazing. Its beautiful here. Last night, we came in, met Joy, who will be helping us learn how to teach English, put all our luggage in the elevator and sent it to the third floor where all of us are staying for the week. They had everything prepared for us. Our names are on the doors. Towels were laid out, our beds were made. We were all pretty tired, but none of us wanted to go to bed yet and really...why would we? Uchimura Sensei took us on a tour of the chapel, which I hope to get on video before I leave. You have to see this place. Anyways, he is so nice and so funny! We are going to have a lot of fun here. They told us to make ourselves at home and so...shortly after the grand tour, I went to my room...

...and crashed. I don't think I've ever been so glad to be in a bed. I went to sleep very quickly and woke up pretty early. Like 6:30 am, but lucky for me, so did everyone else! We all got up super early, got ready and we are now eating breakfast before our first class at 9:30. Listening to the crows, which are pretty loud but I've heard from the others...are must worse in other parts of the country. Yes. Crows. Anyways, we are eating our toast, drinking our coffee and contemplating going to the convenient store. We have an hour and a half before class.

Thank you for praying for me and supporting me. I thought I would be all nervous and afraid for a few days, but I'm fine. I was calm during travel and just excited now and I know that none of that was just my super good adjustment skills(those who know me well, laugh a little here)...it was God. He was with me every step of the way and your prayers didn't go unheard. I appreciate it so much. Keep praying for us - me, Anna, Kierin, Anna, Sarah, Liz, Eric and Robert - pray for us, our effectiveness and pray for the Japanese people!

I'll be back...probably later today...who knows?

It's Time.

So, tomorrow morning is the big day. My probably too heavy suitcase is packed(and so is the money to pay if it is overweight...). My carry-on, purse and laptop are ready to go. I have everything in order...

...so here I am. Posting the last blog I'll write while still on American soil for two whole months. I can't believe it's time.

I'm so ready and so excited, and yet - I am nervous, and to be honest, a little afraid. I know that God will guide me and the rest of the summer crew though, He's lead us this far and I trust Him. After a VERY long plane trip to Tokyo, I'll meet up with the team and we'll all take a 85 min bus ride together into Tokyo. After that, we'll meet up with the pastor of the church we are staying at for orientation. I'll be there for the rest of the week, then its off to work with Chi Alpha!

I've had a really good week hanging out with my friends and spending time with my family. It's going to be hard to round that corner after I pass through security in Tulsa to go find my gate. The good thing is, I know without doubt that God pulled my heart to Japan and that makes the nervousness and the fear seem irrational. He's watching me.

Thank you for your continued support and your prayers! I'll keep you updated on my adventure, but for now...I need some sleep. Oyasumi! Goodnight!