So Much to Do! So Little Time to Do It!!!

Kobonwa Mina-san! (Good evening everyone!)

Wow, so much has happened in the last month! The most exciting news though I have to share is a man I met during Five Minute English came to know the Lord a few weeks ago! He accepted Jesus as his Lord and Savior on a Tuesday night and proceeded to be baptized the following Sunday! And the rate of his growth has been astounding! After meeting me during Five Minute English, he wrote me a few weeks later and asked if we could meet again to talk more about what I believe in and what my company does. So I brought Mark (one of my supervisors) with me and we had dinner together and talked about what we believed in and what our group did. After Mark shared the gospel through a neat folding tract, and I put my two cents in, Soichirou (the guy I met) prayed to be forgiven and let God be the Lord of his life! It was so neat to see how God worked! And God has been working in Soichirou's life for many years now. Ironically, the church he recently got baptized at was the same church he would pass as a child, and he used to wonder what the cross meant! God is literally awe inspiring! He even used the time Soichirou was in Australia as a kid with his parents to work in his heart and mind! When Mark asked him to explain what he had just done, he used his own words to describe what he had accepted, and I was amazed to see how quickly he grasped things that have taken me years to comprehend! Walking with God is such an adventure, and I wouldn't trade it for the world!

I've also been working with the homeless ministry in Yoyogi Park, and every Saturday at 7:00am we go and talk to the men (and some women as well) and give out bread and coffee. I love going to each group and giving out coffee. I feel like I can be a part of these men's lives even if I can't speak their language fluently. I want to share with them the love that Christ has for them. I got to share my testimony with them, and I got to talk about how God has taught me grace throughout my life. I think I've always seen how righteous God is, but sometimes I lose sight of how compassionate He is as well. It's always tricky for us Christians to combine truth and love. Sometimes it can be hard to balance the two. However, after God showed me that I was not better than anyone else on this planet, it opened many new relationships for me. So I can now relate to these homeless men, even the ones who are still hooked on drugs and alcohol because I was once as lost as they were.

I've been enjoying getting to know the students at Yokohama National University! It's really neat since many of them are actually Chinese exchange students. As a little girl, I dreamed of going to China as a missionary. I loved the movie "The Inn of the Sixth Happiness" about Gladys Alward who raised money all by herself and went to China all by herself to minister to the people there. And now I get to talk to Chinese students and share my faith with them! They've been really great, and we've had a lot of good discussions! I think I'm really going to miss them when I leave - which is in a week - and I hope to stay in contact with them through Facebook while they're in Japan, and email when they're in China (since you're not allowed to have Facebook in China). Yesterday, Hannah and I went with four of the students to Fuji-Q Highland, which is the Japanese version of Six Flags near the base of Mt. Fuji. It was great! We had a lot of fun, and even Mt. Fuji decided to stick its head out of the clouds to end our day nicely! :)

Last week we started a VBS at Grace International School here in Tokyo. The kids can speak English, but very few of them are Christians. So we've been able to really talk to them and share our love with them! We have sang songs, taught Bible stories, did crafts, and played games. It's been a lot of fun, and we have one more week of it to go! I've been able to even teach a Bible lesson myself! I really do enjoy reading to kids and interacting with them! I'm still learning how, and I'm not perfect at it. But God has definitely grown my love of teaching over the last two years. It's so ironic given the fact that being a teacher was the last thing I wanted to do. God is a God of the unexpected is He not? Also, my fellow intern Hannah has been hoping to move to Japan for about a year now, and has been praying for a long time about God opening doors to let her move here. And guess where she is in the process of getting a job at? The same school we're teaching VBS at right now!!! And He has given many people here in Japan a desire to help Hannah settle down here! Isn't He so good??? And it was in the last place Hannah and I expected to see her get a job at! Especially since she studied acting in college. But she's going to be able to teach the arts at this school and do what she loves on the side, which is acting. I am constantly amazed at how God provides for His children, and often when we're least expecting it!

While I've been here, I've been getting so many ideas for ministry opportunities! There's such a spiritual need here! You can even see it reflected in Japanese animes and dramas. They're seeking for a way to be pure, but the Japanese people seem to realize that on their own, there's no way to be completely clean. It would be amazing if people could start really reaching out to the people in the media and in the business communities. Thankfully, there are people who are reaching out, but not nearly enough! But then again, God can do great things with so little! Take me for example. Also, Japan got hit by another earthquake earlier this morning. It was a 7.1, but apparently the damage was not too extensive. And there wasn't any bad tsunami activity. I don't think it was nearly so bad this morning here in Tokyo, but then again, I can't say for sure since I kind of slept through it... Hmmmm... Yes, I think I am definitely a California girl! haha. I've been able to meet up with my "family" at Hongodai a couple times, and it's been sooooooooooo good to see them! They've been working hard, and even sending teams from their church up north to work and help those devastated. I always feel like I'm coming home whenever I see them. :) I even got to bring another one of my fellow interns Rachel and one of the students from YNU, Cathy, one Saturday for their youth service! It's been good to reconnect with them if only for a short time.

Well, I think I'll have to sign out now. I still have so much more to write! But I don't want to make you all read too much! haha. I have a bright and early day tomorrow, and if you all could be in prayer for the kids we're working with at this school, that would be wonderful!

Peace to you all!

Keri Lynn