Prayer Stuff #17

Please pray for the Eby family, as their son, Ethan passed away yesterday morning. He was about 18 I think.

The Ebys were instrumental in helping set CRASH up in the days immediately after the quake, and Ethan served faithfully by clearing the rubbish out every morning and helping us get the supplies we needed in the office.

It was upsetting enough for me as I worked with him and know him, can't imagine what the family is going through, so please pray for them, especially for their mother.

Thank you.

CRASH

So having been working helping out at the volunteer organization that is Crash for the past 2-and-a-half months, it would be really remiss not to talk about what I had been up to, especially since I haven't updated this blog in a while. So here goes.


First things first, let's talk about what Crash is. CRASH is actually an acronym that stands for Christian Relief, Assistance, Support and Hope. It was started by a missionary (I think. But he's been in Japan for a long time, and his wife is Japanese) called Jonathan Wilson, who was thinking of how to help Christians coordinate their efforts in order to help people who have been hit by a natural disaster. And they helped out in Haiti and the Sichuan earthquake and a few other things.

So, I originally went down on the Monday immediately after the 'quake. I had watched the livestream of the meeting they had on Sunday, and I thought, 'hmm, people are gonna be wanting to help, and I can't do much, but I *can* buy coffee and donate that!', so I bought some coffee (and other things) at Seiyu (the queues were really long that day), and lugged it over to the Crash office. And I thought, 'hmm, maybe I can help out a bit, because they probably need volunteers, and I can help out this week maybe, and then I'll be done.' And so I asked an OMF missionary there if there was anything I could do to help out just for a bit. And now I'm still there, so obviously, the part where I said, "Just for a bit" didn't really get transferred across.

Initially, I was under this guy called Corey, and we started off with a sort of Registration/Reception hybrid, that slowly morphed to include office management, which was what we were called for about a month or so. It should be noted, of course, that most of the volunteers did not have much experience in the category of "Setting-up-relief-work-company-quickly-and-with-mostly-volunteers-for-staff", so it was really messy. It kinda still is, but we're slowly getting more organized.

So this was the old Reception/Registration/Office Management/Placement/Screening/Registration+Reception in that order I think. Incidentally, all three of these people are no longer working at the CRASH HQ (maternity leave, gone to Aomori, gone on Home Assignment)

So my first job was to call up volunteers to ask them when they could be free to come in and what they could do to help out. And that would explain my astronomical phone bill for the month of March. And then we had to grab all the new people and get them to register. And we sometimes went out to buy stuff for the office, like ink for the printers, paper, pens, post-its, more ink for the printers, scissors, tape, even more ink for the printers, and nametag holders.

I ended up making nametags too. In my personal 'room'.

No it's not a closet! It's a room I tell you! A room! *controls sobs* It's a room!

And then they started to do some restructuring. This was about the time some people who had experience in the category of "Setting-up-company-from-scratch" came in, and they started to reorganize. And that was when I, because I was making nametags, ended up in the Logistics unit.

And now I know why I was posted to do Log work while I was in the army, because now I have some idea as to what working in Logistics will require. (Yes, you may have to move big boxes of heavy stuff around. No, you cannot eat the food that people are donating).

And people do donate food. But these ones are for staff to eat, so we can eat these ones. Thanks Bola!

I have also developed a slight amount of IT ability, because of my proximity to the resident IT expert, who incidentally also goes by the given name of Daniel. While I'm sure some of said ability is due to the IT aura which surrounds him, most of it is the result of the following scenario:

Person A: Hey, I need help with my computer.
Person B: What's up with it?
A: It's this problem.
B: Oh, hmm I don't know. Go and ask Daniel for help *waves vaguely in the direction of the room where both Daniels reside*

And because they don't specify which Daniel to ask, they end up asking the one nearer to the door, which is me.

The worst part of course, is that sometimes, I actually do solve their problems, which makes me look like an expert in things IT, which I am not, but which continues to feed the myth that Daniel-Logistics can do IT.

No, I'm telling you, I just make nametags. I don't really know how to solve your IT problems! You've got the wrong Daniel, I tell you! The wrong one!!

One of the really nice things about working in such a community is that you get to meet friends. Now, in my normal work with OMF and housechurches and stuff, I do get to meet quite a few people, but it was quite...limited, I would say, in that all the people I meet are somehow connected through OMF. Which is not a bad thing, just that it's a very specific group.

Now however, with so many people volunteering at CRASH, I not only meet the OMF friends, but people from other places, whether it's from other agencies, or they are Christians who have time and just want to help serve, or even some who may not be Christian, but have come down to help out in whatever way they can.

Some friends.

But the greater thing is being able to see how God is using some of us to help serve the people in Japan. And I don't really see much because I'm in the back room of the HQ, but we do get reports of how people have been helped through our ministry, and even more than that, that people are able to see God through the work that we do.

So perhaps I'm not getting paid very much (read: none) for this, but it would be hard to deny that it is fulfilling.

Prayer Points:

1. Pray for the work of CRASH, that though chaos may reign within the office, we will be able to get relief and aid to the people who need it.
2. Pray for some of the workers who go through a lot of stress. Whether it's the base personnel who work out in the field, or the people at HQ who just can't seem to pull themselves away from work *koffmariekoff*, pray that God will sustain them, and will help them find rest and renewal in Him.
3. Pray that we will not lose sight of our objectives, which is to be able to help people in need (and not be a smooth running company), but also to tell them of the God who loves them.
4. For myself, I guess I've also been immersing myself too much into work, and have somewhat neglected my own QT. I hope I can slow down enough to do it regularly.

Ok, that's about it.

Earthquake

When the earthquake first struck, just before 3, I felt nothing. I was sleeping, you see. It didn't take long for me to wake up, because even through my unconscious state, I knew that the train had stopped some place it shouldn't be stopping at, so I woke up.

That's when I noticed the whole train was swaying left and right (meaning I was rocking forward and backward). It didn't bother me too much, since earthquakes had happened before. But as the shaking continued, and started to get worse, I started to feel just a tinge of concern...which became a lot more than a tinge when I noticed that the lamppost just next to the tracks was also swaying pretty drastically. And the tremors went on for much longer than normal.

The train managed to move into Nerima station after the initial round of tremors ceased, but while we were waiting there to see if it was safe to continue the journey, a second round of shocks hit, rocking the train, shaking the electric cables, and rattling the zinc roofing of the platform. An announcement was repeated over the station's PA system, and even though I'm not particularly good at understanding such announcements, it doesn't take much to realize that they were shutting down the trains because of the possibility of aftershocks.

All this was a bit of an inconvenience for me, but owing to the fact that it was a pretty serious earthquake, I wasn't too upset. So I started walking to Ikebukuro. Then I caught a bit of news in a shop window, and saw the fire at the Chiba plant.

Then, later on, I saw the full news reports, and while Tokyo had gotten tremors, it was nothing compared to what was happening in the north part of Honshu, closer to where the earthquake struck. I saw the pictures that everyone who has seen the news would have seen, of waves of muddy water sweeping over farmland, carrying boats into places boats should never be, houses floating past the roofs of other submerged structures, cars stacked carelessly on top of other cars, and the death toll, 60 when I first saw the news, 300 by the time I got home, over a thousand this morning. And I realized just how terrible this was.

And I want to rail at God sometimes, ask Him why this sort of thing has to happen, but I also know that what I really have to do is to come before Him in prayer, and give it all to Him.

So please pray for those who have been affected. Pray that rescue work can go on unimpeded. Pray that the weather will be good for finding people/dealing with emergencies. Pray for those who have lost family and friends. Pray for the Lord's mercy and healing.

Please.

Prayer Stuff #16

Today, at OMF prayer, I had a somewhat odd conversation.

Mrs. T: Hello.
Me: Hello.
Mrs. T: Um.. you are...?
Me: Er.. Daniel..
Mrs. T: Oh, Daniel... Wong?
Me: *nods* yeah
Mrs. T: OH! You cut your hair!
Me: Er... yeaahh...

Anyway, on to prayer stuff.

• Today, at Urawa English Group, I was talking with Miki about the parable of the rich man and Lazarus. And I couldn't help but feel that she is seeking to really learn about God, and that she is almost at a kind of tipping point. Would appreciate prayers for her in that regard (also the other ladies there).
• There has been some changes with regard to the future of the Shinjuku HC on Saturday. No concrete ideas yet, but some of the people who have been expected to leave are not really leaving, and there are some people who are suddenly appearing. Stay tuned for more updates.
• Paul, the short-termer staying with me, will be leaving for Aomori on the 14th. Pray that he'll have a safe journey up, and that he'll have a good time of ministry and stuff up there.
• There's E-moms next Thursday (17th) too. Pray once again, for a good time of discussion and understanding there.
• Pray also for Mr. Tsujimoto, from Steve's Hana-Koganei HC. He has been reassigned by his company to the Miami office, and will have to move there with his family in May. While it's not too bad for him, it will be a bit harder on his wife and kids.
  

Ok that's about it.

Prayer Stuff #15

Hi! It snowed this morning! Snow!

Prayer Stuff:

1. According to an anonymous poster on one of the Japanese forums (I think it was 2channel), he will go to Shinjuku and do random acts of violence at 9 pm tonight (11th Feb). I'm not sure whether it's a hoax or it's real, but we can all pray can't we?
2. Have a short-term worker staying with me now, his name is Paul, and he's from the Netherlands. He'll be with me for 6 weeks (almost 2 weeks have passed) before heading north to Aomori. Which reminds me that the last time I had short-term workers stay with me was almost a year ago (Tim and Jeremy)
   
3. Shinjuku HC: Japanese Alpha has finished, and now we're intending to start a series on cults. We do need wisdom to understand the difference between what is a cult and what is Christianity, not just for preparation, but also after that. So pray for wisdom for us. Chinese Alpha continues as usual.
   
4. Also Shinjuku HC's leader Karen has been had by her university. Apparently, they want her to pay ¥50,000 for them to review her Ph.D thesis. This cost was not reflected in her initial contract(?) and needless to say, she doesn't quite have that much money on her. Pray for God to provide a way out, whether it's through the waiving of the fee, the provision of money, or some other divine intervention that I have no idea about.
   
5. Some thanksgiving, Taira (Tokorozawa HC, Shinagawa Kai) has been much better recently. After taking 3 months of no-pay leave, he's back at work now. But he says that although he still hates work, he's found a lot more energy and joy while there. In the past, he had to struggle to get just enough energy to get through the day. So praise God for that.
   
6. Urawa Bible Study: Miki, one of the ladies there, seems to be getting more and more interested in the Christian faith. She brought a bible with her last week (she says it's so she can check the reading of the kanji, but that's still a good step right?) and she also asked where she could find a CD on hymns. I'm guessing right now it's still just a secular interest in these things, but let's pray something develops from here.
7. Coco's English Corner is having a New Year's Party on Tuesday. Yes, I know it's really long ago, but we weren't able to find a common time till now.
   
8. E-moms on Thursday and Kid's Club on Friday, pray for God's provision there.

Ok that's about it. Really long one this time but well, that's good for you (also cos I keep on forgetting to update. Sorry). Also, it's good for me to remember what God has done and what we need to depend on him to do. Thank you!

Prayer Stuff #14

Yikes I've really missed quite a few weeks of late.

Prayer stuff!:

1. Thanksgiving that Yixin (Shinjuku HC) has accepted Christ.
   
2. Urawa English group will be starting up again on Monday, followed by Coco's English corner on Tuesday morning. The Coco's group actually already met once on the 4th, but we had to take a hiatus again cos Steve was busy.
3. E-moms on Thursday, followed by Kids' Club on Friday and the E-moms/Kids' Club people's New Year's Party. Kinda late, that, but well, hope everything goes ok.
   
4. Shinjuku HC looks like it may be losing it's core members in a hurry by March, so pray for guidance as to what we should do, whether it would be better to continue to try to hold it together, or to find other places for the other members after March.
   

Ok, that's about it!

Prayer Stuff #13

So Christmas is already past.
And year end's coming really fast.
So while hoping you pray,
I think I can say,
"This prayer stuff will be this year's last!"

Yeah ok, no guarantees though. I need to keep my options open.

1. Coco's will start again on the 4th of Jan. I'm inviting a friend from my Japanese language class, who isn't interested in religion, but is interested in English. Pray that this will work out.
2. Chinese Alpha started off seemingly well last week, and will continue into Feb-March of 2011. Pray for continued wisdom for the leaders in the Shinjuku HC (and language ability for me hurhur) in this.
   
3. So New Year's is around the corner, let's take some time to reflect on the past year, and thank God for all He's done!
   

Prayer stuff #12

So over the last couple of weeks, I've been a bit busy, and quite a lot lazy, hence the lack of updates. But I've finally been guilt-tripped by myself into writing these again.

Prayer stuff:

1. Thanksgiving for a good Alpha Retreat over the previous weekend
2. Kid's club on Friday. We won't be doing much, just watching a video, but pray that it will speak to the kids (and the moms that are there).
3. I'll be teaching the Christmas story to the two kids I teach English to, this coming Tuesday. Not too sure how much impact it would have on them, but please pray that there will be some fruit eventually.
4. KHCN Celebration at Mitaka on the 23rd.
   
5. Chinese Alpha starts at Shinjuku HC on the 25th. With a Christmas party. Japanese Alpha will also have Christmas party that day.
   

Yup, think that's about it now.

Prayer Stuff #11

So the team came in yesterday and are sort of settled in, and we started doing some stuff this morning at E-moms. Thought it went really well, will explain a little more later on.

Prayer stuff:

1. Thanksgiving that the team made it in safely. Not without some problems that just sort of happened, but well, they are here and are doing ok so far I guess. Do cover them in prayer, as the problems I mentioned may all be coincidence, or may be spiritual attack. Can't be too certain about that.
2. Kids' Club tomorrow, led by the team. Pray that it'll be a fun time for all involved, and that the team, with Pastor Vernon, will be able to teach the kids more about the Christmas story.
3. Alpha on Saturday. This week will be the first time Karen will be trying to do Chinese Alpha (due to the number of Chinese speakers that have joined us). 
4. Urawa on Monday. Once again, pray for a good time of discussion, and that the Holy Spirit may be able to help the ladies understand some of the deeper parts of the Gospel.
5. WEFC team will be helping out at Coco's. 
6. Also, I have to teach the two kids English on Tuesday.
7. Safe trip back for WEFC team, think they're leaving on Thursday

Think that's about it for the time being.

Prayer Stuff #10

Yay for double digits! Less yay for forgetting to write last week.

Prayer stuff!:

1. WEFC team coming up next week. They'll be arriving on Wednesday, if I'm not wrong, and will be here for just over a week. Pray they'll have an effective time here, and that they'll see and experience what God wants them to.
   
2. Shinagawa Kai's been growing recently, because Amechi is still bringing more and more of his friends from the Japanese language school. A lot of them are from China, and are looking to come here to study in the universities. Last night, quite a few of them came, and it was good that Huan Huan (from the old youth church at Louis' place) also came down, as she could help interact with the rest.
   
3. No Coco's English Hour next week (it's a holiday), but pray with us as we try to come up with a Christmas program for the Coco's Christmas Celebration (yay for alliteration).
   
4. E-moms and Kids' club, both with the WEFC team.
   
5. Alpha course at Shinjuku HC, still doing ok, but now we need to start up a Chinese Alpha to help some of the people coming to understand better (they are Chinese students studying in college or in language schools).

Ok that's about it.

Prayer Stuff #9

Here's prayer stuff for next week (and some which are not dependent on time period at all!):

1. A couple of ladies (Miki and Izumi) at the Urawa English Corner have shown a lot of interest in the spirituality of the Bible English studies. I've probably said this before several times, but well, both of them seem to be on the verge of searching for God, so do pray that they will be brought to a place where they see Him.
2. Steve will be starting to meet a student contact that another missionary (Stanley Ong) for English conversation. The student has neither shown interest or aversion to Christianity, but he seems to have a good impression of it. Pray it'll lead to greater things.
   
3. Steve is also going to be working with a couple of Japanese who are looking to start a housechurch in town. Both of them have been overseas before, and they are looking to start up a ministry among Japanese who are returning from exchange programs or homestay programs.
   
4. Coco's English Hour is still going well, and all the people who come have become rather good friends who are comfortable with each other. Pray for the Christian members of the group (Hideko, Yoshiko, Yumi), that they'll be able to share God's word with the others.
   

Ok think that's about it.

Prayer Stuff #8

Ok it appears that while ideally I should be updating once a week on these items, I haven't been doing so. But we don't live in a world that is exactly ideal (if not hot dog buns would not come in sets of 4 while hotdogs come in sets of 10), so I guess we'll just have to try to avoid the less ideal bits, and move to the ideal parts when we can.

Prayer stuff!

1. Thanksgiving for last week, had a couple of picnics (one with my naginata class on Sat and one with the Hanakoganei HC on Sun). And though both times swarms of yukimushi (a sort of aphid apparently) came upon us, it was generally fun.
   
2. The Urawa English corner is still doing well, and the regular people are still coming. Do continue to pray that their interest will continue to go beyond merely intellectual or social levels, and that they may start realizing the need for spiritual fulfillment.
3. Additionally, it seems that Miki-san from the Urawa English Corner has been asking a lot of questions with regard to Christianity, so that's a good sign.
   
4. Same for Coco's Coffee Hour. It's been good talking to the people and getting to know them, since we're all really sort of neighbours living in the same area.
   
5. English class for kids on Tuesday afternoon. The previous session two weeks ago went ok, I thought, but it's still something that causes me a bit of nervousness each time I go, since I really don't want to waste their time.
6. E-moms on Thursday morning.
7. There's a Celebration (gathering of HC members) this coming Sunday, pray for a good time of fellowship and encouragement, and that we'll be able to feel the presence of God with us.

And for the following week:

1. The Yokohama HC is meeting on Wednesday. Hasn't really been mentioned before, but this is something that Kodaira-san has been doing recently. At the moment, there are only 6 members (Kodaira, the Hoshinos, Asahina-san and Kanbei-san, along with me), meeting around Yokohama area. This week apparently is a hike or something.
2. As mentioned, the temperature has been dropping pretty quickly these past few days. Pray for health and stuff.
3. Short-term team from OMF coming up from Singapore. They'll be heading up to Sapporo, but will make a brief stopover in Tokyo. It is led by Daniel Lau, who was the missionary we worked with the most 2 years ago in 2008. His wife Joylyn, is projected to give birth somewhere in Dec, so well, it's kinda stressful for him I guess? And Dean (also from the 2008 team) will be with them as well. Pray for a fruitful time of ministry here.
   

Ok that's about it.

Prayer Stuff #7 (UPDATE)

Ok, I think I shall make a slight modification to this 'weekly' update. In order to be more relevant to MW publications, I shall put up things for the following week. But since we have to backtrack a bit now, we shall do two weeks for this round!

1. Thanksgiving for a fairly decent first Alpha session. Hopefully the series will help people be willing to ask more questions, and that the Holy Spirit will give understanding to those who come (including us Christians)
2. Taira-san (Tokorozawa HC) has gotten a month of no-pay leave, which he is quite happy about. He's been working very hard and felt like he could not take the pressure any more, so he went to speak to his section head, and they gave him a month.
   
3. The 5-year-old English class was kinda ok, but it really is hard to maintain their attention. And my trump card failed, because one of the kids is not that fond of candy.
4. Kids' club this Friday.
5. Alpha session 2 on Saturday, and sounds like a couple more people will be coming, though leader Karen is unable to make it, as she has to give a presentation in school... which means I will have to do the English section while Sylvia (other leader) will do the Japanese section.
6. Just received news from Liu Wen (formerly of Shinjuku HC) that his father, who was battling advanced cancer, has passed away. Pray that his family and relatives will be able to receive comfort from God as they deal with this loss, and that Liu Wen will continue to be the channel of that peace.
   

And for the following week:

1. Eh... actually seems like not a lot of stuff going on the following week, but there is an outing planned for the naginata class I attend on Saturday, so well let's hope for more good relationships to be formed. Will update later if I know more stuff.

Ok so that's about it.

Prayer Stuff #6

Ok so I missed out on last week's stuff. But here's this week's!

1. Have to teach the two 5 year-olds English tomorrow, one of whom is the grandkid of my naginata sensei. While I am not particularly worried about her beating me up if I don't do a good job, I am extremely nervous, since I do not want to waste their time. Additionally, as I told some others at the HC the other day, I already know nothing about teaching English, and I know even less than nothing about teaching English to 5 year-olds. So there.
2. E-moms on Thursday morning, pray once again for a good discussion on not just English, but also Christianity.
3. Shinjuku HC's Alpha Course is starting up this Saturday; they'll be doing both an English and a Japanese session each time. So far, there are two non-Christians (T, who is a regular member of the HC, and ZR), as well as a Christian guy who wants to practice his English (Kawazoe).
4. L of the Tokorozawa HC has been given an eviction notice, and he will have to leave his apartment by December. Although it's still far away, it is not exactly easy to find (long-term) housing if you're a foreigner in Japan, even more so when you need to take care of children. Pray for the Lord's provision.

Ok so that's about it, trying to gather my thoughts for the English thing tmr...

Prayer Stuff #5

Hi Everyone!

It's gotten a lot cooler in Japan these few days, temp's dropped to high 20s, which is definitely way better than when it was mid-30s. It's also raining a bit more, which is not saying much, but I already got caught in the rain twice this past week, so yeah.

Prayer Stuff!:

1. Taira (Tokorozawa HC) is still pretty busy, he says he's been leaving work on average 9pm, but he seemed a lot 'brighter' today. Guess part of the reason is that he found out that one of his managers at work has the same interest in the piano that he has. Pray that he will continue to be able to find joy in life like this.
2. Wednesday will be the next 'Yokohama HC' meeting. I'm putting it in inverted commas because at the moment, I'm still not too sure what it is, it's not quite a housechurch like some of the others, seems more like a leaders' group, but not sure about that either.
3. One of the things I picked up while in Japan was the naginata, and my instructor is asking me to help her grandkid (and friend) with English. Which is all well and good, except for the part where I don't know anything about teaching English to 5-year-old children. Need wisdom, resources, and let's throw in some tolerance as well... not too sure how I'll be able to handle 5-year-olds.
   

Yup that's about it.

Prayer Stuff #4

Whoops ok sorry was a bit late this round.

Prayer Stuff!

1. Urawa group is back up to the usual 5 members (Michiko, Fuyumi, Kimiko, Izumi, Miki) and maybe one guy who turned up before may be coming back (Yuzo). Some of the members though, are attached to the group because they want to meet Steve, not because of the Bible study. Pray this will change from former to latter (esp since Steve is leaving for home assignment next summer)
2. E-moms this morning was ok, despite rain, 3 mothers came for the meeting.
3. Kids' club tmr!
4. Temperature's going down, probably the start of autumn. Karen (Shinjuku HC) especially, is one of those who are sensitive to the cold, so pray for health for all of us.
5. Simon (Shinagawa Kai) has been informed that his teaching contract will not be renewed at the high school he currently teaches at. He really is quite keen on being a teacher, and this is a slight setback for him, though he is not too devastated since he knows God will take care of the details. His current teaching contract ends in March.
   
6. Jiehuai and Jules stopped by one their trip around Japan, was great fun having them in and showing them around.

Till next time!

Dreams III and Prayer Stuff #3

Last night I had kind of a weird dream. See, I dreamt that was in my study room. I know it was my study room because it looked sort of like how my home's study room looked like before my grandparents moved in with us, and I know it was 'mine' personally because in dreams, you kind of know that sort of thing.

So I was there, and I was doing my own stuff, and then I noticed that there were some bugs in the room. I guess part of it was because I was reading Dotz' blog last night, hence the reference to bugs. But anyway, there were more bugs than are normally allowed in a study room. So I looked up from whatever I was doing, and I was horrified to see that the entire wall was a giant infested mess of bugs and bugs' nests. Imagine it sort of as seeing lines of ants walking all over the place, with a huge termite-ish nest on the wall, and when you open up some of the PVC wire covers, there are like maggots and spiders and stuff dropping out. And I can't remember if there was a smell or not, but whatever, it probably would have smelled pretty bad.

So I took out my insecticide to try and attack the bugs. But my insecticide was about as big as your average cologne bottle, and just about as effective as cologne at getting rid of bugs. Notwithstanding that fact, I continued to spray for all it was worth, with expected, failing results. Then I heard a voice saying, "This is the state of your heart, which has been contaminated by your sins, and no matter what you do, how hard you try, you will never be able to clear up this mess. So let me help you."

Quite obviously, that voice was Jesus, and my dream kind of ended around there, but if I could continue it in my own imagination, Jesus attacked the infestation with a flamethrower and burned away all my sins.

There was a follow up dream to that. This time, it was a very short dream, and I don't remember much dialogue, but what I do recall, with the memory of that first dream still in the back of my mind, was that I was sitting at a table doing some very simple handicraft task. What exactly the handicraft was, I don't remember, but that was not an important point. The important bit was that that handicraft thing was in service for the Lord. And in my mind, this was way too simple for 'someone of my caliber', as I thought. (Please don't think I'm disgustingly arrogant, this is just the impression that I'm getting from my dreams. Ok maybe I *am* slightly arrogant, but please don't use this against me).

The next thought was that well, obviously, I had to do something simple, since it's kinda like someone who's been grievously injured and was undergoing rehab. As capable (and I only use this in the broadest sense of the word) as anyone has been, if he had to go through rehab, he would have to start doing the simple actions first before he can go on to the more advanced stuff, and maybe return to how he was before the injury. And in the same way, since my heart had been infested with bugs, I had to do simple things.

But the most important part of this next dream was that as the camera zoomed out from the handicraft I was making, Jesus was sitting there next to me doing the exact same handicraft, as if showing me that He considered my simple work and myself important enough to sit with me and do it with me.

And it's not like I'm a particularly important person in this world, but to Jesus, I know I am particularly important. As is everyone else on this earth. I know they like to make fun with this quote, "You're unique, just like everybody else", but to Jesus, that is true. Like in the book The Shack, God is "particularly fond of you", failings and all. And that is just one of the most wonderful images I can remember.

Ok, anyway, on to prayer stuff!

1. OMF prayer for this month took us to the Imperial Palace, where if you follow the outer circuit, you'll come across special pavement tiles every 50m or so that is a representation of one of the prefectures of Japan. Pray for Japan.
2. Izumi-san came to join us at Urawa today! She's been unable to make it for the past several months because she's been sick for a long time, so hopefully, this is the start of her recovery and return to the English group, where she will be able to ask more questions on Christianity.
   
3. KHCN missionaries meeting on Thursday morning, pray that God will continue to show His guidance to us, and to the ministries that we are doing or intending to do.
   
4. One of Karen's (Shinjuku HC) colleagues at the university will be leaving for USA soon, and Thursday is his farewell party. Pray that his time there will bring him in contact with good Christian friends.
5. Jiehuai and Jules flying up for holiday, pray for a safe journey for them.
6. Taira-san (Tokorozawa HC) has been able to get by daily with his work, and he's grateful that God gives him just enough energy, motivation and joy to get by each day, but he does hope that he will be able to experience the fullness of joy in God.

Ok so that's it for now.

Prayer Stuff #2

Ok, so I've at least managed to get the second one of these posts up. Go perseverance!

1. Thanksgiving for Simon's (Shinagawa Kai) confirmation last Sunday. He attends a Lutheran church on Sunday, so this is almost the same level as a baptism.
2. This week is travel week for me. Apart from point 1, which was held in Totsuka (near Yokohama), I will also be going to Ibaraki (for HC) on Thursday, and Yokohama again on Friday (for prayer session).
3. Regarding the Friday prayer, it is run by Kodaira-san, and it is for Yokohama HC, which he is party to.
   
4. This Saturday, Shinjuku HC will be starting Alpha training.
   

Yup so that's it right now.

Prayer Stuff #1

So I think I shall make this a slightly more regular posting with a very specific focus on events and happenings in my little area of Japan. And I'm guessing not everyone knows the entire background on all the stuff, but it's a bit too hard to recap everything, so if any questions, please ask in the comments or on the tagboard.

Anyway, on to prayer stuff.

1. Coco's Coffee Hour with Steve on Tuesday mornings has started up again since Steve got back, and he's started to do some simple Bible passage studies during and after lunch. Pray that this will continue to develop, so that it might become like the Urawa English group.
2. Urawa English group, while continuing, still kinda stuck in the 'need for comprehension' phase. Pray for the Holy Spirit to work among the members to give them the understanding they need.
3. Shinjuku HC will be planning on starting up Alpha course, so just like in church, pray for wisdom for Karen (HC leader), for people to come, for people who are coming to be prepared by the Holy Spirit, and for finance management. Last point is because Karen's church in Singapore (Wesley Methodist I think) is supporting by giving money for food, as well as to pay for transport fees of any students who may be going.
   
4. Taira-san from the Tokorozawa HC (and occasionally Shinagawa Kai) still feels sort of bummed out about life in general. Pray that he might find joy in life, and in searching for God.
   
5. May have Kids' Club on Friday.

So that's about it right now, update more later.

Back in Japan

So I've been back in Japan for just over a week, and I'm happy to note that I have not forgotten quite as much Japanese as I thought I had, which is quite funny, since the first week or so back, I just could not get the Japanese-ness I had picked up out of me.

Like on a train, if I bumped into someone, or was trying to get further in the carriage, I would say 'sumimasen'. Or if I was at a food stall, trying to get the attention of the auntie behind the counter, I would say 'sumimasen', which is completely normal in Tokyo, but somewhat less common in Singapore.

At any rate, by the 2nd week I was in Singapore, I realized I had started to forget my Japanese, but on hindsight, I guess it was kinda like getting put into the storage area, instead of the common use area of my brain.

So the weather is ridiculously hot now. Still not the worse (I think that comes in August) but pretty close, and the humidity is pretty high too. Yeah, it's about 35 degrees about now, though it looks like s storm will be in for the whole of next week, which should cool things down a bit.

On the way in, there was one thing that I was really thankful for. See usually, when you take a flight, as the plane ascends or descends, pressure will build up in your ears. And you can usually alleviate the pressure by yawning or swallowing. Unfortunately for me, the past 4 or 5 flights I've taken, I've always had problems 'popping' my ears on the descent. Which usually leaves me with a dull pain in my ear for about half an hour after I disembark.

But this time round, I'm not sure why, but the pressure never got to build up fully. I guess I can thank God that this time round, He helped me through that little bit. (It might seem little, but it really irritates me when it happens).

I also went to a summer festival last Sunday at Hana-Koganei. While there, I managed to meet up with the Komai family (they live at Hana-Koganei) and talked to them for a bit.

Miru Komai. Last I remembered, she didn't like taking pictures, but maybe that's cos the other person was using a DSLR and I was using a titchy little IXUS.

Couple of prayer pointers, in case you don't get access to MW from my church:

1. T from Tokorozawa HC, has a new project and now must commute further to work everyday. He says he finds it hard to be enthusiastic about work, and finds daily living tedious. Pray that God will grant him joy in life.
2. LW formerly of Intercross, he went back to China to be with his father. His father's cancer has spread and it's taking it's toll not just on him but also his family. Keep them in prayer.

Ok that's about all I have for now. I really should get down to doing my assignments for my CMS course, but inertia is such a difficult thing to get over...

Cheerio!