Hello, all you wonderful people out there! It's been long due for a YWAM Sendai update, so let's jump right in:
It's been a crazy 2020 so far! Been busy with ministry, visiting teams, and my own personal writing project for the past month. I mentioned back in December how our team is doing more outreaches into the red light district, Kokubuncho, and that I've been feeling more at peace there. Well, Chrissy, who's been leading our time in Kokubuncho, decided the time is right to increase our presence and directness by actively visiting the various restaurants and bars (using discernment and wisdom of course!), and talking to the patrons and employees inside, getting to know them personally and sharing the love of Christ.
Basically, this is our current plan: three of us go out and look for a suitable place to grab a cheap eat (not the hostess bars, which I don't think I need to explain why) and engage in conversation with the servers, owners and customers that God leads us to talk to; learning more about themselves and share the Gospel with them. The other two not going out will stay in the park and intercede on everyone's behalf, praying for wisdom, safety, and opportunity to talk about Christ. Over a week ago, we tried out this method for the first time, and it went as follows:
Last week, after praying for a safe and fulfilling night, I went with Naoko, one of our base leaders, and Chrissy to Kokubuncho, while Janet and Faith stayed behind to pray. We searched high and low to see where God wanted us to check out, and, much to my surprise, there were lots of charming little restaurants and shops hiding here and there among the bright hotels and neon lights. There was a small dart bar, with a friendly bartender who invited us to visit anytime, a humble but pleasant looking brewery, which reminded me of the local Portland spots, and a cute little grocery, in which we got to talk to a girl from Vietnam, who baked fresh bread everyday! It's funny how when you change your attitude from being, "This place is full of evil and wickedness!" to "Let's just check things out and see what we find," it realy takes a load off one's back. There were other places that gave off a bad vibe, so we didn't patronize them. Do keep in mind that there are indeed unsavory businesses there, but God showed me that there can be bits of gold within all the dirt. We just need to go digging and let the Holy Spirit lead. Speaking of which:
The last place we went to was a yakitori izakaya. An izakaya is a type of Japanese pub, which serves (sometimes) cheap beer and food, which is very popular with salary employees after work, and yakitori are pieces of grilled chicken on a stick. Tasty. Chrissy felt led to go into one izakaya in particular, which was a welcome sight considering the freezing cold. In there, we talked to the friendly bartender, while eating some fried onigiri (rice balls). A man sitting next to me at the bar, who I'll refer to as Hiroto-San for confidentiality, surprisingly started conversing with us, asking where we're from and what we're doing in Japan. After introducing ourselves, Hiroto-San told that he's a paramedic from Osaka, which is a big city far south from us, and was in Sendai to attend a paramedic conference. In fact, that night was his last night here, since he was flying home the next day, so it's a miracle we even met him! He also explained that he used to be a firefighter and even was dispatched to the Tohoku region after the 2011 earthquake. Here's me, Hiroto-San, and another gentleman from Hokkaido who only talked with us for a bit:
After he paid for our food (seriously, what a sweet guy!), we prayed for him, his job, and his family back in Osaka, gave him a bible tract, and exchanged contact information before heading out ourselves. Please pray that he reaches out to us or to a local Osaka church and seeks salvation with the Lord! Amen!
And speaking of prayer requests, I'll briefly go over a few more: a team from YWAM Taipai, Taiwan is visiting us this week, in which they'll be teaching us some team building exercises. With the new year here, our team is rearing up to embrace new ministries and opportunities, so our teamwork needs to be tight and unbreakable. Please pray that this week will be fruitful, and we'll all come out of it stronger and wiser.
On the weekend of March 6th, there's a writers group consisting of various missionaries from all over Japan, such as YWAM, OMF, etc, that are hosting and running a writers feedback seminar. I would love to go, considering I'm writing a story in which I hope to make into a ministry comic for the Japanese, and meeting other missionary writers would be invaluable to my mission in this country. It's about $50 for the weekend, not including transportation fees, so please pray I receive the money needed for this exciting weekend.
Thank you all so much for your continued prayers and support for myself, my team, and all of Japan! God bless and keep every one of you! Amen!
Colossians 1:3-6
"We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all God’s people— the faith and love that spring from the hope stored up for you in heaven and about which you have already heard in the true message of the gospel that has come to you. In the same way, the gospel is bearing fruit and growing throughout the whole world—just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and truly understood God’s grace."
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