The Pursuit of Perfection

Its a compliment - really. The fat rich man, a common japanese card game, clearly portrays the culture here. This game is played with 4 or more people, and all the cards in the deck are dealt. The goal of the game is to get rid of all the cards in your hand. At the beginning, the person with the 3 of spades (3's are the lowest card) starts. He will lay down a single 3, or a pair of 3's, or if he has it, three 3's. Then going in clockwise order, the next player must lay down a higher card than the one on the table. So if a single 3 was laid down, the next person would lay down a single 4 or higher, a pair of 3's, a pair of 4's or higher, ect. If you cannot play a card (either you do not have a high enough card or the right number of cards) you say "pass." Once everyone "passes," the person who laid down the highest card then starts the entire process again. It is a game of strategy, between laying down the right cards at the right time. The first person to get rid of all of their cards by this process becomes "The fat rich man." The rest battle it out for second, third, and fourth.

Now here is the catch - The "rich fat man" will take the head of the table, and everyone will sit in order of their position. Then, after the cards are dealt, the rich fat man will take the highest 2 cards of the person in fourth place, giving them their 2 lowest cards, and the second place person will take the third person's highest card, giving them their lowest card.

This is the mentality the Japanese are born into. Those who rise to power stay in power, and those who aren't "good enough" are continually bashed into the ground. This is in all aspects of life - from academics to sports. For these reasons, the japanese students push themselves beyond all reasons. Their entire worth in life is how they can succeed, how much money they can get. But the pursuit of perfection can have drastic ends.

Japan has the highest suicide for any nation in the world. Business men who do not get the job, students who do not make it into a select school, or even those who get trampled in the rush for success all decide there is nothing more to live for. They become jumpers - throwing themselves in front of the fast moving trains. And the saddest part of all is the way the Japanese view this. The loss of a life is not disheartening to them. No, they are now late to work. There is an inconvenience. They are more worried about the stopped train system than the stop of someone's existence.

We come with a message of Hope.

Jesus.

Continue to pray as we make contacts here. I have a new contact thanks to the CBU Music team - Y. He is struggling between choosing Buddhism and Christianity. Pray God will use me to reach him for the glory of Christ.

Cilantro

I finally found meat. Because of the expensive food costs in Japan, we normally have to eat one meal a day from the cave (the place we stay). Because of some really delicious and expensive meals, we may go for a few days packing sandwiches and such. I bought what I thought was ground beef for some hamburgers, but I’m not sure what kind of meat it actually is. Maybe ground pork? None the less, the price was right, 105 yen for 100 grams. But the chicken breasts, well, not sure of that, but it was chicken, cooked nicely.

One of my other food adventures was to find the ingredients for the world famous dish, guacamole. I went to 3 different stores before I found the cheapest and best quality avocados I could find (128 yen), some, not many tomatoes (138 yen), white onions, for there are no onions on the island so it seems (198 yen), and the hardest ingredient to find, cilantro. In previous weeks I had found the garlic powder, the salt, the pepper, but nowhere could I find my precious cilantro.

I was at a speciality food store I had stumbled upon on a different trek, and thought I had seen cilantro there before. But this time, there was none anywhere. After a through search, I began to attempt communication with one of the employees, to no avail. Laugh if you must, but next time you play sharades, I want to see how you act out “cilantro.” But thankfully, there was a local who spoke wonderful English to help me. She translated for me, as we soon found out they only receive one packet of cilantro a day, and even helped me call another store close to my station to see if they would have it. This whole process took over 10 minutes, and after she finished on the phone and had bought a few things, offered to walk with me as far as her path home would take her.

She was a single mother who had a son about my age. She lived in LA for 5 years, but later came back to Tokyo. Once finding out my purpose in Japan, she was very respectful and open to conversing about religion. Shinto is her religion, and she believes because her family before her also believed. The walk was short, and we were not able to get far into the conversation. She was a very polite and nice woman, and I hope I will be able to meet her again to talk about the differences in our religions. I pray that through the adventure for finding a simple food, the Lord will continue to bring more to Himself.

Japan Video Update 1

double click for better viewing

Chronicles of the First

We serve a huge God. A God not built by human hands, a God who loves us, and a God who has sent us out to share His love. Here are the stories from Day 1 of being on our (my teams) part of the field. Acts 3:12 "Men of Israel, why does this surprise you? Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk?” May God always receive the glory. [and im having an AWESOME and FUN time here!!]

My first real day. Well, as in doing what I will be doing for the rest of the summer. We are all split into our teams of 3 (until the HS inters arrive), and today was Amanda, our student leader, day off. So Melanie and I get to hop the trains from Shibuya to our mission site at Tachikawa. It was a really good trip, even if we caught the slow metro. While in line at Shibuya, I looked behind us, and there was a girl who was looking at a folded piece of paper, and I saw english words on it. Perfect!

I was able to ask her if she was studying English, and thus start the conversation. She was going to school 7 days a week only for English. Even though she has only been learning for 3 months, her comprehension and her ability to understand was astonishing. Melanie was able to give the girl her contact information. We then eventually made it to the right station to meet our missionaries, Julia and Martin. They are an older couple who have lived in the area for 8 months, and they are amazing! We distributed Hope packets, which they could mail in for a free DVD about Christianity (which is very cool movie indeed). We then rode the tram across the town (45 minutes round trip) to pray for the city and the people. On the way back, a young Japanese guy sat by me, and we engaged in conversation. He knew nothing of Christianity, but was so interested. Even to the point where I brought out the books of Luke and Acts in English and Kongi, he excitedly said “Is that the Bible?” I was able to get his information, and left him with a Hope tract that he could fill out to send in for a Hope DVD. I was so happy for what God had done! After an awesome lunch and exploration of the station, we began 5 minute English.

This is where we hold signs which say 5 minute English, written in Kongi and English, so the Japanese can read it. We also put it is free. So we stand there, asking people who walk by if they would like to practice their English. It took awhile, for the Japanese are a shy people, but I had 3 conversations while we were doing it. First girl was flirting with me. Or so Melanie claimed. But she received a Hope track from me, so ha. I win.

The second person I talked to was an older gentlemen, who after reading the sign, asked me for the number of the university so he could become a teacher there. I explained to him how we were not from the university, but how there were 20 of us college kids around Tokyo, who were all Christian, who wanted to make Japanese friends and share our faith (the word religion is more commonly understood there, so I use it more) with the people we meet. He was a religious Buddhist who was going to a cleansing ceremony tonight, but was greatly interested in talking to be about the differences of our faith. I throughly explained to him how we would have a discussion, and not a debate. He gave me his number, and I hope to meet with him on Sunday! Pray for the conversation!

The third person I met was the best. He was a student in America for a year, and loved to practice his English. But as the conversation turned to why I was here, and eventually to Christ, this man was a clean slate. No religion, because he was too busy. Then we began to talk about why we work - to get more money. To buy things that in the end, do not make us happy. To re-cap the entire conversation would be next to impossible. But we spoke of many topics of Christianity, and I was able to give him a Hope tract (I hope to bring him a hard copy of the DVD when I go to meet him) and I gave him the gospel of John in his own language. After I had spoken of Jesus for a while, he said he has seen “The Passion.” Thank you Lord. I told him how the story was real. And he could hardly take it in. I hope to meet with him sometime soon, I have his information, and he will text or call me. Pray for him and the conversations we will have in the future!

Pray for what has already happened, what is happening, and what is to come. From ancient work to predestined appointments, God is amazing.

The Adventure

As many great men have said before me, the adventure is not in the destination, but the journey. How true a statement in our faith! Even in the most practical ways. I spent all day yesterday traveling to the mission field in Tokyo, Japan. But it was not without its bumps and glitches.

First, my plane from Minneapolis to Tokyo, which was a 12 hour flight, was delayed 4 hours on the ground. Why you might ask? Because of "a strip of aerodynamic rubber" had come loose. But this too was a blessing. The Chinese girl next to me was a believer, and she needed truth spoken into her life concerning how Jesus spoke and lived out forgiveness. Even one of the airplane stewardess was a believer who had lived in Japan for a time. I met a group of 7 Americans who were on their way to China to watch children as their parents learned more about the gospel. Would I ever see them again? Most likely not. All I could do was assure them I would see them on the other side. What an awesome day it will be.

After getting through customs (and the 4 hour delay), there were no more buses going to Shibuya, but there was a train leaving in less than 10 minutes. I had to run to a phone, let my supervisor know I landed and I was taking the last train to the station. Run down a couple flights of stairs, have a wonderful Japanese woman at the ticket machine to quickly get my ticket to the destination, run to my cart, and step inside with 15 seconds to spare before we took off. And I had no idea where or when we were going to get to Shibuya!

But our God provides. There was a young Japanese woman who came on the train right after I got on, and was sitting in the row directly across to me. She was kind enough to talk to me, and after telling me she was getting off at Shibuya too, would help me out. Then we had a purposeful conversation. She was kind enough to help me, so I wanted to know more about her. We ended up talking for around an hour, and I was able to infuse Christ into the conversation at certain points. She knew why I was here and my purpose for doing so. She is a newly graduated nurse who works no more than 10 minutes away form where we are stationed, and used the train station every day. I do not have my field phone yet, but she took down my information, and I cannot wait to bring one of the girls I'm working with to meet her again! She knows a little of the faith, but I cannot wait to see what God has in store! She was the man of peace (more so the woman of peace) for me in the time I needed it most. I praise God for what He is already doing! Even before I am moved in, God has placed opportunities and people before me. O how the journey is the adventure.

Heartbeat

Well. What a heck of a summer. I just got back from the Canaries, Portugal, and Spain with One Voice, and tomorrow I am leaving for Japan. It is still not real to me yet.

While in Europe, God did several small things to remind me of his sovereignty. To remind me of how great He is and how small I am. Every concert we sang at was amazing. It just clicked. I have never been so humbled or blessed through singing in my entire life. The people poured their hearts out to us as they told us how beautiful we sang...in a language I could barley understand. All I could do as to reflect all glory and praise to the maker of my song.

We did one concert for a gathering of all english speaking churches in the area (somewhere in Portugal). Crosby, our director, asked during the semester if anyone would like to give their testimony during the concert - he needed two people. We had one girl commit to giving hers, but I did not think about this again until one day before the concert. On a whim I remembered about it, and ask Crosby if he still needed someone to speak. So here we are at the concert. Do I really know what I'm going to say? Are you kidding me? Of course I don't!

As it is time for my testimony, they put up a slide with my name and all my information. It was so fancy I was surprised and got to joke about it with the people. But then I began to speak about what God had been showing me this entire trip - His glory. From the creation of the mountains and the beaches, to the sunrises and the sunsets, it was evident how God was reveling Himself through that which He created. And it was not only in the mountains we see God, but also through the little children at the orphanages. Even in them we see part of our God. No matter where we go on this earth, God is truly all around us. Especially in the form of the church body. Throughout history, no matter what time or place, there has always been a remnant left. God has continually up kept the church. He has kept His church. And the beauty of this is how we are not expected to carry the survival of the church on our backs. We are not called to save people. We are called to tell.

We are sowers of the seed. Paul writes I planted, Apollos watered, but God causes the growth. So what then is Paul? What then is Apollos? It is God who saves, not us. We are called to sow the seeds. We are called to be faithful. In Colossians, when Paul is finishing up the letter, he leaves certain instructions behind. He asks the church to pray for them there, so even while they are in prison, the Word would go forth. He then instructs the people in Colossae to be full of grace in their speech, and for their words to be seasoned with salt, so they would know how they should respond to each person. What an idea - to have our words seasoned with salt, so much to the point that they would yearn for living water. We dare not trust in ourselves for the advancement of the church - We trust in God.

What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, even as the Lord gave opportunity to each one.

I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth.

So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth.

These were the words God spoke through me. This is what God infused in my heart with passion. After this, we sang the rest of our songs, and sat down to hear the reading of scripture. Tears silently rolled down my face - It was 1 Corinthians 3. The very same verses I spoke of above.

How appropriate for God to infuse the same passage and message for the speaker whom I never met nor spoken to. Out of 66 books in the Bible, our library, out of 1,230 pages, out of us coming form different backgrounds and different denominations, we had the same message. We had the same heartbeat. It knows no bounds of ethnicity, of age, of location, of language, or of denomination. Its center is the same - the heartbeat of Jesus.

out loud

Talk about staying busy. I never would of thought the spring semester would of been this hard. But its all good - pressing toward what is ahead. Finals, Spain, and then finally, Japan. Lord give me strength. I really can't believe all that I will be experiencing and doing this summer. For Japan - its going to be awesome. We will be doing real mission work the entire time we are there. Our life in Japan will be the mission. As it should be in our everyday lives.

Today I had my application/interview for MLC (Ministry Leadership Council, or Major League Christian as one of my BSM guys said) and it went great! I knew all of them except for one, and it was great. Just to hear myself think out loud is a good thing.

What if we were to think out loud more often? You see, when we think to ourselves internally, we are still inside our own little world. Im still in the world of dan when I speak into the expanse of my consciousness. But what if I was to think out loud more often. What if I was to take my ideas, and instead of keeping them inside the world I create, to let them out into the real physical world.

Some ideas would be freaking amazing. Some ideas would seem plausible. And some ideas, well, lets say we would see them in a new light. Aka some ideas would be stupid. But how much better to say the idea and find it to be stupid than to live it out in the quiet of the mind. Speaking it out makes the idea more real to us.

What if this is a side benefit to sharing our faith? Now I know the main fact of why we share our faith is so that God can be glorified, so He might bring more into his fold. Salvation is for the glory of the Lord. But what if it by sharing our faith, by speaking what we believe on the inside, our faith becomes more real to us? The more we speak of what has happened inside of us, the more real it becomes. And the more real it becomes, the more we continually life it. For James 1:22 says "But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves. "

We are called to live out what has happened on the inside of us. And as for me, the more I speak about that which Christ did in me, the more it becomes real to me.