see you soon.

I thought I would give a vivid display of some of my best memories these past few weeks via pictures...

They'll call me freedom...Another unique photo from the beach in Misawa.

HILARIOUS!

My little munchkin!

STEP BY STEP CAFE IN IWATE!

The music team's last night

My last Young Life with the gang.

Two peas in a pod...

Moustache sisters!

Ninjas dressed by Yuko San from English class.

An INTENSE game of Catchphrase with Ethan from Grace Fellowship.

My little darlings!

Karaoke get together with the Thursday English class!

Tuesday English class with my wonderful ladies, Akiko and Maki at Kanagi Chapel.

Sharing a bit of God's love story at the Dazai Osamu concert.

The most kind and adorable couple, Hiroshi San and Chiyaki San who run the museum.

Cards for my English kids!

Such beautiful smiles and laughter on the faces of Mizuki and Manaka as Pat entertained during English class.

Kanagi prayer meeting with the two true GEMS, Mrs. Sakuraba and Takako San.

Farewell Party Games!

Friendship dolls!

Kana Chan... I would gladly take her home with me!

An adorable family. I won't stop praying for you!

The wonderful Jeff and Misty from Grace Fellowship.

What an encouragement it was to witness my good friend Tamami's baptism. She has been an inspiration to me and I adore her humility before the cross in all she does.

My last night at one of my favourite places, Harvest Chapel. These people are the labourers and lights in such a spiritually barren land.

Pat and my goodbye party...This is only farewell for now. . .

To my Lord, and my God...


How You love us!


How You lavish us freely. Our hearts only need to say 'yes' to You!


While the smiles and laughter were uplifting, it was the challenges, discomfort, moments of uncertainty and the struggles that have made me 'die to myself' a little more. This has been the best part of my time here. The light, joy, glory and peace I now know could never have been imagined up or dreamed of...


Lord Jesus, thank you for loving me enough to bring me here to face the demons I had hidden well within my own heart.  Thank you for knocking me off my feet by revealing to me sins I never knew I had.


Jesus, won't you lavish this sweet presence onto the people in each of these pictures, and beyond?
Jesus, won't you encourage your missionaries in the vast harvest of Japan?
Jesus, in Your name alone I place my time here and every person I got to meet.
And while my heart spills over in sadness at this sighing goodbye, I feel Your hands firm around my soul.
I feel Your passion for this nation and for the family I have found in this beautiful corner of the earth.


Thank You, Lord. . .

two weeks. sheesh.

So somehow I only have 14 days left in Japan...My mixed feelings/thoughts on this : tears, heart-break, reverse culture shock, no more of the best food ever, no more BLASTING and rockin out to Justin Bieber with Naomi in the car, an excruciating goodbye, pieces of my heart will be left here...BUT ALSO : I GET TO SEE KEVIN TEH'S SMILE IN THE FLESH SOON! hahaha...I get to be back at JGCT with a renewed vision and passion for our church, our ministries, Japanese people and PEOPLE in general. (smile) I get to be back at 'home' with my favourite, most beloved humans in the world, I get to snuggle my little puppy again (she's not a puppy), I get to hear my brothers' goofy laughs, tell all my stories to my Mom and Diddles (Dad), hug my grandparents, joyfully reunite with my friends and put into practice the lessons I have learned here... If you could, please pray for God's grace as I begin to tearfully and prayerfully place each person here in the hands of God and more intentionally 'give them up' with trust that His plan will prevail...

A snapshot of the past few weeks:

DAY OFF: We hung out on an American military base in Misawa city with our new friends who we met through other friends. We found some very interesting 'props' that someone set up with the debris that washed up after the tsunami.

Buddy took me for a walk on some uneven ground and I manage to roll my right ankle. It was mild, but the little ball that formed and ached on the side of my ankle was not comforting. The swelling has gone down a lot now and although it still feels weak, I am pretty much able to do everything quite normally! Praise God!

Here are some photos that my friend Jess took of the yummy things at the Coffee Shop. With the help of Naomi and Deena, a member of the music team, they made this very pretty piece of art that now hangs cheerfully in the cafe.

At this restaurant I got to try a HORSE BUN! It definitely was NOT my favourite, but at least I can say I have eaten horse? haha. The lady in white and her husband (not in the picture) are both seekers whose son is a Christian now. They own a Dazai Osamu (famous Japanese poet) museum and have asked me sing some songs and share about my faith at the anniversary! What an AMAZING opportunity to share God's message of Life to people in this needy community. Praise God for giving me this chance to proclaim His light and pray that He will speak through me.

A Special Young Life: We had such a blessed night of reflecting on how we have grown in Christ and what our spiritual goals are. Pray that God would continue to bless this small yet full-of-potential youth group!

We actually had our talk at this AMAZINGLY relaxing outdoor foot onsen...

I love these young people!

I got to witness Martin pray over the foundation of a church member's future home. In Japan it is common for people to pay big bucks for a priest to come and chant unknown words over their future place. How empowering it was to have Martin, a good friend of the family, pray for their home in such a loving, humble way. Without the context of the cultural practices of Japan, it would be easy to miss the beauty that our God offers when you compare it to the oftentimes impersonal practices of Buddhists and other religions. We have a great God people!

The Coffe Shop's new look. SO ADORABLE!

Last night we had our second last English class. Both Pat and I have gotten extremely attached to the people here and are dreading the 'goodbye'. Pat was able to share his powerful testimony and he even challenged/invited the students to seek God and join a small group or bible study at church! GO PAT!

This past week God has impressed on my heart to write this verse in the goodbye cards I am writing for the English students/other friends. I pray it blesses your heart too.  In Pat's testimony last night, he interestingly happened to share the same verse. He said that, no matter where you are or what demons you are facing, God REJOICES over you and can heal you...

  Zephaniah 3: 17
The Lord your God is with you,
    the Mighty Warrior who saves.
He will take great delight in you;
    in his love he will no longer rebuke you,
    but will rejoice over you with singing.”

Be blessed friends! 

He's singing over me...

Sadly, the music team already left earlier this morning...We have been so busy this past week that I haven't actually had enough time to post about them while they were in Itayanagi! Some of the events they ran: concerts at our churches and public schools in the area, Canada Night Pizza Party, Young Life and the 10th Anniversary for Iris Cafe... They also helped immensely with tons of painting/re-arranging the coffee shop/bookstore for the 10th Anniversary Celebration.

The beautiful group!

   

Kirstie running one of the many stations for the local children at one of our "Canada Day Concert Events". Other stations included a relay, a rhythm station with home-made shakers, floor hockey and arts and crafts.

It was very special to have the music team here for Ashikawa San's (a member of Harvest Chapel) baptism! They made it memorable with their beautiful music.

Some of the music team members got to combine forces with some Young Lifers and play the opening set of worship songs at a special Youth Live event at another church. These members also got to be inspired by Takeshi's astounding band from Joyful Chapel in Aomori City who did the main music set at the end.

DAY OFF: Naomi's dream got to come true when she jumped into the freezing cold ocean with Keith, Jo and Pat! What troopers!

There is seriously NOTHING like fresh, barbequed squid with mayo at the side of the ocean!

On a more serious note: Ruth had the opportunity to take the team, as well as myself to a local shrine that is dedicated to children who have died. It was seriously one of the most heart-wrenching and disturbing things I have experienced in my life. When a child dies, according to Buddhist custom, the parents will buy a Bride or Groom doll for their son or daughter, to display what they would have wanted for their child if they had lived to adulthood. Inside the glass shrine they place objects, in hopes that their son or daughter would be able to enjoy them in the afterlife. What astonished us was the patterns in the objects we observed. Most of the shrines included food, drinks and toys. Some also included things like beer and small sports cars. It made our hearts break to see how superficial and empty the objects were. This shrine displays a little girl who had died. You can see next to the picture the side of an Asahi beer can. What a harsh contrast...

In this picture are clay dolls dedicated to loved ones who have died. All of the dolls are dressed up, because Japanese people believe that the demons in the various levels of hell will rip and tear at their clothes as they desperately struggle for heaven. It was absolutely chilling being in the presence of hundreds of dead statues staring back at you with stone eyes. Between the overpowering smell of incense and the presence of hundreds of idols, I began to feel nauseous. Yet, I am so glad I got to experience this with a group of fellow believers because we brought the Holy Spirit into a place of tragedy and emptiness...

With the help of the music team, our English students got to perform the special songs we have been teaching them for their moms which made me feel so warm in my heart. They all did AMAZING!

Children and youth enjoying the music team's final concert last night at Harvest Chapel. Their concerts were amazing because they got everyone, young and old, on their feet jumping, shouting and singing their hearts out! What an uplifting time.

Late/last night RAMEN RUN at 11:30 pm! HAHA.

IT'S AARON GHENT! He has returned from Moody in Chicago with a lot of enthusiasm and positive vibes. Everyone is delighted to have him back!

After Ramen, jamming and some late night adventures we were determined to stay up till 3-4am and watch the sunrise on the roof. WE DID IT, athough it was a bit cloudy, so the sunrise wasn't the most epic...It was still beautiful to be up there!

 

This morning we (Ruth, Naomi, Pat, Tomomi and I) said a very tearful goodbye to our now beloved new friends at the train station. What made it painful for me was knowing that in three weeks it will be my turn to say goodbye. But for now I am still here, celebrating life, basking in His glory and being fully present, fully alive. For today is God's will for me and I want to live it well.