Remembering Where My Strength Comes From

This week consisted of going out to eat with people, going to Kobe for no apparent reason, and talking with a lot of people. It was a week filled with thinking, losing concentration, and doing a lot of work. Despite the craziness of life in Japan, I am enjoying being here. Though lately, I have been dreaming about people back home being in Japan or me being back home, but other than that I want to be able to think that this is my new home (not that I don’t miss home, I do :P). 

I can definitely understand the difference between working at a church full-time compared to just being a member. God has been constantly teaching me about humility and challenging me to do things that I am not confident at or just not comfortable with. It is scary, tiring, and even frustrating at times, but only when I take my eyes and thoughts off of God. I understand the importance of the Word and how much I need God and his grace.

It is Passion Week, but it doesn’t feel like it here… Unfortunately they don’t do too much here during Good Friday, different from back home, but that shouldn’t be an excuse for me to not do anything or not remember what he has done for all of us. On Easter, we will be having a Special Praise and Prayer time after the service and I get to play guitar during that time (Finally! They have been making me play drums and bass more and more lately… I have only played guitar maybe 2-3 times…) and I am grateful for a chance to be a part of something so special and be in worship (which I love to do).

Sorry, but today I am being lazy and not writing as much… I will instead post some pictures  :P

P.S. Maybe I will start working on a song today...?  :)

Enjoying The Moment

Helllooo~

This past week was the Jesus Soldier’s break. What did I do? I went to Korea. I have to admit that at first I really didn’t want to go… I didn’t want to move around so much and visit family members that I have never met before all week…however, I believe on a Tuesday night subway ride back home, for some reason decided to pull out a book that Rebekah gave me before I came to Japan; the book is called Chasing Daylight by Erwin McManus (pastor of Mosaic in LA). I don’t know why I pulled it out, or why I even bothered reading out of all things, because I was so tired and so irritated because I wanted to go back to Japan. I felt like I was at home again being nagged by my parents and them making me do stuff that was in their schedule didn't make me enjoy my time in Korea at all. I was afraid that I would feel this way the rest of the week, which would have been disastrous! But I did, and I am really glad I did.

Here is a part from the book that made me enjoy the rest of the time in Korea and probably in Japan too!

           

“The most important moments rarely come at a convenient time. Sometimes you wish that God would check your calendar first. The ironic part is that our schedules get packed with the mundane and ordinary, and we become irritated with God when He interrupts us with the miraculous and extraordinary. The Scriptures are full of stories about people who were rudely interrupted by God. We read them and long to have the kind of adventure experienced by those men and women. Yet when God interrupts us, are we willing to respond on a moment’s notice?”

Before I read this part, I was thinking and complaining to God saying, “This is my break, why do I have to go around doing things that’ll take so much energy out of me when I could be sleeping or resting somewhere else?!” So when I read this part of the book, I felt like God was telling me that it was up to me how I want to spend my time here. I could complain the whole time and hate my stay in Korea or I can enjoy the moment now and have good memories that will last a long time. Indeed I enjoyed my stay, though there was a lot of running around here and there, but it was good to see family that I have never seen before. All but one family from my dad’s side lives in Korea and all of my mom’s side lives in Korea (whom I have never met till now, and I didn’t even get to see all them either…). It has been a good time of seeing the importance of family and seeing where my roots were from.

I know that I didn't much ministry or anything this week, but I think it was a good time for me to appreciate each and every moment that comes my way. It was great seeing my parents for that short while and to know that so many people are supporting me and pushing me forward. This recharge was necessary for me and as hard and tough it might get in these next months, I know that I have the support and love from many people and that God will give me strength for each new day. 

Here are some pictures:

P.S. Thank you for Video Chatting with me Rebekah! I was so happy to hear your voice and see how you are doing :) I miss you! 

P.P.S. If you all have Skype or something, please let me know! I miss you all!!

Finding My Way

Hello!

Right now, I am currently at Kansai International Airport. Why? Well, I am going to Korea for 5 days. Why? Well, I was kind of forced to because my parents are in Korea and they told me to come visit them before they go back home. How? This week is actually the Jesus Soldier’s week off and we are free to do or go wherever we want! Preferably, I would have gone to California, but I also didn’t think that I would go to Korea…so yeah! Going to the motherland. Haha…

I can’t believe it has been 2 months now since I’ve been here in Japan. Things are going well, a lot of big things going to happen soon, but at the same time, a lot of transitioning and new things going on.

Today, Mikyung 누나 (MK) finally finished her two-year term as a Jesus Soldier faithfully here at J-House! Very sad, but at the same time, she has definitely left a big/deep impact within this church and within many members and students here in Japan. I first met her in 2008. She is definitely a type of person where you feel comfortable just talking to, or even just making fun of the day you meet her. :P She is Korean but speaks Japanese and English fluently too! Very kind, funny, gentle, caring, strange at times, talented, and loves God! Her presence will be missed greatly, but I know that we will see each other again…well, actually we will meet in Korea this week (haha). I really wish her the best with everything that lies ahead of her. As this chapter closes, a new chapter begins in this story of faith and dependence on God. May God truly open doors for you MK as you faithfully trust in Him and believe that He will provide for you, no matter how crazy the situation/circumstances might be! ミキュン、おつかれさまでした！

I will see you in Korea!

So, some of you might have read on my Facebook status that “I like to get lost in Japan and find my way back.” Well, yes, it is quite true. I have no idea why I like it so much, but I guess I just want to get familiar with my new environment and surroundings. Sometimes I come across really nice/fun places and other times just really sad/disheartening places. This week, I was able to experience both sides. Here some pictures to show where I was…

I kind of had an epiphany while I got lost this past Saturday. Even though I have no idea where I am, how to read or speak Japanese well, if I didn’t take that risk of going out on my own and exploring, I never would have known about these areas that aren’t normally on those tourist guides or advertisements of Japan. I was able to experience it first hand. I think that God was showing me what He sees everyday, everywhere. Behind all the fancy lights, technology, and tourist attractions, I was able to witness what really goes on. Japan’s economy is not doing so great either (not as bad as America, but still) and to see all these small stores with old grandmas and grandpas sitting all alone hoping and waiting for someone to even look their way makes me so sad. Despite the bad economy, people still go to those brand name stores or shop for ridiculously overpriced clothes, food, and electronics. It made me realize that it isn’t just happening here in Japan, but also in America and I’m sure elsewhere too. Anyway… I don’t really know where I’m going with this… but yeah, that’s is what I have been thinking about lately.

Job 23:10 “But he knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold.”

I saw on Facebook some pictures from the iDTC Jr. and I am so excited and proud of all of you who are participating in it! I pray that your hearts will constantly be opened to learning more and more about God and also be challenged in your own faith! Don’t close yourselves but take as much as you can, you won’t regret it!!!

P.S. Their voices sooth me, but when they are worshipping, it is even better!

The Tortoise and the Hare

Hello once again!

Wow… I think this week consisted of many:

·     Oh my gosh, what time is it?!

·     What day is it?!

·     Is it really _______ already?!

·     That was this week?!

·     It’s not even 10 AM?!

·     What?! It’s 3 AM already?!!

·     “Kevin, can you do this?” (4 people talking to me at the same time)

The list goes on…

Some days I feel like the “Tortoise”, crawling slowly and getting things done in a very procrastinating manner, but there are days where I feel like the “Hare” that is going warp speed trying to do all these things at once in span of 5 minutes. I think back to this past week and I cannot believe that I did all those things/events this week. I really feel like it has been 2 months since I’ve done these things.

It’s been quite a tough, fun, slow, fast, long, tiring, enjoyable week. There were many things that I have seen that are not usually in those pictures we normally see about Japan. Like these…

Unfortunately, I didn't have my camera on me when I went through the areas where it does not look like this.... Maybe my next post I will put it up and show you all. 

This week I have been able to talk with people I don’t normally talk to as much, so that was good for me. One was a girl named Shoko (the one looking at the camera)

Shoko Hatta:

This girl is actually exactly one day younger than me. Haha. She also has a passion for worship and singing in the Gospel Choir. She is still a fairly new Christian, but indeed growing more and more. I just had a chance to talk with her (with Mimi, fluent in Japanese) and she was asking some good (but hard) questions about Christianity and God. It’s good that she is at least asking and wanting to learn more about God. There are times when she messes up, but she isn’t afraid to come back to God even after she messes up. That is what I am most impressed about her. Hopefully she can continue growing and eventually be a strong leader here at J-House!!

As I was finally starting to get used to my responsibilities here as a Jesus Soldier, I just received several more bigger responsibilities. One of them is being a “Set-up” leader/director. I did this at CUMC, but it is much harder when things are written and spoken to me in Japanese. Knowing Pastor Katsuya, he likes to do things all of a sudden a lot, so for me to be able to react quickly to that, I need to know Japanese. It is very stressful for me because I want to do a good job in it, because I know how to do it, but it is frustrating that I can’t do it comfortably and quickly as I would like to. My body is getting tired and my heart is wanting to do things better, but I have limits and I can’t do everything right all the time. I need to constantly remind myself that I will be here for 10 more months, I don’t have to do everything, I don’t have to talk to everyone before they go home on Sunday, I need to slow down. It is ironic that I need to slow down, because everything feels so slow already. I guess that is just my working mentality…

Keep praying for J-House and Japan!!