God Has Been..

Good, wonderful, scary, humorous, loving, jealous, impractical, undeniable, pushy, challenging me, quiet, loud, wanting attention, showing his favor, giving opportunities, confusing, irritating, and just. These are some of the things that I have been feeling this past week and it has certainly been a rollercoaster of emotions.

I don’t know where to start or what to really say, but here are some of the highlights of this past week:

GOSPEL CONCERT:

The Gospel Academy held a concert at J-House and it was really good! God has truly used this group in a way (strange way for me) to reach out to non-Christians. I believe less than 15% of the Gospel Academy students are actually Christians (weird huh?) and through the love of Gospel music, they leaders teach them about God and the message of the gospel! Many people showed up and seemed interested in coming out to J-House also! Praise God. I was doing PA for the concert and it felt like I was standing for several hours straight (maybe I was?). From the time they practiced at 9:00AM till 5:00 PM.

SAME DAY, DINNER WITH WATARU (GAIDAI STUDENT):

So right after the Gospel concert, I had a dinner meeting with one student that I personally saw as a person who is open and has potential in becoming a Christian. The night started off just with the usual small talk and catching up on what he has been doing during his summer break. After dinner we went to some café and that’s when I really knew God was giving me a chance to talk about the gospel and my testimony. He brought up why I wasn't “like the other Christians he has met,” so I asked him what he meant by that. He replied that I wasn’t trying to force him to believe from the get-go and instead just wanted to get to know him first. Which was true, I just felt like he was the type of person to really be approached by many Christian missionaries or people and they would try really hard to evangelize to him. He is a really friendly and open guy (which is why people feel comfortable to approach him and really reach out to him). I just felt like I needed to let this kind of opportunity to come to me naturally, and it did. Praise God, now he wants to come out to our Big Waves and just learn more about Christianity.

OSAKA CASTLE W/ KYEON "DANIEL":

So Jonie and Jenny's friend from Chicago (CFC) came to visit for a couple of days and me and Kyle took him around Osaka Castle! It was actually a really cool (both temperature and yeah... haha) day. Some of the nicer quality pictures are credited to Daniel! It made me want to have a DSLR even more! haha... Hope your journey and heart for the North Koreans will grow more and more! Thanks for coming and hanging out with us at J-House!

BIG WAVE (SASAKI GIVING THE MESSAGE):

It was really encouraging to see someone that I am currently taking care of give a message of the things that he has been learning recently. He talked about confidence and that is something he has been truly working on and it was good to see him look confident giving his message. Stay strong brother! You are God’s beloved son, no one can tell you anything that can or ever will change God’s love for you!

SATURDAY NIGHT FELLOWSHIP:

We went to this place called the Riverside Beer Garden (yes, there was a river and a garden, no, we didn’t drink beer). It was a good time of fellowship with a couple of J-House members + 1 friend. It’s just nice spending time with brothers and sisters of Christ. Good food, good people, good times.

So I have a message that I have to do October 8^th and so I really want to prepare well for that. I have something I want to talk about, but right now it is all crazy and all over the place, so I need to refine it and pray pray pray! Also, schools will be starting this week! So please pray that things can transition smoothly after not going to campuses for a while.


I thought this was funny (this is on a place where people write their prayers out in Osaka Castle):

J-House Squad

Yes, the title sounds cheesy, but listen. I was thinking of a word that meant a “small army” so when I looked up the word “squad” this came up,

Squad |skwäd|

Noun [treated as sing. or pl. ]

A small group of people having a particular task: a reconnaissance squad.

J-House's squad has a particular task also, it is the Great Commission and the Golden Rule! We are doing this as faithfully as we can and so far this year, things have been going alright! So as I was reading this and thinking about what happened during this week, I was reminded of Gideon when he fought against the Midianites (Judges 7). God used such a small group to fight against such a massive enemy, but God was with them and helped them achieve victory. Though there aren’t too many people within J-House compared to churches in America or just mega-churches in general, God is still alive and still working within this church and has been for the past 11 years!! This past Sunday was J-House’s 11^th Anniversary and I am truly glad to be a part of this church’s history. The changes I’ve seen from 2006, 2008, 2006 and even 2010 were all to strengthen and improve on what they have done and to continue pressing forward.

This has been one very long week…not that it was bad, but it just felt like things that happened this week happened months ago! There are also a lot of things that are coming up in this new season. Schools will be starting their second semester soon, 3 new Jesus Soldiers to come, more responsibilities, and many more blessings and challenges that lie ahead. I have certainly been blessed so much, but at the same time struggle to remember all those blessings when things seem routine or difficult.

Please continue to pray that more and more people will come to know Jesus and that the ministries within J-House can continue to strive and mature! I also have to do a 15-20 minute message on October 8^th during Big Wave, I have no idea what the topic will be on, but I just found out yesterday, so yeah, please please pray for that!! I wish I could remember every single detail and every single event that happened this week, but it has been pretty hectic inside my mind right now thinking of all the things I have to do. I need all the support and prayer I can get. Also, this month has been kind of tough financially; for the first time this year I have had to really watch my finances, which is really strange because I really don’t remember using much or even going out much. I know God will provide and I trust Him but there will always the human side of me always worrying about practical things like this. I also have this annoying sty on my left eye.

Anyway, I thank everyone who read this faithfully or every once in a while, and I hope this can encourage people in some way shape or form.

(Pastor Taro and his wife speaking for our 11th Anniversary! He is a big Samoan guy and his wife is Japanese)

Here is a video our Cell Group (RHINO!) made for our performance! It's just some things we do here at J-House!!

(I didn't get hurt, really, I promise! :P)

P.S. I suddenly miss In ‘n Out, Del Taco, and Jack-in-the-Box. Things that I ate so often back home and kind of got tired of, but suddenly miss. :P

Reflection

(All credit to Fred Paik with this amazingly beautiful picture! This is in LA, yes, LA.)

Now I see~

If I wear a mask

I can fool the world

But I cannot fool

My heart~

Who~ is that girl I see-- oops!  D:

Sorry I just got into singing that song…however, it is pretty true how put on a mask and walk around this world as if it was a masquerade.  The only one who can see right through that mask is God himself. Sometimes we can even fool ourselves, but our heart knows that we are fooling ourselves, and everything is so transparent to God there is really no point in hiding our feelings and such from him.  

Lately I have been reflecting upon how I value myself. This came about when I heard Pastor Katsuya talking about relationships (in general as well as romantic) during Big Wave and he said “if people know how to value themselves, they will value others in the same way.” This is what I have been thinking about and I have somewhat of an answer, but I am still collecting my thoughts and re-reading different kinds of encouragements people have given me and such. I still have a hard time believing some of the things they say, but if more than one person say the same thing, I guess that means it’s likely that I am like what they say? Hmm…

I also met a singer named Alfie Silas and her husband/manager Mike Silas. She has a pretty nice resume singing/touring with a bunch of famous people. She is actually participating in an event called Franklin Graham Festival this October, and a couple of Jesus Soldiers and I had a chance to meet with her and have lunch at Kitahama International Bible Church. She is from San Fernando Valley, CA! I was super encouraged by her and hearing her awesome testimonies; things you don't normally hear about certain entertainers. Her and her husband are solid Christians and it is good to know that there are people who are strong Christians in the entertainment business! I hope the best for her and her family! 

Things will start getting busy again and three more Jesus Soldiers will be coming too! Excited to work with them and kind of different, not really, to have Jenny finish her Jesus Soldier term too. (ARE YOU READING THIS?! Lol) She will be back, so whatever, I know you will miss me. Hahaha. But yeah, thanks for serving for one year here! All the seeds you planted, we will try our best to water them and tend to them!

Anyway, please keep praying for me for I need as much prayer as I can get! Pray that the things J-House does (ministry, evangelism, discipleship) can happen at any given time and place. Pray that I won’t feel a sense of loneliness, but to see it as a time where I can get closer to God. Also, there are many different temptations in Japan and just being alone can really mess up the flow of God within me (laziness, doing things half-heartedly, lust, etc.). Many many things to pray about, but yeah, I need God’s strength, not my own. I want to be more reflective in the things I think about and experience!

(I cut my hair! D:) 

We went to a morning prayer with a bunch of pastors, salvation army, etc. and we sang a song (イエスのように There is none like you) and we had to dress formally and stuff. It was awesome to be a part of that and see so many come together, but I am not gonna lie, it was hard to get up. 

How He Loves Us

This is something that I knew from the first time I came to Japan, but I was once again reminded; reminded of the love God has for this his people here in Japan as well as me. There were so many instances where I couldn’t think anything besides “God loves them” or “God loves me”. Love comes in the form of many ways, shapes, or forms, some more pleasant than others, but it is still “their form” of affection/love.

So what triggered this thought? Well, J-House has made this month of September a month of prayer, and so I decided to take this a bit earnestly and also fast on certain days during dinner or lunchtime. This past week, I fasted and prayed during Saturday night and went off walking in the streets of Osaka for about an hour doing a prayer walk, then ended up somewhere not knowing what direction or what my surroundings even were. I just walked and prayed. I ended up back in Temmabashi (天満橋) and encountered a beautiful, cool (both temperature and looks), and quiet place near the riverside. I just had a good time reading my Bible there and praying for random people and especially things that have been on my mind for a while. Luckily, this time around, I brought my iPod with me and during my prayer time the song “How He Loves” comes on and I am suddenly drowning in God’s abundant love for me. I thought to myself how it has been a while since I have felt this way, but I honestly can feel the same way everyday. God doesn’t just appear whenever he feels like it, but he is always here! Hallelujah!

35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36 As it is written:


             "For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”

37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

During Sunday service also, we were watching a clip from Passion of the Christ, and it was the scene where Jesus was being...well, just watch the video instead.

I felt like God was telling me as I was wincing and turning away, "Kevin, don't look away. I had to watch my son go through this whole thing and I didn't once help him out. This is the love that I have for all of you and the people of Japan. Please, you must let the people around you know of what I have done for them." I didn't know how to respond... I just sat there watching this and thinking to myself... 'Thank you and I am sorry.' This is the kind of God we have. 

Who or what can really separate us from God’s love? Even if we run from it or even unaware of it, God still loves us…this is something that even if we try our best to comprehend, we still won’t understand it. That is how great his love for us is! Let us continue to remember this truth!~ Amen.

I went to Awajishima (淡路島) today with Ryo, Justin, LL, Jonie, and Kyle. Very nice day! Ocean is super blue and clean, but it was super windy. Had a good time just relaxing there during our day off. That is also why this update is kind of late (even though most of you are sleeping right now..) Didn't take too many pictures, but here is before we actually got to the beach.

(somewhere behind there is where we were at)