A New Chapter

Hello everyone! It has been over 2 weeks since I have been back home now and it's been good seeing old familiar faces as well as new ones too :) I still miss people over in J-House/Japan, but I know we can still somehow keep in touch :)

There has been so much that I have been thinking about recently and I feel like my head is going to explode. I need to find good outlets where I can just go and unleash all that's cluttered in my head. I know I did a weekly blog while I was in Japan, but debriefing and reflecting back what has happened during that week is nothing compared to reflecting back on a whole year’s worth of things! @_@

I don’t want to make this post really long, but I want to say a humongous THANK YOU to all the people who have kept up with this blog (whether you read the whole thing or just the pictures :P), THANK YOU to the people who have supported me, whether it was financially or prayerfully, and THANK YOU to all those in Japan and J-House for taking me in as a part of the family! I really miss you all and I really want to know what is going on in your lives, so please feel free to update me with anything new in your lives!

The week before I left, there was a team from Korea that came (Oryun Church 오룐 교회) and at first we (the Jesus Soldiers) thought the event they were supposed to do was going to be a Korean Party/Goodbye Party for me, but it ended up being only a Goodbye party… haha. I felt kind of bad for the people who came out, but it still turned out to be a good night. I never had anything that big for me ever in my life, so I was very very grateful (despite my lack of outward expression, I honestly do get surprised believe it or not! Haha). I am not used to getting anything that big so please excuse my inexperience of how to react when it happens.

Right now, I am still recovering from jet lag and trying to think deep about this new and upcoming chapter of my life. I really need some people to debrief and talk about what I saw, experienced, felt, etc. with someone. If anyone is willing, let me know! Haha… There are times when I feel like 2010 was just a dream and now that I am back to reality, I am back to where I left off. It’s as if I paused life, had this long amazing dream, and then woke back up. I know that is not true and I am reminded of a song that speaks against that: Casting Crowns – Voice of Truth!

“Oh what I would do to have
The kind of faith it takes 
To climb out of this boat I'm in
Onto the crashing waves

To step out of my comfort zone
Into the realm of the unknown where Jesus is
And He's holding out His hand

But the waves are calling out my name 
And they laugh at me
Reminding me of all the times
I've tried before and failed
The waves they keep on telling me
Time and time again. "Boy, you'll never win!"
"You'll never win!"

But the voice of truth tells me a different story
The voice of truth says, "Do not be afraid!"
The voice of truth says, "This is for My glory"
Out of all the voices calling out to me
I will choose to listen and believe the voice of truth

Oh what I would do to have
The kind of strength it takes to stand before a giant
With just a sling and a stone
Surrounded by the sound of a thousand warriors
Shaking in their armor
Wishing they'd have had the strength to stand

But the giant's calling out my name 
And he laughs at me
Reminding me of all the times 
I've tried before and failed
The giant keeps on telling me
Time and time again. "Boy you'll never win!"
"You'll never win!"

But the stone was just the right size
To put the giant on the ground
And the waves they don't seem so high
From on top of them lookin' down
I will soar with the wings of eagles
When I stop and listen to the sound of Jesus
Singing over me

I will choose to listen and believe the voice of truth”

Please continue to pray that I can transition back to home life and that I will always remember that “He will bless those who fear the LORD—small and great alike.” [Psalm 115:13] <--my verse of the year.

Thank you once again! I love you all! Blessings!~

...Back Home...

P.S. If you have any pictures with me or of my last week there, please either email it to me or put it on my facebook so I can see!!! 本当にありがとうございます！日本とJ-Houseぜったい わすれない!

Running Out Of Time

This week was actually our Jesus Soldier break, but it was filled with meeting people and preparing my 2 messages.

Though this week was our break, if I look at it in a selfish way, I felt like I was still doing ministry, but if I look at it in a different perspective, it was well worth the time and energy. Instead of seeing this time as ministry time, I decided to see it as an opportunity to spend my last moments with these wonderful people (both J-House and non-J-House members). I am exhausted now, but I enjoyed each moment that I had this past week. I was able to have a really really nice dinner with Jesus Soldiers and some J-House members after picking up Sarah from the airport. Then Tuesday was my day to do as much as I could on my messages (which I failed, I did complete a lot, but not nearly as much as I wanted), and Wednesday I was able to go to Wakayama with Sasaki and enjoy nature and a really nice onsen (hot spring)! Thursday I went to go play basketball with Coushin and Sam, and by Friday, I was exhausted.

Yeah, I could go on and on, but lets just say that I had a great time and trying to soak everything in a span of a week is really draining. I kind of got sick also during Friday and Saturday making me worry about if I would have a voice to even speak on Sunday (which I did, praise God)! I believe that the two people that I had to speak with were really of God. (We have two speakers each with 20 minutes, so first service and second service I had to speak plus another person after or before me.) What we both spoke about seemed to either relate to one another or really cover for the weak points in my message and vice versa. There might be a video of my message later, but if not then lets just say that I am relieved that it’s all over. Haha…

Today I had to say goodbye to some people that won’t be able to come out to J-House this week. It is always hard to say bye, but I feel like I will really see them before Heaven (or at least I really really hope!). I am running out of time to just meet with people and talk with them too, but trying my best to fit as much people as I can into the already tight schedule that I have.

I can’t believe it’s almost over… I am getting sad writing this so I will stop…plus I am pretty exhausted now so I will write my last update later this week maybe when I am in Korea on the way back home. If not, this will be my last official update in Japan! Thank you everyone for following me through this yearlong journey and interceding, supporting, and encouraging me! Thank you for the love and support!!