Bragging on Jesus - Answered Prayers at Keio

As Audrey and I arrived at Keio University's campus this morning, we immediately started prayerwalking. We prayed for friends we've met before and friends we'd meet today, for divine appointments, for seeds previously planted to continue growing. While praying I thanked God for His sovereignty and the way He uses our need for a drink or a bathroom break to put the right people in our path at the right time referring to the divine appointment Amy and I had at Obirin Wednesday. I asked God to do the same today - to use seemingly small things like needing to go to the bathroom as an opportunity to meet people or share the gospel. After spending some time with our beloved Takehiro and a few of his friends in the cafeteria, Audrey and I went to the bathroom on our way out to do some more prayerwalking. I shouldn't have been surprised at all when a girl walked in and immediately started talking to me in English. Turns out she's a short-term missionary here in Japan for two weeks with a volunteer team from the Philippines. They are working with a pastor from a local church who comes to Keio on Fridays and has started a leadership themed Bible study. The Bible study is being held in the small YMCA chapel on campus, the same chapel we have used three times now for our own Friendship Parties, the same chapel that has been prayed over many times by many people in just the last year and a half. Furthermore, they have connected with a Christian professor who has a common desire to see the students at Keio come to know Jesus Christ.

Praise God for:
* Answering our prayer for divine appointments anywhere including bathrooms :)
* Answering the prayers of His people for the YMCA chapel to be used on a regular basis for His glory
* Sending a team of believers from the Philippines to reach His beloved Japanese people
* Connecting us with a brother to partner with, a Christian student, and two believing faculty members

"I will extol the LORD at all times;
His praise will always be on my lips.
My soul will boast in the LORD;
let the afflicted hear and rejoice.
Glorify the LORD with me;
let us exalt His name together."
~ Psalm 34:1-3

God at work at Obirin University

Every Wednesday my roommate Amy and I go to Obirin University. Obirin's roots are Christian as can be seen clearly in it's official school symbol, yet very few of the students are actually Christians. When looking at the university's official site, I found a list of common values said to be "of the greatest importance for our faculty and staff to take to heart and apply to the classroom and the workplace." The number one common value: Always be thankful to the Lord and pray for the future.

Sadly, most of the students are not praying to or thanking the Lord. Instead many are praying to and thanking false gods, and even more aren't praying to or thanking anyone at all. As freshmen the students are given a New Testament Bible and are required to take a course on Christianity. Whether the professor is a Christian or not, I'm not sure. As Amy and I spend time at Obirin, our desire is for the university to be used for it's original purpose: to bring glory and honor to God, the One and Only.

Since coming to Obirin three weeks ago, the Lord has provided divine appointments and opportunities for us to share about Him with many students. We've seen a "shy boy" (according to himself) leave the computer lab and come out in the hall to talk to us, run into some old friends from past friendship parties, met the leader of the Christian Circle and learned the power of a smile. It's amazing how God can take even the smallest thing, like a smile, and turn it into a huge opportunity.

Two weeks ago while waiting for a new friend to finish class, I smiled at a Japanese girl as I passed by her. I could see her looking in my direction so I continued to smile at her. She and a friend got up and started walking towards our table, but then they turned toward the door and went outside. They came back a few minutes later and twice more they appeared to be coming in our direction. The third time they finally approached our table, and the first thing the girl I had smiled at said was, "doki doki." Translation: she was nervous. She said my smile was cute and that she wanted to come talk to me but was nervous because she does not know much English. Two new friends all because God showed Himself in a smile.

Today, Amy and I were talking to an old friend and smiled at a guy as he passed by. He said hello, proud of his English, and kept walking. Maybe thirty minutes later our friend left, so Amy and I headed to a nearby convenience store so we could get a drink and go to the bathroom. As we approached the entrance, the guy we had smiled at and said hello to earlier crossed our path. We recognized each other and he introduced himself. We told him we are Christians here in Japan to tell people about Jesus and he said he had just borrowed the Bible. No joke! He pulled out a copy of the Bible from the library commenting that it's interesting. We told him studying the Bible with students is part of what we do, and though he didn't have to meet with us then, we exchanged contact info and made plans to study next Wednesday. He's already e-mailed us a couple of times confirming our study date for next week.

How awesome is our God! Our God who uses something as simple as a smile or seemingly useless as needing a drink to put the right people in our path at the right time. Praise God for His sovereignty, His power and the work He is doing at Obirin University. Pray with us for:
* Our new friend and our meeting with him next week
* A friend we have shared with but doesn't believe in one God
* Obirin University to bring glory and honor to God

Hiking at Mt. Tsukuba

About a week ago Yae invited my roommates and I to go hiking and stay the weekend at her mom's house. It was such a blessing to get away from the noise and busyness of the city and into the peace and beauty of God's creation. Shortly into the hike I remembered why I despised climbing Mt. Fuji so much, but it was definitely worth it. The weather was perfect for our climb and the scenery was a brilliant display of God's artistic design. The above slideshow includes various pictures from our hike. You can catch of glimpse of Mt. Tsukuba's beauty, find Yae hiding among the trees and rocks, witness me eating rice, salmon and seaweed, and see Amy's excitement for hiking in the huge smile on her face. The picture of the cute, little Japanese girl and her grandmother is funny because the child was very unsure of me and didn't crack this smile until she heard me attempting to speak in her language. I'm not sure if she was approving of me for speaking her language or laughing at me for sounding so funny. Either way I managed to get a smile out of her. The cable cars picture is specifically dedicated to Kristy, Lauren and Steph in memory of Stone Mountain where we always thought the cars were going to crash into each other. To this day, they still somehow manage to avoid hitting. It's a mystery.

Our hiking excursion wasn't the only fun we had that weekend. Fireworks, cotton candy, Chinese checkers, sucking the insides out of grapes, tying cherry stems in knots with our tongues and a trip to an onsen also added to the excitement of the weekend. On top of all that Yae's mom was such a servant going above and beyond expected to see that we had everything we needed. Yae has shared with her mom her testimony of becoming a Christian this summer, and Yae's mom seems open so please pray with us for her salvation.

Misc. Pics