Well, the rainy season here in Japan is officially over as of two days ago. Since then it has been a steady 90+ degrees here. Needless to say, I'm not a huge fan of the temperature change and it certainly adds another dimension of difficulty to our work here.
Sharing yesterday and today was pretty slow as most students are in the middle of their final tests and projects. Most don't have time to talk or are just not interested. ALbert and I got to meet a guy who had lived in California for 12 years and just came back for college. It was funny because we saw he was wearing VANS and Levis and decided to talk with him. When we approached him with our "spiel" he said dude and yea. We ended up talking with him for a good while and he was really cool. It was interesting to hear his perspective on Japanese culture with the background of living in America for so long. He had a really dry sense of humor so I liked him right away.
Something he shared with us was really interesting and really heart-breaking. We had noticed on the train schedule signs that sometimes "accident" will appear in red by some lines. Albert mentioned too that the kanji for "man" is often by it too. Our friend said those "accidents" are usually people committing suicide by throwing themselves onto the tracks. Hearing that was really shocking and a definite slap of the dark reality here in Japan.
Last night after our team bible study we went up on the roof of the guys' apartment and prayed over the city. The train station was close by so that you could even here the automatic announcements being made. Seeing trains coming and going filled with people really broke me because I realized just how broken their lives must be. That so many people are so hopeless and lacking in true meaning and love that they just want to end their life really hurts my heart. I started crying as I watched the trains go, wondering how people can even get to that point of emptiness that death is better than living. Also the fact that people just go on with their own lives without shedding a tear for those who kill themselves. People are so caught up in saving face, working hard and having a good reputation they don't even slow down enough to mourn. It also made me want all the more for God to claim Japan as his own right NOW. I've been struggling this week to trust in his timing because we have less than two weeks left and I want to see lives changed. Especially with this new perspective on the brokenness here, I want it even more and I'm feeling impatient for God to step in. I know that he loves these people, he desires them to come back to him, I'm just having trouble waiting on him right now.
Anyways, that's where I'm at at the moment. I would appreciate your prayers for my patience and trust in God's plan, and for our team that we would press on through the heat and frustrations and have faith that God is using us here to further his kingdom. Thank you all!
Quinn,
ReplyDeleteIt was so wonderful to read through your blogs. What a reminder it was to me of my time in Japan 3 years ago. I remember feeling the same sadness upon hearing how high the suicide rate is in Japan. And knowing that the people just keep on moving-with no thought to the person who was so broken and hurting. I also remember the feeling of emptiness as I watched the masses pray at the temples. The fight of trusting God vs. taking matters into my own hands was strong!
Take heart, dear sister! God is working in Japan. It may feel like he is just working on you, but Japan is being changed, bit by bit.
What a great time to be refined by the Holy Spirit. To be with other believers that are working through the same things. This is indeed a special opportunity for you. Work it out, sister!
We will be praying for the rest of your trip! May it be fruitful in ways that you cannot imagine! May God challenge you, feed you and "grow" you, thus giving you a deeper love for Him.
The Glaser Family