Fun Friends- Last Weeks in 東京

Just a few of the many awesome people I got to live life with this year!

Yukari and I at our last hang out

At MCC's open mic night

With Namiri and Tomomi

Last ICUHS Let's Talk with Christian artists King D, Young Kirk, Samuelle, and their producer Ricky

They're bros

Taku!

Defines our relationship nicely ^-^

Lunch at Ueno with Sarah and Jonghun

Photo fun

Jonghun, friends since my summer trip in 2010!

Why we're friends

With Shigepoyo and Kazune on my birthday

Keisuke, in Tap Lovers

With some of my Tap Lovers friends

Catching Up

Well, I guess since it's been a month since my last post, it might be a good idea for a little bit of an update...

I'm back in America, surprise! I arrived back home June 8th and after a week of vegging I'm now getting to work on re-raising support so I can return to Tokyo in September. I'm still waking up around 3am every night (my body is still convinced it's dinner time in Tokyo, but alas) but otherwise feel pretty well adjusted. Reverse culture shock hasn't been too bad, although I have only been out of my house a few times so far.

As I think back on this year and all that happened it boggles my mind. The Lord showed himself faithful to me and my team every hour of every day. The fact that he brought us together, chose us to be his laborers in Japan, allowed us to see how he is changing hearts and lives for eternity, used us to share the good news of Christ with students, is so humbling. I can honestly say I never thought this would be my life. I could never have imagined living in such an amazingly difficult, yet rewarding and joy-filled way. What a blessing to be able to seek after Jesus and be shaped and sanctified by him.

My last few weeks in country and my first few days back home I've been reading the book of Acts. Its story of the early church has been a neat juxtaposition with my own experiences in Japan. The highs and lows of ministry and challenge of presenting the gospel to people who are hearing it for the first time that are depicted in Acts are very relevant to my personal ministry this last year.

A few verses that stuck out to me:

"I now realized how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right." 10:34-35

"From Attalia they sailed back to Antioch, where they had been committed to the grace of God for the work they had now completed." 14:26

"However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me-- the task of testifying to the gospel of God's grace." 20:24


I love the truths communicated through these three verses. God desires his children from every nation to be reconciled to him. We can trust the Lord with our ministry and our labors, he will redeem all the time we spend in his service. And finally, serving the Lord gives our lives meaning; we were created for his enjoyment and to bring him glory.

The church in Acts grows like a weed thanks to the faithful labors of people like Paul, Silas, and Timothy. The prayer of my heart is that the church in Japan might reach a point of that same sort of growth through the Spirit's moving and believers' continued perseverance in loving as Christ loves. In Acts 1:8, we are called to be the Lord's witnesses "to the ends of the earth," for me, that end is Japan. I'm grateful the Lord let me return once and that he has promised to let me return again. To him be all glory and honor.

またね

クイン

Jess in Tokyo

One of my dear friends from UCLA, Jessica, came to visit over Golden Week! It was a lot of fun exploring the city and sharing all the reasons I love Japan with her. Here are some of our adventures together.

First cafe in Japan...she went back at least 3 more times :)

Kids at heart

Picnic in Yoyogi park with my friend Mio after church!

at Yoyogi park

Tama Zoo scavenger hunt day

teeny tiny wallaby

At the entrance of Tama Zoo

In line for Disneyland!

Jumping for joy

Getting ready to go in 

Magical evening with wonderful friends

In line for the Winnie the Pooh ride

At Asakusa with Tap Lovers friends

Bubbles at Yoyogi park

Day with the Lord at Shinjuku Gyoen

City and nature juxtaposed

Quiet time at the park

Thanks for visiting Jess!  ^_^

Quality not Quantity

"Then he said to them, "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed;

 a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions."

Luke 12:15

I've been reading through the Gospels sort of as a re-introduction to Jesus and have been continually convicted by his teachings. It's always good to just go back to the basics.

The second part of this line really hit me today. A man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions. I don't know why this verse in particular spoke to me. Maybe it's because I'm starting to think about packing up my life here and returning home for the summer. Whatever the case, it gave me pause to think about how I'm measuring the quality of my life. Do I put more value in looking nice when I go out with friends or in the friends with whom I go out? Do I value having a nice-looking apartment or using said apartment as a way to bless others, nice or not?

I guess it all goes back to where I'm storing my treasure. Am I storing my treasures in things here on earth- possessions, stuff, junk that collects dust, falls apart, and goes out of style? Or am I keeping my eyes on Jesus and storing up treasure in heaven where moth and rust cannot destroy? I'm praying that the Lord would break me of my attachment to things on this earth and grow my desire for bringing him glory through heavenly treasures. I want the possessions I do have to be wholly for his purposes. They are just things, but if I have the right mindset, they can be tools for the kingdom, ways to bless other people with the love of Christ.

The awesome thing is, our lives can consist of more than just the abundance of our possessions because of what Christ did on the cross. Because he sacrificed himself for our sins and because he rose from the dead on the third day, we can have eternal worth that no amount of worldly possessions could compete with. That is incredible truth right there!

Love Abounds

And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in 

knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best

 and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the 

fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ- 

to the glory and praise of God.

Philippians 1:9-11

Reading through Philippians the other day, the Spirit really convicted me with these three verses. The more I thought about it, the more I realized how imperfect my definition of love is. I believe God is love, but when I try to define love, it is hardly as holy, pure, glorious as I believe God to be. Something is missing. My love does not abound. 

I'm still processing what it looks like to have abounding love, a wise and discerning love. But God used these verses to lead me back to the basics of my faith- my need for a savior and my savior Jesus. If I want the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ to be present in my life, I need to know Jesus. It's amazing how often we forget who Jesus is, what he taught, where he went, who he spent time with, what he stood for. It's hard to share Jesus with others when my own picture of him is unclear.

In order to become a follower of Christ who lives a life abounding in love, I need to take steps back and focus my eyes on Jesus. Like the song, I need to turn my eyes upon Jesus, look full in his wonderful face and let the things of earth grow dim in the light of his glory and grace. 

Paul prayed for the church of Philippi that their love would abound in knowledge and depth of insight. I pray that for all of us, that we may be pure and blameless until our savior returns, and that we may be filled with righteousness through the power of our Lord Jesus Christ.  

 

Tap Lovers

Tap Lovers are also bowling lovers

Bowling group 2

Bowling group 3

At National Tap Day, a now annual event in Japan that brings together all of the best tap dancers in the country. It was such a fun show with every kind of tap (rhythm, street, even river dance!) represented. 

All the shoes of Japanese tap legend, Koichi Sugimoto, who passed away in 2011

With Shigepoyo, Momoko, Natsuko, and Asami

Silly boys

Inside the lobby of the auditorium

The Beauty of Jesus

A few nights ago I snagged some quiet time right before bed to close the day in Isaiah. I was in chapter 53 talking about the "man of sorrows," a prophecy that has since been fulfilled by Jesus Christ. The whole book of Isaiah is a work of literary art and I was just enjoying the beauty of the language when another beauty struck me.

It was an inspiration from the Holy Spirit and triggered by my background music, at that moment Phil Wickham's You're Beautiful. I love the melody and words of the song but as I was reading about the suffering of the "man of sorrows," the juxtaposition of suffering and the idea of beauty stood out plainly from any other themes.

Every detail about this man of sorrows, my savior Jesus, could hardly be considered beautiful by our standard definition of the word today. Beautiful is usually taken to mean one of two things:

1. Pleasing the senses or mind aesthetically. -or-
2. Of a very high standard; excellent.

The man of sorrows displays neither of these things.  He is physically plain with "no beauty or majesty to attract" people to him (v. 2). He is despised by those around him, they "esteemed him not" (v. 3). He takes upon himself infirmities and sorrows of others (v. 4). His body is mutilated, pierced, wounded, punished, crushed. He is "assigned a grave with the wicked," taken away in "oppression and judgment" (v. 9;8).

None of these things are beautiful. None of them are attractive, desirable, honorific. And yet when you consider the powerful and life-changing meaning of these words, this man of sorrows becomes the most beautiful being in the universe.

The man so physically plain was God in human form. He descended from heaven and became man so he might save us from our sins. He was despised by his fellow man because he spoke the truth about our depravity and challenged the idols of our hearts. His body was beaten down because he willingly took on the sins of the world, bearing the punishment of death we all deserve. He humbly accepted the fullness of the heavenly Father's wrath and judgment so we might have a second chance. He was perfectly submitted to the Father's will.

And because of that, he now sees the light of life, seated at the right hand of the Father, and is satisfied (v. 11). "He bore the sin of many and made intercession for the transgressors"  (v. 12).

By the world's standard, Jesus is not beautiful. But I think in reality he is the definition of beautiful. His love and sacrifice are the truest, purest forms of beauty. Like any beautiful thing on earth, let us give him the admiration and attention he deserves.