Arrival Day Wednesday June 24th
For Thursday June 25th,
Last night we were able to meet Victor, director of digital media Japan for dinner. He is our local on-site coordinator. He is a blessing for giving us activities to work on. He also brought along Michelle, who teaches at a nearby university and leads an ESL Bible study at the Quakers affiliated Woman’s College. She invited Erika and Jordan to her class the next day to help students during discussion time, and with the Bible study.
Today was exploration day. Erika and Jordan went to Michelle’s class while Steve and Rochelle and I headed to the Mitaka train station. As we walked by a church, a woman walked out from a side street and said, “Hey, are you with Team’s Ministry?” Well no, but we are staying at their guest house. In turned out that Kay attends the church we were standing in front off, the church was planted by TEAMS ministry, she has been going there for 45 years, and was heading to the Woman’s Bible study this morning. Her heritage was Italian-Japanese and spoke perfect English from attending school in the States. This obviously was a God-timing meeting. Pray she continues to have impact with women living in Mitaka.
Later in the afternoon we went to check out the Delta Cross Church meeting place for Sunday evening at the Over Coffee Hub co-working space. Erika and Jordan rejoined us there for a drink in the cafe on the first floor. Rochelle was able to take the initiative and introduce herself to a young mom with an 8-month old child, encouraging her and giving her a children’s gospel track for the future. And Jordan was able to meet a woman her age and exchange LINE app QR codes to meet up later for coffee and discuss cultural differences of Japan and America. Steve and I were able to meet 2 of the 3 owners, and encourage them in this ministry endeavor. While not overtly Christian in decor, the barristas Timothy and Hunter are believers, and a Church meets there on Sunday evening. Pray for continued spiritual discussion opportunities to keep flowing as much as the coffee.
For June 26th
Today in the morning we split up into 3 groups. Steve and Rochelle met with the Miguels, a couple with 3 kids who have just been in Japan 2 years whom we helped to send. They help in student ministry and staff development in Tokyo.
My (Jeff’s) group was me to solo prayer walk around a circle of 8 churches in the Mitaka City. I stood in front of the church and prayed for it, the pastor, the members, the neighborhood, the harvest potential. Then I wrote down my impressions of what was happening around the church. Here are some of those prayer notes:
Mitaka Baptist church
blessings, outreach, community building most important.
3 high rises a block away.
Japan ccc
staff, student impact, digital media production, distribution, Victor’s leadership, office comradirie, nationwide reach.
Christ Kyodaidan Mitaka Church
living water, draw those who thirst, under construction. A block before this church, I said a japanese hello to a woman coming out of a shop with flowers and was putting them in her bike’s basket. She said hello, good morning and something else in Japanese. I stood there not knowing what else to say, so she said “how are you.” So I said I was with a group on a cultural exchange mission. She said Oh, and pulled out a flyer and gave to me. It was for her Nepalese Restaurant a block from the Sunday Night Bible Study. So now I have a dinner appointment.
Mitaka evangelical church
picking up trash, refreshing rain early and late to produce a harvest, art or architect, met pastor’s wife with young daughter, pastor Ben says those on the street are in a hurry to get to the next place, don’t make eye contact, if you pass someone they know may feel a wince but then say a quick hello and move on, we need an event in order to meet new people.
Musashino Midoro Church
out of brochures, pacifist sign, building reinforcement.
The rain from the typhoon was so heavy, I had to head back to the Team Center. Pray for God to work in these Churches to bring about the topics I have mentioned.
In the evening we went to a Student Impact Friday Night Meeting. There were about 20 of SI American Missions Team the 5 of us and about 5 University students.
We sang some worship songs played a couple of games, read the story of the prodigal son, and broke into small groups to discuss what the story meant to us. In the group I was in was Musa. He read the story in English, then in Japanese. In the discussion he said it was the first time he had read it and had some questions. There was 5 others in the group so we each gave our view to help his understanding. He began to understand. Fernando had given him a Bible 3 weeks ago and said to read the book of John. Last Sunday Fernando took him to church for the first time.
For June 27
In the morning, we met over coffee with Pastor Shige Nakazawa- pastor of Tokyo Small Church Network. Steve and Rochelle knew him from their time in Japan working with Cru and were catching up with him. He explained his church ministry which is articulated on this website: https://www.tokyosmallchurchnetwork.com/
Shige also has lead a prayer walking ministry for the last 12 years focused on central Tokyo neighborhoods. Every Tuesday they meet at one train station, then pray while riding the train on a loop track around Tokyo. I will be joining them this Tuesday. The website explains further details of the ministry: https://prayyamanote.com/en/
In the afternoon, Jordan had a coffee time with a lady she met at the Over Coffee Hub on Thursday. This is growing into a friendship and Jordan has invited her to our two church services we will be attending tomorrow. We are saying Jordan has a WOO personality, or winning others over. It is an example for all of us follow. Pray that she will be able to attend the evening service.
In the evening we planned our program for the DeltaCross church Bible Study tomorrow evening. We have 15 minutes for a worship song, a skit to act out the parable of the sower in Matt. 13:1-9, and a testimony. Then there will be a discussion about the parable. Pray for good soil during the discussion time. Pray also for several other students that we have met the last 2 days could also attend the Delta Cross service, and be open to the prompting of the Holy Spirit in their lives.
Today was Church day. The morning service was at Double ‘O’ Cross Church in Kichijoji, the next train stop east. It is an Int’l community-based congregation and staff of about 40% Japanese and 60% foreigner. The norm for growing churches. They had their 13th anniversary on June 7th and there were about 50 in attendance. Their whole service is bi-lingual in both Japanese and English. The worship team is a mix but they start the songs, which are more contemporary Christian, in Japanese. The sermon depends on which pastor or elder is speaking.
This church is planting the Delta Cross Church
After the service we ate lunch with Pastor Lucas and 2 interns from ABWE in New Cumberland, PA. He said they started the church 13 years ago in a room on the 2nd floor. For the first 2 years they gave an altar call every week. After a while they realized the same people were raising their hand.
They moved to the basement to have more space. Then they started a 2nd service in the afternoon, but the 1st service is now full. Instead of looking for a bigger space, a member, who started a coffee café and co-work space, offered to host a church group, which they have now used for the last year.
They are now thinking of changing the Bible Study format, which has been going for a year, into a church planting effort, called Delta Cross Church. Our 15 minute program was the initiation of the transition.
There were the 5 of us, about 10 Double Cross Church members, and about 5 newer attendees. At my table was a family of three, a gentleman with 2 toddlers (his wife was at the table in the front), and a college student. The student and teenage daughter were young Christians. Their Bible knowledge was very limited in the sense that they had New Testaments but did not know where the book of Matthew was. The woman to the right in the picture had to show them. This is my understanding that Japanese people have little opportunity to hear any Bible stories. I was told there was one Christian radio station in Tokyo, a metro area of 37 million.
Pray for the Chuches in Mitaka and Kichijoji, for fruitfulness, community, perseverance, unity, and resourcefulness.
Pray for our planning this week to distribute a Manga track on several campuses and invite students to our 4th of July event.
Today we joined the prayYamanote prayer riding and distribution activity.
It was led by Melody and Sarah of Global Outreach. There were a total of 33 people, which included 2 other groups, one from Hawaii and Indiana, and one from Kansas. We started by getting in cars 10 and 11 at the back of the train and prayed silently on the ride to our station for the week.
We got off the train at Shibuya station, which is JR stop #20. We first prayed at the Shibuya intersection, which is the busiest pedestrian crossing in Japan.
We then handed out several different tracts written in Japanese for about 20 minutes. One was for older persons, one for women, one for children, and one for those who lackhope. The team total at the end was 109. We then rode the train back to where we started to finish the prayer train loop. Sarah gave a statistic at the end that 50% of the homeless in Japan are estimated to be Christian, from church services.
For a little variety, Steve had us take the Tram to our next activity.
Waseda university is a public university with an open campus, so we were able to just walk in. It has a 50,000 student population, of which 10,000 are international students. We headed to the cafeteria for lunch. There Steve and I sat at a table with a student named Kamui. He is a political science major in his 1st semester of his freshman year. His English was still pretty good. He likes sports and is in the baseball club. He knew where Floida was but not Ohio. His parents had traveled to Europe when he was young. We left him a Manga track with a sports story since he said he liked Manga.
Outside the cafeteria we met Grant from Cincy, and Braden from Tenn., who are on a 2-month mission with Int’l Mission Board of Southern Baptists and came in early June. They are on campus Tuesdays through Fridays. They were so nice talking with us and offered some pointers from their training on conversational evangelism in Japanese culture.
Note: I have been here 6 days, and I have met someone else from Ohio every day. This contrasts with Grant who has been here 3 weeks and had not met anyone else from Ohio until me.
In the evening we planned our next day activities.
Today, July 1st, was distribution day at Inokashira Park and around Ghibli museum. For it we were given two Manga style booklets tsubasa and riskride, a children’s tract treasure hunt challenge, and a life issues tract.
While outside the Ghibli museum we asked a Chinese lady waiting to go in the museum to take our picture. In gratitude we offered her a Manga booklet which she declined.
Next we passed 2 ladies talking together each with a little dog. So we started with asking about their breeds and moved the discussion to other things.
As we continued walking around the park we passed some tennis courts. There were 3 older ladies packing up their bikes with their gear after finishing playing. We waited for a break in their conversation before asking about their activity. They were so sweet in talking with us about their tennis, where they lived, their family, and if they liked Manga. One woman admitted she reads Manga from 4 AM to 7 AM every morning. So they each took a booklet and then we asked to take a picture of them.
Further along the park we came across 3 cameras on tripods pointing up into the trees. We looked around and found an older gentleman sitting on a bench. He said he was trying to capture goshawk birds. He had a friend with binoculars also. We talked about his project and offered them Manga booklets.
At the end of our walk around the park was a quarter circle bench Pavillion. A man was sitting alone, and the girls had befriended him earlier. Shinji is 72 years old. His parents died from long term effects of the Nagasaki bomb where he was born. His uncle was a kamakazi pilot. Today his nephew is a japanese air force pilot. So he is worried about Putin or N. Korea doing something bad. He insisted on buying us all drinks and used his suica card on the dispensing machine. This was new to all of us. Finally we learned that he was a teacher at Waseda University. He had a photo of a small condo where he lives by himself. Hence he sits in the park every day and listens to music CDs with headphones while air drumming and conducting with chop sticks. We said goodbye and left him with a Manga booklet.
Pray for all the people we met today for the gospel message to reach them and be fertile in their hearts.
Late last night we learned that Victor Toh’s ( our Student Impact sponsor) grandmother died yesterday. Pray for his comfort in grief as he flies back to Singapore.
Pray for Henry, a Student Impact staff member who is now in the hospital.
Also Dillon’s wife Jessica, who is on bed restriction for her twins due Sept. 28th.
July 2nd. We started the morning planning our Saturday 250th birthday party for students. That included our agenda, decorations, games, snacks ( for Japanese that’s pizza and hamburgers), history of America through Christianity, and a discussion.
Then we went to Kichijoji to wander the Sunroad shopping arcade looking for opportunities to talk to people and hand out Manga booklets. The men looked at some upper floor coffee cafes and then went to the bus stop to hand out booklets. After a few minutes a lady named Ronuka came up to ask for our picture and said she was a Christian. She wanted to send it to a friend to encourage them. We told her why we were here and what we were doing. I felt like a celebrity. We stayed there for about an hour and handed out at least 10 booklets.
Next we went to the JCCC office to meet Victor to see their meeting room that we will use Saturday afternoon.
There we met also Ueki, an SI staff, and a student in mechanical engineering in the 3rd year and taking discipleship training.
In the evening we had dinner at a revolving sushi restaurant.
Today was an on-your-own day. Some visited old friends and some went siteseeing. I walked south to Chofu and visited the JAXA Aerospace Technology museum. About three quarters of the displays were in Japanese and English. The focus was on aircraft safety, noise reduction, and engine efficiency. The one space display was a rocket launch and reentry simulator, but it required an operator and I was the only person in the entire building. So I did not pick up a phone at the display to call someone. Since I had to sign in at the entrance gate of the JAXA facility, I offered the guard a Manga booklet when I left, but he declined.
I walked back to the McDonalds by the Mitaka Station south exit to have lunch. I set out the 3 sets of Manga booklets on the table next to me while I ate lunch and relaxed, but noone asked about them. I guess you have to offer them to be considered important.
In the evening we went to an Irish pub for fish and chips. It was more like Japanese-Irish and they had a live band playing Irish jigs of 10 people.
It’s July 4th, so in the morning we did some final preparations for the America’s 250th party at the JCCC center. We weren’t sure how many people would show up. We’ve learned that many Japanese work Saturdays also, and our start time might be a little early.
After we had set up, no one else had showed by the start time. So we went ahead with our program and still played our games, with patriotic music blasting, ate snacks and ordered Dominoes pizza.
Towards the end we got a pleasant surprise when Richard Wilson and his two daughters showed up about 4:30 pm. We had met Kiko and Meg at the Delta Cross Bible Study last Sunday. We had a good talk about their lives moving between the U.S. and Japan. Richard wanted to take some Manga tracts to a friend who does distribution and also some of the Cru wristbands.
We finally closed up the building about 6 pm. It was unfortunate that no students showed up though to help us celebrate.
July 5th, Sunday, we split up and went to different church services. Steve and Rochelle went to their old church from when they lived in Japan.
The rest of us went back to Delta Cross in the evening for their Bible study.
Monday was pack up and sightseeing day for the 3 of us leaving in the evening. A walk around Ginza shopping district and a quick stop at the Imperial Palace outer garden was enough for the day.
Further notes from Steve about our last few days after the team left.
Our kids had given us extra funds to be able to visit Tokyo Disney Sea, and we did that on Monday. It was fun and we enjoyed the sights and food and a few rides and especially the new section of the park was quite well done. Rain cut down some on our visit.
Tuesday we visited the Tokyo Japan CCC staff team, and about 20 were in attendance, so not all of them. But there were a couple of old friends, former staff, who also showed up which was so fun!
Later in the day we visited with an old friend from our Tokyo CCC days.
On Wednesday we met another couple of former Japan CCC friends in the morning and then went to a luncheon of Rochelle’s online Japanese friends group at one of their houses, and had a wonderful time.
On Thursday we went back to Inokashira Park and were able to meet one lady and her 2 dogs, and spoke with her for a while and offered her the Sports manga tract which she was very glad to accept. We went back to our guest house and got ready to go to the airport, and along the way there was a disruption and announcements on the train line we were on. A nice lady named “Candy” stopped to ask if we needed help, and showed us to a different line that was running better to get to our Narita Express train from Shinjuku. She also accepted one of our tracts.
Our whole team arrived safely home from their flights, and we are all thankful to God for the amazing time we had serving Jesus in Tokyo. Thanks for your prayers!