Yes!...

Would you like in on a secret...who doesn't like secrets? I'll tell you who......I don't! You know why?! Because the last thing in the universe that should be a secret is unknown to sooo many people!

God, the Creator of ALL, Alpha and Omega, Supreme High King, Rock of Ages, Lover of selfish sinners...is the most amazing, patient, loving, caring, creative, beautiful 'being' (for lack of better word) there is!

Did you know that since I began to follow Christ with true conviction, He has never left me alone. And of course I'm including the most important implication of that:

"The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged." Deuteronomy 31:8

But I also mean that I have never been without the immediate and available support of many brothers and sisters in Christ. never. not once.

Even in Japan! Less than 1% Christian in this country. There are 8 CITIES here (roughly 50,000 people in them) that don't have a single church. And there are about 150 foreign exchange students from 20 different countries in my program. I probably know (from live with to have met briefly) about 120 people...very rough estimation. You know how many are Christians? So far about 40! First week here, I meet three Christian guys, and we've been meeting every weekday morning to encourage each other. As of today I've met 7 other people in my program who are Christian, 5 of who I went to Church with today! Between two different churches I've met at least 30 other Japanese, New Zealand, or Australian Christians of all different ages. AND the one close Japanese friend I've made who isn't a Christian came to Church with me, for the first time in her life! WHAT!? IS HE FOR REAL!!?

YES! Why in the world do we still keep that a secret?!

Update

It has been a while since I've written.

Summary: God is still God (a very good one), I've lacked a lot of discipline and passion, I'm still His son and "His steadfast love endures forever..."

So, the last week and a half have been filled with class, hanging out with my host family, and trying to stay connected to the Holy Spirit to strengthen me and lead me. The last one has unfortunately been difficult...which has consequently made everything else more difficult. BUT all is not lost! Honestly, things aren't as bad as my opening comments may make you think. I have been immeasurably blessed in this time too. People at home continually encourage me (I would name you all, but you know...could leave one out...people could get upset : ) ). My host-mom telling me that I'm a 'real Christian'...that made me smile. And I have been connecting with God more in prayer!

I had a talk with a Japanese girl who gave me a campus tour during orientation about prayer...interesting considering that we know each other's language at about the level of a 3 year-old (actually, I would love to be as fluent as a 3 year old). It was good though!

Church on Sunday was also really good. I had lunch there after the service and hung out with my friend from school and the pastors son and grand-daughter for most of the rest of the day. They're a lot of fun and help me with Japanese!

true

"...I think the best thing that can happen to us is to be 'found out' for all that we are, our religious and human pretenses stripped away to reveal our sin, pettiness, and weakness. Then we can devote our energies to better endeavors than the constant masquerade of sufficiency. The added benefit is that people are able to see how God's grace works in a real person's life. When we come clean about our brokenness, Christ becomes the star of our testimony and not us."

God is いいね...(good)

Yesterday (Saturday) was a rough day...but today has been great!

...my soul is bereft of peace; I have forgotten what happiness is; so I say, "My endurance has perished; so has my hope from the LORD." Remember my affliction and my wanderings, the wormwood and the gall! My soul continually remembers it and is bowed down within me. But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. "The LORD is my portion," says my soul, "therefore I will hope in him." The LORD is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him. It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD. It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth. Let him sit alone in silence when it is laid on him; let him put his mouth in the dust-- there may yet be hope; let him give his cheek to the one who strikes, and let him be filled with insults. For the Lord will not cast off forever, but, though he cause grief, he will have compassion according to the abundance of his steadfast love; for he does not willingly afflict or grieve the children of men
(Lamentations 3:17-33 ESV)

Yesterday, I was suffering, and I felt that I was under God's wrath and separated from His love (clearly a lie)...I know I am no longer an object of God's wrath by the blood of Christ who became sin so that we might become the righteousness of God...no, what's worse is that as his adopted son, I can now become an object of my Father's grief. I grieve the Father with my lack of faith and sin.
These verses have been an encouragement to me. I have found that my passion and zeal for the God has diminished since the spring, and I know that God wants to build and refine me. This may be my time to wait on him...

Oh, today was great because I went to my first Japanese Church! It's only about 7 min away by bike, and the people there are were great! I couldn't understand a thing...but we sang 'Praise God from whom all blessings flow' in Japanese!

Getting into the swing...

It is currently Thursday @ 6:00pm in Japan, and I think it's time that I write about my week.

Today was our first official day of classes! Basically, it was syllabus day...but it was refreshingly good. In the morning, when I got off the train I saw a guy from England that I met the day before. I actually met him during a discussion/prayer time I was having with two other Christian guys that I had met earlier. The guy from England isn't a Christian, but he just joined our little table as we had our Bibles out. I hope we can continue to meet in the morning to pray and encourage each other. So, this morning I walked with him from the station to camps and hung out a bit (talking about accents and such).
After Japanese class, I had lunch with a couple of the people from IU and a girl we met from Manhattan. I need to pray for them...and for boldness. I want to love them, and express it. After lunch had two more classes, that i think will be good. Looking forward to tomorrow!

よっかた！

Yesterday was a great day. Not only did I feel blessed by more of God's presence (his goodness and blessings were much more apparent), but I also had a lot of fun with my host-family. On the way back from a walk, where I spent about 45min in a little grocery store looking at everything, I saw my little brothers and their dad at a park. There were about 50 kids running around, playing soccer, throwing a baseball, riding bikes, or playing on the playground...and this was not a big park. Anyways, I stopped and was watching Hiroya (dad) throw the ball with Satoaki (10yr old son), and after a bit they let me join in! So we played there for about half an hour while Yuki (8yr old son) played soccer. Then we walked home, and I thought we were calling it a day, when everyone got on bikes and said we were going to the school. There we played baseball until it got dark and went home for a fried chicken dinner! (with rice of course)

Sept 4

I can’t believe today was only the third full day. I’ve had two days of orientation at Nanzan University, which have been a little too drawn out, but today was better. No test and we actually got to interact with Japanese students. I went on a tour of the university with a girl from New York named Wendy, and our guide was a student named Eri. It was fun, but it showed me how horrible my Japanese really is. My listening comprehension is pretty bad… Anyways, it’s almost nine, which seems to have become my bed time here (jet lag hasn’t been too bad… I just seem to be really drained by the time dinner is over). Oyasuminasi! (Good night)

Konnichiwa! I’m in Japan!

Quick update: My host family is really awesome! The mom is pretty good at English, but she has been so patient in explaining things in Japanese. Yesterday we had sushi for dinner when I got back from the airport and it was awesome (though Melissa would have gagged). I like the food already, but it is expensive! Having lunch today with my host mom was over $20! And it was just a little Korean place in the mall! Anyways, I should be studying right now…cause I remember very little Japanese right now (and I’m already sick of my mind thinking of Spanish first).