Home is Where You Make It

God is always speaking to us... it's us who aren't listening. God was probably showing me back at home the things I'm learning here. However, back in the States, there is so much prohibiting me from drowning out the unnecessary noise and really listening to His voice. In Japan, God is still talking to me as He has always been, but I'm in a place where I have no choice but to listen. It's amazing... God doesn't talk to me more simply because I'm on missions- He's BEEN talking the whole time. It was me who wasn't listening...

GOD EXCEEDS OUR EXPECTATIONS!

The start of last week was good because I started studying with the Korean students from my class. I have been praying for my Korean friends (there are 6 of us: 1 oppa, 1 unni, 2 peers, 1 dongseng, and me)- that God would give me an opportunity to be a witness. I didn't think He would answer it right away, but He did. That day I went to study with them, one girl started opening up to me. I JUST MET HER and yet she was sharing about her past pain, scars, and hurt. I couldn't help but think that God was giving me the opportunity to pray for her. So many people need prayer... we ALL need prayer and God was showing me that I had to continue praying for her. Even though the content was sad, I thanked God for opening up her heart to share with me... it said so much! It's her birthday this Monday and we're throwing her a party. :) I plan on writing her a card and writing a verse of encouragement on it. I hope God will continue preparing her heart and whether she finds God when I'm here or days/months/years down the line, please pray that God will surround her with more witnesses. I'm realizing that I was not placed in that school and that class as an accident/coincidence... there is a SPECIFIC REASON/PURPOSE I am there. PREACH THE GOSPEL AND IF NECESSARY... USE WORDS.

Friday was a busy but SUCH AN ENCOURAGING DAY. First off, I didn't have to go to school because I had to go to Tsudajuku College for their festival. :) However, I woke up the same time as I would for school. -_- It was a rainy day but these days, I'm beginning to enjoy rain. It's so refreshing. Anyhow, I got to Tsudajuku and went to work right away. I helped decorate the room and my given task was to cover cardboard boxes with pink tissue paper. Let me just say, pink is my favorite color but I don't want to see pink for like 3 months. -_- Japanese people are so cute and the room was decorated really nicely. Tsuda Christian Fellowship (TCF) was selling scarves, trinkets, jewelry, snacks, and chai --> Indian theme. An NGO from India called PHENTOC provided all the goods. TCF was basically selling the products and the money would be sent back to them. It was a big hit and people were really interested in the products. We handed out Christmas CDs, flyers for Christmas concerts, and bookmarks that had a Bible verse on it. The best part: they had a Bible stand that gave out free Bibles wrapped in cute book covering. :) By the end of the day, almost all the Bibles were gone. PRAISE GOD! I had to leave early because I had to go to my next event, but God really gave me so much encouragement as I just watched the girls preparing for this event. They prepared so much in terms of decorations and ideas but they prepared even more in prayer. I heard that so many people stopped by their room and in so many ways, it was a success. Please pray that those who were there will be touched by the Holy Spirit in some way so that their spiritual eyes will be opened!

I went to Keio Evangelical Christian Fellowship that same night. Right before I left, I had a major headache. I had a feeling that it was spiritual warfare. I said a prayer and went out the door. It was my first time going to the campus but God safely guided me there. :) My friend from church, Miyuki, met me at the station (she invited me to join). We walked to the YMCA chapel on campus- I was surprised there was even a chapel! KECF was sooooo amazing. There were English speaking students (thank you Jesus) and so many were from abroad. I got to meet some wonderful Christians and it gave me so much hope knowing that there were young Christian students like them in Japan. :) Bible study was on Ephesians 3: 1-13...

¹For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles—

²Surely you have heard about the administration of God's grace that was given to me for you, ³that is, the mystery made known to me by revelation, as I have already written briefly. ⁴In reading this, then, you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, ⁵which was not made known to men in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God's holy apostles and prophets. ⁶This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus.

⁷I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God's grace given me through the working of his power. ⁸Although I am less than the least of all God's people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, ⁹and to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things.¹⁰His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, ¹¹according to his eternal purpose which he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord. ¹²In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence. ¹³I ask you, therefore, not to be discouraged because of my sufferings for you, which are your glory.

I was seriously SOOO blessed... beyond measure. I was able to sing English songs in a community setting. I forgot how blessed I was at Sarang (corporate worship is often taken for granted)... and I truly longed for a group to sing English worship songs with and God provided. How amazing is He. Our group was the English speaking group (very international - one Filipino sister, one Indonesian brother, one Japanese sister) and the Holy Spirit enabled us to open up and share so much! We all concluded that God had it in His divine plan for all of us to be exactly where we are. It's so funny because they all didn't want to come to Japan but they ended up here somehow. God's plan for us is flawless. I was so encouraged!!! God is working in Japan and it was so evident that God has great things in store for KECF. Please pray for the group members who attend- some are not Christian but they come out because they are curious about Christ and the Bible; others are the only Christian in their group of friends and family. Pray that God will give them overflowing joy, hope, and courage! :D

*Midori-chan. She's a rarity b/c her mom is a missionary! :) Also, she is very spiritually mature and has a lot of depth. We were able to share so much while eating dinner together!

Saturday was my first English class. Only three people came... BUT GOD IS STILL GOOD. I realized, it is not my efforts that will bring people to Christ but it is only God, himself, who can do the work. Even with only three people, we were able to have good interaction and they learned something new so I was glad. :0) My second class will be on November 28, 2009 (2 weeks later) so please pray that more people will be led to the church. Interesting fact: The class costs 500 yen (about $5) so I asked Kazuki sensei why that was and he said that in Japan if you do things for free, people get suspicious so they don't attend. Money shows that it's legit. HAHA.

This weekend, I got to homestay at Miyuki's house and it was a good time of true fellowship. I already feel that she is becoming one of my closest friends here. We are close in age and we share a lot about our testimonies and hope for the future! It was such an amazing time of sharing and I truly feel that the Holy Spirit enabled us to go deep! We stayed up until 2AM talking about all the things God has been doing in our lives. I was so inspired by her testimony and it reminded me that God did not forget about Japan!!! He is at work! I was so happy that she invited me to stay with her and her family! Her mother is so nice, funny, and such a great cook! The dad and younger sister do not believe completely, but I believe God will be working in their family soon. I am praying for her younger sister's salvation! Please pray for the Kon family that God will use them to do His great and mighty work in Japan.

I witnessed a miracle. I'm sure you all will be SO SHOCKED when you hear about this next one. :) Before coming to Japan, I prayed to God that I would no longer be scared of dogs. I am scared of animals- I don't know what it is... people always ask if I was traumatized but I don't think so. I just didn't like it when they jumped or licked me. -_- This week's homestay had a dog- Regurasu or Regu-chan. I prayed to God that I could be okay around a dog... before I would be so tense and couldn't have a dog jump on me/lick me or I would start crying. :*( I got inside the house and for the first day, the dog was always being held or carried by Miyuki or her mother. However, on the second day at her house I told her it would be okay if she let him down. I was perfectly fine. The dog freakin loved me- he was like jumping on me all the time but I was okay. I didn't cry or panic and get scared. God answers prayers. I kept thinking how some people who know about my fear of animals (not dislike but fear) would react. It's crazy but yeah, it happened. Just incase you don't believe me, here's proof:

I'm getting blessed+encouraged more and more each week... Happy One Month!