Celebrating Thanksgiving with our Friends

We had a special Thanksgiving celebration with our closest Japanese friends in Karuizawa. We somehow fit a total of 24 people into our house and though it was a little cramped, we had a wonderful evening! We borrowed tables and chairs from our language school, and it was like putting a puzzle together fitting them all in our house. Once everyone was seated, I don't think the people in the back could have gotten out! :)
The big hit of the night was the dessert table, with special homemade cookies, pumpkin pies, and a cheesecake (made by Sarah's Mom & Dad).

I had a chance to stand up and explain about the history and meaning of Thanksgiving, emphasizing our Thankfulness to our creator God for all he has given us. I contracted this with the recent Japanese "Thankfulness for Labor" holiday when thankfulness is shown to fellow workers (much like our Labor Day).

Our genkan was filled with all our visitor's shoes, and Annabella couldn't resist trying some on!
We only have about 6 weeks remaining with these friends before we expect to move to Chiba city area (east side of Tokyo). Please continue to pray for our friends here in Karuizawa, that by God's grace they would continue to take steps towards seeking Him.

My First Sermon in Japanese

This Sunday, I preached my first sermon ever ... and it happened to be in Japanese! I started about a month ahead of time, first writing it in English. I then translated it with my Japanese teacher, worked it over to make it my own, and finally practiced it intensely the last 2 days.

The message was about "Jesus - Our Living Hope" based on 1 Peter 1:3-4. I really wanted to share about this idea of HOPE, because there is a lot of hopelessness seen here in Japan. A country of so much wealth and influence, yet the world's 2nd highest rate of suicide in the industrialized world, as well as a growing "hikikomori" problem (adult "hermits" who don't leave their home or engage in society at all).

I shared that our HOPE for eternity is not in ourselves or in our ability, but is in Christ alone, the author and perfecter of our faith. Our HOPE for each day comes from trusting in God's good and perfect plan, and having the assurance that the sovereign Lord of the universe works all things for our good, and ultimately for His glory!

Here is one of the 16 pages I used for the sermon. It took about 35 minutes (much too long to know by heart) so I wrote it in a way using underlining, different colors, and fonts to help me with tricky passages to read. (You can click on the image to get a larger view).


God was gracious, and I really felt I was able to communicate this message from the heart. I received positive feedback, and I pray that God uses this message to encourage our church here in Karuizawa and reveal to His glory.

Japan CPI Conference

We attended the Japan Church Planting Institute for 4 days and had a wonderful experience. There were over 400 registered attenders - Missionaries, Japanese Pastors and Christian leaders. Many events were bilingual and was a great opportunity to see the broader evangelical church planting movement in Japan.
We attended Seminars by Josiah Bancroft , one of the developers of the "Sonship" spiritual renewal program with World Harvest Mission (pictured below) , and Larry Kirk , a pastor in Florida & professor at RTS Orlando. We both learned a lot, and were challenged to apply the gospel in our lives and ministry in authentic and fresh ways.

Olivia and Annabella joined in the kids program, and had so much fun with all the other kids. Here is Olivia at the final program.

The conference center we stayed at was near Hakone, with a beautiful view of Mount Fuji.

Living in a land of Earthquakes

Living in Japan, we are not strangers to earthquakes. We thought it would be interesting to show you a website we often check, which shows the earthquake activity of the day. Sometimes we'll feel a little shake and wonder how big it was ... so we go check the Japan Meteorological Agency: Earthquake Information site.


These two maps show an earthquake on the 11th that we felt for several seconds. Richter Scale Magnitute of 4.3, and a Seismic Intensity of about 3 where we live (a little bit west of the epicenter - red X).