mini concerts

As I posted last time, we had plan of mini-miniconcert at cafe in Ishinomaki.
前回に書いたように、石巻のカフェでミニコンサートを本日行いました。

It was scheduled in evening, but we had billboard bus for Hope of Celebration afternoon. So we went to a few places to advertise the crusade and night's concert.
We tried one place but got turned off. But God had His way, other door was opened up. So we ended up doing in two convenience stores and near the station.
しかし、それは夕方に計画されていたので、それまでの間希望の祭典の宣伝バスとともに、その夜の宣伝と伝道会の宣伝をしました。
そのために、場所の許可を取ろうとしていたのですが、期待していたところが上手くいかないという事態になりました。しかし、神は他のドアを開いてくださいました。コンビニでの交渉がとてもうまくいき、そこで宣伝をすることが出来ました。

これはセブンイレブンの前です。

ミニストップの前でも行いました。

Then, we came back to cafe and had mini-concert. At 6:30 that is the time to start, no one was there. I was worried, but one couple came and more people came in.
I was just blown away to see people coming. Moreover they came by seeing flyers we passed out here and there.
そして、カフェに戻りミニコンサートをしました。しかし、開始の時間になっても誰もいなかったので、不安になりました。そのとき、一組の夫婦が入ってきました。そして、次々に人々がやってきたのです。そして、もっと驚いたことに、多くの人がトラクトを見てきてくれたのです。

Matt and Mike played nice music and others talked and serve people.
マットとマイクが音楽を奏で、他の皆はみなに話しかけたり、お茶を出したりしていました。

So, it was just another blessed day.
To God alone be the glory.
本当に祝福された日でした。
主の御名をたたえます。

Sunday Service

今日は日曜日、、、、、、ということは、礼拝じゃないですか！！
Today is Sunday...........    So.... that means Sunday Service!!!!

石巻にあるJ'sカフェで（JはJesusの「J」です）は、約一ヶ月ほど日曜礼拝を持っているそうです。そして、今日はマットさんが使徒９章からシェアしてくれました。
At J's Cafe ("J" stands for Jesus), they have been holding Sunday Service for a month. Today, Matt shared from Acts9.

私は通訳をする機会が与えられました。彼は本当によいティーチングをしてくれました。
サウロの回心から私たちの「悔い改め」がどうあるべきなのか。180度生きる方向を変えるということ。１７０度じゃだめなんだと。とても、強いメッセージでした。
I was privileged to be a interpretor for Matt. He gave really good message and it spoke a lot to me. He shared how we can learn from Saul's conversion/repentance. Turning our lives 180degree, and 170 is not enough!

この日は、これまでの日曜日の中でも一番多くの方がきてくださいました！１０人ほどの地元の方々が、ともにイエス・キリストを礼拝しました。本当にすごいことです！
Today we had many local people more than any other Sundays. About 10 people worshipped Jesus with us!! This was such a God's miracle!

この後は、東北希望の祭典のPRコンサートに行きました。
After that, we went to PR concert for Celebration of Hope that is taking place this next weekend.

そして、またカフェに戻り、明日の夜に予定しているカフェでのミニコンサートのチラシ配りを近所の家々にしました。
We went back to cafe again and passed out flyers for tomorrow's mini-concert at cafe in neighbors.

明日・明後日のミニコンサートを覚えて、お祈り下さい。

Please keep our concert in your prayer.

Thank you!

So the venture begins...

So the team from Virginia and NewJersey arrived today.
I met them at Narita airport, then took train and shinkansen to Sendai.
Roy and Nancy Toma picked us up at Sendai station.

We have service at J's Cafe tomorrow. Matt is teaching, I'm interpreting.
So, I'm working on the notes now.......
Please keep us in your prayer that God's glory will be revealed.

ヴァージニアとニュージャージーからのチームが到着し、成田空港で落ちあい、そこから電車と新幹線で仙台へと向かいました。
仙台では、ナンシーとロイさんが私たちを迎えてくれました。

明日はJ’ｓカフェで礼拝をする予定です。マットさんが教えることになっていて、私は通訳をする予定になっています。どうか、神様の栄光が現れるようにお祈り下さい。

 今、やっとノートの見直しが終わりました。。。。。眠い

Tohoku Trip Part1

Ok, here is my real report about Tohoku.

I joined the work of Calvary Tohoku Relief (you should check out their blog !!)
Several Calvary churches got together and has been working in Miyagi pre-facture.
Since you can check out what we/I did in the blog, I'd like to write my thoughts and what God spoke to me here in this blog.

But one practical thing I can share is that THEY ARE STILL IN NEED!!
After a month, I thought there will be many volunteers and supplies, but the fact was different. Especially they need man-power who can clean up the houses that have been affected or damaged by earth-quake and tsunami.
So if any of you are still concerned and praying about going there, KEEP PRAYING and if God opens the door, I'd say, "JUMP IN!!".

I think I learned two big lessons this time.

here I share one of them.

it is......

 "UNITY OF THE CHURCH"

This team was consisted of people from different churches (but all Calvary related though. I Love Calvary Church!!).
So, you can say that we have different backgrounds and cultures and it can be said that it'd take little bit of time to perform good team work.

But, here is cool thing though,
We gathered in one Name, Jesus Christ, and one purpose, His Glory!!!
This was so enough to bring us together and strengthen our ties.

It didn't take even a day to perform good team work.
We got there at night and our work started rolling like a Mercedes or Ferrari.
It was just B-E-A-U-tiful !!!!

Every night we'd pray for one another, almost every site we visited we prayed for and sometimes with the locals!! ( so cool to see people' hearts are being opened! )
Prayer was a big factor that enabled us to keep our focus right. Without prayers, we'd have been just "laboring", not actually ministering to people!!!

I had had a mind/desire to share my faith with people there. But most of what I did was physical labor, cleaning houses and shoveling mud and didn't get to talk a lot.
But my heart was filled with joy every night. Because I'd share every night what each member did during the day with everyone, I knew some one was sharing with and loving on people and it became my joy!!

I felt God was saying "you did your part and others did their part, but in the end, it's all for Me right?".
I was like "YES LORD!!!"
I was reminded of the song "All to us" by Chris Tomlin

Let the glory of Your name be the passion of the Church 

Let the righteousness of God be a holy flame that burns 

Let the saving love of Christ be the measure of our lives 

We believe You're all to us 

"from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love."

Ephesians 4:16

the answered prayer

I was so blessed with the great opportunity to join the Calvary Tohoku Relief work.

Ever since the M9.0 Earth Quake and Tsunami happened, I have desired to go to Tohoku and do something. My heart was being shaken ......

I think one of the reasons is that earth quake I felt in Tokyo was still scaring and seeing Tsunami sweeping the towns and cities on TV live was so shocking.

I felt the fragility of man's life and sensed the need of God's mercy on this nation of Japan ever before.

Though I wanted to go Tohoku, it seemed impossible to go.

One was that my school was supposed to start on 4th of April. Even after it had been delayed, I had to go Okinawa for a job-interview. 

Even there was one week that was open between my Okinawa trip and school semester, there was big possibility that another job hunting schedule will come in.

But, the desire did not disappear nor fade. So I kept praying and praying.

I emailed my Pastor to tell my desire to go and he graciously gave me a "Go" sign for the very week I had!

But there was one big barrier/problem I needed to deal with. It was my dorm.

There is a rule/protocol that if I want to be absent from weekly dorm Bible study and meeting, I need to have permission from every single student at dorm (that is 15 students).

So, I sent email to core member of the dorm to let them know my thoughts ahead. But the reply was very difficult one with many questions.

I prayed and asked God to opened the door.

I sat down with the core members and talked about an hour, try to help them understand the importance of the relief work.

well, God is Big!!!!! They agreed on me going and at the meeting next day, I was able to received permission from everyone.

This is how I joined this trip.

God is simply amazing....

"What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?  He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? "