Hiroshima Team Relief Effort Update

Quick update on our Hiroshima Team relief efforts up in Sendai.  Team consists of our Pioneers Hiroshima Team Leader, Scott, Kabe Chapel's Kitano Sensei, and Kabe Chapel member Richard.

Currently in Oshima, Japan. This is a picture of some of the destruction. We had to leave quickly when a category 4 aftershock hit. We were on the coast. We were able to deliver all the supplies to the island.

Today we are taking relief supplies to a small island that os one of the worst hit areas by the tsunami. We will drive three hours and take a ferry to deliver these supplies.

Apparently, Richard was able to find an onsen nearby. It's so busy there that you have to book a day in advance and you are only allowed to stay for one hour. For many people in the area, this is the only way that they can wash. The 3 men were able to book themselves in for a 11pm-midnight slot and it was packed! Our team and the people in that area are very fortunate to have this one onsen up and running. Cleanliness is very important to the Japanese people. Hopefully more onsens will be able to open their doors soon as it'll probably take longer for homes to have electricity + gas + clean water.

The team of 3 will be leaving Sendai tomorrow, Friday, April 1st, due to arrive back in Hiroshima on April 2nd. Please continue to keep them and the churches that they are working with in your prayers!

Hiroshima Team Efforts in Sendai

Here are a few pictures from our 3-man team, Scott, Pastor Kitano, and Richard, who are currently working in the Sendai area, one of the worst hit regions.

Don't have much commentary yet, but will update once we hear more.

The 3 standing in front of the donations received by our church members. They packed up Richard's 3-ton truck with the supplies and drove approx 20 hours northeast to Sendai. They received more than one truck load full of relief goods (mostly food items - rice, canned food, bottled water, etc) so hopefully there will be multiple trips made to help the Sendai EV Free Church help the people in their area. God willing, Peter will be going up to help with the relief efforts there some time too. :)

Inside of the church that they helped clean out on their first full day there, Tuesday, March 29th.

Debris on a river bank, couple of miles inward.

Still so much devastation everywhere.

Ishinomaki City.  Things are being cleaned up.

Sea water still in areas where it doesn't belong...

Scott unloading relief goods.

Koyo Chapel Sunday School Entrance-Exit Ceremony

I think this blog posting has the longest title out of all of the blog postings I've written so far. :)

Every year, at the end of March / early April, each of the two churches have Entrance-Exit Ceremonies for the kids entering Sunday School / moving up / leaving Sunday School. As usual, I wasn't sure what to expect when we got there so was a bit nervous but everything turned out OK - phew!

It was Juhee's and my first time ever taking part in a Sunday School event so there were lots of new and interesting things...

There was a big white poster (pic below) at the front decorated with light blue and pink flower paper corsage type things and after trying to "decode" it for a long time, I realized that it was the program for the ceremony! So after that, I sometimes kind of had an idea of what to expect. =D

One was that we got to see how few students there are. Not everyone was there as it was Spring Break, but most were, and there were only a handful. Of the top two pics in the photo collage below, the one on the left is of the Children's Ministry kids (Preschool & Elementary) and the one on the right is of the Youth (Jr. & Sr. HS) Ministry kids. However, if you take into consideration that an estimated 30-40% of churches in Japan don't even have a Sunday School program, we're very fortunate to have enough kids for there to be one. Sunday School at the two churches is from 9:00-10:00 and then the kids sit in the main service with their parents from 10:30-11:30. They're amazingly quiet and well behaved!

There's only one boy in Elementary School. The others are all girls. It must be so hard for him... Juhee is one of three 3 year old girls in her 3-5 year olds preschool class. One of the other girls rotates between the two churches too, like us, so she's only there every other Sunday.

The kids with perfect attendance for the year receive an award. I remember receiving them at church during the short period that my family lived in Korea when I was little. Brought back memories (bottom two pics above)!

Instead of using powerpoint, they write the words to praise songs on what looked like cardstock type posters, decorate it, make it into a book, and then a teacher holds it up and flips the pages as the kids sing along (pics below).

Juhee had a great time, really likes her new teacher (pic below) and really enjoys going to Sunday School. Yaaay!!! :)

Please pray for the churches of Japan, that there will be a growth in the Sunday Schools, that there will be more families attending as a whole family. Only 0.4-0.5% of Japan's population is evangelical Christian but with the average age of church attendees being 60 years of age, the Christian population is literally dying. Japan's churches need more young people and we believe that this is one of the reasons why God sent us now while we're young (relatively speaking =D) and have young kids, so we can reach out to this younger generation. Please pray for the next generation of Christians in Japan!

Pioneers Relief Work in Hitachi city

This is an email update that was sent by Dan Hoisington (link: Hoisington's profile), our Pioneers Japan Area Leader on March 27th, a few days after he and a group of 4 other men (from China!) arrived in Hitachi, Japan (link: info on Hitachi city) to help out with the relief work there (link: info on relief work needed there, apologies for the source!), working with CRASH Japan (Christian Relief, Assistance, Support and Hope).

Please pray with us!!!

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Dear Prayer Partners,

We are pursuing an opportunity to participate in the relief effort of an organization called CRASH (Christian Relief, Assistance, Support and Hope) that seeks ultimately to help Japanese evangelical churches to meet local needs. As foreigners we tend to rush in to communities, hastily hand out supplies, and then leave. We like the approach of CRASH, which recognizes that local churches best know the needs in their own communities; they have many important contacts; and, perhaps most importantly, they will remain in the community long after the disaster and recovery efforts have ceased. Practical demonstration of the love of Christ can only reinforce the message that they have proclaimed already.

Currently Dan is working with a team of 8 men in the city of Hitachi, Japan, 65 miles south of the current “hot spot” of the Fukushima nuclear power plant (we are aware of the risks, and are monitoring the situation; a recent trip north to Iwaki showed a very limited increase over normal radiation); five are PIONEERS workers (four from out of the country), and the others represent other missions agencies working in Japan. Their task is to meet short term needs as best they can with resources available, but also to talk with local pastors and enlist their aid to involve Japanese believers in the relief effort. They are setting up a “base camp” from which future relief teams can be sent out in weeks and months ahead. Already we have distributed rice, water, fuel, blankets, clothing, small stoves, canned tuna; even toys for kids.

What have we found?

Shock and disorientation: While many thousands have died in the recent earthquake and tsunami here in Japan, the current situation is that many people here remain shaken from what they have experienced. We met one lady whose house was swept away in the tsunami. Many refugees from neighboring Fukushima prefecture are huddled in nearby schools and other unheated government facilities. They are handed rice in the morning and in the evening; but no hot meals. Churches are inundated with neighbors seeking water, food, blankets and other necessities.

Ongoing quakes and damage: Aftershocks continue here; we get four or five each day. Dan took a walk today along the beach and found whole hillsides that had given way. Huge cracks in the roads have closed many of them, forcing us to pick our way along numerous alternate routes.

Shortages of food, fuel and utilities: Many can still not heat their homes. We counted a gas station line of 144 cars yesterday! People sit in line for 5 hours to get gasoline. Many stores remain closed.

Please pray:

1.       That we will have wisdom as we divide our time between meeting short term needs and engaging in long term planning so that CRASH and local churches can minister effectively long term.

2.       That we will truly be an encouragement to local pastors and believers.

3.       That doors of opportunity will open so that the churches here can proclaim the gospel effectively.

4.       For the Japanese church. One pastor told the team yesterday, “This is a wake-up call from God. We have up to now been mostly concerned with increasing our numbers rather than faithfully proclaiming the gospel and demonstrating the love of Christ.”

5.       For the softening of hearts of the Japanese people, who have been resistant to the gospel for so many years. God alone can do this.

6.       While Dan is in Hitachi, Cindy is holding the fort in Fukuoka. Teammate Stephanie suffered a bad fall on her bike earlier this week and it appears that she will require surgery on her knee (ACL??). She is staying with Cindy and Dean for the time being, as she cannot navigate the stairs in her apartment in this condition. Pray for wisdom for the doctors and for effective ministry in the midst of challenging circumstances.

These are challenging times. We appreciate so much your standing in prayer with us. Communication may be a bit limited in days ahead, and I will not likely be able to respond to e-mail messages consistently until I return to Fukuoka in two weeks. We will try to send along some photos later to give you an idea of what we are seeing here.

May the Lord bless your own lives and ministries in the days ahead!

In Him,  

Dan

March Newsletter

Thursday March 24, 2011

Thank you for your Prayers!

Dear co-laborer in the Lord,

So much has happened during the month of March and so many have contacted us through email and facebook. We feel very loved and cared for!

We have a lot of links to websites in this month's email.  All of the words that are in red, bold and underlined are links. Please click on them for more info.

Please be sure to check the Prayer Partner Calendar at the bottom and the prayer topics in the lefthand column of this newsletter. We, and everyone in Japan, need your prayer now more than ever!

Blessings,
Peter, Jenny, Juhee and Sungjae Oh

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Few Quick Updates

 * Hiroshima is over 500 miles away from the triple disaster area and so we are very safe. We did not experience the earthquake, and were not affected by the tsunami. We are also very far away from Fukushima, and thus do not anticipate any radiation contamination in our area. The winds also tend to blow west to east out to the Pacific Ocean, and we are located southwest of Fukushima.

* Life in Hiroshima is pretty much the same as usual except for things like gas prices which is now over $7 per gallon and the cheapest sacks of rice are becoming harder to find as people are buying it down here and taking it up to the affected areas.

* Right after the disasters, the exchange rate was the worst it's been since WWII! Many missionaries are suffering and the funds that are being raised outside of Japan are losing much of their value when changed to Japanese Yen. Efforts by the Japanese government have taken place to stabilize the Yen, but is slow to take effect.

* A team from our church is working together with JIFH (Japanese Inter'l Food for the Hungry) and the Evangelical Free Churches in Japan to transport supplies to the affected areas. Pastor Kitano, our Team Leader Scott, and Richard (ex-marine who's lived in Japan for over 20 years), will be driving Richard's 3-ton truck 20 hours (each way) on Sunday evening to Sendai City, one of the worst hit regions, returning next Friday. (Pic: Team with just some of the donations received by members of the two churches.)

* Our Area Leader, Dan, as well as other Pioneers missionaries from Japan and China, will be traveling to Tokyo on Wednesday/Thursday to aid in the efforts of CRASH Japan (link). From Tokyo, they will then travel to the affected areas with supplies and will be there for about 2 weeks. CRASH Japan is a Christian organization and they have been coordinating the efforts of the missionaries in Japan.

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Will we be Evacuating?

No. It's not because we're brave, but because there's no tangible risk to us right now. Of the 3 Pioneers' teams in Japan, we're the furthest north, and should there be any risk posed to us, our Team Leader and Area Leader will act quickly and decisively to make sure that we come to no harm. Jenny and the kids will be evacuated immediately. But we're hoping this will never need to happen.

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What's going on with us?

* We've been busy replying to lots of emails and trying to get information out to as many of you as possible as we know you're worried and many of you have asked how you can help too. Thank you!!!

* Peter was busy preparing for the annual Spring Vacation youth camp which started today (Thursday).  He will be sharing his testimony, leading a seminar and game times. There will be 4 English speaking girls (Sydney, Taylor and 2 girls who speak no Japanese whatsoever!) and they'll be part of an "International Team". :)  They return on Sunday morning.

* Peter finally completed the long and complicated application form to start full-time Japanese language study at the YMCA in downtown Hiroshima and is preparing for the placement test on April 6th. School starts soon after.

* Peter will be teaching Scott's English class next Tuesday while Scott's away.

* Jenny is busy trying to prepare for the start of Juhee's school and is a bit nervous about Juhee's first day! She'll also be at home alone with the two kids this weekend for the first time since the last youth retreat he attended a few days after Juhee was born over 3 years ago!

* Jenny, Juhee and Sungjae spent 2 hours at the doctor's office on Tuesday for routine immunizations. Juhee had to receive immunization for Japanese Encephalitis (brain inflammation via mosquitoe bite)! (Pic: Juhee taking her own temperature. Temperature is taken by moms/kids in waiting room while waiting to see the doctor. Nurse then checks and writes on form.)

* We thank God for placing us here during this time of need and while feeling rather helpless, remain open to whatever God may have planned for us here. The relief effort is just beginning and will be going on for a long time.

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How Can You Help?

(Pic: It's not just debris that needs to be cleaned up but also ships that were brought ashore by the powerful tsunami. This will definitely take a long time and a lot of manpower.)

* PRAY!!! It's amazing how, through this triple disaster, God has mobilized Christians all over the world to pray in earnest for Japan. So encouraging and so awesome! We have listed a few special prayer topics in our prayer column (left).

* Pioneers has set up a special fund called Japan Disaster Relief. Please reference account #150495 with your gift. Please do not write our names!!! These funds will be used to purchase supplies and to take them to a staging area or point of distribution, including travel costs (gasoline, etc). If you give online, please note that a 3% credit card charge is deducated from your gift amount.

* If you're in Johannesburg, South Africa, or know anyone there, you can help by purchasing t-shirts from "Pray for Japan from South Africa ", an organization set up by a High School friend of Jenny's who is currently working for UNICEF in J-burg. You will own a t-shirt that many ambassadors in SA now own. :) In just a few days, they sold more than 1,100 t-shirts! All proceeds are being sent to ADRA Japan, a Japanese disaster relief NGO.

* If you're near New York, NY, you can also help by attending concerts organized by "Save Japan Benefits". Yoko Ono & Sean Lennon took part in the first of their benefit concert series.

* If you have a spare room or a spare house :) you can temporarily host dislocated Japanese people through the NPO "Host Japanese People".

* You can also give directly through other organizations such as CRASH Japan (non-tax deductible). CRASH Japan 's website is also a great place to keep up with news on the affected areas and relief efforts taking place, especially once the media loses interest.

* Our home church, New Vision Church, is giving through a Southern Baptist organization. At one of our supporting churches, Reverend Lo (Missions Pastor), has challenged the congregation of Dallas Chinese Bible Church to raise $5,000 to contribute to Pioneers' Japan Disaster Relief fund. One of Jenny's aunts sent money to our Korea account specifically to contribute to the disaster relief offering of the two local Japanese churches that we work with.

* Contact organizations like CRASH Japan to find out how you can take part in the relief efforts taking place in Japan. Even if you can't speak Japanese, they can use you! Please check theirwebsite  for more details. Afterwards, spend some time with us before heading back home. :) There are so many ways in which you can take part in the relief effort!

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Prayer Partner Calendar

April Prayer Calendar

We are joyful to have the members of Jubilee and Binnerri  as well as other friends support us in prayer this month. As always, our prayer requests are in the left hand column of our newsletter. Even if your name's not there, please continue to pray for us! We covet your prayers. :) (Pic: Peter preaching & Ogawa-san interpreting during Peter's sermon at Kabe Chapel on March 6th. Thank you for praying!) 

1 Caelyn Shin                   16 Lisa Puckett

2 Carolina Kim                 17 Lois Park

3 Daniel Ra                      18 Manuela Yim

4 Debbie Yi                       19 Nevah Frogozo

5 Erin Sickels                    20 Ruth Kim 

6  Esther Seo                    21 Sarah Shih 

7 Evelyn Chang                22 Sophie Chough

8 Gracie Lee                     23 Susie Sun

9 Heather (Alex) Kim       24 Taryn Schmuland

10 JiHyun Hong               25 Victor Chun

11 Jillian Luttrell              26 김인배 장로님, 문연호 집사님

12 Jinny Park                   27 박상미 집사님

13 Joe Lee                       28 서수원 형제님

14 Jungwon Yook           29 이보연 자매님

15 Karlan Kim                 30 조삼현 장로님, 조미리 집사님

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More Stories...

We haven't been blogging as much this month, but there are a few new blog postings about life, ministry and the triple disaster. Click on the links below to read more.

Death of a Turtle - It was so cute! But alas, we had to say good-bye...

Fast Food - Udon! - We've had udon many times before but it's never been this fast. Apparently, that's the way it's supposed to be.

1,000+ Easter Eggs! - Easter Eggs from Global Harvest Church's Rising Son House Church to advertise our special Easter Children's Service outreach. Exciting! :)

"Kids' Room" - It relieved some of our stress during the high-stress first few months, made us run around and laugh, and gave us opportunities to learn and practice Japanese. Will forever be grateful to Kids' Room! (Pic: Juhee and the teacher holding up the trilingual Thank You card Juhee (and Jenny) made for her.) 

Update - Initial Response - Part of an email we started sending to the many of you once our inbox started to overflow.

Update - Prayer Requests - Prayer requests a few days after the events compiled from newsletters from other missionaries in Japan + some from us.

Update - Today's Prayer Topics - Updated prayer topics as of March 17th.

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Update - Today's Prayer Topics

To say that updating our blog has not been very high on our priority list since the earthquakes and tsunamis last Friday would probably be an understatement.  However, we have updated our facebook statuses a few times so thought I'd share them with the non-facebookers here.

Here's mine from today, March 17th:
PRAY for the JPY. it's getting stronger which means that all of the money raised from abroad will amount to much less if it continues to get stronger. 
PRAY for the weather. it's been snowing the past couple of days - not good survival nor rescue weather!
PRAY for the rescue crews. many suffer from depression / suicidal thoughts afterwards b/c they seem to "fail" more than they "succeed" despite everything.

Mine from March 14th:
life is a bit surreal right now because it's "normal". we're so close to so much devastation yet so far. we have shelter, hot running water, electricity, gas, food, & water. many times during the day i'm struck by a massive sense of gratitude & sadness at the same time. i want to do more than pray & give a little from what we have, but for now, this will have to do.

THE WHOLE WORLD IS PRAYING FOR JAPAN. AWESOME. ♥

Mine from March 11th, the day it all happened:
we're ok. we're on the same island, but hundreds of miles away so we didn't feel a thing. thx for checking on us! :) ♥

Peter's from March 11th:
Thanks for your prayers and concern. Jenny, the kids and I are just fine. The earthquake and tsunami hit near the Miyagi prefecture which is about 700 miles northeast of us. Please pray for those in Northeastern Japan and their families.

He posted his update before me so most of our friends found out through him. :)  A whopping 40 people "like"d his status!

Please please please continue to pray.  I'll try to be better about updating our blog.  It's been hard to blog these days.  I don't like blogging about non-happy topics...  Sigh...

Update - Prayer Requests

Here are some prayer requests that we sent out to the churches / missions departments that support us. It's a long list with prayer requests that we've seen from other missionaries + some that I added towards the end too.

·  At 2:46 PM local time, March 11, an 8.8 magnitude earthquake struck Japan off the eastern coast of Miyagi, prefecture. This is the largest recorded earthquake ever to have struck Japan, and the fifth largest recorded earthquake in the world. Even after 24 hours, heavy aftershocks were still being felt throughout northeastern Japan, with no way of knowing how long these aftershocks will continue. Some experts have said that there could be strong aftershocks of up to magnitude level 8 for six months. Please pray that the earthquakes will cease.

·  The devastation from the initial earthquake was compounded by heavy tsunamis that hammered the east coast, and even after 24 hours, the eastern coast of Japan was still under warning for tsunamis. Sendai City was hit the hardest, both by the temblor and the tsunami. Some towns were entirely obliterated by the tsunamis. Please pray that these tsunamis will cease.

·  Casualty reports are still coming in. As of Saturday afternoon local time, the death toll had exceeded 1,000, with over 600 still missing. Pray for those who are trapped and injured, as well as those who are missing friends and family.

·  In Fukushima Prefecture, two nuclear power plants are under a state of emergency. The reactors are overheating at the number 1 plant, and at the number 2 plant, the reactor pressure has been rising. At the Fukushima number 1 plant, there was an explosion Saturday afternoon, 4 PM local time, injuring four workers. The evacuation around the Fukushima power plant 1 has been expanded to 20 kilometers. Radiation levels at the plant have been measured at 1,051 microsievert. One hour of exposure to that much radiation is the same amount that the average human receives in a year. Please pray that the situation will get under control soon, before anything more serious occurs.

·  Pray also for the weather. With radiation being diffused into the air, wind or rain could carry it into populated areas and expose people. Pray that any wind will carry radiation out to sea rather than into populated areas. What's more, bitterly cold night-time temperatures could prove life-threatening for those who are trapped.

·  Millions of homes in northeastern Japan are without power, and over a million homes in Ibaraki prefecture are without fresh water supplies. Pray for the power plants and water facilities to be able to resume their work, and pray for those who do not have these essential supplies.

·  Tens of thousands of people have been evacuated from their homes in the coastal areas and the area around the Fukushima nuclear power plants. Please pray for them, and all who are having to stay in public shelters.

·  Relief workers are working around the clock to rescue survivors, but things are grim for coastal cities due to the continual bombardment of tsunamis. Pray for the relief workers, that God would grant safety and stamina.

·  Pray for the Christians of Japan, that we would be able to mobilize relief efforts and provide for people's needs, both physical and spiritual.

·  Pray that "normal life" can be resumed as soon as possible so that people can start to process and heal physically and psychologically.

·  Pray that many will come to have hope through our God, who is bigger than everything that has happened.

·  Pray for the protection of Christians and non-Christians alike, that they do not become the targets of cults and other religions during this time when many are in a very vulnerable state.

Update - Initial Response

This is an email template that we've been sending out to our friends and family over the past week since the earthquakes and tsunami hit northeaster Japan last Friday afternoon. We started out replying to emails personally but then when everyone in the US found out by Saturday morning (our time), our inbox started to get flooded so Peter wrote the email below. Sorry I haven't relinked the websites.

Thank you for your concern and prayers.


We're doing well. The earthquakes and tsunami are more than 500 miles northeast of us so we have not felt any direct affects. Also, the way the islands are positioned, we were well protected from a tsunami coming from north-eastern Japan.


However, we do have friends in the Tokyo area who have been affected. Although they are physically well, they are quite shaken - no pun intended. There are still aftershocks in Northeast Japan, and thus the trains and some communication was out of order for some time after the initial earthquake (this is according to some friends in the Tokyo area). The buses ran all night last night, and we understand the trains have also resumed except for the Shinkansen (bullet trains). Also, although there is no physical damage in the Tokyo area, many of the stores are out of stock of food. This could make life quite uncomfortable for possibly millions of people in Northeast Japan. Also, four nuclear power plants were shut down for precautionary measures, and have resulted in power outages to over a million people. You may have heard reports of explosions as well at the power plants. Fortunately, they were hydrogen explosions, and not explosions caused by a meltdown.


The worst hit areas are in the Miyagi Prefecture (prefecture=an area similar to what we refer to as state in the US) and those in the tsunami hit regions of Fukushima and Ibaraki Prefectures. There are reports of over 1,300 people who are dead, and that number is expected to rise as search efforts are under way. Also, forty-four fires have been reported in six different prefectures. The damage is extensive.


This is just a tip of the iceberg. People's lives, jobs, the economy... so many things will be affected.


At times of disaster and tragedy such as this, there are so many things to pray for. Please pray for the people in the cities and prefectures mentioned above. Please pray for the families of those who are deceased, and for the families of those who are missing. Please pray that those who are missing will be found.


Many people here will be asking many questions in their hearts, but may not vocalize them. May God through His Spirit and by His mercy turn the hearts of these precious people to Christ who alone can rescue both their bodies and their souls. Pray that the church in Japan would take this opportunity to care for their neighbors with Christ's love and the good news of hope in Christ.


For more first hand news reports see this Japan news agency:
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/index.html


If the LORD is leading you to help out in some way with the relief effort, even though our missionary team doesn't have direct connections with these groups, we would encourage you to take a look at the following sites:


http://www.crashjapan.com
http://www.samaritanspurse.org
http://www.wordvision.org
http://www.redcross.org


Thank you again for your prayers.
Peter and Jenny

Trilingual Thank You Card

This is a picture of the inside of the Thank You card we gave to Kids' Room's M sensei:

The main text reads:
ありがとうございます！Kids' roomは　ほんどうに　たのしかったせした。 정말 재미있었습니다! :)
일본에서의 (日本に) 첫 (はじめて) 클래스 (class) 경험이 (experience) 너무나도 (ほんどに　とても？あまり？) 행복한 (こうふく) 추억들로 (memories) 남을 것 입니다 (のこります).
정말 진심으로 감사드립니다.
건강하세요~!

In English:
Thank you! Kids' Room was really fun. It was really fun! :)
Our first classroom experience in Japan will always be a happy memory (for us).
Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.
Take care!

I used the English word for class in Korean, instead of the Korean word and I don't know how accurate my Japanese is, but our hearts and gratitude were communicated, which is the most important thing. She can use the card to practice her Korean and English too. :)

It was fun making the card with Juhee. :)

"Kids' Room"

At M- preschool close to the Murray's, they have a free program called "Kids' Room" (in English, or in Japanese, "ki-zu ru-mu") for 0-3 year olds, 2-3 Mondays per month from 10:00-11:30am. Pam took Juhee to a class in December during the week that we stayed at the Murray's. Sydney and Taylor kindly went with them. Juhee didn't know Pam very well at the time so I wasn't sure if she would go if it was just her and Pam.  Thankfully, Juhee had a great time so I've been taking her as often as possible since then.

After taking her on her own when I first took her, I started to take Sungjae too. It's a bit hard because I have to hold him a lot of the time and he's so heavy and squirmy, but he has lots of fun too when he's not trapped in mommy's arms. :)

Juhee loves playing with the hula hoops, in the milk & juice carton structures, playing with the blocks, balls, etc but I think she actually loves reading the many children's books there the most.

Sungjae loves chasing after and putting the balls and blocks pieces into his mouth, and climbing up onto things.

It starts with free playtime till about 10:40am or so and then the teacher leads them in lots of different fun activities. There's always circle time (story time) towards the end and juice (Yakult-type) drinking time too! Juhee loves Yakult and Sungjae hasn't tried it yet, but he always gets very excited when he sees it so Juhee had to hide hers and I had to watch him carefully because he would crawl very quickly to try and get some other kids'! Some moms give it to their babies, but I think I'll wait till he's after one before giving him some. I asked one of the moms and that's what she suggested. I liked her suggestion. :)

Both Juhee & Sungjae had little booklets that had all of the Kids' Room dates on it and they received a sticker to put in the box corresponding to that day every time they went. They also had name badges in the shape of rabbits, pink for Juhee and blue for Sungjae. The moms had yellow name badges. The school also seems to have a connection with a Korean organization involved with disabled children as there's a big frame from this organization in the front of the room, which reads "꿈을 나누는 사람이 꽃보다 아름답습니다" (a person who shares dreams is more beautiful than a flower).

M preschool's "Kids' Room" class, was Juhee's first classroom experience in Japan and I think it gave her a really good, positive start. The repetition during the classes helped Juhee to practice essential Japanese phrases like "ohaiyo gozaimasu" (good morning), "itadakimasu" (bon appetite / 잘 먹겠습니다), and "gochisousama" (said after a meal / 잘 먹었습니다) and the accompanying gestures, like bowing when saying the first one and putting hands together while bowing for the second & third ones. M sensei also made sure that I understood what was going on and took special care of Juhee. Each class was a good opportunity for me to practice some Japanese too.  On the last day, one of the moms that I speak to almost every time, actually invited me to a free traditional Japanese concert! It's on a Sunday afternoon, which is a bit awkward for us, but we're going to try our best to go. It's a bit far too in an area we haven't been to yet, but we'll try. There's going to be a traditional Japanese drum performance too!

Monday, March 7th, was our last day. :( Juhee starts school in April so won't be able to go any longer and as it's a bit far and during Sungjae's nap time, so Sungjae won't be going for a while, if ever. Juhee prepared a Thank You card for M sensei (teacher) with a drawing of M sensei, a rainbow, heart, circle, etc inside. I wrote a short note in Korean (she's learning Korean and goes to Korea now and again for teaching related classes), English (learning English from Pam) and Japanese, my first ever trilingual card! :) I prepared a little container of Korean food for her to try too.

M sensei is an awesome teacher, full of energy and fun ideas, and who obviously loves children very much.  I can't adequately express in words how grateful I am that Juhee's first experience was such a happy one!  It was definitely worth the 30 hour drive, come rain or snow.  I am so grateful to Pam, Sydney, Taylor and M sensei for sacrificing their time, and for their love and care.  Kids' Room gave us something to look forward to and an outlet for our increasing stir-craziness at a time of great stress.  I will always remember M sensei & Kids' Room with very fond memories and I think Juhee will too. :)

1,000+ Easter Eggs!

For Easter Sunday, Susan has been asked to lead a special Easter outreach event for the "Children's School" on Easter Sunday morning (9am April 24th) at Koyo Chapel. She'll be using the "Resurrection Eggs" kit, telling the Easter story using felt boards and sticky people :) and there will also be an Easter craft for all of the kids to take home which the Murrays' helper in the US has already prepared and sent back for the kids.

While we were discussing this event, Peter suggested the possibility of advertising the event by using plastic Easter eggs with advertising rolled up inside. It would be something different and fun, something eye catching and memorable. Scott replied, "That's an egg-cellent idea!" I thought that was hilarious! =D Everyone else thought that my response was funnier. :)

We can't get Easter eggs here so while thinking of who we could ask in the US, one of our supporting churches, Global Harvest Church's Rising Son House Church came to mind. They've been awesome in communicating with us regularly and wanting to send us care packages regularly too. As there isn't anything in particular that we desperately need right now, we thought we would ask them if they could send us 500-1,000 Easter eggs instead of personal items this time around - and they said yes ("cover the thousand you requested... and then some")! We were so happy!

Well, you can imagine how excited we were when the delivery guy brought two big boxes to our door yesterday morning with more than 1,000 Easter eggs inside! He'd initially gone to the wrong house so our neighbor brought him over. He kept on staring at me 'cause I think he was trying to figure out a) our name was not Japanese, b) and the package was from the US, c) but I look Japanese, d) but I obviously wasn't Japanese 'cause I couldn't understand everything he said. I can assure you that he wasn't staring at me because of my stunning beauty! ;)

We haven't figured out the advertising that's going to go into the eggs yet, but we're going to create them soon, start stuffing them, and then when two of our friends from our home church, New Vision Church / Pathway Bible Fellowship come in April, they'll be distributing them in the Koyo area and maybe some near our home too.

Thank you Rising Son House Church of Global Harvest Church for so proactively taking part in reaching out to the people of Hiroshima. We're extremely grateful and very excited!!! :)

2월 업데이트

Thursday March 3, 2011

기도해주셔서 감사합니다!

안녕하세요!

두달에 한번만 보내드리기로 했는데 기도에 욕심이 나서 이렇게 간략하게라도 보내드리게 되었습니다.  많은 기도 부탁드립니다!!! ^^  

신실하신 주 안에서,
Peter Oh선교사 가정 드림

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아사미나미 개척교회

할렐루야!  2년 넘게 찾고 찾고 또 찾았던 아사미나미 지역의 개척교회 장소를 하나님께서 드디어 보여주셨습니다.  바로 앞에 유치원이 있고 그 옆에 초등학교가 있어서 시끄럽기 때문에 아무도 사려하지 않았지만 저희에게는 정말 너무나도 완벽한 장소입니다.  덕분에 할인된 가격에 살 수 있었고요 수 많은 학생들과 학부모님들, 선생님들과 학교 스태프들이 개척교회 장소 앞을 지나가며 주일예배와 저희가 계획할 많은 행사들에 대해서 알게 될 수 밖에 없습니다.  그 외에도 두 현지인 교회들에서 만든 희망사항 리스트에 있는 거의 모든 사항들을 이루었습니다.  할렐루야!

4월에 현재 그 장소에 있는 가정집을 허물고 공사 들어갑니다.  내년 초 부터 아사미나미 (지역이름) 국제교회 개척에 본격적으로 들어갑니다.  많은 기도 부탁드립니다!

사진에 클릭하시면 더 크게 보실 수 있습니다.  여기 블로그에도 있습니다.

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하나님은 당신을 사랑하십니다

2월 13일에 피터 선교사가 일본에서 처음으로 설교했습니다.  요한 일서 4:7-12말씀에서 가르치는 하나님의 사랑에 대한 말씀이었습니다.  다음 날이 발렌타인 데이이고 일본 사람들이 하나님의 사랑은 추상적인 어떠한 것이 아니라 개인적이라는 것을 받아들이기 힘들어한다는 것을 듣고 성령님께서 하나님의 사랑에 대해 전하라고 인도하셨습니다.  하나님의 은혜 가운데 잘 마쳤습니다.  기도해주심에 감사드립니다!  

더 자세한 사항은 여기 블로그에 있습니다. 

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주희의 새 학교

2월 15일에 주희가 4월에 입학하는 새 유치원에 새로 입학하는 학생들과 부모들을 위한 "일일입학" 오리엔테이션 데이가 있어서 참석했습니다.  기대도 되고 떨리기도 했습니다.  얼마나 알아들을 수 있을지도 몰랐고 주희가 어떨지 몰라 좀 걱정 되었습니다.  아주 많은 해프닝들이 있었습니다.  정말 새로운 경험들이 많았고 물론 실수 한 일들도 있었습니다.  하지만 하나님께서 영어를 할 수 있는 카베채플 교인의 친구를 보내셔서 함께 이야기를 나누고 도움을 받을 수 있도록 허락하셨습니다.  할렐루야!  한국 드라마를 좋아해서 한국어를 배우고 싶어하고 영어실력도 다시 회복하고 싶어해하는 새 친구와 함께 학교 일로 겸사겸사 만나면서 주님의 사랑을 전할 수 있도록 기도해주세요!

더 많은 이야기들과 사진들은 여기 블로그에 있습니다.

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더 많은 이야기들...

함께 나누고 싶은 이야기와 사진들이 더 많습니다. 다 영어로 되어 있지만 사진들만이라도 구경하러 가끔 들려주세요~ ^^ 아래에 간략하게 요약해 보았습니다.

Flea Market - 첫 교회 바자회였습니다. 미국 저희 교회에서 경험했던 것과는 아주 달랐습니다. 코요와 카베채플, 두 현지인 교회에서 힘을 합해 교회를 위해 일도하고 친교의 시간을 가질 수 있는 좋은 기회였습니다. 일본식 단팥죽 비슷한 것도 처음 먹어 보았습니다.  

Quick Sungjae Post - 성제의 아기시절에 대해 기억하고 싶은 것 몇 가지 적어 보았습니다.

Laundry - 미국에서는 별 볼 일 없었던 빨래, 일본에서는 하루 일과 중 비교적 큰 비중을 차지하는 고민거리이기 때문에 몇 마디 적어 보았습니다.

Samuel um... Playgroup - 주희랑 성제는 물론, 저도 아이들 노는 모임들에 가서 항상 많은 것을 배웁니다. 이 날은 제 핸드백 속에 손수건 뿐만 아니라 작은 수건 하나도 꼭 들고 다녀야 한다는 것을 배웠습니다.

Sumire Cafe - Japanese Cooking Class - 코요채플에서 한달에 한번 요리강습 전도 이벤트를 갖습니다. 참석은 했지만 재료도 잘 모르고 만드는 방법이 적힌 종이를 읽을 수가 없어 아직 만들 수는 없습니다... ㅜㅜ 

"That's so funny, Uncle Scott!" - 저희 팀리더이신 머레이 선교사님께서 지난주에 카베채플에서 "어린이 타임" 중간에 주희가 "Scott 삼촌! 너무 재밌어요!"라고 외쳤습니다. 그 날 주제는 선교사 Jim Elliot의 죽음에 관한 내용이었습니다. 머레인 선교사님께서 그 곳 인디언들이 사람들을 잡아먹는 식인종이라는 이야기를 했을 때 주희가 머레이 선교사님께서 농담하는 줄 알았던 것 같습니다... ^^; 

A Date with Sushi - 특별한 날이어서 일본에 와서 처음으로 스시를 먹었습니다. 피터 선교사는 참치를 좋아합니다. 참치만 먹었습니다. ㅡㅡ; 저는 연어를 좋아합니다. 여러가지를 먹어 보았습니다. ^^ 아주 색다른 경험이었습니다. 

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3월 기도후원자 달력

달라스의 Global Harvest Church와 Dallas Chinese Bible Church 의 청소년부 학생들, 그리고 몇몇 친구들이 이번달에 기도해주셔서 감사합니다. 기도제목들은 항상 왼쪽 칼럼에 있습니다. 전부 영어 뉴스레터를 받으시는 분들이라 아래에 이름들을 생략했습니다. 성함이 없더라도 저희를 위해 계속적으로 기도해주세요! 기도 없이는 아무것도 안됩니다! (사진: 가끔 데려가는 놀이방 중 하나에서 우유와 쥬스팩, 테잎으로 만들어진 집 속에서 놀고 있는 주희) 

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