Sharing at LSCC

Through my sister, who's one of the most awesome networking people I know, and her friends from Dallas, TX, Vincent & Bonnie Mo, we had the opportunity to share this past Sunday at Living Stones Christian Church. We felt very much at home as the whole congregation of about 30-40 people were very welcoming and were all people our age in their 20's and 30's (or that's what they looked like anyway).

Pastor Josh preached how faithfulness is a precursor to obedience, in particular in sharing the gospel, which was a great lead in to our time of sharing about the spiritual needs of Japan and our call to share the gospel in Hiroshima. After we shared, we enjoyed a delicious dimsum lunch with everyone, had a good time of fellowship, and met some really cool people.

Of course, Juhee had a great time playing with the other kids, coloring, and sticking stickers everywhere! There was one boy there who was almost the same age and they were very similar - love snacks, love being out with people, and use screaming (but not tantrums, just one high-pitched scream) as a means of communicating their frustration. They would've been great friends! I think I would've been great friends with his mom too. =)

A major milestone: Juhee ate her first ever candy that day and she was very smart about the way she got it. When she realized that I was handing out Japanese candy to the trivia winners, she got off her seat next to Auntie Bonnie, ran to me, and asked me for one. I gave her the same one I always give her - the one that her little fingers can't yet open as you need to rip it open... I pretend to not be able to open the candy and also usually ask all other adults to do the same. But Juhee this time didn't even bother asking me. While I was busy handing out the candy, she ran back to Auntie Bonnie and asked her to open it for her! I didn't realize what had happened until after I'd sat back down and saw her enjoying her first ever candy...

Motorcycle Bike-a-Thon: The Finale

What a blessing the Bike-a-Thon was for us as well as for our church and the SVMC members. We celebrated the success of the Bike-a-Thon during Jenny's mom's special VIP cell group meeting where we honored Mr. Stephen Lee 이원세 집사님 and his SVMC biker friends for their contribution in raising nearly 34% of our Departure Fund. The Bike-a-Thon was particularly special because most of the SVMC members are not church-goers, and still generously helped in this endeavor to make a difference in Japan through this fundraiser. Peter was able to pray for them over the phone on the morning of their departure, but we weren't able to meet them face to face until now. We finally had the privilege of meeting and getting to know the bikers at this special VIP cell group meeting.

From 2009 Motorcycle Bike-a-Thon

As the members of Jenny's mom's cell group prepared balloons, signs, lots of delicious food, and shared their testimonies, we believe the SVMC members felt very welcomed and felt the love of Christ. Toward the end, they were presented with a gift from New Vision Church, medals prepared by the cell group leader, and a Thank You card from us.

From 2009 Motorcycle Bike-a-Thon

Afterward, the members of the cell group held out their hands and sang "You Were Born To Be Loved" (Korean gospel) to our VIP guests before enjoying a feast of kalbi (Korean-style BBQ ribs), mussel soup, and dduk-bok-ki (Korean spicy rice cake dish) amongst other delicious dishes.

It was awesome hearing the bikers' stories and getting to know them personally. Mr. Stephen Lee shared how attending Sturgis once again confirmed for him how very standard American biking is and how it's a great tool for evangelism for so many people living in the USA.

What a wonderful opportunity it was to share God's love! Jesus ate with prostitutes and tax collectors. Can you imagine Jesus riding a Harley so that He might save some people who enjoy riding motorcycles? =)

Juhee's First Tennis "Lesson"

I'm not sure if Peter gently tossing the ball to Juhee while she held the racket upside down really qualifies as her first tennis "lesson"... =DDD

Peter really enjoys playing tennis (as well as baseball, basketball, volleyball...), but he doesn't often get the chance to go out and play sports these days. He managed to get out this day and we joined him as there's a playground right next to the tennis courts. There was a spare racket and after watching what the adults were doing and spontaneously saying "ni~ce!" a few times making the adults laugh, Juhee decided to give it a go too... Except the racket came all the way up to her shoulders!!! She had fun dragging the racket around ^^; and trying to throw the ball at the racket. She lo~ved it when Peter tossed a ball at her racket and the ball hit it.

Family Retreat: Pebble Beach, CA

From Pebble Beach Sep09

The peace and quiet, and the beautiful scenery were just what we needed. With 9 people from 3 different households living under one roof, it's not always easy to find time for us to have private conversations, have some family time, or just enjoy some quiet. It's also been just over a year since our last family vacation, and we needed a few days to get away. An awesome friend who is also one of our biggest supporters very graciously offered to open up her family's vacation home in beautiful Pebble Beach for us to stay in for our family retreat, and we gratefully accepted her offer. We set the date a couple of weeks in advance but towards the time of our departure, an urgent need for prayer arose... The possibility of moving to Dallas opened up a few days before we left and we knew that our weekend away was God's perfect timing in giving us time to quietly and prayerfully discuss God's leading.

We arrived late Friday night after enjoying Sonic at Gilroy. They didn't have our favorite sandwich though - the Chicken Fried Steak burger. We'll have to wait to return to Dallas for that. We also bought a few grocery items so we can have breakfast at home before setting out each day, and have a few snacks as well. It was about 30ºF colder there compared to San Jose so we wrapped up warm in multiple layers of blankets at night and in jackets during the day.

After breakfast on Saturday, we headed out to Monterey's Fisherman's Wharf and had a great time walking on the pier, trying various samples of clam chowder, enjoying the Arts & Crafts Festival and live music, and finally enjoying ice cream once Juhee went down for her nap. We then took a stroll along the nearby beach and then went to explore the Dennis the Menace Playground we found on the free Monterey map I picked up. It was so awesome! Juhee had so much fun she didn't want to leave. We had to promise Juhee that we'd return the next day to coax her to leave before it got dark.

From Pebble Beach Sep09

The next day we spent our day of rest enjoying the beauty of God's creation while we cruised down 17 Mile drive in awe of Him who created all the beauty that surrounded us. We played in the lovely white sandy beach of Carmel, and had a chance to reflect on the awesomeness of God. Afterwards, we headed back to the Dennis the Menace Playground until it was time for us to go home and give her a bath before bedtime.

Monday was, sadly to say, a packing and cleaning day with a quick visit to one of the piers, but we had an important visit in front of us - to visit Peter's aunt and uncle in Marina! It'd been several years since Peter visited their home, and it was the first time for Juhee and me. Peter's aunt has been living in that house since 5 years before I was even born! She has all sorts of fruits and vegetables growing in her backyard and all sorts of birds that visit every day too. It was awesome to see so much nature in her backyard, and we were able to enjoy some of her very sweet cherry tomatoes and juicy peaches harvested earlier that day - yummy!!! It was great to be able to visit them on our way back home and spend some time catching up with them. =)

The whole weekend was perfect - perfect place, perfect people, and the perfect timing too. Thank You God for allowing us this time of rest, relaxation, and reflection.

SCVJCC POPS has restarted!

Yay! The bi-weekly Parents of Preschoolers (POPS) group at SCVJCC has started again. Juhee and I had a great time catching up with the Japanese moms and kids who came last session and meeting a couple of new people too.

As always, the program was packed with fun. There was a cool blue apron which one of the volunteer moms very fashionably wore while the teacher (lady in white) narrated the story. This apron turned out to be the sea, the setting for the story of Noah's Ark! The Ark and other bits and pieces like the land that appears later had velcro on them so they would stick to the apron. There were also lots of animals which the kids got to put into the ark themselves. Juhee finally went and got one but then brought it back to me instead of putting it in the ark so I had to redirect her. ;)

In line with the Noah's Ark theme, the craft that day was drawing a rainbow or playing outside with boats in tubs of water. It was a very hot day and Juhee loved playing with the boats as well as on the slide and other toys there. At one point, she was playing inside with the kitchen play set and train set and the other kids started talking to her in Japanese. One girl in particular who was a couple of years older just chatted away and Juhee actually seemed like she was trying to understand and learn! They played well together and as usual, Juhee didn't want to leave.

It was fun for me to practice my Japanese. Some of the moms know now that Juhee and I attend so we can practice our Japanese in preparation for our move to Japan so deliberately ask me easy questions in Japanese. One of the questions they asked was how old Juhee is. I answered that she's twenty one months but I didn't say the 'one' part right (said nijyuichi instead of nijyui-). Instead of telling me that I'm wrong or laughing at me they very kindly just repeated my answer ("Oh~ she's 21 months") but said it correctly. =) I got that one wrong when Juhee was eleven months old while we were in Japan for our vision trip last year too. Oops! ;P

As well as attending POPs every other Tuesday, I'll also be babysitting for them on Fridays during October for their cooking classes and English conversation classes for moms. We've changed Juhee's school schedule so she can come with me and practice her Japanese too. =DDD

God's provided us with such an amazing opportunity to make friends and experience ways of doing Japanese-style, culturally appropriate outreach programs during our time here. Juhee and I look forward to making more friends and learning lots more too! =)

Experiencing Culture

We once again connected with a few of our friends from Lifehouse at a Small Group Gathering hosted by Hanbit. Thank you Hanbit!!

One way we like to make our vision sharing more interactive is to ask a few trivia questions. The one we enjoy the most is to hand out this pink thing and yellow striped thing, and have folks guess what they are. What do you think they are?

Hanbit, Barbara and Annie gave the most creative guesses we've ever heard.
"Are they clothes for potty training toddlers?" Nice guess, but not quite right. Try again.
"Are they baby stockings?" Nope!

Have you figured it out yet? Do you know what they're used for? Here's a hint.

They're used for the same purpose.

Give up? So did they. =)

We let them see the package these items came in. You'll have to click on the picture to get a bigger view so you can see what it's for. Even after seeing the packaging, they were still trying to make sense of it.

Jenny and I had no idea what these items were when we first saw them too. Our faces looked just as puzzled as these ladies'.

After we told them what these items are used for, they broke out in laughter. They were a little grossed out, but we assured them that these items were never used. =)

If you're curious as to what these items are and what they're used for, please join us in a Small Group Gathering.

They were really good sports, and Hanbit and Barbara modeled these items for a photo finish. Don't they look fashionable?

This is a fun way we share with folks how we'll be struggling with a new culture when we're in Japan. There will be so many new objects, technologies, and ways of doing things that are beyond our cultural context that we'll make many wrong guesses before someone sets us straight. I hope we have just as much fun with these new cultural experiences as Hanbit, Barbara and Annie did this evening.

8월 업데이트

Wednesday September 2, 2009

안녕하세요!

Peter & Jenny Oh 님 안녕하세요!

신실하신 주님의 이름으로 문안 인사 드립니다.

8월 역시 바쁜 한 달이었습니다. 하이라이트 몇 가지를 이야기해 드리고 후원금 업데이트, 그리고 저희 새로운 이멜 형식을 소개해 드리고 싶습니다. 보시고 소감을 말씀해주세요.

많은 축복과 기도로 저희를 항상 응원해주셔서 감사합니다.

Peter & 연숙 Jenny Oh

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Departure 자금 100%!

할렐루야! Bike-a-Thon, 두 차례에 걸친 matching donation, 그리고 많은 분들의 헌신적인 헌금 덕에 저희 Departure 자금 전액이 모아졌습니다.

그럼 이제 일본으로 가는거냐고요? 아직 좀 있어야합니다. Pioneers 선교단체에서는 저희 Departure 자금의 100%와 Monthly 자금의 90%이상이 모아져야 가도록 허락을 해 줍니다.

일본 히로시마에 계신 저희 팀장 Murray 선교사님께서 말씀하셨듯이 "Departure 자금은 우리를 일본에 도착하도록 하지만, Monthly 자금이 우리를 일본에 머물게 해줍니다."

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Monthly 자금 29%!

매달, 석달에 한번, 또는 일년에 한번 후원하시기로 작정하신 뉴비전교회, Santa Clara Valley Japanese Christian Church, 그리고 개인 후원자 20분께 감사를 드립니다. 일본 히로시마에서 살고 있는 많은 사람들의 삶에 영향을 끼칠 아낌 없는 후원에 감사를 드립니다.

저희가 Monthly 자금의 90% 이상이 작정 되어야 Pioneers 선교단체에서 저희가 일본에 가도록 허락을 해주며 9월말 까지 Monthly 자금 작정금액의 70-75%까지에 도달해 일본의 3년 짜리 종교비자 신청을 시작할 수 있게 되기를 기도하고 있습니다. 2009년 12월까지는 비자도 받고 Monthly 자금 90%에 도달해 갈 수 있게 되기를 기도합니다.

저희와 매달, 석달에 한번, 혹은 일년에 한번 동참하실 기회를 두고 기도로 주님의 뜻을 구해보시지 않으시겠습니까? 혹시 그러시다면 여기에 클릭하세요... (죄송합니다, 영어입니다.)

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기도 후원자

저희 기도 후원자가 되어주시겠다고 하신 분이 이제 약 120명 계십니다. 저희의 소망은 365명의 기도 후원자가 일년에 하루를 맡아 저희 일본선교를 위해 기도를 해주시는 것입니다. 기도 후원가자 되고 싶으신 분들은 peterandjennyoh@gmail.com으로 이멜 보내주시기 바랍니다.

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Bike-a-Thon 업데이트

이원세 집사님게서 South Dakota에서 있었던 Sturgis에 참석하시고 Yellowstone 국립공원과 Nevada 사막을 주행하셨습니다. 4,034마일(6,492km)을 달리시면서 화씨 100도가 넘는 온도, 거의 영도의 추운 밤온도, 소낙비, 천둥번개, 60마일이 넘는 강풍, 우박등을 거의 매일 경험하셨습니다. 사진과 더 자세한 내용들은 여기 에 보시면 있습니다. 많은 분들께서 흥미로워하셨을 뿐만 아니라 저희의 Departure 자금의 34%나 되는 $14,625이라는 엄청난 금액을 모금하게 된 대성공적인 이벤트였습니다. 하나님께서 많은 분들의 마음을 움직이셔서 아낌 없이 후원하시는 모습을 보며 하나님의 기적이 이루어지고 있음을 직접 느낄 수 있었습니다. 감사합니다!

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가족과 함께 보낸 시간

8월이 특별했던 이유 또 한가지가 있습니다. 직장 때문에 한국에서 일하시는 제 아버지께서 작년 12월 후 처음으로 일주일간 집에 계셨습니다. 여동생과 처남도 Dallas, Texas에서 와 온 식구가 모이는 귀한 시간이었습니다. 더 많아진 가족의 사랑과 괌심 속에 주희는 너무나도 행복했답니다! 지구 곳곳으로 퍼지기 전에 한 가족으로써 함께 시간을 보낼 수 있어서 너무 좋았습니다. 사진과 더 자세한 내용은 여기에 보시면 있습니다.

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August update newsletter

Tuesday September 1, 2009

Greetings!

Dear co-laborer in the Lord,

We've had an exciting August, and would like to share some of the highlights of this past month with you. We also want to give you an update of our current status, and introduce you to our new e-newsletter format. Let us know what you think.

Thank you again for your many prayers and blessings!

Peter and Jenny Oh

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Departure Fund at 100%!

Praise God! Thanks to the Bike-a-Thon, generous matching donations and sacrificial giving from many of you, our Departure Fund is now at 100%.

So does this mean we will be going to Japan now? Not quite.Pioneers will authorize our departure when we have 100% of our Departure Funds and 90% of our Monthly Support. We're almost there, but not quite.

As our Team Leaders in Hiroshima, Japan, Scott & Susan Murray put it, "The Departure Fund will get us there, but the Monthly Support will keep us there."

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Monthly Support at 29%!

We are so very thankful for the two churches New Vision Churchand Santa Clara Valley Japanese Christian Church and 20 individuals/couples who have pledged to give on a monthly or annual basis, which brings us to 29% of our required Monthly Support. Thank you for taking part in making a difference in the lives of those in Hiroshima, Japan through your generous giving.

Pioneers will authorize us to depart for Japan once we have 90% of our Monthly Support pledged, and we are praying that we will reach 70-75% by the end of September so that we can start the process to obtain our first of many 3-year Japan religious visas. We hope to obtain our visas and reach 90% of our Monthly Support by December 2009 so that we can depart for Japan before Juhee turns two years old.

Would you prayerfully consider partnering with us monthly, quarterly or annually as God enables you to? If so, please follow these instructions...

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Prayer Partner Progress

We now have almost 120 prayer partners! Our goal is to have 365 prayer partners, one for each day of the year. Please let us know if you would like to commit to praying for us at least one day of the year by emailing us at peterandjennyoh@gmail.com.

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Bike-a-Thon Update

Mr. Stephen Lee is back from his 4,034 mile trip to Sturgis, South Dakota, through Yellowstone National Park and the Nevada desert. He experienced "hell and high water" as he suffered through strong winds of 100F, cold night temperatures close to 0F, hail storms, and thunderstorms. Read more about his journey and see pictures here . In addition to all of the excitement, the Bike-a-Thon was a huge success in raising a whopping $14,625, which accounts for 34% of our needed Departure Fund! It was really a miracle to see God move in the hearts of so many people to give so generously. Thank you!

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Family Time

This month was special for another reason. Jenny's dad, who lives in Korea due to his job, visited home for one week for the first time since last December. Jenny's sister Jade and her husband Jon also flew in from Dallas, Texas to make it a true family reunion. Juhee had a great time basking in everyone's love and attention! It was great being able to spend time together as a family before being spread out across the globe. Click here for more stories and pictures.

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Fun Family Times

In August we had our first family reunion since Juhee's 1st birthday last December. Dad's been working extra hard in Seoul, S. Korea and so it's been difficult for him to take vacation time off to spend time with us back in San Jose, CA, USA. He enjoyed spending time catching up with family and friends, playing with Juhee, playing a bit of golf, eating In-N-Out, eating mom's home-cooked food, and spent lots of time sleeping, catching up on lost sleep and trying to relax. Even this time around, he was only able to spend one short week with us due to his busy work schedule and the typical Korean work ethic of not taking vacation time off. Hopefully he'll be able to come home for Christmas / New Year's at the end of the year even if only for a week.

Jade and Jon also flew in from Dallas and stayed for just under a week too. Jon had a business trip in Oakland so was gone during the week and Jade was busy visiting her friends and our cousin in San Jose & SF but we still got to spend some quality time talking and praying together which was wonderful.

On the one Saturday we were all together, we had a family Korean BBQ dinner at home with extended family. We'd seen our SF cousin a couple of times this year, but we hadn't seen my dad's cousin's family since Juhee's birthday last December so it was great seeing them again too. Juhee lo~ved playing with her two "older brothers 오빠" (although technically they're her uncles)! She was very bossy but the boys were very good and indulged her. She still asks for them and gets very excited when we look at the pictures together from the BBQ dinner. The thing about Korean BBQ - it's delicious but it takes fore~ver!

On Thursday, before Jade and Jon flew back early Friday morning =(, the six adults (without Juhee!!!) went out to have dinner at a restaurant in Santa Cruz. We only live 40-50 minutes away but it was my first time there. We caught a quick glimpse of the sea on our way to the restaurant and it was beautiful! Hopefully we'll go visit sometime again soon before it becomes too cold. =)

I love spending time with my family as we're really close and have so much fun together! It's definitely going to be one of the things I'll miss the most once we're in Japan.

Partnering Information

Thank you for tracking with us. We've had many people ask us for specific instructions on how they can partner with us so we thought we'd create a blog post to try to make things as clear as possible.

If you feel that God is calling you to be a part of making a difference in lives of those in Japan, you can partner with us through prayer, one-time giving, or by giving regularly.

To be a prayer partner, email us at peterandjennyoh@gmail.com, and let us know. Closer to our departure date, we'll be asking our prayer partners to sign up to a specific calendar date so that each of our 365 prayer partners will be covering us in prayer, at least one day per year. If you already have a specific date in mind, let us know when you email us. =)

There are a few ways in which you can partner with us financially.

1. Give online through Pioneers by clicking here and type in "peter and jenny oh" and "#111317".

Please keep in mind that with this option, 3% of what you give goes to the credit card company.

2. Send in a one-time gift using the top portion of the Financial Partnership Form (click image) and sending it in together with your check to Pioneers.

3. Give regularly by using the top portion of the Financial Partnership Form (click image) and sending it in together with your check to Pioneers on a monthly, quarterly or annual basis. This is the most "hands on" option for giving regularly.

4. Set-up an Electronic Fund Transfer through your bank using the 2-page form below (click on both) and sending it in to Pioneers. Instructions are within the document. This is the easiest and most hassle-free way of giving regularly, whether it be monthly, quarterly, or annually. It's also possible to set-up an EFT by credit card too, but again, 3% of what you pledge will go to the credit card company as a service charge.

Of course, you're always welcome to partner with us by joining us in Japan too. Whether it's a short-term trip, a vision trip, or your desire to serve in Japan long-term, our home will be open and a room will be waiting for you. We can't help you with the airfare, but we can sure help by providing you housing.

With the regular giving, it is important to let us and/or Pioneers know as soon as possible about your pledge even if you don't start giving straight away. You can even set the date of the first electronic transfer to be "from departure" instead of giving a specific date, but it's important we know that you'll be pledging in order for us to include the amount into our Monthly Support Fund and be authorized to GO.

Through God's provision, and the generous offerings from many of you, our Departure Fund has been fully met 100%! Thank you so much for coming along side us, and bringing us this far. However, we will not be authorized to depart for Japan until we have 90% of our needed Monthly Support. We are currently at 29%, and praying that our Monthly Support will reach 90% by this December.

Would you prayerfully consider partnering with us in sharing of the the Good News of the Risen Son in the Land of the Rising Sun?

"From the rising of the sun to the place where it sets, the name of the Lord is to be praised." Psalm 113:3