"Massacre"?

What part does history play in our everyday lives?  How important is a word?

I take things very literally, at face value.  I'm a very in-the-box type person.  Very not out-of-the-box.  Peter's the creative one, the out-of-the-box thinker, not me. :)  English class during High School was fun to an extent - I enjoyed reading most of the books, but I didn't like having to analyze them so much.  I'm not good at in-depth analysis.  Unfortunately, it's the same for me when I'm reading the Bible too. :/

There are some things about living in Japan that make it difficult for me as a Korean.  They don't bother Jess and Peter so much though 'cause they're more Korean-American than they are Korean.  I don't think the history between Korea and Japan bother current Korean teenagers as much either as there's so much pop culture being shared between countries.  Also, most of their grandparents were born after the Japanese occupation.  I think our generation might be one of the last who have grandparents who told us first hand accounts of things that happened and for who things in history books came alive through TV dramas and movies too.

Most of the time, history doesn't bother me too much.  But then.. there are articles like this one titled "Yokohama recalls text describing 1923 "massacre" of Koreans".  I remember how pleasantly surprised I was when I read the article about how Yokohama city was planning on updating their history textbooks.  Instead of the text reading that Japanese authorities were responding to an uprising by Koreans, they were going to change it to properly reflect the unprovoked massacre that took place and correct the number of people killed.  They made the change, distributed them, and now they're recalling the textbooks. :(

I've heard from so many people since I was a teenager, from both Koreans and Japanese, about how Japanese history textbooks do not portray the truth about its country's history during the first half of the 20th century.  Most Japanese people don't even know that Japan occupied Korea from 1910-1945 and so have absolutely no idea of the atrocities that were committed before, during, and after that time.  One of my best friends here actually said to me recently "Japan's such a nice country. It's never started a war with anybody."  I was so shocked, I thought I must have heard wrong.  She said it in English so I couldn't have misunderstood...  She's born and bred in Hiroshima but spent time abroad as an adult so her English is pretty good.  Does she really not know why the US dropped the A-bomb on Hiroshima?  Does she not know about Pearl Harbor?  Or any of the invasions that happened all throughout Japan's history?  Maybe history just wasn't her favorite subject...

Here's the story (as links don't last forever):

Yokohama recalls texts describing 1923 ‘massacre’ of Koreans

The stir caused by a textbook’s descriptions of the mass lynching of Koreans following the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake has prompted Yokohama’s board of education to order schools to collect the books from students.

In an unprecedented move, the board ordered municipal junior high schools to recall the 2012 edition of the book, a supplementary text, saying the use of the word “massacre” “can cause a misunderstanding.” The term has also been criticized by some historians.

Immediately after the Sept. 1, 1923, earthquake in the Kanto region, unconfirmed rumors spread that Koreans were rioting and committing acts of sabotage. Based on the rumors, the army, police and vigilantes killed many Koreans, as well as Chinese and Japanese mistaken for Koreans. It’s unclear because of the chaos how many were killed, but it’s thought the slayings topped 6,000 in Tokyo and Kanagawa Prefecture alone.

Previous editions of the text, titled “Wakaru Yokohama” (“Understanding Yokohama”) and edited by the board, said “some members of the vigilante corps killed Koreans.” The book was first published in 2009.

However, the edition distributed in May 2012 states that “the military, the police and vigilante groups persecuted and massacred Koreans.” It also shows a picture of a cenotaph erected by Japanese as an expression of apology.

The revised entry made media headlines at home as well as in South Korea and China.

In July 2012, a municipal assembly member from the Liberal Democratic Party took up the issue during a session, saying: “It could affect historical concepts in our country and diplomatic relations. It is not a matter only for Yokohama.”

The board of education’s chairman at the time pledged to revise the edition and recall the books already distributed.

The board later reprimanded the person in charge of the revision, criticizing the decision-making process as inappropriate. The 2013 edition reinstated the description and a recall was begun of the 2012 version.

The board also twice instructed school principals to collect all the books and ask students who did not obey their reasons why.

On Wednesday, historians submitted a petition to Yokohama asking that the decision to recall the books be reversed.

If the link works, read the comments below the article.  There's an interesting debate.  How important is a word and the connotation behind it?  How do you know that your understanding of the word is the same as that of someone else's?  Which one is more accurate?

There are always lots of articles about Korea/Koreans/Korean history in Japanese newspapers.  Koreans are the biggest minority population in Japan and we've probably been here the longest too.  With our messy history and a nationalistic move on the rise here in Japan, living in Japan as a Korean isn't going to get any easier.  If it does, it'll be a miracle.  Miracles do happen...

STM2013

In July-August 2013, we had a crazy busy 6-week period!  Jess and us Oh's played host to 3 summer missions teams made up of a total of 22 wonderful people who came to Hiroshima, Japan for 8-11 days each, back to back. We have a lot we want to share and will be sharing a bit in our next newsletter. But in the meantime, here's some fun photos & stories from Peter. Enjoy! :)

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This summer we had the wonderful privilege of hosting three short term mission teams. Team Pathway came from the English ministry of our home church in California. The second team came from the youth group of Hallelujah Community Church in Bundang, South Korea. The third team came from our Pioneers’ team mate Jessica’s parent’s home church near Seattle, Washington.

We were truly blessed to have these teams partner with us in our various outreach events this summer. We wouldn't have been able to do half of what we did without them.

With thankful hearts,

Peter, Jenny, Juhee and Sungjae

Summer Teams
A picture is worth a thousand words, at least that's how the saying goes. There were too many experiences, outreach events, and conversations that took place during the summer to adequately share through words. Therefore, we'd like to share several picture collages with you. We hope that sharing snapshots of our experiences with "brief" captions will tell the story we can't do with just words. (All captions start with the description of the top left picture going clockwise.)

Pathway Team


The Pathway team is pictured in front of Asaminami Chapel, the church plant where our family is focusing our ministry efforts. The next picture is of the team with Pastor Haitaka, the Senior Pastor of the EV Free Church in Hiroshima, who says the summer teams act as a tailwind sent from God to help with our missionary efforts in Hiroshima giving us extra energy, momentum, and encouragement. In the next picture, the team is being introduced to the members of Koyo Chapel during Sunday service, and they also shared a special song. What a joy it was to be able to fellowship and praise God together as one family though the team came from thousands of miles away and just met the members of Koyo Chapel.


Jane and Rosa are pictured making popcorn for the Children's ministry's Day Camp at Kabe Chapel, and shaking the pot so the popcorn wouldn't burn. The team helped minister to over 30 children at Kabe Chapel's Day Camp, and even though language was a challenge the kids really sensed God's love through each member's interaction with them. We were so thankful for the team's playful and serving hearts. The team also folded over 7,000 Good News newsletters that would be distributed throughout the neighborhoods surrounding Koyo, Kabe and Asaminami Chapels. That's a lot of newsletters! The next picture shows the team after having distributed over 700 Good News newsletters on a sunny Sunday afternoon in one of the neighborhoods near Koyo Chapel, which was no easy task (they had to climb four flights of stairs to reach just 8 apartments- that's a lot of stairs!) We pray God would bless those who read the Good News, and really receive it as good news that would draw the readers to Jesus.


Here's the Pathway team preparing gift bags for one of the outreach events at Asaminami Chapel. This was only one part in the many needed to run a successful outreach as every outreach event took planning, preparation of activities, snacks, gifts and prizes, active participation at the event, and clean-up. That's a lot of hard work. We praise God for their joyful servant hearts. The next picture is of Pastor Yamada sharing a Bible Story at Asaminami Chapel's annual summer outreach event, an Ice Cream Party. There were two parties held that day, one for preschoolers and the second for elementary school kids. 40 preschoolers came, which was the exact number we prepared for. We weren't sure, however, how many students would come to the elementary Ice Cream party. We were anticipating maybe 17 to 20 would come. To our pleasant surprise, we had 69 elementary school kids come to the party. Praise God! We scrambled for extra gifts and prizes because we didn't prepare for that many kids to come, and just found enough. What an awesome opportunity to plant seeds of the Gospel in 109 kids that day. We might have to split the elementary school grades next year and have 3 parties! We pray God continues to bless the relationships with those kids, and the elementary school that is right next to Asaminami Chapel. The next picture is of the team preparing salad for dinner at our home. It was nice to fellowship together, encourage one another, and hear stories of how God brought the team members to Japan. The next picture is of Jane with Yamaguchi-san, who is one of our dear friends and a church member at Kabe Chapel. She is one of many church members who devotes much of her time volunteering for various ministry events. She preps, she cleans, she smiles and laughs throughout; what an encouragement she is. The final picture is of the team with the ladies of Olive Kai, the women's ministry of Kabe Chapel. This is a great ministry that provides a welcoming environment for ladies to come together to chat, eat, and be encouraged. Please pray these ladies' gatherings would not become a social club, but can be a place where the ladies are equipped to reach out to the other ladies in their community.

Hallelujah Team

The Hallelujah Team also came full of energy and with very willing and serving hearts. The first picture is of one of the leaders of the Hallelujah team, Yusuke, sharing his testimony to the Kabe congregation during Sunday service. The Hallelujah team also blessed the congregation with a special song through body worship. The team also helped with a special Summer Kids English Club outreach event at Koyo Chapel. Pictured is Caleb and Yusuke checking the BINGO cards as the kids say their BINGO numbers. There were lots of games and activities, and fishing for prizes was just one of those activities, which is pictured next. The Hallelujah team also distributed thousands of Good News newsletters. The final picture is of the team holding up a copy of the Good News after we passed out over 1,500 Good News newsletters in a neighborhood near Kabe Chapel (Thank you Pathway Team for folding all those Good News newsletters!)


The Hallelujah Team is pictured with some of the kids who came to the Summer Kids English Club at Kabe Chapel (the picture in the prior collage was of the Summer Festival at Koyo Chapel). The next picture is Jenny teaching colors in English and explaining to the kids what the different colors represent in the Hallelujah team presentation. Each color represented a different aspect of the gospel message. After the presentation, the kids made bracelets with colored beads while a Hallelujah Team member at each table reviewed the meaning of the colors. What an awesome and interactive way for the seed of the gospel to be planted into the hearts of these young kids. The team also shared a skit that encouraged all to share love with one another. The team was also very blessed by Mr. Ogawa who is one of our very dedicated lay leaders of Kabe Chapel. Not only did he open up his guest house to the Hallelujah Team, but he also poured out so much love and grace and demonstrated to the team what a servant's heart looks like. Pictured is Mr. Ogawa singing one of his favorite hymns for the team after having hosted and cooked a delicious dinner for them. They were truly blessed by his servant heart, his generosity and his kindness. The team sang Amazing Grace, one of Mr. Ogawa's favorite hymns, in English and Japanese for Mr. & Mrs. Ogawa too. The Hallelujah team was also able to visit and pray over a Buddhist temple that many people come to when they are seeking peace, which is pictured next. Notice the demon idol on the left of this picture, which is used by Japanese parents to scare their children to obey. If the children don't obey, the parents tell them a demon will come and take disobedient children away. I can see how this can bring peace to the parents, but I don't think it brings any peace to the children. Please pray for the people of Japan, that they can experience true peace in Jesus Christ.

New Life Team

The New Life Team were all smiles throughout the their missions trip. The first picture is of the team when we met them at the airport. Though they had a 23 hour layover in Seoul before they arrived, they were full of smiles. Like Pathway and Hallelujah, the New Life team also came with a great attitude and serving hearts. The next picture is of the team sharing a special song with the congregation of Koyo Chapel. Though language was a barrier, everyone was united in worship through their song. In the next picture is Tina JDSN as she shared a message at our prayer meeting. Discipleship has been a recurring theme in the hearts of the pastors and church members recently, and her message again confirmed God's desire and command to make disciples. Crystal also shared her testimony of how she came to faith, and reiterated the importance of having people in our lives who can influence and point us to Christ. The last picture is of the team giving small welcoming gifts from America to the church members at Koyo Chapel. Gift giving is a very important part of Japanese culture. It's not just about the gift, but the mind and heart behind the gift, and communicates warm wishes for a good relationship.


The New Life team was able to visit Miyajima Island, one of the most beautiful and touristy places in Japan. There is a deep history of Buddhism and Shintoism on this island, and at one point, many believed the island itself to be a god. The team prayed over the island, the principalities and strongholds of Japan, and for the Japanese people. Please pray that the spiritual strongholds that continue to blind the Japanese people would be broken, and that the truth of the Most High God and His salvation in Jesus Christ would be known. The picture also includes two young ladies with whom the team spent a lot of good quality time. One of these young ladies comes to church regularly, but her friend comes from a very strict Buddhist family. This was a great opportunity to spend quality time and share God's love with these two young ladies. Please pray our relationship with these girls continue to grow, and that both draw nearer to God. The next picture is of the New Life team pictured with Pastor Haitaka and some of the members of Koyo Chapel. The following picture is of the New Life team with Pastor Kitano and his family. This summer provided a great opportunity for three teams to visit Hiroshima. They served in many ways, and prayed for spiritual strongholds to be broken so that the light of Jesus can shine in Hiroshima. We are so thankful for each team to come and partner with us and the local pastors (pictured above) in sharing of the Risen Son in the Land of the Rising Sun.

August Focus

Hey! Thanks for keeping up with us on our blog. :)

Wow... It's August! Are we already in the latter half of this year? 

Two teams - Pathway Bible Fellowship and Hallelujah English Ministry's youth group STAND - have come, blessed us and (we hope) the Hiroshima EV Free Church. We have one more team left - New Life Ministry - this summer and we're looking forward to seeing how God will be using them too, here in Hiroshima. We pray that those that come will continue to pray for the people of Japan all the more, that they will share the things that they have seen, felt, and learned with those back home, and that God will hopefully bring some of them back to Hiroshima some day as a short-term, mid-term, or long-term missionary. We definitely need more workers here!!! 

During August, we have a few events at the kids' preschool, some that we're just attending, and a couple that I'll be leading. The two that I'll be leading are happening on the same morning and will have a combined attendance of about 200 people!!! About 140 of them are kids, the rest are adults. 

Kids Brown, the new weekly English classes, are off to a great start! I teach two classes every Friday afternoon at Asaminami Chapel. There's a waiting list for both! There are about 50 kids enrolled in the whole program in 4 different classes at the 3 chapels. About 1/4 - 1/3 of the kids are friends of ours. :) Memorizing the names of the kids in my earlier time-slot class was easy because I already knew most of them. Pray that I'll be able to memorize the names of the kids in my later class soon too so I can call them by name without having to check their name tags! Pray that I get used to the technology sooner rather than later too... :/

August is when Obon happens in Hiroshima. In the supermarkets, they've already started selling the lantern-looking posts that go up near the graves to celebrate ancestral worship. My heart just cries as I see those around me pouring so much time and energy into this... I don't even know where to begin when asking for prayer for this one... :'(

During Obon, most people are off work, so we'll hopefully be able to get together with a couple of our friends and have them over for a meal too. :)

Maybe after Obon, once all of the traveling craziness dies down, we'll be able to spend some time together as a family somewhere. Maybe... :/

We're swamped! Pray for us as we try to deal wisely and in a timely fashion to all of the unexpected things that keep on happening. Many are due to the fact that we've never been through the Japanese school system or lived life in Japan / are not Japanese. We're also still newbies in terms of being missionaries, so there are many aspects of our "job" that we're not always very well prepped for. Pray that we'll be able to tackle situations well and that we won't drop too many balls...

Check our prayer section below and our newsletter for more on what we're up to during the next couple of months. There's a lot going on and we really appreciate your prayers. :)

Thank you so much for your constant prayers and encouragement. :)

Our Monthly Support is now at 85%! The support from approximately 50 individuals/families giving regularly + 16 churches currently make up our ongoing Monthly Support. THANK YOU!!! :)

Apr-May Newsletter

Yay!  We sent our Apr-May Newsletter yesterday.  Here's a little look...

June Focus

Hey! Thanks for keeping up with us on our blog. :)

Is it just me, or is this year just flying by??? It can't be June already...?

We're swamped. Pray for us as we try to deal wisely and in a timely fashion to all of the unexpected things that keep on happening. Many are due to the fact that we've never been through the Japanese school system or lived life in Japan / are not Japanese. We're also still newbies in terms of being missionaries, so there are many aspects of our "job" that we're not always very well prepped for. Pray that we'll be able to tackle situations well and that we won't drop too many balls...

Check our prayer section below and our newsletter for more on what we're up to during the next couple of months. There's a lot going on and we really appreciate your prayers. :)

Thank you so much for your constant prayers and encouragement. :)

Our Monthly Support is now at 85%! The support from approximately 50 individuals/families giving regularly + 16 churches currently make up our ongoing Monthly Support. THANK YOU!!! :)

Random things... :)

Juhee sharing her bicycle with Sungjae.

Today, I had to go pick up Sungjae a bit earlier than usual because he had a fever. He usually has seconds for lunch, but today he didn't finish his first serving. He's usually very active a~ll the time, but he stopped being so active a little bit before lunch time. After nap time, they checked his temperature and it was at 38.8C, so they called me to come pick him up. He was lying on his little cot when I came into this room. He was very happy to see me and wanted me to hold him. My poor baby!!! :(

Usually he's off running around and climbing up things as soon as I put his shoes on him to go home, but today, he just stayed in my arms. At dinner time, Juhee very thoughtfully said that I could sit next to Sungjae today as he's sick. I was worried that she would kick up a fuss if I suggested it, so I'm glad she said it first! She's a good girl, a caring and loving big sister. :) I only gave Sungjae a little bit for dinner and he thankfully finished all of it before climbing into my arms again. I gave him to daddy for a bit while I washed the dishes and he fell sound asleep in daddy's arms. But of course, he woke up looking for me as soon as I went to the bathroom... :/ While Peter and I were upstairs getting Sungjae ready for bed, Juhee was downstairs on her own. When we left her, she was drawing. When Peter went back downstairs, she was flossing! She was getting herself ready for bed too without us having said anything. She's becoming such a big girl!

Juhee and Sungjae brushing each other's teeth! =D

Sungjae said he wanted to brush his teeth ("이빨닦어!") before going to bed and wanted to shower too, but we said yes to brushing teeth and no to shower. He barely had the energy to stand and we didn't want him to get really cold (it's cold in our bathroom, especially if we don't run the bath). Thankfully, he was satisfied with just brushing teeth. :) By 8pm, both kids were fast asleep, an hour to hour and a half earlier than usual.

I pray that Sungjae's fever will go down tonight... And I thank God that Juhee's is such an understanding, thoughtful, caring big sister... :) At least when her little brother is sick. ;)

Sungjae doesn't like his veggies. The other day, Sungjae and I were having leftover curry and Peter and Juhee were having leftover (Costco!!!) pizza for dinner. I was surprised that Sungjae was eating his carrots, and not only was he eating them, he was gathering all of them up on his spoon and eating them first. He was also saying that horses like carrots and making horse neighing sounds. He calls horses "horsie" or "ee-hing", so I said, "성제가 이힝~처럼 당근 잘 먹네~" ("You eat carrots well, just like a horse!") to which Juhee said, "누나는~ 사람처럼 피자 잘 먹어." ("Big sister eats pizza well, just like a human being.") =D

Juhee and the boys following the exercises on the kids' show.

An English-speaking Japanese friend recently asked us to take care of her two boys. We were very happy to do so as they're one of our closest friends here. She came back from work to pick up her boys and I offered her some tea. She sipped the tea, sighed, and said, "I feel like I can relax now. But not because of the tea, or the house, I think because I'm with Jenny-san." I think my heart melted. Love her to bits. :)

One of many, many meetings I've had
with the other moms of Juhee's class.

Last week, I spent about 6 hours with other moms from Juhee's school. 2 years ago, I wouldn't have been completely lost and wiped out. Now, I can follow most things and am tired, but not wiped out. God is good. :)

Also last week, I was reminded that it's OK to not know everything. But more importantly, God chose me to be the person I am, doing what I'm doing, and living where I'm living, because according to His plan, I'm the best one for the job that He's given me. By "know"ing here, I mean things like biblical knowledge, theology, even things like Japanese culture, Christian history, etc as I sometimes feel like I'm not very well equipped to be here. But I was

One of my best friends here.
She thinks that us becoming friends was "destiny".

reminded that me doubting the "appropriateness" (? for lack of a better word), is like doubting God and His Sovereignty. I hadn't thought of it that way before.

The missionary's wife who spoke about this to me also said (without ever having met Peter) that Peter and I are very different, and that I should stop trying to understand him. =D It made me think about how we are similar in some ways, but very very different in so many other ways too. And although many say that "opposites attract", I think it was the similarities that we have that attracted us to one another in the beginning. We share many basic fundamental values. But yes, we are very different too. I think most couples could
probably say this about themselves...

Bought more than 20 English kids' books
at an International Festival, all for just $10!!!

I love buying books. I shouldn't because we'll be moving so often and books are heavy, but I love buying books, having lots of books at home, and being able to read a variety of books to our kids. I love that they have lots of books that they can just browse through. Buying books is SOOO much more fun than buying shoes, handbags, clothes... Blech! (Shhh.. don't tell my sister! ;P)

She refused to wear pants even to an athletic center.
She loves her skirts and dresses! :)

A good friend of ours back home has been the main provider of Juhee's wardrobe since she was about 2 years old. When we moved to Japan, I brought about two years' worth of clothes for Juhee, most from this one friend. Now, my friend sends clothes with people who come visit us from the San Jose area. When I changed out Juhee's wardrobe about a month ago to her Spring / Summer clothes, I noticed that she had almost everything she needed, but she didn't have many skirts. She had dresses sent to her from my sister and Juhee's grandmas, but hardly any skirts that she could wear to school. Juhee LOVES skirts and dresses. She does NOT like wearing shorts / pants. I mentioned this to my teammate one evening as we were chatting. The following week, two brothers from our home church came to visit and one of them brought clothes from my friend - including - skirts!!! When I told my teammate, she was amazed at God's provision. So were we!!! :) God is good.

Hmm.. Where did the "cookie jar" go?
Who took the cookie from the cookie jar? ;)

The value of the yen is dropping!!! I can't tell you how much this means to us. Our budget was created based on a $1=110円 exchange rate. For the past two years, the annual average has been around $1=78円. PLUS our monthly support has decreased significantly over the past 15 months. So having the exchange rate at almost $1=100円 is absolutely amazing!!! Thank You, God!!!

The mom of the girl in Juhee's class who is not very nice to her is always super nice to me. At the last meeting we had at the preschool, all of the moms were standing around in the classroom, looking for a seat. Most moms sat in the seat in front of them (as I did - being the non-shy foreigner, I was the first to sit), but the mom of the not-so-nice girl came over from the other side of the classroom saying "I'm going to sit next to Juhee's mommy" and came and sat next to me. She sat next to me when some of the moms went out to lunch together too. I'm glad she likes me so much. :) Hopefully I'll be able to have more in-depth conversations with her someday.

God sent us so many people to help us for our move!
It was truly an amazing experience.

I finally have a second floor balcony to hang my laundry on, just like almost everyone else! Yay! :) We also finally have an automatic bath filling mechanism. It's really cool! I love it! We finally have regulated water temperature so no one can accidentally burn themselves with water from the hot water tap like at our old house. We also have a nice, strong shower instead of a trickle. The shower in our last house always reminded me of the showers I took during my short-term missions trip in Uganda in 2004. It was a trickle there too. But at least it wasn't cold!!!

Can't get away from centipedes. They're everywhere here. But so glad the white powder repellant works! Two centipedes so far at the new house, but thankfully, they were both outside and dead!!! (Hope you won't be too disappointed that there's no picture to go with this tidbit.)

And on that happy note... :)

Jan-Mar 2013 Newsletter

Here it is, a preview of our latest newsletter. :)

Sweet or Sour Pickles?

I don't usually do this, but this one was special.  The below is most of a newsletter from our Pioneers teammates down in Shimonoseki, a couple of hours south from where we are.  Tony and Marcia Haug have been here the longest (out of the Pioneers missionaries in Japan) and are on their THIRD church plant.  Amazing, right?  Their ministry is slightly different from most of the other Pioneers teams in that they plant churches themselves instead of helping Japanese pastors to plant churches.  Marcia is actually a 2nd generation Japan MK so grew up speaking Japanese and Tony is fluent in it now too.  He has absolutely no problems preaching or giving talks in public forums in Japanese - unlike the rest of us! ;P  The story below is from one of Tony's most recent opportunities to be bold for Jesus in Japan.  It's awesome...  My jaw just dropped lower and lower as I was reading this...  I really pray that someday, I will be able to have the language, the Biblical knowledge, the ability to be able to have the Holy Spirit guide my speech, and the boldness and courage to be able to do what Tony did this day.  It's absolutely awesome!  I'm so grateful for and encouraged by the Haug's.  They have the most awesome stories. :)  Here's one of them...

Sweet or Sour Pickles?

Several years ago, the city of Shimonoseki began a yearly symposium called Rakuuza (translated Fun Seminar). Special speakers that have some type of relationship to Shimonoseki--politicians, musicians, artists, novelists etc. are invited to come and speak on their area of specialty. For the first time, I was invited to join the 60 guest speakers as a representative of Christianity. Along with a Buddhist priest, Mr. Koubun Nishijima and Shinto priest, Michio Naruse, I sat on a stage at Shimonoseki City College and shared some foundational principles of Christianity to over 100 people in a casual debate format.

I met the MC for our discussion and the two priests, the night before at a local hotel where we shared a buffet along with all of the other participants in the symposium. The conversation which took place at our table was  revealing of the core attitude of religion in Japan. There is a saying in Japan that says, "Minna chigatte, Minna ee."This basically means, "We are all different, but all good in our own way." This philosophy transfers over into the religious realm.  

Mr. Itou, Tony  Mr. Nishijima, Mr. Naruse

During the meal, Mr.Naruse, the Shinto priest, expressed to me, "Japanese are like sponges, they absorb religions from various places and tweek them a little to become their own." The Buddhist priest, Mr. Nishijima echoed a similar sentiment during the discussion the following day when he said, "I think Buddhism is like a recipe book, you play around with a recipe and create something. You decide what your soul wants to make. It is your own responsibility what you do with the ingredients."

The session I participated in was one of the most well attended of the symposium. Around 100 people filled every available chair in the college classroom to hear what we had to say. The stark contrast between the concrete Truth and direction which Scripture gives in living a fulfilled life and the empty, meaningless banter promoted as religion by the two priests was evident to all of those who were listening.  

Part of the way through the discussion, Mr. Nishijima, the Buddhist priest said, "I am afraid that about 80% of you are probably leaning his (Tony's) way! Uh Oh!" The Shinto priest, Mr. Naruse added, "I also thought he (Tony) was convincing. It could be because I had had a lot to drink last night, but I also thought, 'Maybe I will become a believer too!' I need to learn from him." I felt the prayers of God's people and a special enabling power from God as point after point, I respectfully brought the discussion back to the teachings of Scripture.

Mr. Naruse opened the discussion with his view of the importance of religion in life. He explained, "I don't think it is necessary to think too deeply about religion. For instance when you sit down to eat a meal, the main course is the rice. You have the side dishes. If you have pickles to go with the meal, it makes everything taste even better, doesn't it? I think you should think of religion like the pickles. It makes life a little better. If you think of religion as more than that, it will become a burden to you. Just as pickles make a meal a little more delicious, religion makes life a little more pleasant and enriches you a little more."

In response, I shared the reason why I came to Japan as a missionary--to share the Good News of a Message that changed my life. Salvation through faith in Christ and the forgiveness of sins is the most delicious message of all, I explained. Christianity is not a religion, but a daily relationship with a Living Being, I clarified. Coming back to this point time and time again in various forms throughout the hour, I was able to speak on topics of marriage, death and bullying.  

At one point, Mr. Ito, the MC, laughingly said, "Tony is so convincing in his speech that I thought at one point last night around the dinner table, that Mr. Nishijima was going to become a Christian!" The Buddhist priest did seem to have a piqued interest in the Truth I was sharing. He frequently nodded his head in agreement! During the panel discussion, Mr. Nishijima turned to the Shinto priest and said, "As I was listening to you speak, I wondered... We put our hands together to pray, but are our prayers answered? Is there a god or Hotoke*? Have any of you (speaking to the audience) ever said such a thing at least once in your life? Shinto worship nature, but can nature forgive you? Nature can't forgive your selfishness. Shinto teaches that nature is your mother and father. That is what you are worshiping."

I nodded my head in agreement at this astute observation and followed with three questions which everyone wants answered: "Where did I come from? Why am I here? Where do I go after I die?" I quoted John 14:6 for them:

I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

In response to Mr. Ito's final question of the morning, "What is important for the children of this generation to remember?" I was able to repeat again that what was important was the same now as in every generation before- salvation . Christ was put upon cross to resolve the problem of sin. "It is not enough just to believe in something, "I explained. "A point of reference is important. It is not enough to just believe, but the object of belief is important."

Pray that the seeds of Truth that were planted in this Buddhist/Shinto audience will take root and grow into faith in the Creator God.

Our Savior is the main course, not just the pickles!

Click here to see the symposium at Shimonoseki City College  

*Hotoke can refer to a person who has become enlightened and therefore has become a buddha. It can also refer to Buddhism as a whole. The word "god" is probably referred to as the shinto gods and Hotoke as the Shinto gods in this reference. 

(From the Haug's prayer requests section...)

7.**URGENT** Beginning August 2013, we will be in need of another Conversational English teacher to take Hilary's place. Are you or anyone you know interested in coming to Japan to help introduce people to Christ through teaching English? Teachers would receive 1350 dollars per month. The remaining 500 dollars per month and cost of the plane ticket would need to be raised before arrival. You can use a skill you already have--speaking English to help reach Japanese for Christ!  Please contact us immediately if you are interested!

3.11 2nd Anniversary

Today is the 2nd anniversary of the 3.11 Triple Disaster that devastated so much of Northeastern Japan.

I'm going to provide links again for you to read...  I think you'll find plenty of prayer topics from reading them, even if I don't give you a separate list myself.  There's so much to pray for and so much that needs to be done!  If you ever want to come help with relief work in the area or want to bring out a whole team, please get in touch.  We can connect you with missionaries up there who I know would love to have you there.  From everything that I've heard too, the people there really love having volunteers up there too for a variety of reasons, and there's a fear that volunteers will stop coming.  So if you're interested and can come, please do!!!

• Japan Evangelical Association's Disaster Relief page 
• See the physical difference in before and after pictures here
• An article here about survivors turning to exorcists for help 
• An article here about Fukushima First Bible Church, planted in 1947 by WorldVenture missionaries 
• Crash Japan's site also always has good prayer points / updates
• Here's Hideo Araki's short video on how his life was touched by volunteers, and his heart moved by the Holy Spirit.  He's one of many!  You can find more awesome testimonies on the Hope for Living site.

Pray for the survivors.  Pray for the Christian workers there.  Pray for those in Northeast Japan.  Pray for those in Japan.

Many Christian leaders in Japan believe that if a revival happens in Japan, it'll start in the area devastated by the Triple Disaster.  Pray for it!!!  Pray for a revival in Japan!!!

Grateful for you prayers...

March Focus

Firstly, PRAISE GOD for the exchange rate becoming more favorable!!! It's helping, immensely. Missionaries all over Japan are rejoicing. Thank you God!!! :) :) :)

March is a month of transition...

1) Our current kids' English programs will be ending this month. So no more monthly Saturday Kids' English Club at Koyo and Kabe Chapels for me and no more weekly Thursday kids' English classes at Asaminami Chapel for Peter.

2) We're preparing to teach English classes to kids using a new program called Kids Brown. The chapels that we work with will be franchise branches and the PI Hiroshima Team missionaries will be the teachers/facilitators.

3) We're packing! We're moving to a house about 15 minutes away from our currently location. It's a bigger, newer, and better house, closer to the kids' preschool, and get this, it's cheaper!!! It was originally more expensive than our current house, but they drastically lowered the price and God, just so happened to tug at Peter's heart one day right after the rent got lowered to "randomly" check the rentals in our area... God is great! :)

4) Juhee will be finishing up her 2nd year and starting to her 3rd, Sungjae will be finishing up his 1st year and starting his 2nd soon.

5) I will be transitioning from a too-much-ministry slightly crazy life to (hopefully) a just-the-right-amount of ministry, more well-balanced life that includes working towards completing my mandatory Bible units.

We're also welcoming friends and family to our home this month! Kevin & Chris will be with us for a weekend and Jon will be with us for a week. We're super excited!!! :)

We still have a lot of ministry left this month... Weekly ladies' and kids' English classes, last ever Kids' English Club (well, for the foreseeable future anyway), an end-of-term English party, English Cafe on the 30th, Peter's presenting at the big year end General Meeting on the 24th and is preaching for the Youth's Spring Camp on the 31st (Easter Sunday). He's got a very full plate right now so extra prayers for Peter would be awesome! :)

Last, but not least, definitely keep those in Northeast Japan in your prayers, the area that was devastated by the Triple Disaster two years ago. Hundreds of thousands are still in temporary housing and many still have no means of earning a living. Pray that they will be able to experience hope everlasting and joy overflowing. Pray for the many Christian volunteers, missionaries, pastors, who work there under difficult circumstances, that they will lovingly proclaim the Word and serve the community that God has placed them in. Pray also that God will send them friends as many of the missionaries there left their homes in other areas of Japan and moved up there during the past two years since the disaster.

Thank you so much for your constant prayer and encouragement. :)