Introducing our labeling machine! (from Facebook)

After a few weeks hiatus, a group of us got together today to get things ready at our ministry center. We received a few boxes of Christian literature from Kabe Greenhill Chapel in Hiroshima when the Ogawa's came for our Dedication Service. I also got a couple of boxes of English kids books from someone in a city close by who was getting rid of her books. We also had books at home in Peter's office that we had taken over so we had a lot of literature that needed to be stamped with our ministry center’s name. From our last round of stamping, we found out that stamps don’t work for some of the books so I bought a labeling machine. It came in so useful today!

Nao and Etsuko-san became experts at using the labeling machine and made lots of cute little labels! They even figured out how to save them - yay! We used up a whole roll this morning so I had to go get more. Little K helped us too! He helped us "stick" labels on everything including the game boxes. I love it when he calls me! “Auntie Jenny~” My heart becomes happy every time he calls me. 

Stamping piles of a variety of literature. Thank you Ogawa-san and Pastor Kitano and everyone at Kabe Chapel for the Bibles and Christian books! Etsuko-san bought us these caps to keep unwanted creepy crawlies from crawling into our house through the AC hoses. No cockroaches please!!!

Our three had helped so much during the past few days by moving everything from Peter’s office at our house to his new office at the ministry center. Still a lot of sorting to do, but we’re thankful that things are moving forward little by little.

Tomorrow morning we’ll be stamping and labeling more books! Peter will be getting his office ready, and hopefully, I’ll be able to work on getting my office ready too.

Typhoon season (from Facebook)

It’s typhoon season here and the last one was pretty loud, but as usual, we thankfully didn’t suffer any serious damage. Thank You, God!

A few years ago the bikes we usually keep in front of our door toppled over during the typhoon blocking our door making it kinda hard for us to get out. Thankfully, Juhee remembered this just as the winds were really picking up and so we laid them down by the side of the house like we usually do when we get severe typhoon warnings. One of the shades that we have on the outside of the house was blown away so Sungjae biked around the neighborhood looking for it. All three kids helped with the clean-up after and did a bit of overdue gardening too.

I went to our ministry center today and noticed that one of the big trees by the stone torii gate next to us had fallen. Such a shame :(

Getting ready to do some gardening/clean-up. Need to protect yourself from mosquitoes and big spiders that just come out of nowhere you know! All three kids helped with the cleaning and Sungjae went off to find the blinds/shades that were completely blown away. The big fallen tree :(

Big Project #4 Newsletter

Here’s our latest newsletter! Finally! Sorry it's taken us more than 6 months, but so much has happened! We've had so many big events and have experienced so many miracles and so much love... We're thankful to be able share all of this with all of you! 

Google Maps Madness (from Facebook)

A couple of days ago, I was amazed that we had had more than 1,400 views on Google Maps just this month for our ministry center. I just checked and we have more than 8,400 views now. Today’s only Sept. 5th. How is this possible?!

      

2nd Dedication Service (from Facebook)

Here’s a belated update on our 2nd Dedication Service which was held on Saturday, August 20th.

We’re so thankful God planned a more low-key practice run in English for us first! Our 2nd one had many more Japanese guests and Korean missionaries than our first one, so Japanese was definitely the preferred language. It was also a slightly more formal event too. God also arranged for all of the members of our Board of Directors from 3 different prefectures to be there on the same day too! God is good!

We’re especially thankful that Ogawaさん and Yokoさん drove all the way from Hiroshima the evening before. They were the guarantors that allowed us to start this amazing journey God has had us on in Japan. They’d only met us once for a couple of hours at an event we attended during our vision trip back in Fall of 2008. They were not just our guarantors, but our family. Even from before we finally arrived two years later, they were doing so much for us! They were such a big part of our lives from the moment they welcomed us at Hiroshima Airport and always did so so much for us while we were there! We still use some of the bags Yokoさん made for Juhee when she entered kindergarten 11 years ago. We went over for meals and went on outings together too! They came to every one of Juhee’s ballet recitals, and of course, were one of the first to come visit us in the hospital after Jiyeon was born. It was so amazing to be able to have them there with us on this special day and for Ogawaさん to pray a prayer of thanksgiving and dedication for Iito Christ Center. God is so good!!

I welcomed everyone and Peter led us in "God is so good". We then enjoyed K.Boaz's mini concert. His youngest joined her daddy in front as if it was the most natural thing in the world :D

For the 2nd Dedication Service, we translated the ppt into Japanese. It wasn't perfect, but it was understandable - we hope :P We then sang "God is so good" in English and Japanese, too. Ogawa-san prayed a prayer of thanksgiving and dedication over us, the ministry center, and all those who will come through our doors. Thankful for Pastor Miyauchi’s benediction. It was his invitation to work as supporting missionaries at his church, Fukuoka Evangelical Free Church, that brought us to Fukuoka 6 and a half years ago

There were a lot more kids this time, almost all girls! Many of our guests went to check out Joy House during snack time after. My Adult English Conversation Class ladies! These two came the most often and were there with me till the end. I’m going to miss my Wednesday afternoon chat time with them! I remember the Wednesday I shared with them that we got our loan a few days prior and K-san said to me, “sensei, I really didn’t think you’d be able to get it”. It’d been a long process and I’d shared with them all of our struggles in getting a loan. Indeed, it was totally a miracle from God that we got it. And it was only because we had faith that this was part of God’s plan that we didn’t give up and persevered

Our wonderful Board of Directors <3

Miho' family's visit (from Facebook)

 In a way that only God could have orchestrated, He arranged for Miho and her kids to come stay with us

She let me know just a couple of days before they came to Fukuoka for Kyohei's Open Campus visit and they had no definite plan as to how long they would stay. We played it by ear, they made a couple of adjustments to their schedules along the way, and they were able to stay a full 10 days!

The three of them cooked, cleaned, babysat, studied, built furniture and wood decks, and went shopping with me many many many times. Miho going shopping with me meant that I had someone to bounce ideas off of (other than Peter) and we were able to spend time catching up with each other too.

Miho was the first close friend I made after moving to Japan. We met at the kindergarten’s flower arrangement class, soon after Juhee started there. It was so nice to meet not only a bilingual mom, but also a Christian one too! We had so much fun at each other’s homes and spent so much time together during our first few years in Hiroshima.

It was so special having her and her kids here with us to celebrate this special day with us. It was also so loving of our Heavenly Father to bring a friend that I can communicate comfortably with and rely on completely during my time of need.

I’m so thankful that we were able to treat them to one nice meal for their labor of love before Miho and Kyohei went back. One precious child is still here with us and will stay to help us with VBS next week.

God is good.

We're on Google Maps! (from Facebook)

While working on getting everything ready as much as possible for the Dedication Services this week, VBS next week, and the restart of our English classes the week after, we’re also trying to get ourselves out there on the web and in our local community too.

We still need to make updates, but as of yesterday, we are now on Google Maps! Well, kind of because the satellite photo still shows empty land where our new building is. But if people look us up, they’ll at least see a photo of the building and some of the inside too instead of just empty land.

In terms of making ourselves known on a more local level, we have a small ad being placed in our local free newspaper. It only has a circulation of about 10,000, but that’s about 9,950 more people in our community finding out about us. This ad advertises the Free School explanation meetings and Open Campus week which we’re currently totally unprepared for, but hopefully will be totally ready for when it’s time!

Unfortunately, we don’t have a website yet, but we’re working on it! And a logo... And a very very overdue newsletter too!

1st Dedication Service (from Facebook)

It happened! By the grace of God and thanks to help of many many friends who volunteered many many hours, the first of two Dedication Services took place yesterday! We had about 40 guests representing Japan, the US, Korea, Britain, New Zealand, Uganda, Cameroon, Nigeria, Singapore, China, Taiwan, and India! We had Korean-Americans and Korean-Japanese too!

Our amazing heavenly Father has a way of surprising us with His amazing timing and planning… I know for sure that it was NO coincidence that the RSVPs for our first Dedication Service was mostly foreigners and English-speaking Japanese friends! I was so surprised as I saw the RSVPs coming in. Our first one was almost like a nice, relaxing, fun practice run with the best of friends cheering us on. We could feel the love in the room and it was so wonderful! What an honor and privilege it is to be able to call these amazing men and women our friends, family, and coworkers!

God is so good, He’s so good to me!

Invitation flyer sent together with a Google form to many friends and coworkers. Wish I had more time to send it to more people!

Top row: more new congratulatory plants, missionaries Jonathan and Su Jin provided drinks and snacks, and Jonathan showing off his plating skills. Bottom row: me welcoming our special friends who were there during the service. I could have told a special and unique story of how God brought each and every one of them into our lives. At a later point, I also shared about how we decided on the name, the two houses that Iito Christ Center is comprised of, and what will be taking place in each of the houses. We only sang one praise song together that day, one that we knew that almost everyone would know, and those that didn’t would easily be able to learn and sing along to. Peter prayed the opening prayer before we continued with the rest of the program. 

K.Boaz’s Japanese revival version of Arirang. He then sang a few original songs for us and ended with the Japanese version of a K-pop song (가시나무) that was really popular in the 90’s which he translated himself. Then came the (incomplete) picture slideshow that told the very bare minimum of our journey from getting our permanent residence cards to getting the keys to the newly completed house. We asked Brian, the one in the crowd who had known us the longest, to pray a prayer of dedication over the Center. We didn’t give him much notice, but he gladly obliged. We’re so thankful! Being a proper missionary he actually read from the Bible and shared with us John 12:20-26. It’s strange to think we met them just a couple of weeks after we arrived in Japan back in November of 2010. Our kids were so little and Jiyeon wasn’t even born yet! It was such a blessing to have a friend, coworker, and brother who has known us for so long and goes through similar struggles as us to be with us on this special day and to have him pray for us as we start on this new journey. "God is so good" one more time before the closing prayer.

Missionary fellowship! Would love to have this kind of view from my kitchen every day! There was so much warmth and laughter. Some of the kids ate snacks and hung out in my unfinished office. There was a mini book club on one side of the living room and a Singapore-Japan-Taiwan-China group on the other side. Kyokkyo from Hiroshima and a very happy Jiyeon.

Top row: Peter and missionary Joo, The Jonathan triplets. American Jonathan, Kiwi Jonathan, and British Jonathan. Apparently Jonathan’s like wearing blue shirts with collars. We actually had two Brian's from two different countries there too! :D Me and my not-so-little-anymore boy. Driving my African brothers (Uganda and Cameroon) and sister (Nigeria) to the train station. We picked up a guest from India on the way too. 

Bottom row: Pic of 3 - Rie, the one right next to me is so kind and loves helping and showing around international students. She’s the one who connected me to the wonderful Afghan family. Next to her is Azusa, one of my new friends! We’re beach buddies. Pic of 4 - Love, love, love these three!!! Seriously don’t know how I would have survived the past year and a half without these three answering my millions of questions and their husbands helping us build the new home, car troubles, and setting up our not-for-profit general incorporated association. The one right next to me is our guarantor for our permanent residencies too. So thankful for wonderful amazing friends!!! Bottom right - Dustin looks like he has a halo :D

Group photo

And one more!

Facebook Update

Usually every 3rd (sometimes 2nd) weekend of each month is pretty crazy for us. They’ve been getting busier since we started having services at home on Saturday evenings and I made dinner for the attendees. Earlier this year, I also started having to go to our building site too. Yesterday and today were no exceptions, but there were some special blessings.

Friday, for Moms&Kids, we only had two parent-child pairs come which was pretty unusual. It was pretty unusual too that I didn’t go out for udon after. However, this was PERFECT, because a new missionary couple moving from Okinawa came to hand out with us towards the end of Moms&Kids and we went out to have lunch together and get to know each other better. We also got to show them around our Promised Land and we were so thankful for their prayers and encouragement! They were really impressed with the new building and the work our carpenter was doing. They kept on complimenting him, his work, and how great everything is. He was smiling so much! He said he felt like he was suddenly working abroad

This morning for Kids English Bible School (9-10am), about half of our usual kids couldn’t come because they had school, but we had a few new kids come and still had 13 there total. After Peter’s praise and game times, Pastor Miyauchi read a children’s book on some of the happening after the resurrection of Jesus and gave a short and very to the point children’s message. He also spoke about the Bible saying that we should love God, ourselves, and our neighbors/others. We memorized our Bible verse for the day in Japanese (Hebrew 13:8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever), the kids got their prizes, and then we sat down for prayer time. I asked them if they had any prayer requests. There were two that I thank God for. One was one of the girls asking that many receive salvation. I asked if there were any kids here who believed in Jesus. To my surprise, most of the girls raised their hands! I couldn’t believe it! I totally was not expecting that. So just to check, I asked, how many of you believe that Jesus died on the cross for our sins and rose again after three days? The same girls rose their hands again! I was shocked! One boy said it’s so hard to believe… I said that I agree with him. It IS hard to believe and really takes faith.

I asked the group again if anyone has any other prayer requests and one of the girls said, for our sins. What?! Wow. So then I asked them what they think sin is. We had a great discussion about sin and also did a little review on this morning’s children’s message.

Please pray for these elementary school girls who rose their hands today and for all of the kids who are learning more and more about sin, their need for salvation through Jesus, God’s perfect and unchanging love for them, and the message of the Bible!

After KEBS is Kids’ English (10:30-11:30am) and most of the kids stay for both. We sang songs in English and danced, played an alphabet game, had our Japanese Bible time, I read The Very Hungry Caterpillar for story time, and we sang and danced some more! After saying bye to me by the door, one of the little boys said to his big sister, I don’t want to go home yet. I want to stay and memorize more Bible verses so I can get more erasers Oh, what a blessing it is to be here and to be able to share with kids how much God loves them!

Facebook Update

Free School Update

Went on our first Free School business trip today! Us two + our currently one and only staff Nao Akamatsu met around 7:55am this morning to drive about 30 minutes to one of the older and more well-known Free Schools in a neighboring city. We were there from 8:30am observing their classes and then from about 11am till a bit past 1pm, we sat and had a long chat with the founder. It was supposed to be just for 30 minutes, but we had a lot of questions for him and he was constantly interrupted by the students too We learned so much today!

On our way back, we dropped by a stop on the side of the major road that had a fresh produce stand as well as a small old restaurant. Peter and I both had their tempura meal. The veg and fresh were all so fresh and delicious!

So thankful for people like the founder of today’s Free School being willing to spend so much time with us to answer our many questions! So thankful for Nao arranging the appointment and taking notes