Greetings from the National Coordinator

0 comments // Categories: JCF News // Tuesday April 5th, 2011

April ushers in, barely noticeable. A lot has happened in our adopted home in the last few weeks, to keep our hearts and minds occupied with more than the passing of the months. Earthquake, tsunami, and even radiation leaks are now common topics of conversation. In the Tohoku region, thousands are dead and countless lives will forever feel the ripples of this disaster.

But in the midst of everything, we see the hand and foot prints of our omnipresent and omnipotent God everywhere. As you read through this newsletter, you will hear stories of miraculous escapes from the chaos of the aftermath of the quake, of new birth in Christ, and become reassured that this disaster will be a trigger for more Japanese receiving Christ as their savior.

For surely, more than ever, people are praying for this great nation at this time. Lives are changing and hearts are softening to hearing the gospel. Let us pray that the Lord of the harvest sends in more laborers, and that He takes in a rich harvest for Himself through and despite this tragedy.

Abidemi Bankole, JCF National Coordinator

Imagine the Possibilities – Yuichi Hattori

0 comments // Categories: Words of Encouragement //

When I was baptized in 2005, I had a vision that Japan would be a Christian country soon. Although I believed God had a plan for Japan, I was not sure how the vision would be realized.

The answer is the natural disaster in Japan from March 11th. The people of Japan will soon experience a “moral vacuum,” as the apocalyptic situation forces them to abandon their economy-centered, national value system. The entire nation will experience spiritual dryness and become ready for a new value system. That change will be drastic on all levels of the society.

History shows that the people of Japan made two major changes through the national crisis. In 1886, faced with the European colonialism, the Japanese accepted western culture and technology by abandoning their traditional feudal system. In 1945, facing the defeated country, the people of Japan accepted democracy by abandoning the Japanese militarism. Each change was done swiftly, collectively, and successfully. Both of the changes were a result of moral vacuum in Japan.

Christians, especially those outside Japan, must prepare for Japan’s moral vacuum. The Japanese quickly become ready to absorb a new value system—God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Non-Japanese Christians need careful planning and teamwork for Japan’s imminent change. God gives us the vision and desire to build. With that vision, we can mobilize and unite others for a plan of action.

God bless you,

Yuichi Hattori.

124-191 Sayama, Saitama 350-1301 hattoriyuichi@gmail.com.

Yuichi Hattori is a Christian doctor working at the Sayama Psychological Institute in Saitama.

Out of the Desolation Come Two New Births – Laura Popp

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I`d like to share with you all an amazing story of how two Fukushima refugees came to know Christ. It all started with the JCF retreat in Nagano about two months ago. In my small group there was a seeker named Junko. I learned so much from listening to our missionaries Lana and Deborah Ruth explain the Gospel to her in English and Japanese. Junko was so open and eager to learn about Jesus, but at the end of the conference, she told us that she still wasn`t ready to accept him as her Lord and Savior.

Then, after the earthquake hit and the reactor started leaking, Junko and her sister Hisai needed a place to escape. Our mutual friend Pearl, who shared a room with us at the retreat, sent out a mass mail to her friends in Kansai to see who could take the girls in. The Holy Spirit compelled right away to volunteer. I`d been asking for ways to help and I knew Junko. It was an answer to prayer, both Pearl`s and mine!

What a journey! Junko and Hisai`s first overnight bus was canceled due to the terrible roads and lack of gasoline. They had to drive to another town, all the time hoping they would not run out of gas because the lines at the pumps were 6 hours long with no guarantee there would still be some left by the time they got to the front. They made it to an old town where they got a bus to another city to get an overnight bus to Osaka. I met them at the station near the bus stop on Saturday morning. We actually arrived at exactly the same time, which was a miracle because their cell phones were dead. We might have never found each other!

Junko is the secretary at an English language cram school, and is also certified to teach Kindergarten English. She speaks very good English; she knows a lot of vocabulary and is very good at getting her point across and expressing herself. Her sister`s English level is about where my Japanese is, so between the three of us, we were always able to understand each other.

To my surprise and delight, the girls were quite the travelers. They wanted a little vacation to forget their troubles after the horror of the quake. I was able to get us some discount tickets for the long weekend, only 4,000 yen ($50) on all the Kintetsu trains for three days. So Saturday afternoon after they got their things settled, I took them to Tsu Yuki Jinga, or “the plumb blossom shrine” as it is often called. To my surprise and concern, they prayed at the front of the shrine.

Oh, no! I thought. Did I make a mistake in bringing them here? But I prayed that God would help me turn it around. I asked them what they prayed for.
“For our situation,” Junko said.  “And our families.”
“Well, does it have any meaning for you?”  I asked.  “Do you think there is a god there who listens and fulfills your request?”
They thought about that for quite awhile and discussed between themselves in Japanese. Junko giggled. “I guess not. It`s just a habit.”
“So why do you do it?” I insisted. “If you want to pray about your situation, you should pray to a God who is real and who listens.”
“Yes, I suppose you`re right,”  Junko agreed.  “Can we pray to God later?”
“Of course!”  I said.  “You can pray to God anywhere, anytime.”  I wanted to ask if we could pray then, but realized it would be better not to pressure them.

The following morning I debated about where to take them for church. I felt the Spirit leading me to take them to Jesus Life House, a church I had never visited before except for their Saturday night street band, but I had heard all about it from my JCF skype Bible study friend Christy.

When we first walked in, I was skeptical because it started off feeling like a big party. Everybody came up to the front, there was a loud rock band with lights and everybody jumped up and down like crazy. But all the worship songs were right in line with scripture and often quoted from newer, easy-to-understand translations in both Japanese and English.

That week the sermon was about the earthquake, of course. The pastor talked about how much God loves Japan, how He cries to see it so devastated, and has great plans for bringing it back up. He briefly described how God loved Japan so much that He died for her. Then he invited people to know Jesus. Imagine my surprise when Junko and Hisai`s hands went up! At first I thought maybe it wasn`t real, that they were just moved by his emotional speech, but afterwards they were so excited to learn more that they totally forgot about the appointment they had made with a family friend that afternoon. We all went to Life Group together, which is the center of Jesus Life House. Life Group is kind of like Bible study and outreach and missions all together. And lo and behold, that week`s Life Group was about baptism! After studying what the Bible has to say about it for an hour, Junko and Hisai declared that they wanted to be baptized! I was almost in tears because I was so happy! It was at that point that they remembered their appointment with a family friend but asked if we could please come back the following week.

“Mochiron, of course!”  I said. I was eager to come back myself, for I met a woman in the Life Group named Megumi (Blessing/Grace) who was from my town Nabari. She visited me the following day to talk about ways I could help my church in Nabari grow, and visited again on Tuesday to bring Junko and Hisai sweets. Now that`s hospitality! That`s what Christians should be about!

On Wednesday Junko and Hisai decided to go to Osaka to apply to the government there for aid. They stayed there for a few days and then went on to Kyoto. I was worried that they wouldn`t come to church, but the next Sunday, there they were! After the service they stayed for prayer and some study again. They had an appointment with a Kyoto government official, so they weren`t able to come to the afternoon baptisms, but as I saw the five girls being baptized I prayed that soon it would be Junko and Hisai in that tank, sharing their testimonies and receiving new life in Christ!

So let`s pray for Hisai and Junko, that they will continue to grow in their faith and be baptized soon! They have now obtained a free room in Kyoto but are still unsure about their futures, whether they will return to Fukushima or stay in Kansai. They are worried about their families since they refuse to evacuate. Hisai is married, so of course she wants to be with her husband. So let’s also pray that they can bring their family to Christ!

Encouragement – Kristin Hanaoka

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An excerpt from Osward Chambers- My Utmost for His Highest

. . . one of His disciples said to Him, ’Lord, teach us to pray . . .’

—Luke 11:1

To say that “prayer changes things” is not as close to the truth as
saying, “Prayer changes me and then I change things.” God has
established things so that prayer, on the basis of redemption, changes
the way a person looks at things. Prayer is not a matter of changing
things externally, but one of working miracles in a person’s inner
nature.

As I reflect on the past year, I’ve seen God move in powerful ways in my life and the lives of those around me here in Japan.  God has been working in my inner nature and heart, helping me to find joy and love those around me.  Even when I have a bad day and don’t have control over my circumstances, He shows me something to be thankful for.  God has also been working faithfully in the hearts of my non-Christians friends and it is so exciting!  I want to encourage all of you to allow prayer to change you, so that God can use you for His glory!

Reflecting on the JCF Winter Retreat – Matthew Turner, Nagano Prefecture

0 comments // Categories: Retreats Sharing //

Greetings all ye’ curious readers out there. My name is Matthew Turner; I’m a first-year ALT based in the beautiful city of Shinano-machi in Nagano prefecture. Having recently come off the infamous JCF retreat, I was asked to articulate my impressions / thoughts about the event. I’ll be perfectly honest—I did not have high expectations for the retreat. This would be an event run by a bunch of people roughly my age; so, while it was possible, I did not expect there to be any particularly deep spiritual insights or to hear very much information that was completely new. Thankfully, however, I recognized my need for sincere Christian fellowship superseded whatever initial hesitation I might have had. I decided I would give the event a fair shot. If the retreat even somewhat resembled a kind of: “Everything is happy! Aren’t you happy?!” masquerade ball, I would have simply not attended again and probably would have left a bit disgruntled.

Thankfully, this retreat proved to be very much worth the trip. While extraordinarily comfortable lodging and fantastic food won my initial approval, I was there to fellowship with sincere believers and touch the heart of God. By the end of the second day, I was firmly convinced that I had made a good decision in coming. It was incredibly refreshing simply to be around like-minded believers; but even more refreshing was to be in a community of people who were passionately pursuing the heart of God. These were people who I could relate to; people who I could respect; people who were sincerely after the same thing I was: to renew and grow our spirit through a personal encounter with our Lord. I was reminded of the example set forth by the apostles after first receiving the Holy Spirit and miraculously preaching in different languages: “They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer;” (Acts 2:42 NASB) and that was a model I could sincerely respect.

There was one primary speaker for the weekend who has been a missionary in Japan for a long time. The message itself, while not quite what I expected, proved to be very insightful on the subject of Christianity in Japan with a particular focus on evangelism. It is easy to see that Japan is a nation in desperate need of The Gospel, but the dynamics and issues facing the church here are very different from things facing the church back in the States where I’m from. Knowing the drastic differences between the average Japanese person and myself, how could I even begin to relate to these people and perhaps address concerns so as to create the slightest opening for the gospel? Hearing someone who has lived their life on the mission field offer advice and guidance was a rare and great opportunity to learn how I could help (however little) grow the Gospel in a spiritually starving nation. The speaker reminded us of the classic Sunday school truth that God can use you wherever you are with whatever you have. Sounds simplistic until you realize how closely that resembles our situation in Japan. Here we are, many of us pretty much by ourselves, in a nation that lives in ignorance of the one true God who loves them. The idea of being one of the few arbiters for change in this culture. As the speaker pointed out, Moses approached Pharaoh with a simple stick (the only thing Moses had with him at the burning bush), and we all know the signs and wonders Moses unleashed with that thing. Were the topics covered different than I expected? Yes. Were the messages relevant / worthwhile? Without a doubt.

Following Christ was never intended to be a “lone ranger” path, He intended us to come together as believers to encourage, strengthen, and occasionally (in love) correct one another; and without this fellowship, following Christ becomes a far more trying task. If you’re even in the slightest bit looking for a sincere Christian environment, I’d encourage you come to one of these retreats—to stand on His promise in Matthew 18:20; “For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst.”