Third JCF Mission Trip on Tsunami-hit Cities in Miyagi
0 comments // Categories: JCF News // Tuesday January 31st, 2012
The JCF mission team composed of four volunteers from different parts of Japan has worked hand in hand with Hope Miyagi for a three-day tsunami relief effort on January 4th-6th.
The third mission trip since the March 11th earthquake was focused on community rehabilitation in the areas greatly affected by the tsunami , such as Higashimatsushima and Ishinomaki in Miyagi prefecture. Volunteers gathered donations and shipped them up to Shiogama Bible Baptist Church.
“I am convinced that God is behind this activity,” said Perlan Alatiit, an ALT from Osaka. “It was my last lesson for the term when there was a little time left so I just started asking the class where they would spend their winter break. Finally, a student asked me the same question. I said I will go to Tohoku to visit my friends in Fukushima and then help a little in Miyagi.”
“Then everyone just started cheering and went wildly excited. I wondered why even the JTE was so excited! After the class the JTE explained to me that the students have been looking for a chance to send their letters and messages to the children of Tohoku but couldn’t find contacts to bring them there.” Perlan ended up bringing more than their letters because they also donated books, some school supplies, gloves and socks and toiletries.
Tin Lok Shea, a CRI from Toyama drove for the team with his churchmate from Australia, Danny Hung, who is currently an exchange student in Hokkaido.
Hope Miyagi is an organization aiming to bring moral and spiritual uplifting through helping the community recover from the tsunami devastation headed by Yukimasa Otomo, associate pastor of Shiogama Bible Baptist Church.
The mission trip was coordinated by Deborah Ruth Trotter and Hiroe Komatsu, supplies and volunteer coordinator for Hope Miyagi and the members of Shiogama Bible Baptist Church, Yu Ito, Shinya Bukawa and Takao Hayasaka.
Happy New Year, Happy Island!
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While almost everybody was taking the chance to get away from Japan’s ‘hot zone,’ I had decided to spend the first three days of the 2012 in Fukushima. I had many reasons why I wanted to go back. But what was supposed to be only a selfish motive of visiting my friends became a big, unexpected blessing for me.
2011 was promising. After more than four years of living in Fukushima City, I had finally managed to move to a big, new apartment just a couple of days before the onset of 2011. I remember how I spent almost all the days of my winter break setting up my stuff, having meals under my very own kotatsu for the first time and just loving the winter and the freshness of the new year. As a personal tradition, I spent the New Year’s Day laying down my plans to God. I wrote them in a big notebook and prayed about them. 2011 was so exciting with lots of new things to look forward to! Then the unexpected happened.
I was able to enjoy my new apartment for only two and a half months then I had to go back home to the Philippines after the earthquake and the nuclear disaster that greatly affected my area. In one day, everything had changed. I was at a loss. I had to make a series of big decisions such as whether I would still go back to Japan; would I continue working and living in Fukushima; or should I just stay in the Philippines or try to find something else in a different country and so on. Suddenly, everything that I had anticipated for the new year was not going to happen anymore. I had to start over as the rest of 2011 stretched before me like a long, cold tunnel.
But God is gracious. He didn’t leave me without friends to support me by praying for me and giving me constant encouragements. Then God clearly put it in my heart that I should go back to Japan. So I went back to Fukushima after the Golden Week in May and started picking up the fragments of the life I still have left after the quake. It wasn’t easy but God’s love is more than enough. For the first time in my life, I knew what it meant to have ‘the peace of God, which transcends all understanding’ (Philippians 4:7). The shakings went on as I lived alone in a big, empty apartment with high levels of radioactive materials lurking sporadically all around me but I was never more peaceful in Fukushima than during those difficult times. That confirmed that I did what God wanted me to do. Then He opened doors for a new job in Kansai. So I left Fukushima, and hopefully left my friends and acquaintances with glimpses of God through the friendship and times we shared.
And so at the beginning of this year I went back to where I’d thought my life would end, (literally and figuratively). Everything else looked the same except it wasn’t the same anymore. I met former students and friends with kids who still go to school everyday as if there is no threat. It broke my heart to hear some of them deny the fact of high levels of radiation surrounding the area and I couldn’t argue for I came to understand why they feel that way. Suddenly, I felt so blessed to have a new job in a new place surrounded by wonderful new friends. I realized that many of them would also like to leave but because of their families, jobs and properties, they had chosen to stay.
Fukushima holds so much precious memories for me and most of my cherished friends are still living there. Leaving it every time was never easy. It was the first place I ever lived while abroad and I immediately fell in love with it when I first set foot there in the spring of 2007. But even if at some point in my life I had planned to live there long-term, I know I made the right decision to let go and move on. God tells us when to go and where. He tells us what we should do. And our hearts should be soft enough to listen to him and do so no matter how painful leaving the things and people we came to love is.
As I left the ‘happy island’ for a three-day mission trip in Miyagi, I could hear a still, small voice saying, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there you heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:19-22)
The train was moving farther and farther away from Fukushima while the snow was falling. I whispered a small prayer for Fukushima and for all the people there, especially the ones I care about. And as for me, I am “forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:13-14 (NIV)
Perlan Alatiit, 大阪
’Twas the Year of the Census
0 comments // Categories: Poems Sharing Uncategorized //
by John Popp
’Twas the year of the census and all through the region
the people were scared of the great Roman legion.
The emperor was bored; he breathed with a sigh.
Then he had a great thought, a thought that was sly.
“Have the people all counted, close, far, and wide,
to increase their taxes, my fortune, my pride.”
“This is bad news,” said the advisor to the king.
“There are too many. How could we do such a thing?
We can’t count them now! We don’t know who they are.
People have moved, some close, but some far.”
“To keep the count true, the people must travel
back to their homes,” said the king with his gavel.
“They must be counted in families. Only that will suffice,
so no one is missed, counted once, but not twice.”
Joseph’s ancestor was David. King David the Great.
So he hurried to Bethlehem. He couldn’t be late.
His simple possessions a donkey would carry
and on top of it all, Joseph placed his wife Mary.
The passage was hard, Mary being with child,
but the sure-footed donkey made the trek mild.
Arriving in Bethlehem, Joseph hoped that they might
find a comfortable inn to rest up for the night.
The inns were all varied from humble to exotic.
With the streets full of travelers, all was chaotic.
The crowds were so vast and the lines so deep.
Joseph feared there’d be no place to sleep.
“I must have a room for my wife, if you’re able.”
“There’s no room here. Take her down to the stable.”
The stables were caves cut out of a hill.
How terrible! Joseph thought. Lord, can this be your Will?
But the caves were warm, the animals few,
surprisingly clean and the straw fresh and new.
Mary’s baby was born, the midwife a stranger.
They named the boy Jesus and laid him in a manger.
In the Bethlehem fields, on the hills in the land,
some shepherds looked up and saw God’s mighty hand.
Angels came down and shone through the night.
They surrounded the shepherds, who were filled with fright.
But the angels assured them, “You have nothing to fear.
It is Good News from God that brings us here.
The Savior of the world you’ve all waited for
is born in Bethlehem. You need wait no more.
And this is God’s sign,” the angels began to sing,
“In a manger, wrapped with swaddling cloths, you’ll find the infant king.”
Then the sky was filled with the angels’ enchantment,
singing praises to God around the shepherd’s encampment.
When the angels departed and went on their way,
the head shepherd jumped up. He had something to say.
“Let’s see this great thing, of which we’re delighted.
We can’t sleep now; we’re much too excited.”
So they ran to Bethlehem, searching in haste.
They wanted to find him. There was no time to waste.
The shepherds found Jesus and Mary his mother.
“May we come in, if it isn’t a bother?”
“Everyone’s welcome!” Joseph said.
“Come one, come all,” as they each bowed their head.
They beckoned the shepherds in from the cold
and were amazed by the story the shepherds then told.
How the angels sang of the new child’s birth,
that Jesus came to save all people on earth.
Of the shepherd’s news, this was the best part
and Mary held it tightly, close to her heart.
And now, children, you’ve all heard the story
of a child born like you for God’s great glory.
Whether born in a hospital, a house, or a stable,
God has a plan for you. Listen if you’re able.
Learn from the Christ child, who out of darkness was born,
to teach us, to love us, to give us hope when forlorn.
For Jesus brings light so that we can see
that the face of God is on you and on me.
And if you accept him as King and Savior,
you too can have life, with heavenly favor.
We can all sing now what the angels sang then:
Peace on Earth, Good Will toward Men.
The JCF Retreat Message – A Good Reminder
0 comments // Categories: Inspiration Retreats Sharing Words of Encouragement // Wednesday October 19th, 2011
by Aaron Peterson
“People need to be reminded more often than they need to be instructed.”
- Dr. Johnson, as quoted by C.S. Lewis
At this most recent JCF Retreat, the speaker, Seth Philip, expounded on the Book of Romans. And while I have read the Book of Romans before, I was reminded of some very important truths.
First, I was reminded that I must have God as my God. Oftentimes, we say that we are doing things for God, and then we focus so much on the things themselves that we lose sight of God. This had happened to me. I was so concerned with helping the people of North Korea that I had made that my reason for living. But my reason for living is to worship God. And while I do think it is of utmost importance to help the people of North Korea, that must never be my reason for living. It must never be my God. Only God should be my God.
Second, I was reminded that we are saved by grace alone. This is something that we often forget. We try to do better and work harder so that God will love us more. But God will never love us more. And He will never love us less. He loved us so much that, while we were still sinners, He sent Christ to die for us. And it is by Christ’s death and resurrection that we are saved – not by our good works. We must always remember that it is God’s grace that saves us, and nothing else.
Third, I was reminded that we are being sanctified by God. If you’re like me, then you think you’re a pretty bad example of a Christian. You sin more often than you obey and you feel like you’re never going to get better. But there is hope. God is working in you to make you the person you ought to be. He has saved you by His grace, and by His grace He is making you holy. His Holy Spirit is sanctifying you day by day, and making you more like Christ. You will have to do your part. But as you do your part, He will do His. And even if you fail, all is not lost. For He is still doing His part, and He never fails.
Fourth, I was reminded that we are on a mission to win the lost for Christ. We have been saved by grace, we are being sanctified, and we are called to tell others about the One who saved us and sanctifies us. It might not always be easy to share but we must. For none of us is promised tomorrow. If the world were to end tonight, how many of your friends, co-workers, and students would go to hell? It is not enough to be a good teacher or a kind co-worker; we must be a light to those in darkness. We must bring them to the One they can call on for salvation. For how can they call on the One they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the One of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?
Finally, I was reminded that the purpose of it all (salvation by grace, sanctification, and preaching to the lost) is to bring worship to God. For that is what we were created to do. We were created to worship God. Not because He needs our worship - He has no needs. Not because others won’t do it – the angels, the elders, and creation itself exalts Him. But because it is only through worshipping God that we can ever be truly happy and free. It is only through worshipping God that we can have life. And that is why Christ came: that we may have life, and have it to the full.
"Everything on earth will worship you; they will sing your praises, shouting your name in glorious songs.” -Psalm 66:4
GOD STORY
0 comments // Categories: Inspiration Poems Retreats // Tuesday August 30th, 2011
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GOD STORY
by Deborah Ruth Trotter
You are the God who gives everyone a story
Not just a pattern of ritual and obligation
But a living relationship of Your love overflowing
And bubbling over to the people aroundYou are the God who gives hope to the hopeless
You bring new joy when we can’t find it ourselves
You fill our hearts with Your love never-ending
That overflows more than we can contain on our ownYou are the God who meets us where we’re at
You extend grace and forgiveness and free us to live new a way
No longer slaves to the things that destroyed us
And free to let that grace overflow to those around usYou are the God who redeems the stuff we go through
We all have many experiences in life: Some good, some bad, some horrible, some great
And You take the things that happen
And even turn bad things around for something goodYou are the God who gives vision
To those who are needing clear direction in life
And the boldness to go forward
And see change for the betterYou are the God who lifts us from the muck
Of things from our past or depression or destruction
You give us a solid place to stand in Your love
And give us the chance to go forward in lifeYou are the God who is worthy of worship
With all that we are and have and will be
The fact that the God of Creation knows and thinks about us
Shows us how privileged we are that we can live in His love
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20th July 2011Inspired by the Aomori JCF retreat and Darlene Z’s testimony on Huntley Street and the fact I’ve been sensing God pulling me back into song-writing again.
JCF Tohoku Summer Retreat
0 comments // Categories: JCF News Retreats // Tuesday July 19th, 2011
- “The Lord has done great things for us! We are glad!” – Psalm 126:3
Tohoku’s lush greenery welcomed the 21 campers from eight prefectures to worship and commune with God and to fellowship with one another at the Aomori Christian Center on July 16-18.
The three-day retreat was focused on the attributes of God and the practical measures Christians can do to fearlessly make a stand in their beliefs and to encourage other believers to do so. Pastor John Elliot, the speaker has been serving the Japanese and foreign community alike through their chapel, college and camp ministries for over 25 years. He and his wife, Laurie, are missionaries with OMF and live in Ajigasawa, Aomori. Together with their daughter, Sarah and a missionary from Holland, Paul, they served the campers with great meals and encouraging conversations.
James Edel, an ALT from Akita also gave a short workshop based on the book Theology of the Pain of God by Kazoh Kitamori. He explained how Christ, more than anyone else understands human suffering; a very timely and encouraging study not only for the people of Tohoku but for everyone who has been through difficult situations.
Three non-Christians participated and with the grace of God, much prayer goes for their hearts to be touched and be opened to accept Christ Jesus in their lives.
Greetings from the National Coordinator
0 comments // Categories: JCF News // Sunday July 10th, 2011
It’s July in Japan and for many of us, things will probably be changing a lot soon. For me, I have to say goodbye to friends who are leaving. But I am also hoping to welcome many new friends who will be coming and I’m hoping that our experiences here together in Japan will be great. I’m especially looking forward to an amazing year on the leadership team of JCF. I’m gearing up for Tokyo Orientation, but first, making the long trek up to the Aomori Retreat!
Psalm 25:5 says, “Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.” This summer, some of you may be starting a new job or traveling or finally seeing family again after a long time. I hope that as you live your life this summer, you will let the Lord guide you and you’ll continue to hope in Him.
God Bless!
Adrianna
Testimony – Ken Ikeda
0 comments // Categories: Sharing // Wednesday May 11th, 2011
[A condensed and modified version of this will appear in a forthcoming newsletter issue of the Christian English Language Educators Association (CELEA) published in the U.S.]
Ken Ikeda
JET 1987-1993; Department of English Studies, Otsuma Women’s University, Tokyo
1. How am I connected with the world of English language teaching?
I fell into the profession. I was working on a joint Master’s in Japanese history and library science when my history professor recommended me to go to Japan in 1987 in what was the first year of the JET Program. My first posting was as an ALT in Koga City, Ibaraki Prefecture working with three junior high schools. Shy by nature, I viewed English teaching as an excellent conduit to help me develop an extroverted self. Yet I was physically assaulted several times by unruly students and the schools took no action to reprimand the offenders. When two years later I transferred to Matsumoto City in Nagano Prefecture to an education center, I was quite depressed and very angry. I could bottle up my frustrations while assisting in seminars for teachers, but could not trust myself to be close to students.
At a dinner with Japanese English teachers who had participated in an overseas stay program which my mother sponsored, I met with a teacher who I knew was a fervent Catholic. After he heard about my troubles, he told me, “You know what to do. Forgive them just as Jesus did on the cross. These students do not know what they have done.” I protested that it wouldn’t do any good as they were several prefectures away. But together with that teacher I carried out that prayer of forgiveness and was freed from the memories that had kept me in thrall. It was good timing as well, since the following year I met my future wife.
After two years at the education center I moved to Nagano City for my 5th year to be placed in a base school, then for my 6th and final year was moved to the head education office of the prefecture (shidoka). However, all my years on the program was not going to guarantee me a career, so I was motivated to enroll in an intensive 5-week EFL teaching certificate course with Cambridge Assessment sponsored by the JET Program at the time. At the same time, the Lord enabled me to experience both the highs and lows of working in the prefectural headquarters; after my employment as an ALT ended I was given a part-time job in the office which paid approximately only half of the JET salary! It was a grim wake-up call to the realities of working in Japan outside the program umbrella.
The Cambridge certificate, however, opened doors: I was hired to teach part-time at a junior college (where I had been turned down the year before without the certificate). Furthermore, it qualified me to be employed as a foreign instructor at a national college of technology (kousen). During my contract I enrolled in a MA.TESOL program with Teachers College Tokyo and commuted frequently on weekends and summers to Tokyo – a commute greatly aided by the opening of the Shinkansen for the Nagano Olympics.
In 1999 I graduated with the Masters in TESOL and moved down to Yokohama where I spent about ten years teaching at several universities in the Tokyo area. The Lord miraculously opened the doors two years ago to a full-time position at a women’s college in the heart of Tokyo. There I teach English skill courses, an upper-division seminar focusing on ethnic studies and observation techniques, and an academic writing course to graduate students, as well as provide guidance to undergraduate thesis writing in English. Besides teaching, I am able to have impact on students throughout their college years in homeroom sessions, a study abroad program, and other extracurricular activities.
2. What has been your Christian experience in Japan?
The Lord has provided me churches to attend throughout my sojourn in Japan, even when it took over an hour by train and bus at one time. I joined a meeting of Christian JETs at a midyear Renewers conference in 1988 which became the Christian Support Group (forerunner of JCF). In 1991 I took the post of national coordinator. I got married at Megumi Chalet in Karuizawa where later I helped organize the first retreat for Christian JETs. Afterwards I stayed in touch with subsequent leadership groups till I started teaching at universities. It was rather funny that my first home after my marriage was in the church in Nagano where I and my wife attended – once our prefectural AJET meeting was held in the church sanctuary! For the past seven years My wife and I have been attending a Japanese Evangelical Alliance (Domei) church in Yokosuka and earlier this spring we bought an apartment within walking distance from the church.
One key verse for me is Hosea 10:12 – “Sow with a view to righteousness, reap in accordance with kindness; break up your fallow ground, for it is time to seek the LORD until He comes to rain righteousness on you.” This verse sums up what I have come to accept as God’s directive these recent years. Sow, reap, break up; these verbs strike me as acts of cultivating my mind into rigor so that I am able to conscientiously seek the Lord’s call to save souls. Past is the time when I could concentrate on just teaching, but seek the Lord for vision within a secular and quite sheltered university where some students are given nil exposure to the gospel.
3. Is there a relevant joy or challenge that I am experiencing?
I am still having difficulty adjusting to constant demands on my time which envelop the overall concerns of the university beyond the classroom and leave scarce time to conduct research. My biggest personal challenge is tackling the inadequacies of my Japanese language ability. Hitherto I could rely on my speaking skills but I am now expected to write reports in Japanese as well. Currently I take weekly lessons at a Japanese language school. I believe these challenges are honing me to call on the Lord by the minute to tap on His vast reservoirs of blessings, discernment and strength. He has also sustained me mightily through my wife in a blessed 18-year marriage coupled with a very supportive local church.
4. Are there individuals related to English language teaching that have influenced me and/or my teaching?
During my MA TESOL studies at Teachers College Tokyo I was blessed to take an introductory course in applied linguistics from Thomas Scovel, who came as a visiting professor and awed the class with his thorough explication of the discipline while sharing his Christian faith with aplomb. Dr. Scovel was born in China whose parents were missionary doctors later held in a Japanese POW camp. After finishing his PhD in linguistics from University of Michigan he and his wife served as missionaries in Thailand for seven years. Although a giant in the field of psycholinguistics, he is an exceedingly humble and gentle person. In his homespun manner he told our class that when he was first accepted as a guest lecturer in China he brought with him two boxes of books. One box which contained psycholinguistics textbooks was barred because it had the word ‘psychology’. Someone asked what was in the other box. He answered, “Bibles.”
Another individual is my father. For a long time I concealed from my friends who he was because he is basically illiterate in English, having not learned the language due to wartime (in fact, I learned this summer he didn’t even finish junior high school because he was drafted into the Japanese imperial army). He was born in Japan but spent his youth in northeastern China (what was known as Manchukuo under Japanese occupation). He escaped from a Soviet POW camp after WW2 ended, which enabled him to enter the U.S. later as a war refugee. There as a farmhand in the fields of California he was led to Christ by a Japanese evangelist. His quiet but lifelong trust in Christ has showed me that a bedrock faith is far more precious than language ability or an education. This past summer I and my wife accompanied him to the cities where he spent his teenage days in China. A great attribute of his is the ability to let things go. Just as Mom went to be with the Lord 5 years ago, he could take her clothes to the Salvation Army and discard all her books, he accepted how much China has modernized in removing its landmarks created by the Japanese occupation.
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