Wednesday, November 30, 2016

Blessings With Fruit

Thursday

It’s raining this morning.   Temps have been around 49 during the day and 39 at night.  It’s really not that cold.  Good brisk weather; good for the soul.  Joy mentioned that it snowed in Machida last week, but no snow is forecasted for the remainder of our stay.  Too bad!!

Beloved, we greet you from Machida, Japan, and remember always of your faithful love and support of our team and the mission programs of South Bay Japanese Christian Fellowship and Crossway.  Thank you.

Hiromi, Hiromi, Hikari (Kyoko's Daughter), Kyoko
After settling in to our living quarters and doing some unpacking of our mission supplies, we were treated to an intimate ‘Welcome’ dinner by some of the lady leaders of the church.  We had a wonderful time with Hiromi, Kyoko and Hiromi.  The special menu item for the night was a kebob of Chicken “Oshiri” (check with your Japanese speaking friends on the translation).  Very different and delicious.



Megu & Mao
After dinner, we spent the evening with two of Joy’s high school students who have been in JOY CLUB since they were in elementary school – Mao and Megu.  Both are 16 and know the Lord through Joy.  They were a delight and are quite good in English.  We hope that we helped them improve even more.   After the class, we were joined by Pastor Uchimura and Go who was one of the middle school boys who came by the church to play basketball.  Go is now 26.   He met Jesus on a trip to Hawaii where he graduated from the University of Hawaii and is now a very bold businessman in real estate looking to create his own company soon.  He dropped by this evening to say hello to Sensei who made an impact in his life.  We praise God for Go’s love of the Lord and say “Amen” to the work here at Everygreen Chapel.

With most of the shopping done for the JOY Club Christmas Party, we took some personal time to catch up with the jet lag before the big push in work and preparations.   Yuriko went into Machida to do some shopping and returned to the church to do some baking.  She is the best baker ever!

Aico & Diane in Studio
 Diane and Stan headed off to Tokyo to meet with an old friend, Aico, who Stan met 3 years ago through her niece, Joy Takahashi.  She’s 95.  A bus ride, two trains and a short walk got us to Aico’s little studio at a Weslyan Church in Nogata.  Such a remarkable woman with endless stories of how God directed each step of her life.  She was born in California and was sent to Japan by her parents just before the outbreak of WWII at age 17, and she remained in Japan.  During the war, she spent time as an American English teacher in one of the mountain areas of Gifu, Japan.  She taught kids 5-6 years of age.  Well, 6 of those kids she taught are planning a reunion with her this Saturday at her studio.  They remembered this special teacher and found her.  They will have a great time together.

The next several days will be busy as we work with the members of Evergreen to complete plans for the J.O.Y. Club Christmas Party on Saturday.  This is the primary reason we are here in Machida.  Through Joy, God has planted many seeds of His gospel in the hearts of the children.  The work is hard, but God’s promises are true.  Thank you for your prayers for these children and their families.

“The Lord bless you and keep you.  The Lord make His face to shine on you and be gracious unto you.  The Lord lift up His countenance to you, and give you peace, this day and forever more.  Amen”. Numbers 6:24-26

And we will praise Him,

Your Machida Team


Mao, Rumiko (Mao's Mom), Megu, Go
We're having a great time!!!
Aico & Stan in Sanctuary



Monday, November 28, 2016

Arrived Safely

Beloved,
We greet you in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. 

Our trip started off with a bang!  We overlooked the Thanksgiving Holiday traffic and it appeared for a while that we might miss our flight.   Along with Pastor Roland, we reached Century Blvd at 8:35pm and it took 2 hours to get to Bradley International Terminal to check in and get through security.  Our flight was to board at 11:35pm.  It was Baja relived at the Mexican border…..almost.  But we did make our flight and thank God for prayers not even said.  A special thanks to those of you who came to see us off at the airport - a real sacrifice.

Yuriko, Diane, Kyoko, Hiromi
Japan mini-vans are bigger than you think!
The flight was bouncy most of the way.  Diane can sleep through anything.  We arrived at 6:00am (Tuesday) and were greeting by Hiromi and Kyoko - such precious servants and friends.  They were at the airport well before our flight arrived to ensure they would not be late.  We appreciated so much their love for us.  We have an entire day before us and we’re ready.

So all to say that we arrived safely.  And arriving at Evergreen Chapel was like coming home.  Joy was there to welcome us and we have quickly settled in to our rooms.  Michael will be arriving later on Friday due to his work schedule and between now and Saturday, we will be working on the JOY Club Christmas Party set for Saturday.  The girls are already off shopping for the party and Stan is taking a nap.

Thank you for your prayers and support of all that we’re doing.   Thank you for being with us on this mission to Machida.

Gratefully,
Stan, Diane, Yuriko, Mike