Newsletter 2023 Oct,Nov English
Newsletter 2023 October,November
Praise the Lord!
It was hot until a little while ago, but it suddenly turned cold and some of you may be getting sick. I also caught a cold for the first time in a while. I hope everyone is feeling well.
In this newsletter, I wrote about the Men's Retreat, Mission megumi, Discipleship Training, and Friday Meeting.
1. Men's Retreat - About Sexuality
From October 29 to November 1, CCC's male staff gathered in Hokkaido for a retreat. I was grateful for the opportunity to see my fellow staff members for the first time in a while and to have a chance to mix with senior staff members from each city, as I do not usually have a chance to meet them.
The soup curry, a specialty of Hokkaido, was so delicious that I wanted to try it again.
I also tried park golf, a sport that originated in Hokkaido, for the first time. Almost all of us were beginners, but by the time we had completed 19 courses, we were gradually getting better and getting the hang of it!
We also had a chance to learn about sex, a topic that seems to be handled often at men's retreats. A staff member from CCC Korea came as a guest speaker. I was reminded once again that people are truly created in a very unique and complex way. We also talked about the difference between the love generally considered in Japan today and the values of love as described in the Bible. This is a topic that is not usually discussed in japan, so i am thankful to the staff for coming from Korea to Japan to teach the seminar from a biblical point of view.
What I felt during the retreat was that I realized that Japan really receives a lot of love from foreign countries. At first, when I attended the retreat, my first impression was that there were very few Japanese staff members, which made me a little sad. However, as we spent time together, I was filled with thankfulness that Japan CCC is doing ministry with the support of so many foreign staff members. There are many staff members from Korea and the U.S. in Japan, and I was moved to realize that they love Japan and are giving their lives to help the Japanese people know the gospel.
2. Mission megumi (Short-term mission team)
This time 11 members came from Australia CCC (power to change).
Their stay will be from November 19 to December 19.
This year we are doing missionary work at two different universities, Nanzan University and Meijo University. It has been about a week now, and although there were some nervous moments in the first week when they were wondering how to approach Japanese people, they have already gotten used to outreach in Japan and have made more appointments with students. I am in charge of Nanzan University, and Jonathan and I are going there to evangelize.
Please pray for "Towa" who Jonathan talked to. He also shared with us his painful experience last year. He had never told anyone about it before. We thank God for leading this conversation.
Prayer
When I see Towa kun and Fumiya-kun, I remember the words of the Bible.
Matthew 9:36 NIV [36] When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.
Like sheep without a shepherd, they seemed to be in confusion and need of help. It really makes me think that each one of us needs Christ. Pray that with a heart of mercy we would love them with the love of Christ and share Christ with them as we spend time with them!
Prayer
We are preparing for 3 events.
11/30 Home Party was like this!
12/8 Christmas party
Prayer
Our Australian students are preparing for this event! Please pray for their preparation as they are busy going to the campus and preparing for the event.
12/15 Farewell party
All events are evangelistic events, but the main purpose is to have people continue to come to CCC and connect with Japanese staff. Please pray that the events will be a time to build better relationships and plant seeds.
3. Discipleship training
A. Caleb (Nagoya University)
Caleb is an international student from the Philippines studying automotive engineering at Nagoya University.
He was cared by an overseas missionary who has been with us since 2022, but will be leaving Japan next March, so enoch is in the process of handing over the discipleship training to me. We are having fellowship together and doing discipleship training.
Caleb has a heart for missions and comes to campus to evangelize with us.
Prayer.
Pray that the handover will be well done and that discipleship with me will help him become a disciple of Christ.
B. Chuki (Nagoya University)
This semester our two schedules did not match up very well, and we were finally able to meet in November. He had said before that he wanted to read the Bible but it was difficult for him to do it alone, so I gave him a devotional book and we decided to read it together. I wasn't sure what kind of devotional guide would be best for him, but I decided to use a devotional guide that gives a different bible verse each day. because I thought it would be better for him to be exposed to the bible little by little.
Prayer
please Pray that he will help me walk as a disciple of Christ. Pray also that he will be given a heart for missions.
C. Fumiyasu (Meijo University)
We have been connected since last spring and have been studying the basics of Christianity together. We have almost finished the material, but recently we have been focusing on fellowship. We found out that Fumiya is going through a difficult time in the camera club he belongs to. He is struggling in his relationships. One thing he always mentions is that "it is always nice to come to a Christian circle and feel calm. He often talks to me about what has been going on. I am thankful that we have been able to build this relationship. I always pray with him about what he has told me at the end. When I was a non-Christian, I didn't know what was going on when my friends prayed for me, but I knew they cared anyway and I felt their love.
Prayer
Every time I see him, I feel that he needs Christ. Please continue to pray for him to know the love of Christ a little more and for his salvation.
4. Friday Meeting - Spiritual Conversation
We had a training with all the Christian students. This training was to think together about how to have spiritual conversations.
First, staff showed a demonstration of how the staff usually talk to the students in real life on campus and how we talk about Christianity related topics.
We asked each student to think about how they would actually talk about something Christian or ask a question related to Christianity in a conversation, and then asked them to try each of their ideas out in small groups. I think trying out some of the questions they created through role-playing and testing them out showed that some of the questions were better than they thought they would be, and some were more difficult to have a conversation about than they thought they would be, so I think they got the picture from trying them out. I was thankful that I was able to give them a chance to practice in this casual way with my Christian friends before actually doing it with my non-Christian friends.
Pray that this would not end with just practice, but that the Christian student friends who came to the training would actually have the opportunity to talk about Christianity and share their testimonies using the questions they created and pray that they can take steps by faith.
Thank you for reading to the end and praying for us!
The next newsletter will be around the end of January 2024.
And I plan to visit in Kansai and Korea in February and tokyo side in mid-March at some point so we can fellowship if possible!
Thank you for all your support.
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