Wednesday, August 6, 2008

A Very Happy Birthday

Ogata-sensei and Kinjoh Akiko-sensei, two pastors ordained
during the centennial celebration of the Church of God

100th anniversary theme
“For Christ’s love compels us . . . .” (2 Corinthians 5:14, NIV).

The year was 1908. Compelled by Christ’s love, a Japanese minister named A. U. Yajima returned to his homeland after traveling in the United States, where he had come into contact with the Church of God through reading a Gospel Trumpet magazine. His mission was to plant the Church of God in Japan.

The year is 2008. One hundred years after Pastor Yajima launched the Japanese Church of God, there are 16 congregations spread from Hokkaido in the north to Okinawa in the south. Members of each church were joined by one of Pastor Yajima’s granddaughters and two great-granddaughters, six former missionaries, and representatives of several Christian organizations and the Asia-Pacific Church of God Conference for a very happy birthday celebration, August 1-3, built around 2 Corinthians 5:14. We were especially thrilled by the ordination of two pastors, including Akiko Kinjoh, the first woman to be ordained by the Japanese Church of God. Even while celebrating the past, the church in Japan is compelled into the future by the love of Christ. Please pray with us for understanding of and obedience to God’s vision for the second hundred years.

Bible camp
Thank you for praying for the centennial celebrations and also for Tamagawa Seigakuin’s Bible Camp in July. What a joy it was for us to hear representatives to the centenary from other church groups express their appreciation for the Church of God and especially for the impact that Tamagawa Seigakuin has made during its 58 years. (The 10,000th girl graduated this past spring.) Keeping the Christian emphasis of this girls’ junior-senior high school at the forefront of all activities is a responsibility Bernie, as headmaster, takes very seriously. As such, the annual Bible camp in July is a vital part of the Christian mission of the school.

We had big expectations as we went into this year’s three-day camp. Not only had 62 girls volunteered to attend, but there seemed to be a strong spirit of excitement among students and teachers alike as the date approached. Praise God for his faithfulness, evident in the responses that girls made on a questionnaire they completed at the end of camp. Following are some of the decisions recorded. The number in parenthesis is the number of students who agreed with the statement:

*I have come to understand my sin. (40)
*I understand that Jesus’ blood forgives my sins. (37)
*I believe and accept Jesus into my heart. (19)
*I want to be baptized. (14—Most Japanese consider baptism THE most important faith step that can be taken, so this is a significant number.)
*I want to serve God. (20)
*I am willing to give my testimony at school. (6)
*I don’t know [how to respond to this camp]. (2)
*I want to attend next year. (33—This is a high number considering the many seniors who attended and will graduate in March, therefore becoming ineligible to attend again.)
*I want God to use me to help evangelize others. (1)

Not only through these responses, but we also sensed the Holy Spirit working in other ways. For example, two high school seniors said to Bernie, “This is the start of revival! We must pray for revival at Tama Sei!” Additionally, prayers voiced by both faculty and students were full of references to revival at the school, in churches, and in Japan. Surely the Lord will honor these heartfelt requests. Please continue to pray for Tama Sei and for the Church of God in Japan that in all ways we will be compelled by Christ’s love.

Looking ahead in prayer
This Friday we’ll be on our way to India for a two-week trip (August 8-22). Our main purpose in going is to encourage ministry colleagues there. Please pray for our safety in travel (by airplane, car, and motorcycle) and that we will all be renewed as the Holy Spirit moves in our hearts in what will surely be a once-in-a-lifetime experience for us.

Three days after returning from India, we'll leave Japan again (on August 25) to begin a three-month home assignment. Although our schedule is still being arranged, we know that we will be visiting Living Link supporting churches in Washington, Illinois, Indiana, Colorado, Oregon, Oklahoma, and Missouri, in addition to other churches in Tennessee and Ohio. We are eagerly anticipating a more relaxing home assignment than we had two years ago and are especially looking forward to special family times in Canada, Florida, Indiana, and Missouri, where Bernie expects to go deer hunting. Please pray with and for us that we will return to Japan in late November spiritually, emotionally, and physically recharged to resume our ministry here. Please also pray that we may soon have a clear vision of what God is asking us to do in ministry beyond the walls of Tamagawa Seigakuin.

Thank you for standing with us through prayer.