WE'RE ALIVE AND WELL !!

Dear Beloved,

Some of you may be asking, "Why have a blog, if you don't blog?"   Please accept our apologies for being absent for the past 5 days.   We're alive and well.  It's been hectic, but we're not using that as an excuse.  The electrical power is still out (most of it), but the Lord has provided for our every need.  The last 3 or 4 days have been very cold, but that did not worry us.  So despite our absence, please know that our hearts are thankful for all of your support for what has being done here in Machida.  Thank you.

The days have flown by quickly and we worshiped with the Evergreen members on this beautiful Sunday morning.  A sweet time of fellowship together.  Michael gave the message and it was all about being thankful.   Thankful for being saved from our discretions; thankful about what others have done for us; thankful for the big things and the little things; and thankful that when genuine acts of kindness are done, they are never forgotten.  So as we wind down our mission here at Machida, we are truly thankful for all of you.  Domo arigato gozaimasu.

This afternoon, we will observe a small youth rally here at Evergreen.  The youth of the church have reached out to their neighborhood and the turnout is expected to be small.  However, the Lord will honor the faithfulness of this young group which has increased since we were here a year ago.  Thank you, God, for your great faithfulness.

This evening, we'll be receiving Kawano Sensei (Chino Church), Chihoyo and Chi-chan.  They'll be driving a long way to fellowship with us for a few hours.  Please pray for travelling mercies for this beloved family.

Tomorrow (Mon), Mike leaves at 5am for Osaka to visit family; Yuriko will leave later in the morning for Ibaraki (Tokyo) to visit in laws, and the Date's will be on a flight home at mid-night.  So will end our mission here in Machida. 

Thank you, dear ones, for your love and prayers over the past 2 weeks.  We are indebted to your support of all that we have done together.  Thank you for being with us in spirit and may the Lord bless and keep you always.

Our love,

Your Machida Team

NOTE:  Stan still can't get pictures to load properly on the blog.  So without pictures, here's a quick recap of the last 5 days.

JOYClub Junior High'ers:

The team spent two evenings with 2 junior high classes.  We did a lot of role playing with them in helping them with their English.   One thing special about these classes was that their parents were invited to observe their kids with Americans.  In the end, 2 parents showed up for one class and none for the other.  Reason?  The students asked them not to come since they were just too shy and embarrassed to have their parents there.  In fact, 2 parents waited outside in the cold in their cars.  It was fun just "jabbing" with these junior high'ers.  Some were very good with their "eigo".

Retirement Home Outreach:

We did a "Super Senior" party with residents at their retirement home and members and friends of Evergreen.  There were 24 in attendance.  The facility is beautiful and we partied in their spacious dining room.  The games, singing (Michael led carols and Japanese folk songs) and dancing (Diane did the "Chicken Dance") were similar to Crossway's own senior lunch.  And the reactions were also the same - laughter and fun.  Just like home.   Thank you, Lord, for a wonderful time.

Preparing for the JOYClub Christmas Party:

The JOYClub Christmas Party is the primary reason why we are here in Machida.  Preparing to receive 87 children and their parents just takes a lot of work and time.  The activities include things like decorating   the chapel and all of the rooms that will be used; organizing crafts and games; setting up the prize table where kids redeem their tickets for prizes; producing an elaborate package for each family that includes name tags for both the kids and parents, tickets and fliers; setting up a beautiful refreshment room where you gain weight just looking at all the desserts.  A lot of work, but it was a joy working with the volunteers of Evergreen.  But know that Joy Tani takes all of the responsibility for putting on a good program on to herself, and team America is there to help and encourage her.

JOYCLUB CHRISTMAS PARTY:

The Christmas Party was held yesterday (Sat) afternoon and it was a huge success and achievement.  There were over 140 guests (kids and parents).  The pictures that we wanted to load to this blog would tell the tale of a good time had by all.  But you'll have to trust us on that.  And with all the help from Evergreen Members, clean up was done in no time at all.  When everything had finally settled down, we all retired to the refreshment room and devoured all of the left over dessert.  There was a lot it and thousands of calories were consumed.

Couples Fellowship:

After the Christmas Party, we were on our way to Hiromi Matsushima's (member) home for dinner.  By that time, food was the last thing on our minds.  Hiromi wanted the team to meet and share with her husband, Nori, and two other couples whose husbands were not saved.   The point of the meeting was to show them the love of God through friendship evangelism.  We had a wonderful time of fellowship and as usual, the food was excellent.  Michael, our youngest ambassador at 28, had everyone laughing most of the evening with his story telling and making fun of his "tiny" size.  We pray that the Lord will bring these men who are sanctified by their believing spouses to Himself.   Please pray for them.

END OF BLOG - BE HOME SOON.

A VERY SPECIAL TEAM

Dear Beloved,

"Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ."

It is Tuesday and another day has passed.  We feel as though we have been here much longer than 5 days as our activities have been so blessed by the Lord. 

This morning's devotion was led by Stan making reference to Acts 6:1-7.  This passage tells of how the apostles identified 7 faithful men to assume responsibility for "waiting on tables" so the apostles could devote themselves to the care of the Word of God.  Among the seven were Stephen and Philip who gladly assumed lesser roles for the sake of the Gospel.   This describes our team whose members are willing to do whatever it takes to accomplish our mission of service.  We appreciate Yuriko who has taken on a greater load with a willingness to serve in any and every capacity.  It is also encouraging to see the members of Evergreen Chapel take on greater roles in serving at Bethel and Tama Hillside.  The team is allowing others to increase as we decrease.  But make no mistake, the presence of the American influence is still clearly needed in expanding the ministry to churches such as Bethel and Tama Hillside.

The power is still out at Evergreen, but let us provide a quick overview of our time with the Bethel and Tama Hillside churches over the past weekend.

Bethel Church, Shinagawa

Serving Bethel

It was good to see Shiraishi Sensei and Hozue again.  We arrived late Saturday morning and were still amazed with the "tiny-ness" of this faithful church.  We were blessed to serve with members of Evergreen Chapel and Bethel Church.  The 14 children who came with their parents had a blessed time.  In fact, such a good time that they did not want to leave.  The Christmas party was scheduled to end at 3:30pm, but at 4:30, and after two attempts to close the program and bid good bye to everyone, the kids weren't ready to stop playing and the parents continued in on-going dialogues with others.   It was quite humorous to see.  But we finally sent everyone off with strong hopes that they will return.  Please pray for the 10 members of this church as they minister in the power of the Spirit to their neighbors.

Bethe's Christmas Party

Yuriko presenti

Tama Hillside Church

Sunday was devoted to serving at this church which has 12 members.  This Christmas event was its first outreach to the community and having 17 children and their parents in attendance was in itself a victory.

Minegishi Sensei

Worship Service:  Our team and members of Evergreen attended the worship service and it was a blessing to see the simple sanctuary full.  Minegishi Sensei entered Bible School and the pastoral ministry at the age of 53 after her husband passed away and planted the Tama Hillside church 6 years ago.  Yuriko shared her testimony and the team sang a few songs of encouragement.

Christmas Outreach:  The pictures of the event speak for themselves.  But it was quite evident at the very start of the program that there was a polite uneasiness on the part of our guests (children and parents) as many probably stepped into a church for the first time.  But it was also evident that as the activities continued, we began to see the joy start to show on their faces.  Thank you for your prayers. 

Sato-san, Evergreen (new believer)

Mike in Action

 Post Dinner Celebration:  We ended the day breaking bread together.  It was a joyous time.  Minegishi Sensei wanted each one present to comment on the day and here are a few:

Team of 4 Churches

"This party was so good.  In the future, we need to learn how to do this so we can do it on our own and help others to do it"  Hillside Member

"Churches in Japan do not normally work together.  This outreach is a good example of 4 churches working under God as one." Evergreen Member

It was a good weekend and please know that the time spent with these churches have and will bring fruit to and through their members.  We are thankful for God's sovereign hand in all that will happen in the coming months and years.  We find ourselves committed to serving these churches and returning to help others.   May the Lord bless and keep you, dear ones.

And we will praise Him,

Your Machida Team

FELLOWSHIP AND FUN !

Dear Beloved,

It's Monday evening and it's been raining most of the day.  The power is still out in most of the chapel and power cords are connected to the few outlets that are working.   There are wires all over the place.  An inspection could not determine the problem for the outage and it appears at this time that the damage may be quite significant.  But we can still take a hot shower and keep warm under multiple blankets……much better than camping out.

Team with Mr. Matsuda, Mr.& Mrs Chiba, Mrs. Matsuda, Akira

The team just returned from the home of Mr. and Mrs. Chiba (members of Evergreen) where we were served a wonderful dinner.  Present were Mr. and Mrs. Matsuda (also members) and Mr. Akira Ishihara, a friend of the Matsuda's, who lost his wife earlier this year.  We had a wonderful time of fellowship and were able to embrace Akira-san with the love of Jesus.  Laughter filled the room as the conversation shifted from one person to another as we learned more about each other.  Michael, our 26 year old youngster, continually amazed his senior friends with his knowledge of 'oldie' songs from the 40's.  A wonderful time was had by all and we left blessed

We started the day at 7:00am this morning with Yuriko sharing from Luke 16:1-12 - He who is faithful in a little, is faithful in much.  Yuriko was thankful for how God prepared her for this trip to Machida and her need to share all that she has with the people of Japan.  This writer can report that Yuriko is being used well and is having an impact.  We thank the Lord for her.

The team was then off to Wakakusa Pre-School where we were greeted by 48 rambunctious 3-4 year olds.  Yuriko shared the Christmas story and had the children spell bound.   Diane led a lively set of songs which kept the children jumping all over each other.  What fun!  Our prayer is that from this young generation will emerge a leader for the Gospel.

         

It is 11:40pm and we end the day with our expression of thanksgiving to all of you for your support of our time in Machida.  Thank you for your prayers.  Thank you for being here with us. 

Giving thanks for you with grateful hearts,

Your Machida Team

MISSING IN ACTION ?

Beloved, 

It rained in Machida on Friday night and Evergreen Church suffered a severe power outage and most of the building has been without electricity.   That's why you haven't heard from us for the past 3 days.  But we give thanks to God for one shower that has hot water and for blankets (heating units are out).  Thank you for your prayers!

The power is still down, but we've jury rigged an internet connection that may affect what little power we have.  Therefore, this blog entry will be short, but long enough to thank you for prayers.  The team had blessed times with the Bethel Shinagawa and Tama Hillside churches over the weekend.  Updates will follow as the power returns. 

We thank our God for you,

Your Machida Team

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

Beloved,
After your team arrived at Machida yesterday, we got ourselves settled and immediately celebrated the birthdays of Miho Uchimura (pastor's wife) and Yuriko.  They wouldn't tell us how old they were so we tried to guess.  Big mistake, but fun.  We spent the day unpacking our supplies and began planning for the weekend outreach activities with Bethel Church (Shinagawa) and Tama Hillside.

This morning, Mizuki (Miho's sister) drove us to Tama Hillside church to inspect the facility and make plans for the Sunday service and outreach.  It was good to meet Minegishi Sensei who is a pillar of perseverance and determination.  After her husband past away years ago, she completed Bible School and planted a new church.  It presently has 10 members and with the help of our team and members from Evergreen Chapel, they will hold their first Christmas outreach for the children in the surrounding area.  They are expecting 17 children.  Please pray that the Lord will open hearts and draw these children to Himself.

We are also finalizing plans for our first outreach event tomorrow at Bethel Church, Shinagawa.  This is the 3rd year that our team has come to help this fellowship which is in need of encouragement.  With a membership of about 12, they are expecting 14 children which is significantly down from the last 2 years.  But our prayer is that the gospel will reach just one child who will make a difference.  Our God is faithful and we thank Him for his blessings on this church.

Thank you, beloved, for your prayers which sustain us.  And we trust that our God is with us wherever we go.

Gratefully,
Your Machida Team

Shota taking a nap after picking us up at the airport.

The Birthday Girls - Yuriko & Miho

Dinner by Evergreen member, Matsuda-san, and 

enjoyed by Yuriko, Diane, Mizuki, Joy

ARRIVED SAFELY

Beloved,
Thank you for your prayers for traveling mercies for Yuriko, Diane and Stan.  We arrived safely in Tokyo this morning. Michael will be joining us on Saturday so keep praying.

We departed from LAX 5 minutes after midnight and we're so thankful for those of you (Crossway and South Bay) who came to see us off.  We landed in Haneda at 4:40am, BTW, Happy Thanksgiving !  Waiting for us were Shota, Shohei and Ku, who we found out later had come to the airport area at about 1:00am and just slept in the car to ensure they would not be late to pick us up.  Love these young men (22 years old).

We had breakfast at this great Japanese Restaurant - Coco's.   It was good and the boys really put away that food.  (Sorry, no pictures - phone ran out of gas).  Joy was waiting for us at Evergreen Chapel and 2/3 of the team is napping right now.  In a few hours, we will be off to eat - again.

Just wanted to tell you we arrived safely.  You are a blessing to all that we have done and will do.  Thank you for being with us on this mission.
Gratefully,

Your Machida Team