2024 Summer Update

It is summer in Tokyo, and 3 things always stand out to me about this time of year: consistent heat (95+°F), beautiful summer festivals, and cicadas.

Very very loud cicadas.

TOGETHER AGAIN

No doubt that the best part of 2024 for me (so far) has been when Mayu and Levi returned to Japan.

This means that Friday Terrace has returned to meeting once a week again. Additionally, we have a few more things going on, so let me give you a proper update:

LANGUAGE UPDATE 🫣

For the past 2 years I have made language learning my top priority. I consistently put in about 30-40 hours of learning/practicing each week. For me, this has been a very difficult language to learn, and I have struggled a lot with it, but this past June I was able to pass a beginner/intermediate level speaking proficiency test. SEND (my organization) uses this standardized test to gauge the language acquisition of their missionaries after 2 years.

I still plan to make language learning my top priority moving forward, however passing this test allows me to officially move on from my language learning phase into searching for a long term ministry placement.

Ok, so now what??

MOVING ON UP

Friday Terrace has been a huge part of my ministry here in Japan, and with the blessing of SEND, I decided to stay in the Tokyo area and explore what a long term ministry with Mayu and Levi (who are not Send missionaries) would look like. Send has been very flexible with me, and I really appreciate their willingness to allow me to partner with other missionaries outside their organization.

As a result, I made a significant decision to move out of the convenience of downtown Tokyo into the quiet neighborhood of Senzoku, where our Friday Terrace ministry is held. My new mansion now boasts a spacious 21 meter living area, which is a couple meters larger than my last place.

WHY DO THIS?

Because I desire to live among the people I am sharing the gospel with. This gives me more opportunities to interact and build trust with them, which then opens the door for me to communicate the gospel more effectively. It is my intent to commit myself here and put down roots within this community.

COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT

In addition to Friday Terrace, we have also decided to get involved with serving our neighborhood by volunteering in our local 町会 (cho-kai). You can think of a Chokai like a neighborhood association of sorts. They are local volunteers responsible for things ranging from garbage pick-up and park maintenance to local activities and festival planning. Right now my responsibility is to pull weeds and plant flowers at a local park.

SUMMER FESTIVALS

Another responsibility of our 町会 (cho-kai) is to plan for 祭り(ma-tsu-ri), also known as festivals. If you have ever watched anime, or have actually been to Japan in the summertime, then you will understand how important 祭り(ma-tsu-ri) are to the Japanese people. This is where you can experience traditional Japanese food, games, and culture in a personal and unique way.

Recently we held a 防災祭り(bou-sai ma-tsu-ri) which means disaster prevention festival. Since every natural disaster known to man exists on this small island, the purpose of that matsuri was to raise awareness of what we should do when one happens. Our ministry team was asked to create games for the kids, while I was also asked to take photos of the event. 

For those of you who may be wondering, our team has unanimously agreed to limit our involvement in these festivals to non-religious activities. We will not be participating in activities like carrying the 神輿 (mi-ko-shi), which is a sacred temple shrine (see below).

We feel that it is good for our community to see both our loving willingness to serve them, and our unique "otherness" that calls us to be different. This is a fine line, and it will always take discernment to navigate.

CAMERA MINISTRY??

On a side note, I continue to offer free photo shoots as a ministry to the people around me. For those of you who are interest why I do this, you can check out this short article I wrote located here.

Professional photoshoots can be a bit pricey for some so I like to do this as a way to love the people around me. This year, I was even able to take pictures of a family that regularly comes to Friday Terrace! This was my first photoshoot in Japanese (I was SO nervous), and with my subjects wearing traditional Japanese clothing (kimono’s).  

In addition to photography, I have also volunteered at various conferences and events in order to shoot video and create ministry content for social media. Thanks to your support, I can bless other ministries by always doing this free of charge.

JAPANESE BIBLE STUDY

Our ministry team has decided to form a weekly bible study. We are hoping that this bible study can be another entry point into Christianity for the Japanese people we are ministering to. In order to do this we will host our study in Japanese.

This will be a challenge for me because of my insufficient language ability, but with God's grace this is a challenge that I am very much willing to face.

LOCAL CHURCH PARTNERSHIP

As I mentioned before, I really want to concentrate on local ministry now, which means finding and partnering with a local church.

For most of Japan 'local' probably means a considerable commute to the next town. Churches are very rare, which is why I am so amazed that one exists within walking distance from my home. This church (Haramachi Church) was established around 100 years ago in this community, and I feel the responsibility to check them out and see where God leads us.

As a reminder, I am currently committed to helping Nagatsuta Christ Church (which is now named Denen Tsukushino Evangelical Church). I plan to continue to serve them, however this commitment will always be secondary to my main commitment which is to my local community.

PRAYER REQUESTS

1. Please continue to pray for my ability to communicate in Japanese, particularly things regarding the gospel. It's quite difficult for me, but I continue to study and try my best. Pray that I would rely more and more on God's grace which is more than sufficient for me.

2. Pray for grace, humility, and unity within our Friday Terrace team. These relationships are precious to me and crucial for effective ministry. If I was my enemy, I would be targeting them at some point.

3. Praise God that my support has been sufficient these past 8 months! I continue to lean on God for His provision, and I want to praise Him for listening and answering our prayers.

For those of you who are supporting me, and are part of my Facebook Group, I will continue to share weekly updates. If you are a supporter and would like to be in this group, please DM me and I can add you.