Al: My God Sightings

It is hard to believe that the trip to Japan is over. The time in Japan passed so quickly. The whole time there is just a blur. I have many treasured memories. Looking back what are three God sightings that stood out to me?

1. The blog worked out better than I ever imagined it could be. I am glad God put it on my heart to try a blog and a newsletter. I thought we could still write a newsletter like last year but with fewer members on the team we just didn't have the energy or time to write one. The blog was more than sufficient. I know that it kept the two teams connected daily even though we were so far apart. God really used this beyond my wildest imagination.

2. God put all nine of us in condo. God blessed us in many ways here. First of all, we were able to co-exist and even thrive in this environment. We adjusted well, no fighting for the bathroom or shower time. We graciously overlooked the snorers,(I being the worst). We all contributed to the supply of breakfast food and shared with no one complaining about what was being served. Last year Sets, Mei-Ling, Ev and I stayed in this condo while the rest of the team stayed at the Cadence Lighthouse. I felt like I really never bonded with the rest of the team because we were apart. This year was different, we all really felt like we were team bonded by our common experiences from sharing laundry to accidentally borrowing things from each other. The benefits of living together in close quarters vastly outweighed any drawbacks of 9 sharing 1 bathroom and kitchen. God truly blessed us in this situation.

3. The 3rd God sighting that I want to share was the VBS itself. I was so excited to see the children again. It was hard to believe that it had been a year since we last saw them. They all looked the same...it was if we never had left. The children were excited to be there and if anything their English skills had improved a lot more than my Japanese in the past year. Certainly I was blessed to be able to participate in the VBS program at Nokendai. So many small miracles though out the week showed that God's hand was helping us though VBS.

Thanks for reading my ramblings. Thanks for your support. Most of all thanks for your prayers. In Japan I was really aware of the spiritual war. This is a land where almost every child is consecrated in a Shinto shrine or prayed for in a Buddhist temple. Richard said that each child is blessed by a demon and desensitized to voice of the true God. Never has Ephesians 6:10-18 been so meaningful to me.

10Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.
Ephesians 6:10-18