Bob - Last Day in Noukendai

Well this is our last full day in Noukendai. Tomorrow we'll be in Toyko and then Tuesday head home. A lot of random thoughts are running through my head right now so I'll just touch on a few of them:

VBS went great! We were touched by all the kids and I was especially touched by the kids I had in my class. I told them that I would write to them and send them pictures of VBS. They seemed to be excited about that. I had the honor of offering my kids an invitation of accepting Christ on the last day of VBS. We decided to keep it real personnal (between just them and God) so we didn't ask for hands or anything like that. I just told them about how they could join God's family and then said a prayer for their acceptance. I'm praying that some of them did accept Christ.

Our team was such a great mixture of age, experience, talents, and of course personalities (some weird) we seemed to bond more and more as time went on. Nine people living together 24/7 for 11-12 days and no fights or arguments; this was a God sighting. Part of the great experience of going on a mission is developing new friendships with the team members. I guess we are friends forever. Can I call Matt my psuedo son now?

The people of Japan are so polite and courteous. This is something I'm going to miss when I get back home. There strength seems to be the cultural pride of working together and following the rules and traditions. From riding the trains, to even recycling, things are done a certain efficient way. But this strength could be the main reason why Christianity is not accepted as much, yet. To the people of Japan Christianity is not the norm so they are probably hesitant to veer from the norm, to be different. How do change this? Literally, one stone at a time.

For me, missions is a chance to show God's love and plant some seeds. But missions also is chance for me to see, hear, smell, and feel things I wouldn't normally experience sitting at home in front of my big screen. It's following God's will and growing in his likeness one step at a time. I really cherish these experiences and thank God for blessing me with so much.

Kohichi, Shirley, Emma, Clara, and Amelia were such great hosts. I thank them for all of their hard work, hospitality, and kindness. They are an inspriation to me. Below or above (I still have trouble posting the pictures) is a family picture.

P.S. The video on the cicadas is up and running under my blog from last Monday. Check it out.