Greetings from Japan! 7 of us (Hutch & Lu, Lawrence, Lloyd, Katie, Pippa, Yao Yu) came to Japan on 10 July and will be here until 11 August. We'll be teaching Japanese primary school kids to sing Gospel songs in simple English, and this will culminate in a concert put up by the kids for their parents.
So, in the meantime, please be praying for us as well as the Japanese kids and parents. And please do read our blogs for regular updates and specific prayer needs that we may encounter along the way. Thank you for supporting us in your prayers as we endeavour to spread the Good News in Japan.
The Team
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No more concerts!
I'm afraid there is no Part 2 to the members' message board, because the remaining 3 members (I don't believe in name-and-shame, but... hint: try using the method of elimination!) can't think of anything to write or don't mind not being represented or both. =P And so, by God's grace we pulled through both concerts at Yotsukaido, and very recently, at the Chapel of Adoration in Ichikawa (or... -
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Team members' message board - Issue 2 (Part 1)
After nearly a week's silence due to limited internet access (in terms of convenience) and fatigue, we're back with updates on the Kids' Gospel programme at Yotsukaido that has kept us busy for the past week! Praise the Lord! We are just back from Yotsukaido working with the church there on the Kids Gospel program. It has been a really blessed week. Thank God for the 50 kids wh... -
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Personal Reflections 1: Mission work in Japan - too comfortable & rosy?
Shopping in the Electric City (Akihabara), soaking in an onsen (hot spring), mouth-watering and fascinating food, karaoke, comfortable accommodation in air-conditioned rooms, high-speed internet access... Is the life of a short-term worker or long-term missionary in Japan too comfortable and rosy? I began to ask myself this question after a couple of comfortable weeks in Japan; that I sho... -
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An absolutely fabulous Sunday!
The only part that wasn't exactly fabulous was probably waking up early and getting ready to leave Ichikawa by 8.30 am, but it was all worth it! The service at Yotsukaido was highly encouraging indeed. The Yotsukaido Family Church is a very vibrant one. The congregation, especially the praise and worship team, sang with such joy. And what a privilege it was, to be able to partake in this joyf... -
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End-of-week lethargy
After a week of practice, exhaustion finally set in and we found ourselves rather lethargic in the morning, despite starting an hour later than usual. Having sung those songs over and over again, as we attempted to fine-tune them, was probably one of the reasons for our lethargy. For some of us, we might add in the factor of late nights spent watching DVDs (though sometimes it could involve m... -
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Team members' message board - Issue 1 (Part 2)
And here are the entries by the 3 guys who occupy room 404 in the OMF accommodation at Ichikawa. Hi to all, It’s been a real blessing so far, from the church service we had on Sunday when we also met some of the kids who’ll be at the kids gospel to all the strange and interesting things we’ve experienced first hand of Japan. Praise God for his goodness. Everyone is in... -
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Team members' message board - Issue 1 (Part 1)
Here's news from Hutch, Lu, Katie & Pippa! Lloyd and Lawrence have gone to bed, so I shall reserve our entries for tomorrow. Towards the end, is an absolutely random entry by Pippa, who's simply 'rare' (Northern Irish slang for 'weird'). Hi all! Everything is going really well in Japan! We’ve had a few days of orientation workshops to help us cause minimal damage i... -
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Adults' Songs Revisited
Thank God for the progress today! We were kept enthusiastic and excited by all the singing and harmonising. And so, we have pretty much settled the nitty-gritty details on how we should as a band sing and play 4 of the 5 songs. In addition, everyone says that we're doing brilliant, which is very encouraging indeed. But please please: pray against any pride and complacency (don't give... -
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Kids' Songs
Today, we practised the kids' songs for the first time, and we are faced with the daunting task of coordinating 5 instruments (piano, guitar, bass, 2 saxophones) and the singing in a short span of a week. The singing (subtle differences) and actions also had to be standardised for the sake of uniformity and so as not to confuse the kids to whom we'll be teaching these. We also had to bear in... -
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Japanese Church Service
Today is Sunday, and we went to the Chapel of Adoration for the 10 am service, which was in Japanese. They had those lovely sheets detailing the order of the service in English printed out specially for us, and the sermon translated on the spot, which was very helpful indeed. There were about 15 - 20 in this first service and 25 - 30 in the 11.30 am one (usually 50, but low numbers probably d...