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 simply called "the Chapel"). We expected only 25 children at the Chapel, which is half of the number at Yotsukaido. This led us to believe that things would be easier at the Chapel, but how wrong we were! We forgot to take into account that the average age of the children whom we were going to teach was lower, which meant more patience required when teaching the songs, and more energetic (a politically-correct substitution for "naughtier") boys.

It was still great fun and plenty of laughter nevertheless. We had watermelon-bashing and water balloon games, as well as photo frame design, which added much fun to our afternoons, though we were often left rather tired by the end of the day, when we retreated to our respective homestay families.

The homestay itself was enjoyable and educational for most of us. We got to learn more about the Japanese language and culture (especially food culture!) from our hospitable hosts. On our last evening with them, Pippa was brought to Disneyland, Katie to the Imperial Gardens, Lawrence and Lloyd to a Japanese bath or onsen (the 3rd time in this trip for Lloyd!), and I (Yao Yu) to see fireflies (for the first time in my life!).

Most of our homestay families have Christian members, and a couple of them are Christian families. This meant that it was an encouraging time for the families and for us, as we share on how we became Christians, the faithful provisions of the Lord, the challenges that we face as Christians serving and/or living in Japan, and God's will for us in the near future.

Some of the Mums are Christian wives with non-Christian husbands, and we thank God for providing opportunities to share the Gospel and/or some of our testimonies with them. In the case of Lawrence, it was through the usual way of receiving help from his homestay father in the translation of his testimony into Japanese, which was to be shared during the concert on Sunday. And we heard that he was somewhat encouraged by Lawrence's testimony to welcome the Lord Jesus into his life! Praise the Lord!

The concert itself was generally well-received and we are immensely grateful to those dear ladies from the Chapel who had been serving diligently in the past week, such as our wonderful translator Nami-san, the ever-busy Noriko-san, Angela and Benjamin's (2 of the participating children, whose family came back to Japan from Hawaii for their summer break) mum, and a few others whose name I regret not finding out.

It has always been very encouraging to see how much the Japanese Christians love the Lord. They devoted so much time, effort and thought to this Kids' Gospel programme, and they served with such willingness and even gladness. What a privilege to be able to fellowship with them as we worship in the same service and serve alongside them in proclaiming the Gospel!

But we are even more grateful to the Lord who saved them in the first place, and gave them the motivation and strength in their tireless service. It has always been a timely reminder that we serve the living God - the risen Saviour - who gave us the reason for serving Him, and provide us with all that we need in order to do so. Indeed, He is why we teach the kids Gospel songs and put up concerts for their parents, and He made the concert possible and (hopefully, by faith) effective.

Last but not least, the prayer points:

1. Pray for the 25 children and their parents, that the seed of the Gospel sown in their hearts will bear fruit at God's appointed time, by His loving grace and mercy.
2. Pray for our homestay families, that the Christians would have been encouraged to continue standing firm in the faith, and the non-Christians to take a step closer to their Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
3. Pray for the congregation at the Chapel of Adoration, that it will continue to grow in its love for the Lord and desire to reach out to the Ichikawa community with the Gospel.
4. Pray for us as we enter the debriefing phase, that we will engage in Spirit-led reflection and constructive feedback.

Thank you again for supporting us in your prayers over the past week and even as we enter our final days in Japan.