Greetings to you servants of the one true God,
This is Alex Robinson writing you for the very first time from Tokyo, Japan. Please excuse my tardiness in writing, but things have been very busy here since my arrival. Please know firstly that I am safe and well. The church family here has been very kind and has accepted me with open arms. Please praise God in this because even though the pastoral staff here know me well, I am not so well know in the church body, at least in the Japanese Fellowship here in Machida. However, Pastor Watanabe was able to put a insert in the church bulletin about my presence here and what God is calling me to do here. This was very well received and the church body seems to be behind me and the mission. This is wonderful and is important considering all the ministries I have been made a part of and will be a part of in the future. I will need all the support I can get. Speaking of which, I really want to tell you all about the ministries and what has happened in them thus far.
It has been only a little more than a week and yet so much has happened. I have been made a part of all the bible studies, home fellowships, and church fellowships (there are about four total running out of the church in Machida and in the small sister church in Setagaya). The pastoral staff believe that perhaps God can use me to help encourage the believers here and maybe fan the flames in their hearts towards evangelism and ministry. From talking to people from the church so far, I think big things may be happening soon in their lives. Many want to serve and are just trying to figure out where God wants them. This is a great place to be and I hope and pray to see big things and movements in the church and I hope and pray I can be a part of them.
Also, I have been put in charge of children ministries for the International Fellowship in Setagaya. It has grown so BIG!!! It used to be that we only had about six children at that fellowship. But now, because of all the families that have come, we now are working with twenty kids! Praise God! Working with them has been a joy far and we hope and pray that we would just keep growing. Along with this, the church has placed me in several outreaches and each one has just been amazing.
The first is Shine Kids. For those of you who don't know, Shine Kids is an English ministry that was started last year that we could reach out to children in the community and also to their families. You see, because of prejudice most Japanese people have against our faith, a church is not a trusted place. In fact, many fear it. But through the Shine Kids English club. We have been able to turn the church into a place of safety, peace, and love for the children in this area. And it has done the same for the parents. Many of the stay at home moms around here like to bring their kids and then just hang out. And we have tea and conversation with them. True this outreach is more of a bridge building nature and thus we can't talk about Jesus directly to the kids. But God has used it to open many doors to evangelism and many families have come to God because of it. This last week was our first for the fall season. We are working with about thirty kids at this point and perhaps more later on. It was really a great time and we had some great conversations with the kids and the parents. What was even better was that because it was a Japanese holiday that day, we were also able to meet many fathers which we usually aren't able to see because most work long hours. So, please pray for this ministry and the direction it is supposed to go. Pray that God would continue to work within the ministry.
Also there is the homeless ministry in Yoyogi Park. It happens on the first and third Thursday of every month and soon it will also be every Saturday morning as well. I have only been able to be there one time. However, that one time was really amazing. I spoke to this one homeless man for thirty minutes and somehow, by God's divine grace, I was able to understand most of what he said and also was able to share Jesus with him as well. He believed that Jesus was the god (little "g") of America. And that while He could work good there, here they had their own gods and because of it He could only work bad here. I told him that with the universe being so big, the creator of it would have to be bigger. And that a God that big would not care about nationalities. I said, or at least God said through me in Japanese, that we are all the same, all human, and had the same needs and the same problems. I told him that Jesus loves all of us and that He is here right now waiting to love you and save you from the things you've done. He thought about it, but in the end was just uncertain. However, for a man as confirmed in his beliefs as he was, I think that uncertainty is a good start. Please pray for him and for the ministry. We need a lot of guidance.
And best of all was the ministry in Negoya. In Negoya, there is a small house church and Pastor Hirano, the senior pastor, visits on a monthly basis to encourage the believers and to help with other ministries there and I have been asked to go with him during these times. So we got up there and I was able to share my testimony and Hirano Sensei spoke and the whole evening, you could feel the spirit moving. God was working in hearts. And after everything was over, three people asked to be prayed with to receive God's gift of salvation… Praise God and shout and sing for joy! God has called three more people into His kingdom! Three have been saved! It was so beautiful. Please pray for these believers as they start their journey in this harsh land and that God would surround them with Himself and with other believers that they would grow in Him.
Well, like I said, so much has gone on. It has been beautiful and amazing. And even now I am sitting in one of God's works, my apartment. It is a lovely place with everything one needs in a place to live. True, it isn't very big, especially by American standards, but it is comfortable and homey. And I couldn't have asked for a better roommate than my pal Hide. He's a great guy and I think I can learn a lot about the language from him. Oh, and the last big prayer request I have is in language. It took me a few days to be able to understand anything. English and Japanese sentence structure are so very different that you have to almost change your whole way of thinking to really pick up on it. And even though God is good and I have almost got my linguistic feet underneath me, I still have a long way to go. So please pray that God would continue to work with my mind and tongue and that he would train both in the Japanese language. Thank you all very much for your prayers and support, I will continue to write home on a regular basis and pray that you are all well and more in love with God than ever. Please don't hesitate to write. I would love to hear from you all and what is happening back home.
Because He lives,
Alex J. Robinson ><>
This is Alex Robinson writing you for the very first time from Tokyo, Japan. Please excuse my tardiness in writing, but things have been very busy here since my arrival. Please know firstly that I am safe and well. The church family here has been very kind and has accepted me with open arms. Please praise God in this because even though the pastoral staff here know me well, I am not so well know in the church body, at least in the Japanese Fellowship here in Machida. However, Pastor Watanabe was able to put a insert in the church bulletin about my presence here and what God is calling me to do here. This was very well received and the church body seems to be behind me and the mission. This is wonderful and is important considering all the ministries I have been made a part of and will be a part of in the future. I will need all the support I can get. Speaking of which, I really want to tell you all about the ministries and what has happened in them thus far.
It has been only a little more than a week and yet so much has happened. I have been made a part of all the bible studies, home fellowships, and church fellowships (there are about four total running out of the church in Machida and in the small sister church in Setagaya). The pastoral staff believe that perhaps God can use me to help encourage the believers here and maybe fan the flames in their hearts towards evangelism and ministry. From talking to people from the church so far, I think big things may be happening soon in their lives. Many want to serve and are just trying to figure out where God wants them. This is a great place to be and I hope and pray to see big things and movements in the church and I hope and pray I can be a part of them.
Also, I have been put in charge of children ministries for the International Fellowship in Setagaya. It has grown so BIG!!! It used to be that we only had about six children at that fellowship. But now, because of all the families that have come, we now are working with twenty kids! Praise God! Working with them has been a joy far and we hope and pray that we would just keep growing. Along with this, the church has placed me in several outreaches and each one has just been amazing.
The first is Shine Kids. For those of you who don't know, Shine Kids is an English ministry that was started last year that we could reach out to children in the community and also to their families. You see, because of prejudice most Japanese people have against our faith, a church is not a trusted place. In fact, many fear it. But through the Shine Kids English club. We have been able to turn the church into a place of safety, peace, and love for the children in this area. And it has done the same for the parents. Many of the stay at home moms around here like to bring their kids and then just hang out. And we have tea and conversation with them. True this outreach is more of a bridge building nature and thus we can't talk about Jesus directly to the kids. But God has used it to open many doors to evangelism and many families have come to God because of it. This last week was our first for the fall season. We are working with about thirty kids at this point and perhaps more later on. It was really a great time and we had some great conversations with the kids and the parents. What was even better was that because it was a Japanese holiday that day, we were also able to meet many fathers which we usually aren't able to see because most work long hours. So, please pray for this ministry and the direction it is supposed to go. Pray that God would continue to work within the ministry.
Also there is the homeless ministry in Yoyogi Park. It happens on the first and third Thursday of every month and soon it will also be every Saturday morning as well. I have only been able to be there one time. However, that one time was really amazing. I spoke to this one homeless man for thirty minutes and somehow, by God's divine grace, I was able to understand most of what he said and also was able to share Jesus with him as well. He believed that Jesus was the god (little "g") of America. And that while He could work good there, here they had their own gods and because of it He could only work bad here. I told him that with the universe being so big, the creator of it would have to be bigger. And that a God that big would not care about nationalities. I said, or at least God said through me in Japanese, that we are all the same, all human, and had the same needs and the same problems. I told him that Jesus loves all of us and that He is here right now waiting to love you and save you from the things you've done. He thought about it, but in the end was just uncertain. However, for a man as confirmed in his beliefs as he was, I think that uncertainty is a good start. Please pray for him and for the ministry. We need a lot of guidance.
And best of all was the ministry in Negoya. In Negoya, there is a small house church and Pastor Hirano, the senior pastor, visits on a monthly basis to encourage the believers and to help with other ministries there and I have been asked to go with him during these times. So we got up there and I was able to share my testimony and Hirano Sensei spoke and the whole evening, you could feel the spirit moving. God was working in hearts. And after everything was over, three people asked to be prayed with to receive God's gift of salvation… Praise God and shout and sing for joy! God has called three more people into His kingdom! Three have been saved! It was so beautiful. Please pray for these believers as they start their journey in this harsh land and that God would surround them with Himself and with other believers that they would grow in Him.
Well, like I said, so much has gone on. It has been beautiful and amazing. And even now I am sitting in one of God's works, my apartment. It is a lovely place with everything one needs in a place to live. True, it isn't very big, especially by American standards, but it is comfortable and homey. And I couldn't have asked for a better roommate than my pal Hide. He's a great guy and I think I can learn a lot about the language from him. Oh, and the last big prayer request I have is in language. It took me a few days to be able to understand anything. English and Japanese sentence structure are so very different that you have to almost change your whole way of thinking to really pick up on it. And even though God is good and I have almost got my linguistic feet underneath me, I still have a long way to go. So please pray that God would continue to work with my mind and tongue and that he would train both in the Japanese language. Thank you all very much for your prayers and support, I will continue to write home on a regular basis and pray that you are all well and more in love with God than ever. Please don't hesitate to write. I would love to hear from you all and what is happening back home.
Because He lives,
Alex J. Robinson ><>
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