Hello my dear friends ^_^!
Wow, I cannot believe it has already been almost a week since I wrote you last. It has gone faster than a jack rabbit being chased by a mutated monster carrot out for revenge... Wow, I am deffinatley going to have to work on my similies. But anyway, like I said, fast ^_^. And alot has been happening. Firstly, I want to thank you all so much for praying for my language skills! I have been excelling at a very pleasing rate and can now conjegate my verbs. True, I need to work on how many verbs I know, but the number is growing all the time, praises be to our Lord. Also, I thank you for praying for me about ministries opening up. Even now, many have surfaced. I am now going to be involved in a ministry called "funky friday" which is a musical outreach in the church in Setagaia that happens every friday ( as the name suggests ^_~). Anyway along with that, I might be starting my first English class outreach soon. It will also be in Setagaia and will be an outreach to children in the area. Do pray for guidance about this. I have never headed up a English class before and am not quite sure exactly how to go about it. But no worries ^_^. Like they say here at tokyo horizon chapel, "Kami sama de zembu dekimas!" (Through God I can do all things ^_^). And of course I will be continuing to work at the school here (Which is really going wonderfully too. Along with English, I have also been able to teach their chapel time and work with them in music class!) until it is out and continue working with the evening sunday school here in Machida and possibly starting to work with the morning sunday school in Setagaia. But please pray about this as well. Sunday morning is officially the only sermon during the week that I can hear in English and as Jeremiah puts it "Recieve instead of give". Personally I am anxious to give until I am blure in the face and just listen to podcast sermons. But then again, he might have a point. So yeah pray for guidance in that. And also please pray for me learning the drums. Yep, that's right, the drums. You see, the morning service in Setagaia has no drums for worship. And while I love to sing, they have enough singers. So I guess this is just one of those "see a need, fill a need" situations. So I have been practicing on the drum set and on the Kahone (probably not how you spell it ^^). True, I understand that I won't be able to do anything fancy, but I can at least keep a basic beat for the song. So please keep this in mind when you pray for me.
Oh, I almost forgot. I am going to be going with some other college students to a church in Negoya this next friday. We are going to spend both firday and saturday just encouraging the church there and also evangelizing in the area. Please pray that God would just lay the ground work in peoples heart there, that when we get there, they would just be ready and open to the message we have for them.
But anyway, many praises here ^_^! I have been having a great time and have seen many things. Actually I was able to see the Meiji shrine when the kids visited there on a field trip. But I must say that even now, I remain quit ambivelant about the experience. While the part of me that has been facinated with Japan for all these year and has learned so much about it was overjoyed to see what I saw, the other part of me felt great sadness at the specticle knowing how hollow it really is. But then my mind was also wrestling with something else. I once read a book on Japanese missions in which the author said that a problem with the missionaries in Japan is that along with sharing Jesus, they also try to transplant the western ideal of a chruch. And that it would be best if they would let them worship the one true God in their own way. Not to compromise christianity with shinto beliefs, but to create new church culture instead of trying to copy western traditions. Looking at the church here in machida, I kinda see his point. Indeed, apart from a few small differences, church here is very similar to that in the United States. But as to what it would look like, I am not quite sure. Perhaps it would be a temple, paterned after that of ancient israel. Maybe instead of a shinto priest blessing people in the little blessing area, there would be a man praying for the people that would come all day long. Maybe instead of the inner shrine ceremonies, the bible would be read and interpreted to the masses. Perhaps instead of the sacred drums, there would be a courtyard dedicated to singing and worshiping the most high. Then again, that sounds like a mimick as well. Oh well, such things are not for me to decide. God will move how he will move and we are not to question but only to follow.
I pray that all things are going well were you are, where ever that may be, and that you would just be blessed in your daily walk with Him.
Yours in our Lord with all sincerity,
Alex J. Robinson ><>
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