Dear Friends,
I am glad to be writing you all with the I's dotted and the T's crossed on the last final of this semester. Everything has been turned in and the semester is officially over. This semester has been crazy, I learned a lot and though it was a very difficult time for me, God used it to refine me a little more than I was before. If you were to ask me the biggest thing I learned this semester, it would be that the work that God has for you is not a static thing. Though it may be in the same place to the same people or in a totally different place to people you have never met before, the work of God is not a static thing. As such we really shouldn't place our own understanding and expectations on the work that God has for us, but instead just follow what His will is for you in that day. I think of Elijah. One day he is before the king, warning of Judgment. Another day he was by a river, being fed by God's provision. Next he was ministering to one widow and her son. Next he was taking on 400 prophets of Baal. Next he was in a cave. I mean, what if he had just said "hey, my ministry is to the king. Or hey, my ministry is to the widows, and I am not going to do anything else. No your ministry is God's and it is whatever He tells you it is. Because of this, you have to be checking in with him daily. That is another thing I really learned to rely on more during this semester, my daily devotions. Because the work He has for us is often different from day to day, we have to check in with God each morning, get our marching orders for the day. That is what got me through most of the semester.
But now that it is over, I had to figure what I would do over the summer months. At first I had supposed that I would stay around here, help out with ministry and serve at the church while I renewed my missions visa and my passport. However, I found out from the government here that I cannot renew it yet. It is too early and I can't renew until august. So, I prayed about what to do instead, and I really felt a strong urging to return to the Tohoku region to continue helping in the relief ministry there. For some time now, Jeremiah has been running missions/relief trips into the tohoku about every week. I talked to him about coming up and helping him on the trips.
So I am going to make my way up there on the 31st of this month. I'll be staying with my old roommate hide as a base of operations and heading out with Jeremiah on all the trips he will take in June. Apparently, they go to different areas in Tohoku, but they also make trips to the town where I served before which I am looking forward to visiting again. I can't wait to see everyone up there again. Though I have come to love Okinawa and it's people, Mainland Japan will always hold a special place in my heart.
After this I'm going to be returning to America for a short while in July to visit with all you back there and spend time with my family as there probably won't be another opportunity until next summer. And then I will be returning back to Okinawa to work on my visa. But not only this because there has been a interesting development here as well. Many people from the church here are feeling called to service in the Tohoku region right now. So apparently, Pastor Ruiz here is going to working out some kind of rotational team based ministry to there. There are not many specifics at this point, but I am hoping that I can be involved with it before semester starts ad maybe even after a bit as well.
Anyway, that is a ball park idea of what my summer is going to look like. I will keep you updated and also hopefully write in detail about the trips that I take. With all that happened during the two day trip I took before. I can't wait for what God will do next in that area.
I love you all very much and I am praying for the church there daily. I pray that you will be blessed in you daily walk with God and the work He has for you daily. Keep checking in with Him and remember that the best way to eat a elephant is one bite at a time. Don't worry about tomorrow, just keep your head in the game today.
Much love in Him,
Alex
