Dear Friends,
More news to follow. But pray for Kazu Yoshikawa. He just accepted the salvation of Jesus Christ last night and can use all the prayer he can get as he starts his walk with Christ.
Thank you,
Alex
Japan Newsletter, November 13, 2011
Dear friends,
Thank you so much for your patience in waiting on my letter to you all. Midterms and the many reports that followed finally finished. But all in all this has been an exciting time for me here at the school.
My involvement in the translation ministry has been going strong. I have been given the opportunity to translate for devotions, messages, and have been able to continue in translating the men's discipleship every week. I was given the opportunity recently to share my testimony in Japanese in several churches that I have been sent to serve at since I wrote last. God has really blessed those times and it has been a great encouragement. I will be able to share my testimony in Japanese again next week at the youth event after church, so please pray for this as well. Also, last sunday, I was given the opportunity to teach the youth bible study. Usually it is given in English and translated into Japanese. But on the that day there was no one to translate, so I ended up translating myself into Japanese. I got a little tongue tied sometimes, but it was a lot of fun ^_^. Tonight I have the opportunity to translate again. But tonight will be the first time that I will be translating a message from Japanese to English, so I am really excited about it. But please continue to pray for my Japanese abilities, and also for my heart during translation. There have been a lot of blessed times during translation by the grace of God, but there has also been a lot of discouraging times that I have crashed and burned. Mostly they have been times when my flesh got in the way. Maybe 3 weeks ago I was given the opportunity to translate a message for the evening service. I prepared for many hours and thought that I had the material down, but looking back on it, it was really a work of my flesh, me trying to do things on my own. Little did I know that God would use it to teach me about my utter need of Him in all I do. I remember when I finally got up there, it was like all the Japanese was sucked out of my head. God gave me grace in letting me communicate a bare minimum of the message, but it was a horrible time. After I was done, I headed out to some backstreet and just cried. But the reason God tears us down sometimes is to rebuild us again with Him at the center. The Spirit ministered to me a lot during that time about humility, reminding me again that the gifts that God has given me are for His glory and not my own. God continues to teach me a lot about humility in translation, and I know that He still has a long way to take me. Like it says in Philippians 3:3 we are those who "worship by the spirit of God, who glory in Jesus Christ, and who put no confidence in the flesh..." But I am very excited for what lies ahead and have been blessed by being able to be used in this way so far. So again, please pray for my speaking abilities, that I man translate the words of God humbly, by His power, for the Japanese people here at CC Ginowan.
Also, there has been interesting developments in the children's outreach on Saturday's. The Kindergarten class has been blessed with students every week, however there has only been one regular student in the elementary outreach class, and that is the pastor's son. At first, this was a bit frustrating to me, but again, God was working in my heart to submit to what He wants to do. I started shifting the class over whenever it was just him from an English class to a Japanese class. He is at around the same level in Japanese as the kids I usually teach are in English, so it is really easy to shift it back and forth depending on who comes. And it has been a really great time. It is a lot of fun to teach him the Japanese and be able to support the Pastor of this church and his family in this way. We will keep praying and being patient on the Lord to bless us with other students, but until that time comes, we keep building up our little brother in this way.
Like I said, the end of the semester is only four weeks away, and I have begun to make plans for ministry during the winter break. I felt lead to return to Tokyo during the winter break to continue serving in the Tohoku disaster area and to serve in Tokyo Horizon Chapel as much as I can. I have been in contact with Pastor Rich, the new pastor of the English fellowship there as well as Pastor Watanabe and Pastor Jeremiah who is making preparations for his move to Kagoshima and the church planting he has been lead to do there. They are thinking and praying about how I can serve in the Church. It is very exciting to me. Another exciting door that has opened up for my time there is opportunity to spend time with my girlfriend Tomoko's co-workers. The company she works with is a tight knit office that do a lot of activities together and though they have not met me yet, I have already been invited to several activities. Everyone in the office knows that she is a christian and that I am a missionary, but praise God that they have been very accepting and welcoming. They have even invited us both to one of the co-workers weddings. Please pray for us both for the time we spend with them, that we would be lead by God in all these things.
But, there has been a new development in the college here. A new Calvary Chapel Bible College is starting up in Tokyo, a sister to this one. They have decided to make new arrangements for study this coming semester. The plan now is the half of the semester is going to be taught at the Tokyo campus and half here in the Okinawa campus. Since I am in going to be in the Tokyo during the time that the semester begins, I will be going straight from Machida to the Tokyo Campus in Fuchu. Please be praying for me in this new location, that God would continue to grow me and work through me in this new area. There are many exciting aspect to this new Campus, including being involved in a huge English School For Kids there which is very exciting for me.
I pray that you are all doing well and seeing the work God is doing in your lives daily. I thank you always for lifting my needs up in prayer.
Because He lives,
Alex Robinson
September 29, 2011
Dear friends,
How ya'll doin' ^_^? Things have been going well for me here. The college is in full swing and the semester is getting intense. But, praise God, even though there is a tone of work to do, I have been blessed to be able to minister in ways that I didn't really expect.
Firstly, at the school, we have been able to start a english outreach for children similar to what I used to do in Tokyo. There are two classes; elementary and kindergarten. Joanna, the pastor's wife is running the kindergarten kids, and I am teaching in the elementary age class. Currently, we have about three kids in the elementary and about six in the kindergarten and are teaching every Saturday morning. Please pray for growth and blessing in this ministry as we try to serve the kids of Ginowan city and there families.
Secondly, there has been opportunity to serve the kids on base as well. At the Kadena air force base here in Okinawa, there is a woman's discipleship that meets every tuesday morning. During that time, there is also child care provided for them that is sort of like a sunday school class for the kids. I have been blessed in being able to go many times to this and it has been very fun. It has been a while since I have been able to be involved in a sunday school for American kids. It is so interesting to be able to serve both the Japanese and the families of American Soldiers during my time here. But I am thankful that God has seen fit use me in this way. Please continue to pray for guidance in how best to serve the families of our soldiers over seas.
The translation ministry is going well also. It has even expanded. In addition to translating devotions once a week, I have also come to be able to translate weekly at the guys discipleship as well. This translation is still a bit difficult for me. There is so much for me still to learn. I mean sure, I can talk about regular stuff, but then when you get to things like camel's fur clothing and pits of vipers and all that, things get a little more complicated ^_^. (I was translating about John the baptist by the way) However, this has been a amazing experience for me in expanding my biblical as well as regular Japanese. I still have a long way to go, but I can see God using this to perfect my ability to preach in Japanese and go more in depth than I ever have before. So... Praise God ^_^. Please continue to pray for my language ability, the more that I learn, the better I understand that I have soooo far to go. This might take a lifetime ^_~.
Another fun thing we got to be involved in recently was a surfing outreach. There is a organization in Japan that ministers to Japanese Surfers, and the leader of the southern branch of that organization invited us to go out and minister to the surfers. We brought out food, guitars, cajons, sat on the beach, feeding surfers and beach goers and talking to them. It was a great time. Even got to talk with some people who had recently moved down here from Tokyo. They lived close to Takadanobaba which is about an hour away from where I used to live in Machida. Their kids are going to be enrolled in a international school soon, even though they don't speak english. I told them about out saturday school and gave them our number. Please pray that they would come and also that we can continue in these beach outreaches in the future.
Other than that, it has been business as usual. Rockin' the studies, late to bed, early to rise, running on coffee and the Holy Spirit ^_^. My devotion time has been good and have been growing. I have been learning a lot about prayer. Been a blessing.
Anyway, I am on my way to tutor homeschoolers at Calvary Chapel Okinawa now. I love you all and hope you are all well. Feel free to drop me a line sometime if you feel lead ^_~.
Because He lives,
Alex
Japan Newsletter August 26, 2011
Dear Friends,
It is good to be writing you all again. Wanted to give you all a update about all that has happened so far since my return to Japan. But firstly, I want to thank you all for my time in America. Being able to meet with you all, to share at the men's breakfast and at the sunday service as well as with the home fellowships was such a blessing and encouragement for me. So good to see all my old friends and to meet some new ones as well. To meet people that had never met me but knew me and had been praying for me through these blogs and the church was overwhelming to me about the grace of God in my life. That you all so much for your prayers, your support, your warm hearts, great conversations, and smiling faces. I will keep them in my heart as I enter into this new portion of my time in Japan.
Upon returning to Japan, I spent two weeks in Tokyo. Luckily, I was able to arrive in time for the Horizon Family Camp. A time for all the different branches of the Horizon Church in Machida where I served in the past to come together for a time of prayer, sharing, and encouragement with one another. To see the Japanese men and women I had worked with in Tokyo again and share with each other about what God was doing was so great. They were all shocked about the level that my Japanese had gotten reached even in the short time here in Okinawa. I guess all the time here being a intermediary between the Japanese and the American students coupled with the grace of God had a effect on my language skills.
Luckily, this semester will be filled with a lot more of this kind of activity. The staff here is shifting me into rotation as translator. I will be set to translate on tuesdays for the morning devotions as well as filling in here and there whenever it is needed. Even now, I am preparing to translate for the men's breakfast tomorrow and the message that will be given. Please pray for me. Even though I have assisted my friend Hide in translating messages in Tokyo, I have never taken lead translation of a message nor have I done direct translation as all the translation in Tokyo was simultaneously done over head sets. I am kind of nervous and I need God's help in these things.
Also, I am extremely excited to announce that there is going to be a shift in the school here in Japanese to American ratios. Whereas last semester, the predominant ethnicity at the school here was American, this semester there will be more Japanese students than American students. Which also means much more opportunity to speak with nationals and serve along side them during the semester which has always been my desire in ministry here. So exciting ^_^.
But with the increase of Japanese nationals, there is also an increase in Japanese only classes and a decrease in bilingual and english only classes. So much so that I have no option but to take to of my courses in Japanese this semester ^_^;;. This is also a first for me and it is a little bit intimidating, but I am going to do my best in this and hopefully God will use this semester to expand my Japanese tremendously.
Lastly, because of schedule change. I will be able to be involved in melt this semester, which is an English outreach at a local College. I was only able to attend this twice last semester, but I am really excited to be able to take part in this outreach weekly ^_^!
So anyway, lot's to be nervous and lot's to be excited about this semester in school. Please pray for me, for my language abilities, and for ways to serve and minister this semester to open up. Love you all and I will be writing you all soon.
Yours in our Lord,
Alex
Mmade it to the U.S.
Hey everyone,
Thank you for your prayers for my time in tokyo and the tohoku. It was a great time and I can't wait to share with you all about it. And I can't wait to do it in person as have made it to the U.S. I look forward to seeing you all sunday. See you then.
Thank you for your prayers for my time in tokyo and the tohoku. It was a great time and I can't wait to share with you all about it. And I can't wait to do it in person as have made it to the U.S. I look forward to seeing you all sunday. See you then.
Summer Plans...
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
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