Hey everyone!

We're now done with our third week and I think this was the best yet! It was the hardest week yet, as we decided to be on campus another hour every day and also had our outreach party that Friday that we had been inviting people to since we've been here (or so). To be sure, it was a tougher, more draining week in a physical and spiritual sense, yet it was also the most rewarding.

Let me tell you about Shinji. Jack and me, two guys on the Gaidai team had about one hour left of time on campus on Thursday and we decide to go to the cafeteria and talk with someone. We spot a guy and start heading that way when he gets up and leaves. So..we decide to walk a bit and find someone. We do this and spot a guy sitting by himself, so we go up and ask to sit with him. He seemed surprised that we should sit with him, but we then engage in a great conversation, one with real depth and with real heart in it, something that is rare in the average converation, both here in Japan and in America. We three talked for about forty minutes about life, work, college, jobs, etc., and we invited Shinji to the "Discover Friends" party that was the next day. Feeling pretty good about that conversation, me and Jack head to meet the group and then back to Koenji where we live.

The next day, we are preparing for the "Discover Friends" and some of us headed down to the train station to meet the people who we invited. Shinji shows up, we talk a bit, and head down to the Mitaka CCC building. That night we had an icebreaker, dinner, a dance (that we watched) , a testimony story and then discussion groups planned. The icebreaker, dinner, dance, and testimony story was great, but the real meat was in the discussion groups.

We break up into groups and Shinji was in the one I was in. The first question was, "which picture is most interesting to you?" and Shinji picked a picture of a young homeless man. He explained that he had seen a homeless man when he was 9 in LA when his family was visiting and it profoundly impacted his life in how suffering happens and that his parents didn't help the man (who had been selling pencils for $1 with a sign that read "God have mercy, buy a pencil for $1"). (To save on text, I'll just skip to the next questions that he responded to) The next question was "What picture is representative of your life?" to which he responded with a picture of a door with a small window with person looking through. He explained that he was seperated by something but he didn't know what. The next question was "What picture do you wish represented your life" to which he picked a picture of coffee with a smiley face in it and he said that he just wanted to be happy, warm, and filled with joy.

(At this point the door for the Gospel is huge and I grow anxious to share it with him, but the time isn't full just yet...) The next question was "What picture describes your view of God" to which Shinji picked a picture of a spider descending on a fly. He explained that it reminded him of a story about a man who was really evil, who only did one good thing in his life, which was to save a spider from death. This man (whose name forgets me) was sent to hell. God looked down and saw that he was in hell, and sent the spider down to save the man from hell. The spider started spinning a web for the man out of hell and the man climbed it, up and up, until he was nearing the top. Looking down for a second, he sees that many men are climbing up the web and that it is now very weak and he doubts he can make it up without the web breaking. The man starts kicking people (also from hell) off the web and as a result, the web tears and breaks and the man returns to hell. Shinji explained that he felt like that guy and he just couldn't make it out. I explained that the story was true of many people, who try to escape hell through their one good deed and their own strength, yet are unable to do it (also stating that hell was just for the law-breakers). Going further, we explained to him that only God in His mercy and grace rescue that man in the story and in real life, from their law-breaking.

The last question was then asked, "What picture do you wish was true of God?" to which Shinji picked a picture of a regal looking mountain valley scene that is truly awesome. He explained that he wanted to know God. (Now the time for the Gospel was at hand!!) I (and when I say this, let me explain that it the Holy Spirit of God working in all of this and in me as I shared the Gospel with Shinji, this being explained so that God recieves the glory and not I) talked about how Jesus came and took punishment so that we could escape hell and that Jesus was God-man, and therefore could take punishment for humans (being human) and make infinite atonement (being God). Further, how any who would trust and believe in Jesus would be saved from hell and, on the basis of Jesus's blood and name we could personally get to know God. Shinji was quiet and looked to be in deep thought. I asked him what kept him from that, to which he asked what the point of life was if we were to be saved and know God in the end. I explained that life is meant so that we can begin to know God and that in my life, through the events in my life, I've gotten to grow closer to God and I talked about how I was changed by trusting God.

He said that he felt really empty after 22 years and that he felt "funny". We talk a bit more about how we trust God and know we are saved by trusting God's Word. He then said that he felt like he was "changing". That was about the depth of the conversation that we had spiritually and it was awesome. We talked some more and then he left and I left. When I got home he had emailed me thanking me for the invite and for the conversation and times to meet next week.

Now, if I could convey everything that I was feeling I would because I think that Shinji was saved that night and that his life will soon be changing and different. In this I now feel that this trip was totally totally worth it in every way and I am so thankful to God for including me in His work. I'm also pumped about meeting with Shinji next week and talking to him more, about God and about life. Prayers would definately be appreciated!

I also just want to thank anyone reading this for supporting me either financially or spiritually or both and to say that this was a team effort that couldn't have worked without you all...so thank you, thank you, and thank you again!

More next week@