Second week highlights!

Hey everyone! This is the highlight post for week two of our Tokyo Summer Project!!

Monday

Go to Gaidai University from 11-5 (Travel time about 1 hour a day)
Emily Niemond (one of our two group leaders) talks to a Japanese girl and gives her a Bible...which she then proceeds to read until she finishes the first 8 chapters of Matthew! Awesome!
Tim Daugherty and me get to talk to a guy who is very excited about the upcoming "Discover Friends" party (hosted by the Tokyo team) and he asked all the questions and was a Godsend!

We had a date night with Jesus in which I continued going through Hebrews and contemplating how Jesus is the High Priest of the New Covenant and how we are saved in His blood to the "uttermost"...this was great.


Tuesday

We got to ICU University (International Christian University)
Matt and me get to share the Gospel with an American from Pennsylvania who was studying abroad in Japan. It was a good conversation and he seemed genuinely pleased that we talked to him about Jesus...we'll be praying about him.

This night we have (and had) guys time and it was absolutely awesome in that we got to really shed some of Christ's forgiveness on some old and still painful wounds and see healing come; so awesome to see!

Wednesday

We went back to Gaidai University and honestly, this was a tough day for me personally. Gaidai is a bit more closed off then ICU. Anyhow, we got there and had an English lunch and had a decent turnout with several good conversations. Later that day we had a board and card game outreach...that no one attended. So while it was a good day of not so intense ministry, it was still hard on me because I didn't see results; but really, that's a good lesson to learn, that we don't always get to see results of our work.

This night we had family time and we went and saw "Star Trek"....and being a Trekkie, I loved it (for the second time!). It is nice to have time to sit back with the team and just enjoy a movie.

Later that night we find out that ICU has been putting pressure on Student Impact (Campus Crusade for Christ in Japan) and that we are no longer to go there...basically, we're kicked off. While that kinda sucks, we are confident that God can (and will) use it for His Glory and anytime He wants us back on that campus, He'll get us there.

Also, the other half of the team went to Hitosubashi campus and one of the members, Joe Gudobba, had the priviledge of sharing the Gospel and having the person want to make a profession of faith....yay!!!!

Thurday

Instead of going to ICU, we have the opportunity to go to ICU High School (coincidently, right next to ICU) and give two stories of how people in our group (Jack Mitchell and Traci Lawrimore) came to trust Jesus Christ. Afterwords, we broke the class into groups and got to talk to them about the stories and about Jesus in general (this being "Christianity Week"). As a group, we got to share the Gospel to quite a few students in our groups. After this, we watched a "Gospel choir" (composed of few to no actual Christians singing Gospel music...interesting!) and then left.

This night we....did something but I can't remember it right now as I write this post!

Friday

Our team goes back to ICU HS and gets to talk in two classrooms with another pair (Amy Ledin and Sammy Cunningham) give their personal stories. We get to share the Gospel with quite a few students (as a clarification, we also get to know them...we are to share our LIVES as well as the GOSPEL). We then have an English lunch where the students can come and talk with us (we had let them know on Thursday and that day that we were open to talk more and that they could come and practice their English with us). It was a good turnout overall, with several good spiritual conversations and regular conversations happening. Some of the students I was hoping to talk to more did not come, but honestly, God's Word does not go out void and I cannot save people, only God can; therefore, I take rest in what God is doing while praying and seeking to talk with the students again while leaving it ultimately in God's hands.

This night we go to bed early after hanging out for a bit.

Saturday (today!)

Early early early! We wake up around 3:45 AM and prepare to go to the biggest fish market in the world, Cg's! (spelling?? dunno, but this is what it sounded like!) And it was worth waking up early for. Giant fish, whale, smoking fisherman, and bustling boxes of sea creatures being moved around! Very exciting, very cool. Watched a fisherman cut up a 110 lb. fish into quarters...wow, it was too cool! Afterword, we ate fresh (I mean, very fresh!) sushi, that is, tuna, salmon, salmon eggs (salty!!!), sea urchin, mussel, and crab....very...different. Good...but I'm all set on sushi for awhile now!

Later that day, Jess Jury (my girlfriend and fellow Project member) went to the doctors for her appointment (she had a sicknesss flair up that she had to get dealt with; nothing too serious, but prayers for quick recovery would be appreciated!) and then met the team in a park...the name of which I can't remember right now! Anyhow, we ate after playing frisbee, soccer, and volleyball. It is now late at night and I'm at the end of this week.

Prayer requests:

For the students that we've talked to so far, that God will draw them unto Himself for salvation.

For the team that we won't get too tired doing ministry (20 hours a week is alot for us..definately for me) or discouraged. Also, that we would be bold to tell of Jesus's Gospel.

For our Project leaders, Joy-Gen Nakamura and Heather Brainerd, to keep us going and that they keep well rested in the Lord and otherwise.

For the Japanese believers here as social pressure against them is considerable and they are few in number.

Thats all for now, thanks for tuning in!!!

Kyle