FUN!!!

I've had some fun moments lately - check them out!!

Eating good old cherry pie with friends Dorothy (center), a teacher from Maine, and Christians Michio and Jerry (left and right) Halvorsen. Eat up!


ESS club - two students, one tomato, and a famous Japanese rock star. What more could I ask for?


A sort of "beware of fox" sign - found ONLY in Hokkaido!


Freshman orientation! (P.S. - Foreign women are an instant hit!)


Seeing my first cherry tree in Japan!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


??? You tell me.


Momentary insanity in McDonald's.


Kimchi nabe - a beautifully delicious dish simmered in a hotpot and chock full of Korean kimchi cabbage, onions, meat, mushrooms, and all kinds of good stuff. It`s slightly spicy, filling, and most of all, feels wonderful when eaten inside on a cold day. The warmth just goes straight to your bones.


McDonald's again? Man, I must not be getting out enough...


...More to come! Stay tuned!

Thoughts

Today was windy and cold, whipping my hair into thick strands around my face so that I could hardly see where I was going. I got on the bus home from the university and tried to comb my fingers through my hair, but to no avail. The bus was crowded (as it always is in the evening), so I stood and watched the big, billowy clouds I love so much blow in over the snow-capped mountains. I saw the sun go down and the clouds turn a stark, deep purple against the pale blue western sky, the horizon layered with thick, dark blue.

I imagine Jesus would return on just such a day, in just such clouds. No blue sky for Him. No, He would thunder through the sky, splitting those blood-purple clouds with razor-sharp spears of white light, like heavy curtains pulling back from the glowing star on stage (as everyone hushes in delight).

But He chose not to come then, so I thought about prayers and answers and Japan instead.

Two situations: One better than I hoped, one not as good as I hoped.

The better: I met with Yuriko yesterday after months of not seeing her (an a little trepidation because of the way she reacted last time), and from the moment we met it was a blast. She came carrying a bag loaded with little presents for me, and we over the street in a nearby coffee shop, drinking coffee, laughing, looking at photos and making jokes. We talked non-stop for FOUR HOURS STRAIGHT, and when she walked me to the subway station, she said, "I want to meet you again! When can I come over!"

How's that for answered prayer?

The not as good: I showed up at the local university for English club, nervous and carrying a bag with photos, Brazilian cookies and my stuffed Veggie Tales "Bob the Tomato." (He speaks English!) To my disappointment (and the director's), only TWO students showed up - one of them being a 55-year-old non-traditional student. A far cry from the rowdy group of teenage girls I met with last year! The 19-year-old student said she might not be coming back if she gets a job during those hours.

Hmmm...

The upside, if there was one, was that the 55-year-old loved the class and said she was going to get all her classmates to come next week. Good idea.

Better idea: I'd love for God to multiply those students like the loaves and the fishes so that, at the end of the year, Mr. Takeuchi can say in puzzlement, "Where did all ESS members come from?"

"Well," I could say, "my friends and I prayed. God does stuff like that."

Nice thought. Maybe God will answer like that. Maybe I'll make all kinds of contacts through the ESS club.

Or maybe He'll surprise me and come in the middle of the day, broad blue sky, not a cloud in sight.

We'll see.

Either way, I'm pleased to know that "(He) can do all things. No plan of (His) can be thwarted." (Thus says Job).

I agree.

Will you pray?


* * * * *


Prayers

I didn't get to finish my list yesterday, so here are some more things to pray for:

* Mrs. Saito - Mrs. Saito is a relatively new Japanese Christian, in her 40s or 50s, who comes over every Thursday morning to study the Bible for an hour. Her husband is not a Christian, and her two grown children are living in the U.S. She experiences intense pressure from her non-Christian family and friends and is often depressed. Please pray that God will overcome our language barrier and show her the joy and strength she has in Him!

* Bible class - each Tuesday morning (starting next week) I will be going to a Christian-founded women's university to help lead discussion groups in English Bible class. Most of the faculty and students are NOT Christians, and one of the best things the discussion group does is provide a starter for building relationships among the girls. Pray for God to build many relationships as Heidi and I meet the new students and share His Word! (I've also been invited to speak in chapel on May 10, so please pray for God to give a message for the few girls who will attend!)

* Our apartment - I haven't had any luck meeting neighbors here until this past week! Two middle school girls, (Alisa and Kanako) both 13, followed me from the lobby up to the apartment and stayed two hours, eating ice cream and practicing their English. Then the next day the high school girl who lives next door chased me (literally!) down the sidewalk as I went to catch a bus. "I want to study English!" she said. "When can I come over?" So Tuesday Kaori came over to eat tacos for dinner, and we decided to practice English every two weeks. Until now we have had NO contact with our neighbors in 207, while the father in 209 has made a decision for Christ and goes to the Cookseys' house church every week. Please pray for God to draw them to us (even if they don't know why) so they can hear and respond to the good news we have! Pray for me to be able to spend more time with these young girls (I LOVE young people!)

* Heidi's parents - Heidi's parents and older brother Don are coming to visit from Montana for two weeks. They are not believers, and I ask you to pray that seeing Heidi's work here will show them the truth about God. Pray that "they eyes of their hearts will be opened" (Ephesians 1) and that they will have a great time together as a family.

* IMB - Matt Jones, photographer for the International Mission Board, is coming to shoot the third part of the journeyman series for The Commission magazine April 29-May 8. He will be taking photos of my work and ministry here for one week to complete the series (see. Please pray for safe travel and good photo ops for Matt as my work here is not very flashy or drawing big crowds. Pray that GOD WILL USE these stories to draw people to Himself, that others will not be afraid to answer His call, and that the non-Christians here will somehow be touched by Matt's presence.

* Possible English class - Last week I met four friends of a missionary for another denomination - all happy, energetic seniors who love to study English. One is a Christian, and all four have been studying English through Barb, my missionary friend, who just returned to the U.S. The four want to continue to study English so much that they are willing to meet in my apartment (a long way by car), on my schedule, and study the Bible (which they have NOT done so far!) Please pray that this English club will unfold according to God's will and that others in our apartment will be interested in joining - answering yet another prayer. Thank God for His mysterious ways of doing things!

* Writing projects - I desperately need your prayers for several writing projects I'm working on, as well as ongoing advocacy for the Heartlanders team (which requires of a lot deadline work that I'm not good at). I'm working on a Heartlanders' newsletter (struggling with layout in Word), putting together photos for a team calendar, preparing for next year's prayer calendar, and trying to start writing a team video script (the hardest for me) as well as tracts for use with young women in Japan. Help! I need your prayers! I need God's words! I need His creativity! I need His timing!

There are more, but I think I've given you enough for now. Oh, one more VERY important one:

* Young people - Part of the reason I came to Japan was because I love Japanese college students and young people, and up to this point I have had surprisingly little contact with them. As I've been talking and praying through this, I got a vision of bringing together my contacts scattered all over the city (different college students, church people, girls in the apartment) for one big young people's get-together on a regular basis where Christians and non-Christians come together with some non-threatening witnessing - Christian movies, testimonies, praise music). Already two young Christians have stepped up to help! The details are far from sorted out, but I NEED YOUR PRAYERS as this project begins to unfold. My dream is to start something that will be in place long after I leave and that can be replicated easily as people become BELIEVERS - starting new churches and fellowship groups. I believe change in Japan WILL come through the young people - so pray that HE WILL DRAW THEM TO HIMSELF through the witness of young believers like themselves!!!! Pray for the normal problems in ideas like this to be eliminated (fighting between denominations, cost) and for PEOPLE TO COME! Pray for us to have patience as we wait for God's spirit to touch the young people of this city!

That should keep you busy for a while! You all are wonderful! Thank you for being a part of the work!

love,
jenny

Pray! Pray! Pray!

"See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland." - Is. 43:19.

Wow - so many new things are going on that I'm at a loss of how to put them all down. It seems like things have been cold and sluggish here for so long, and then all of a sudden, the sun is out and everything is happening at once. Thank God! I'm so excited I can hardly sleep at night!

New opportunities, new visions, new faces popping out at me every time I turn around. Thank You, God, for making a way in this desert, for doing a "new thing" in my life here!

I need your prayers so much as things are happening faster than I can keep up!

Will you pray with me for the following things:

* The Katsuis - I met with the Katsui family last Monday again, and when I walked in Mrs. Katsui had her sewing box out. "Jenny-san," she said with her usual bright enthusiasm, "I need to take your measurements. I'm making you a yukatta." (A yukatta is a loose-fitting robe-type thing Japanese sometimes wear when relaxing, similar to a kimono but made of cotton instead of silk. They're beautiful! And to have one hand-made?!) Mrs. Katsui and I studied John 3:16-17. When I went upstairs to teach Yui and Tochi, they both pulled out their fat children's Bibles and excitedly showed me how far they'd read (separately, individually) - WAY past our story of Jacob and Esau and into the life of Christ - about two-thirds of the way through the book! Pray that the stories will grip the children's hearts (I became a believer as a child) and that Mrs. Katsui will hunger after the word of God and UNDERSTAND what she reads! Pray for blessings to pour down on this family who has been so kind to me!

* English club - Tomorrow is my first day with the new group of English club students at a local secular university. The department head, Mr. Takeuchi, invited me back for another year of helping with the club (a great sign!). Pray that God will give the students and me good rapport and that we will build relationships for HIS kingdom. Pray for blessings on Mr. Takeuchi (who paid for us to go to a gospel concert last Christmas!)

* Aki - I meet with Aki each week, usually on Wednesday nights, and lately we have had less time to talk about personal things. In fact, last week a horrible TV special about mediums and contacting the dead was on, and her family watched with interest for TWO HOURS. When Aki and I dropped by her friend's house, she had THE SAME show on! We never did get to talk about life and anything important. Please pray for God to give us time to talk again, and for Aki to totally turn her life over to Him. I love her so much! Pray pray for this girl!

* Yuriko - In two hours I'm meeting my non-Christian friend Yuriko for coffee downtown. She was interested in coming to church at one time, but at the last minute she backed out and asked me not to invite her again. She refused the Bible I had for her. But we have maintained contact since last fall, and she wants to meet today. Please pray for Yuriko to open her heart to Him!

* Mariko - My good friend Mariko from my university days in North Carolina has shown an incredible interest in the Bible - asking to come to a Christmas service with me, taking all the Bibles and Japanese-language resources I gave her around Christmas. But since then she has not said a word about it, and she seems reluctant (or too busy?) to talk about it again. Pray that the seed will not fall on bad soil or be snatched away "by the cares of the world"! I love Mariko, and I pray she will come to know Christ soon!

More to come... please pray for His work to be done in me! I love you all and cannot do this without you!

in Christ,

jenny

Candles and ice

Heidi and I took a trip to Otaru, a city in Hokkaido with a beautiful winter candlelight festival every year. Cold and beautiful! Otaru is situated on the sea, so it gets lots of snow. It's also considered to be one of Japan's most beautiful cities, and the Japanese film "Love Letter" (an old popular favorite) was filmed there.

The canal runs right through the center of town and is a site for photographers and visiters. The cold was palpable; the icy wind off the sea made our noses and hands (even through gloves) sting.



Heidi and I walked up a side street to take a photo of the gate to the canal (below), and we passed a beautiful old building with a strange, rustic charm I had never seen before. As I was standing outside in the snow-filled street wondering what kind of building it was, a white man in a funny hat came out and spoke in a language I had never heard. I was so taken aback I just stared, and he smiled and repeated his sentence (showing a gold tooth). At about that moment I realized the building was a pub, and the man was probably one of the Russian sailors that frequent the area. They're known for drunken carousing and have caused foreigners to be banned from certain places (according to the reports). Needless to say, Heidi and I hastened up the street and back to the canal walk full of people!


We walked through the town and found beautiful fresh crabs for sale along the street. Hokkaido is famous for a famous kind of hairy crab (kegani) that has tender, succulent meat and is supposedly not found anywhere else.


This is an old-style street lantern you see on shops advertising ramen (noodle soup)shops, pubs, or other restaurant-like establishments.




At night the canal glitters with hundreds upon hundreds of ice and snow candles! The candles are shaped from water or snow in molds and then left out to freeze. Then the mold is cut away, leaving a perfect cylinder with a hollow for a candle. The candles are placed inside and sparkle on the ice as they burn, shimmering all along the side of the canal and reflecting into the water. The sight of so many candles and water was just breathtaking - and extremely cold! I thought I would freeze right there on the spot. After we had taken all the cold we could, Heidi and I made our way back to the train station and took a train (packed with other Sapporo travelers) back home.

Pray for the Katsuis!

On Monday evening as usual, I headed across town to the Katsuis' large grey house (still strung with white Christmas lights, which embarrasses teenager Yuuka!). I have been teaching seven-year-old Tochi and his friend Yui basic English using Japanese and English children's Bibles for several weeks, and to my amazement, Tochi is starting to read English words straight out of the children's Bible: "Day," he read two weeks ago. "God." "Animals."

But Mrs. Katsui, who breezes happily around the house in jeans and an apron, doesn't get much out of the children's lesson.

So I agreed to show up an hour early each week and teach only her - using some basic teaching materials and a Japanese-English Gideon Bible.

The last three weeks I've arrived to teach Mrs. Katsui she's ready - Bible, pens and paper set out, sliding door closed. We study some basic grammar first and then practice reading from the Bible - first in Japanese, then in English.

I showed her the gospels written by "Jesus' friends" (for lack of a better word), the letters written by Paul and early church workers, and the Old Testament books that tell about God and His promise to send Jesus. We read from Jesus' teachings in Matthew and Luke, looking up hard words like "anointed" and "accomplished" in her electronic dictionary.

Last week Yui and her mom arrived on schedule at five o'clock, and Mrs. Katsui welcomed them, sent them upstairs to the large dining room where we all study together, and promptly returned to finish our Bible discussion - for an entire THIRTY MINUTES OVERTIME!

Can this be happening? Is a Japanese person in MY life actually INTERESTED in the Bible??!

If that's not enough, I come away every Monday night with a smile - feeling, for one of the first times here, like part of a family again. Mrs. Katsui stopped treating me like a guest - hanging up my coat, bringing out all the obligatory snacks - and hugs me good-bye at the subway station.

(Tochi apparently thinks the same way, because he shocked me last Monday by dropping something from his plate onto mine).

Apparently miracles still DO happen - even here!

PLEASE PRAY:

* for Mrs. Katsui to have a deep hunger for the Bible, to read it even between our classes, and to see the truth as we study!
* for Tochi and Yui to learn the children's Bible and take it to heart; and
* for me to learn how to share the Bible with unbelievers (as I have not had a chance to do much here!)
* Please pray for the entire Katsui family to know Christ and THANK HIM for letting me see that He is at work!

Spring Thaw

Early April, and the snow is almost gone. The rooftops are dry and bare, the skyline a smooth blue. The streets and sidewalks are clear, buds are forming at the ends of tree branches, and I actually saw patches of green grass from a bus window today. It's amazing to see the same roadsides that were solid white and glutted with several feet of snow now covered with plants that somehow managed to survive the winter.

I, the foreigner, and often the skeptic, am amazed that anything could still be alive under all that snow.

But here is grass, and there a plant, and even an occasional yellow crocus poking its way through the mud.

Could there be something still stirring even in my heart? For Japan, for the gospel, for the Lord?


* * * * *


The air is not so cold now, and most Japanese have stopped wearing scarves and gloves. I still wear my beautiful black wool winter coat, but I have finally retired the long-laced combat boots that saw me faithfully through about five months of snow and ice. My blue scarf and blue-striped gloves have been hanging unused for several weeks now, a tell-tale sign that spring is here. The coat will be retired in a few weeks, too, if that long.

I felt a little pang of sorrow as I laced up my boots for one of the last times. True, I will be glad to go coat- and boot-free, to trade the endless, dirty snow for fresh spring breeze.

But I will miss the solid feel of a good pair of boots laced snugly against my ankles, the sturdy footsteps and smell of black leather.

Gratitude for a good thing at the right time; saying an unflinching "yes" to what comes next.

So much I need to learn.


* * * * *


If you search carefully you can still see the snow, either in dirty, gravel-covered piles used for dumping or in streaked patches in the woods.

Even more interesting are all the relics that were once buried under mounds of snow and now lay open to the outside - old bicycles, broken umbrellas, gloves and socks, calcified remains of drink cans, cigarettes and other trash.

I wonder how often I have tried to hide my flaws, my sins against brothers and sisters, only to have them leer at me months (or years) later - still undealt with, still unresolved.

I give thanks for a God who accepts my apology, cleans away my mess and changes my heart.

Done and done.

What a good God.


* * * * *


One such piece of litter caught my eye as I went running near the apartment last week: an old cigarette box with the name "HOPE" emblazoned across the front. Nothing else, just "HOPE."

(A strange name for cigarettes!) Nevertheless, there it was - an odd and strangely-timed message, but a message pondered and received nonetheless.

Purpose is elusive here; faith and courage seem, at times, far off.

What else is there but hope?

"Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful" (Hebrews 10:23).

"And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us..." Romans 5:2-5).

"...Those who hope in me will not be disappointed" (Isaiah 49:23).

I may not have many glory stories, flashy credentials or answers to my questions.

But I do have hope.

So do you (if you want it).

His name is Jesus.

Thank you for praying!