Today the One Week To Shine team went to Akihabara, where anime and otaku culture married the electronics industry and created a district unique only to Tokyo. Akihabara is also the center of a darker underculture consisting of pornography and other sex industry perversion. In essence, a place that is saturated with what we Christ-followers would call "the world".
We went there today to pray and invite people to meet Jesus. Starting our day out with a prayer walk around the center of Akihabara, we got a feel for the lost people in that area. We began to sense that the heart of God was not fierce and condemnatory towards the people there. Rather, the Father wanted to reach out to them and heal their broken hearts and be a real father to the fatherless generations.
After we met back at Akihabara Station, we morphed into a flash mob of people dancing to the song "Happy". (Which, if you haven't heard it, can be found here.) Many people took notice of us and we were able to hand out a newspaper containing stories of how God has changed people's lives in Japan. It also invited them to our concert on Saturday where we will be able to invite them to church on Sunday.
Why is this effective? Because 99% of the Japanese population has no idea who Jesus is. Most of them have never heard of Jesus.
Ever.
We met a cameraman today by the station who wanted to use some of our foreign faces for the music video he was shooting. A few of us happily obliged his film-making and then began a conversation with him that led to his eczema being healed right there on the spot. He said he felt so light. One of our group asked him if he would like to feel that way all the time and he replied "Yes, please!" After some explanation, he accepted Christ right then and a huge smile broke out on his face! He was so happy, we hugged him and sang a song with him to celebrate - right there on the street. Before meeting us, he had never heard of Jesus and had never been told that God loves him.
We're making headway here in Japan. I am so thrilled to be a part of what God is doing here in Tokyo and I can't wait to share more awesome stories with you as the week goes on!
For God's glory!
Amanda
Tuesday, June 10, 2014
Monday, June 9, 2014
One Week To Shine
Something crazy is going down in Tokyo.
It looks like people from all over the world collaborating to bring the hope of Jesus to Japan.
It sounds like people from all denominations praising God with one voice.
It's something of a God-movement, joining everyone for one purpose.
And we're calling it One Week To Shine.
Here in Japan, the week between the Global Day of Prayer (June 8th) and Global Outreach Day (June 14th) is being utilized for one purpose: giving the love and hope of Christ to everyone we can find. Every day from Monday to Friday, teams from all over the world will be going out into the city of Tokyo to pass out newspapers with the gospel, talk and pray with people, and invite them to an outreach concert on Saturday.
We will be doing everything we can to gather attention and open doors for conversations the ignite life change. Things like parkour, flash mobs, and musical street performances create opportunities for us to speak to those who would normally walk right by us on the street. And on the city streets of Tokyo where 99% of the people do not know Jesus, we need as many opportunities as possible.
Today, my new roommate, Amanda McGinness, and I met a 15-year-old girl in the park where we were practicing for our flash mob. Talking with her, we discovered that she had never heard of Jesus before. Amanda gave her a tract that explains Jesus' love for us. She read it and immediately started asking Amanda questions about it. Please pray that we will get to meet her again and lead her to the Lord!
During One Week To Shine, we will also be doing prayer walks around red light and entertainment districts, asking God to set people free who are in slavery both mentally and physically. We need to bring the name of Jesus to places where it may never before have been spoken.
You can find out more about One Week To Shine at their website: http://7media.org/1wts/ or follow what we're doing on the Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/7MEDIAORG
I am expecting great things this upcoming week and I hope you will join me in prayer for Tokyo as we bring the light of the world to Japan! Be looking forward to many photos and updates as the week goes on! Can't wait to share with you what God is doing in Tokyo!
Thank you so much for your prayers, your encouragement, and your love!
~ Amanda
It looks like people from all over the world collaborating to bring the hope of Jesus to Japan.
It sounds like people from all denominations praising God with one voice.
It's something of a God-movement, joining everyone for one purpose.
And we're calling it One Week To Shine.
Here in Japan, the week between the Global Day of Prayer (June 8th) and Global Outreach Day (June 14th) is being utilized for one purpose: giving the love and hope of Christ to everyone we can find. Every day from Monday to Friday, teams from all over the world will be going out into the city of Tokyo to pass out newspapers with the gospel, talk and pray with people, and invite them to an outreach concert on Saturday.
We will be doing everything we can to gather attention and open doors for conversations the ignite life change. Things like parkour, flash mobs, and musical street performances create opportunities for us to speak to those who would normally walk right by us on the street. And on the city streets of Tokyo where 99% of the people do not know Jesus, we need as many opportunities as possible.
Today, my new roommate, Amanda McGinness, and I met a 15-year-old girl in the park where we were practicing for our flash mob. Talking with her, we discovered that she had never heard of Jesus before. Amanda gave her a tract that explains Jesus' love for us. She read it and immediately started asking Amanda questions about it. Please pray that we will get to meet her again and lead her to the Lord!
During One Week To Shine, we will also be doing prayer walks around red light and entertainment districts, asking God to set people free who are in slavery both mentally and physically. We need to bring the name of Jesus to places where it may never before have been spoken.
You can find out more about One Week To Shine at their website: http://7media.org/1wts/ or follow what we're doing on the Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/7MEDIAORG
I am expecting great things this upcoming week and I hope you will join me in prayer for Tokyo as we bring the light of the world to Japan! Be looking forward to many photos and updates as the week goes on! Can't wait to share with you what God is doing in Tokyo!
Thank you so much for your prayers, your encouragement, and your love!
~ Amanda
Monday, April 21, 2014
Sakura Crazy
Here in Tokyo, the cherry blossoms, called "sakura" are almost all done blooming. It's beautiful but tragic to see them falling like delicate pink snow in the warm spring breeze. I wanted to capture as much of the season as I could since the blossoms only last about 10 days. So I went with some friends on a what turned out to be somewhat of a sakura pilgrimage all around the city to see various places where their loveliness is especially renowned.
This is the famous weeping sakura at Rikugien park in Komagome. Every year it draws thousands of visitors who come to see it both during the day and when it is illuminated for night viewing.
This was my first glimpse at a sakura tree in full bloom and the sight was absolutely stunning.
Coming to Japan, seeing the sakura was #1 on my Japan Bucket List. So, naturally I was like a small child, running around taking pictures of every sakura tree I could find and generally enjoying the peaceful atmosphere of God's creation.
Sakura season here in Japan is anticipated like nothing else I know. The newscasters give the nation a day-by-day update on how the blossoms are progressing toward full bloom in order to give the eternally busy Tokyoites time to plan a sakura viewing day with their friends, family, and co-workers. Leading up to the short-lived event, there is sakura themed everything for sale in shops all over. Sakura cakes, donuts, and other confections, sakura tea, sakura ice cream, and even a sakura burger at McDonald's. Here I am holding my sakura Starbucks mug given to me as a welcome gift by our church's lead pastors.
It's a craze that visibly sweeps the nation! And I got willingly caught up in it, being my first time ever experiencing such a buzz of widespread jubilation toward a change of the seasons.
Our ladies life group that meets ever Wednesday spent two weeks in a row outside enjoying picnic hanami (flower viewing) under the cherry blossoms. I even learned to make my own bento (lunch box)!
I also went to the Imperial Palace grounds to see the sakura trees that line the moat around the castle. It was unfortunately raining that day, but it made for some pretty pictures. The cloudy sky cast a soft grey light on the sakura petals that swirled in the moat's waters like green tea.
This is the famous weeping sakura at Rikugien park in Komagome. Every year it draws thousands of visitors who come to see it both during the day and when it is illuminated for night viewing.
This was my first glimpse at a sakura tree in full bloom and the sight was absolutely stunning.
Coming to Japan, seeing the sakura was #1 on my Japan Bucket List. So, naturally I was like a small child, running around taking pictures of every sakura tree I could find and generally enjoying the peaceful atmosphere of God's creation.
Sakura season here in Japan is anticipated like nothing else I know. The newscasters give the nation a day-by-day update on how the blossoms are progressing toward full bloom in order to give the eternally busy Tokyoites time to plan a sakura viewing day with their friends, family, and co-workers. Leading up to the short-lived event, there is sakura themed everything for sale in shops all over. Sakura cakes, donuts, and other confections, sakura tea, sakura ice cream, and even a sakura burger at McDonald's. Here I am holding my sakura Starbucks mug given to me as a welcome gift by our church's lead pastors.
It's a craze that visibly sweeps the nation! And I got willingly caught up in it, being my first time ever experiencing such a buzz of widespread jubilation toward a change of the seasons.
Our ladies life group that meets ever Wednesday spent two weeks in a row outside enjoying picnic hanami (flower viewing) under the cherry blossoms. I even learned to make my own bento (lunch box)!
I also went to the Imperial Palace grounds to see the sakura trees that line the moat around the castle. It was unfortunately raining that day, but it made for some pretty pictures. The cloudy sky cast a soft grey light on the sakura petals that swirled in the moat's waters like green tea.
All in all, sakura season is my favorite time of year in Japan. The anticipation, the beauty, the childlike wonder, the communal appreciation of God's creation, and the collective sigh when all the petals fall is like an entire life span in just a few short days. I cannot wait for the next time I get to see them!
Thank you again for praying for me and for waiting so patiently for this post. You are so amazing and I cannot wait to share with you more of what is happening here in Japan!
Mata ne! (Later!)
Amanda
Tuesday, March 25, 2014
Cross-Cultural Cookie Baking
Church potlucks around the world are universal. Lots of food, lots of people, lots of laughter, and lots of full tummies by the end!
This past Sunday at ICA Tokyo, we held our monthly church potluck with many guests present due to the Phil Stacey concert held that morning (an evangelistic outreach to bring many new people to hear about God's love). It was my solemn duty as a new pastor to bring something very American to this largely Asian food mosaic. I chose what any good American girl would choose: cookies! Oatmeal chocolate chip, of course!
Now, this being one of my first forays into the baking world outside of US, I was fairly confident in my ability to whip up a batch of cookies while armed with my box mix I brought from home. Add eggs and butter, mix, bake, done. Right?
No.
Why? Because this is Japan. Not America.
I had neglected to purchase enough butter required for the recipe and ended up Google-searching a substitution: vegetable oil. Good, I had that. Now, on to the actual measuring. One half-cup of oil. Now, where to find US measuring cups in a Japanese kitchen? Back to Google: "metric conversions". Got it. Measured the oil, mixed in the egg, and things are looking great. Crisis averted.
Now, something about most Japanese kitchens in Tokyo is that they are generally too small for ovens. Most don't have large ovens like American kitchens. They have nifty microwave/convection ovens that function as both a microwave AND oven! Very handy! But there's a catch.
Everything's in Japanese. And Celsius. And that size baking sheet fits only 9 cookies at a time. And it doesn't pre-heat... that I could find.
Stay cool. What do I do? Okay, think this through:
Whip out Japanese dictionary app to figure out which button works the oven (NOT the microwave) and how to set the temperature. Back to Google for more conversions. 350 degrees Fahrenheit equals 175 degrees Celsius. The microwave oven only sets to 170 or 180 degrees. Take the dark cooking sheet into consideration. Adjust approximate cooking time. Rethink cooking time to factor in lack of pre-heating feature. Set oven to bake for 1 hour just to be safe. Oven shuts off after only 10 minutes. Reset oven. Cookies done after 4 additional minutes. Stop oven, remove cookies, replace with new cookie dough, reset oven. Oven shuts off after 10 minutes. Reset oven again. Cookie batch #2 complete. Reset everything again. Repeat.
It took me 3 hours to bake 24 cookies. But they were the best-tasking cookies I've ever made in a foreign country! Needless to say, they were missing from their plate by the end of the potluck.
One cross-cultural experience down, with many more to come!
Thank you again to everyone who is supporting me! You are all amazing and your thoughts and prayers keep me steady though the crazy days. Thank you, thank you!
~ Amanda
This past Sunday at ICA Tokyo, we held our monthly church potluck with many guests present due to the Phil Stacey concert held that morning (an evangelistic outreach to bring many new people to hear about God's love). It was my solemn duty as a new pastor to bring something very American to this largely Asian food mosaic. I chose what any good American girl would choose: cookies! Oatmeal chocolate chip, of course!
Now, this being one of my first forays into the baking world outside of US, I was fairly confident in my ability to whip up a batch of cookies while armed with my box mix I brought from home. Add eggs and butter, mix, bake, done. Right?
No.
Why? Because this is Japan. Not America.
I had neglected to purchase enough butter required for the recipe and ended up Google-searching a substitution: vegetable oil. Good, I had that. Now, on to the actual measuring. One half-cup of oil. Now, where to find US measuring cups in a Japanese kitchen? Back to Google: "metric conversions". Got it. Measured the oil, mixed in the egg, and things are looking great. Crisis averted.
Now, something about most Japanese kitchens in Tokyo is that they are generally too small for ovens. Most don't have large ovens like American kitchens. They have nifty microwave/convection ovens that function as both a microwave AND oven! Very handy! But there's a catch.
Stay cool. What do I do? Okay, think this through:
Whip out Japanese dictionary app to figure out which button works the oven (NOT the microwave) and how to set the temperature. Back to Google for more conversions. 350 degrees Fahrenheit equals 175 degrees Celsius. The microwave oven only sets to 170 or 180 degrees. Take the dark cooking sheet into consideration. Adjust approximate cooking time. Rethink cooking time to factor in lack of pre-heating feature. Set oven to bake for 1 hour just to be safe. Oven shuts off after only 10 minutes. Reset oven. Cookies done after 4 additional minutes. Stop oven, remove cookies, replace with new cookie dough, reset oven. Oven shuts off after 10 minutes. Reset oven again. Cookie batch #2 complete. Reset everything again. Repeat.
It took me 3 hours to bake 24 cookies. But they were the best-tasking cookies I've ever made in a foreign country! Needless to say, they were missing from their plate by the end of the potluck.
One cross-cultural experience down, with many more to come!
Thank you again to everyone who is supporting me! You are all amazing and your thoughts and prayers keep me steady though the crazy days. Thank you, thank you!
~ Amanda
Thursday, March 13, 2014
Culture Culture Culture!
Over the past week, I have been steadily pulled into the undertow of Japanese culture - often without knowing it.
For example, I have ceased to count it an accomplishment when I arrive at the correct station on time without mishap. This level of skill is a triumph for me since last time I was here, getting lost was a semi-regular concurrence. I have now also upgraded my level of independent cooking by successfully making rice, fish, and miso soup the other night! Grocery shopping is becoming easier as well now that I know most of what is available.
Other things are more culturally prominent - such as a funeral. I had never been to a Japanese funeral until this past Monday. Everyone wore all black with pearls which is the traditional funeral attire in Japan. The person being remembered was a Christian, so the ceremony included some scripture and hymns as well as some things that were purely Japanese. Some things stood out to me, like the covering of the deceased with flowers after the first part of the ceremony and the customs surrounding the cremation. It is common for people in Japan to be cremated and for the second part of the ceremony to take place at the crematorium. We (all of the pastors and family) were part of a custom I had never head of before. We helped transfer the bones from the ashes to the urn with chopsticks. This is as unsettling as it sounds for someone's first time at a Japanese funeral. However, God was with me. Nothing too awful happened and I survived emotionally intact.
Tomorrow is a holiday only celebrated in Japan (and some other Asian countries) called White Day. Valentine's Day here is primarily when ladies give chocolate to the men in their lives. White Day is when the men get to reciprocate by returning the favor with white chocolate or other sweets. We are having a White Day prayer night at ICA tomorrow night where we will thank God for loving us so purely - and eat white cupcakes as well!
Hopefully I will have more pictures for you soon!
Thank you for your continued prayers for Japan!
~ Amanda
For example, I have ceased to count it an accomplishment when I arrive at the correct station on time without mishap. This level of skill is a triumph for me since last time I was here, getting lost was a semi-regular concurrence. I have now also upgraded my level of independent cooking by successfully making rice, fish, and miso soup the other night! Grocery shopping is becoming easier as well now that I know most of what is available.
Other things are more culturally prominent - such as a funeral. I had never been to a Japanese funeral until this past Monday. Everyone wore all black with pearls which is the traditional funeral attire in Japan. The person being remembered was a Christian, so the ceremony included some scripture and hymns as well as some things that were purely Japanese. Some things stood out to me, like the covering of the deceased with flowers after the first part of the ceremony and the customs surrounding the cremation. It is common for people in Japan to be cremated and for the second part of the ceremony to take place at the crematorium. We (all of the pastors and family) were part of a custom I had never head of before. We helped transfer the bones from the ashes to the urn with chopsticks. This is as unsettling as it sounds for someone's first time at a Japanese funeral. However, God was with me. Nothing too awful happened and I survived emotionally intact.
Tomorrow is a holiday only celebrated in Japan (and some other Asian countries) called White Day. Valentine's Day here is primarily when ladies give chocolate to the men in their lives. White Day is when the men get to reciprocate by returning the favor with white chocolate or other sweets. We are having a White Day prayer night at ICA tomorrow night where we will thank God for loving us so purely - and eat white cupcakes as well!
Hopefully I will have more pictures for you soon!
Thank you for your continued prayers for Japan!
~ Amanda
Monday, March 3, 2014
Super-ficial!
I've been going around the last two weeks getting everything all set up here in Japan and let me tell you - there's a lot to set up!
Luckily for me, I have a wonderful missionary next door to me who speaks perfect Japanese and who has taken this fledgeling missionary under her wing. We've been to the Kita-ku ward office to register my residence card, to the stationary shop to order and pick up my hanko (a carved stamp with my name in Japanese that serves as my unique signature on legal documents), to the post office to set up an account (the post office here serves also as a community bank for savings), and to the phone store to get a cell phone.
I have so many official documents in my possession right now, there's no doubt that I'm legal! In fact, I have so many official things, you could say I'm SUPERFICIAL! Haha!
Our last stop on our official tour was to the bike shop to pick out my brand new mint green cycling machine!
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Luckily for me, I have a wonderful missionary next door to me who speaks perfect Japanese and who has taken this fledgeling missionary under her wing. We've been to the Kita-ku ward office to register my residence card, to the stationary shop to order and pick up my hanko (a carved stamp with my name in Japanese that serves as my unique signature on legal documents), to the post office to set up an account (the post office here serves also as a community bank for savings), and to the phone store to get a cell phone.
I have so many official documents in my possession right now, there's no doubt that I'm legal! In fact, I have so many official things, you could say I'm SUPERFICIAL! Haha!
Our last stop on our official tour was to the bike shop to pick out my brand new mint green cycling machine!
The fantastic youth at Calvary Church in my hometown raised funds for STL as well as this bike! Now I get to pedal my way around Tokyo in style!
Besides my awesome bike, I also get to travel to Chiba and teach English at a church there. Last Thursday, I went to meet them and we had a great time! I'm looking forward to the relationships to be built there and the fun times! Here are some of the junior high and high school students who come to the church after school.
My other adventures include successful grocery shopping, making it to several destinations on the train *without* getting lost, and hanging out with my friend Christina from SEU in Shibuya, Shinjuku, and Harajuku! Check out my facebook for pictures of that adventure!
I'm off to get ready for the Japan Assemblies of God Bible School graduation ceremony. As this is the end of their school year (the new one starts in April), the graduates are getting ready to be put into full-time positions. I'm glad I get to witness their transition from student to pastor!
One day at a time,
Amanda
Friday, February 21, 2014
Good Morning, Tokyo!
Well, I made it! It is a miracle that I managed to make my way through four airports, three flights, and a bus ride to Tokyo without being able to sleep on planes. The Lord was with me is all I'll say on that. :)
And now here I am! I'm in my apartment, getting moved in, and am conquering jet lag like a champion. Truly, it hasn't been as bad as I had been anticipating, so there's more good news! I am getting used to the food, the neighborhood, the trains, and my neighbors. Honestly, the only thing that has gone wrong thus far has been a painful crick in my neck from trying to sleep on the plane. A quick stop at the local pharmacy yesterday for a heat pack is fixing that. Thanking God for my neighbor missionary who speaks Japanese!
This is part of my little apartment. The kitchen...
Small story:
On the flight from LA to Tokyo, I sat next to a Korean guy who wasn't very talkative the whole trip until the end when we landed. I found out he lives in America and is going to visit his grandparents in Korea. He said the thing he is most excited to do there was visit his church. I smiled. I told him what I would be doing while in Tokyo and his eyes lit up. We had a simple bonding moment of faith that transcended cultural barriers in under 5 minutes. That's how God works.
Things I got to do yesterday that I sincerely missed about Japan:
Eat curry, ride the train, pay with yen, walk to a convenience store, and walk from Komagome Station to Pastor Shelley's house.
Things I got to do yesterday that I sincerely miss about America:
Drink black tea with cream, put my mini version of Van Gogh's "What Fields" on the fridge (reminds me of the Toledo Museum of Art), unpack my books, and eat peanut butter.
It's the small things that make life grand.
More on that to come!
And now here I am! I'm in my apartment, getting moved in, and am conquering jet lag like a champion. Truly, it hasn't been as bad as I had been anticipating, so there's more good news! I am getting used to the food, the neighborhood, the trains, and my neighbors. Honestly, the only thing that has gone wrong thus far has been a painful crick in my neck from trying to sleep on the plane. A quick stop at the local pharmacy yesterday for a heat pack is fixing that. Thanking God for my neighbor missionary who speaks Japanese!
This is part of my little apartment. The kitchen...
and the livingroom/bedroom!
Small story:
On the flight from LA to Tokyo, I sat next to a Korean guy who wasn't very talkative the whole trip until the end when we landed. I found out he lives in America and is going to visit his grandparents in Korea. He said the thing he is most excited to do there was visit his church. I smiled. I told him what I would be doing while in Tokyo and his eyes lit up. We had a simple bonding moment of faith that transcended cultural barriers in under 5 minutes. That's how God works.
Things I got to do yesterday that I sincerely missed about Japan:
Eat curry, ride the train, pay with yen, walk to a convenience store, and walk from Komagome Station to Pastor Shelley's house.
Things I got to do yesterday that I sincerely miss about America:
Drink black tea with cream, put my mini version of Van Gogh's "What Fields" on the fridge (reminds me of the Toledo Museum of Art), unpack my books, and eat peanut butter.
It's the small things that make life grand.
More on that to come!
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