Thursday, December 31, 2009
New Year Traditions
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Christmas
Monday, December 21, 2009
Celebration
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Beware of fire
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Starting church from scratch
Friday, December 11, 2009
Kanji of the year
Monday, December 7, 2009
Freedom of expression?
Friday, December 4, 2009
New Year decorations
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Praying for the nations
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Infectious faith
Monday, November 23, 2009
Always learning
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Onward we go
Saturday, November 14, 2009
All singing, all dancing
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Rest for the weary
Monday, November 9, 2009
Connections
Thursday, November 5, 2009
A 'bazaar' incident
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Another kind of spring
Monday, November 2, 2009
Five plus two equals?
Saturday, October 31, 2009
A special day
Friday, October 16, 2009
A hi-tech grave?
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Don't come to school please
Sunday, October 11, 2009
When two or three are gathered...
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Service with a smile
Sunday, October 4, 2009
What is normal?
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Changing seasons, changing colours
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Following the rules
Monday, September 28, 2009
Out of joint
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Make the most of every opportunity...
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Strength in numbers
Sunday, September 20, 2009
And we're off...
Friday, September 18, 2009
Countdown to launch
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
The power of one word
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Party in the graveyard
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Searching for the truth
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
The building below
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Praying and walking
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
An unexpected meeting
Sunday, August 30, 2009
What do you do?
Saturday, August 29, 2009
body testing?
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Bearing much fruit
Monday, August 24, 2009
As for me and my house...
Saturday, August 22, 2009
It's a cover up
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Time for a change?
Monday, August 17, 2009
Symbol of hope
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Sights, sounds and smells
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
It's parade time
Monday, August 10, 2009
The travel adventures - again!
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
When is a holiday not a holiday?
Thursday, July 23, 2009
The Lord who opens hearts
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Food glorious food
Monday, July 20, 2009
Signed, sealed and delivered
Thursday, July 16, 2009
The Art of Apologising
Monday, July 13, 2009
Where is your passion?
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
And the name is... 平岸いずみキリスト教会
Saturday, July 4, 2009
By all possible means...
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Whose protection?
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
journeying adventures
Thursday, June 18, 2009
What's in a name?
Monday, June 15, 2009
A time to plant and a time to uproot
This is the time for planting in Sapporo. Recently many in the community could be seen out on the pavements adding a touch of colour to the roadsides. Local school children join in too. For us at our house, it has been a time of planting, but also uprooting. The small area of garden in the front of our house was somewhat overgrown when we moved in - and more weeds sprouted up daily. The area at the side too very quickly became a jungle of growth. Gardening tools were bought and we got to work on clearing, chopping down and hauling out roots. All that needed to be done before we could do any planting. In the south part of Hiragishi there are some 28,000 people. We are here to plant a church. But so much of what we need to do in the early days is the hard work of clearing the ground, preparing the ground and searching for the soil where we can sow the seeds. In time our desire is to see not just the colourful flowers brightening up the roadsides, but people whose hearts and lives have been changed as the seeds of the gospel take root.
Saturday, June 13, 2009
What's your goal in life?
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
What a great location!
Not long before we arrived back in Sapporo, a wonderful house was found for us in Hiragishi. One of the interesting features is that it is located right opposite a cemetery. One of our colleagues quipped that it was so good to get a house right in the dead centre of Hiragishi! On the other side we have great views over the south of the city, with the famous Sapporo Dome, home to the local baseball and football teams, often gleaming in the sunlight. Coming back to the cemetery, this is no ordinary graveyard - there are thousands upon thousands of graves. Actually it's more like a big park and not an unpleasant place to go for a walk. We've also found it a good and safe place to help Alistair with his cycling. It is located in an area which at one point was the suburbs of Sapporo. Next to it is a swimming pool which used to be the local crematorium - quite a thought as you're doing your laps up and down the pool! We often pass through the cemetery. Occasionally we see one or two graves with crosses, where Christians are buried. But thousands have no cross, people buried with no hope. Just looking at the graves opposite our house is a reminder that so many Japanese still need to hear about Jesus - before it's too late.
Monday, June 8, 2009
Who's that in the bright green hat?
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Where is the wind blowing?
A couple of weeks ago we attended a series of lectures at the Hokkaido Bible Institute in Sapporo by a Japanese pastor who is involved in planting a church in another city in Hokkaido. We were keen to learn whatever we could from his experience as we seek to plant a church here. A lot of the things he said have been extremely useful for us, but in particular we both felt encouraged and challenged by this verse. God's Spirit blows where He wills and we do not know where that is. BUT we can hear its sound. So as we are out and about in Hiragishi that is one of the things we are focusing on - listening for the sound of the wind - seeking to find where God is already working.
We have also realised once again what an asset our boys are to our ministry. Already we have several opportunities to help out at Calum's school - Lorna helps out in the school library and in making things for the school fete later in the year. On Saturday it was Calum's sports day, a huge event in Japan held at the weekend with hundreds of spectators. We were able to meet several of the parents of Calum's friends and Alistair also met up with some friends from his nursery. Already we are beginning to be recognised as we are out and about - "Calum's Mum" or "Calum's Dad" is a cry we quite often hear. And as we meet people we are consciously asking God to show us the next steps in our ministry here. Please pray with us.