New Life and Great Joy

Yesterday was another special day for Izumi Church.  When we chose the name Izumi (meaning 'spring') for the church, we hoped this would express our desire that many who are thirsting would find their way to Jesus to drink living water.  Although our numbers are by no means large, it was a real joy to add another believer to our church as he was baptised during the service.  When we first talked about baptism after he believed in Jesus, there was some talk of the sea or a river but sub-zero temperatures in Sapporo at this time of year led us to the somewhat more comfortable alternative of warm water in a bath which we borrowed for the occasion from another church and set up in our dining area.  Quite a number of buckets of water later and it was ready for baptism.  Before that though we had the privilege of listening to Wataru share his life story - of the hard times, the struggles, the issues he had to face.  But so too we heard a story of someone brought through to faith in Jesus, even when it looked like this would not happen.  He shared about several turning points in his life which led him to the point of commitment.  After his baptism, we all shared together in a very simple communion.  What a joy in one service to see the grace of the Lord in action as we witnessed a baptism, to know the grace of the Lord as we listened to his Word, and to taste the grace of the Lord as we partook of bread and wine to remember all that had been accomplished for Wataru and for all of us on the cross.  Later on in the day we had a really happy time of fellowship together.  One of the joys of Izumi Church being small and still meeting in a home is to have that kind of intimacy.  Wataru now faces many challenges.  He is just about to start a job.  That will place demands on him as it does on so many here.  He has many issues to face as a new believer in Jesus.  By we believe that as we walk together with him on the path of following Jesus, we will be able to help each other but we also know that, as he shared in his testimony yesterday, he is not alone and will not be abandoned by the God he now serves.  A good day - may there be many more like it to follow in the months and years to come in the life of Izumi Church.  

It's shaking

With Japan sitting on an area where several tectonic plates meet, earthquakes are to be expected on a regular basis.  Here in Hokkaido we don't get as many as some other parts of Japan, but once every few months we do hear the familiar noise of crockery rattling, see the light switches swinging and feel the swaying under our feet.  Yesterday evening there was a magnitude 6.8 earthquake off the coast of Hokkaido and northern Honshu followed by a 5.9, and then later in the evening a couple of 6.1's nearer Tokyo.  The 6.8 earthquake brought instant tsunami warnings and for 30 minutes or so these were repeated over and over on the main news channel with instructions to people living at the coast to move to higher ground.  In the end of the day only a very small wave reached the coast, but coming so soon after the 1st anniversary of the big earthquake and tsunami on 11th March, there was a eerie sense of deja vu.



The effects of yesterday's 6.8 earthquake



In a year we are due to move to Ichikawa near Tokyo, where recently the odds of another big earthquake in the near future have increased considerably, along with recent reports that Tokyo is not as well prepared as it should be.  In fact when we tell people that we are moving, this is usually one of the first comments they make.

Of course much of the beauty of Japan stems from the fact that it is a volcanic archipelago.  And we enjoy the benefits of a multitude of hot springs to relax in.  But the regular earthquakes are all a reminder that creation is groaning and that we too should be groaning as we wait eagerly for full adoption and redemption.  What a wonderful hope we have to share with the people around us.    

Snow, snow and more snow

Sapporo, the city where we live, is famous for several things: the Winter Olympics in 1972, the annual snow festival, delicious ramen (a large bowl of noodles with meat and vegetables in a soup) and Sapporo beer to name a few.  It also has the distinction of being the snowiest major (i.e. population of over 1,000,000) city in the world with several metres of it falling every winter between about December and March.  Living in a city set up for snow is great.  Come October people tie up the plants and bushes in their gardens to protect the branches from the weight of the snow.  Special shovels of all shapes and sizes are sold in the shops.  Cars change their tyres to winter ones with a thicker tread and don special windscreen wipers.

On a snowy morning everyone gets up a little earlier and goes outside to clear their car and the pavement area in front of their house.  People then get to work earlier to help clear the areas there too.  "Snow moving" becomes a major focus for the city authorities.   An everyday sight is lorries full of snow driving to one of the dumping grounds.  One place is beside the main river where tons of snow are dumped and then in spring gradually put into the river.  There are other empty plots of ground which gradually become filled with snow mountains too.

Driving is an interesting experience.  The roads are not salted, nor are they cleared as such.  Rather the snow is flattened down so that you are driving on top of the snow and ice.  On a warmer day though this might melt a little and then freeze again, likening driving conditions to a rally driver.  2 lane roads become one as snow is piled up at the side, and pedestrians are often found walking down the roads as the pavements may be impassable. 

Schools build their own snow mountains in the playground where they teach beginner skiing, with the older children being taken to local ski slopes for lessons as part of PE.  This mountain is also great for sledging with homemade sledges consisting of a cushion taped inside a 10kg empty rice bag.

1st graders learning to ski in the school playground

One of the displays at the Sapporo Snow Festival

And the snow is beautiful.  On a sunny morning it sparkles as if with diamonds, sometimes almost too bright to look at - a great reminder of the promise that we will be washed "whiter than snow".

Valentine Fun

One of the things we are keen to do in Hiragishi is to encourage our believers do something themselves to which they can invite friends.  This being the season of Valentine's Day, yesterday a small gathering was held in the home of our missionary colleagues here, all fairly low-key with food, chat, watching a short DVD (I'm Special).  One young guy who has been to several things before over the last couple of years came along afterwards to our service too.  We made it quite simple with a straighforward message about God's love.  Valentine's Day takes on some strange twists here.  It has long been the custom that girls give to boys on February 14th and the compliment is returned exactly one month later on White Day.  In recent years, so-called 'tomo choco' have been popular - chocolates exchanged just among friends, often girls to girls.  Today one of our boys got some chocolates from a girl (not at school - that is not allowed) but he also received some from one of his buddies too.  We have never before come across boys giving boys chocolates.  It's funny the way traditions work out in different cultures, and indeed the way they change over the years (not that this would have anything to do with marketing by the chocolate manufacturers of course!)  How to communicate that deep, self-sacrificing, amazing love in the midst of all of that?  Some years ago we had the following conversation with a 13 year old girl who had been coming for some time to our children's club.  She was now too old for the club but kept coming anyway.  We asked - 'What brings you here to the church?'  She said this - 'I find love here.  There is no love at home'.  Sadly that may be the experience of many.  And even fewer know the love of God shown so clearly in the passage from John's gospel we were looking at yesterday in our service - the way Jesus dealt with the woman who was about to be stoned by others for her sin.  Our longing is that many in this land would find their way to true love - not symbolised in a heart-shaped pink chocolate, but in a cruel cross of wood.

Reflections on a Year

As we draw to the end of a year, it is time to reflect on the months which have just gone by and look forward to what might lie ahead.  Certainly at this time last year we could never have predicted that 2011 would have brought such tragedy and suffering to so many, not just in Japan but in many parts of the world.  We had just had a really encouraging first-ever Hiragishi Family Christmas and were hoping to build on that through the year.  But there were to be many twists and turns which we could not have anticipated which made many changes in our lives.  February saw us receive a phone call to inform us of the sudden death of the pastor of Otaru Church where we had worked for eight years.  It was the pastor with whom we had worked for one year before handing over the leadership to him in 2008.  For the coming months we spent time with the folks in Otaru and David committed to preaching there once a month till September.  Less than a month after that, the earthquake struck unleashing a tsunami of unbelievable power to sweep away anything and anyone in its wake.  Although we were far away from the tsunami zone, the day of the earthquake and its aftermath are unforgettable.  Almost immediately we were involved in coordinating a team from Hokkaido to visit one of the areas.  Over the months many volunteers have been to help in the devastated areas and it was a privilege to be able to lead a team in July (with Daniel and Matthew too) and do what we could among people who had lost so much.  There are many sobering scenes which have been seen and pain-filled stories which have been heard over the months since March 11th.  Many of our colleagues have worked tirelessly and sacrificially serving in these areas.  Life was to change for us even more as OMF decided to begin a relief work in one of the tsunami-devastated areas.  The couple appointed to lead the work were the leaders of OMF's work in Hokkaido and the end result for us is that we took on that role temporarily from August.  These past months have been an intense time of juggling and trying as far as possible to give good time and energy to the work in Hiragishi as well as leading the OMF work and team in Hokkaido.  We are thankful for God's grace which has always been sufficient and his strength which is indeed made perfect in weakness.  We have continued to be involved in the community here - Lorna has done much through the local school and David became PTA Chairman in April.  These have given many opportunities both to get to know people and become known by so many.  One big lesson we have learned is the importance of building up relationships with people and being where people are.  It has been encouraging to see so many coming to events we have held at Easter, during the summer and then again at Christmas - and almost all of those who have come are people who are known personally to us or others in Izumi Church.  The boys have continued at Hebron and the local primary school respectively and there have as always been more than a few tales to tell (they would take up too much space to narrate here!)  So it has been a year of many unforeseen changes.  But as we look back we can give testimony that God has been with us and has provided for our needs.  Nothing catches him by surprise.  Looking ahead, we can already see many changes on the horizon - but who knows what else might be waiting?  Next year should see Daniel finishing Hebron and hopefully starting university; Calum will go to Hebron in August; we will at some point in the year hand over leadership of Izumi Church to our OMF colleagues Richard and Catherine East; our present co-workers the Kochs will head back to Germany for their first home assignment but plan to return to Hiragishi in 2013; and the big change will be to take on the Field Director role from November.  We are thankful that another colleague will take on the Hokkaido leadership from April and give us some breathing space to get ready for all the other changes.  We always take encouragement from the words od Deuteronomy 31:8 at the beginning of a new year - the Lord himself goes before; He is with us; He will never leave us.  Great promises!

Hiragishi on Christmas Day

This year Christmas Day fell on a Sunday. For many Japanese people Christmas means going on a date (for young couples) or having time with family on the 24th. Kentucky Fried Chicken is popular as is Christmas cake (quite different to the equivalent in the UK). Some though are drawn to churches at this time and candelit services on Christmas Eve are popular. We decided not to hold something like that here in Hiragishi but had a low-key service followed by a time of eating some traditional Christmas goodies and playing a few games. We moved our usual worship time from the afternoon to the morning and once again were able to use the building we have rented several times before. While we have many people coming along to events we have held, we were not sure how it would be for a worship service as many people we know seem to not be at that point yet. However it was encouraging that a number of people came along, some for the first time. It was a special joy to see several of the boys' football club friends come - certainly the first time they have ever been in a worship service. How Chuang gave an excellent short message. We sang some well-known carols. Sambi did a great children's talk with clever props. Afterwards a few more friends came with their children for the food and games time. It was a happy time and once again an opportunity to share the love of Jesus with those who were there. Afterwards one young lady who was there for the first time said she would like to study the Bible. We are taking small steps forward and move expectantly into another year to build more on the foundation which has been laid. This Sunday sees us start the New Year with a worship service and a time of sharing and praying together. But more about that in a future blog.

An international gathering

Last week we enjoyed our annual OMF Christmas prayer meeting. The OMF team in Sapporo gather every Thursday for worship, prayer and fellowship but the Christmas one is always special. This year was no exception as we celebrated together and enjoyed the 'internationalness' of OMF. We had readings in different languages ranging from Afrikaans to Scots; we had songs in Swiss German and Welsh; some shared different Christmas traditions in their home countries. We had people from the UK (all four countries), US, Germany, Switzerland, South Africa, Singapore, Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Hong Kong and Brazil. One of the joys of being part of an international, inter-denominational mission organisation is its sheer diversity. It was moving to worship in and listen to well-known carols and well-known passages of the Bible in different languages. What a precious reminder that one day there will be those gathered in heaven drawn from every tongue and people group. It is a blessing to be able to work together with colleagues from many different lands and cultures as we seek to bring the timeless message of the gospel to the people of Japan.