Our team has been in South Korea for the last week at CM2007. It has been a great and very busy time. My computer died mid week and we didn't have Internet connection at the hotel. I hope to be able to write more now that we are at a new hotel and we have access to the Internet.

I am excited that in 2 days I will be back in the United States! It has been such an amazing summer. I can't wait to have more time to sit down and add more to these blogs! Thank you for taking the time to read them... there is more to come!

:)

Oh... the website for CM2007 is www.cm2007.net

Rikkyo

So tomorrow.. well in 11 hours my team will be on Rikkyo for the last time. It is a little saddening but exciting at the same time. Last week we were asked not to return to the campus. Apparently the University's administration called JCCC (Japan Campus Crusade for Christ) and requested that we no longer held our lunch meetings. Our team is taking this as a good sign of the work the Lord is doing at Rikkyo. Two weeks ago our team saw six students pray to receive Christ in one day!!! I look forward to seeing what tomorrow has in store!

Tonight after women's time I was able to try on a beautiful kimono. All of the ladies looked so beautiful and amazing! There is a great story behind the kimonos and the incredible woman who lent them to us. When I get all the details about it I will be sure to post them.

Bible Study - Who is John?

Yesterday at Sophia I was able to have lunch with Maria and some of my favorite girls! :) After lunch I had a Bible study with Nami. She is most genuine and loving person I know in Japan. I met Nami at an English lunch the second week we were here. Her Aunt is a Catholic nun and she is really interested in religion. I was feeling so sick the day that I met her. I didn't want to be at school that day and I didn't want to take the time to get to know her. Luckily, I did and she is amazing! God allows perfection in our weakness and that day I was able to share the Good News with Nami. Praise the Lord! I now have a new sister in Christ! :) She was so eager to say the prayer, talk to God, and become a Christian. I actually doubted her interest and questioned if she was sure that was what she wanted four times before I prayed with her. Nami is our 'woman at the well' and inspiration to our team. She continues to ask questions about the Bible and its meaning. She also brings new friends with her every time we meet. She is a great friend and a huge blessing in my life.

We are currently studying the book of John. Yesterday I asked her to read the first chapter and then we would talk about it. I was reading along side her in my Bible, finished, looked over and found her already in chapter three! She loves reading. Please pray that Nami would continue to have such an incredible desire to know the Lord.

During our Bible study Nami asked me who John was. She knew that he wasn't Christ - in fact she point to the scripture where it was stated that he wasn't Christ. So her question then to me was: "John is not Christ. If he is not Christ then who is he?" Her innocence is so sincere and touching. I am looking forward to meeting her again for lunch and studying John 1-5.

Thank you for your prayers and support.

In His Love,
Sarah

A Month Ago...

So it was only a month ago when I was sitting in Irvine, California wondering if I was going to get on the plane bound for Japan. I was $2,500.00 short of my support goal the day before we left. To make the day better it was my 24th birthday. Yep, my golden birthday. I was turning 24 on the 24th. Shortly after lunch I was called into a meeting where we discussed the reality in the possibility of not going on the trip.

It was hard to face this reality but I knew that if I was meant to go on the trip then support would come in. I am the type of person who has everything planned far in advance. So not knowing with mere hours till take off was personal test. Within the hour following my meeting God provided $1,500 from friends and their family. I was able to leave a personal check for the remaining $1,000.00 and jump on a plane to Japan! Amazing! Yes, I am still raising support. My Grandma and her friends are collecting cans to help with the support amount. They are such an amazing blessing to me! So if you know anyone who would like to support my mission project please let me know. You could also send your cans to my Grandma! ;)

Our team arrived to briefing short $15,000.00 of support goal. In a matter of three days we were able to raise the need amount! God is so good!!

Thank you for your prayers and support! You are in my heart and prayers!

Mid Project Retreat

Well its been awhile since my last post... we have been busy. We took the weekend off and went on a vacation! It was so nice! Now that we are back at the apartment it feels as though we live here. I live in Tokyo! Wow!

I plan on posting more soon... :) Please keep us in your prayers. Thank you! I miss you!

New Hope

On Sunday we went to New Hope International Fellowship Tokyo which is located down the street from the ochanomizu station. The church is a church plant from Hawaii. It seems to be doing really well here in Tokyo. They have three centers, two services, and a Christian bookstore. The place is always crowded but it is on the small side. There seems to be about 150 people at the service we attend. The crowd seems to be spilt between the Japanese and missionaries. The entire service including worship is in English and Japanese. I love the worship! It is amazing to attempt singing songs I know in another language. It was also really moving to hear Nami singing next to me!

This past Sunday’s message was that of “yearning to be connected” which was given based on Psalm 42. The three main points are:

1. Remember how the good times with God were.
2. Remember specific experiences of God’s intervention in your life.
3. Choose to praise God in spite the feelings of depression.

One of the things that was said that I liked was “you tend forget the moments worth remembering and remember the moments that should be forgotten.” They were talking about dwelling on negatives thoughts and also how people tend to notice the ‘absence’ of God rather the times when He has clearly provided.

So that was Church! :) Nami and her friend Yuria came with me. It was awesome. It was their first time to church!!! :) Nami is the new believer from last week that I was able to share with. I haven’t been able to share with Yuria but I hope to tomorrow when we have lunch. After church a large group of us (well in Japan it is large… myself, Aya, Megan, Nami, Yuria, Maria, David, and two guys from New Hope) went to get lunch. We found this amazing Hawaiian restaurant!!! It was the most expensive hamburger of my life but it was worth every yen! :)

Sophia... homework please!

Sophia, Sophia...

Sophia is my favorite campus! Well I can't really say that since I do love my time spent on Rikkyo. So with that it is currently a tie between the two campuses. :) Most of my time is spent at Sophia University and most of that time is spent in the cafeteria or at English lunches eating. I find myself always eating and talking... I think it is great! The girls at Sophia are so friendly. They love to take goofy pictures and talk about pretty much any and every thing.

The campus at Sophia is rather small and lacks any grass area. The campus was founded on Catholic beliefs and has a chapel located in the heart of campus. (Fun fact: Both Rikkyo and Sophia have chapels located on campus.) I have included the links to both Universities if you would like to find out more information. The websites contain a lot of great information... don't worry it is in English. :)

So tomorrow (Monday) we are back on campus at Sophia. It should be a great day! We have a couple of lunch dates planned and then in the afternoon we are visiting an English class. The class is English Adv. 2 which is the highest level of English offered. It is that class that compares Narnia to the Bible. It is an intense course! We were able to go last week and meet the students. Their homework for the week was to prepare questions for us when we return tomorrow. Here are just some of the sample questions:

• How does God communicate with us through the Bible? Can you give any examples from your personal experiences?
• The Bible challenges us to rely on God's wisdom rather than ours. Why is that? How has the Bible helped you in your decision-making?
• Why did God send His Son into the World?
• How can a conscientious person become a follower of Christ, when the history of Christianity seems to be stained by sin, wars, excesses and divisions?
• How can one get to know God personally?
• Religion gives me an impression of many rules and limits of personal freedoms. Is Christianity any different? How?

So umm yeah... WOW! Those are just some of the questions. Part of me can't wait to see how the class will go and which questions will be asked but the other part of me is really nervous.

Please pray that my team would be able to answer these questions in Truth and that we have the confidence to openly discuss all answers in the classroom setting. Also please pray for the students that they would be eager and willing to hear what we have to say.

Thank you so much for all of your prayers and support. I miss you and love you. You are in my prayers! :)