English Class Outreach

English Class

The English class that Ruth leads on Thursday nights is a safe place for people to come and develop their English speaking skills. It was great to be involved because my role, as well as other short-term team members, was to assist in conversation practice. It was intentional space to get to know some men and women in the area which allowed for relationships to be built. I quickly got to know three women in particular and we plan on being pen pals as I return to Canada. I rely on words to express myself and therefore it was a way to slow down and work on the language barrier. I wished I could have participated in a Japanese language class while I was here! I’m eager to be the student and learn from the people I’ve met while here in Itayanagi. It was a great experience to have the opportunity to build their confidence in their language skills and to have fun telling stories with one another.

Youth Group in Itayanagi

One of the highlights of each week’s ministry was YoungLife every Friday night. Our team would sit down with Naomi Ghent some point before Friday and plan out the program, usually consisting of songs, games, a testimony, a Bible talk, and some sort of snack. It was always great to see a combination of church youth and local town kids come each week and be able to spend time getting to know them better. Each week, through every song, game and talk, we hoped to further develop relationship between each youth and the church, hopefully showing them that being a follower of Jesus is exciting and fun. In North America, our temptation is often to only see God in big things, such as a stadium full of people coming up to an alter call to give their lives to Christ. During our time in Japan, our team really began to learn the importance of celebrating God’s work in the little things such as a local youth simply having the desire to even walk into the church. Even though the process of becoming a Christian in Japan is much slower than in other places, it is still exciting to see God walking with each youth, drawing each of them closer to Himself through programs such as YoungLife. Each week, we really got a sense that they were not simply games or songs or stories, but God really using all these different mediums to call his children back to Him.

One Way Jesus

The youth meet every week. It is led by high schoolers and attended mostly by church kids. Lately a few town kids have started to attend. May each one follow Jesus.

Youth Specials

Lately the youth group has had a number of interesting evenings. They had a dress up party- interesting to see what costumes people came up with. The New Zealand team helped with an evening which added spice. Every week music is a vital part of the night. They are getting quite good and at times lead the music during worship services on Sunday!!

Christmas Kids

In December there are many opportunities to share Jesus with others. Flyers were handed out in front of 2 schools. Around 40 kids attended. Micah and Aaron just in from Bible school on winter vacation led games and did the Bible talk.

Engagement Party

Because numbers are few in a Japanese church, it is a real joy to baptize and to wed people. They aren't married yet but church member and previous short termer were engaged in a church ceremony. Because the wedding ceremony is planned elsewhere it gave the church family an opportunity to celebrate; and the responsibility to pray for and encourage them during this period of time.

Skiing on Mt Iwaki

Jan 9th saw a number of church folk on the slopes. It was initiated by the church youth group but in all about 20 folk skied. The weather was great- lots of new snow and not much wind. Even Ruth Mae was coaxed to go by her daughter conditional on lessons. She managed 2 times down on top of the skiis. A number of friends were also out that day.