Young_Life Special - September 2009!

Hello!

We had a special Young_Life this month and it was awesome! Wanna know why? Okay, I'll tell you...

ICE CREAM!!!! \(^o^)/

Yeah that's right, we had lots and lots of ice cream. So much ice cream. And things to go into that ice cream. We had more than enough! (Or so we thought)

The morning of the event, we stuck up a few posters and balloons inviting young people from around the local area to come have some fun in the church. I don't know if it was the fantastic selection of balloons or the free ice cream had anything to do with it, but we also prayed to God that he would fill the building with Himself and with young people. I also got some people in the UK praying for it also (I'm a short-termer here in case you were wondering!). And answer our prayers He did!

Groups of young people after groups of young people came to the church. They just kept on coming until the place was full of 50 of them! I think there were 6 boys in total so it was a lot of girls! It was amazing to see an answer to prayer like that!

There were fun games including balancing a balloon on a tray like a waiter and shaving balloon heads! And there was a talk about God too! And everyone listened and participated which was fantastic!

Then there was ice cream. The main attraction for the young people I am sure! You couldn't see the kitchen floor for kids. More ice cream and fillings had to be bought as there was just so many!

Overall, it was awesome. We hope that God will use that event to build relationships between the young people and the church. May they come back again for the next event next month!

Gary (Short-termer from Liverpool, UK)

Flexibility in reaching kids

Last week the 2nd English Day Camp was held at the chapel. After a number of phone calls and a few weeks of advertising thru different contacts- yes we probably could have done more but only 2 kids and 1 mother showed. At first the team was disapointed. All staff weren't needed and so a number went to the neighboring park to play ball with kids. That developed into the skit and Bible talk also held in the park. They returned for luncch and the afternoon program.
We learned again the need for availality so that the Holy Spirit can guide us and use us for His purposes.

Thru food to Jesus

Food is a great way to break ice and talk about Jesus.
Whether its a youth event, English classes, or church gathering, food is a part of the time.
This was a youth event in which attendees made shapes with dough and then they were made into unique donuts.

Glimpses of the Future

For the past 3 Fridays, us Canadians have had the privilege of working on music with the YoungLife group that meets every Friday.

This was something I had been looking forward to for a long time. What a great honor it is for us to be able to pass on our own knowledge and experiences as worship leaders! It has been exciting to see the progression people have made since the first Friday we worked together. There is a passion and desire for worship in the YoungLife group that is just waiting to jump out and express itself.

Each friday starts with a few games, and then transitions to a time of testimony and teaching, usually including testimonies from our short-term team. The music teaching component concludes the night. Every week, our team records a worship song in Japanese in order to teach it to YoungLife. We split into our respective instruments and work on different techniques while the recorded song plays on a loop. After some practice with individual instruments, we then play the song together without the practice track!

Two weeks ago, we worked on the song "We Fall Down" by Chris Tomlin. This was a definitely a new song to most of YoungLife and they worked really hard to play it. With such a diverse range of skill-levels, it is difficult to know what to teach in order to get everyone playing and worship together. Simplicity is often the key with playing worship music and YoungLife played the song simply but confidently so that the glory of the Lord could shine through the song. At the end of the night, we just wanted to keep playing the song over and over again! There was a deep sense of accomplishment, but also an overarching feeling that everyone felt the holiness of God fall in the room. It brought tears to the eyes of our team members and we could see these young people one day leading this church to the presence of the Lord through music. The night was so encouraging that we all walked over to the Itoku and bought ice cream for everyone!

The following Sunday, our Canada team was leading worship and called the YoungLife group up to play "We Fall Down" with us during the service.


Our team still has one week left with YoungLife before we head back to Canada. We are SO excited about what God wants to do through all these young people!

~Colin

Hello everyone,

My name is Aimee and I am currently working alongside Martin and Ruth Ghent and family as a short-term missionary in Itayanagi. I am here from May 12-June 15 2009 with a team of eight other students from a Christian university in Toronto, Canada called Tyndale University College. I would just like to share a little bit about my experiences here at Itayanagi Chapel and a bit of what it is like to work as a short-term missionary in an established church setting.
The chapel here in Itayanagi is unlike any other church I have ever experienced. The Ghents do not approach ministry from a “they’ll come to us” nor from a non-personal stand point, but are very active in the community and believe that the most important steps in leading a Japanese person to Christ come with building relationships with them. Some of the programs run out of Itayanagi Chapel are English classes, ballet classes, a youth group, Bible studies and a parenting class for mothers.

I have had the opportunity to help out with the Thursday night English class twice now and it has been such a great experience. The group is made up mostly of non-believers some of which are really seeking after the truth and even come out to some chapel services and Bible studies. Most of these people who are becoming more interested in Jesus really only started hearing about Him by coming out to English classes. They have heard at least part of the gospel either through testimonies shared by Ruth or other short-term missionaries or by coming out to church events advertised in the class. I have started to form some great friendships with some in the group and have had the opportunity to share with them, as a friend, why I decided to commit my life to Christ. I have changed through this experience because I have been refaced with the truth that our greatest callings are to love God and love people. The people in this class need so much more than a rational explanation of why they should follow Jesus, it is His love evidenced in the lives of the Ghents and other Christians that draws them closer to making a commitment to Him.















Some of the Thursday night English class students

Some of the group from the Thursday night English class at the church I have also had the opportunity to help out with the Friday night Young Life group. It was so evident from the first time we hung out with the group that the leaders are so passionate about the youth and seeing them grow in their faith. Most of those who attend are kids who have either grown up in the Itayanagi Chapel or who have been coming for a while, but there are also some who come who come from non-Christian homes. Young Life has such a welcoming and fun atmosphere as it starts out by introducing everyone and having a small share time and then moving into crazy/fun games. It is a great place for the kids and youth to be built up in their faith and for those who do not yet know Christ to learn more about Him. Each time they get together testimonies and creative messages are shared. Since our team has been here, we have had the great opportunity to teach them some new worship songs on their instruments. It is evident that they are a very musical group.

The Young Life group performing “One Way” for our team

Sunday mornings at Itayanagi Chapel are so alive. The chapel is nearly full on Sundays and there are usually about fifty people. The Christians here are so excited about worship and are so joy filled. The amazing thing about services here is that many in attendance have actually been coming out to church for years, but have not yet made a commitment to Christ. This is a concept which seems so foreign to many churches, yet this is the norm for this church. The average person in Japan takes about sixteen years to make a commitment to Christ from the time they first hear about Him. The Itayanagi Chapel is unique not only in the amount of seekers that fill it, but also in the ages of those who attend. There is a wide variety of ages here at the church from six months up to the eighties. Many churches in Japan have an average age of sixty, so this is quite different. There is a great sense of community here in the church. After every service, the whole congregation sits down for a meal together. I have enjoyed these times so much because they are such a great opportunity to get to know people and to catch up on their weeks.
Some of the Sunday morning children’s English class performing for their parents
I hope that you have at least a small glimpse of what it is to be a part of the life of Itayanagi Chapel. Please pray for continued growth, outreach opportunities, receptive hearts and strength for the Ghents and the other Christians of the town.
--Aimee

Spring Flowers

The flowers in the flower beds are fabulous this time of year.
The clors and shapes are truly a work of art- showing how great Jesus really is.

Thank you

We had a fabulous 5 and some years with a chruch member. She helped with Sunday School and anything else going on. The last 2 months before heading off to HBI, she became a short term assistant at the church. She led Bible talks, led 1 to 1 Bible studies, taught sunday school, cooked meals etc.. We misssss her.