"What a week!"

What a week it has been! We left Central Asia on Thursday morning at 3:30 AM and have spent the last week in Japan. We have had some wonderful experiences during these days. Most of the time has been taken up with training sessions at the Sakado church. These sessions emphasized the importance of church planting and proposed a new model of church multiplication. In over 100 years of Christian missions in Japan, there is still less than 1% of the people that know the saving power of Jesus Christ. The most effective tool for rapidly expanding the church in much of the world has proven to be a model of rapid multiplication of existing congregations.

Christians are being challenged to "share their story." Every person who has experienced a personal encounter with Jesus Christ and allowed Him to transform his/her life has a story to tell. The model simply asks people to "tell their story" to anyone who might be interested. That receptive person is asked to invite a few family members or friends who might also be interested in hearing the story. Those who would like to discover a new life with Christ are incorporated into a small "house church" and encouraged to now share their own story of what Jesus has done for them.

Only the Lord knows how this past week will affect the kingdom, but the future looks bright for this congregation as it reaches out into new areas of the city to reach the many, many who need to hear of Jesus and life in him.

We also visited a church in Hadano that wonderfully manifests the oneness that comes through Christ. They have rented space for their church in a small office building for several years. They just stepped out and bought their own three-story building. The first floor will accommodate the Japanese church. The second floor will be shared by the other two congregations that have shared rent for several years - a congregation of Spanish speakers from Bolivia and a congregation of Portuguese speakers from Brazil. These three congregations have been sharing space for several years and have a unique shared ministry in Japan.

We found that there were some connections for Suzanne and me in this. The pastor of the Bolivian congregation attended school in Santa Cruz. He knows Bruce Moyer from our denomination and we have friends that have taught at that school as well. Marcel, the pastor of the Brazilian congregation, is from the coast of Brazil, just east of Sao Paulo. We visited that area two years ago with a prayer team from Colbert.

The world seems to shrink daily as we discover connections with people around the world. Two weeks ago in our new city I met a Seminary president from Moscow, Russia. We had a great meeting. He knew my friend from Green Bluff, John Southwick. The teacher of the course being taught had also worked with John in New York. It is mind boggling how we can run into people on opposite sides of the world, who know each other and who have the same mission in life - let others know about how great a salvation is available in Jesus.

We return to Central Asia tomorrow morning and renew our efforts to train leaders for that part of the world. It is exciting to know that the God who has done so much in us is also working through us to accomplish his purposes. He's not done transforming and building people. It's a great privilege to work with him in that task.

"I Lied"

"I Lied!" That was the statement I made many years ago to my future father-in-law after I made a statement that was in error. I was speaking about something and made a comment that I discovered was incorrect and followed that up by my stark confession. His response was, "Did you mean to lie? Or, did you just make a mistake?" Wow! That gave me something to think about. Actually, it taught me a fundamental truth about life. There are errors we make in our life that are unintentional that have an entirely different impact and import than those things we might do intentionally.

Well, "I didn't lie!" I did make some inaccurate statements about the city we live in. I had said that it was about the same elevation as Spokane - 1900 ft. I was wrong. It's about 1900 meters which makes it closer 5500 feet. Anyway we're on the edge of some majestic mountains that I can't wait for the opportunity to explore. We made a quick visit when we were here in June to a ski and skating area, but it will be fascinating to have a chance to do some more sightseeing.

Fall is a big thing here. The schools have special emphases on cleaning the streets and it really makes a difference. The churches also get into the Fall celebration and have "Harvest Festivals." We keep missing main part of the celebration - bad timing on our part - but here is a photo of how they decorate for the day. Suzanne said that it reminded her of the way the produce is displayed at our Interstate Fair in Spokane. It was rather cute, the pastor's daughter kept going up to the display and eating grapes. She finally picked up an apple and rearranged the fruit so no one would notice. The fruit and vegetables are good and the largest bazaar in the city is just up the road from us. It has the best prices for produce that can be found in the city. People come from hundreds of kilometers away bringing goods to sell and can purchase just about anything you can imagine.

Most of the people we have met have been very helpful and considerate. Of course, there are the other kind in every culture. What we have experienced is that people are willing to give assistance just about anytime we need it. We were on the bus the other day and our stop was next. When the bus slowed, I moved to the door to get off. An elderly lady reached out her hand and to get my attention and shook her head. The bus had made an unscheduled stop. I thanked her for her courtesy in her language and received a surprised look in return. (No, I wasn't able to make a complete sentence. But, I was able to say, "Thank you.)" We've appreciated that, and many other, expressions of graciousness.

We're continually amazed that God has allowed us the privilege of having this adventure. It is something that we continually thank Him for. We look forward to the opportunity to share more pictures, experiences, insights and other things on our return.

God has been good, is good and will continue to manifest His abounding goodness.