Car ride and arrival to Ippo-Ippo
Our car ride on the way to Ippo-Ippo was relatively quiet.
One girl, Kasumi, came at about 10:30 to come and help set up—we had to ask her to come back around 1.
We immediately set up the tent, then went inside to begin our “church service.”
“Church”
We hosted a fellowship for the missionaries in Yamada—worship, Bible study, and prayer.
Mike McGinty said that the barbecue later in the day was “a faith venture.”
Another barbecue
We had a barbecue only two days after a previous one. Of course, food for ministry I’ll accept any time!
2 male students, 2 female students, 2 parents and their 4-year-old daughter Ayana, and Kasumi came to the barbecue/rally.
Ayana instantly took a liking to Misha and the other Chris!
We also did a skit using two tennis rackets and read from Psalm 139:13-14 about it—only God knows our true purpose because we’re made by Him. He’ll show us the way to be most efficient, the way we were made by Him to be.
The skit got people curious about Christianity and asked if it was a religion—at least in my individual talks, I stated that no, Christianity isn’t a religion, but rather a relationship. That God made you and wants to have an active relationship with you.
A few manga Bible story series were lent out, others vowed to come back, and Ayana cried as she walked home.
Chillax by the ocean
I was quite exhausted by the entire interchange with people at the barbecue—even though I’m slightly more extroverted than introverted, I was also working to translate a lot of communication.
Being by the ocean was refreshing—I felt like there were many amazing things. The ocean was beautiful, crazy that there were these huge man-made objects by and on the ocean, and how the tsunami wiped out things that theoretically should have been safe. Not so in practice.
I took a lot of photos, one way for me to relax, and just lay on my back on top of a concrete wall, staring at the sky. I talked to my parents like that and wished my dad a happy Father’s Day.
Prayer
- Growth of the seeds planted today
- Rest even though our “relax” day with nothing scheduled is tomorrow
- Lack of conflict because when we’re tired we tend to lash out more at each other
- Continued love for the people of Tohoku