Saturday 11/21/09: I woke up early in the morning to go shopping with Maria, Yu, and Serina in Shinjuku’s UNIQLO. Recently, it has been really cold, and I realized I may not have brought enough winter clothes. In the US, I’m mostly indoors during winter; I would stay in my home, or drive in my car, or be at a friend’s house. Now, I am spending a lot of time outdoors as I commute to campuses, and the wind chill on my bike commute is killing me. So my mom gave me some money for winter clothes, and I decided to just go shopping this Saturday with friends! So we met at Shinjuku’s station at 9:30, and after a small breakfast snack of Mini One’s awesome croissants, we got to the  UNIQLO and stayed there until Yu had to leave for her gospel choir practice. The girls were super helpful to me, translating things from Japanese to English and asking the store keepers to help me. =D It was a super wonderful time hanging out and talking with Yu and Serina about all types of fun to deep topics. ^__^I bought a ton of warm clothes so my trip was successful xD

Serina, Maria, and Yu after their conquest in UNIQLO. (Maria has the pictures that I am in, but she hasn't posted them yet)

Then for the afternoon, I spent the time in Sophia University reading my Bible and praying. I read something in John 4 that I will mention later in this post.

Dinner was spent with the Iidabashi girls. They invited the west side guys to have dinner and cooked us a Japanese dinner. =) It was so fun to be able to hang out with them in that small apartment and watch youtube clips together. =)

Sunday 11.22.09: New Hope had a thanksgiving service and potluck today. Then I had Holy Spirit dance practice. I’m getting better and better at hip hop, but I’m still glad I am not performing at our concert. hahaha… There was a video recorded today, but I wasn’t in the camera’s view. =P If you want to see an old video of my practice (at like 60% proficiency), there is a video on facebook that I am in. ^^;;; I’m currently at 85-95% proficiency though =P

 

 

 

Warning, long expository ahead:

This week is going to be a farming themed week for me. What that means is that I will be focusing on something I have been reading in the Bible recently. During my time in Sophia on Saturday, I came upon John 4. In verse 35, it says

“I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest.”

That is what I have been relying on for so long, thinking that the harvest is the goal of my time in Japan. But then I read the next few verses, it changed my thoughts completely.

³⁶Even now the reaper draws his wages, even now he harvests the crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together. ³⁷Thus the saying ‘One sows and another reaps’ is true. ³⁸I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor.”

O_O I completely forgot about this verse in John, because Matthew and Luke say it differently. When I read this, suddenly my time in Japan became much clearer. Sometimes I found it hard that there was no grand harvest, but now I realize God may have called me here as a sower, the one doing the hard work preparing the soil and sowing the seeds. Then I read this in 1 Corinthians 3:

⁶I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. ⁷So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. ⁸The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor.

Wow. Again, it reminded me that I may not be the one harvesting here this year, but God has a purpose for my time here, and I will be rewarded according to my labor.

My teammate said it best when she explained to a student why we are here: “As a missionary, we cannot change people’s minds or hearts. Only God can change a person’s heart. But what we can do is to create opportunities for people to think about life and about God.”

Another time, when I was talking with my teammate, we realized what we were doing is tilling and preparing the soil in order for the gospel to be able to land on good soil. We till and till and till, and also sow many seeds, but in the end, it is still the Lord’s responsibility to make the seed grow in someone’s hearts.

So as I spend my time here, I don’t just eat and hang out with students. I spend time preparing the soil, showing love, and sowing many seeds, but I leave the results to God after I did my part. I cannot change anyone’s minds, but I can put little pebbles in people’s shoes and prompt them to think about life in a deeper way.