We left on Saturday afternoon from L.A., and after an 11-hour flight and 2-hour train ride, we arrived in Nakano, Tokyo, late on Sunday night. We were greeted at the station by a few of the Campus Crusade For Christ staff members who live in Tokyo, and they treated us to “gyuudon” (beef and rice) after showing us to our apartments. It is a great place to be staying, and we are getting used to the different lifestyle, like rolling out our futons every night for bed and having to sort our trash into seven different categories. My roommates and I currently don’t have any silverware so we are even eating our cereal with chopsticks (great practice). The jet lag was a little rough at first for most of the team, but our daily schedules have exhausted us enough so we are ready for bed by the time 9 o’clock rolls around.
We spent our first week in Japan becoming familiar with the campuses our team will be ministering at. On our first day in Tokyo, we had a day of orientation at the student center for CCC. The staff members shared with us a lot about Japanese culture and prepared us for how some of our conversations might go with the students we are meeting. In Japan, most students do not associate themselves with any particular religion. They are very absorbed in their studies and do not often question their purpose or the meaning of life. However, ever since the earthquake and tsunami that occurred on March 11, students are questioning more and are more open to having spiritual conversations. We spent time praying that God continues to prepare their hearts to be searching for more in this life beyond schoolwork and employment, to be made aware that all here is fading and could be gone in an instant. It’s a harsh reality we have all come to face, and we pray that God gives the Japanese a joy that is anchored in Him, a hope and love that will never fail them.
God wasted no time in showing us how much the people here desperately need Him. On our way back home from orientation, we experienced our first suicide in the train system. Red lights flashed, “Delay 25min” in English on the screens, with no explanation. Our leaders translated, and told us that the red lights flashing in Japanese meant “suicide.” It was a shock, and even though we had been told that Japan has one of the highest suicide rates in the world, it is so much heavier when you’re surrounded by it.
Please be praying for Japan. God loves each person here so much, and many die never knowing. They measure their worth and identity in education and employment, and feel so empty when those things fail them that many end their lives. When these things in life only take from them, God is waiting to give them everything. Please pray for the Japanese, and that God will show them the unfailing hope found in Christ’s resurrection.
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| the view from our apartment balcony... so cool :) |
The beautiful truth is that God loves each of us right where we are at, that nothing “good” we do like reading our Bibles or trying to be better people can make Him love us more and nothing bad can make Him love us less. He is relentlessly pursuing each of us, no matter how many times we push Him away in our lives. I came to love God when I realized that He loved me as I was. He shows me that I can’t do anything to earn His love. He doesn’t love me for reading my Bible or praying. I don’t know why God loves me; I couldn’t even love myself most of the time so how could He? But He has already proven to me He does. And when I realize what He did for me, all of my fears and doubts don’t matter and I’m amazed! I couldn’t get to God because He is all that is perfect, all that is good and beautiful, and I am full of selfishness and sin. I can try with all that I am to be perfect, but it is impossible.
I used to ask, “If God is so loving, why can’t He just forgive everyone?” My pastor gave us a good illustration. If I wrecked my friend’s car and he forgave me, it doesn’t change the fact that his car is still totaled. Someone has to pay for it. My friend can have all the grace in the world and not hold me accountable because I am broke, but there is still a debt that must be paid to fix the car.
We are all so empty handed and incapable of being perfect that God has forgiven us and paid the debt Himself.
People describe hell as awful because of “fire and brimstone.” Hell is awful because it is eternity separated from God: the source of our every desire and pleasure, all that is good and beautiful. God saved us from this separation by bridging the distance between our failures and His perfection Himself. He lived the perfect life we are all supposed to live and died the death we all deserve. When we believe in Christ, we are found in Him and His death. All our sins die with Him. But this is the most beautiful part: it doesn’t stop at death. Jesus was resurrected, and where I am included in His death to pay my debt, I am included in His resurrection to perfection. When you understand the depth of this grace, you realize that you did nothing to deserve it and can’t do anything further to earn it.
My lifestyle changed because of what God did for me. I am not better than anyone because I read my Bible or pray. I do these things because I find God in them. It is a natural response: how could I not want to spend time learning about this God that loves me so much just as I am? No one here could ever love me while I’m shoving them away over and over again.
My team is spending our summer here in Japan to tell students this beautiful truth: that God loves them and wants them, and it has never been dependent on their successes or failures but all on Christ restoring us to God.
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ ad gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them.” 2 Corinthians 5:17-19
We have a new life in Him. And it is the most freeing. Everyone deserves to hear this truth. It breaks my heart knowing so many people here take their own lives never hearing that God wants so much better for them.
If you want to talk about anything I’ve posted in my Blog, please email me, I would love to hear more about where you’re at in this. (enmoser@email.unc.edu)
On Tuesday and Wednesday our team visited three universities. We spent a couple hours at each campus praying and learning about each one. I’ve honestly never walked so much in life, but it was so rewarding. Once we had finished visiting the campuses, our leaders prayed and decided who should be placed at each campus. We were divided into two teams, and I’m going to be sharing the Gospel at Hitotsubashi. Thursday was our first day spending four hours at our campuses, and it proved to be very difficult. God humbled our team immensely, and is teaching us that our joy is to be found in Him and our salvation, and not in what seems like “successful” ministry.
The following day was as different as night and day: we were able to share the Gospel with so many students and many are interested in learning more. We are trusting God with the results, resting on Him to give them the faith to believe. I have a few lunch dates planned next week, so please be praying for my new friends J
My team and I are also going to be doing service while we are here in Tokyo. Yesterday we were blessed with the opportunity to participate in a homeless ministry early in the morning at a park in Harajuku. Members of our team led a couple of worship songs and helped bag the food being handed out. Three of our team members also shared their testimonies with the group that came. It was such a blessing to be able to serve them and share that it is because of Christ’s love for all of us that we were there.
“This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.”
1 John 3:16-18
Our team was also told that we might be serving up north amidst the devastation from the tsunami. We are all praying that God will provide the two drivers we need to take us there, as well as to and from the sites we will be volunteering at each day. Please be praying with us, they need as much help as possible. Many people are still living in shelters and may be there for as long as a year.
It has been amazing to see so much of God just within our first week here. He is growing each of us so much in our faith. Thank you for all of your support and encouragement, please continue to pray for my team and the students God has led us to. Every interaction we have is a chance to share God’s message of love and hope in Christ. I look forward to posting again with more stories of God’s amazing work in Japan soon J
Love in Christ,
Liz
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