Life at the Aomori Christian Center

Hi everyone! 

This is now our tenth day in Japan and so much has happened. It's been a busy time of working and learning. 

First of all, we had the opportunity to explore Aomori City, which is an absolutely beautiful place! During this time we began to get to know some of the other short-term workers. It's been exciting to talk with them, work along side them and hear their stories. 

This past Monday we began an international work camp, there is a team here from a Korean Church in Canada as well as a team from Singapore. Then there is us, three other Serve Asia workers from Toronto and one girl from Lithuania, and of course our lovely host family Luke and Yuko (along with their five kids) who run the Aomori Christian Center (ACC). Counting everyone we have 22 mouths to feed. But many hands make light(er) work so with everyone here we have been preparing ACC for camps which start on Sunday. There has been lots of grass to be cut, weeds to be whipped, trees to be chopped and much more. Many areas of the land are overgrown so are not conducive to kids camps. Everyone has been working incredibly hard. It's been amazing to see the body of Christ, although from many different countries, come together and work for a united purpose. Our times of prayer especially have been very meaningful. Jared has been working very hard outside doing all sorts of jobs, God has really gifted him in the area of serving and I've enjoyed watching God use him. I on the other hand have been working inside helping Yuko around the house, running errands and preparing food. 

      Jared working hard!

A time of worship, prayer and testimony sharing with the team. 

A yummy meal just waiting to be devoured... 

We really feel that God has equipped us for this ministry, He called us for such a time as this and we are honored that He wants to use us in His plan. Along with all of the fun and exciting things that we are experiencing here I've really been resting on God and His faithfulness as I learn some tougher lessons. Being in a completely new culture where you don't speak the language and you don't know what's normal versus what's not can be very overwhelming. At the beginning (well even now as well) I was frustrated at my lack of ability to communicate with the Japanese people, I feel rude when they talk to me and disrespectful as I don't know what is acceptable. While I know learning culture and language comes with much, much time I was aggravated by the fact that I didn't know what I was doing and I didn't really belong. It is in these moments that God reminds me that even though I feel comfortable in Canada that is also not where I belong, I have a place in heaven and I'm just passing through earth on my way home. My actions in every day life, whether in Canada or Japan should be evidence that I'm not from here. Our purpose here on earth is to glorify God is absolutely everything that we do and to make disciples of all nations... and that will make us stand out. When I feel useless I can trust that God is in complete control and that He alone can take care of things. I can't do anything on my own anyways. I appreciated the reminder of where my citizenship truly is. As our time here has progressed I obviously still don't speak the language or know all the culture norms but I am able to lean on God when I get nervous and frustrated. It is when we come to the end of ourselves that we learn to really trust in Him.   

  Jared and I had the privilege of taking Luke and Yuko's kids swimming, it was a great way to cool off on a very hot day! 

We so appreciate all your prayers! Here are some specific ways in which you can pray: 

~ Pray that it will not rain Saturday as we are planning on having an outdoor workday with the team and surrounding churches. 

~ Pray that God would start working in the hearts of kids coming to camp even before they arrive. 

~ Praise God for team unity and the hard work everyone is willing to do! 

~ Pray for the camp staff as we prepare to lead English camps, Bible camps and Teen camps. Pray that God would lead us to share the things He wants us to share and that we would demonstrate the love of Christ to all who attend. 

~ Praise God for Luke and Yuko's passionate dream for the Aomori Christian Center! 

~ Pray that Jared and I would be good at communicating with each other throughout our whole trip and beyond. 

~ Pray that it would become obvious if God desires us to serve in Japan long term. 

~ Pray that He would lead us in everything we do and that we would have open hearts to learn what He wants us to. 

Thank you for loving and supporting us! Please let us know if you have any questions or if there is any way we can pray for you! 

 Our lovely living quarters for the month.