After getting back from Japan, I spent a few days here in Simi Valley, and then I traveled to Merced, where my family is now living, then on to Oregon for a wedding, back to Merced, and with a small de-tour through Los Banos to see some old friends, I am finally back in Simi Valley for a while.... FHEW!
It has been a very eventful last few months for me, and I am savoring some down time.... to say the least. Usually I have a very hard time just relaxing, and while I was home in Merced, I found myself stressed out and unable to take advantage of the opportunity to relax with my family. It was really hard, but brought out some really good conversations with my parents, and I was able to share with them many things that had been building up in my heart.
After coming back to Simi, and being able to just spend some alone time in my apartment, I have been feeling the stress slowly melt away. Every day has held something new, and today I have just found a beautiful relaxed peace in my heart.
I feel like this is a time of restoration for me, and in my heart I hear a faint whisper that something great is to come. Maybe soon, I will get to share the gospel with my neighbors, or perhaps, God will reveal something beautiful about himself to me. Until that time though, I am learning to patiently wait for Him and have busied myself in learning more about my Savior Jesus, and the great love he offers all those who come to him.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Thursday, July 9, 2009
At Long Last
My goodness, time has absolutely flown by since my last update! I am sure you are all wondering what in the world is going on, where I am, and what has happened since my last update!
I will try to fill you all in....
My team got back into Japan last Monday after a wonderful trip to Hakone (just outside of Tokyo) for our team retreat. Hakone is known for it's Japanese style baths, as well as Yunessun, the 'Disneyland of Spas' http://www.yunessun.com/english/yunessun.html You can enjoy a coffee scented/flavored hot bath as well as one with green tea, wine or even Sake. It was a unique experience our whole team truly enjoyed!
Before we left for Hakone though, God worked in our last few days on campus in some beautiful ways. Although the spiritual climate of Japan is extremely hard, we were able to build into friendships that will hopefully, if not already, be used to express the gospel through the love of God. I had one particularly awesome experience with a girl named Chika who was very interested in learning more about Christianity, though just for academic purposes. I was able to share the gospel with her however, and she came to our last outreach (the American Party). It was there that we had a wonderful talk, and I discovered the potential for a beautiful friendship with her =)
Also, while we were in Hakone, getting dinner one night, God opened up an opportunity for me to have a spiritual conversation with a Japanese mom who was there with her Husband and son on vacation. She has already emailed me with an expressed interest in learning more english... and more about the Bible! So awesome!
As for being back in America, the transition was easier than I thought at first, and then, over the last few days, has been pretty hard. I have been wrestling through many things these last few months, and have found that many of the basic principles of having a realtionship with God to be challenging...
Through the process of sharing my faith, and the gospel, almost daily, I came to realize that there are some parts of having a relationship with God that I am not as confident in as I would like to be. I have found myself questioning some very basic truths, which, although can be very scary, have opened my eyes to a desperate need for faith which I am asking God for. My natural tendancy in this is to become anxious and really discouraged, but my prayer is that God is working something great, and that He would lead me to a new found confidence in Him. I ask that you would please pray the same.
I will be trying to keep you all updated as I continue to email contacts I have in Japan, and I would love some updates on how all of you are doing, as well as any way my trip to Japan or praying for me/my team/our ministry has impacted or encouraged you.
I sign off with love
em
I will try to fill you all in....
My team got back into Japan last Monday after a wonderful trip to Hakone (just outside of Tokyo) for our team retreat. Hakone is known for it's Japanese style baths, as well as Yunessun, the 'Disneyland of Spas' http://www.yunessun.com/english/yunessun.html You can enjoy a coffee scented/flavored hot bath as well as one with green tea, wine or even Sake. It was a unique experience our whole team truly enjoyed!
Before we left for Hakone though, God worked in our last few days on campus in some beautiful ways. Although the spiritual climate of Japan is extremely hard, we were able to build into friendships that will hopefully, if not already, be used to express the gospel through the love of God. I had one particularly awesome experience with a girl named Chika who was very interested in learning more about Christianity, though just for academic purposes. I was able to share the gospel with her however, and she came to our last outreach (the American Party). It was there that we had a wonderful talk, and I discovered the potential for a beautiful friendship with her =)
Also, while we were in Hakone, getting dinner one night, God opened up an opportunity for me to have a spiritual conversation with a Japanese mom who was there with her Husband and son on vacation. She has already emailed me with an expressed interest in learning more english... and more about the Bible! So awesome!
As for being back in America, the transition was easier than I thought at first, and then, over the last few days, has been pretty hard. I have been wrestling through many things these last few months, and have found that many of the basic principles of having a realtionship with God to be challenging...
Through the process of sharing my faith, and the gospel, almost daily, I came to realize that there are some parts of having a relationship with God that I am not as confident in as I would like to be. I have found myself questioning some very basic truths, which, although can be very scary, have opened my eyes to a desperate need for faith which I am asking God for. My natural tendancy in this is to become anxious and really discouraged, but my prayer is that God is working something great, and that He would lead me to a new found confidence in Him. I ask that you would please pray the same.
I will be trying to keep you all updated as I continue to email contacts I have in Japan, and I would love some updates on how all of you are doing, as well as any way my trip to Japan or praying for me/my team/our ministry has impacted or encouraged you.
I sign off with love
em
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