A Few Days in the Life of...ME

Here are some pictures of what I get to experience every day, along with some stories and explanations. Thank you all for your continuing support, both through prayer, and those of you who so graciously have supported me and my team financially. You do not know how much it encourages me to know that some of you are praying for me daily... thank you, from the bottom of my heart.

Here is a view outside the front of my apartment during the day

This is a picture from Gaidai University, one of three Universities my team is spreading the good news to

The girl with the red bag. So, earlier that day, my co-team leader said that during his devotions, he just got in his head an image of a girl with a red bag, and with much hesitation he shared this with me, advising me to take it for what it was. Well, I honestly am very apprehensive about those sort of things, and settled in my mind to think nothing of it. Well, later that day, the only spiritual conversation I had was with this lovely student, who happened to have a red bag. God has a since of humor, and a way of showing his handiwork. Take it for what it is, merely evidence of God's hands at work while we are here =)

This is a fun one, here is a picture of me at Gaidai University at the same place I took a picture the last time I was here. It seriously has been amazing seeing all of these places again, I honestly did not think I would ever return here... but it is both humbling and encouraging to see how God has brought me back here, to beautiful Japan once again. I wonder what He is doing with me =)

This is a cute coffee shop called Poem Coffee. All the strores here are named something cute. Another one of my favorite coffee places is called Precious Coffee Moments. Seriously, does it get better???

I think I have shared with many of you how interesting the toilets are here. In most places you can either go squatty-potty style, or test out one of these, if you find yourself so brave. I have not... haha, but the opportunities contine to present themselves. Perhaps one of these times, I will adjust the pressure and the temperature, play the music and experience the whole pannel of buttons available to me. Until then... here is a picture...

Some TALL bamboo at ICU university, one of the universities we minister to

MITAKA!! This is the view from the little portion of Tokyo I 'lived' at while I was here in Japan amost two years ago. It is so beautiful, and so good to be back.

I honestly love the food here, and I have yet to miss anything American. Yeah, thats a raw egg, and no, I dont really know what the rest of it is... but it was delicious, or oishi, and I LOVE LOVE LOVE it!!!

Here is another picture of me at ICU. It has been raining the last week here... and I really love it!!

On Saturday, most of our team took a trip to a different part of Tokyo to see the Imperial Palace (we could not go inside, but here is a view of part of the outside...)

One of my teammates Kimi and I having fun in front of some fountains

A little later that day, we traveled to Asakasa, and four of us found ourselves in a charming traditional Japanese restaurant where you sit on little cushions on the ground. Its quite lovely, for about 10minutes, until your legs fall asleep... hmmmm

We all still enjoyed the experience!! Left to right: Matt, my co-team leader, Me, Kimi and Traci

This is what I ordered... sorry for the bad picture, but it had Shrimp, crab, egg, noodles, either mushroom or some kind of strange fish, and a lot of other random things I had no way to identify. Yum, food and an adventure all at the same time.

After eating we went over to the Asakasa Temple, a famous temple where many people still go to worship today. Here are some people brushing smoke on themselves. They are trying to bless themselves.

Here is a picture of everyone walking up to the temple. It was so sad. When I walked up the steps and into the temple, I broke down in tears, and had to run out of it. I cannot explain to you, and with tears approching me even now I am weighted with the realization of seeing people flood up steps to worship satan. They are so lost, and they don't even know. I don't know if you have ever experienced it, but seeing people worshiping idols, worshiping evil, seeing people so deceived... it completely broke my heart. Please, take a moment, and sob if you must for those who are slaves, who know not the creator for whom they long to worship, who are blinded, who are being led towards death. Victory is Mine, declares the Lord.... but the god of this world is stealing, killing and destroying...

A few of my teammates had similar experiences in the temple... its hard to see people worshiping blindly what they do not know is leading them towards death

Japan is such a dark country spiritually... less than 2% Christian. The harvest is ripe, but the workers are few. How about it.... ever think about serving your Creator in Japan... is pretty stinking awesome here.... =)


Okay... so here are a few more interesting day-to-day things here...

One downer...the fruit here can be rediculously expensive... $40.00 for a cantelope anyone?? Haha!! Seriously...

This is lovely Koenji, the portion of Tokyo my team is living in this summer. If you go through the arch on the right, take a left at the 7-11 and a right at the small market, you will find my apartment building =)

I love it.


Well, thats about all for now. I will be posting more pictures on Facebook. I love love comments, let me know when you are praying for me and this country. Please pray for the staff here... they are working so hard, and are so few. Pray that God would break your heart for this country and move you here. Scared? Yeah...

God may not move you here, which is completely okay, God always knows best.... but keep in mind...He also just might. Be open to the possibility, but also realize the precious value of your prayers from wherever you are serving. We serve a God who does not need you or I to accomplish His will. He has ordained what will happen for every moment of every day. It is our joy and honor to be ambassadors of such a great King. And speaking from somone who was scared to come...

Trust God.

Finding Rest

Hey everyone, I realize it has been a while since my last blog entry... sorry!! It has been quite exciting and busy over here for me and my team!! We have spent the last week going to different campuses, reaching out to students, getting contact information, setting up meetings and trying to share the gospel... whew!! I can honestly say I am being stretched SOOO much... but in a good way. I reach the end of my strength before I even get out of bed in the morning, and by the time I get on the train, an entire day starting conversations and trying to converse with Japanese students seems completely overwhelming, but God is so faithful, and is teaching me something I did not know I did not know: I need to/can find my rest in God.

I know it seems obvious, but so often when I get stressed out, I tend to run away from God, or pin Him as what is stressing me out. When I feel anxious or afraid, I automatically think God is the one giving that to me to test me and grow me, instead of realizing He is allowing it, and is the sole place I can find rest in the midst of it. In church today, the message was on remembering the blessings of God, and trusting in Him. One of the main points that stuck out to me was that, when we forget the blessings of God, we tend to stop trusting Him, and then we become anxious and stressed out, and don't know where to turn. Ugh, that's me, big time. When the Israelites were first brought to the promise land, most of the leaders took one look at the people who inhabited it and freaked out. Because they did not trust God, he led them to walk in the wilderness for 40 years. Their experience of the wilderness could have ended the moment they decided to trust God and conquor the land, but by not trusting God they ended up putting themselves through something deathly hard. I think I often want to do the same thing. When I am faced with something that seems impossible, like, spending 5 weeks in a spiritually desolate country explaining the gospel to students who I have almost NO connection to and who do not even know, for the most part, who Jesus is....I want to run away... there is no way I can do that.

I start thinking... What if I don't have all the answers, what if I can't do it emotionally, what if it gets to hard, what if I have doubts, I still have so many struggles, so many questions...

....the people look so big...

But, God is so faithful. He is my rest. I am finding this to be of the utmost truth, and its hard, satan knows exactly how to get me away from finding my rest in God.... and dang it, he seems to succeed often. The pastor today said, Satan cannot ever take away your salvation, but he can steal your peace, your joy and your hope. I did not really realize that, and pinned it all on myself, thinking I was a bad Christian for not experiencing those things, but no. I am done. I will fight for my joy, my peace and my hope, they are mine in Christ Jesus, my Lord.

I say this now, sitting down after a day of rest, fellowship and encouragement, but the real test will be tomorrow, when I walk on campus. The thought already sends a bit of... fear into my heart. But, I am trusting God, with all I have, and if you think of me, and even as you read this, pray that I would be reminded to find my rest in God as I battle against the evil one for the salvation of souls. Pray that I would find God worthy in my heart, that I would not be distracted by the desires of my flesh to do something easier, and that I would find JOY in my beautiful savior.

I don't know how theologically correct this is, but I have to say, the thing I look forward to the most, is one day, seeing Jesus, and finaly being able to give Him a big hug.

Until that day, he is keeping me faithful, but pray that I would find peace and joy, that I would not allow it to be stolen, that I would remember the blessings of God, and find my rest in Him as he conforms me into the image of his son.

A song that I have been listening to a lot the last few days is called "Waiting for You" by Sevenglory. The lyrics are beautiful:

Come into my arms and I will give you rest
Will you trust me with your whole life?
Will you go into the place that I call you to be
and wait until I supply?

Only there will you find joy
Only there will you find me.

Here I am. I'm waiting for you
I'm waiting for the day when you see light
Here I am, you're never alone
Wherever you go, I am here
Trust me with your life.

I will take away the pain you hide and fill it with my love
Will you ever begin to see the reasons why you are here
and take a leap of faith into the arms of me?


He restores my soul- Ps 23

And So It Begins

Today was orientation day. We made our way from Koenji to Mitaka, and met with the staff for the Western portion of the targeted Tokyo area. As some of you know, I was in Tokyo a little over a year and a half ago, and stayed in Mitaka (a little area inside of Tokyo) for about 3 weeks. When I arrived at the train station, and went down the escalator into Mitka, I started to cry... I am not sure why, but something in my heart was stirred as I was filled with excitement and disbelife that after almost two years, I had made it back.

The last time I was in Mitaka, it was in the middle of a crazy around-the-world trip I took after highschool, and I was feeling very overwhelmed and exhausted. I was graciously accepted and loved by the CCC staff here, and left with a warm heart and a desire to someday, if possible, return.

Honestly, I never really expected to return, and the fact that I am in fact back in Tokyo is quite surreal to me. I am just blown away to be back, and the need for workers here is heavy on my heart. Be praying that God would give me guidance and wisdom these next few weeks....

On a lighter note, I got to see some of my dear Japanese friends that had NO idea I was coming and greeted me with such joy and.... ahh... yes, there were tears on my part. They are so dear to me, I just love them all.

Yukiko is particularly close to my heart. While I was here, she was a constant joy to be around, and always uplifted my spirit. She is someone you cannot help but smile around. Here is a picture of us together again...

We were both so so so exited to see eachother!!!


This is Naomi, another beautiful familiar face... !!!

Later today, we also were given an 'amazing race' style challenge by our team leaders, Gen and Heather. We were split into 4 teams of 4, and given a list of tasks to accomplish. The list included taking the correct trains to get to Shibuya (a 'down town part of Tokyo) and finding random shopps, eating certain foods and taking pictures of specific things. It was a total blast... here are some pictures..


(I was here at night a last time I was in Tokyo... this is one of, if not the buisiest pedestrian intersection in the world... its amazing... )

Here is a random picture I took while crossing a street. It is always super busy here!!

Well, tomorrow is our first day on campus. I am a little apprehensive, but confident that God is the ultimate victor of whatever opposition we may face. Japan is a very dark country spiritually, and we are expecting to encounter strong opposition from the enemy... so be praying for us all. God is King though, and there is no greater power than the one to whom we belong. Praise God.

Night!!!

Konnichiwa

Hey everyone, I just wanted to say WE MADE IT TO KOENJI, TOKYO, JAPAN!!!

Our day of traveling from LA to Tokyo went really well, so thank you all who prayed for us. Our flight was on time, and actually arrived a bit early. We all made it through customs with surprising ease, and all of our bags arrived very quickly. We took 3 trains to get to our station, one of which (the one we were on the longest) had seats for everyone, it was delightful!!

So, what would a day of traveling be without a bit of mishap and excitement...haha, and how would Emily ever encounter such a day... well, really only one thing 'exciting' happened to me, and it had to do with an unfortunate water situation on the airplane. After getting through security, I filled my empty (BIG) water bottle for the plane ride, and prepared to stay fully hydrated for the 11ish hour flight. Well, between the sip I took before loading, and getting settled on the plane, I discovered that the lid had not been put on, and ALL the water had spilled all over the floor below my seat, drenching my pillow, sweatshirt, extra clothing and a few other things. Haha!! Thankfully it truly was not a big issue, and everything worked out just fine!

I am THRILLED to be back in Japan, I seriously just LOVE it here!!! Ahh!! My team is so awesome, and I have had the awesome privilage of being selected to be one of 4 campus leaders (?!?!).

Here are some pictures and a video (hopefully it works) for you all!! There will be an album posted on Facebook soon that I will post a link to. Please fill free to leave comments!

Some of the team at meal time during briefing

Almond Fish... dried fish and slivered almonds... yummm. A common snack food in Japan..

The team-building activity that required us to eat the little guys (fish)

READY.SET.GO!!!

Excited on the way to the AIRPORT

WE CANT WAIT!!! One of my new AWESOME friends, Jess

Leaving Briefing

The plane that got us to Japan!!

I'M IN JAPAN!!!!

The group of Campus leaders (minus one, who took the picture)
Left to right: Matt (my parter, an MK who grew up in Papua New Guinea!) Me, Jess, Heather and Gen (our group leaders!) and not pictured, Kylan.
Pray for us!!

Our God

Today was such an encouraging day for me!

This whole week has been amazing, seriously, and not at all what I expected. I came into this week just expecting to endure a bunch of silly 'team building' games, but I have found myself soaking in precious information about cross cultural evangelism and mannerisms and customs of Japan, as well as a genuine taste of intentional community among my teammates. God is so good! I feel so refreshed and back on track, I just love being around people... and, the people here are especially amazing. Singing in a room with teams of people going overseas either that night or the next day is an experience beyond comparison. Knowing we have all taken the step and answered the call, is just beautiful. Being in a room full of ambassadors who are actively moving... ah.

Knowing I have been chosen to be apart of this precious group is such an amazing blessing to my heart. In the weeks before this trip, I experienced so much discouragement through friends leaving, school ending and just.... it seemed like everything was over and my world was crashing down around me. I felt like I did not even want to come on this trip, and was just so down... but GOD IS FAITHFUL. He held my hand as I stumbled about, and taught me truths that cannot be expressed in words.

To Nicole who graciously listened my phone calls filled with tearful frustration and doubt, and encouraged me with truth and challenged me in love... thank you!!!

To Bethy, my dearest and lovely friend and roommate, for all of the pillow talks about truth, life and well... wordless conversations... okay seriously, God has blessed me with you in a way that lets me KNOW he loves me. You are the best friend, i love you and I am praying for you!

To Sarah, who sat with me and ran errands with me when I felt overwhelmed, you kept me going and showed me the mercy of God. I love you!!

There are so many others who have encouraged me throughout this whole semester that it would honestly take me a month to write everything down... so if I did not include you, know that its not becuase you have just skipped my mind or I have forgotten your impact, you know who you are, and you should know that I appreciate you beyond words. The encouragement you have all given me, God has used in such a way as to allow me to now carry His name to a nation that does not know Him yet.

I know this trip will have its ups and downs, and I know that there will be times of hardship coming my way, but right now I am experiencing joy and peace, and I am just STOKED to be going back to Japan TOMORROW!!!! LIKE SERIOUSLY!!!! AHHHHH

Also, for a team of 16 who needed over $19,000... just a few days ago...we now only need around $1,200. God provided an excess of $1,425 for me through all of you that went towards a teammate who needed money to get to Japan. Eternal blessings.

Well, now I have to try and sleep. I will try to update when we get to Japan. Pray for us all, we have an early morning tomorrow, a ride to the airport, looong flight, train tickets to buy, a few trains to catch and apartments to move into before we will have the chance to sleep again. Pray especially for our leaders, Gen and Heather, as they have to endure all of this, and keep track of 15 college students, some of whom have never been overseas before. I am excited and expecting to find more evidence of God's faithfulness.

Sorry this got long. Leave comments please!!!
love to you all
OUR GOD IS FAITHFUL
selah

Update

So, as many of you have been (hopefully not too annoyingly) seeing, I have been asking for more money to help my teammates get to Japan. We started out with a $19,000 deficit, and last I heard, we were below $5,000... which is AMAZING. I know that we are well below that, as so many people have stepped up to the plate and pledged even more money, or for the first time. Just so you know, you have all given around $1,050 that will go towards getting a teammate of mine overseas.

The sacrifices you have made is truly cherished, and I am praying that you gave with joy with an eternal perspective full of trust in God's faithfulness and rejoicing in our unfading hope of what is to come.

The outcome of your selflessness will not only help send someone overseas, but maybe impact their lives and send them in the direction of a vocation of a missionary overseas where they will impact lives that you may one day see in heaven! How sweet!!!

Sorry if I have been annoying... in my excitement to challenge and see God work, I have been eager in my attempts to raise support... but I realize this may have rubbed some of you the wrong way... my apologies. Just wanted to catch everyone where they were at, and make sure that everyone had the opportunity to give!!

We are leaving for Japan TOMORROW MORNING!!! AND I AM SO SO SO PUMPED!!
My team is absolutely awesome, and the girls on the team are especially rad. God is so good!

I will keep updating this blog as we get to Japan and start our ministry there! Pictures soon!

Where there is {Gods} will, there is a way

Hey everyone, I am currently at Vanguard University in Costa Mesa California for a few days of briefing before heading out to JAPAN!!!

I am super excited for what God is going to do this summer, and I do not say that lightly... God really has some amazing things in store... I just know it... which brings me to an urgent need that I have just been made aware of...

TAKE THE TIME TO READ THIS... I KNOW ITS LONG... BUT AT LEAST PRAY =) !!!

My tokyo team is still 19,000 dollars short for what we need to go overseas on friday. While each student is responsible for raising their own support, we have been encouraged to ask that,he request and need be made known to our supporters, so that even as we individually reach our own goals, any extra money available could go towards someone who does not have their support raised. If each student does not have their individual amount of 5,100 raised, they are not permitted to go to Japan with the team on Friday. Our Father can work mightily, and I am so excited to see what he is going to do these next few days. I would be delighted if you could pass this on so that others could be involved, not only in giving, but in the rewards that come from coming before God and seeing his work accomplished.

If anyone does wish to give, I need to know asap the amount they are willing to donate, and then please advise them to make a check out to Campus Crusade for Christ with Tokyo A, Emily Niemond in the memo. I am nearly at 100% for my support, but any extra will send another teammate with us to Japan.

The address the checks should be sent to is:
Campus Crusade for Christ
C/O Chrissy Tsai
16 Technology Dr Suite # 205
Irvine, Ca 92618

You can also donate online at: https://give.ccci.org/give
my student desigation # is 5512570

You can contact me through my email or phone 209.261.9980

I am confident that God's will is going to be accomplished, and I am excited to see just what it will be. Please encourage others to join with our team as we join with God as he works out his plan for this summer in our lives.

To all of you who have already graciously offered your financial support, know that you have invested into eternal rewards, and I am so so so appreciative of your sacrifice!!