Smooth sailing!

So it's been about a month and a half since i arrived here in Japan already, and praise God that i have been able to settle in and get used to life on my own here in Yamanashi. It's an amazing privilege and a great opportunity for me to grow and do ministry here :) He has given me so many rich experiences here already (if you want to know more about those experiences, my personal blog http://happytobealamb.blogspot.com/ has some pretty long posts about that :D ), and i look forward to whatever else He has in store for me here in Japan, and on the upcoming mission trip!

I was also able to meet up with some of the people we will be working with on the mission trip, and they're really awesome people. Makiko, one of the staffworkers in KGK, is really really good at English and her accent is amazing! Sousei (whose name means "Genesis") is another staffworker - a really cheery and talkative guy. His English isn't quite as good as Makiko's but it seems he has a heart for God :) It's been really encouraging meeting up with such awesome Christians here in a land where i thought Christianity was dead. I initially thought that the Christians here wouldn't be so strong, but it appears that the fact that they are a minority makes their faith so much more worth holding onto.

Just yesterday i checked out the local baptist church, which just received a new pastor, who did mission in America and in Japan. He told me about his experiences as a missionary in Japan, and told me of one method of street evangelism that really worked in tokyo. The team consisted of 10 people - 5 americans and 5 Japanese. two from this team paired off - one Japanese, one American. The american stood up front to do the streetside preaching whilst the Japanese guy translated. The people were very interested because it's rare to see someone speaking on the streets in English. In a short period of time, using that method of evangelism, 7 people turned to Christ (which i think is awesome!). So it appears that perhaps us English speakers can use that English speaking skill to our advantage!

Praise points:

- For the amazing privilege it is to be here to learn more about Him and serve Him and His people

- For the great opportunities that He's given me so far to build relationships with other exchange students and local Japanese people

- For allowing me to settle in so well

- For growing my language skills

- For the great love He has shown me through the churches and Christian groups here

- For the encouraging faith of the Christians here - their humility, kindness and hospitality

- For keeping me healthy for the past one and a half months

Prayer points:

- That i will stay healthy

- That i will use my time well, as i also have a pretty big assignment (worth 35%, but that's 35% of a 24 credit point subject!). Please pray that i will do my work diligently!

- That my language ability and cultural understanding will continue to improve

- For the churches here to grow in their knowledge and love of Christ

Thanks guys :D

Harry Lam