CPI Bootcamp

Bootcamp?
Yup, bootcamp, but not a physical one, a spiritual one! I (Caleb) had the opportunity to go to a Church Planting "Bootcamp" conference in Chiba-ken a week ago. For three days we fellowshiped together, listened to different presenters who had been asked to share on a particular aspect of church planting. We worshiped together, prayed and wept together for Japan, encouraged each other, etc! It was a great time of encouragement, getting to know other missionaries and getting a firmer vision and direction as to where God is leading Amy and I.

Some highlights of the 3 days are:
- I was able to spend some good time with Richard Nakamura, a SEND missionary that I have had the privilege to get to know. I stayed at his place each night and we had long talks during the hour and a half to 2 hours that we drove (each way).
- I had great fellowship with many like-minded believers (in particular, those who are dedicated to seeing the Kingdom of God advance in Japan; those who see the importance of planting self-reproducing churches)
- increased my network of contacts in Japan
- got thoroughly excited and pumped as I listened to what the various presenters had to say
- so many speakers and discussions kept coming back to the basic command and promise of Jesus; namely that we are to MAKE DISCIPLES and HE WILL BUILD HIS CHURCH =D
- received some good advice and guidance from several missionaries
- came away with many things to think about and pray about
- came away with a more concrete vision of where God is leading
- confirmation from God on several things:
• that He wants Amy and I here in Japan
• that He is leading us to Gifu-ken (soon or later I don't know)
• that He is leading us into house church planting

Akiko

Please be praying for Akiko, she is a young (baby) believer whose mother is opposing the Faith. She has graduated from college but until she finds a job she is staying at home and that is causing problems for her growing in the Lord. She doesn't come to church on Sunday mornings for that reason as well. Nevertheless, Amy, myself and one other believer have been getting together with her on Saturdays for a fellowship time together. She is hungry for the truth, for God, and is grateful to have the fellowship time. We had another great time together, and were able to go over the gospel again in greater detail, helping her understand better the salvation that she has received, and how she could explain it clearly to others. We also talked about baptism, what it is and that it is a command of the Lord for believers. It is also important for the growth of a young believer as she proclaims that she believes and follows Jesus, regardless of what others may say or think. She recognizes this as important and wants to obey her Lord, but she is very timid and lacks courage (her own words).

This last week we did a summary of the Bible - what each section is about and how it is useful in our lives. She was taking notes in her bible and she seems to be doing this more regularly. :) We've been having pretty deep study (but fun) for about 1 and 1/2 hours and then enjoy lunch and some games for another hour and a half.


Please PRAY for Akiko, that:

-God would give her the boldness to obey Him in baptism, being unashamed of her faith in Him
-that she will have courage to go through with baptism while still showing love and kindness to her family
-God would protect her from the Evil One
-her mother (and father and brother) would be saved
-she would grow much in the Lord
-God would grant her a job so that she may not be hindered by her family

Baby!!!!!

Yup! God has blessed us with a wonderful gift! Lord willing in May we will have a little Eby. We of course are very excited as this will launches us into a new stage of parenthood. May God grant us the wisdom to be the parents He desires for us to be. Meanwhile we wait in excitement as Amy's stomach is beginning to grow! =D

Teaching English

Another blessing is that we were able to meet up a friend who has great contacts for English teaching opportunities and has also informed us of many of the events taking place in the area. He has been a blessing to us and through his contacts we were able to get hooked up with just enough English teaching opportunities to provide a little bit of money but keep us free enough for our other activities. Amy has been working a couple hours on Wednesdays and Caleb has been working several hours on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. One of these is a language school in Kawanishi run by believers (International English Center), so it is a blessing to be able to help them out for a few months. I (Caleb) have really enjoyed these classes because they are all one-on-one with adults who want to learn. I have even had several opportunities to speak directly of Christ or to speak truth into their lives (most of them are conversational classes).

College Outreach

Colleges started up again around the first of September and Amy and I have been going to one of the universities to meet with some of the students. I (Caleb) was able to reconnect with a few of the college students that I had befriended two years ago. We have been going every Friday afternoon together (and every Tuesday afternoons by myself) to Kwansei Daigaku (also called Kangaku). We join the students in their lunch time English club meetings and then spend time with some of them afterward individually or in their club room. Everyday they meet for about 30 minutes at lunch. They get into groups and have three English questions that they pick from and answer one at a time with the others asking further questions of clarification. We join in with one of the groups and sometimes get a chance to have lunch with some of the students afterward (if they don't have to rush off to class). The English club is divided into three smaller groups: speech, symposium/presentation, and one other that I can't think of right now.
Recently, I have been helping a couple of the club members with their speeches. I helped one guy in particular and was able to attend the speech contest on campus which he was a part of. The contest was a lot of fun, I was able to visit with some of the other members, and I also learned a lot from the speeches because they were topics of concern in Japan.

Our Home In Takarazuka

We are both thoroughly enjoying our time with the two guys in the house we are living in. Amy has considered it an extra special blessing with the new culture to be around some Japanese people she is able to converse in English with. We have also been able to meet some of their Christian friends and been blessed with some good times of fellowship. In fact, not long ago, our house experienced a time of celebration as one of Kazuya's and Souichiro's good friends was getting baptized.
What can we say about the guys . . . Kazuya . . . well, he is one of those guys that when you talk about him with others who know him you all laugh and say, yea, that's Kazuya! He is a crazy guy, a lot of fun, has incredibly good English pronunciation and speaking skills for the considerably short time he has studied English (prior to spending a mere two months in Canada he knew barely any English). He is growing in the Lord and active in his sharing Jesus with his friends and family. Money has absolutely no hold on him and he is always giving of himself or his things.
Sou-chan . . . is a really sweet guy with a tender heart for things of the Lord. His English, while not as good as Kazuya's, is still quite good. He is also really growing in his faith and is very consistent in his time with the Lord! I have had many good talks with him about spiritual things and like Kazuya, Sou-chan is active in sharing Christ and desiring to see his friends come to Christ.

The Church

Several members of the church here have been a huge encouragement and blessing to us. One is a college student from China named Lynn. She has a big servant heart and has been very involved with helping us out whenever she can with various things like translation and organizing things for the International Nights. Another woman in the church who has been a great blessing to us is Konno-san. We go to her house once a month for a house church gathering. She spends most of her time each day caring for her husband so selflessly as he has suffered from a stoke a few years ago and is very weak. She also spends much energy in cooking and serving delicious food for the church whenever she is able.
Speaking of the monthly times at Konno-san's house, they have been such a blessing! We arrive around 11:30 and have a big meal (prepared by Konno-san) and just talk and enjoy each other and the Lord together. After lunch we gather in a different room where the pastor gives a brief message after some songs. There is a lot of sharing and some praying with each other, and, well, it is the sort of thing that I long to do and be a part of. One of the ladies that consistently comes to it is an older member of the church. Koyama-san (小山) is a sweet 88 year old lady whom we have also gotten to know better. She came to Christ as a 24 year old and and served Him since! It took her a little time to remember Amy's name (she remembered me from before) and kept asking again what her name was. Now she smiles knowingly and greets エイミちゃん (Amy) and I =D.

English Bible Discussions

Wednesday Nights have also been going well, though it was a little rough at first. It has been a little tough with the language barrier, especially the couple times that we didn't have someone who could translate if things got confusing. But each time we have been able to get the discussion questions translated into Japanese and those who participate have been very involved in discussion....it is difficult to move on from each questions as there has been so much to talk about :) It really seems that God has been blessing these times with His presence. The group remains small but the fellowship is rich. After the discussion, one of the older men in the church leads a prayer time. We have been very blessed by these times as he has a big heart to lift up the requests of others to the throne of God.

International Nights

The International Nights which we have twice a month at the church have been going well and we have had about 20 to 30 people attend each time with all but a few staying right up until the time that we have to usher them out of the church. Each week there is a different focus/speaker. (we ourselves gave the first one in mid-August shareing our testimonies and how God had led us to Japan.) We have a discussion time afterwords in which we prepare questions with scripture references relevant to the topic that evening. After this, we enjoy a time of games, refreshments, and fellowship.