Platforms for Thought, Ministry and Others

Japan Mission 08 has been rewarding in so many ways..it would be good to separate the rewards into different stages...

i. The Build up
the trip down with Jeram, Joyce and Josephine was a reunion of sorts between old trip buddies who went down last year for NTE 07. The J-Team was having lotsa fun with Rage against the Machine and Rise Against and several other Rock style gigs that almost made me want to give up uni and become a rockstar...but, i noe i wouldnt cut it..we stopped by Sydney for some Malaysian style dinner at Josephine's parents'(actually the food was from a restaurant in Strathfield)..it was great to break bread (metaphorically) in a Christian house before going for SPRTE..Christian Fellowship and communion was in the air, along with the smells of Malaysian Crispy noodles in sauce..

ii. Setting the Stage

SPRTE was really encouraging..i don't want to describe the conference in detail since thousands of students all over Australia, the South Pacific and around the world are streaming back with news of the spread of the gospel..and because if you could go and chose not to, you shouldn't know about the fun we had..its sacred..go see for yourself next year..

But some highlights were Lindsay Brown's talks on the spread of the gospel on uni campuses worldwide, our Strands and Workshops where we learnt to give a talk from God's Word and do other cool stuff..for me it was teaching children about Jesus..and meeting friends from other universities all over Australia..i saw my friend's friend coming to pray onstage from UWA..

well here's a thought for this stage: if you're involved in campus christian ministry, you should make it a goal to go for a mission trip at least once before graduation..i've seen peers deciding to become full time missionaries or go into full time christian ministry during the course of mission trips..and its good to get a little taste of what real Christian ministers go through everyday in actual christian ministry..its very different from being an observer..

iii. Point of the Sword, Tip of the Blade

Realising how much has gone into planning a mission trip and some of the practical issues such as accomodation, transport, logistics, timing involved really sobers one up..Thank God for Dene and Rachel and their planning for this trip..

We travel about an hour to get to Megumi Mukonoso church and an hour to get back at the end of our day..we started with lunch with the ministry staff on Friday and had choir practice with their Gospel Choir team on Saturday, and they really can sing..the Japanese musician leading us was pretty effective..even though singing Josh Groban's You Raise Me Up for gospel purposes felt a bit strange..still it was encouraging to hear some songs we're familiar with sung in Japanese..and i really liked the good mix of old fashioned songs and contemporary music..

For Sunday's service, we really had an excellent time mixing with and having fellowship with Japanese Christians. The pastor preached on Romans 3:21 to 24 which was what we learnt at NTE/SPRTE and we saw a sort of Japanese version of 2 Ways to Live, which was encouraging.

Oh yes, and on Friday evening, we met with students of Seiwa Christian College and had a bible study with them. It was pretty fun trying to talk about Luke 1 with all the language barriers...but what an encouragement to see christian students learning about God and Jesus with persistence amid a difficult cultural situation and despite their small size..and i do pray that they would be encouraged by our stories of SPRTE and the thousands of Christian brothers and sisters who stand with them in spirit, one in Jesus Christ our Lord.

iv. Interpretive Analysis or On War

Jono will now do a dance that conveys all that has happened to us. - joyce

yes yes, thanks Joyce..well, i was greatly encouraged by SPRTE and my Christian brothers and sisters from NCS and FOCUS who have just loved to talk about Jesus and His work and have taught me that it is NOT nerdy or stupid to study God's Word..also the Fellowship of Believers found in AFES and Jesus' Church who have shown me that Jesus' ministry on campus is bigger than i think and more than Newcastle Uni..that Jesus' Gospel IS indeed glorious and that His claims ARE indeed true..and the Japanese Christians who have disabused me completely of my small-minded church denomination-based Provincialism...Jesus' Church is Universal and transcends all languages, cultures, Races, Peoples and Tongues..We are one but we are many is really the theme of the Church Militant and not just Australia

v. Prayer

pray and thank God for His mercies on us, great and small..and His continued provision for the needs of His Children here in Japan

pray and thank God for Dene and Rachel

pray that God will continue His work in the Japanese Church and amongst Japanese Christians, "Unless God builds the house, its workers labour in vain"

pray that God will bless His work in AFES, IFES and amongst all the students who are returning from mission all across Australia, "for I planted, Apollos watered but it is God who gave the increase"