acceptance

people are gone, and not much to do here at the cafe. But there is still some spiritual warfare. It seems like I have been fighting with myself spiritually in my heart. So I went down to the sanctuary and pray to God.

and God spoke to me, and this is what He said.

Me: "What is my desire?"

God: "Do you want me?"

Me: "Yes, I want You."

God: "Than accept Me."

Me: "How do I accept You?"

God: "Do you believe in Me?"

Me: "Yes, I believe in You."

God: "Than trust me also."

Me: "Am I not trusting You?"

God: "If you are, than don't worry what's going to happen. Trust in Me that I will take care of You. Believe in Me, and accept Me."

Sometimes, the desire of my heart can be something material. But God just told me that if I really do believe in Him, than I would trust/rely on Him, that He will take care of me, so I have nothing to worry about.

My prayer is that my desire would be God's desire.

Josh, Jonathan, and Anna's graduation

(Jonathan Piper, Anna Hebel, me, Joshua Brevick, Asa Ruiz)

Well the Bible College has ended now, but this semester my best friend Josh graduated from the Bible College, along with my new best friend Jonathan Piper, and a good friend from Germany, Anna Hebel!

I am so proud of these three for graduating and am happy that I was able to attend their graduation ceremony.

Josh and Anna came to the Okinawa campus two years ago (the summer of 2009). For Josh, I think it was difficult for him to keep up with homework, quizzes, and tests, but God gave him the strength to finish this year. For Anna, her first language is German, so to come to a campus where its Japanese and English, I think that might have been the toughest for her. But God continue to protect her and she was able to finish!

Now, this semester was my first time meeting with Jon (Jonathan Piper). At first I was afraid just to talk with him for some reason, but throughout the semester I was able to get to know him. He too had some conflicts with his classes and work, but as he was just being obedient towards God, he too was able to finish!

I am so proud of all three of them! And for those who are reading this blog, please pray for them that God will give them a vision and a guidance to the next step of faith that they will be taking.

I know that Anna and Josh, most likely, serving here at the Okinawa campus.

For Jon, he is thinking of coming back to Japan to serve, but still not quite sure.

I love you all, and Praise God for His awesome work that He has completed in you guys!

Remember to be obedient in the next work that He will be starting in your life!

Troubled Heart

These days my heart is not in a good condition. It's not like I have illness or a heart disease, but what I mean by not in a good condition is that it's unstable.

How you might ask, and I shall give you the answer.

Well, you see, I'm really a stubborn, selfish person. And when something occurs (like in this situation that I am in right now), my heart starts to be tossed back and forth, like a ship in middle of a storm.

The trials of life comes in, and I tend to give in, and you can say that I drown in the sea.

But the encouraging thing is that God is there. Even in the Bible, it says "do not be worried." God would not tell you so, if you weren't. But it's difficult not to be worried.

From what I think, God does not expect us not to worry...This is because, if we were not worried, and life seems to be going okay, how will God than help you or comfort you?

I think the key is "reliance." God is telling me that when I am worried, I need to rely on God's comfort, not the comforts of this world. It is very easy to get comforted by the things we see and able to get right there and than. But God wants to comfort me, and you (to those who are reading this blog post). But I can't see God in a physical form, or able to hear what God is saying through my ear.

That's where "Faith" comes in. Faith is believing in the things unseen. God is not able to be seen. And even if we are able to see God, we would die (for the Bible tells me so). God wants us to rely on Him, on His strength and power.

When I come to realize in that face, that troubled heart disappear and I have peace in my heart. why? Because God is working in my heart. This I know for sure.

So an encouragement to those who are reading this blog....

If you are going through the same experience as me, which is having a troubled heart, think back and realize that God wants to comfort you. And when you accept that truly from your heart, God gives you a peace in your heart, calming that storm. But be warned, if you accept it, than don't look back. Looking back will only turn you into a pillar of salt.

Week trip to Main Land

Well, I had a privilege to go to Tokyo with Pastor Tommy Ruiz. One of the reasons that we went up to Tokyo was to attend the annual Calvary Chapel Conference. And this year it was held at Kokubunji. This conference was held on Friday and Saturday(4/29-4/30). Anther reason for this trip was for the Worship Conference that Pastor Tommy hosted at Maranatha Grace Fellowship in Nagano Perfecture. (This is Aya Nakamura's home church, one of the Bible College students here at the Bible College) It was a blessing time there. We were able to encourage the Body there at Nagano, and I had the opportunity to help with the children's ministry there. There was four children, which three of them happened to be Aya's Nieces

(From Top left to right)

Me, Yukiko (Pastor Kazunari's wife), Azumi

Sawa(Aya's niece), Hana(Aya's niece), and Hikari

Aya's older brother and Aya's niece, Michi-chan

The Worship Conference at Nagano was only for two days (Tuesday and Wednesday night), so it was short. However, what touched my heart was that Hikari actually cried on Wednesday night because I was leaving the next day. Even though I only hang around with the girls for three hours, God somehow used me to touch the heart of the children. It was heart-touching.

On Thursday, we headed back to Tokyo. It was a long trip there but it was amazing time. On the way back through the Highway, we were able to see Mt. Fuji! I was not able to take a good picture but you can see the picture which Pastor Tommy took on e3missions!

Than Friday! the first day of conference. At the conference I was able to meet with my old and good friend Rusty and Amber Spearmans! I have not seen them for over two years, so it was awesome to see the two of them, and to the addition of the family, their daughter Adelle! I also saw Yasutomo, Jiai, Christina, Michael Snider, Pastor Kiyomasa, Pastor Rich Rose, Pastor Travis, Pastor Santou, and many others. It was great seeing them doing so well!

So the same thing happens on Saturday, but with a little disappointment. The place where the conference was held, there was a time limit of how long we can stay in. And due to having no time, the last speaker had to cut off his message short, and I was left hanging. Also we took communion, but with a rush. All of the messages that the speakers shared was amazing, but because of the time limit, we had to go.

Interestingly, on Saturday night, after the conference, I went to Tatsuhiko's house to spend the night. This was because Pastor Santou invited me to his church on Sunday, and it was best for me to stay at their house for a night. So, at the conference, I met with Tatsuhiko's younger brother, Toshiya, and he took me to his house. Tatsuhiko's family are really nice people, and they all like sports.

And on Sunday, I went to Pastor Santou's church, Calvary Chapel West Tokyo! It was very amazing, and also it was my first time attending a Japanese church. But like Calvary Ginowan, there was a guest speaker there, so it was translated. (Pastor Santou translated it to Japanese). I attended the first service and on the second service I went to help with the children's ministry. Pastor Santou's son, Yuki taught the children, and Yoshiya, who is the oldest son of Pastor Santou, was also there helping. It was a blessing time there.

But not only that, I was able to meet up with Sho, who came and attended the S.O.S (summer of service) program last year in Okinawa. He does not go to Pastor Santou's church. But his father is a Pastor and their church is like 30 meters away from Calvary West Tokyo!! It was a blessed time to see him once more, and spent time together with him.

And on Sunday night, mostly everyone went to Pastor Rich's church in Fuchu, for the church dedication. That was amazing! I had a great fellowship time at Calvary Fuchu.

this is a short summary of the trip. There is more to tell, but it might take weeks to tell all of it!!!

But from this trip, God spoke to me about life of prayer. I was able to see that there is a body of Christ (brothers and sisters) who needs to be encouraged. Even though I am not able to be there physically, God showed me that I can pray for them. I do not have a strong prayer life, but this semester here at the Bible college, it looks like God is speaking to me about prayer. So like Jesus, I want to become a man of prayer! It's difficult, but it is not by my strength but by God's!!