Ministry Report: March 2024

April is almost over but...!

March went by in a blink of an eye.

I feel like I say something similar to that effect every month lol.

Work was busy with lots of writing, some recording sesh and song release. Behind every song that gets released that I get to be a part of, there's about ten times more songs that I work on that never gets released. That's a lot of words that never gets to be seen and many melodies that do not reach an ear. Even if they don't see the light of day, I believe the experience of writing itself is a meaningful practice so I count it as blessing. The more I think about the type of job I have I become more grateful for the roof over my head and food on the table. God is our Provider! Thank you Lord!

Church Concerts

The first church I got to visit this month was Tsukuba International Christian Assembly. It was their 27th Anniversary so it was a special day that I got to celebrate God's goodness over their church. More than half of the congregation was English speakers and the people were from all over the world. It was a rare opportunity for me to use the English part of my brain and by the end of the day I was more tired than I usually get but I had a great time meeting people and hearing stories.

The following week I went to Osaka to Yao Grace Mission church for their Easter Sunday service.

I had been to their Youth Ministry but it was my first time serving at their main service. I did a concert in the afternoon. It is always great meeting and hearing the stories of people who are passionate about evangelizing. It was right after Encounter so I was tired but I was so energized after meeting the people there. It truly was an honor to be a part of what God is doing in Yao.

Encounter Worship Service

March 29th was the 20th Encounter Worship Service.

For the past year we had the privilege of having our Encounter Worship Service at Ochanomizu Christian Center on the months where there was a 5th Friday. While I was looking for a place to have a worship meeting for Encounter I thought of OCC. This was the place I went to church every week, the place God built my faith, the place where I started leading worship. As I started to feel a tug in my heart to consider OCC as a possible venue, I read "A Heart On Fire" which is a book about Irene Webster-Smith. Irene was a missionary who dedicated her life to building God's kingdom in Japan. She rented a building and later bought a piece of land to make a space for Japanese students to learn about Jesus and that space is the OCC we know today. Upon reading her book my desire to do Encounter at OCC grew even more. If you are interested in Japan mission I recommend you find a book about her. I get overwhelmed thinking about the people who went before us. I wonder if they had any idea of the lasting effect their sacrifice made to the generations to come. What we do affect those around us and those to come one way or another. I am so grateful for all the good works that the Christians before me have done. God has been so good to us and He is still doing wonderful things in Japan. I pray that God will keep my eyes open to what He is doing.

I am so deeply grateful for everyone who prayed for Encounter. We were able to have 4 services in the last year and many many people were provided a space to Encounter God through worship. More people kept coming and last time there were so many people there that we didn't have enough chairs and some people had to stand the whole time! God showed me that there are many people who are looking for a place to worship Him.

We are on a quest to finding a new location to hold our worship service. We will also be focusing on writing songs, recording and creating videos for this next season to create a space to worship online so that we may reach people outside of the Tokyo area. Please remember us in your prayers as we enter into this new season.

The first half of April's been exciting with travels to Osaka, Okinawa and the start of a new school year! The latter half of the month should be slow.. but somehow I always have things to do.

Have some of you started school? Maybe some of you are in a new environment? I hope you can have quality time with God wherever you are.

Let's meet again somewhere soon.

Until then, take it easy!