Praise God for Taco Bell
Greetings from Osaka!
Last week I arrived in Osaka and got to meet the missionary team. It was nice to be around American Christians again, not that there is anything wrong with Japanese Christians but it is refreshing to be around people with a similar cultural and ministry philosophy.
I spent the week seeing how they ministered and doing a bit of exploration around Osaka. The two key ministry principles that they apply are building relationships and discipling Japanese converts. These long term goals are there to help bring a continually growing Church in Japan. I am also glad to see discipleship is one of the key goals, as this is more than just converting to get number (but knowing the missionaries I've worked with in the past, I knew it wasn't going to be just about numbers) and encouraging Japanese believers to be active evangelists and disciple-makers themselves.
But it is not without its difficulties. Japanese culture is rather reserved, so while many American Christians can be petrified to share their faith, Japanese Christians face that same petrification doubled up on their reserved cultural norms. Just like with Americans, that petrification can be broken but there are other obstacles. Japanese also tend to be very polite, to the point that many of them will be agreeable. Some will be upfront and say they are not interested while others will agree with you just to go along with the group. While it can be frustrating knowing that the guy across from you is merely being agreeable to go along with the group, it is a double edged sword that helps us when we invite a group of guys to join us, all it takes is for one to say yes for the whole group to join us. Even spiritually, Buddhism and Shintoism are both relatively pluralistic, with some Japanese practicing both, which can lead to a conflict of spiritually where one says both are okay and the Christian saying there is only one way. Another significant obstacle are the gatekeepers. While Japan has freedom of religion, much of the ministry I am focused on is towards college students and college administrators are not too fond of people spreading religious messages on their campuses, especially if they cause disruptions. So while there is that freedom in Japan, we can be closed off from these areas to reach into because of these gatekeepers. To some extent this is also true in American schools but it is easier to track when a majority of the student body is the same race. And this is not just a hypothetical concern, one of the Japanese church was kicked off campus a while back because they drew too much attention to themselves.
In spite of those challenges, I am excited to be here and be a part of the ministry reaching out to the people of Osaka.
Prayer Requests:
Pray for me, as I mentioned that Americans are petrified to share the Gospel, I am one of those people too. A part of the outreach will involve “cold calling” some people and initiating conversations with strangers. Please pray that I have courage to share and God guides me to opportunities to share. At least I ask for prayer in finding Japanese people I can build relationships with that could lead to a Gospel presentation.
Pray for the short term teams. We have a few short term team coming here this summer and some of them will be joining us for the college outreach. That said, it is hard to fly under the radar with a handful of missionaries, then you more than double that number with short term missionaries and people start to notice, and not always for the better. Please pray that we can draw good attention from the students and avoid drawing suspicion from administrators.
Pray for the Japanese believers, that they will have the courage to share and come along side us American missionaries to reach the people of Osaka. Pray also for the unsaved in Japan, that God will prepare hearts and guide them to an encounter with a believer that they may hear the Gospel message.
Praise God that I had a safe trip and that I have gotten along well with the other missionaries here. I'll admit that I was a little worried about meeting a new group of people but I felt like I fit in almost right away.
Praise God for... Taco Bell? Yes. As odd as it may seem, I was excited and happy to find a Taco Bell in Osaka. It was nice because it was very much like Taco Bell in the U.S. but with a few minor tweaks, like serving Melon Fanta instead of Mountain Dew. But for me it was a blessing for another reason, I was out looking around and doing a bit of praying when I decided to take a small detour, just to see a bit more of the city, when came around a corner and saw that familiar Bell logo. I have never been so thankful for Taco Bell in all my life, but it was a little thing that came spontaneously that made me feel blessed. Yes, it was a small thing but it was a moral boost and a reminder that God lays out our path for us.
Praise to God that I have the funds to stay in Osaka through to the end of July. I'm joyful that God has provided this opportunity to continue to serve in Osaka. But I also want to say Thank you to everyone who listened to God's leading and gave in support of this trip.
God Bless,
Carl
Last week I arrived in Osaka and got to meet the missionary team. It was nice to be around American Christians again, not that there is anything wrong with Japanese Christians but it is refreshing to be around people with a similar cultural and ministry philosophy.
I spent the week seeing how they ministered and doing a bit of exploration around Osaka. The two key ministry principles that they apply are building relationships and discipling Japanese converts. These long term goals are there to help bring a continually growing Church in Japan. I am also glad to see discipleship is one of the key goals, as this is more than just converting to get number (but knowing the missionaries I've worked with in the past, I knew it wasn't going to be just about numbers) and encouraging Japanese believers to be active evangelists and disciple-makers themselves.
But it is not without its difficulties. Japanese culture is rather reserved, so while many American Christians can be petrified to share their faith, Japanese Christians face that same petrification doubled up on their reserved cultural norms. Just like with Americans, that petrification can be broken but there are other obstacles. Japanese also tend to be very polite, to the point that many of them will be agreeable. Some will be upfront and say they are not interested while others will agree with you just to go along with the group. While it can be frustrating knowing that the guy across from you is merely being agreeable to go along with the group, it is a double edged sword that helps us when we invite a group of guys to join us, all it takes is for one to say yes for the whole group to join us. Even spiritually, Buddhism and Shintoism are both relatively pluralistic, with some Japanese practicing both, which can lead to a conflict of spiritually where one says both are okay and the Christian saying there is only one way. Another significant obstacle are the gatekeepers. While Japan has freedom of religion, much of the ministry I am focused on is towards college students and college administrators are not too fond of people spreading religious messages on their campuses, especially if they cause disruptions. So while there is that freedom in Japan, we can be closed off from these areas to reach into because of these gatekeepers. To some extent this is also true in American schools but it is easier to track when a majority of the student body is the same race. And this is not just a hypothetical concern, one of the Japanese church was kicked off campus a while back because they drew too much attention to themselves.
In spite of those challenges, I am excited to be here and be a part of the ministry reaching out to the people of Osaka.
Prayer Requests:
Pray for me, as I mentioned that Americans are petrified to share the Gospel, I am one of those people too. A part of the outreach will involve “cold calling” some people and initiating conversations with strangers. Please pray that I have courage to share and God guides me to opportunities to share. At least I ask for prayer in finding Japanese people I can build relationships with that could lead to a Gospel presentation.
Pray for the short term teams. We have a few short term team coming here this summer and some of them will be joining us for the college outreach. That said, it is hard to fly under the radar with a handful of missionaries, then you more than double that number with short term missionaries and people start to notice, and not always for the better. Please pray that we can draw good attention from the students and avoid drawing suspicion from administrators.
Pray for the Japanese believers, that they will have the courage to share and come along side us American missionaries to reach the people of Osaka. Pray also for the unsaved in Japan, that God will prepare hearts and guide them to an encounter with a believer that they may hear the Gospel message.
Praise God that I had a safe trip and that I have gotten along well with the other missionaries here. I'll admit that I was a little worried about meeting a new group of people but I felt like I fit in almost right away.
Praise God for... Taco Bell? Yes. As odd as it may seem, I was excited and happy to find a Taco Bell in Osaka. It was nice because it was very much like Taco Bell in the U.S. but with a few minor tweaks, like serving Melon Fanta instead of Mountain Dew. But for me it was a blessing for another reason, I was out looking around and doing a bit of praying when I decided to take a small detour, just to see a bit more of the city, when came around a corner and saw that familiar Bell logo. I have never been so thankful for Taco Bell in all my life, but it was a little thing that came spontaneously that made me feel blessed. Yes, it was a small thing but it was a moral boost and a reminder that God lays out our path for us.
Praise to God that I have the funds to stay in Osaka through to the end of July. I'm joyful that God has provided this opportunity to continue to serve in Osaka. But I also want to say Thank you to everyone who listened to God's leading and gave in support of this trip.
God Bless,
Carl
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