Kobe Retrospect - Part 1
I thought I'd talk about what I had done in Kobe, the work and ministry that I was involved in.
There were essential two parts of what I did in Kobe with the Taniguchi's, Youth Harvest Church and E-BIC. In this post, I'll talk about Youth Harvest Church and then talk about E-BIC in the next post.
YHC had three services, a Elementary students Children's service, an Adult's service, and the Teenager's service.
They called the Children's service MEBIG, which stood for MEmorize, BIble, and Games. We would have some free time before MEBIG started where we would play games, the boys loved to play dodgeball with the cloth soccer balls and Uno with some unique rules. When service would start, we would sing a worship song in Japanese. Next we would play a game. We often had themed events, so sometimes the theme would be incorporated into the games. Then we had a Bible story time with a memorization verse. We would call on kids who raised their hands the fasted to come up and recite the verse. After that we would have a small group discussion. We would end MEBIG with one last game or snack time, often following in the Theme for the week. For example, we recently had a Kakigori (Japanese shaved ice) Party and had shaved ice for snack time. The following week, we had an Ice Games Party and played several games with ice.
The Adult service is very similar to an American church service. There is not much to say, it is the typical worship set, sermon, discussion time, closing song, and fellowship time that I've seen in the states, except all in Japanese.
We would finish the day with the Teen's service. It was somewhere in between the other two services in tone. We sing more songs but we still play a game. The sermon was better aimed at teenagers with a slightly longer discussion time than with the children's service. We would typically end with a fellowship time, playing board games or just chatting over snacks. During the school years, especially as exams approached, we would have study time after church, where the adults would help students with their homework.
My involvement was limited by my inability to speak Japanese but I did what I could. I played games with the students, talked with a few who wanted to practice a little English, and often helped with snacks and other such things. Outside of service, I also helped hand out flyers for the upcoming events. Usually once a month, I would go out and help hand out flyers to students leaving school at several different schools in the area. At first I was a little skeptical that this would work but we typically saw our highest numbers on the Sunday following when we handed out flyers.
The thing that I was happy to see were the students who came regularly and were excited to be there. We had several ups and downs, but these kids were the ones who were consistent. Granted, since they are still in grade school they are only showing some of the first fruits of the spirit, but I am hopeful that as they continue to go to church with the Taniguchi's that they will come to know Christ and grow into mature Christians.
While my time with Youth Harvest Church is completed, I'm still in Japan and working with the missionaries in Osaka. Please continue to pray for me and give your support.
You can send your support to East Tucson Baptist Church, indicating it is for “Carl's Japan Missions Fund”. This is a tax deductible option.
Make checks out to:
East Tucson Baptist Church
9100 E Speedway Blvd
Tucson, AZ 85710
Phone: (520) 917-4233
Or send a check to my family to deposit for me:
Lynn Erbe
7326 E. Calle Lugo
Tucson, AZ 85710
Phone: (520) 298-6319
You may also send money directly through PayPal
PayPal.me/CarlErbe
My GoFundMe page for this trip:
https://www.gofundme.com/carls-second-osaka-missions-trip
Thank you for your prayers and support.
God bless,
Carl Erbe
Carl.E.Erbe@gmail.com
There were essential two parts of what I did in Kobe with the Taniguchi's, Youth Harvest Church and E-BIC. In this post, I'll talk about Youth Harvest Church and then talk about E-BIC in the next post.
YHC had three services, a Elementary students Children's service, an Adult's service, and the Teenager's service.
They called the Children's service MEBIG, which stood for MEmorize, BIble, and Games. We would have some free time before MEBIG started where we would play games, the boys loved to play dodgeball with the cloth soccer balls and Uno with some unique rules. When service would start, we would sing a worship song in Japanese. Next we would play a game. We often had themed events, so sometimes the theme would be incorporated into the games. Then we had a Bible story time with a memorization verse. We would call on kids who raised their hands the fasted to come up and recite the verse. After that we would have a small group discussion. We would end MEBIG with one last game or snack time, often following in the Theme for the week. For example, we recently had a Kakigori (Japanese shaved ice) Party and had shaved ice for snack time. The following week, we had an Ice Games Party and played several games with ice.
The Adult service is very similar to an American church service. There is not much to say, it is the typical worship set, sermon, discussion time, closing song, and fellowship time that I've seen in the states, except all in Japanese.
We would finish the day with the Teen's service. It was somewhere in between the other two services in tone. We sing more songs but we still play a game. The sermon was better aimed at teenagers with a slightly longer discussion time than with the children's service. We would typically end with a fellowship time, playing board games or just chatting over snacks. During the school years, especially as exams approached, we would have study time after church, where the adults would help students with their homework.
My involvement was limited by my inability to speak Japanese but I did what I could. I played games with the students, talked with a few who wanted to practice a little English, and often helped with snacks and other such things. Outside of service, I also helped hand out flyers for the upcoming events. Usually once a month, I would go out and help hand out flyers to students leaving school at several different schools in the area. At first I was a little skeptical that this would work but we typically saw our highest numbers on the Sunday following when we handed out flyers.
The thing that I was happy to see were the students who came regularly and were excited to be there. We had several ups and downs, but these kids were the ones who were consistent. Granted, since they are still in grade school they are only showing some of the first fruits of the spirit, but I am hopeful that as they continue to go to church with the Taniguchi's that they will come to know Christ and grow into mature Christians.
While my time with Youth Harvest Church is completed, I'm still in Japan and working with the missionaries in Osaka. Please continue to pray for me and give your support.
You can send your support to East Tucson Baptist Church, indicating it is for “Carl's Japan Missions Fund”. This is a tax deductible option.
Make checks out to:
East Tucson Baptist Church
9100 E Speedway Blvd
Tucson, AZ 85710
Phone: (520) 917-4233
Or send a check to my family to deposit for me:
Lynn Erbe
7326 E. Calle Lugo
Tucson, AZ 85710
Phone: (520) 298-6319
You may also send money directly through PayPal
PayPal.me/CarlErbe
My GoFundMe page for this trip:
https://www.gofundme.com/carls-second-osaka-missions-trip
Thank you for your prayers and support.
God bless,
Carl Erbe
Carl.E.Erbe@gmail.com
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