Your team is coming to the end of its mission with the Sendai Church. Together, we hosted a BBQ lunch for the children and parents who came to the English Camp. There were 17 campers and 11 came to today's BBQ. We were thankful for the good turnout. Again, Jotaro showed up as promised. His mom and dad will be with him tomorrow at church. It's such a pleasure to minister to him and his family.
We spent the afternoon cleaning up and just relaxing. We sat around the table singing some songs and reflecting on the week. The sento gang just left for the bath.....Tyler and Jonathan are loving it! It's been a great time together as a team. Thank you for all the good support.
Nakada Sensei again shared a homily from the book of Acts.....chapter 14:19 and following. It's about how Paul, that despite on going persecution, he continued to preach the Gospel. Sensei concluded that though these scriptures speak of what Paul did, it is not about Paul, but of the power of the Gospel. He went on to say that it is irresponsible to plant the seeds of the Gospel and not water and grow them. Our team came to help plant the seeds. The Sendai Church must now water and grow the seeds to maturity. They need our prayers. They need our help. Please continue to pray for them and support them.
In tomorrow's service, Pastor Kagiwada will be giving the message and the team will be singing a song with the 3 campers that are expected to come. Pray for more. It will be a sweet time for the members to see some results of the camp and for the unchurched parents to take a first step in giving the Sendai Church a chance to love them. Keep praying.
Our team hopes that we can convey to all of you what we feel as we wind down the ministry here. There is a real sense of urgency and of need. Churches like Sendai and Ishinomaki will continue on. But they need our help to realize growth that they have not previously known. God is in control, but we must act and support the power of the Gospel.
We look forward to returning home to share the joy of our trip. We remain humble with how God has used our churches and our teams to serve the people of Japan. May the Lord's blessings abound on and in you.
And we will praise Him,
Your Sendai Team
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| This is a tent, right? |
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| Nakada Sensei |
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| That shaved ice sure looks good. |
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| Masaki & Rensei - 2 hamburgers, please |
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| Yorihiko and Jotaro |
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| How do you eat this big thing?? |
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| Not too much of that condensed cream, Pastor Ben. |
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