Wednesday-Thursday, August 24-25
This year we did four classes with the Ochanomizu church on Wednesday evenings and the Tachikawa church on Thursday mornings. The theme this year was “The Bible Story and Me.” The first three lessons were an overview of the Bible by dividing it into three historical periods. The fourth lesson was on how Peter’s story merged with God’s story completed in Jesus Christ.
There was some concern that this would be too simple for the group. However, they really did appreciate the overview of the Bible and seeing God’s story unfold over time. We each have stories and must work to integrate our story in with God’s. “The way we understand human life depends on what conception we have of the human story. What is the real story of which my life story is a part?” [Lesslie Newbigin, The Gospel in a Pluralist Society, p. 15]
“To be human means to embrace some such basic story through which we understand our world and chart our course through it.” [Bartholomew and Goheen, The Drama of Scripture: Finding Our Place in the Biblical Story, p. 18]
“The whole point of Christianity is that it offers a story which is the story of the whole world. It is public truth.” [N. T. Wright, The New Testament and the People of God, pp. 41-42.]
The class at Tachikawa is different than the one at Ochanomizu even though the material was the same this time. The Thursday class at Tachikawa is open ended. Beginning at 10:30 it sometimes lasts until 2 in the afternoon. Following the actual class, which can last until noon, there is usually table fellowship and conversation.
For two of the classes a sister who travels an hour and a half to the class brought good things to eat and even prepared most of the meal one time. She made some homemade ohagi which is sweet beans wrapped in sweet rice and then rolled in ground black sesame seeds or in soy bean flour. The second meal was boiled vegetables with miso soup and grapes for dessert.
Thursday afternoon we attended a memorial service for one of the Tachikawa members who died suddenly this past May. We were stunned when we got word in May. She was a very kind and encouraging sister. When she appeared things got lively. She was born in Okinawa and remembered things during the Battle of Okinawa. She came to the mainland to study. She had a very strong faith.
The family wanted to remember her which is a Buddhist tradition to have memorial times at specific intervals. This was a way to honor that desire to remember her as well as an opportunity to once again proclaim the love of Christ which she found and which was important in her life. She was the only Christian in her family. Nao Fukushima, minister for the Tachikawa congregation, did an excellent job of honoring her life as well as sharing the Gospel and the One she had placed her faith in.
Friday-Sunday, August 26-28
We were invited to the Ochanomizu church’s Bible camp in Hakone. There were only 36 participants this year. We board a bus near the church building and journey out of Tokyo to the next prefecture. On the way we stopped over at the Onshi-Hakone Park for a picnic lunch together. This was originally the summer retreat for the Emperor before they gave it to the prefecture shortly after World War II. The weather was sunny and delightful. It is always good to get out of the city.
During the camp Josephine shared two classes on forgiveness. These were well received and an encouragement to those present. Emiko acted as translator and had translated the transcript of what Josephine taught. This is a way of leaving something written behind for those who were unable to participate in the class.
The first night we had a review of the relief work being done in the Tohoku area. Several from the Ochanomizu church had been there to help and they reported on the work they did. I gave a presentation showing some of the letters we have received along with the contributions. It was a great encouragement to those present to see the letters of those who sent funds.
There was a class on aging members and how we can keep them involved in and informed of the church family life. Not only the church, but Japan as a whole, is facing the aging of their society.
The Ochanomizu church is reconfirming their current elders and appointing new ones. In conjunction with that, I shared a lesson from Acts 20 regarding the role and responsibilities of elders. It centered on the three terms used to designate this group of leaders in the early church – elder, shepherd, and bishop/overseer. Since there were not that many at the camp, I will give a related sermon from 1 Peter 5:1-5 later is September.
At the end of that lesson we had time for questions. I was supposed to give the answers. One question in particular was especially good. One sister asked what the response from members should be toward elders. That gave me the opportunity to think about elders from that perspective.
For Sunday worship we traveled to Numadzu to worship with that church family. It was good to be reunited with many of those we had fellowship while missionaries in Japan. I shared a lesson from Matthew 16 on the theme of the camp – Putting the Lord First. Following the assembly we went to the nearby harbor for lunch. Being a major fishing port, there was every kind of fish you could imagine. Many were dried fish. One brother remarked after getting off the bus how good it smelled. Josephine and I had a different opinion.
After lunch we returned by bus to Tokyo, said our good-byes, and returned to Tachikawa.
Sunday, September 4
Today we worshiped with the Yokota congregation. Masa and Mari Nonogaki work with this congregation and also assist the Yokota military congregation. Over the years the congregation has grown slowly. Following the completion of the new building, it has become easier to assemble and improved their presence in the neighborhood.
Masa has put up several signs advertising the Japanese congregation. This along with his website and distributing invitations in the neighborhood has helped. One of the member is currently putting a fence around the parking area. After this they plan on adding some landscaping to further improve the looks of the building. The old bright blue building was functional, but did not look very appealing. You can see some pictures of the construction on this website.
Masa shared a lesson that morning from John 15 concerning Jesus as the vine. A couple who was in the area stopped in to worship with us. Another indication that some of the advertising has paid off. They were returning to their home after visiting the lady’s mother. They are members of a Christian group in Kanagawa Prefecture as I remember.
We were scheduled to go to Uenohara immediately after the assembly, but were prevented from doing that because the roads were closed from Tokyo to Uenohara. The day before a weak typhoon blew through the area, but it was slow moving and carried with it a lot of rain. This caused landslides which blocked roads. They would not permit anyone to pass until they could inspect the roads for safety.
This however gave us time to fellowship with the folks at Yokota. One brother was baptized this past April. He introduced himself and told me when he was baptized. He then said something like, “I’m learning to entrust things to Jesus.” ｢イエスに委ねると学ぼうとします。｣That struck me as interesting and I asked Masa about it later.
He is a worrier and before becoming a Christian was very concerned about many things. He does shiatsu which is a type of massage using pressure points for relaxation and healing. He felt so guilty about something that he stopped charging his clients in order to earn forgiveness. He had not done wrong to the client, but was using the free service as a work to overcome the bad he had done. I can see how understanding the forgiveness which comes from Christ is liberating. I think we all should “learn to entrust things to Jesus” more and more.
Saturday-Monday, September 10-12
We journeyed back to the Ibaraki area to stay with a former missionary in Sendai and his wife who was an intern with the Sendai church. They have been married for about three years and we had not seen either of them since well before their marriage. It was good to reconnect with them and we certainly appreciated their hospitality. They are both working as Assistant English Teachers (AET) with the Mito School system. He works with elementary students and she, with junior high students. They have also helped with the relief work in the Tohoku area.
Sunday we worshiped with the Mito congregation. They were in a sermon series from 1 Peter. I was assigned 1 Peter 5:1-5 dealing with elders. I had preached on elders the previous year so this was almost the same type of sermon. Fortunately I was asked to change my sermon and speak on elders at Ochanomizu. I could use the same sermon there.
Following the morning assembly where about eighty attended, we were invited out to lunch with a group from the church. This was a time to reconnect with folks and learn a little about them and the work in Mito. We were to have had lunch with the minister at Mito, but a situation came up which required his attention.
We were able to meet with he and his wife later in the afternoon. We were able to discuss some things with them and offer some advice based on our experiences. It was also a good time to learn about their children and how things are going with the work in Mito. They have been working with the congregation for about two and a half years now.
Monday, September 12, we met with the Ibaraki North ministers. There were seventeen of us representing nine congregations in the area. Brother Noguchi gave an excellent devotional thought on thankfulness emphasizing that it is the only thing we are truly can give the Lord since everything else we have comes from him in the first place. Give thanks in all circumstances, for this [here he emphasized that this is singular and refers to thanksgiving] is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. (1 Thessalonians 5:18)
Following the devotional was a time of discussion. I was given an opportunity to share some of the things concerning the contributions we have received at Park Avenue for the relief effort. I had done this on other occasions with the Tomobe, Ochanomizu, Tachikawa, and Mito congregations.
After further discussion about topics, we dismissed for lunch. It was another good meal and good fellowship. After the meal Marlin Ray took us to the train station for our trip back to Tachikawa.