Philippians 4:6 says "do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God," and 1 Thessalonians 5:18 says "give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus."
I've been thinking a lot about gratitude lately. Sometimes I've been thinking about it because recently there's been times I've been overwhelmed with gratitude to the point of tears, and other times I'm thinking about it because I'm I'm feeling so incredibly ungrateful, maybe also to the point of tears, and wondering why. Maybe it's not just me that gets these crazy swings in emotion/ways of thinking. Or maybe it is just me, and I might need to get some professional help with this (if this is the case, please let me know as soon as possible).
One of the reasons I've been thinking about gratitude is because I am so incredibly grateful to several of the churches here in Hiroshima who have gone out of their way to fill my apartment with second-hand furniture, kitchen appliances, kitchenware, washing machine... basically everything I need to "live" here. I'm more and more realising that true 'indepedence' is a myth - it doesn't exist. No matter how independent we think we are, we're not. We're all relient on provision from sources outside ourselves in some way or another, no matter how much it may look like we're standing on our own two feet. And ultimately we're relient on God's provision through people, through circumstance, through where we were born into society... whether we were even born to start with... whether we will even live to see tomorrow...everything. Acts 17:25 says "he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else." Waiting for two months for my out-of-sync moving costs, new living expenses, and salary change to line up, I've been humbled to realise that if it wasn't for the generosity of the church in Hiroshima, I wouldn't be making it through these first two months here. Let alone the ones after that probably. I don't know what I would have done otherwise? Literally, ministry amongst the homeless? Could have been fun actually, now I think about it... in Sendai I met this guy briefly who was a homeless gambling addict and he met Jesus and his life has completely turned around. Yes, promo for the Teen Challenge Japan Ministry - check it out!
But what I've found is that I'm really good at being grateful when cirucmstances go my way, and not so good at it when they don't. All too quickly I find myself sulking about this and that, often the day straight after had I cried with gratitude as someone gave me a washing machine, and someone else carried it up five flights of stairs to my apartment for me. Yes I live on the fifth floor with no elevator. Some of the pastors think it's funny. Some people don't (normally these are the people who carried my stuff up those stairs).
So when I get like that, I get frustrated, knowing that we are called to be grateful in all circumstances. I think I am growing in this slowly, but it is definitely still a challenge. Anyway, today I read something that completely blew my mind on this topic and I wanted to share it with you guys. It's my most recent assignment for work - translating the testimony of a Christian survivor of the Atomic Bomb dropped on Hiroshima on August 6th 1945. Her name is Meiko Kurihara, she was 19 at the time.
In the first pages she writes of walking through the burning town, looking for the ruins of her home, and trying to find her father. She writes about walking seeing the frames of burnt-out trains, and the charcoal bodies of its passangers still standing, sitting, or fallen over, shrivelled up like black shrimps. She writes about walking along the rivers and how they were so full of bodies you couldn't see the water, because everyone must have leapt in their to escape the fire or have been blown there by the nuclear wind.
She writes about looking for her dad in the ruined hospital grounds, and walking past all the burnt, injured, and dying people whispering 'water, water.'
And then she writes about how she bumped into a friend, and when she did, she remembered the verse in 1 Corinthians 10:13 that says "and God is faithful; he will not let you (face trials) beyond what you can bear. But when you (face trials) he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it."
What?!?! She could thank God for "not letting her face trials beyond what she could bear" in the middle of a nuclear wasteland?
I mean, we use that verse to talk about "oh, this really difficult exam that you can't be bothered studying for, don't worry, God will help you, because he never puts you through things you can't handle..."
Then she goes on to talk about how as a result she went on to be baptised, beleiving that God had given her a second chance at life, and a calling to continue to serve him. She was baptised again in 1946, having lost her house, her family's wealth, family members... and spending her days collecting driftwood from the seashore to make into things to sell for a living, while drastically weakened and suffering from radiation.
And she was grateful to God for being alive and went and got baptised.
Seriously, the disconnect between her experience and ours today (definitely myself included) is ridiculous. Here I am thinking "oh poor me, we don't have an office yet, so I have to work from home and oh, I struggle so much to wake up in the mornings." Seriously... what is my problem?
Anyway, reading this testimony just really challenged my understanding of "gratitude" and I guess also of "provision." Really, how selfish-centered are we these days? Could many from our generation go through what she did and thank God for just being alive? Maybe some of us could - this reminds me of some testimonies I heard in Sendai from those who suffered the Tsunami disaster last year. However, I think a lot of us couldn't do it. Me included, I think many of us today have to have circumstances to our liking in order to truly thank God. And how ridiculous are our standards for "circumstances to our liking" - is it not enough to just be alive? Not these days... gotta be alive, with a nice house, with my washing machine, with my iphone... would be better of course if I had an ipad as well, but oh, can't have everything...
Anyway, just wanted to share with you guys how much this intense testimony blew my mind.
We're looking at doing an interview with this lady at some point, what a precious testimony, and what a challenge to the younger generation today as to what true 'gratitude' really is. We're looking at 'true peace' as a theme for the Hiroshima Festival in November next year, and her testimony contains a completely counter-cultural, mind-blowing concept of peace... gratitude... contentment... that so many have never experienced, and could probably not even imagine.
The verse I started with, Philippians 4:6, then goes on to tell us that such gratitude is deeply connected with the true peace we have through Jesus - 4:7 says "and the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
Hmm. A lot to think about.
6/6/12
5/19/12
solitude
Following on from my last post, almost a month ago now, I moved down to Hiroshima for what I presume to be a long-term stay to serve on the BGEA (Billy Graham Evangelistic Association) team down here preparing for the 'festival' that will be happening here in November next year. Well, I said team, but the team is really just me and my boss Derek (and his family) at the moment. We have no office, I've set up my own little one in the corner of my bedroom and we have a kinda flash McDonalds between our houses, but that's about it. Completely different experience to what I know from Sendai - last time I was thrown in at the last minute - this time I am really part of the team starting things from scratch.
Enough said about 'work' stuff.
The move to Hiroshima went really well. Praise the Lord for some special days in Sendai before I left which made for a really good note to end my time there on. Leaving Sendai was delayed several days at the last minute, and what a blessing those few days were. I was able to volunteer with the Assemblies of God church in Sendai, Izumi Gospel Chapel, at their relief centre in Higashi-Matsushima (one of the areas affected by the Tsunami last year) for a day, attend Izumi's church service the Sunday before I left, spend some quality time with friends, and even see the cherry blossoms start to bloom in Sendai! Izumi even sent me off to Hiroshima with a farewell lunch and so many encouraging words that I was so overwhelmed I almost can't remember anything anyone said (unfortunately).
A few weeks in Hiroshima, and God blessed me with an apartment exactly where I wanted it, exactly in my price range, and with a beautiful view over one of the many rivers in Hiroshima (there are about five rivers running through the city, it's beautiful - I love being able to see the water all the time). The apartment itself is kind of old and the drains smell funny, but that's no problem. I kind of like the old kitchen, having to yank the cupboards to open them, and how the stainless steel benchtop is definitely not stainless... actually it still looks the same however much I clean it. I feel right at home - it reminds me of the loveshack and all the good times with the flatties in Wellington (miss you guys!)
I have been greatly blessed by some of the churches here finding me second-hand things for my place - microwave oven, rice cooker, pots and pans, cutlery, cups and glasses... floor cushions, etc. It feels like Christmas! As usual God has continued to provide exactly what I need - no more no less - so while the moving process and the expenses it has incurred has been a little nerve-wracking, I'm sure that God has got me in the right place and that He is providing what I need as I need it. I'm able to cook at home now which is a blessing, and praying that a washing machine, dining room table and gas cooker might appear out of nowhere sometime in the near future.
I've been loving playing house and as I'm starting to settle in here, get things as I like them, and find a bit more down time, I'm discovering this new thing called solitude... something that feels strangely comfortable and dear, almost like a friend I've missed for a long time. To start with I thought I would be really lonely and miserable living by myself (yes it is a one-room apartment) but I am feeling strangely comfortable by myself here and am honestly enjoying the quiet and the solitude. Although I had expected to move to Tokyo and Hiroshima was completely out of the blue for me, and although I fought the idea of living by myself for a long time, I feel that as unexpected as it is, this time here and this environment is something special God is blessing me with at this time in my life. I think I really need it.
So I'm excited about having 'permission' to hide away at home, take long baths (not that I can afford the power bill), stare into space, journal, drink multiple cups of tea a day, sing, write, look at the river, read, reflect, pray, daydream... the more I stop to think about it, the more I realise I've needed this down-time really badly, and I need to welcome it with open arms and not feel guilty about removing myself from things and slowing down a bit. I've had the most intense few months, few years even, and I really need to stop and process.
So that's where I'm at... as I slow down and process I look forward to letting you all know what's happened/happening in my life. And there's so much yet to come! I'm excited about what things are in store for the next few years.
Here's a photo of the view from my apartment, and my 'comfortable spot' in my apartment... this orange couch is always inviting me to sit on him and relax... thank you Mr. couch!! And he's orange! And was the cheapest in the shop - love him!!
P.S. don't worry, I do actually do work as well! I actually had a fairly busy week last week and as part of it was blessed to witness the birth of a baby as I was asked to be there to interpret. What an amazing experience. Maybe that'll be the next blog? =)
Bless you all and love you all so much!! I am thinking of you all at home in NZ, and all around Japan and the rest of the world, all the time. I miss you all a lot, am never satisfied wherever I live as there are always people I want to see who I can't... but today I realised what a blessing it is to have this problem! What a blessing to have so many dear dear friends EVERYWHERE and want to see you all so much that that it makes me frustrated. Love you all lots x comment and let me know how you are x Emma
Enough said about 'work' stuff.
The move to Hiroshima went really well. Praise the Lord for some special days in Sendai before I left which made for a really good note to end my time there on. Leaving Sendai was delayed several days at the last minute, and what a blessing those few days were. I was able to volunteer with the Assemblies of God church in Sendai, Izumi Gospel Chapel, at their relief centre in Higashi-Matsushima (one of the areas affected by the Tsunami last year) for a day, attend Izumi's church service the Sunday before I left, spend some quality time with friends, and even see the cherry blossoms start to bloom in Sendai! Izumi even sent me off to Hiroshima with a farewell lunch and so many encouraging words that I was so overwhelmed I almost can't remember anything anyone said (unfortunately).
A few weeks in Hiroshima, and God blessed me with an apartment exactly where I wanted it, exactly in my price range, and with a beautiful view over one of the many rivers in Hiroshima (there are about five rivers running through the city, it's beautiful - I love being able to see the water all the time). The apartment itself is kind of old and the drains smell funny, but that's no problem. I kind of like the old kitchen, having to yank the cupboards to open them, and how the stainless steel benchtop is definitely not stainless... actually it still looks the same however much I clean it. I feel right at home - it reminds me of the loveshack and all the good times with the flatties in Wellington (miss you guys!)
I have been greatly blessed by some of the churches here finding me second-hand things for my place - microwave oven, rice cooker, pots and pans, cutlery, cups and glasses... floor cushions, etc. It feels like Christmas! As usual God has continued to provide exactly what I need - no more no less - so while the moving process and the expenses it has incurred has been a little nerve-wracking, I'm sure that God has got me in the right place and that He is providing what I need as I need it. I'm able to cook at home now which is a blessing, and praying that a washing machine, dining room table and gas cooker might appear out of nowhere sometime in the near future.
I've been loving playing house and as I'm starting to settle in here, get things as I like them, and find a bit more down time, I'm discovering this new thing called solitude... something that feels strangely comfortable and dear, almost like a friend I've missed for a long time. To start with I thought I would be really lonely and miserable living by myself (yes it is a one-room apartment) but I am feeling strangely comfortable by myself here and am honestly enjoying the quiet and the solitude. Although I had expected to move to Tokyo and Hiroshima was completely out of the blue for me, and although I fought the idea of living by myself for a long time, I feel that as unexpected as it is, this time here and this environment is something special God is blessing me with at this time in my life. I think I really need it.
So I'm excited about having 'permission' to hide away at home, take long baths (not that I can afford the power bill), stare into space, journal, drink multiple cups of tea a day, sing, write, look at the river, read, reflect, pray, daydream... the more I stop to think about it, the more I realise I've needed this down-time really badly, and I need to welcome it with open arms and not feel guilty about removing myself from things and slowing down a bit. I've had the most intense few months, few years even, and I really need to stop and process.
So that's where I'm at... as I slow down and process I look forward to letting you all know what's happened/happening in my life. And there's so much yet to come! I'm excited about what things are in store for the next few years.
Here's a photo of the view from my apartment, and my 'comfortable spot' in my apartment... this orange couch is always inviting me to sit on him and relax... thank you Mr. couch!! And he's orange! And was the cheapest in the shop - love him!!
P.S. don't worry, I do actually do work as well! I actually had a fairly busy week last week and as part of it was blessed to witness the birth of a baby as I was asked to be there to interpret. What an amazing experience. Maybe that'll be the next blog? =)
Bless you all and love you all so much!! I am thinking of you all at home in NZ, and all around Japan and the rest of the world, all the time. I miss you all a lot, am never satisfied wherever I live as there are always people I want to see who I can't... but today I realised what a blessing it is to have this problem! What a blessing to have so many dear dear friends EVERYWHERE and want to see you all so much that that it makes me frustrated. Love you all lots x comment and let me know how you are x Emma
4/1/12
an attempt at keeping in touch
Well, here's another attempt at keeping in touch with my friends and family all around the world... a blog. A blog, like a regular ministry newsletter, is something that seems great to me and I feel good about it theoretically... but making it actually happen is another story.
I'm thinking, though, that a blog might just work better than a ministry letter as I like to write when the mood strikes me but I generally can't focus long enough to get through writing a whole ministry letter, adding in photos properly, picking the right contacts to send it to, and then dealing with all the emails that bounce back because I'm terrible at keeping my contacts list up to date. So hopefully writing in or posting photos in a blog every now and again might be a better way of communicating for me! Let's see how it goes.
Seeing as I have been out of touch for my first three months here, I thought what I might do is as I have time to reflect on, and organise my photos from, these first few (crazy) months here in Sendai, that I could kind of update as thoughts come to me and catch you up with what's been happening story by story, topic by topic, photo by photo, individual by individual... How does that sound? There's so much that has happened that I would have to sit down for a long long time and basically write an essay to get in all in chronological order and communicated properly. And we all know I wouldn't be able to do that.
In the meantime, an update on what I'm up to at the moment.
For the last few months I've been living in Sendai working at the Tohoku Celebration of Hope office in Counselling and Follow-Up, working towards the event we held on the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th of March here in Sendai. It was also broadcast by satellite to seven other locations in the Tohoku (North-Eastern Japan) area. I'll write more about what my job was later, but basically since this event has finished I've been responsible for the area of follow-up; making sure that those who responded to the good news and gave their lives to Christ at this event are quickly connected to a loving church community where they can continue to grow. This involved a lot of (very frustrating) admin work to start with, and for the last few weeks has involved a lot of sitting around waiting to hear back from the pastors we have requested follow-up from. Praise God for the much-needed down time!! All up, including satellite venues, 400+ people came forward to the altar call, and I am currently overseeing the pastoral follow-up of about 300 of these people. So amazing that so many people responded - no crazy huge scale Christian event like this has ever happened in Tohoku, so it's definitely exciting to see how God has used the Tohoku Celebration of Hope to encourage churches and to reach many individuals with the good news of Jesus!
What's next for me? From Tuesday I'll be going down to Hiroshima for a week to stay with one of our Festival Directors, Derek, and his family. They've just recently moved down there to start planning for two large-scale Festivals that will be happening in Fukuoka and Hiroshima in October and November 2013. The Festivals are a long way off yet, but the planning and preparation for them starts now and will be gradually building up over the next year and a half. I'll be interpreting for Derek and helping him and his family settle in for a week or so, and looking at the possibility of moving down more longer-term after follow-up in Sendai is finished.
I'm enjoying opportunities I have to interpret lately, though it always makes me realise how much more I still have to learn! The other day at a pastors' meeting they all started talking about Asian politics in the 50s and 60s.... please, think of your interpreter!! She's 25, not from Asia, and can't even talk about politics in English!!!
So lots more learning coming up I think! Will aim to keep you all up to date with it too!
Blessings all =)
I'm thinking, though, that a blog might just work better than a ministry letter as I like to write when the mood strikes me but I generally can't focus long enough to get through writing a whole ministry letter, adding in photos properly, picking the right contacts to send it to, and then dealing with all the emails that bounce back because I'm terrible at keeping my contacts list up to date. So hopefully writing in or posting photos in a blog every now and again might be a better way of communicating for me! Let's see how it goes.
Seeing as I have been out of touch for my first three months here, I thought what I might do is as I have time to reflect on, and organise my photos from, these first few (crazy) months here in Sendai, that I could kind of update as thoughts come to me and catch you up with what's been happening story by story, topic by topic, photo by photo, individual by individual... How does that sound? There's so much that has happened that I would have to sit down for a long long time and basically write an essay to get in all in chronological order and communicated properly. And we all know I wouldn't be able to do that.
In the meantime, an update on what I'm up to at the moment.
For the last few months I've been living in Sendai working at the Tohoku Celebration of Hope office in Counselling and Follow-Up, working towards the event we held on the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th of March here in Sendai. It was also broadcast by satellite to seven other locations in the Tohoku (North-Eastern Japan) area. I'll write more about what my job was later, but basically since this event has finished I've been responsible for the area of follow-up; making sure that those who responded to the good news and gave their lives to Christ at this event are quickly connected to a loving church community where they can continue to grow. This involved a lot of (very frustrating) admin work to start with, and for the last few weeks has involved a lot of sitting around waiting to hear back from the pastors we have requested follow-up from. Praise God for the much-needed down time!! All up, including satellite venues, 400+ people came forward to the altar call, and I am currently overseeing the pastoral follow-up of about 300 of these people. So amazing that so many people responded - no crazy huge scale Christian event like this has ever happened in Tohoku, so it's definitely exciting to see how God has used the Tohoku Celebration of Hope to encourage churches and to reach many individuals with the good news of Jesus!
What's next for me? From Tuesday I'll be going down to Hiroshima for a week to stay with one of our Festival Directors, Derek, and his family. They've just recently moved down there to start planning for two large-scale Festivals that will be happening in Fukuoka and Hiroshima in October and November 2013. The Festivals are a long way off yet, but the planning and preparation for them starts now and will be gradually building up over the next year and a half. I'll be interpreting for Derek and helping him and his family settle in for a week or so, and looking at the possibility of moving down more longer-term after follow-up in Sendai is finished.
I'm enjoying opportunities I have to interpret lately, though it always makes me realise how much more I still have to learn! The other day at a pastors' meeting they all started talking about Asian politics in the 50s and 60s.... please, think of your interpreter!! She's 25, not from Asia, and can't even talk about politics in English!!!
So lots more learning coming up I think! Will aim to keep you all up to date with it too!
Blessings all =)
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