Hello again—
Greetings once again from Japan. I’m writing from a very nice Japanese home, at the moment. There are some guests staying at the Trim’s house, where I usually stay, this weekend, so I’ve been invited into the household of a Christian Japanese family that Murray knows. They don’t go to our church, particular, but I’ve met them once before. They’re wonderfully kind people, and speak English rather well. This marks the second time I’ve stayed in a Japanese home. The hospitality and kindness is a wonderful experience, but it can be stressful at times just making sure you’re constantly polite. The husband of the home took me to a Japanese hotspring (onsen), this evening—An experience I’ve become well-acquainted with. There’s just not quite anything like letting all your troubles melt away in the heat of the water.
My room, currently. Note the pretty tatami flooring and Japanese-style sliding doors.
The guests that have come are three Americans looking to come to Japan for mission work—All of different ages and backgrounds. They’re on a short, “scout-out-the-land” sort of trip, and Kobe is their last stop before heading home. Since Agape’s “English Cafe” event is this Saturday (6/26) , they’ll be speaking and sharing their testimonies there.
Earlier in the week, I taught the set of four back-to-back English classes at Ichibaku alone for the first time. Everything went well, so I’m thankful that God’s given me the ability to fulfill the duty. It makes me more confident that I can handle all these classes. I also got the opportunity to go out to lunch and do karaoke with Akihiro. He is still coming to church and often participates in the church Bible study, so please continue to pray for him.
My weekend will be mildly busy, considering I do have some things to attend to pertaining to the guests, as well as some personal engagement. I hope to do more Romans study with Taka tomorrow before the English Cafe, and of course there’s church on Sunday. On Monday I hope to meet with Kei to spend some time with him, and on Tuesday I’ll be meeting up with my new friend from the arcade. It’s just lunch, but pray that God will use me as some sort of example. During all this time I’ll be operating from an unfamiliar home, only returning Monday evening—I’ll be in a bit of a daze for a few days. Hopefully everything will go smoothly all the same.
A side note as well—Please pray for my musician friend, “Coe.” It’s difficult to understand all the Japanese that gets thrown my way, but he seems to be suffering from a chronic illness of some sort. Pray that God will sort things out in His own good will.
Perhaps not the most action-packed post ever, but, as you can see, there’s lots to pray for.
Today, Kei and I came to Ephesians 5 in our study. Even though this isn’t the famous passage in Galatians, the fruits of the Spirit are mentioned, so we spent lots of time talking about them. Most of you reading probably know them well, so I won’t bother listing them. It’s interesting how different people struggle with exhibiting different fruits. I told Kei how I feel as if exhibiting “peace” is difficult for me, as I often times like to debate controversial topics, or openly express my opinions—This can often cause conflict that I never intended to cause! Kei, however, said he prefers to lead a quiet life in which keeping peace with those around him is a simple matter. Both of us agreed that self-control might be the hardest of all, as it can be oftentimes difficult to prioritize God over our life and leisure.
In the end, though, as verse fourteen states, God as shaken the Elect awake as those who were asleep—Raised us as those who were dead. We are no longer slaves to sin, and free to exhibit the fruits of the Spirit. It may not be easy, but I have faith that God will bless those (like me) who ask for help. I hope that you, too, will ask God for His wisdom pertaining to the the fruits you find difficult to practice day to day.
Kei being overly photo-shy -- In true Japanese fashion.
つづく。見ていますか？ この偽光
—Ethan
No comments:
Post a Comment