Japan Day 1 - CCSI

Last night, the team arrived at Covenant Community School InternationaI (CCSI) and we settled and slept almost immediately. A couple of hours later, we woke up to jet lag and sunlight at 4:30 am in Japan. I was pleasantly surprised to see the sunrise so early. Many people in the team, however, were not as happy about it. Today, for our first full day in Japan the team did a lot. The next couple of paragraphs will be blog posts from various team members about some memorable experiences and blessings.

Brendon

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CCSI Students

This morning, we got to meet the CCSI students! For some context, I came to Japan in 2019, so I met and saw some of these students. Four years had already passed and now some of them have grown up or have graduated and left for college. It was so great to see some familiar faces and meet new students as well.

Their mornings usually start off with a time of praise. My heart was so full seeing them praise so joyfully, and it reminded me of what it looks like to be childlike. I hope that I can see God in such a childlike way, being joyfully content in Him.

CCSI is an important part of the mission work here in Chiba because it is a means of outreach and allows Christian families or Christian parents and students to stay connected with Oyumino Christ Church. But in CCSI, there is a cycle of interns and teachers, meaning that most workers stay short-term. Students experience constant loss since interns and teachers are coming and going.

There is a great NEED for teachers and interns. Some interns have to handle more than double the assigned work because there aren’t enough interns and teachers to fill the spots. Our hope and prayer is that people will go and serve these students, and it’s not a spot for just “on-paper” qualified people. God equips anyone to come and serve. Many interns have shared that they have never taught once before coming to CCSI, yet God equipped them and granted them success. As we have been called to be a blessing to these students, they have blessed us as well.

Anna

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Morning Testimony

Today, during the morning devotional and after worship, I shared my testimony of how I came to faith and how God has been working in my life recently. It was encouraging to talk about how God brought me into a personal relationship with Him, and for me, it was such a blessing to hear that many of the children and teachers were encouraged by hearing my testimony. It was also a pleasure to have Jae, an intern at CCSI, translate for me throughout my time of sharing.

As I shared my testimony, I talked about how despite growing up in a loving Christian home, I did not have a personal relationship with God, which led me to find my worth in being recognized and approved by other people. I specifically talked about how this struggle was present in dance, which has been an important hobby in my life, and how it led me to put in effort out of a feeling of insecurity when I discovered that there are other people who are more skilled than me. I then talked about how everything changed when I entered college because I discovered that dance is an idol in my life, and a pastor talked about how living for others leads to darkness but how living for God leads to joy and life. I mentioned how this gave me so much more freedom as I began to dance for God instead of for others moving forward from that moment. Continuing to share, I discussed how this led me to experience joy in glorifying God and desire an intimate relationship with Him. Then, I mentioned how despite this, I still discovered that the sin of finding worth in being recognized by others was still present in other parts of my life and how because of that I fell into feelings of guilt, but God reminded me that He still loves me because I am in Christ. I talked about how this led me to repent and joyfully turn to God in the moments that I felt guilty. Nearing the end of my testimony, I talked about how God has been continuing to show me His love recently through the struggles that I have been through and how I have been able to embrace the truth that God loves me even in my brokenness. I finally ended my testimony by discussing how God’s constant love and faithfulness have led me to grow a desire to love Him more and more.

JooEun

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Clean-Up Crew

The first way our team was able to serve was by disposing of the rotting playground on the church grounds with Missionary Rachel. Funny enough, the wood that was tossed outside had a lot of bugs in them so the team had a fun laugh banging on rotting wood to get the creepy crawlies out of there. At this point, the team has split off to do a bit of service work in various areas. David You, Chris Lim, and I (Brendon Shao) were crammed into a car to dispose of the wood and for the first time, I got to experience driving on the left-hand side of the road. When we arrived at the disposal site, the service worker was actually very confused as he was trying to community with Chris, David, and me in Japanese but was surprised to hear Rachel speak Japanese. If you haven’t realized by now, Missionary Rachel, who has stayed in Chiba for now 3 years, is American and really sticks out as a foreigner. As a result, the service worker kept trying to communicate with us Asian Americans expecting a response but we kept deferring the conversation to Rachel who actually spoke Japanese.

From this experience, I learned one of my favorite Japanese phrases is, “Sumemasen, American Jin Des~” to let poor Japanese people realize we will have a hard time communicating. Overall, during the car ride and while moving things, I learned a lot about Rachel and her desire to continue missions in Japan.

Brendon

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Jae’s Blog

Jae, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be a follower, set apart for the gospel, I write to you with gladness of my report of my journey to you back at home.

It is with much joy I share with you my experience at the Oyumino Christ Church in Chiba on the first full day in Japan! Though the fullness of what I experienced today will be limited by the lack of words to express, I pray that your heart will be full after reading today's blog.

A greater portion of our day was filled with hearing about the testimonies of the missionaries, pastors, and teachers from CCSIand Alive International (AI). Missionary Tom Mirabella (MTW Japan Chiba AO Team member) shared the struggles of being a pastor in Japan. Pastors are constantly overworked and underpaid as there is a shortage of laborers in the church, which causes them to burn out frequently. As he was sharing about a pastor that burned out recently, a profound heaviness settled in my heart. I was overcome with sorrow as the reality of the state of the church in Japan became more clear to me. Overwhelmed with sorrow, I was confronted with the stark reality of the church's state in Japan, unfolding before me with painful clarity.

We also got to spend some time with the CCSI students through art class, four-square games, fun activities, and worship! I had the privilege of overseeing a group of elementary school boys during art class and witnessing the sheer joy of the boys brought an irresistible smile to my face. During one of our breaks, a group of girls gathered around a piano and graciously danced (almost like an ancient tribe dance) to the tune of their talented friend playing worship songs. I witnessed a level of joy in their dancing that illuminated the entire room with its brilliance. My team and I stood mesmerized, our hearts filled with cheerfulness, as we observed their elegant movements while they joyfully worshiped through dance. Some of us couldn’t resist joining them in this joyful expression of devotion.

Before dinner, we all gathered in the chapel for worship and my emotions were stirred to the point of tears as the voices of the students filled the air, pouring their hearts out to God. My time with the students has grown my heart even more for the youth and the next generation, desiring their joy to be in Christ. It has only been one day and I already feel so blessed. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Jae