In Part 3 of this series of posts, I detail the next few days of our mission program, which involved ministering to the entire gamut of age groups, from children to the elderly.
The Orphanage
Day 2 (Saturday 7 December) focused on ministry to children.
We got up early to load up the cars and then to drive to an orphanage.
Whilst ordinarily we would not be permitted to share anything Christian, the fact that it was Christmas season meant that we were able to sing Christmas carols and share the true meaning of Christmas.
I must admit that I never really saw myself doing children’s ministry. Apart from the language barrier, I could not really think of anything to say to kids. However, one of the things I had shared with the team early on was a John Wimber beatitude: “blessed are the flexible”. I had to eat Wimber’s words and do what was necessary.
When we arrived, Sam had told us that we should expect fewer children as many were attending tuition that morning. To our surprise, around 25 children showed up – it was the largest number of children to ever attend these events. We also realised we could no longer trust Sam to give us any realistic expectations around numbers.
Jackie and Chisai Lester had done much by way of preparing games and icebreakers whilst we were still in Perth. The games they had prepared was a way to draw the kids together and get them engaged.
Ling then shared a short message of why we celebrate Christmas, finishing with a short video of the nativity scene. In the 10 minutes she had, she was able to convey the birth of Christ as the central theme of the Christmas season.
Jackie, Chisai Lester, Joe and Charis then led in a time of carol singing, before we had more time for games.
After that, snacks and Christmas cake were served as we mingled with the children.
I finally had to overcome my own nerves and started a conversation with some (apparent) 14 year olds with Kevin. One of them spoke reasonable (enough) English and seemed quite keen to keep talking with us. After a short lull however, I asked if any of them wanted to try playing the cajon and their eyes lit up. Later on, Joe and Charis came by to demonstrate a few patterns they could try.
They hung around us for another 45 minutes or so, and in between hits, shared with us more about their enjoyment of music.
Through something as simple as this, we saw the power of music to connect people beyond spoken or written language.
Kid’s English Club
After packing up and a short lunch stop (takeway chicken karaage) we rushed to Noke Church, where Sam had established a Kids’ English Club. Children from within and without the Church had come regularly to learn English, often with their parents. Again, Sam had underestimated the numbers and over 20 kids and parents attended, packing out the entire room. Four children from the community also attended for the first time.
Welina shared the Christmas message with the group and we were able to bond with the children and parents. Many heard the gospel in its entirety for the first time.
Drawing from the story of Jesus calming the storm, Allan and Charis then led the children to do some crafts with making an origami boat.
The Big Christmas Party
Sunday afternoon is usually the day that Sam’s Connect Group meets. Over the time that she had been in Fukuoka, she had made a large number of regular connections. Some of them were local Japanese; others were overseas students studying Japanese.
Over the time we were in Fukuoka, we observed the ease with which Sam could sit down with a complete stranger and make meaningful conversation with them. The relationships were her gateway for gospel impact. It’s a slow grind, but in the last 3 months, Sam had already seen three converts through her missionary work (and all of whom were soon after baptised in the Holy Spirit).
On the morning of Sunday, 8 December, we visited the campus of a large Singaporean church that had planted campuses throughout Japan. Our team’s visit, along with some visiting family members of that Church from Singapore, more than tripled the congregation size.
The Church ran tracks for its worship, followed by a stream of the sermon from their Tokyo campus.
Despite being planted over 4 years ago, the congregation was still small – it is illustrative of the challenges faced by church planters and missionaries in a nation culturally closed to the gospel.
After the service, we rushed back to prepare for the big Christmas Party outreach at the Mission House.
We mingled as the guests started to arrive. By early evening, there were over 40 people crammed into the Mission House. After a short icebreaker, I led in a time of carols and worship. Chisai Lester than gave a Christmas message before the food was served.
I spent quite a lot of time talking to a young man who was studying mechanical engineering, but he was entirely withdrawn from any real human interaction apart from online connections through a game he was playing. Kevin had been in contact with him before to encourage him to come out of the house more and make more real world connections. This itself had been a journey for this young man.
Later on, I spoke to Dennis who was a Swedish student, who had fallen in love with Japan. His background story was heartbreaking – he had been a Youth Group Director in his church in Sweden before he had a falling out with his Elders. He had stopped going to church all together. I tried to encourage him to keep in the faith and maintain Christian fellowship, trusting that the Lord would restore his faith.
I am told that a couple of our team had a chance to pray together with a new convert, too.
As things loosened up, many of the guests jammed with our team and sang carols and secular songs together. Music again broke down walls and allowed connections to be forged.
Ministry to the Elderly
Having ministered at the orphanage two days earlier, we were due to the go to an Aged Care Home. I joked with the team that our ministry spanned the cradle to the grave.
Kaylee proved to be instrumental. With Welina’s help, she went around shaking hands with the seniors which brought huge smile to their faces.
During the time of carolling, Kaylee grabbed an unplugged microphone and danced with abandon in front of the crowd, eliciting giggling and applause from the crowd.
Ling then shared a Christmas message. This was the first time the gospel had been preached in the seniors’ home.
We then helped the seniors with making Christmas cards. One heartbreaking story was that one of the residents said that they had no one to whom to give the card.
Impromptu Busking
There were no further programs for the rest of that day, so Sam gave us the option of going to Canal City, a busy shopping district, to do some impromptu busking.
We brought two guitars and a cajon and began singing Christmas carols. Before long, a crowd had formed and some of our team were able to engage in conversations with some of the spectators.
Sam engaged with a young Korean girl who said that Christmas was about spending time with loved ones, but she was overcome with loneliness because her boyfriend didn’t believe in Christmas. So this year, she decided to do a solo holiday for the first time because she had felt lonely. She ended up talking to us the entire time and returned again to a picnic our team held two days later.
Another older gentleman sat down on the cajon and started accompanying us. I had noticed that our cajon playing had become less tight over the last song, and when I finally looked over, I realised that there was a stranger playing with us. After a few sets, we talked with him and he shared that he had never felt so much peace and joy in his life. However, as Sam shared the gospel with him, he said that we should just agree to respect each other’s religion. Despite this, he thanked us for letting him play with us and he was visibly moved.
As difficult as the ground was for the gospel, worship and music continued to play a critical role in opening doors for us. Clearly, the presence of God brought joy and peace even before a word was spoken.
Rest Day
Originally, Sam’s tentative schedule for the team was packed to the brim. Very early on, I asked her to schedule a Sabbath for us given the overall length of the trip.
After only the first four official days, our team was pretty tired, so the rest day was welcome.
We decided to maintain our team togetherness rather than have everyone do their own thing.
Kevin brought us to brunch at Café Stong. The coffee here was excellent as were the baked goods. Kevin had made some middling recommendations before, but we all agreed this was his redemption.
We then made our way to Ready One in Hakata – a multilevel amusement centre with sports areas, arcade games and claw machines. We tried our hand at baseball cages and even 3-on-3 half court basketball.
I also came to the realisation that the claw machines in Japan were generally rigged.
Ironically, the rest day was less restful than we had expected, but it was still a good opportunity for the team to bond around more banal things before the second half of our program.
The Worship Revolution 