Why Japanese?

The Largest Unreached People Group (Joshua Project, 2005)

Only 0.04% Christians!

Annual Suicide Rate: >30,000

100-300 new religion registered each year (Operation World, 2000)

The battle is fierce, Time is SHORT! Please RESPONSE, Please PRAY!!!



Wednesday, April 22, 2009

4th Week in Japan


Seeking His heart for this neighborhood


I have known Ramone for two years now through his prophetic artworks. www.art-for-jesus.blogspot.com. Sometimes there are some illustrations that didn’t make sense to me at all, yet most of the time the images are confirmations to what I’ve prayed, or comforts that I need in times. 

This trip will be primarily working with Ramone to see what God had placed in his heart for the area that he works on and also to be connected with his contacts.


The first assignment I have with Ramone is to walk around Tennoji and pray together with him. As I take photos casually at the street, the obasan in the picture approached me, “気おつけてねtake care, young girl! There are many different people here as you walk down the arcade, take care!” So we took the opportunity to sit down and chat  learning about this street, this area, and what she thinks about life. 

Obasan, 70 years old, tough lady, survival of Hiroshima during ww2, her malformed left hand is a mark of harshness of life. The friendliness of the Obasan had opened door to befriend with the other people in the street. 

The old man is a good guitarist and vocalist who plays on the street, and the young man is probably a regular wanderer at this area. This friendship seems to be a good beginning of my tour in Tennoji.


nishinari - 50 YEN drinks

This is the cheapest drinks that I have ever seen in Japan. 50 yen and above, almost half price of the normal 

vending machine. Ramone said it is probably only in Nishinari-ku 西成区, a place where you might find about hundred of jobless people waiting to be employed day by day basis. 



Nishinari-ku christian church 西成区大阪救霊会館

The Christian Church is of 70 years in Nishinari, serving the poor and needy, feeding the homeless and have service every evening. A huge amount of resource is put into this service. 

They also have two vans that goes around to preach about Jesus Christ in the city.  

The cost to pay is really about sacrificing the comfort of having a brand new building, or a set of brand new chairs for service. Everything in this church is just so humble. Yet, they send missionaries to overseas too, actively praying for the nations, for China. They welcome mission teams as well. 

Many homeless have come to the service mainly for food. Yet, in the midst of those, sometimes there will be a few truly came to know about the Gospel and saved. I could see the tears in Sakai Sensei’s eyes, the joy that leap in her eyes as she shared about the salvation of the homeless. Prosperity is not the tune that this church sings, but the love towards the neighbors is!




Add: 大阪府大阪市西成区太子1丁目-14

Tel: 06-6632-5820






Shitennojimae 四天王寺前


The impressions of Shitennojimae 四天王寺前 are a lot of healthy looking students, quiet temples and a mushrooms of love hotels, a weird combination. The place also included an elderly care center, a blind center, and a YMCA building that located not far from the Subway station.


Be One movement in Kansai - B1 House church (http://www.b-1.jp/)

Jumpei, a English teacher of an international high school, started a cell church together with his student’s father, Keishi, three years back. The interesting things of this meeting place are: (i) it is located at Ame-mura, a sense of Osaka version of Harajuku; (ii) the meeting is free and easy; (iii) yet in all these, you find the spirit moving.

There is a crowd roaring outside the building, and then there is a little corner at the 5th floor inside the building with a little written sign:  #Prayer room#. As you open the door, a scene of people casually sitting and freely chatting in the room will brush away the stagnant image of what a normal service will be. It looks more like a high school club to me, with juice and snacks on the table, someone causally playing guitar, someone concentrating in working on her laptop, someone playing, someone reading...... 

The service starts with worship, and it just starts to pull a string in the heart of the people, and then they are ready for scriptures.... no one will be directly giving a message, but they proceed with bible reading, and then form into small groups discussing and reading, sharing what they feel about it, and pray about it together. The meeting is casual, yet with a sense of unity in the Spirit, AND fun!!!  Fellowship...... that’s the smell of this church. 

Contact# jumpei@b-1.jp 


With limitations yet also with great fulfillment of the Lord, the prayer room is going to shut down at the end of this month, but move to Shinsaibashisuji, a more higher end shopping arcade, to combine with another cell-church that is held in Shimamura’s office. With this piece of information, please pray for the spiritual atmosphere at this place and also the people who walk into Shinsaibashisuji, let them be bless by the present of His body!


The Needs at the Riverbank

Sometimes the riverbank is quiet, sometimes it isn’t, especially during spring and summer. There will be stores set up at the riverbank, featuring from food to entertainment. 


One store that caught my eyes is the palm reading store. A crowd standing outside the store, examining their own palms with the references (pictures of palms) that hang up at the store. 

Probably feeling insecure for the future, probably eager to know what is install next in their life, probably wanna to escape from current situation, they all stopped, mainly middle aged women.  

Coming from a background of unbelieved, I can identify with the feelings of uncertainties that causes a lot of anxieties especially when the present doesn’t seem to work out fine. People need an answer for the experiences that they have, the experiences that they are going through....


The homeless are often being ignored in the park or at the riverbank. The strong desire in Ramone in reaching out to them reminds me about Scott Williams who had the same passions towards these people.  Let us first remove our lenses, and begin to ask God how He looks at these people.Through God’s lenses... this is the key to His Kingdom and His ministries!




Prophetic Art-Ministry

In early 2007, when God led me to Ramone’s blog, I felt a strong connection with Heart4Japan. I often think, if there is going to be a fellowship of the Ring, Ramone would probably be Legolas Greenleaf. Prince of Elf, that could see and hear spiritual things and have an understanding of it. 


On the third day of staying with Ramone, he handed me a picture of Jesus under the pink sakura tree, and told me this is a picture for hikikomori. A scripture that attached to this is Song of Songs 2:14. The beauty of the petals, the long waited season, the joy and cheerful look of this picture, along with the scripture pierced my heart, the hikikomori is precious in His eyes, and he is calling them out from their closet!

Hikikomori might have rejected the world, or vice versa. But God has not reject them. He has a message for them, and that’s why He had brought us into this picture so that we can sense the hearts of the broken ones, and begin to pray and carefully search His heart for them, and work through it with persistence and endurance!

Ramone has a very sensitive heart and tentative ears for the Lord. It is fun to learn about what he had studied and often encouraging and humbling to learn about his visions of the place where his heart is on. I’ll leave it to you to be connected with him, so that you can form a strong team in the future if you have a burden for the poor and needy through interceding and prophetic art. Shalom!

Email: fulfilledinjesus@yahoo.com

website: www.art-for-jesus.blogspot.com


〜moment of relax 〜 長居公園 Nagai Koen

Besides of working and praying, I had an opportunity to relax and just to catch up with all the sleeping time that I needed to regain strength. The extensive travel in past three weeks had been more tiring than I expected. Probably often have to carry not less than 8kg loads on my back and extensive walking are the most tiring part for me...... ^^

There is a beautiful park in Nagai, one station away where I am staying. An International Game is going to be held at the park in May, and prior to that, there was a clean up of homeless in that area. An botanical garden is attached to this park.

In the park on weekends, there were elderly people with their paint brushes or cameras and walking sticks, young families with beautiful children, a few pair of couples, some high school students, having fun, resting and having bento (lunch box) in the garden. 

After an hour walk in the garden, we finally sat down under the sakura tree (where the flowers had almost gone) and had our bento. It was relaxing as the sun was shining, but the weather was just cooling, and there was an old man concentrating on his drawing at the path which is not too far from our left, and another few families sitting not too far at our back. 


Lying down on the Mr.Thomas mat, I fell asleep comfortably, as a Sabbath rest, in the arms of the nature that He created, a relaxing moment, together with Yoko and Timo. 


Yet, in enjoying this, it also finally made me realize why many people had not recognize the problems of the homeless, hikikomori or youths with deviant behaviors. I remember an Osaka lady advised me earlier when I started the work on hikikomori, “Yes, there is a problem. But I believe we have enough ‘normal’ people to function in this society!”


......a pause for you, for me, to think......


Creative Ministries


Gospel concertmama outreach

There is a Gospel Choir Outreach in Jesus Family, where mothers in the neighborhood can bring their children to the church and relax, fellowship with one another, making friends, and singing Gospel music. http://www.jesus-family.jp/

Tel: 06-6697-3502 






Croix, Shinsaibashi

A beauty saloon that turns into an outreach place, where bible study and Sunday worship also take place in this warm Total Beauty Center.







Highlights of Next week

Meeting this team in RJC (Reaching Japanese for Christ) remained a blessing to me. They had gone all the way out to meet with Takako Watanabe, a missionary that was sent by the Evangelical Church to Seattle, and brought a little bookstore with them to the conference.

Their love towards the Hiki T-shirt encouraged me! Somehow this turn out to be a wish to work with them in this trip. 

The highlight to this is that we seemed to cross into each other without any prior plans that we made. First, I met a member from the church during the second week when I was in JCMN Summit, and then the day after I left Nara city, Pastor Fukuno came to speak in Antioch Cafe. 

It seems like God is connecting Heart4Japan with the body of Japan Evangelical Churches (JEC). Takako did the translation for the brochures from English into Japanese, and the work with Hikikomori had also led me to Nagano Fukuin Kyoukai and Nara Fukuin Church. 

Let’s pray and see what God is leading us to. Having an opportunity to share with the ladies and the youths in the church is encouraging. Though it is just another two days ahead, I am still reserving a place for the Holy Spirit to move so that the message will be of what He wants the congregation to hear. Please pray with me in this too! Let me not speak out of flesh, but in obedience and tentative to His will and desire. 

It will be interesting to find out more about this church, and leaning towards the Holy Spirit to see what is install in the coming week. Maybe more of hikikomori? maybe more of encouraging the youths to after their dreams in Christ? maybe sessions of comfort and prayers? 楽しみね!


http://r-c-i.net/  Add: 〒584-0092 大阪府富田林市昭和2-2-8, Tel: 0721-25-9788 


Prayer Points for Heart4Japan: 

  • Possible connection with Evangelical Churches.
  • More people will catch the vision and willing to come together to seek His heart for the harvest in His field.
  • Foundation for future work.



Prayer Points for Roseline:

  • Speaking with Discernment.
  • Chances to work with hikikomoris.
  • Being an encouragement to the family of hikikomoris. 
  • Faith and Trust

Monday, April 20, 2009

3rd Week in Japan



On April 9, I came to Nara to work with Robin Adam. A beautiful American lady, 75 years old, laboring with love and care, spending her last pension penny in this beautiful place.

Robin Adams works in two places in Nara, Antioch in Nara city and Haibara Prayer House.

After 20 minutes of walking from the train station with the heavy luggage, we were welcomed by Ako’s warm hospitality in Antioch. 

The next day, we headed back to Haibara, went back and forth Osaka and Nara in next few days, visiting different churches, and also some sightseeing with a couple of friends that Robin wishes to reach out to: a Jewish family and a Japanese family.


Syncretism or Redemptive Analogy?


Robin teaches English, and through friendship building she aimed to reach out to the neighborhood and she has a strong passion in reaching out to buddhist monks and shinto priests. 

For this she is convinced to use a lot of tools about Keikyo, Nestorian Influence of early Buddhism and Shintoism, the meaning of Kanji. If you wish to work with Robin Adams, please contact her via this email: robin.adams@mail.com

The argument of syncretism and redemptive analogy still remain controversial and I believe it always will. 

I will carefully record what I’ve seen and learn in this trip, and also share with you what I sense in the embrace of the Holy Spirit. 


Amenominakanushi

I have no doubt that God had put a great desire in the heart of the Japanese to worship Him, the creator of Heaven and earth. That could be observed in e every single effort to seek harmony with the nature that turned out to be the way of life of the Japanese. Though not much putting into practice now, ikebana, cha-do, bushi-do still serve as the root of the culture and the way of life that one honor. 

The similarity in Kojiki and Genesis could be the very clue that God had left on this land of the evidence of His existence. In the search of the creator Heaven and earth, Amenominakanushi seemed to have substitute the name of Yahweh.  This finding is exiting yet, it is a huge challenge ahead in pointing them to Jesus with this redemptive analogy, not to syncretize but to reveal the absolute truth. 


Easter celebration - an unbelievable night 

It was an unbelievable Easter dinner on Sunday evening. 

Gill wanted to have Easter Hot Cross Bun with raisins in it. So we worked on it! Of course we can’t find that in the store, so I tried to make a chocolate marble cake, and Robin worked to put a cross on top of it with icing sugar. And then we get everyone to take one raisin in their hand, to symbolize the risen Christ. When we shared the meaning of the raisins, everyone started to raise their hands and shouted, “Bansai, Bansai!” So, they did know about the story of the risen King. 

Yet a knowledge about the resurrection of Christ had not brought them to the meeting place with Jesus. Perhaps knowing the truth does not necessarily prompt people to make the decision to follow Christ. There are something else in their mind that serves as bondage that we need to break.

It was kind of strange Easter Sunday to me, that we had different people of different religions sitting around the table, celebrating the resurrection of Christ, at the same time watching a record of buddhist funeral. Then we kind of formed different groups discussing about different things: strange things happened in church, stories of hikikomori, and then a time of quiet prayers to comfort those who are in sorrow.

A strange and thoughtful evening......


Left to right: Keiko, Miyatani's wife, Miyatani, Shinobu, Kazuhiko, Laurel Fooks, Robin Adams, Gill Fooks, Roseline



Creative Ministries

聴き屋Kikiya 

Kei Takikita ~ Takamatsu, Kagawa.  garichon@k.vodafone.ne.jp













Nara fukuin kyoukai

Calligraphy Outreach. It allows people to come and learn calligraphy for rehabilitation purpose as well as to learn more about Jesus. Wed: 1.30pm Tel: (0742)26-4680















Antioch Church cafe

A creative cafe outreach which serves free coffee and casual snacks for the people who stays in the neighborhood. Ako - 090-9980-6832




Beautiful Sakura Hanami

One thing that I notice is that almost all famous tera and jinja would have beautiful flowers or natures. In this observation, perhaps I’m not too far if I say the Japanese are attracted to the beauty of the His creations rather than the worship of tera or jinja itself. 

This beautiful Sakura tree is the largest and oldest in Nara located in 仏隆寺Butsuryuji. It branched out 2 meters off the ground, and each branch blooms into beautiful flowers. It was a full bloom while we reached Butsuryuji. People streamed to the temple to

 honor the beauty of the sakura. Indeed, it was amazing.  

Perhaps there is one thing that we can do, that is to pray that the Lord will awakened His people that the power of creation and the source of life is more important than anything else on earth, and it is worth to after it. 


~For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. ~ Romans 1: 20


Pray for LIGHT!!!

Monday, April 13, 2009

Praying for Hikikomori

I had a quick sharing with Jesus Family in Nishi Osaka last evening, and then a quick visit to Osaka International Church today. The brochures help to explain the situation better when time is limited. The definition is still unclear to many, a simple 20 minutes is just not enough to explain the mechanism of the definitions, and the needs of seeing and holding the definitions right at this stage in order to help the hikikomori. We probably needs 45 minutes in next presentation, 1 hour if we can tie it in with the Words. 

The fear of the link of hikikomori and suicide once again sound an alarm to my heart when a sister cried on my shoulder sharing with me about her brother who had hikikomori for ten years committed suicide last year around this time. By having a firm grip of the emotional state of hikikomori and understanding of the issue, I was able to share her pain and pray with her. Hikikomori is not just an individual problem, the family members suffer together with the individual. Bearing that in mind, when you pray, please not only pray for the hikikomori to come to the light, but the parents and the family members too! There is a huge burden, huge bondage that is with it! This is a spiritual warfare! Do deal with it by WATCHING! It's time to train your spiritual muscle, get yourself ready for the battle!


Prayer guides:
1. The Lord will use every brochures, reaching out to the believers and non-believers, helping them to understand the issue of suicide and hikikomori better, and from there we could start to connect with one another!
2. Speak love into the family that is struggling with hikikomori. We don't know who has a problem until one tells, but pray for sensitiveness and discernment. 
3.  Speak love into this community, and break the bondage of evil one in Jesus' name.
4. Pray that the Holy Spirit will guide the hikikomori and bring them to Light and Hope.
5. Pray that the Holy Spirit will preserve the heart of the hikikomori.
6. Pray that the Holy Spirit will preserve the heart of the family members, strengthen them, lift up their burdens. 
8. Pray for understanding in the community, and true love to be prevail!
9. Pray for the provision of the funds to the printing cost that needs to be settled by May, JPY75,000!



Sunday, April 12, 2009

The アルバイト Arubaito Experience

The アルバイト experience was ....... 楽しかったreally fun! 疲れましたreally tired.

I was told that my first day working with them was 『特別忙しい』(unusually busy) and my second day was『特別暇』(unusually free). However I tried quite a lot of different things as well... eg. making hamburger, washing dishes, cutting and preparing, arranging お弁当obento, looking after the shop, packing.

I remember when I was asked to serve water to the customer, I was so panic...... I didn't know what to say to the customer, I didn't know much about the food, the number of the tables, I wasn't sure about the price, I didn't really understand what they want, I was just freaking out! 

What I felt at that moment? 『やぱい,逃げる欲しい。』(Dangerous, I just wanted to run away!) When a customer comes in, everyone from the front to the back will shout, 『いらっしゃいませ Welcome!』 and when a customer goes out, everyone from the front to the back will shout, 『ありがとうございます Thank you!』 it just seemed so impossible for me to shout with such confidence voice 私に絶対無理と思う。I felt strange. 

It's not about being shameful or embarrassed, it was just not feeling "comfortable" at doing so. And because it is not "comfortable", I preferred not to do so. "Comfortable" become the keyword of this situation, 『行けるとか行けないとか CAN or CANNOT』. 

Perhaps the feeling of hikikomori people is not much different from that experience: 『無理、絶対無理!行けない!』Probably feeling strange, feeling uncomfortable are the key emotions that they have. If that's true, then we will feed "feeling strange" with "understanding", and "feeling uncomfortable" with "encouragement/embracing love"?

Hope that this will challenge us to think alternatively.


Monday, April 06, 2009

アルバイト

To have a better grip of アルバイト (part-time job), I will start working with Masanobu tomorrow in his restaurant for two days before I leave Tsudamachi. Let's see if this will help me to learn more about the working culture or to understand more about the feelings of hikikomori or young people who take up a part-time job as such. 

I will be out from 6.30am and back at around 9pm, I heard. :-p  A taste of アルバイト、期待します。This could be FUN!!!

So I better get all my works done before tomorrow! 楽しみね!

Saturday, April 04, 2009

Tsuda Christian Church, Kagawa, Shikoku.

At the second week, after the JCMN summit, I came to Tsuda Christian Church together with Ryohei and family. So there begin my third week of stay in Japan.

Kamo Ryohei had been a 11 years Christian, and he is attending seminary in Aichiken one week a month, preparing himself to be a pastor in the future.


The Tsuda Church that he is serving now seems to have a great and far vision. The church has around 70 people, and it had been served as the salt and light at Tsuda for 30 years now. 7489 population, 1 church. The church started a Christian school for the children three years back, 2 days later, the 4th year begin. A total of 15 students, 3 kindergarten children, 7 elemental school children, 4 middle school children, 1 high school child.


The idea of starting a Church School begin when the pastor's daughter (middle school) decided not to go to the normal school because of ijime. After prayers and careful consideration, the pastor thought about of starting a new Church School in this place, so that people can continue to go to school at the same time to learn about Jesus. Then, the first Church School in Shikoku began at April, 2006 with three students. Since then, it started to take in students of different background.


There are various wonderful testimonies to be shared, but I will choose one to tell. :-)


The story begins with a 2nd year middle school female student who refused to go to school. The mother was wearied. Everyday, when the mother go to work, she took the path outside the church and noticed the Church School was there. Finally one day she called the church to arranged a meeting. The pastor explained to her with the picture below:
The student is like a seed, only with the help of both parents and teacher, together with the church, then the seed will grow.
Keeping this in mind, the mother began to join the Church cell group. Though the situation had not changed much, however through joining the cell group, she was able to gain great strength and relieved. Very soon she became a Christian herself. The girl though not yet believe, but decided to stay in this school. Up to now, she had been here for one and a half year. The father had also visited the church sometimes ago, but still remain unbelieved.

The story has not ended at this point, I believe. Why don't YOU start to pray with me, together with this church, for the salvation of the girl and the father, perhaps as well as for the other students in this church who yet to be a Christian?
LET'S PRAY!!!
Tsuda Christian School
Address: 1249-4 Tsuruwa, Tsudamachi, Sanukishi, Shikoku. 759-2402
Tel/Fax: 0879-42-5170

Friday, April 03, 2009

A Plead in Contribution to Printing Cost

The brochures of Hikikomori and Suicide were finally translated into Japanese language. I printed 1000 copies per title with NLL, and it came beautifully on time for distribution to the churches during JCMN Summit in Hakone. 150 pieces of each were distributed in Hakone, and the rest will be distributed to different churches in the following visits (please refer to previous post).

The Lord had used these materials greatly, and we could see both T-shirts an hikikomori brochures had a great impact with the hikikomori sufferers and people who are trying to reach out to them. The Lord had used it greatly, and a simple T-shirt and brochures speaks a thousand words by itself. May the Lord continue to use it for His glory and for the salvation of the Japanese people!


Pleading for Contribution:
Heart4Japan had been operating mainly on my personal savings, wages from part-time jobs and some occasional offerings from friends. I am here to plead you to seriously think about investing in the research of hikikomori by giving to the printing, so that we can venture further!

180 T-shirts: RMB 2,800
2000 brochures (Japanese) : JPY 75,000
(All materials were distributed freely to the audience)

If you would like to contribute to the above printing cost, or the future printing cost, please kindly bank into these account: HSBC 405-200-5487 (Hong Kong), HSBC 002-0740-86025 (Malaysia), Account name: Yong Kim Fong


About the Distribution of the T-shirts:
72 pcs - RJC Conference
10 pcs - Hong Kong
98 pcs - Japan

Let us be ONE, and let our investment turns into His Great LOVE, that will touch every soul that receive these sacrificial gift of yours!