Yellow submarine

It's been an interesting day and all that, but really I just had this thought I wanted to share with you.

Jesus Loves YOU. And he loves ME.

So I'm getting sick again (yes again :/ ) and I wouldn't be surprised if it's because of the constant contact with stuff in the subway lines etc. Anyways, the point being, I'm getting sick again and there's a Typhoon (or "Typhou" in japanese) that's hitting and the school is likely closed tomorrow as well as it was today. And again I got sick at just the right time that if everything works out exactly right, (this happens so often...) although I'll lose a few days, I would have lost them anyways because there's a typhoon and the school is probably going to be closed. Last time it was a friday I got sick, and I was better again by Tuesday (which is when we start evangelism for the week)

The thought that is going through my head is that, what if, all the weather on this planet is being orchestrated to match my sickness (or vice versa, but does it really matter?) so Jesus can say to me, "I Love you" ?

I don't know what all he's doing, but it just clicked to me that he already did something greater and died for me. Then rose again. He didn't just reset me at the place of Adam and say "you're clean again, try it again" but instead "Your sin is mine, and my clean is yours. You can't be affected by that sin again."

It's like I'm a submarine coated in RainX. If I just got the courage to pull out of the mire of sin I wallow in, all of it would bead up and roll off, and all anyone would see would be Jesus. I'm only surrounded in sin because I choose to. It can't stick to me anymore.


But then it's more, I'm clean but that's not all. Just realizing he would do everything to tell me AGAIN that he loves me, Isn't that cool? He would stop time, make the entire world standstill just to whisper in my ear again. "I Love you"



So I'm sick, and It's raining, and it's probably about to get really nasty outside, not to mention ruin our schedule for ANOTHER day. But what if it's something else? What if I'm sick because he's trying to teach me something? What if the weather is just right so that he can show me love, and that I won't get to miss out on evangelism even though I got sick? That he's watching my back, and just because he's training me to rise out of the mire, he's not going to make me miss out? What if everyone else gets to be in the same boat and look at the one who loves us and learn to sit tight, listening at His feet, because he's got it all under control?

What if it's all love?

"And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?”"

"But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” 41 But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”

The life in Japan

So I'm long overdue for an update again. Here every day seems long, but they pass before I know it. I realized I've forgotten to let you all know what I'm doing here.

Well, here's the typical day:

8:00 wake up
9:00 meet as a group and schedule, bible study, or do logistics
10:00 quiet time
11:00 leave for campus
~12:00 arrive on campus and pray for a few minutes before splitting into pairs
Evangelize
4:00 meet back up and head home
5:00 free time, eat, etc

So That's the typical day

I'll try to update a bit later on some of the other things that are happening! We're going to the Onsen today (public bath house) and maybe later on I'll put some more info online. It's pretty busy here!

A catch up

Well, I've done a terrible job keeping up with my blog, It's been a result of being crazy busy, getting sick, and, well, being busy.

We started evangelizing last Thursday, I'm with 8 others on Hitotsubayashi's campus. Wow. Just wow. It was in incredible day of God humbling me and my team and forcing us to focus on him.

I think the best way that I can summarize this is with my journal entry for that day:

-On the train back
I feel like I've reached my saturation point. God is doing something with m. He's definiitely humbling me severely. Nothing that I have is enough My wits, my language, my heart, my knowledge. All of it is useless. I feel like I have neither the heart for Jesus or the heart for these people that I need to be effective This is the first time I've tried sharing my faith as I should, It's the first tme in 5 years.  I've never cared enuogh for anyone but myself to share salvation.My pride is incredible, I've learned some, but I never realized how much sin is in my life. And this is just pride.Why does the only thing that maters feel so unimportant to me? (jesus/gospel)I have so much head knowledge Jesus. So much. I need you to make it heart knowledge. I'm not seing you, Jesus I need you right now, you know all my faults and still Love me. You want all my burden, all my sin, my shame. You want my fear, my guilt and you want to bear it. I don't want to give it, I don't want to be helpless. Yet you sit there, saying nothing, but your eyes show your heart pouring out for me. That if you could just hold it (my burden) I would be well. But my fighting hurts you more thn the sin ever would.That your own love, your bride to be looks broad for help, that I say you're not enough. (end train ride)
Jesus Help Me (end entry)

God took away every prop holding me up until he was the only thing sustaining me. You feel like you're holding onto nothing, there's nothing left, just a thin pole you're hanging onto keeping you from certain doom, until you realize you're actually tightly strapped onto Jesus. All those things you thought were supporting you were actually keeping you from moving.

It's like being a bird with yourself encased in a cast. You're "safe" but the reality is you're falling like a rock. Jesus has been breaking that cast off, and although it's a frightening thing, I'm becoming free enough to start flying.

Friday however was another story completely. Once it became about Jesus and his glory, all of a sudden people opened up! The spirit lead and we had a lot of good conversations. There was even two guys that I talked to (Rintaro and Kei) that were really open and almost excited to hear what we had to say. I even gave Rintaro my Japanese English bible. The excitement on his face was indescribable, and it's probably that look of excitement that I'll never forget. We treat the bible as nothing, but it might as well have been gold for him.


So much going on here, and Jesus is really working. Please pray! we need every bit of it, and these students need him so much. This may be the only chance they have of hearing the gospel, and pray that it sticks with them hounding them down until they rest in Christ!