Yesterday my wife was saying that it is 100 Degrees Colder in Chicago with the wind chill than it is here in Okinawa. I got to talk to my family as they were all together to Celebrate Christmas last week and it made me wish that we could have been there. There are a lot of things we miss being away from home especially during the Holidays. The cold weather, fortunately is not one of them. May you have a Merry Christmas as you remember what God did for us in sending Christ to die for us.
I was about to upload a picture of the family on our beach but decided that was tool cruel.
Earlier this week I watched the mission and was challenged to fight injustice in the world around me. At first my thought was that there aren’t any big injustices that I can see right in Okinawa. Then I remembered that we go to the beach by our house nearly every day and there is a homeless guy (or not so homeless since he built a little house) but still I don’t think he has any source of income.
In the past he has readily accepted drinks and I have seem him on collecting cans around the beach. So I decided that I it would be no big deal to bring the coke cans that we collect in our building to him each week.
So Tuesday I brought the cans home and told my kids I was going to be giving them to the homeless guy on the beach. I asked the kids if they wanted to give him anything. Adrianne and Megan both dug into their piggy banks and pulled out the bulk of their YEN to give to him. Jack grabbed a plate of food that Jen made of our left over dinner that we had just finished.
We walked over to the homeless man’s house and the kids were asking what we would do if he wasn’t there. “We’ll just leave it for him to pick up later.” Thankfully he was there. Jack offered him the food. Both of the girls laid their YEN on a crate that was sitting at his feet. I offered him the cans which he took and placed in his can pile He was very grateful and offered lots of thanks to us. He focused on the cans. I think it gave him a little dignity in the midst of his situation. It’s a lesson I learned from my Dad 18 1/2 years ago when I was 16. My Dad was trading one of our cars for a pool table. I remember asking why we would be doing that when the pool table would take up all of the garage and we were moving soon anyway.
My Dad took me to the man’s house when we picked up the table. Even though the car was probably about 10 years old or more it had been immaculately kept. I remember the man telling us that he had never owned a car that nice. As we left the house my Dad explained that taking the pool table in trade allowed the man to “pay” for the car instead of just giving it to him which my Dad probably would have been glad to do. I caught the value of helping someone keep their dignity even when helping them out.
Hopefully my kids will catch some of the value of serving others whenever possible.
We left the beach and played at the park for a while then we stopped by one of my coworkers houses to drop some stuff off. About 20 minutes later we were heading out to get donuts. My kids were wondering if they could get a small toy instead of a donut that evening. I reminded them that Christmas was only two weeks away and they would be getting gifts. At that point they all agreed that with presents coming it would be a good day to get a donut.
As the car got quiet Megan asked if she could get a Japanese Big Person Bible for Christmas. “Sure, Do you want to learn Japanese?” I asked. No she replied. I want to give it to the guy on the beach. Megan has always been giving, but I was especially proud that she would want one of her presents to be one that she would give away.
Obviously she is catching a couple of our family values. That others need to know Jesus through his word and that we need to put the needs of others ahead of our own.
As this year has progressed I have been able to hand off more of the ministry to others which has really been a blessing. I have been reading a lot of Bobby Clinton lately and really enjoy his stuff. I just finished reading the Biography of Charles Simeon who was used in a huge way to bring a return to Evangelicalism in the Anglican Church in the late 1700’s and early 1800’s. Allow me to quote Clinton here.
“There is a major impact dynamic involved here. A person engaged in extensive mentoring will have levels of intimacy. the closer the intimacy, the more time is spent together. he level of instruction moves from more formal to less formal as the circles decrease–with much more interaction in the smaller circles. The rule is- the more informal the instruction medium, the deeper the impact of the values in the life.”
With responsibilities for other missionaries and helping other ministries I find I have less informal time with students that not only leads to more effective ministry but really is what I crave. Would you join me in praying about how to work that out in our world and also which students and staff to focus on?
Also there is the possibility of opening a ministry in Korea and I think I will be going there early in December to check on that. Pray for God’s direction with that ministry.
Adam and I doing some shopping. Adam Jones is here for our staff conference to speak to us this week. We went out to get some goodies for his family and found a couple of Japanese T-shirts that I thought you might enjoy. It rarely makes complete sense and sometimes turns out to be quite funny.
The Mission’s Trip to IE Island went really well. The team had a great time and were definitely stretched as they served the believers there and reached out to the kids in the local schools
I was really proud of them. Mostly I love it when students do great things for God. I didn’t want to make a big deal about it before they left but this trip was led by Tori who is 19 and Brandon who is 18. They did a great job and God really used them on the trip. There were older staff that wanted to attend but I wanted them to experience everything that comes from leading a trip and leaning on God for help.
